Abram's Daughters 02 The Betrayal (21 page)

Respectfully, Hannah Ebersol

.+.

More than two weeks after she'd sent her letter to

imma, Sadie was returning to the Mellingers' large farm,

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having taken one of the buggies to the general store to purchase some items for Edith. Looking up, she noticed the sky was a resplendent blue, nearly the color of a spanking new piece of blue cotton fabric, the shade of Leah's soon-to-hc , wedding dress.

Pausing at the back stoop, she again stared up at the heavens, wondering if the same hue might also be evident in the sky in Gobbler's Knob, where Jonas was headed come this time tomorrow. She felt her heart beating its muffled, secret throbs, wishing she could be a fly on the wall, privy to the things Jonas might soon be saying to Leah. But would Leah let on she'd spent time in the woods with Gid Peachey after getting lost for hours on end? Sadie couldn't imagine that being discussed. Still, she'd seen Leah and Gid with her own eyes, coming down out of the deep of the forest together.

Since arriving here, and on the long train ride, she'd thought several times of what she'd seen that day so confusing it had been. Hadn't Gid taken a shine to Leah all these years? They had been holding hands the day she'd spied them, laughing and having themselves a mighty nice time together. What could it mean?

She'd thought of asking Leah about it later that night, ami then again as they said their good-byes at the trolley, but she hadn't. Now she wished she had.

Pity's sake, Leah had nearly pushed her out the door to Millersburg. Why? Was it for the reason she said ... or to stay home for Gid?

Impossible, Sadie thought. Not the Leah I know.

She was altogether nervous. The kernel of douhl remained. If true if Leah was two-timing her beau well,

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Hi) Jonas deserved better. Much better. I Yel another thought crossed Sadie's mind. Could it be that If h nl this late date, Leah was having second thoughts about UW Was she leaning toward doing Dat's bidding, after all? I She could only guess at Leah's true motive for sending her

We, Inil she did wonder a little if something wasn't fishy. I

I As lor Jonas, he had been right kind since her arrival here. n outgoing sort of fellow, he occasionally gave Sadie a ilcotning smile across the kitchen table when the family fcherod there, especially if the subject of his return to PennIviitiia for baptism rose out of a mix of conversation that lulled the weather, the next canning frolic, and which of fc farm families in their area was growing oodles of celery me days. This during the Mellinger family's eventide hours ken Oavid read aloud from the Good Book while katydids lirpeil in the fields. If she interpreted Jonas's thoughtfulhess Brcclly, she wondered if he felt sorry for her being there, so I removed from her family. Did he assume she was homeIk I Maybe that was the reason for his wide-eyed gaze on her lin time to time, since he had no knowledge of her past sins. |rely not. Aftd she'd just as soon keep it that way.

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J217/I*/-0,-^4- Ji^v-

Their heart is divided; now

*t shall they be found faulty

They have spoken words,

swearing falsely in making a

covenant: thus judgment

springeth up as hemlock in the

furrows of the field.

Hosea 10:2, 4 2181219-a-^2-

4-e'-v J -ti>- & t^ 4-1

7

H/n Friday, September 19, Leah stood waiting out at the H

I > ihhler's Knob at twilight on this night. Will you be waiting /hi mi1, dear Lefth . . . near the road?

i Ver the shadowy hills a splinter of a moon crept up; its i.unbc-red rim cast an ancient white light over the fertile val!>'V liclow. She gazed at the hollow band of road, feeling all inioc of time was lost. Gone the ache of days, the summer

11| loneliness, endless weeks of missing her beloved's smile, the

I1 mch of his hand on hers, his strong but tender embrace. I And then she spied him, his horse and carriage two shad' Hry silhouettes moving in the distance, heading in her direcHw. She felt her heart might burst with growing joy.

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"Oh, Jonas," she whispered to the honeysuckle-scented ;in even before he jumped down from the courting carriage ami ran across the road to her. They fell into each other's arms.

"Dear Leah . . . Leah, it's you at last!" He held her so close she felt his breath on her neck. "I missed you so," he said, nol letting her go.

Her tears fell onto his shirt as she clung to him. "Jonas. . ."

"I was crazy, out-of-mind missing you." Gently he released her, but only for a moment, his eyes searching hers. "My darling girl . .. perty as a bride on her weddin' day."

The horse let out an impatient neigh, tossing his mane back in the fading light. "Whoa, steady there," Jonas called softly over his shoulder.

Leah found it both comical and comforting Jonas's unruffled tone attempted to soothe the horse as if he were talking to a human. She fell in love with her beau all over again, appreciating his tender heart toward even an animal.

"Wouldja like to go for some ice cream?" he asked.

"Where you are, that's where I want to be," she replied. And before she could protest, he reached down and lifted her up into his shining carriage.

She couldn't stop smiling as he set her down on the from seat, then fairly flew round the buggy and leaped up into the driver's seat to her right. "Ice cream it is!" He paused, smilinj; at her. "Guess I oughta pay attention to the road," he said ai last, turning slowly to pick up the reins. "We have all nighi, ain't so?"

"Just so I'm home in time for a few winks before milkin'," she reminded him, though she wished she didn't have to say

221betrayal

H(Viil'il about what tomorrow's duties required of her, includ-

H| the final meeting with Preacher Yoder prior to baptism.

Hll 11 her whole heart, she would much rather ride off with

Hii'i, never to come down to earth again, so to speak.

H .he thought of her husband-to-be's name in front of her

H|i> Jonas's Leah and it brought such gladness. She whis-

Hi' I it right then and there.

H "I 'idja just say what I think?" he asked, reaching for her

Hi, I

H She nodded, unable to repeat it.

H "Remember, that's who you'll be for always . . . my Leah."

H They rode slowly all the way to Strasburg, where he

^Bli^hi ice-cream cones for them. They sat high in the car-

H^e, enjoying the treat in an out-of-the-way spot in the

Hfldng lot, away from cars.

H When her ice cream was half eaten, Leah brought up the

Hbject of her sister. "How's Sadie doin' in Ohio, would you

fm1"

"1 guess she's all right. She does seem awful dreary, though. IiimI be she's joining for your family."

His comment startled her. "Jah, that could be. . . ."

"Then, she's not there for her health?"

She felt the awkward hesitancy of his words. Surely he

. hdn't suspect Sadie might be in the family way? Yet there was

11 nit unspoken concern in his eyes. She mustn't let on that

iiher sister had indeed experienced such dreadful heartache

ready, in both her soul and her body. She refused to expand

HI the scant information.

H "Sadie needs a little time away, is all." She considered

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what she might say further. Then she knew. "My sister needs a friend, I daresay."

"I've had only a little contact with her, which is the w;iy I prefer it, Sadie bein' single and all."

She felt he was being overly serious. "Aw, Jonas, you'iv not timid around my sister, are you?"

His face broke into a warm smile. "You mustn't worry on my account. I'm going to marry you." a

His words hung in the air, a promise for a lifetime. Sh could rest in such a pledge, and this made her think about rhfl vow they would be taking on Sunday. "It's awful nice of yotP to be baptized with me." :

"We'll mark the day," he said, blue eyes shining.

"Jah, for sure and for certain."

He nodded, holding his now dripping ice-cream cone in his right hand. "Just as we'll commemorate our weddin' dny for always."

Silently she finished her own melting ice cream, her heari racing as fast as when she'd first spied him tonight, coming up the road in his handsome courting buggy.

"What wouldja think, Leah, for us to marry on the lasl Tuesday in November, the twenty-fifth? Would that suit you and your family?"

The combination of ice cream and the lump of happiness in her throat kept her from answering promptly. At last shr managed to speak. "Jah, that will be a wonderful-gut day of days. With all of my heart, I'm lookin' forward to bein' your wife."

He must have sensed the anxiety of a young bride-to-be.

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\\i< you also a little bit nervous?" he asked softly, drawing

t i mir.

"More relieved than anythin', really." And she confided him how eager she was to discuss the date with Mamma.

11 icy talked of this and that, Jonas sharing something of l'i \v >rk with David Mellinger. "I'm tryin' to complete a year's i '1111 of apprenticeship in six months or thereabouts so I can

|l to help my father in the orchard at harvest time. That

|h< ihe case, Cousin David expects me to be in the wood

Ii'l' .in early as if I were milkin' cows of a morning, workin'

JiMi'.ide him. David's mighty helpful, but let me tell you, he

lil '-. me earn my keep."

I She felt it was all right to bring up something else, the

y ihcy were sharing so openly and all. "How is it you ended

I Ifiirnin' the carpentry trade clear out in Ohio?"

I "Nothing less than providence is how I look at it," Jonas

IIII "The Lord God heavenly Father works all things

JimIht for our gut. Believe me, it was downright perfect

"I las your mother's cousin always known of your keen i' icst in carpentry? Is that why he contacted you in the first

|.U r!"

Jonas shook his head. "I can't say it was, really. I scarcely Afi?w of David and Vera Mellinger."

H Then, how was it Jonas had been invited to do an appren^tt*hip with a distant relative? Unless, could it be David had ^Bgrd of Jonas's lifelong dream to be a carpenter through the ^nish grapevine? If so, how had it gotten all the way to Hflio, and right around the precise moment the two of them Hire betrothed last spring? She had always wondered about

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that, though she'd never told a soul.

"What is it, love?" he asked.

"Oh, I'm all right." She put a smile on her face. But ilic hard facts were that Jonas was to be the only young m:ni round these parts who chose to earn his living doing sonic thing other than farm related. Practically unheard of for I lie firstborn son of a farmer not to follow in his father's own foul

steps. Having hinted at her curiosity in a letter, she was ea^'cr to ask all this of Jonas, but she held her peace. For now, she would cherish their time together, wanting nothing to spoil this night.

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'in1 more day till baptism, Leah thought as she awakened V Saturday morning. Her time with Jonas the evening

"' lingered fresh and sweet in her mind, yet she worried

I < ,ui must surely suspect something was amiss with Sadie.

With Naomi counting the hours until she talked to Hi her Yoder today, and with Gid's sister Adah wondering I! In the world Sadie was doing so far away, Leah dreaded ,i might get wind of something. After all, unsuspecting

Hi.ill had Itemed the full truth from Sadie's own lips. lii'l it just a matter of time before Sadie's secret leaked

I'or sure and for certain, the things Naomi would tell pU'her at the final instructional class paled compared to |t Leah knew of Sadie's wild side. Naomi doesn't know the oj it, she thought, embarrassed anew. Her heart beat heavlli her chest.

| She felt the Lord God's urging ever so strong and could b lunger resist on the side of honoring her sister's wishes. She

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must cast aside her promise, difficult as that would be, In answer a holy call.

Making her way to the barn in the predawn hour, slit' found Dat busy watering the driving horses and the fk-lil mules. " 'Mornin', Leah," her father said, glancing over hlo shoulder at her.

" 'Mornin', Dat." She forced her bare feet to move quickly, lest she lose heart and falter. "I need to talk with you," she blurted.

He looked at her with solemn eyes. "What's on yom mind?"

When she didn't answer immediately, Dat rubbed hU beard. "Your mamma and I feel you may have done the rijjlil thing by Sadie, after all ... if that's weighin' on your mind."

"Then, you aren't so upset?" she asked.

"'Tis not easy, all this happenin' so suddenly. Heaven knows. . ." He paused for a moment, looking back at iInhouse. "And your mamma's goin' to need some extra an en tion from you all of us, really."

"I 'spect so. . . ." How easy it would be to'simply go ami wash down the cows' udders and dismiss what she'd set oui in do. "I ... uh ... must speak with you about something else," j she said, stepping forward. "It's about my baptism . . . makin'j ready for it in my heart." I

Dat removed his black wide-brimmed hat, holding ii in! both hands. "'Tis all right, Leah. If something's causin' a sin I in ya, 'tis best to air it." ;

She nodded, aware of a lump in her throat.

"Are you prepared to follow the Lord in holy baptism?" he came right out and asked. "Or is there some resistance mi

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1

^f purl , . . about the ordinance?" <

H"I nlmply want to ask your forgiveness, Dat."