Books by Susan Anne Mason
COURAGE TO DREAM
Irish Meadows
A Worthy Heart
Love’s Faithful Promise
A Most Noble Heir
CANADIAN CROSSINGS
The Best of Intentions
The Highest of Hopes
The Brightest of Dreams
REDEMPTION’S LIGHT
A Haven for Her Heart
© 2020 by Susan A. Mason
Published by Bethany House Publishers
11400 Hampshire Avenue South
Bloomington, Minnesota 55438
www.bethanyhouse.com
Bethany House Publishers is a division of
Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan
www.bakerpublishinggroup.com
Ebook edition created 2020
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
ISBN 978-1-4934-2829-8
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
This is a work of historical reconstruction; the appearances of certain historical figures are therefore inevitable. All other characters, however, are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Cover design by Koechel Peterson & Associates, Inc., Minneapolis, Minnesota/Jon Godfredson
Author is represented by Natasha Kern Literary Agency.
Contents
Cover
Half Title Page
Books by Susan Anne Mason
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
A Note from the Author
Prologue
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Back Ads
Back Cover
In memory of Velma Demerson,
whose real-life story of incarceration
at the Mercer Reformatory for Women
inspired Olivia’s journey.
A Note from the Author
Dear Reader Friends,
Writing a book about a maternity home has been on my mind for quite some time. When I originally wrote A Most Noble Heir, I’d envisioned a sequel to Nolan and Hannah’s story, featuring Hannah’s younger sister, Molly, who would open a maternity home—or a home for wayward girls—in Victorian England. However, that book never materialized, and the idea sat on the back burner for quite a while.
Then, while brainstorming a new series for Bethany House, the idea came up again. Right around this time, I read a disturbing story in the paper about a woman named Velma Demerson, who was arrested in Toronto in the 1930s for being pregnant and unmarried. I kept the newspaper clipping about the harrowing details of her life, and it occurred to me that Olivia Rosetti, my heroine for the first book in the REDEMPTION’S LIGHT series, would need a compelling reason to open such a facility. Velma’s story provided the inspiration for that.
In the meantime, I learned that Velma had written a book entitled Incorrigible about her experience in the Andrew Mercer Reformatory for Women (or “the Mercer,” for short), and I ordered a copy. It was not an easy book to read at times. The horrors she endured were beyond description, but it captured me so thoroughly that I decided to use her experience as a catalyst for my heroine.
I wanted you to know this before you read Olivia’s story, which is a little grittier than the usual books I’ve written. But the horrors that Olivia goes through really happened to Velma and to many other incarcerated women. Eventually, the Mercer Reformatory was closed down, but not until 1969—thirty years after Velma’s stay there. It’s hard to imagine such atrocities occurring so recently in our history.
In her later years, Velma gained the courage to sue the Ontario government for her mistreatment. She continued campaigning for an apology and seeking restitution for all women who had been incarcerated under the same law that had imprisoned her, right up until she passed away in 2019 at the age of ninety-eight.
That being said, I hope you enjoy Olivia’s journey—how her search for respectability and healing leads her to help other women and how Darius teaches her the value of unconditional love while mirroring God’s love for each one of us. (Of course, Darius’s journey is not without a few bumps of its own!)
Until next time, my profound appreciation for your support and encouragement!
Susan
I have swept away your transgressions
like a cloud, and your sins like mist;
return to me, for I have redeemed you.
ISAIAH 44:22
Prologue
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
November 1939
Olivia Rosetti turned up the volume on the radio in the empty parlor. Thankfully, her parents had gone out to a church meeting tonight, giving her the rare gift of a few hours alone. With her older brother out for the evening as well, she could listen to the radio on her own for as long as she wished, without Leo and Papà arguing, and Leo getting so angry that he’d snap the machine off. Ever since Leo had failed the army physical due to a heart murmur, he hated all reports of the war. Especially since their brother Tony, one year younger than Leo, had passed all the tests and was headed overseas. Her youngest brother, Salvatore, safely cocooned at the seminary, was likely oblivious to the fact that the world was embroiled in conflict.
Olivia twisted the dial until the static lessened and the deep voice of the broadcaster boomed through. Surely there would be news of the war at the top of the hour. Not that it would give her any details of her fiancé Rory’s fate. Or Tony’s. But listening to reports of the Canadian troops and their whereabouts helped her feel closer to both of them. In those moments, she could picture Rory in his uniform aboard the deck of a ship, heading to Britain to fight for freedom from Hitler’s tyranny.
Oh, Rory, why did you have to join the war so soon? If you’d known about my situation, would it have stopped you from going?
She ran a hand over the slight swell of her abdomen, a sick sense of dread rising through her. Last night, with no options left, she’d finally divulged her secret to her mother, who, despite Olivia’s protests, had immediately told her father.
