The Matchmaker: An Amish Tale of Jane Austen's Emma (The Amish Classics Book 2)

by Sarah Price

  Chapter Thirteen

  EMMA COULD HARDLY believe what Gideon had just said to her. How had he come to this conclusion? He barely knew the man! She was sitting on the sofa, staring at him with her mouth agape, stunned by his words. It wasn’t often that she was held speechless, but Gideon had managed to do just that. It took her a long moment to compose herself before she was able to speak.

  “Gideon, what do you mean that you don’t like Francis?”

  The thought was disconcerting. To not like Francis Wagler? From the few interactions that she had with the man, he had been pleasant and cheerful, and his presence lit up any gathering. With great pleasure Emma had witnessed his attentiveness toward his new maem, Anna. Wherever he went, people seemed to flocked to him like moths to a lantern. Even today, after worship service, Francis was surrounded by a group of young men and quickly had them laughing, the center of attention and clearly admired by all.

  Gideon frowned, leaning forward and rubbing at his forehead. “I didn’t exactly say that, Emma,” he said, his voice sounding stressed. “Once again, if I dare say, you are putting words into my mouth!”

  Was she? She wasn’t too sure of this.

  After the worship service Gideon had offered to bring her home since Henry had previously made plans to visit and play Scrabble with the Glicks. The grueling week ending with those dreadful long days left Emma exhausted, and she begged to be excused from any social obligations. Even during the sermons Emma fell asleep twice, and when it came time for the kneeling prayer at the end of the service, she could barely keep her eyes open. The last thing she wanted was to accompany her daed in his social visits. Thankfully Gideon noticed her fatigue and insisted upon taking her home, for which she was secretly grateful. Considering how tired she was, the walk home seemed daunting. Even if it were only a mere mile, she knew it would feel like ten!

  To her surprise, after Gideon stopped the horse in front of her house, he got out of the buggy as well. She watched as he pulled out the horse’s halter from under his seat and quickly put it over the horse’s head, covering the bridle with it and securing the reins. He hooked a lead rope to the underside of the halter, clipping it to a small round metal piece, and tied the horse to the hitching post. Then, without even asking permission, he accompanied her inside the house as if he intended to visit.

  For a split second his boldness took her aback. It was most unusual for a man to visit with a woman alone in a house. Such a situation was reserved for courting couples, and even then, being seen to enter a vacant haus could cause many tongues to wag. In fact, a young woman chanced having questions raised about her reputation if she were caught alone in a house with a young person of the other gender. Certainly the bishop would want to question the couple as to their intentions.

  However, since this was Gideon, and he was a member of the extended family, even if only by marriage, she pushed the thought out of her mind and decided that an hour of company was not necessarily a bad thing, especially because he was a dear friend.

  At first the visit seemed awkward. She became conscious of the fact that she had never really been alone with Gideon in the house for an extended period of time. During his frequent visits over the years, Anna or her daed was usually home. Of course, there were times Daed might leave to take his daily walk or to tend to a task outside of the house, but that was usually at the tail end of Gideon’s visit and therefore would not be construed the same way as Gideon visiting Emma when she was home alone. Emma had never really given a second thought to such short periods of time spent alone in Gideon’s company. His frequent presence in the house seemed very natural, even expected. Today, however, was different. It certainly spoke volumes about his comfort level with the Weavers to have accompanied her into the haus.

  The initial conversation focused on her. She didn’t mind that at all and actually appreciated his concern, especially when he asked her about her week helping Irene. Certainly he must have learned from his bruder that Irene had fallen ill. Emma had told him about Irene and the kinner, sharing stories about Little Henry and John Junior, who seemed to be the most mischievous boys that either one of them had even known.

  “Reminds me of a young girl who shared a similar gleam in her pretty blue eyes,” Gideon teased lightly.

  Emma ignored his comment and proceeded to tell him about having gone to market for Jenny Glick.

  “Such long days,” Emma sighed, shaking her head wearily. “And the long commute in that packed van! I am so glad that my quilting brings enough income to avoid having to work at the market every week.”

  Gideon nodded in agreement. “I reckon days at market are no different than working a dairy farm. Rise before the sun, retire with the moon.”

  “I do prefer to work at home,” Emma admitted. “It’s nice to be near daed and to enjoy the comforts of home and community.”

  “You do that rather well,” was his reply. She wasn’t sure whether Gideon meant that as a true compliment or a comment in badinage. She certainly was not one to shirk obligations or labor. But the fact was that she preferred working indoors to outdoors, solitude to exposure. She had always found the stares and the questions from the Englische tourists and visitors at the market rather odd and uncomfortable.

  The pleasant tone of the conversation, however, suddenly shifted when Emma inquired about how Francis was working out as a carpenter at his storage building business. His response caused Emma to question him.

  As Gideon sat in Henry’s recliner, he stared at her with another of his side looks, one that clearly conveyed his never-ending disapproval. “What I said,” he began again, speaking slowly and carefully, “was that I have gained the suspicion that he cares more for his own pleasure than for a hard day’s labor. How you can possibly construe from that statement that I don’t ‘like’ Francis is beyond me.”

  She almost smiled at how Gideon mimicked her when he spoke the word like.

  “And for such a young man, he seems far too independent and worldly, in my opinion.”

  “You seem rather determined to find flaws in his character,” she pointed out.

  “Mayhaps,” Gideon owned. Candor was one of his traits that she both admired and disliked. Gideon was never one to pretend to be someone he was not. However, that same trait caused him to speak his mind, sharing his thoughts and opinions even when they were not popular or sought. “But it is quite easy to do in this particular case,” he added.

  Emma leaned forward and pointed her index finger at him. “Ah ha!” she said, unable to hide her pleasure at having tricked Gideon. “There! You are judging him. One does not often judge someone who is in good favor! Therefore, you admit you do not like him!”

  Gideon laughed. “You are in my good favor, yet I find myself judging you rather often.”

  “Bah!”

  “It’s true,” Gideon confessed, a sparkle in his eye and light tone to his words.

  While there was truth to his statement, Emma took it good-naturedly. “Indeed, you do it as frequently as possible, it seems!”

  He laughed. “You certainly seem to give me just cause!” A comfortable silence befell them, the gentle teasing having created a warm feeling in the room. It lingered for just a few long seconds before Gideon spoke again. “You speak of my judging Francis. What say you of Hetty’s niece?”

  The rapid shift away from Francis caught her off guard. “Jane? What of her?”

  He eyed her carefully. “It is most apparent that you are not very fond of Jane.”

  “Me?” Emma placed her hand upon her chest. Try as she had to hide her dislike of Jane, it was clear that Gideon was not going to be deceived. Still, unlike Gideon, she tried to maintain her innocence against his accusation. “Oh, heaven! Whatever would give you that impression?”

  “My dear Emma,” he said, shaking his head with that all-too-familiar amused smile on his face. “The deep sighs, the glazed look, and your unusual silence during any conversation involving her speak volumes. You forget how well
I know you!”

  “And I, you!” Emma shot back. It unexpectedly irritated her how much Gideon presumed about her, all the while not considering or admitting his own attentiveness to the young woman. “For as much as I may not be partial to Jane and, indeed, count the days for her return to Ohio, I sense that you, on the other hand, dread that day!” The words slipped out before she could stop them and she immediately caught her breath, staring at Gideon with wide eyes, not quite believing that she had just uttered those words.

  He sat in the chair, left thumb under his chin and his index finger rubbing back and forth above his upper lip, a familiar gesture he often adopted when pondering someone’s words. The longer he waited to respond, the more Emma braced herself for a reprimand. Surely it was coming, she reasoned, for she had spoken far out of turn about something that, once again, was not her business.

  Oh, she knew that she was correct in what she had said, for she had noticed on more than one occasion that Gideon seemed to favor the pretty young woman from Ohio. Hadn’t he hurried to get her water, concerned for her comfort when she was responding to the barrage of questions from the group? Hadn’t he insisted upon going out of his way to take her home? And how many times had she caught Gideon staring at Jane during service? It wasn’t hard to count them, for much to Emma’s discomfort, Jane had sat between her and Rachel.

  Clearly Gideon was smitten with Jane. Only it wasn’t until this moment that Emma realized how much his attention to Jane truly bothered her. She had always presumed Gideon would remain an old buwe. He was well into his thirties, and during the time that she had known him, he had not shown an inclination toward marriage. There was actually a time, not very long ago, when she wondered whether he would ever marry or if he was just as comfortable remaining an unmarried man, an old buwe. She knew several men in the g’may who preferred to leave these matters up to God and readily accepted the fact that a fraa and some kinner were not what He had in mind for them. They may have tried to court someone, but after a rejection or two they took it for granted that such things were not in His plans.

  Of course, if Gideon were to take a wife, Emma knew that his frequent visits to their house would cease. He’d be obligated to spend more time with the family of his fraa. And once there were boppli . . . Emma shuddered at the thought. Why, if Gideon fancied Jane and married her, Emma would most likely see him only at family gatherings that included his bruder John and Irene. Even worse, her daed would be devastated at the loss, that was for sure and certain.

  During the time that these thoughts raced through her mind, Gideon remained quiet. He too was reflecting upon her words, and she couldn’t read his reaction. Certainly, she thought, another of his lectures would follow, and she braced herself for the inevitable.

  It took what seemed like a very long time to finally come, and when he eventually spoke, she realized that she had been holding her breath.

  “I think I understand the situation much better now,” Gideon said, a thoughtful tone in his voice. He leveled his gaze at her and, without any expression on his face, stated his thoughts. “You are prejudiced against Jane.”

  While the brevity of his lecture surprised her, his words caught her completely off guard. Such an accusation was on the verge of insulting, for it made her look as if she thought herself superior to another human being. “Pre-ju-diced?” The word, each syllable of which she made a point to emphasize, seemed to echo in her ears. “Why, I highly doubt that I am prejudiced against anyone!”

  He gave her a skeptical look, raising an eyebrow, but remained silent.

  “If it were true, and it is not, I can assure you,” she stammered, trying to find the words to defend herself. “Then I imagine I am prejudiced against Jane just as you are prejudiced in her favor! Likewise, you are prejudiced against Francis while I am partial to him.”

  “I think there is more to this than your simple summation,” he replied softly. “While I have questions about Francis’s work ethic, that is for certain, your disdain for Jane is deeper. Perhaps it stems from something that you are not used to: losing regard within the community, for she seems to steal much of the attention that would otherwise be directed toward you. In addition, you favor Francis for the exact opposite reason.”

  Jumping to her feet, Emma put her hands on her hips, glaring at him. “Now you are accusing me of pride! You insult me!”

  “Nee,” Gideon said, rising to stand before her. Since he was taller than she, he stared down into her face, his eyes shifting back and forth in short little bursts as he studied. “Nee,” he repeated. “I do not insult you for I speak the truth. However, Emma, you have given me something to ponder, something I had not expected to consider before now.”

  Frustrated, she crossed her arms over her chest and continued scowling. Whatever was he talking about? “You speak in riddles!”

  Despite the tension in the air between them, Gideon wore a calm, if not almost peaceful expression on his face. It contradicted how Emma felt, for the visit had been most pleasant until this moment. “Time will tell, I reckon,” he said thoughtfully.

  At this, Emma took a deep breath. She wanted him to leave the house. Her head was beginning to hurt, a painful throbbing at her temples indicating that her fatigue was giving way to a possible migraine. It was time for Gideon to go. “I’m afraid I feel a headache coming on,” she said and glanced at the clock. “I’d like to lie down for a while, before Daed returns.”

  Always the gentleman, Gideon nodded his head and quickly retrieved his hat from where he had hung it on the hook by the door. He delayed his exit by a few, drawn-out seconds as he fingered the brim of his black felt hat. He looked up and stared at her one last time. “I do hope that you feel better, Emma Weaver,” he said. “And I think we shall continue this conversation at a later time. There is much more to be said on the matter, I assure you.”

  Without another word he placed the hat upon his head and hurried through the door, a faint smile on his face, leaving Emma perplexed. She could hear his boots on the porch as he walked across it and descended the steps. A few minutes later, the sound of his horse’s hooves and the metallic hum of his buggy wheels filled the air. She listened until she could no longer hear them before she uncrossed her arms and retreated to the sanctuary of her room, hoping that a long nap would help her forget Gideon’s words and replace the bouts of ill humor she felt as of late with her typical cheerfulness and joy.

  Somehow, however, she knew that it would take a lot more than a short nap for that to happen.

  Chapter Fourteen

  ON TUESDAY AFTERNOON the Weavers received an invitation to attend a welcome dinner planned for Paul and his new wife on Thursday afternoon. It was written on lavender stationery and delivered by Paul’s younger bruder, who stayed only long enough to receive the Weavers’ response. Apparently the newly married couple was scheduled to arrive in Lititz on Wednesday, and the Esh family wanted a proper gathering the following day in order to introduce Alice, Paul’s wife, to the community.

  Henry Weaver was quick to respond in favor of joining the celebration and even went so far as to turn to his dochder, inquiring whether she might have time to make some schnitzel pies for the guests.

  While Emma didn’t feel like facing Paul, she knew that refusing to attend would cause more questions and raised eyebrows than was worth the trouble, especially if her daed suspected that Paul had asked to court her. With a forced smile on her face, Emma replied that she would happily make schnitzel pies to bring along for Paul, his bride, and their many guests. Her response was met with enthusiasm by the bruder and a look of approval from her daed.

  By the time Thursday came around, Emma was mentally prepared to put on a brave face and greet Paul’s fraa. The five previous days had given her enough time to get accustomed to the news. Despite her inability to make any sense of his rash decision to engage in a whirlwind courtship with what amounted to no more than a complete stranger, letters or no letters, Emma remained determined to wear a
smile as her armor and to use laughter as her shield. A positive attitude, she reasoned, would improve any situation.

  What Emma had not, however, expected was to take such an immediate dislike for the woman who had so conveniently filled the role that Paul had originally planned for her!

  Alice Esh was a larger woman, not necessarily overweight but definitely big boned. Her hair was already graying, which gave her the appearance of being older than Paul, despite the fact that they were rumored to be the same age. While her face was certainly pleasant enough, it was easy to see that she would have to avoid gaining any weight for it to remain so. Unlike Hannah, she immediately made known her preference for the plain, cuplike Ohio prayer kapp and vowed that she would not change to the heart-shaped style worn in Lancaster. Her voice carried in the room so that when she made this statement, several older women clucked their tongues and raised their eyebrows.

  Without doubt, the Amish grapevine would have a comment or two about such a remark by Alice Esh!

  Upon meeting her, Emma smiled and welcomed the newcomer to Lititz only to be informed by Alice that the town was so akin to the Dutch Valley that she felt the similarities outweighed the differences. And from that point forward Emma never got in another word. Alice was not necessarily a well-spoken woman, but speaking was one thing she apparently did well and for a long time. Once captured by Alice Esh, Emma had a hard time escaping her attention and discourse.

  Paul stood among the men, rarely lifting his eyes to seek out his new bride. Emma noticed that fact right away and wondered whether or not Alice was as talkative with her husband as she was with the women in the room. Without doubt, Emma began to wonder at the attraction between Paul and Alice, for she was as different from her as night was to day. She also pondered the irony that Hannah would have been a far better match for Paul than this loud, boisterous, and overly conversant woman from Ohio! She was curious as to how such a match had possibly occurred. But her curiosity was soon to be satisfied.