Read Yesterday's Promise Online
Authors: Linda Lee Chaikin
Yesterday's Promise
Praise for
Yesterday's Promise
“Prepare for adventure, romance, and intrigue in nineteenth-century South Africa. Linda Lee Chaikin has done her homework, exploring the world of diamonds and goldmines in the land that would become Victorian Rhodesia. A page-turner of a story told by a veteran novelist.”
âL
IZ
C
URTIS
H
IGGS
, best-selling author of
Thorn in My Heart
“Linda Lee Chaikin never fails to deliver a dynamite story! In
Yesterday's Promise
she weaves the complications of love and history into a storyline that is a sheer joy to read. I can't wait for book 3 of the East of the Sun series!”
âD
IANE
N
OBLE
, award-winning author of
Phoebe
“I love, love,
love
this series by Linda Lee Chaikin! It has everything I'm looking for right now in a good readâmemorable characters, intrigue, believable romance, fascinating history. If the third in the series was out, I wouldn't be writing this⦠I'd be squirreled away, reading!”
âL
ISA
T
AWN
B
ERGREN
, best-selling author
    of
Christmas Every Morning
Praise for
Tomorrow's Treasure
Book 1 in the East of the Sun Series
by Linda Lee Chaikin
“
Tomorrow's Treasure
invites the reader to look closely at God's fatherly care for his orphans and widows, particularly those whose families were martyred on the mission field. An engaging historical novel!”
âC. H
OPE
F
LINCHBAUGH
, author of
Daughter of China
“Absorbing human drama, intriguing mystery, heart-pounding love interests, a dramatic settingâthis novel has it all, including a good message expertly woven into the greater story. I can't wait for book 2!”
âL
ISA
T
AWN
B
ERGREN
, best-selling author
    of
The Captain's Bride
“Adventure. Intrigue. Romance. Settle back for an enjoyable read.
Tomorrow's Treasure
is as old-world as the setting yet as contemporary as the human heart.”
âK
ATHY
H
ERMAN
, best-selling author of The Baxter Series
“Linda Chaikin has created a wonderful page-turner with this engaging historical novel. Her sense of time and place is exquisite, her characters so real they seem ready to step right off the page. This is a story rich with conflict, triumph over adversity, and wondrous testimony to God's grace. Your heart will sing as you read.”
âD
IANE
N
OBLE
, award-winning author of
Heart of Glass
O
THER
N
OVELS BY
L
INDA
L
EE
C
HAIKIN
E
AST OF THE
S
UN
S
ERIES
Tomorrow's Treasure
A D
AY TO
R
EMEMBER
S
ERIES
Monday's Child
Tuesday's Child
Wednesday's Child
Thursday's Child
Friday's Child
Desert Rose
Desert Star
To Pegg Hill, a friend, a lover of the peoples of South Africa, and a faithful missionary of our Lord.
For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister
.
H
EBREWS
6:10
CKNOWLEDGMENTS
Peggy and David Hill served as missionaries in South Africa from 1974 until 1990. Peggy was exceedingly helpful by sharing an understanding of her birthplace and the tribes. She sent me rare books and articles as well as conveyed many of her own exciting experiences with wildlifeâwhich I was able to incorporate. Thank you, Peggy.
Peggy's parents, Eldon and Florence Sayre served as pioneer missionaries in Rhodesia from 1945 until September 1977, when they were forced to leave due to the unstable conditions at that time.
CHAPTER
O
NE
Grimston Way, England
31 October 1898
On the perimeter of the village green, a thick stand of ancient trees with half-clad branches trembled in the rising wind. Dark clouds obscured the cheerful face of the sun, and like a harbinger of events to come, a thunderhead cloaked the afternoon sky.
The first smattering of rain dribbled down branches to a crisp carpet of burnt-orange leaves. Though the countryside seemed draped with a fall gloominess, laughter still danced on the wind from children who joined hands and skipped in a large circle while singing “London Bridge Is Falling Down” and giggling as they dropped to the damp grass.
A tall white cross graced the village green near the twelfth-century rectory of St. Graves Parish. Below the cross some of the village girls were adding last-minute touches to the outdoor fall decorations. Chains of red pomegranates, yellow gourds, and dried cornhusks, plus bundles of tied grasses and bunched leaves gave a warm touch of color to the festive gathering. This was October 31, Allhallows Eve, the yearly celebration recalling brave Christian heroes and heroines of the past who had faithfully labored for Christ. The outdoor activities in Grimston Way would end at eventide with the lighting of candles, a chapel service, and a friendly supper inside the parish hall.