Chapter Two
The courthouse was abuzz with activity and an undercurrent of low whispers. The Noble girl was going to get a beating. Everyone was certain of that now. How odd that Daniel Crowe and Hannah had given her up to the cruelty of a flinty man like Judge Boone. Most thought he was fair, but in the matter of unruly young women he seemed most ruthless. There was little doubt that Jolie’s fair behind would be burning long into the night.
There were a few courthouse hangers-on who clamored secretly for a public show once they heard the news about Jolie Noble’s sentencing. It had been years since such a scene had been enacted for the public’s benefit and the idea stirred their blood. Jolie could be made an example of in their small community—this was their overt rationale, while on a d
