Their Private Happiness
Part Two
They resolved now to go out together, when they went out, and not to go alone. They hadn't stopped attending church, but they found that while Father Richard remained their friend – to the point where he admonished his congregation in sermons to leave the couple alone, and assured the entire parish that they hadn't been expecting a child when he married them – most of the congregation gave them a cold shoulder. If they were together, this was bearable. If they were together, the whispers and laughs were kept to a minimum.
Editha and Artan resolved, too, to cherish their private time. They decided that their home would be a refuge of happiness and joy. If all the town were arrayed against them, they would protect their peace and privacy. If all the town were determined to make them unhappy, they would do their best to defy that pressure. Their home would be a shelter, where they wouldn't let anything which happened outside disturb them.
And they found that if anything they enjoyed one another's company more, for it was only when they were alone together at home that they could relax and throw off all the worries of the outside world.