The Mistress of Tall Acre

© 2015 by Laura Frantz

Published by Revell

a division of Baker Publishing Group

P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287

www.revellbooks.com

Ebook edition created 2015

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 978-1-4412-2818-5

Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

Published in association with Books & Such Literary Agency, 52 Mission Circle, Suite 122, PMB 170, Santa Rosa CA 94509-7953.

Praise for Laura Frantz

“You’ll disappear into another place and time and be both encouraged and enriched for having taken the journey.”

—
Jane Kirkpatrick
, bestselling author of
A Light in the Wilderness

“Laura Frantz portrays the wild beauty of frontier life, along with its dangers and hardships, in vivid detail.”

—
Ann H. Gabhart
, author of
The Innocent

Praise for
Love’s Fortune

“Laura Frantz surely dances when she writes: the words sweep across the page with a gentle rhythm and a sure step. Her characters in
Love’s Fortune
are sympathetic yet flawed, making them oh-so-easy to care for, ache for, cheer for. Her historical details are well chosen, and her sense of time and place rings true. Above all, it’s Wren’s journey that engages our hearts and makes the pages turn. Well done, lass!”

—
Liz Curtis Higgs
,
New York Times
bestselling author of
Mine Is the Night

“
Love’s Fortune
is the last book in Frantz’s captivating Ballantyne Legacy series. Her characters pop to life on the page, and her vivid descriptions add realistic historical depth to the story.”

—
Booklist

Praise for
Love’s Awakening

“Frantz’s in-depth historical research combines with her fascinating characters to create a gripping romance that kept me turning pages late into the night. I highly recommend
Love’s Awakening
. It is a rare find.”

—Serena B. Miller
, RITA Award–winning author of
The Measure of Katie Calloway

“Frantz’s family saga is a rare treat for fans that will stay with readers long after they finish.”

—RT Book Reviews

To the Isle of Mull
where this story was born
and the rivers of Living Water
I found there

CONTENTS

Cover

Title Page

Copyright Page

Praise for Laura Frantz

Dedication

Epigraph

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

Epilogue

Author’s Note

About the Author

Books by Laura Frantz

Back Ads

Back Cover

These are the things which once Possess’d

Will make a life that’s truly bless’d;

A good Estate on healthy Soil,

Not got by vice, nor yet by Toil;

Round a warm fire, a Pleasant Joke,

With Chimney ever free from smoke;

A Strength entire, a Sparkling Bowl,

A quiet Wife, a quiet Soul,

A Mind as well as body, whole;

Prudent simplicity, constant Friends,

A diet which no art Commends;

A Merry night without much Drinking,

A Happy Thought without much Thinking;

Each Night by Quiet Sleep made Short;

A Will to be but what thou art;

Possess’d of these, all else defy,

And neither wish nor fear to Die.

TRUE
HAPPINESS,
AUTHORSHIP UNKNOWN

FOUND IN GEORGE WASHINGTON’S BOYHOOD COPYBOOK

1

We mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our Sacred honor.

THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

On this day, 8 August, 1778, a child was safely delivered . . .

Nay, not safely. Anything but safely.

. . . to Anne Howard Ogilvy and Seamus Michael Ogilvy of Tall Acre, Roan County, Virginia.