When Miss Farnaz, the Persian woman who was preparing trauma medicine in the dormitory of the parish school, heard Ron Brothers convey Art's order, her heart skipped a beat. "This day has finally come."
She put down the herbs in her hand, cupped some clear water to wash her face, then put on a light outer garment and followed Ron Brothers, who delivered the message, out of Wood Fort and into Art's military tent outside the fort.
"My Lord, Miss Farnaz has arrived," Ron Brothers said, then lowered the tent flap and left to attend to his own duties.
Art was currently bent over a simple wooden table, pen in hand, writing and drawing, contemplating issues of territorial development. Seeing Miss Farnaz arrive, he put down the charcoal stick in his hand and waved her forward to speak.
Miss Farnaz couldn't quite fathom the young lord's intentions, so she slowly moved to Art's side and then began to gently pull down her clothing.
"What are you doing???" Art was startled by Miss Farnaz's action of undressing and quickly got up and took two steps back.
The Persian woman, Miss Farnaz, was completely stunned by Art's reaction. Her hands were still gently holding up the front of her upper garment, and her fair, smooth shoulders were already exposed.
"My Lord, didn't you ask me to serve you tonight?" Miss Farnaz asked with a confused expression.
"Ron Brothers told you to serve me tonight?"
"Ron Brothers said to come to your military tent," Miss Farnaz naturally assumed that Art had finally been unable to hold back and, before getting married, wanted to indulge himself with her.
Art stared at Miss Farnaz's smooth, snow-white shoulders and her proud figure, swallowed gently, and tried his best to cast out the distracting thoughts in his mind.
It wasn't that Art wasn't tempted by this beautiful Persian woman. If she were just an ordinary woman, he would have slept with her. If Lottie couldn't accept Art having other women in the future, he could just give her some money and send her away. However, this Persian woman in front of him was skilled in medicine. Her medical skills were immeasurably superior to those 'barbers' who were half-god, half-witch, half-doctor. So, despite coveting Miss Farnaz's beauty, Art had always suppressed the lust in his heart. Moreover, unless Miss Farnaz was willing, Art would not allow anyone under his command to have improper intentions towards her.
In Art's eyes, the Persian woman, Miss Farnaz, was more of a Medical Officer and scholar who healed the sick and saved lives, never a female slave to satisfy desires. This was also why he insisted on keeping a heretic despite objections.
Art cleared his throat and said, "I think you misunderstood. Please put on your clothes."
Saying this, and to avoid awkwardness, Art turned around, picked up a water cup, and took a few sips of clear water.
Even Miss Farnaz, who was well-versed in matters of men and women and had seen countless people, now wore a shy and embarrassed expression. She hastily pulled up her clothes, tidied her collar, and then stood in place with her head down.
Art put down the wooden cup, turned to look at the neatly dressed Miss Farnaz, and gestured for her to sit down and talk, but Miss Farnaz remained standing with her head down.
"Miss... Miss Farnaz." Art had already announced the restoration of this Persian slave's free status, so using the title "Miss" was reasonable.
"Miss Farnaz, you have been in the valley for over a month now. Are you used to it here? Has anyone bullied you?" Art asked softly, feigning composure.
Normally, this Persian woman was quite articulate, but the recent awkwardness had not yet subsided, and she didn't know how to answer for a moment.
Seeing that he couldn't beat around the bush with small talk, Art simply went straight to the point, saying, "The reason I called you here today is to discuss something with you. I know you were sold here as a slave from the East, but as a Medical Officer skilled in medicine, I desperately need someone like you. However, you are, after all, a heretic. If you want to stay here long-term, I'm afraid you'll have to accept baptism and become a devout believer in God."
It turned out that Art had genuinely called her to the military tent to discuss matters, which made Miss Farnaz feel that her own behavior had been improper, and the blush on her face turned crimson.
Art finished speaking, and after a long silence from Miss Farnaz, he looked up at the Persian woman and asked in an inquiring tone, "Miss Farnaz, this... you don't agree to baptism?"
Miss Farnaz came back to her senses and stammered, "My Lord, are you saying I should change my god?"
"Hmm... you could understand it that way, because in this place, if you don't accept baptism, you will always be a heretic."
"Although I don't believe the God you worship is better than our God, I will follow your arrangements." Miss Farnaz was unwilling to change her faith, but years of slavery had extinguished her hope. Now, to gain long-lost dignity in this strange place was already difficult enough.
"Alright, this matter should be done sooner rather than later. I'll have Father Hamish arrange your baptism tomorrow." Art breathed a sigh of relief.
The matter of baptism was settled in just a few words. Because of the awkward scene just now, after the main business was discussed, both fell into a brief silence, and the atmosphere in the tent immediately became awkward again.
"Well... the apprentices at the school have given you a lot of trouble. They are all half-grown boys, the hardest to manage," Art timely found a somewhat suitable topic.
"The children are all very obedient. They are all abandoned orphans, and now that they receive your benevolent care, they all cherish it very much," Miss Farnaz replied with a couple of sentences, then fell silent again.
Art had intended to have a good talk with this Persian woman to understand her past, but the atmosphere was unusually tense now, so Art had to give up. "You should go back first. If you need anything in the future, you can come to me. If I'm not in Wood Fort, you can find Old Butler. I've already instructed Old Butler to take good care of you."
"Thank you, My Lord." Miss Farnaz fled Art's military tent as if escaping.
Watching her gracefully depart, Art swallowed and then picked up his water cup and took a big gulp of clear water.
"Hypocrite!" Art cursed himself silently.
Father Hamish handled things simply and efficiently. When Art told him that Miss Farnaz was willing to be baptized and asked him to arrange the baptism ceremony, Hamish took only half a day to prepare it.
Father Hamish had all the sacred objects for the baptism ceremony ready. The choir was composed of the apprentices from the school, and the believers witnessing the baptism were also readily available. Moreover, this was not Lucerne, so everything was kept simple. As long as Father Hamish recognized it, Miss Farnaz could immediately become a devout believer.
At noon, seven or eight people, led by Art, arrived at the small chapel in the center of Wood Fort.
Father Hamish, dressed in a long white robe, and a dozen apprentices from the parish school were already prepared in the church sanctuary. Miss Farnaz, the protagonist of the baptism ceremony, was praying and preparing in the front row of seats in the church.
Hamish, who was presiding over the ceremony, saw that all participants had arrived, and nodded to the dozen apprentices serving as the choir. The sound of sacred chanting resounded in the church sanctuary; after the chanting ended, Miss Farnaz immediately stepped out of her seat and knelt on the prepared cushion in front of the altar.
"Please, all fellow believers, pray for the one to be baptized," Hamish said to all participants in the sanctuary.
Art led everyone to stand up from their seats and recite the prayers from the Bible.
Hamish, who was presiding over the baptism ceremony, came before Miss Farnaz, who was kneeling in front of the altar, and asked, "Miss Farnaz, are you willing to accept Jesus Christ as your personal savior, to let him be the only true God in your heart?"
Miss Farnaz replied, "By my soul, I am willing to become a believer in God."
Hamish continued, "Now I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, to remove all demons and evil thoughts from your soul." After saying this, he nodded to an apprentice holding a pottery basin, and the apprentice stepped forward.
Hamish put his hand into the pottery basin, dipped his finger in water, and drew a holy cross on Miss Farnaz's forehead.
"From this moment on, you are a devout believer in our Lord. Amen!"
"Amen!" everyone chanted.
An apprentice used a clean linen cloth to wipe away the water from Miss Farnaz, and Miss Farnaz and the participants in the ceremony received communion in the church and accepted everyone's blessings.
A believer's baptism ceremony was thus completed.
