by Sarah Price
Everything was clean and pristine. She could not imagine the amount of work that it took to maintain such a property. Many farmers dumped old pallets or garbage behind the outbuildings. But there was no sign of anything amiss at Frederick’s farm. It was, in a word, immaculate. She felt in complete awe as she stared at the house and barns, amazed that one man could take such good care of a property.
“I dare say we should not intrude on Frederick,” Lizzie said, her eyes pleading with Charlotte to implore her daed to turn around the buggy and continue down the road. Charlotte returned the plea with a quizzical look of her own, not quite understanding Lizzie’s sudden animation about being at the Detweiler farm.
“Nonsense,” William said dismissively. “He invited us to see his farm on Sunday last.”
“But our visit is unannounced!” she cried, desperately hoping that her friend’s daed would change his mind. What on earth would Frederick think if she showed up at his house after all that had so recently happened? The thought horrified her, and she continued with her plea. “He will be working and we will be an interruption and bother.”
Charlotte laid her hand on Lizzie’s arm and leaned forward, whispering in her friend’s ear. “Wilmer mentioned a special auction today. All of the men are there, and it is located across town.” She leaned back and smiled reassuringly.
Indeed, when William stopped the buggy and hitched the horse to a simple ring on the side of the barn, he helped his fraa and dochder before extending a hand to assist Lizzie. Reluctantly she took it and stepped down from the buggy. No one had come to greet them, and by all appearances, the farm was empty of any human occupants.
Disappointed, William insisted on knocking at the door, just in case someone resided inside. The three women stood by the buggy, watching to see if anyone was home at the farm. When the door opened, Lizzie caught her breath. For a long moment she dreaded the realization that Frederick would, indeed, have stayed home.
“Be still,” Charlotte said softly. “It is his aendi who stays here to tend the home.”
Exhaling, Lizzie’s eyes flew to the door and took in the sight of an older woman who greeted William. Within minutes he had waved the small gathering of women to join him on the porch, where he confirmed that Frederick had gone to the auction and the hired men were baling hay on the back field, which could not be seen from the dip in the valley where the house was located.
Frederick’s aendi invited them inside, delighted for the company. Lizzie entered with a sense of dread, feeling as though she was invading his privacy and wishing that she had claimed illness rather than accompanied her friend’s parents on this ill-fated journey. At least, she thought with a sense of calming, he is not here to know firsthand of the visit.
The aendi hustled about the kitchen, insisting that the visitors sit down and enjoy a cup of tea prior to returning on their way. She seemed genuinely happy for the company and joined them for a brief respite and fellowship.
“Such a shame that my young niece Grace is not also here to greet you,” she said, shaking her head. “She is visiting her cousins Elinor and Mary Anne!” She laughed good-naturedly, the noise sounding like music. “And Frederick is away at auction. He loves to attend and buy well-priced equipment that might be of help to his neighbors in the g’may.”
Lizzie frowned, listening to the unexpected praise bestowed upon Frederick by his dotting aendi.
“Such an impressive property,” William managed to say between bites of a cookie that the aendi had set down on the table. “Yet he’s not married and has no sons.” He shook his head in disbelief. “He must work very hard.”
“Oh ja, ja,” the aendi said, smiling at the unexpected guests. “Never seen such a hardworking man. But he does not maintain the farm alone.”
At this, Lizzie seemed surprised. “Who helps him?”
“Why, he hires other Amish youths to help,” his aendi said proudly. “Many of them come from big families, you see. I imagine it’s the same in Pennsylvania. But without a lot of land, they would be forced to take jobs among the Englische. Our Frederick hires them to work here, helps them learn to farm while earning money. And they even share the profits from the crops.”
Leah looked impressed. “That’s very kind of him!”
The aendi nodded her head. “Oh, that’s my Frederick. Not a kinder and more generous soul has ever walked the earth.”
For a moment Lizzie wondered if they were talking about the same man. While she could see that Frederick was hardworking from the way he helped during the cleanup from that storm, kind and generous were not the two words that she would have used to describe him.
“In fact, besides buying farm equipment for the neighbors to use,” she said, leaning forward to whisper the next part, “he even helped a young couple with some very steep medical bills.” She leaned back and fussed with her cup. “I shouldn’t share that with you, but it’s common knowledge now. When the g’may collected for the bills, it was Frederick who quietly paid the balance.”
Lizzie stared at the aendi with a mixture of curiosity and disbelief. “Did he tell everyone about this?”
“Oh, heavens no!” The aendi laughed and waved her hand at Lizzie. “He was mortified when the story became known. You see, the minister’s fraa has a gossiping tendency. Frederick was quite put out that people learned about what he had contributed.” She glanced nervously at Charlotte at the mention of the wife of a minister in their g’may, even though it was a different church district.
Lizzie was stunned. Within minutes she had learned that Frederick hired young men to work his farm, young men from larger families who would otherwise be forced to work in the community among the Englische workforce. Not only did he pay them for their time, but he also shared the profits from his crops with the workers and, as a result, had helped several young men save enough money to buy their own small farms in nearby villages and towns.
In addition, he had a reputation for breeding outstanding horses and made quite a strong living from it. His aendi was quick to inform her visitors that her nephew was able to help his community by purchasing farm equipment that he permitted others to use. He asked nothing in return for the usage of the equipment. His kindness and generosity were well known throughout the area and beyond, something that Lizzie wondered why neither Wilmer nor Christiana had mentioned before. In fact, a young couple whose husband was working for Frederick in his breeding operation had just experienced mounting medical bills from the premature birth of their third son. Frederick had taken care of these as well.
His wealth had come from his daed and his generosity from his maem, the aendi went on. Yet he was the least proud man despite his ability to buy more land or hire more workers. He had even taken in his aendi, a fact that delighted her, for she was naught more than a maedel, the youngest sister of his maem. He had refused to let her live alone and insisted that she’d occupy the grossdawdihaus in order to maintain some degree of independence in her old age.
Even Charlotte seemed taken with this new image of Frederick Detweiler. Having lived in the neighboring g’may for almost two months, she had yet to become privy to these stories. His other aendi, Christiana Bechler, had never mentioned all of the good deeds that were being attributed to the elusive and quiet Frederick Detweiler. Without having heard these stories, Charlotte had been unable to share them with Lizzie. She looked as stunned as her friend. They caught each others’ gaze, a look of wonder and awe in their eyes as they listened to even more praise about his kindness to the local schoolchildren by purchasing new books and a fresh blackboard just this past year.
It was too much for Lizzie to comprehend, the image conflicting so greatly with what she had harbored within herself. If the aendi wasn’t so pleasant and kind, Lizzie would have trusted none of her words.
“I . . . I think I need some fresh air,” Lizzie said abruptly as she quickly retreated outside, hearing Charlotte excuse her to the aendi by stating a recent bout with migraines.
; Lizzie wandered the lane, her mind not able to comprehend this very different version of Frederick Detweiler. Generous and kind? Modest and caring? This was not the man Lizzie had met in Pennsylvania. Had she met such a man, she wondered, would her reaction have been different the other day on the lane?
She was just about to turn a corner along the fence line when she saw a figure approach her. To her deep embarrassment she realized that it was none other than Frederick. They saw each other at the same time and stopped in midstep. For the first time Lizzie saw him in work clothes, soiled pants, and a shirt that was unbuttoned at the top. His straw hat was tattered and his hair clung to his forehead from sweat.
“Frederick!”
He seemed uncomfortable, and his eyes darted around as if looking for an escape.
“I’m so terribly sorry,” Lizzie whispered, avoiding looking at him. She felt the color flood to her cheeks, and she could barely find the words to speak. “Your aendi said you were at the auction . . . ”
“I . . . I was headed there, but I changed my mind,” he managed to say. “I decided to help the men with the baling.”
“I see,” she responded.
“You are here alone?” he asked, finally lifting his eyes to meet hers.
“Nee, nee,” she quickly replied. “Charlotte’s parents took us for a buggy ride to see the area. It was William who came calling.” She chewed on her lower lip, hating the shakiness in her voice. “I never would have invaded your privacy had I known you were on the property.” She glanced around. “Your farm is most pristine and well maintained!”
“Danke,” he managed to say, averting his eyes. He was uncomfortable with the encounter, and Lizzie could hardly blame him. He seemed to shuffle his feet and stared past her toward the house. “I must excuse myself,” he said before he walked on and hurried in the direction of the house.
Lizzie stared after him, wishing she had found the proper words to say, something, anything to correct the prejudice that she had shown by misjudging him so poorly. Yet, from the way that he hurried, she knew that the days of cordial meetings, no matter how infuriating the discussion, were over.
She tried to walk farther but found that her mind was too preoccupied. She felt sick to her stomach, realizing how her appearance at his farm must have looked to him. It was as though she was showing off her delight at having rejected his offer of marriage, which truly was not the case. Her thoughts distracted her, and she felt compelled to return to the house in order to insist that they leave at once. Her feet could not carry her there fast enough, and when she finally approached the front door, she was further disturbed to hear laughter from within, one laugh in particular most distressing, for it belonged to Frederick.
He had changed. He no longer wore his work clothing but his regular attire: clean black pants and a freshly washed and ironed white shirt. His boots were not the dirty ones that he had just been wearing. In their place he wore fresh boots that had been cleaned, or simply never soiled. His hair was neatly combed and the dirt washed from his hands and face. This was the Frederick she was used to seeing, and she realized that his discomfort in seeing her on the path was more at his appearance than about her rejection.
Something about that realization caused a warmth to grow within her heart.
“Lizzie, come!” William said when he saw her standing in the doorway. “We have the great fortune of the company of Frederick Detweiler! He did not attend the auction after all!”
“I see that,” she murmured.
There was something casual about Frederick as he stood beside his aendi. She had never witnessed a laughing and cheerful Frederick. The change was remarkable and captured her attention. He offered them dinner, which they declined, but he demanded that William permit him to show him the new foals, an offer that was accepted by all except Lizzie, who stood there in stunned silence.
He walked in leisure, asking questions of Charlotte about her move and adjustment to the different lifestyle afforded in Ohio. It was clear that even Charlotte could scarcely believe the transformation of the man who stood before her and kept glancing over at Lizzie, who was just as stunned as she was. He then addressed William and Leah, asking what they thought of their dochder’s new surroundings and inquiring as to their time spent in Dutch Valley.
Only when they reached the fence line surrounding the horses and foals did Frederick fall back enough to walk in step with Lizzie. He walked in a comfortable silence beside her, his eyes gleaming as he saw the foals in the middle of the paddock. When one began to frolic and play, leading the other into a game of chase, he laughed and pointed out their antics to a still speechless Lizzie.
“He’ll be a good stepper, no doubt,” he said cheerfully, his face glowing with happiness at the sight.
On their walk back toward the house William and Leah stopped to admire the gardens with Charlotte, leaving Lizzie alone with Frederick for a few minutes. Again the silence between them grew long, and despite his evident comfort with the lack of conversation, Lizzie felt compelled to once again apologize for having intruded on his time and farm.
“Don’t be concerned,” he said lightly, his dark eyes searching hers. “It was a welcome respite from work.” He hesitated before adding, “The most tolerable of company.”
She flushed at his remark, and he laughed.
“Have I rendered you speechless? At last!” he said teasingly. “I would not have thought it possible.”
Leah and William rejoined them, oblivious to the color on Lizzie’s cheeks and joy in Frederick’s eyes. “What gardens you have, Frederick! I should only hope that Charlotte could imitate a quarter of what you have done!” Leah said.
“They are kept by Aendi, I fear,” he said, sobering at the compliment and deflecting it. “She loves to garden and is helped by Grace as much as possible.” He cleared his throat. “Without a maem, Grace needs some guidance and oversight from a woman who can teach her the things that I cannot. Perhaps one day,” he added, his eyes avoiding Lizzie’s, “I may boast of being blessed with a fraa to help take over where Aendi cannot. After all, Aendi is older and quite unaware of the proper ways of a young Amish woman in today’s world, ja?”
“What a fraa that would be,” William said somberly. “To take on the care of this place would be most intimidating and require a fraa with extensive experience at maintaining a large farm.”
Lizzie looked away, uncomfortable with the direction of the conversation and too aware that Charlotte was watching her. Knowing this, Lizzie tried to act natural and not respond to the undercurrent in the discussion, but she knew that her discomfort was far from unapparent to the ever-watchful eye of her friend.
Another hour was spent in Frederick’s company, each moment increasing Lizzie’s further feeling of confusion. She continued to remind herself that the man standing before her had separated Jane and Charles, albeit out of an abundance of caution for Charles’s feelings and an understandable dismay about her maem and schwesters. There was no amount of forgiveness that could change that situation, even if she had been mistaken about George Wickey.
When they finally parted company, Frederick made certain to help the women step into the buggy. When it came time to help Lizzie step up, his hand lingered for just a moment, barely noticeable to anyone save her. She lifted her eyes and met his gaze, surprised to see his eyes dancing and sparkling at her in a way she had never seen prior to this moment. Stunned, she took her seat next to Charlotte in silence.
“What a fine fellow, that Detweiler!” William said as they drove down the lane toward the main road. “Why, it is remarkable what he has done with his property, helping so many young men. And to think that he was thought so proud when he was staying in Leola!”
His wife shook her head, clicking her tongue in disapproval. “People can be such poor judges of character, ain’t so?”
Lizzie remained silent, staring into the scenery and feeling the breeze on her face. The trees that bordered the road shielded the sun’s heat fr
om them, and the day was rather pleasant. Yet, despite the beautiful surroundings and perfect weather, Lizzie was unaware of anything except this new side of Frederick that she had experienced while in the Dutch Valley of Ohio. While she knew that the truth would always be known in the end, she still felt a battle of emotions at having her previous view of the circumstances so unexpectedly and strongly corrected.
Chapter Nineteen
AFTER CHURCH SERVICE on Sunday Frederick Detweiler drove his black-topped buggy into the Kaufman’s driveway. He hitched the horse to the same ring at the stable as he had the evening when he had delivered the letter to Lizzie. Only this time he did not walk up the hill but proceeded to walk to the door. He knocked once, twice, then stepped back, allowing time for someone to answer it.
Once inside the kitchen he let his eyes adjust to the dim light before nodding his greeting at the family gathered around the kitchen table. The boys were outside playing, their older brother John tossing stones at a hollow tree by the road.
“Why, Frederick Detweiler!” Wilmer said, jumping up from his seat and gesturing toward the recliner in the sunroom. “I dare say this is a most welcomed surprise! Come, sit for a spell.”
“I wanted to wish everyone well on your journey back to Pennsylvania,” he said politely. “I am headed to my aendi’s for Sunday supper and thought I’d take a moment to wish you well.”
“That’s most kind!” Wilmer gushed.
“I also thought to inquire if you might care to join us at the Bechler farm once again,” he said. “It would be our pleasure, especially since Grace has returned from her visitation with her cousins Elinor and Mary Anne.” His eyes fell upon Lizzie in particular. “I should like you to meet my young sister before departing.”