Read The Angel Court Affair (Thomas Pitt 30) for Free Online Page A

up’, that we begin now on the infinite journey to become like God, somewhere in the regions of eternity. She even claims that God Himself was once like us! That I find far more troubling. I do not want a God who was even as fallible as any of us. Is that blasphemy?
And I am not at all sure that I want so much responsibility myself, even in the ‘forever’! The punishment for failure would be small. A little while in purgatory, and then an endless peace.
Doing what, for heaven’s sake? I should die of boredom, if I were not, apparently, already dead!
Am I then irreverent, a blasphemer? Should I be punished for such thoughts? Perhaps I should even be silenced? By force if necessary? I think not. I am a questioner, and I am not at all sure that Saint Sofia Delacruz has the answer. But then neither am I sure that she does not. The only thing I am certain of is that she has disturbed my peace of mind, and that of a great many others. And for that, many will wish to punish her.
     
    Pitt could not argue with a single thing Laurence had written, and yet he expected there would be a torrent of letters from all manner of insulted, angry, frightened and confused correspondents the next day.
    ‘Is it bad?’ Charlotte asked with a frown of concern.
    ‘As an article? No, it’s very good,’ he said honestly.
    ‘You look worried.’ She regarded him with a slight furrow between her brows.
    ‘He’s reported what she said accurately, but he’s asked a lot of questions. What is a saint? Have we the right to remain ignorant, or the responsibility not to?’
    ‘Did she say that?’ Charlotte asked doubtfully.
    ‘Didn’t she?’ he asked, turning the question back.
    Charlotte thought for a few moments. ‘Yes, I suppose she did, but more subtly than that. I thought the real trouble would be that she said we all had the same chance of becoming divine.’
    Pitt considered for a moment. ‘I suppose she did, at least by implication.’
    ‘Well, most people won’t like that,’ she pointed out. ‘Just about everyone thinks they have a better chance than others, either because they’re cleverer, or believe the right doctrine, or are just more humble and generally virtuous.’ She bit her lip and smiled at him with a steady probing gaze. ‘And I suppose that excludes us pretty well from real virtue, doesn’t it? If we loved others we would be seeking to find a way of including as many as possible, not as few!’
    ‘Laurence didn’t say that,’ he replied thoughtfully. ‘Perhaps he should have.’
    ‘I expect there’ll be all sorts of letters in the papers tomorrow,’ she observed. ‘Lots of comfortable people claiming to be “Outraged”.’
     
    The letters were there the next day, as Charlotte had expected. Passions were ignited both for and against Sofia Delacruz, but considerably more of the letters were against her than for her.
    Pitt read them methodically over the breakfast table. Some simply defended their own faith and felt Sofia had made grave errors of understanding. Those were to be foreseen, and were largely harmless.
    Others called her a blasphemer and demanded that she be silenced. A few suggested God would act to destroy her, if man did not. Various biblical punishments were suggested, more colourful than practical.
    Pitt was aware of Charlotte watching him, concern in her face.
    ‘It’s only words,’ he said, smiling at her, trying to defuse the sense of unease in himself. There was an ugliness to the tone of so many of the letters. They expressed not so much a defence of faith as a wish to punish Sofia for the offence of disturbing their certainties and awakening doubts that had been long asleep.
    Charlotte had been reading some of them over Pitt’s shoulder.
    ‘Some of them are pretty vicious,’ she said.
    He folded the newspaper and put it face down on the table.
    ‘You have to be very ugly inside to write the sort of things they say,’ she went on, moving around the table to face