The Maidens of Walsingham - стр. 2

The pastor's middle daughter Christine differed from her older sister in everything: she was a little lazy, did not like physical labour and was often reluctant to do what Catherine demanded of her. Christine especially did not like to take care of their younger sister Cassie, who she considered a burden and undeservedly absorbed the amazing beauty. Christine pushed Cassie away from her and, despite the fact that deep in her heart loved her, could not forgive her for "killing" her mother. The girl was rather selfish and narcissistic, but very beautiful, and this fact was known to her: slim figure, dark brown eyes framed by long thick lashes, wavy dark hair. Like her older sister, Christine took after her father, but unlike Catherine, who did not pay much attention to her good looks, Christine knew how to emphasise her beauty even in the desperate poverty of Walsingham, which she hated. In her twenty-three years, like Catherine, she was unmarried but for selfish reasons. But, even knowing her capricious nature, the Walsingham people loved Christine: she was too beautiful.

The village was especially fond of the youngest Glowford girl, Cassandra, who everyone affectionately called Cassie, a lovely seventeen-year-old girl with unruly, curly, golden hair, like her mother's, and almost dark blue eyes. She was a ray of light in the grey life of the village: playful, cheerful, awkward and kind, Cassie was embarrassed by strangers, and this gave her a special charm. She loved Catherine dearly, but was afraid of Christine. Cassandra's favourite pastimes were playing with her doll, gazing at the flowers and the bugs on them, and in summer running around the neighbourhood in the company of the local children.

The Glowford sisters attended all the services their father conducted, but each of the girls felt differently about church: Katharine listened reverently to her father's voice, followed the Scriptures when he referred to them, and sang hymns with enthusiasm; Christine, on the other hand, felt that she was wasting her time and thought about anything but God during the services, while Cassandra often slept sitting in the pew with her head covered with a white bonnet on Katharine's shoulder, and when she woke up she always laughed at the obscure words and funny, in her opinion, phrases of Scripture.

Life in Walsingham was as quiet as a nearly dried-up brook: the people lived immersed in their own little world, in their own community, but the appearance of a new face in it, the Landlord, stirred them, and they looked forward to the Sunday mass of tomorrow.

– And why is everyone so eagerly awaiting this lord's arrival? – Catherine asked her father as the Glowfords went to bed.

The Glowfords' cottage was old and small, but the sisters and their father lived in separate rooms: with Cassie's birth, the parson had divided the large room into two, leaving the daughters the larger one, while he contented himself with a corner that contained his sleeping mat, a chest of belongings, and a large wooden crucifix on the wall. The rooms were connected by a roughly carved doorway, and the family could communicate from room to room.

– Because their hearts are filled with hope," the pastor replied briefly to the daughter's question, interrupting her prayer for an answer.