Abram's Daughters 02 The Betrayal (14 page)

I I hnnah felt uneasy standing there in the hallway. She l|iiii I come upstairs to inform Sadie that Mary Ruth was getting l|m it u customers than she alone could handle at the vegetable

111.1ml. She preferred not to run out front herself but wanted

II i. lie to go instead, since it was Sadie's responsibility, anyway. I When she finally found her oldest sister, she almost called Ii her. But she was taken aback seeing Sadie sitting in ijMiimrna's rocking chair, talking to Lydiann, who was sleeping Jiiyht through it.

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Listening, she overheard the most startling words. Could it be? Ach no. Sadie was surely making up a story a sordid one at that just talking slow and soft to soothe Lydiann. To be sure, their baby sister had been awful fussy since she came into the world. A person might whisper most anything to quiet down a tot like that. Still, Hannah had not heard Lydiann cry out or fuss at all this morning, not since Mamma left. Sowhat's Sadie doing up here! she wondered.

Having listened in this long, she decided it wouldn't hurt to stand here a bit more. The English customers out front would just have to wait their turn with Mary Ruth. She locked her knees and leaned her ear, but what came next shocked Hannah no end. Sadie was cooing to Lydiann, her voice trembling as she spoke of another infant, though dead. "He was my own baby boy. The result of the worst sin I ever committed, yet I loved him so."

Hannah began to wonder just when on earth was it Sadie had been in the family way? If any of what she was babbling

was even true.

But Hannah had heard enough. More than she cared to, really, yet she stood there nearly frozen in place, contemplating the meaning of Sadie's confession. Were Mamma and Aunt Lizzie privy to any of this? And what would Dat say or do if he knew? She could scarcely breathe at the thought.

Leah finished up with the chickens, gathering in the eggs before closing the door on their squawking. She hurried to the house as Mary Ruth came flying across the side yard. "It's Sadie's turn at the vegetable stand now," Mary Ruth said hastily. "I'm plumb wore out."

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B "()U>. What's Sadie doing?"

^fl "I thought you knew where she was," Mary Ruth replied. HLi'nh had no desire to look for or exchange words with ^Jte I his morning. They'd said not a word to each other last ^Bntni: as they undressed for bed. She must simply wait and ^V Siulic would do the right thing.

^jiShc must not borrow trouble and worry over what might

^p. She lurned her thoughts to Jonas. Time at last to write

Tnd it* 11 him of her surprising chat with Dat, that her father's

;in had softened. She would head up to the woods, to her

n ir spot in the sun. No need telling anyone where she

w.i ]''>in|>, not with the day so bright and blue and not a

i Imiil in I he sky.

k I 11 u rying upstairs, she bumped into Hannah, who looked Hjln i p;tle in the face. "Are you ill?" Leah asked. |P I liitmah shook her head no. "In Sadie around?"

I Imuiah pointed meekly toward Mamma's bedroom. "Iniln n "

I tali turned to look just in time to see Sadie putting ^ili.mn down in the cradle. "What's she doin'?" she whis-.

I"

H "I wondered the same" came Hannah's reply.

Hj Well, wasn't this an interesting turn of events? Sadie was ^nding to Lydiann without being asked. What does it mean? Hnh wondered. H I culi turned to Hannah. "I'd like to talk with Sadie . . .

"" '

Hj I hinnah nodded and headed down the steps.

H Without delay, Leah went to Sadie, who was still staring

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down at Lydiann. "Sister?" she said, standing near.

Sadie's cheeks were wet with tears.

"What's wrong?" Leah asked, touching her sister's elbow.

Sadie sighed, casting her sad gaze downward. Soon she looked up, her lower lip trembling uncontrollably. "I've been trying, Leah. Honestly, I've been thinking through my kneel' ing confession, and I can't do it."

For a moment Leah was at a loss for words. Sadie seemed unwavering in her decision. "Maybe later, then. Won't you give yourself a bit more time?"

"I'm simply markin' time now, waitin' with no purpose," Sadie replied. "Don't you see? There's no hope of a normal life for me here. Not anymore . . ."

"Oh, Sadie, that's not true. You're still grievin' for your baby. Things will certainly get better. Won't you reconsider?"

"Jah, things will be better, and soon, because I'm leavin' home."

Such unexpected words made Leah feel queasy. "Leavin'? But . . . I'm gettin' married soon. Won't you be here for that special day?"

"I'm awful sorry, Leah . . . truly I am." Sadie's eyes glistened with more tears.

"Where are you thinkin' of going?"

Sadie shrugged sadly. "Doesn't matter really. Anywhere. Maybe I'll set out on foot, then hitch a ride on the road."

Leah was horrified. "That's too dangerous."

"I just can't wait anymore." Sadie shook her head. "I thought I could stay put, but I can't. Once Naomi goes to the preacher 'bout me, the ministers will demand penitence . . .

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H|d when I refuse, I'll be shunned. What's the point in stayin'

Hny longer?"

B I eah felt her throat close up. Yet she managed to ask,

,in'i you talk to our parents, at least?"

"And tell them what? Why I'm leavin'? That I had a baby it of wedlock and I can't apologize to God?" Sadie looked Mer '.if Mamma's pretty blue go-to-meeting dress, hanging on Blc wooden peg. " 'Tis best I disappear."

B Leah slipped her arm around her sister's waist. "Would you

Bell tit least another day or so?"

B Sadie looked pained. "Why? So you can tell everyone I'm

IdIiiV

B Leah shook her head. "I promise not to, truthfully."

B Sadie seemed to give it some thought. "All right." She

Bghi'd, her shoulders falling. "For you, I'll wait a bit. I can

HUM you, Leah. You and Aunt Lizzie."

B "What about Dat and Mamma you can trust them, too,

n't?"

B "Maybe, 'cept they hold fast to the Old Ways. They'll Bever understand what's in my heart."

P Leah breathed deeply, still vexed. "You won't just up and leave, then, not until we talk again?"

Sadie consented. "I'll say good-bye to you, jah. I promise."

Leah reached for her sister, who trembled in her arms.

11 icy clung to each other as Sadie quietly wept. How much

time do I have left with her? she worried. If Sadie leaves, the Barm

will separate us . . . possibly forever.

Sadie brushed away her tears and kissed Leah's face. Then Jic headed out to help mind the vegetable stand.

Watching Sadie go, Leah recalled her plans to write to144

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Jonas. Here, just a few moments before, she had been rejoicing with the good news she couldn't wait to share with him, that she would see him soon. And now? Everything had been colored by her dismal conversation with Sadie.

But wasn't her first responsibility to her beau? She had pledged her love and life to Jonas Mast. Sadie, on the other hand, was bent on making wrong choices, as seemed more evident with each day that passed.

Leah felt frustration toward her sister . . . yet at the same time, she felt ever so guilty for feeling so. Sadie had promised to stay for a few days longer, so perhaps Leah might have time to talk her out of running away. And if she couldn't reason with Sadie, maybe, just maybe, Aunt Lizzie could. Although the determined look in Sadie's eyes had frightened Leah no end.

Heaving a sigh, she headed down the hall to their bedroom, taking her best stationery pad and pen from her bureau drawer. Then she hurried back downstairs to the kitchen, where Hannah and Mary Ruth were busy scrubbing the floor on their hands and knees. "I'm goin' for a quick walk," Leah told them.

She dashed outside, looking toward the road as she went. She could now see that Sadie was busy with a customer. 'Ti.s gut, she thought, glad everyone was accounted for, especially Sadie.

She spied Aunt Lizzie near the barn, hitching a horse to the carriage. "Are you headed somewhere?" she called to her.

"Over to Mattie Sue Byler's for a canning frolic," Lizzie said, smiling. "You?"

She remembered her promise to Sadie and decided not to

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lifetuhc a word. How many more times must I make such prom-

'-.( I to that sister? Leah thought.

"My morning chores are done, so I'm off to write a letter,"

|ic said, hoping her voice didn't betray her stirred-up notions.

H Lizzie seemed to be in a hurry, but her eyes registered con< Ht'h. "Watch closely for my tree markings, hear?" H "I know my way there and back." H "For certain?"

H "No need to fret over me," she insisted. "I'll return well Bfore the noon meal."

I "All right, then." Lizzie waved and tore down the lane, He horse going too fast for Leah's liking.

Leah hiked up to the edge of the woods, eager to think pout other things. This close to the end of August, she priced the mornings felt cooler than even last week. Mary

r <%

Uth and Hannah would be starting school next Monday, the Benty-fifth. But today they would tidy up around the house, tip weed the gardens, and maybe bake an apple dapple cake a supper. And they'd all be helping Mamma can plenty of Kirs and peaches this afternoon. Once she returned from kiting her letter, she'd help Dat some, too, though it looked KX1 Gid was already in the barn pitching hay to the mules.

Aunt Lizzie was right about these woods being daunting. tie minute she stepped past the clearing and onto the knsely treed hillock, she felt a foreboding, although it was

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lu t

probably just her distressed state of mind. '

She looked for the first marked tree . . . there it was. The path led across furrows and hollows through the deepest brushwood. Then, when she reached a rather low summit, she caught glimpses of the horizon to the north, the blue of the sky like a wide ribbon woven through the trees.

She was alone. Not a single soul was within calling distance. Now she could sit beneath the honey locust tree and put aside her fear for Sadie. It was time to dwell on the fact Dat had said she could go to Ohio. Who would have thought it?

In this vast forest, she felt herself equal in smallness to the tiniest woodland creatures scurrying here and there as they sensed her presence. In the sight of the Lord God, was she like a little bird? A robin, a jay, a common wren? She understood from Dat's big Bible that the Lord was in all places at once everywhere present and all-knowing and wise, too. Could He see into her heart and know the things that concerned her? Did He see Sadie's sorrow, too?

She watched eagerly for the next tree marking, and the next, each put there so kindly by Aunt Lizzie. Walking quickly, she was eager to get to her spot, not taking time this day to pick up a pretty stone or a wild flower as she went.

At last she laid eyes on the enormous tree, a hint of yellow in the leaves welcoming her to the verdant place. Getting situated, she took a moment to orient herself, breathing in the rich, lovely scent of the forest. High in the canopy, squirrels leaped back and forth overhead and bees collected nectar.

She thought of Jonas's descriptions of Millersburg and longed to see it for herself. He had written of Killbuck Creek

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wad its wide creek bed and clear waters, scurrying over rock niil limb until it ran smack-dab tbrougb town. All the famil' ir trappings of the area came alive for her in his words, mi hiding the Swiss cheese factory near Berlin and the old u'lorian house in Millersburg, considered a mansion in every . t y. An old general store was situated across from the majesin courthouse, Jonas had said, with its ornate stone exterior mil unusual clock at the top of a tall turret. The historic I'iiilding was surrounded on all sides by formal, well' manicured lawns, where courting couples liked to go and sit 'i dusk, ice-cream cones in hand. She assumed Jonas would i ike her. there, too, when she went to visit him. Oh, if only

11 hi days till then would pass more quickly!

She began to write her letter, pouring out her heart to her 'l.irling, sharing all of her hope for the future theirs i > aether putting it down on the page. She wrote how truly li.ippy she would be to go to Ohio and meet David Mellinger,

11 it; man who had made Jonas's long-time dream come true, as well as the master carpenter's wife and family. She told Jonas lie was beholden to them for the invitation to stay with their widowed mother, Edith, in the Dawdi Haus, and she kindly "llered any help she might give to the ailing woman.

Such a pleasant time we'll have together, Jonas, in the days /m'/ore our wedding. I'm also curious to learn more about the hilltop there the one you spoke so fondly of and his teachings.

Referring to the Scripture Jonas had shared in his last letut, she couldn't help but think again of Sadie. Did her sister honestly think leaving Gobbler's Knob would make things better for her?

Suddenly a most unsettling notion came to her. Leah

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sighed so loudly in response, she frightened a chipmunk nearby. Would sitting under the teaching of the Ohio bishop be of some benefit to distraught Sadie? According to Jonas, the man was well versed in New Testament Scripture, a rare thing amongst the Old Order.

Leah agonized, thinking of Sadie's delicate emotional state. She doubted her sister could survive on her own away from home. Even though Sadie might fancy herself a confi' dent woman, Leah feared she might be harmed or taken advantage of or worse yet, be pulled deeply into the English world, never, ever to return.

Placing her trembling hand on her heart, she breathed slowly. Should I offer Sadie the chance to go to Ohio?

Tears sprang to her eyes. This idea brewing in her heart had it been put there by the Lord God? She wondered if she had any right to think like that. What shall I do!

She went back and forth in her mind, torn between what she desired for herself and Jonas, and what might possibly be best for Sadie. Yet another hurdle would be to convince her