The Refuge by Ann H Gabhart
Ann has written a few books on the Shaker community and this is her latest one. I don't know much about who the Shakers were and so I found this very interesting. I can't vouch for the accuracy of the descriptions though I know the whole celibate lifestyle was definitely true, which I found very intriguing as to how they thought their community would continue to grow if there were no more children born. But that's beside the point, I guess. Into this community, Darcie and Walter had come for refuge from the cholera plague. They, of course, weren't going to stay forever, they just wanted safety. Well, safety is an illusion, as Darcie discovered when her husband was killed. This is not a spoiler, it's in the first paragraph. And so Darcie feels stuck now, with no way to support herself if she leaves. She's having a baby and Shaker tradition is that all are sisters and brothers and so Darcie would be unable to raise her baby. The baby would go to the Children&#