Sarina sighed. “I am weary to the marrow of my bones.”

“Max and I have been talking about how things are with Zachary. Would you like to go home and visit your family, let them see the baby?”

Sarina’s eyes brightened, and then the light in them faded. She shook her head. “I cannot. They will say to me, ‘Where is your husband?’ and I will cry, and they will know how bad things are, and I will be shamed. My mother will say, ‘I told you to marry your own kind, like your sisters did.’” She shook her head vigorously. “My father will demand that I never return to America. The servants will speak about me behind my back, and my sisters will pity me. I cannot go home without my husband, even for a visit.”

For a time, the soft squish of the rocker was the only sound in the room. “I understand,” Hannah said. “We were wondering if you think your husband would benefit from counseling.”

“I do not know much about counseling, but from what I have heard, it can be helpful. He would never go. He is too stubborn and arrogant.”

“What if he thought you would leave him? Would he consent to go, then?”

A long silence followed. Sarina rose and placed the sleeping baby in her crib. “Maybe he would. I do not know. Once, I could have said yes, he would do anything for me, but now I do not know. I do not think he would. May I speak to you freely, Hannah?”

“Of course.”

“We lived in India for two years, and he was never like this. He was very considerate, not only of me but also of my mother and aunts. Why has coming back to his home affected him so badly? What is between him and his father? Why does he not feel joy? What does he want?”

“I believe it stems back to his childhood, but what it was, what happened between him and his father or even his mother, I don’t know.”

“I have thought I will leave him, get a divorce. I can do that without his consent, yes?”

“I believe you can. Maybe then he would get some help, and maybe that would make things better.”

“Maybe. I do not know what to do anymore.” Sarina lowered her head.

Hannah had heard intervention mentioned regarding someone with a drinking problem. Family and close friends, his minister, and a counselor had gotten together with the person involved and confronted him, each person speaking from his or her heart regarding their relationship with the person, and it sometimes worked. The person involved in that matter had agreed to get help. Hannah needed more information and the name of a counselor who knew about such things. She would talk to Denny Ledbetter.

“Nothing can be decided today. Stay here and rest. Anna and Jose will see to Zachary’s needs.”