Rebecca's Promise

Rebecca's Promise by Frances Roberta Sterrett follows Rebecca Mary Wyman, a frugal Lincol n schoolteacher who feels the sting of poverty and social invisibility until a casual Waloo tea with her practical Cousin Susan turns her life toward memory and possibility. Susan coins 'memory insurance' and coaxes Rebecca Mary to say Yes more often, to savor small pleasures like a French pastry and a four-leaf clover talisman that seems to yield luck. Rebecca Mary forms friendships with Joan Befort, a little girl with a dramatic father, and with Waloo's eligible men—Peter Simmons, Richard Cabot, and Frederick Befort, the Luxembourg-born count whose mysterious wartime work attracts German interest. When Rebecca Mary and Granny are swept to Riverside for a secret government experiment, loyalty, truth, and love are tested as espionage fears collide with everyday romance. The tale culminates in a golden wedding and a charitable gift—Seven Pines—for old couples, and in Rebecca Mary discovering that love and memory can empower a life once limited by want.