A Bride's Sweet Surprise in Sauers, Indiana

by Ramona K. Cecil

  Glancing away, Regina blinked the moisture from her eyes. So Diedrich Rothhaus was an honorable man. That was no reason for tears. And even if she wanted to marry him—which she did not—he did not want to marry her. At length, she lifted dry eyes to him. “So what do you suggest we do?”

  He blew out a long breath and looked down at his boot tops, mired with the rich, dark soil of the back forty acres. When he lifted his face, a smile bloomed on his lips. Regina wondered why she had never noticed before the gentle curve of his mouth and the fine shape of his lips. “I think we should pray. I prayed I would not break your heart and Gott has answered my prayer. The harvest does not come immediately after the planting. Gott takes time to grow and ripen the grain. So maybe we should give Him time to work in this also. I am sure the answer to our prayers will come in His season.”

  Diedrich’s notion seemed sound. If they rushed to Papa and Herr Rothhaus now and confessed that they had no desire to marry, it would only bring discord and invite a barrage of opposition from their parents. Instead, the summer months would give Regina and Diedrich time to gradually convince their elders to dissolve their hastily cobbled plan to unite their children.

  Regina nodded. “Ja. I think what you say is true. By harvesttime, the debt you and Herr Rothhaus owe to my Vater will be paid, and our Vaters will not feel so obliged to keep the agreement they made. Then when we tell them we do not think it is Gott’s will that we marry, they will be more ready to accept our decision.”

  Diedrich stuck out his hand. “When we boarded the Franziska , my Vater said, ‘We go to America where we can be free to live as we want.’ If in this free land our Vaters can make a deal that we should marry, I see nothing wrong in the two of us making a deal that we should not.”

  With a halting motion, Regina placed her hand in his to seal their agreement. At his firm but gentle clasp, a sensation of comforting warmth like the morning sun’s rays suffused her. Again she experienced regret when he drew his hand from hers.

  He picked up the three-legged milking stool. “It is a deal, then. We shall work together to change our parents’ minds and pray daily for their understanding.” A whimsical grin quirked the corner of his mouth, and he winked, quickening Regina’s heart. “I trust our agreement will now bring an improvement to my meals.”

  Regina’s face flushed hotly. How transparent he must have found her feeble attempts to dampen his ardor. And even more embarrassing was learning that her efforts were entirely unnecessary. But at least she would no longer have to come up with new ways to turn Diedrich against her. Knowing she’d gained an ally in her quest to avoid the marriage Papa and Herr Rothhaus had arranged for her should make her heart soar. So why did it droop with regret?

  Chapter 6

  T here, Alter , does that feel better?” Diedrich lifted the last of the harness from the big draft horse’s back. “At least you can shed your burden, mein Freund. I only wish mine came off so easily.” What Diedrich had witnessed this morning had surely burdened his heart to a far greater extent than the leather harness and collar encumbered the big Clydesdale before him. He took the piece of burlap draped across the top beam of the horse’s stall and began wiping the sweat from the animal’s dark brown hide.

  Anger, along with other emotions he didn’t care to explore, raged in Diedrich’s chest. A half day of plowing had not erased from his mind the scene he had come upon this morning in the barn. He hadn’t felt such an urge to pummel someone to Milchreis since he was fourteen and found Wilhelm Kohl about to drown a sackful of kittens in the stream that separated their two farms. The sight of Regina struggling in the clutches of that rabid whelp she called “Eli” had made Diedrich want to take the boy’s head off. At fourteen, Diedrich had plowed into eighteen-year-old Wilhelm without thought of the consequences, sending the bigger boy sprawling and the terrified cats scampering to the nearby woods. But when Wilhelm had righted himself and got the wind back into his lungs, he’d commenced to beat Diedrich until it was his face and not Wilhelm’s that more closely resembled rice pudding. Diedrich finished rubbing down the horse and tossed the piece of burlap over the stall’s rail. If he had given in to his temper this morning as he had years ago with Wilhelm, the outcome would doubtless have been much different. Nearly a head taller than Eli and easily a stone heavier, he could have done serious damage to the boy if not taken his life altogether.

  At the sobering thought, he blew out a long breath and shoved his fingers through his hair. Thanks be to Gott, over the past seven years he had grown not only in stature but also in self-control and forethought. Having declared his intentions, or rather the lack of them to Regina, Diedrich had no right to voice his opinion of her choice in a suitor, however brutish he considered the man. Still, for some reason, the girl to whom his father had promised him evoked in Diedrich a protective instinct he had rarely felt in his life. Twice since arriving in Sauers, he had seen fear shine from Regina’s crystalline blue eyes, and twice he had felt compelled to vanquish it by coming between her and whatever threatened her.

  He shook his head as if to dislodge from his mind the vision of Regina struggling in Eli’s arms. A new burst of anger flared within him like bellows pumping air into a forge. In an attempt to calm his rising temper, he patted the horse’s muscular neck. “What Fräulein Seitz does is not my concern, is it, mein Freund?” But saying it aloud did not make it so. The thought of Regina marrying that oaf Eli concerned Diedrich greatly. How could he leave for California with a clear conscience knowing he was likely opening the door for her to stroll into matrimony with the hot-tempered youth? Still, he could see no good way out of his conundrum. He hadn’t come all this way to give up his dream of making his fortune in California. And even if he weren’t planning to leave Sauers, he’d made an agreement with Regina. If he reneged on their agreement and forced her into an unwanted marriage, he’d likely consign them both to a miserable life. No, his best option was to simply stick to his plan—and their agreement—and pray she would have enough good sense not to run off with the scamp.

  The large horse dashed his head up and down and emitted an impatient whinny, wresting Diedrich from his troubled reverie.

  “Forgive me, Freund. Of course you are right. I must take care of what Gott has given me to do and leave the rest to Him.” He crossed to a pile of hay and grasped the pitchfork sticking from it, then carried two large forkfuls of dried timothy hay to the waiting stallion.

  As if to say thanks, the Clydesdale expelled a mighty breath through his flaring nostrils, his sleek sides heaving with the effort. The great puff of air sent hay dust flying, and Diedrich sneezed as it went up his nose.

  “Ah, there you are, mein Sohn.” Father’s bright voice chimed behind Diedrich, turning him around. “I thought maybe you had already gone to the house for dinner.”

  “Nein, Vater. As you always say, the animals feed us, so we must feed them before we feed ourselves.” Glancing over his shoulder, Diedrich sent his father a smile and was struck again by the marked change in his parent since their arrival in America. It was hard to believe that Father was the same brooding, work-worn man who had raised him. From the moment they stepped off the Franziska in Baltimore, Diedrich had witnessed a transformation in his normally sullen father. It was as if someone had lit a new flame behind his father’s gray eyes. But it was more than that. Though half a head shorter than Diedrich, Father stood taller now, and there was a new lilt in his step that belied his fifty-six years. America was good for Father.

  “Ja.” Father bobbed his head as he dragged his hat from his still-thick shock of graying brown hair. A good-natured twinkle flickered in his eyes. “I do say that for sure. And it is true. But I wonder if after this morning’s breakfast, you are not so eager to eat the food prepared by your intended?”

  “Are you?” Sidestepping the question, Diedrich ignored his father’s teasing tone and use of the word “intended.” Turning to hide his fading smile, he forked more hay into the horse’s manger.

&nb
sp; Father chuckled and stepped nearer, his footfalls whispering through the straw strewn over the barn’s dirt floor. “Herr Seitz assures me that this morning’s breakfast must have been a mishap and that his Tochter is usually as good a cook as her Mutter.”

  “I’m sure it is so,” Diedrich said, careful to keep his face averted. Though she’d made no such admission, Diedrich suspected that Regina had ruined the meal on purpose to discourage him from marrying her. But he could not share that suspicion with Father without betraying the secret agreement he and Regina had made.

  “Spoken like a loyal husband-to-be.” A smile lifted Father’s voice. He clapped his hand on Diedrich’s shoulder, sending a wave of guilt rippling through him. “You will see. By this time next year when she is no longer Fräulein Seitz, but Frau Rothhaus, das Mädchen will be making köstlich meals for us in our own home.”

  Diedrich tried to smile, but his lips would not hold it. He had no doubt that Regina would be making delicious meals for someone, but they would not be for him. It scraped his conscience raw to allow his father to fashion dreams of the three of them sharing a home in domestic tranquility, when Diedrich knew it was never to be.

  Father slung his arm across Diedrich’s shoulder. “Come, mein Sohn. The horse has had his feed. It is our turn now.” He smacked his lips. “I can almost taste that wunderbares Brot Frau Seitz makes from cornmeal.”

  As they stepped from the barn, Father stopped. Turning, he faced Diedrich and grasped his shoulders. He shook his head, and his eyes glistened with moisture. “Mein lieber Sohn. Still sometimes I cannot believe it is true, that we are really here.” He ran the cuff of his sleeve beneath his nose. “Since you were a kleines Kind, I have dreamed of coming to live in America. I gave up thinking it would ever happen. And now in the autumn of my life, Gott has resurrected my withered dream and made it bloom like the spring flowers.” He waved toward a lilac bush laden with fragrant purple blossoms growing just outside the barn.

  Diedrich groaned inwardly. He did not need any more guilt rubbed like salt into his sore conscience. He forced a tiny smile. “I am glad you are happy here, Vater.” He tried to turn back toward the barn’s open doors, but Father held fast.

  Father’s throat moved with his swallow. “I am more than happy. Mein heart is full to overflowing. Soon I will have a new daughter-in-law, and in time, Gott willing, Enkelkinder to bounce on my knee. And it is you that I have to thank for making my dream come true.” He gave Diedrich a quick hug and pat on the back. His voice thickened with emotion. “I do not know how I can ever thank you.”

  Later at the dinner table, Father’s words still echoed in Diedrich’s ears, smiting him with remorse. His appetite gone, he stared down at his untouched bowl of venison stew. Time and again on their walk to the house, he had been tempted to blurt out the truth. But doing so would not only humiliate Father and break his heart; it could render them both homeless as well.

  He glanced across the table at Regina. In contrast to his sullenness, her mood had improved greatly. In fact, she looked happier than he had seen her. Her hair was neatly plaited and wound around her head like a halo of spun gold. Pink tinted her creamy cheeks, reminding him of the blossoms that now decorated the apple trees. Her lips, an even deeper rose color than her cheeks, looked soft as the petals of the flower they resembled. They parted slightly in laughter at a humorous comment by Frau Seitz. An unfamiliar ache throbbed deep in Diedrich’s chest, and he experienced a sudden desire to know how Regina’s lips would feel against his. Immediately, the memory of the miller’s son trying to learn that very thing elbowed its way into his mind, filling him at once with rage and envy.

  “Such a face, Diedrich. You do not like the stew?” Frau Seitz’s voice invaded Diedrich’s thoughts, bringing his head up with a jerk. “Regina made it herself.”

  He blinked at his hostess and reddened at Regina’s giggle. “Yes. I mean no. Es schmeckt sehr gut.” A blast of heat suffused his face. As if to demonstrate his sincerity, he spooned some of the meat and vegetables swimming in dark gravy into his mouth. The stew was surprisingly tasty, but with Diedrich’s worries twisting his gut into knots, it might as well have been sawdust.

  “Danke.” Regina gave him a sly smile as if to acknowledge their shared secret, sending his heart tumbling in his chest.

  At the sensation, Diedrich sucked in air and almost choked on the chunk of venison in his mouth. If he’d found having Regina as an enemy uncomfortable, having her as an ally was proving no less disconcerting. He stifled a groan that bubbled up from his chest and threatened to push through his lips. Was there ever a more wretched soul than he? For the length of the spring and summer, he’d have to pretend to Father as well as Herr and Frau Seitz that he was happily betrothed to a girl whom he had secretly agreed not to marry. At the same time, he had to keep from Father his plans to leave for California until he earned enough money to pay back Herr Seitz for his passage to America. But most importantly, he needed to somehow find a way to convince Father and Herr Seitz that he and Regina should not marry while convincing Regina that she should not marry Eli. The last thing he needed was to lose his heart to this pretty Fräulein.

  Chapter 7

  R egina stood at the edge of the plowed and harrowed garden and inhaled the rich scent of the earth. How she loved the smell of newly turned sod in the spring. Each April for the past ten years, she, Mama, Sophie, and Elsie worked together to plant this little patch of ground behind the house with potatoes, cabbage, and string beans. What fun the three of them had as they talked, laughed, and sometimes even sang together while planting the garden.

  Her heart wilted as she reached down to pick up her hoe and burlap sack of seed potatoes. With Sophie and Elsie miles away in their own homes and Mama busy ironing yesterday’s laundry, Regina would plant the potatoes alone this year. She stepped from the thick grass into the soft, tilled ground, her wooden shoes sinking into the sandy soil. Instead of looking forward to spending a pleasant hour with her mother and sisters, today Regina saw nothing before her but a morning filled with lonely, monotonous, back-aching work.

  Heaving a sigh, she looked toward the fields beyond the barn where Papa worked with the Rothhaus men tilling the fields for planting corn. A flash of resentment flared in her chest. While the arrival of Diedrich and Herr Rothhaus had greatly lightened Papa’s work, it had increased hers and Mama’s. With two extra people to feed and clothe, mother and daughter no longer had the luxury of working together on many of the daily household chores. Now they often needed to work separately in order to accomplish more in the same amount of time.

  Continuing to gaze at the distant field, she could make out one man behind the cultivator and another with a strapped canvas sack slung across his shoulder, obviously planting corn. Was it Diedrich? She peered through squinted eyes, but at the extreme distance, she could not tell for sure. At the thought of him, an odd sensation of pulsating warmth filled her chest—a sensation for which she had no certain name. Relief? Yes, it must be relief. Learning last week that he, too, did not want the marriage their fathers had arranged for them allowed her to relax in his presence. Now she no longer avoided him. Indeed, she found it easier to converse with Diedrich than with Eli, who was usually more interested in trying to steal a kiss than talking.

  Wielding the hoe, she gouged an indention in the soft dirt. Then, taking a piece of potato from the bag, she dropped it into the hole. Careful to keep the sprouting “eye” up, she covered it again with dirt, which she tamped down using the flat of the hoe blade. After repeating the process for the length of one row, boredom set in. With only the occasional chirping of birds for company, Regina began singing one of her favorite hymns to fill the silence. “Now thank we all our Gott, with heart and hands and voices—”

  “Who wondrous things hath done, in whom His world rejoices.” A deep, rich baritone voice responded, hushing Regina and yanking her upright.

  Grinning, Diedrich strode toward her carrying what looked like a rolled-up ne
wspaper. “Please do not stop singing. That is one of my favorite hymns.”

  The odd fluttering sensation in her chest returned. “I will if you will sing it with me.”

  “Who from our mothers’ arms hath blessed us on our way,” he sang. Regina lifted her soprano voice to join his baritone in singing, “With countless gifts of love, and still is ours today.”

  After jabbing a stick in the ground to mark the place where she’d planted her last potato, she trudged through the uneven dirt of the garden to where he stood.