Abram's Daughters 02 The Betrayal (30 page)

She decided to send yet another letter to her beloved, to make one more attempt to convince him she was, and had always been, trustworthy his faithful Leah. She would not cover the old ground previously written that Smithy Gid had merely found her in the forest and walked her home, that both she and Adah had gone with Gid over to the Peacheys' house after the singing that night.

The letter she intended to write this time was meant to

state once more how she felt in the deep of her heart, recalling their youthful promises' made so long ago, it seemed as well as the loving words exchanged during courtship's dearest days.

Do you remember helping me catch that hop toad the

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e is e r I y

Lu J2e

1

Sunday we were out by the creek all alone? My mamma raised her eyebrows when we returned, awful muddy from having such fun together. 1 guess she thought at my tender age of eleven I had no business falling in love with you. But Mamma didn't know what we knew, did she? We truly cared for each other, even then. And still we do ... 1 do. How can I not write you again to tell you these things within my heart?

Yet you remain ever so silent. Are you displeased, Jonas? Have I offended you? I would return the dog in a short minute if you say the word.

M;y love always, for you alone.

Your faithful Leah

Desperate to resolve whatever had caused this breach, she scanned her letter before sealing it shut, hoping . . . praying Jonas might read her words . . . and see through to the love in her heart.

It was well before sunrise when Jonas set out running. Frustrated to no end, he sprinted for a full mile without stopping on a level dirt road near Killbuck Creek. A pain in his side caused him to slow up, so he resorted to walking.

Not a speck of traffic was here so early in the morning. He was glad for the peace before he and David were to head out for Berlin to eat breakfast at Boyd and Worthman's Restaurant and General Store.

With still no word from Leah, he wondered if their plans for marriage were on shaky ground. Was it possible she did

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cure lor Gid Peachey and had never had the courage to tell

11iniI But if so, what about their afternoon together, kissing iiml sharing their hearts so openly in the flower-strewn pnsinre . . . and their talk of the wedding?

He walked more briskly, getting his wind back. The I bought crossed his mind Leah might possibly have some of I lie same inclinations Lizzie Brenneman had as a fickle and

lustful youth. Was it possible could it be Leah was in any way similar to her birth mother? There had never been any indication of that. Leah had convinced him of her love, that she was true blue.

He picked up his pace and began to run again, soon turning to head back to the Mellingers' place just as dawn broke over distant hills. Desperately he tried to outrun the exasperating thoughts, such wretched ones they were.

Leah awakened feeling all wrung out, so scarcely had she slept. She had argued with herself all night, going back and forth about whether or not to send the last letter she'd written

to Jonas, dear to her as it was.

She got up and dressed, brushed her hair, and pinned it back in a tight bun, finally setting her prayer cap on her head. Forcing herself down the stairs and out to the barn, she decided to wait till after breakfast to think more about the

letter. Dat had always said never to make an important decision on an empty stomach. Mundane as it was, she felt she needed sustenance some of Mamma's scrambled and cheesy eggs, maybe to hold her together. With still not a single letter arriving from Jonas, she felt short of breath, concerned she

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might not be able to perform her many outdoor chores this day.

Plain and fancy men alike were feeding their faces at the well-known Berlin restaurant. Some sat at the long counter, others settled in toward the back, sitting around tables. The atmosphere was charged with farm talk and the coming cold snap, a change of pace to be sure. But David seemed to have more than home cooking on his mind. "Something's bothering you, Jonas," he said.

"Is it that obvious?"

David smiled quickly. " 'Tis all over your face."

Jonas couldn't say what was on his mind, couldn't reveal the torture he'd lived with each day the mail came and went with no word of explanation from Leah. "I'm thinkin' I might need to cut short my apprenticeship, if that's agreeable to you."

David nodded. "Well, now, you've come a mighty long way in nearly six months, to be sure. We'll miss you round here, but jah, that's all right in my book."

Jonas paused, staring down at his plate. "I need to get home right quick." He wasn't so keen on saying what was on his mind just now. He could think only about seeing Leah again, talking with her face-to-face . . . hearing the truth directly.

"We've had gut fellowship since you've come here," David said, his eyes registering sympathy. He poured two heaping teaspoons of sugar in his black coffee, stirred it, and slurped the hot drink. "I hope things are all right 'tween you and your sweetheart back home," he said.

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|(iu;is drew a deep breath. "Jah, I hope so, too." He nipped for a moment, then continued. "And while we're .pr;ikinf bluntly, I've been wonderin' do you have any idea Ihivv my apprenticeship came about? Any inkling at all?"

I );ivid nodded. "I shouldn't say . . . prob'ly. But between ytui, me, and the fence post, 'twas your father-in-law-to-be vvliu set it up with me."

"Abram did?" Jonas was taken aback.

I )avid had another drink of his coffee. "He called on the

Ir11'phone to tell of your keen interest in carpentry and wondrivd if I might not take you on help you get your feet wet."

I hs head was spinning. "When was this?"

"Round the end of March."

}ust as I began to seriously court Leah, he thought. So Abram wanted me gone all along.

Leah happened to meet up with Gid, of all people, as she was closing the door on the chicken coop, having just gathered the eggs.

He removed his black hat as he came near, offering a boyish grin. "Be'in' more careful in the woods these days, Leah?" He slowed a bit and glanced toward the forest.

She had to smile. "Jah, I am that," and she thanked him again for rescuing her that awful day.

"Well, I best be gettin' back to work," he said, heading off in the direction of the mule road.

She stood there, basket of eggs in hand, observing his long stride. He reached up and put his hat back on his head, going up toward Aunt Lizzie's. Probably to clean out her chimney flue before the cold days set in, Leah assumed. Lizzie had been

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saying as much, though Leah hadn't expected her to ask Gid to do it. Lizzie would insist on offering him something for his work, of course. More than likely, it would be a nice, plump fruit pie or suchlike, instead of money.

Carrying the eggs carefully to the house, she wished Jonas could have seen her just now with Gid, seen there was nothing except pure friendship between them. She placed the basket on the kitchen counter and hurried upstairs to her bedroom. From her dresser drawer, she pulled out her latest letter to Jonas. Still unsure of what to do, she read it again.

Finished, she refolded the letter. She knew she must not further plead with him to believe what he surely already knew in his heart. If he didn't trust her by now, when would he ever?

She pushed the letter back into the drawer. Hurt and discouraged, she headed downstairs.

Will we ever be truly happy again? she wondered. Will I?

David was already in the workshop hand sanding a table leg when Jonas arrived promptly at six-thirty the morning after their talk in Berlin. The day felt slightly cooler than yesterday's dawning hour, and he smelled woodsmoke lingering in the air, a sure sign of autumn.

Jonas greeted the master carpenter and set to work, using a doweling jig on the eight-inch oak boards, soon to be a trestle-table top. He was anxious to throw himself into the work to drown, if possible, the disappointment that cut away

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;ii him. He must help David catch up on a half dozen or so I'injects for eager customers, enduring the wait till his father I :ii i word back to him with some dependable answers regarding Leah.

Feelings of near despair had begun to set in during the past: week. The letter he had written to his darling girl had ollered him no solution, having been met only with maddening silence. Though he could hardly hold back his urgency, he knew it was not prudent to assume the worst or to be impulsive and rush home unannounced. Instead, he'd written a letter to his father asking him to pave the way for the unplanned visit with Leah. He'd spelled out his dire concerns, pleading with Dat to get a feel for the situation with Abram Ebersolbecause I can't go on this way, not knowing for sure about my Leah.

He had sent the letter off in yesterday's mail. Dat won'tignore my request, he thought. He'll go right away to Gobbler's Knob. I know he will.

Now he must attempt to be patient till he received word

back regarding Leah and his impending trip. The hours

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stretched long before him.

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7

11 was chilly in the barn, even with the wide doors all closed up ihis morning. After a short time Abram went back into i In- house for his work coat while Leah milked Rosie.

Returning to the barn, he heard a horse and carriage rattle into the lane. Walking over to the side yard, he was surprised to see Peter Mast waving a greeting to him. "Hullo, Abram!"

"Willkumm!" he called back.

Peter got out and tied the horse to the post. They exchanged arfew words about the change in weather, then they walked toward the barnyard, where Peter asked if they could speak privately.

"Oh?"

" 'Tis concerning your daughter and my son." Peter sounded downright serious all of a sudden. "Ain't the first time we've been mighty plainspoken, as you recall."

"Leah's within earshot," Abram replied, jigging his head in her direction. "Why don't we mosey up to the pasture?"

Instead of taking things slow, they walked at a hurried

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ly ,

pace, Abram noticed, all the way out past the barn to where the windmill stood guard over his prized property. He looked toward the woods and thought he saw Lizzie out sweeping her front porch, a thin line of smoke curling up from the log house chimney.

Peter seemed overly eager to get to the point. "It's come to my attention, namely from Jonas, that Leah and the smithy's son may be carryin' on romantically."

Abram bristled and Peter stopped talking, glancing at the ground, as if to let the information settle in. How could Jonassuspect such a thing? Abram wondered. Why is Peter here on the boy's behalf?

This made no sense, but he waited for Peter to continue, hard as it was not to spew forth the questions rapidly gathering in his mind.

"Now, Abram, I know you and I know Ida, but I can't vouch for Leah . . . and I think you can guess what I'm gettin' at here."

Can't vouch for Leah . . .

Abram suppressed the fire in his bones. What kind of nerve! Peter and Fannie Mast had known from the beginning of Lizzie's unwed pregnancy, even though the bishop had put the shush on things early on for little Leah's sake. Still, it wasn't Peter's place to throw around insults like this.

"You best be speakin' straight with me, Peter," he urged.

"All right, then is Smithy Gid warmin' up to Leah?"

Abram set his chin. He was tempted to give Peter what for, and then it came to him . . . the real reason Peter was here. Well, now, wasn't this curious? Jonas must be having second thoughts about marrying Lizzie's illegitimate daughter

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iltil' nil. Most likely, Peter was here to help Jonas wiggle out ' if hl.H hrimrhal, using as an excuse what Abram had shared w'llh |onas man to man. If that was the case, then he had

11 mi id nut what Peter's son was made of, and none too soon. "Who's uskin' this you or Jonas?" Abram said.

"I'm here at my son's request. But I have a stake in this,

Illll,"

Abram straightened, recalling the day Gid had gone in ii'iirvh of Leah in the woods, bringing her home wearing an unmistakable grin. "Seems to me Gid would be a right fine imiii for my Leah," he replied. "Ain't no secret how I feel I tot it that. If he wants to spend time with Leah, I have no I'inNem with it."

"So . . . it's true, then?"

"Gid's awful fond of her. As for courtin', well, 'tis hard to In- exact about what goes on under the coverin' of night."

"Gideon Peachey has your blessin', is that what you're Niiyiu1?" Peter's face had turned as red as a ripened beet.

"He's had the go-ahead since he turned sixteen." There, lic'd said it alf, though clouded over with a shade of gray.

"Then, I guess that's that." Peter turned tail and headed back through the paddock without so much as a good-bye grunt or a tip of his black hat.

Heading toward the barn, Abram felt torn. He was fully persuaded Gid was Leah's best chance for happiness. Even so, lie could not bear to see her heart broken. He was caught between his dear girl's hopes and wishes and what a father knew best. Downright angry he was at Jonas Mast for instigating a breakup. No doubt in his mind Peter's boy had made

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T

a deliberate turn away from Leah, starting that day in the

cornfield.

The telephone in the woodshop was jangling as Jonas hurried to answer it. David was nowhere around, so he picked up the phone. "Mellingers' Carpentry."

"Jonas? Is that you?"

He perked up his ears. "Dat?"

"Jah, thought I'd make a quick call to you, son."

"Gut to hear back from you." He wondered if his father had some important news. Why else would he resort to using a telephone?

"I don't want you to waste any more time troublin' yourself over the likes of Leah Ebersol."

The words slapped him in the face. "You spoke to Abram?"

"This morning . . . and, believe me, you're better off this way than findin' out your girl was disloyal after you married her."