The Prodigal Girl
Authors: Grace Livingston Hill
Tags: #Romance, #Religious, #Fiction, #Christian
What Christian Authors are Saying
about Grace Livingston Hill:
Grace Livingston Hill, often referred to as the “Queen of Christian Romance,” has given millions of readers timeless Christian novels, offering inspiration, romance, and adventure. The simple message in each of her books reminds us that God has the answer to all our questions.
—Wanda E. Brunstetter,
New York Times
bestselling author
I’ve long been a fan of Grace Livingston Hill. Her romance and attention to detail has always captivated me—even as a young girl. I’m excited to see these books will continue to be available to new generations and highly recommend them to readers who haven’t yet tried them. And for those of you like me who have read the books, I hope you’ll revisit the stories and fall in love with them all over again.
—Tracie Peterson, award-winning, bestselling author of the Song of Alaska and Striking a Match series
Grace Livingston Hill’s books are a treasured part of my young adult years. There was such bedrock faith to them along with the fun. Her heroines were intrepid yet vulnerable. Her heroes were pure of heart and noble (unless they needed to be reformed of course). And the books were often adventures. Just writing this makes me want to hunt down and read again a few of my favorites.
—Mary Connealy, Carol Award-winning author of
Cowboy Christmas
and the Lassoed in Texas series
Grace Livingston Hill books were a big part of my life, from the time I was a teenager and onward. My mother loved her books and shared them with me and my sisters. We always knew we could find an engaging, uplifting story between the covers. And her stories are still enjoyable and encouraging. It’s hard to pick a favorite, but
The Girl from Montana
and
Marcia Schuyler
are two of my favorites. Terrific stories!
—Susan Page Davis, author of The Ladies’ Shooting Club and Prairie Dreams series
The hero, in Grace Livingston Hill’s timeless romantic novels, is always a hero. The heroine is always a strong woman who stands up for her beliefs. He is always handsome; she is always beautiful. And an inviting message of faith is woven throughout each story without preaching. These enduring stories will continue to delight a new generation of readers—just as they did for our great-grandmothers.
—Suzanne Woods Fisher, bestselling author of the Lancaster County Secret series
As a young reader just beginning to know what romance was all about, I was introduced to Grace Livingston Hill’s books. She created great characters with interesting backgrounds and then plopped them down into fascinating settings where they managed to get into romantic pickles that kept me reading until the love-conquers-all endings. Her romance-filled stories showed this young aspiring writer that yes, love can make the fictional world go round.
—Ann H. Gabhart, award-winning author
My grandmother was an avid reader, and Grace Livingston Hill’s books lined her shelves for the years of my childhood and adolescence. Once I dipped into one of them, I was hooked. Years of reading Hill’s stories without a doubt influenced my own desire to become a storyteller, and it’s with great fondness that I remember many of her titles.
—Tracy L. Higley, author of
Garden of Madness
If you’ve enjoyed the classic works of writers like Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer, it is way past time for you to discover the inspirational stories of Grace Livingston Hill!
—Anna Schmidt, award-winning author of the Women of Pinecraft series
Ah, Grace Livingstone Hill! Can any other writer compare? Her lyrical, majestic tone, her vivid descriptions…they melt the heart of readers from every generation. Some of my fondest memories from years gone by involve curling up in my mother’s chair and reading her Grace Livington Hill romances. They swept me away to places unknown and reminded me that writers—especially writers of faith—could truly impact their world.
—Janice Hanna Thompson, author of the Weddings by Bella series
Grace Livingston Hill’s stories are like taking a stroll through a garden in the spring: refreshing, fragrant, and delightful—a place you’ll never want to leave.
—MaryLu Tyndall, Christy nominee and author of the Surrender to Destiny series
Enduring stories of hope, triumph over adversity, and true sacrificial love await every time you pick up a Grace Livingston Hill romance.
—Erica Vetsch, author of
A Bride’s Portrait of Dodge City, Kansas
© 2012 by Grace Livingston Hill Print
ISBN 978-1-61626-655-4
eBook Editions:
Adobe Digital Edition (.epub) 978-1-60742-772-8
Kindle and MobiPocket Edition (.prc) 978-1-60742-773-5
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted for commercial purposes, except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without written permission of the publisher.
All scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any similarity to actual people, organizations, and/or events is purely coincidental.
Cover design: Faceout Studio,
www.faceoutstudio.com
Published by Barbour Publishing, Inc., P.O. Box 719, Uhrichsville, Ohio 44683,
www.barbourbooks.com
Our mission is to publish and distribute inspirational products offering exceptional value and biblical encouragement to the masses
.
Printed in the United States of America.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
1920s
Briardale, Pennsylvania
A
s soon as the letter came that practically promised the contract for which he had been bending all his energies for the past six months, Chester Thornton sat back in his chair and let his mind relax.
For the first time in a year he took a deep breath without a tremble of anxiety at its finish. Now he could look things in the face and know that instead of a gradually increasing deficit there would be a good profit. This new connection would mean the backing of half a dozen of the best firms in the country; it would mean prestige and widening interests, unlimited credit and respect. It spelled success in large letters and filled him with an ecstasy such as he had not known since he was a carefree boy and went fishing.
He stared across at the file cabinets unseeingly and tried to think what it would mean to his home and family! Why, they could even buy a new house, a palatial place up on the Heights, and choose their own place in the world. In three or four years the firm would be one of the wealthiest in its line in the country; they might even open up a foreign office!
He drew himself sharply back from daydreams into the present. It would mean right now that he could do a lot of things that had needed to be done for a long time, little repairs to the house, not extensive of course, if they would be moving in a year or so, but enough to put things shipshape and livable again until they could look about them and choose just the home that they wanted. They might have to build. Why, of course they would build, that was the idea—
build
, and have just what they wanted! And in the meantime, whatever he had to do to their present home would only enhance its value for sale.
Then, too, Christmas was coming in a few weeks!
For the first time in his life he would be able to purchase real Christmas presents, gifts that were worth something and not just scrimped necessities. He really had never enjoyed giving Betty that wristwatch, platinum though it was, and set with some good little diamonds, because he had to lie awake so many nights planning just how he could make up for having spent that money on it. But Betty was the dearest daughter in the world; she deserved all that he could give her. Then his thoughts turned to Eleanor, and his soul swelled with joy; now he could buy that string of pearls he had wanted for so many years to give her and never dared. It wasn’t expensive as those things went, not the one he wanted, very simple and lovely, not a long string, for Eleanor liked quiet things.
A lover-like smile hovered over his lips for an instant at the thought of the gentle-faced woman who was his wife. Then his released ambitions leaped forward.
Well, Betty could have the car now that she had been coaxing for for over a year. Of course she was a little young for a car, only a trifle over seventeen, but all her friends had them, and it would relieve the situation for Eleanor wonderfully if she could have the family car free for herself and not have it continually off with Betty and her friends.
Of course Chris would be upset over Betty having a car, but Chris could wait another year or two. A boy wasn’t really fit to own a car till college age, though of course some of them did. But there were other things for Chris, and his time would come later. And there was Jane and the twins! Oh, it would be rare to buy Christmas gifts this year with no grim ghost of want hovering behind to restrain his every impulse!
Thornton left the office at three o’clock that afternoon for the day. Things were in good shape, and he really could not hold himself down to work; he felt so happy. It seemed as if he must do something about it.
Acting on this desire, he went at once to the showrooms of the new Mermaid Eight. If he was going to get that car for Betty by Christmas it was high time he was looking into the matter. It ought to be ordered at once.
The Mermaid Eight proved to be far more fascinating than he had been told, and it was almost time for the five-thirty train to leave the station when he came puffing into the last car and dropped into a seat by the door.
He sank with a sense of satisfaction into a comfortable position, cast a quick, furtive glance around hoping there were none of his close acquaintances near to whom he must talk, and unfurled the newspaper, which he had bought from habit as he dashed past the newsstand. He did not want to talk to anyone just now. He wanted to enjoy this new sense of freedom from care and think over his afternoon’s experience.