Authors: Gilbert Morris
The White Knight
© 2007 by Gilbert Morris
Published by Bethany House Publishers
11400 Hampshire Avenue South
Bloomington, Minnesota 55438
Bethany House Publishers is a division of
Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Ebook edition created 2011
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meansâelectronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwiseâwithout the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
ISBN 978-1-4412-3491-9
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible.
Cover illustration by William Graf
Cover design by Josh Madison
To all the faithful readers of
T
HE
H
OUSE OF
W
INSLOW NOVELS
In 1986,
The Honorable Imposter,
the first novel in The House of Winslow, saw the light of day. At that time, no one could have predicted that the series would go through forty novels in the next two decades.
During these years, I have met many of you who loved the series and have received hundreds of letters from so many who spoke of how the series gave you pleasureâand in many instances was helpful to you.
I wish that I could meet each of you face-to-face to tell you how your faithfulness made the series possible, but since I can't, let me assure you that I have always felt that you and I were partners in The House of Winslow.
So I bid a fond farewell to all of you loyal friends of the Winslows. May God bless every one of you!
CONTENTS
21. Wisdom From Troubled Girls
CHAPTER ONE
“Why Are You Fighting?”
Melosa Chavez applied a drop of perfume from a fluted bottle to her forefinger, then dabbed it behind her right ear. She repeated the action on the left side, then held the bottle under her nose, closed her eyes, and inhaled.
“Beautiful!” she exclaimed. “What a fine scent! Only a romantic man such as Luke Winslow would know how much such a gift would please a woman.”
Melosa put the bottle down and studied her reflection in the mirror. She checked her ivory complexion and noted the rich color of her cheeks. Her mouth was wider than she would have liked, but it was well shaped and, she had been told, quite provocative. Her eyes pleased her. They had always been her best featureânearly black, deep set and almond shaped, shaded by thick lashes. She nodded with approval, then reached up and smoothed her black hair, swept up into an ornate hairdo and anchored with a mother-of-pearl comb.
Her gaze wandered down to her pale green dress. It was nipped in tightly at the waist, and she smiled in self-admiration at her tiny waistline and pleasing curves.
“Why are you looking at yourself, Melosa?”
She whirled at the voice of her ten-year-old sister, who must have tiptoed in on little cat's feet. “Isadora, you have a bad habit of sneaking around!”
“I wasn't sneaking.”
“Yes you were.”
“I just came in to see what you were doing.” Isadora was
a smaller edition of her older sister, with the same black hair and almond-shaped eyes. She was wearing a white dress and patent leather shoes, and her hair hung straight down her back. “You look at yourself in the mirror so much. I think you're vain.”
Melosa's eyes glinted, but then she laughed. “I think you are right, Isadora. I am vain. I will have to ask God to forgive me.”
“I'll ask Him too.” Isadora nodded. “But I'm not surprised. You're so beautiful it would be hard for you not to be vain.”
Melosa went over and hugged Isadora, kissing her on the cheek. “You can be trying at times, but you do have a way of pleasing me. What have you been doing?”
“I've been talking to Luke.”
“You shouldn't pester him with your questions all the time.”
“That's what Papa said, but Luke said it was all right. He said I could ask him anything I wanted to.”
“Luke spoils you and Victor too. I suppose Victor's firing questions at him right now.”
“He asked him how many men he's killed.”
“Surely he didn't ask him that!”
“Yes, he did. But Luke wouldn't talk about it. He's killed a lot of them, I know. He's shot down lots of those German planes.”
“I don't want you to pester Luke anymore with questions like that.”
“Why not?”
“It's not polite.”
“How am I going to learn anything if I don't ask questions? I have to find out things.” Isadora shrugged and tilted her head to one side. “Are you in love with him?”
“That's none of your business.”
“You're my sister. If you marry him, he'll be my uncle or something.”
“You are always asking about things that have nothing to do with you.”
“If he's going to be part of my family, I need to know everything about him.”
“It's not polite to ask direct questions like that.”
“I think you're in love with him.” Isadora moved around to get a closer look at Melosa's face. “What does it feel like to be in love?”
Melosa could not help laughing. “You've got all the curiosity of a cat, but I will tell you this.” Her face lit up with a brilliant smile. “It feels very good indeed.”
“Is this the first time you've ever been in love?”
“Yes . . . real love, that is.”
“What do you mean? Is there a kind of love that isn't real? Like when you let Ramon come calling on you? I knew you didn't like him much.”
“You see too much.”
“You didn't love him, though.”
“No, I didn't.”
“But you love Luke, don't you?”
“Oh . . . all right. I'll tell you. Yes, I do. Very much.”
“Does he ever kiss you?”
Melosa threw up her hands in exasperation. “What questions you ask, child!”
“Well, does he?”
Melosa looked down at her younger sister. She remembered clearly when she herself had wanted to ask the same questions of some of her friends' older sisters but had never found the courage. Isadora, however, would ask anyone anything.
“Why do you want to know?”
“Because one day I'll have a sweetheart, and I'll need to know how to act, won't I?”
“Yes, you will.”
“So . . . does he try to kiss you?”
Melosa put her arm around her sister. “Yes, Isadora, he does.”
“Does he respect you? That's what Papa always asks.”
“Yes, he respects me.”
“I heard what Mama said to you last night. You thought I was reading, but I wasn't. She said, âYou are a pure young woman, Melosa. See that you stay that way!' Are you doing that?”
“Yes, I am. That's enough questions. You go now and tell them I'll be in to dinner in a moment.”
“I'll go talk to Luke.”
“Don't you dare tell him what we've been talking about. Do you hear me?”
“I won'tâat least not unless he brings it up.”
“He won't mention itânot to you, anyway.”
As Isadora left, Melosa found herself giggling.
That child is impossible! Asking if my sweetheart kisses me.
She touched her hair to be sure it was still in place, then went to the closet to find her shoes.
Isadora doesn't know how right she is. I am in love with Luke, and he's in love with me. If he asks me to marry him, I will.
****
“This war is horrendous!” Alfredo Chavez exclaimed in Spanish. He sat across the table from Luke Winslow, waiting for Señora Chavez to put dinner on the table. In his early fifties, Alfredo did not have a gray hair on his head. It was plain where his children got their black hair. He had penetrating dark eyes as well and was in good physical condition. Nevertheless, as he sat in the plainly furnished dining room, he exhibited a nervousness that Luke had noted before.
“War is always terrible, Señor Chavez,” Luke replied. His Spanish had improved in the two years he had been in Spain to the point where he could discuss practically anything in the language.
“But this one is at our front door. I don't even know how it came about.” He stared curiously at Luke, who was a mystery to him. Physically the Americano was an impressive specimenâhe had a handsome face with dark eyes and a generous
mouth. He was about six feet tall with a muscular neck and powerful callused hands. His auburn hair had a glint of gold and a slight curl. A fine-looking man!
Two things puzzled Chavez about the young American. One, why was he fighting a war in Spain? And two, how serious was he about Melosa? He didn't feel that he could bring up the matter of his daughter, but he could ask about the war. “Why are you fighting in this war?” he finally asked as he leaned forward, his arms on the table. “This is not your war, not your country.”
“No, it's not, but this man Hitler threatens not only your country but the whole world.” Leaning back, Luke began to talk about General Franco's attempted overthrow of the Spanish government and how Hitler had seized the opportunity to spread his fascist ideas. He had sent troops, transport planes, and fighter planes to support Franco in his bid to take over Spain, and the poor Republican government was slowly being throttled.
