Chapter 9: Hear Me, O Lord
The next morning, Reverend Hawthorne lay on his knees in the empty Church, his insides tormented. He pleaded with the Almighty: "Hear me, O Lord, I beseech thee. I have been praying to thee all night with no answer. Please forgive me for the sin of my flesh. The young woman was untouched! She was untouched until she was defiled by my hand! Oh, Lord, if it be thy will, let this cup pass from me!"
Moments later, the Elders, their wives and Katniss entered the church to find the preacher lying prostrate on the floor. Hawthorne composed himself, and addressed the group:
"Brethern and sistern, I ask you to come here this morning for the purpose of righting a terrible wrong. It's a blessed privilege for God to let us seek restitution for our errors while we are alive. And we have all been in error, brethren and sistern - bad error! The young woman that sits in the rear has been the victim of our error. She is innocent of the charges against her, and grevious are the things she's endured. I humbly ask you to ask her for your pardon for your misjudgment."
The Elders and their wives were shocked. There was a moment of silence, until Mr. Mellark cleared his throat:
"How do you know she's innocent, Preacher?"
"The Lord spoke to me in the night, while I was a-praying for her soul," Hawthorne lied.
Mrs. Mellark, in particular, was enraged at this apparent betrayal on the part of the preacher. She shot a death glare back at Katniss and proclaimed "The devil works in queer ways!" This declaration signaled the rest of the group - minus Katniss - to all file out of the church, while Hawthorne watched in disbelief.
"But I swear to you she's innocent! She's innocent of the charges you've made!"
At last, the only person who remained was Mr. Mellark. He stared at the preacher, and in that moment, conveyed something: He believed Hawthorne was telling the truth, yet apologized, for with his wife leading the charge against Katniss, he felt he couldn't do a damn thing about it. So, instead, all he said was, "We'll see you at the baptism, Preacher."
Hawthorne stared after him. The silence was finally broken by Katniss chuckling at the preacher's feebleness. As if sensing her thoughts, Hawthorne turned back towards the young woman.
"I tried, Katniss. Ya heard me!"
"Yeah," she shrugged. "I heard ya."
"I'll make it up to ya - I swear I will!" Hawthorne knelt at her feet, before reaching a hand towards her shoulder. Katniss flinched back, eyes blazing.
"Don't…. touch….me," she snarled. Then, she got up and made her way to the door. Hawthorne lay on the floor, almost in tears.
"Forgive me, Katniss….please try and forgive me."
Katniss stopped at the door and turned. "Forgive? I forgot what that word means." She left.
Hawthorne entreated the Lord one last time: "If it be thy will, let this cup pass from me!"