by Kelly Long
“All right.” Lilly nodded, thinking he had absolutely no idea what he was in for.
CHAPTER 6
So you’re the miserable thief? Amish, ha! Think you’re all high-minded and separate from the world with your clothes and your talk. You ain’t no better than a common criminal and jail’s where you belong. I’ll be calling the police now.”
Jacob had expected the malevolence from Granger and knew he deserved it. What the Englischer was saying was true, at least about him as an individual, but not about his people. He sighed silently and resisted the urge to rest his weight against the doorjamb as he let the man splutter out.
“Mr. Granger, please call the authorities. As you say, I’m a common horse thief. I made a mistake, and I deserve the consequences.”
“You bet you do.”
“But, I could have handled things differently maybe . . . maybe instead of stealing the mare I might have offered to buy her outright from you. You obviously aren’t happy with her for some reason.”
“Buy her from me?” The man sneered. “At a bargain no doubt, and a waste at that. She can’t handle a bit and deserves what she got.”
Jacob had to remind himself that he should not want to grab the man by the throat, especially when he mentioned the abuse of the animal as something deserved. But he collected himself and calmly offered the man triple the highest value of what the mare was worth.
“You’re crazy.” Granger eyed him with suspicion but also with a growing interest in his demeanor, which could only be called greed.
“In cash. Right now. I take the mare home. You give me a bill of sale and we keep the—purchase between us.”
The man stroked his chin. “Add another thousand. I’ve heard it said that you Amish are tighter with money than any people around. So, I guess making you pay is really making you pay—more than time in jail might.” Granger chuckled at his own joke.
“Fine.”
Jacob paid the ridiculous price without hesitation and waited for the receipt, all the while praising Derr Herr that he’d been allowed the lightest of consequences. Of course, Granger could always come looking for him, bringing the police, but Jacob had the feeling that all the Amish would look alike to the angry man, so he didn’t worry too much since he held the bill of sale.
He left Granger’s feeling sullied and exhausted, and he knew he needed rest badly. But the thoughts of the day kept him upright in the saddle. He was engaged to Lilly Lapp.
She said what?”
Alice Plank, Lilly’s best friend and fellow teacher, choked on the question with a look of horror on her pretty, round face. The two were seated at the Planks’ kitchen table in the light of early dawn, drinking tea. Alice’s father and brother were doing chores outside the small farmhouse that was situated next door to the Lapps’.
“She said, ‘No.’ Short and sharp—just like that.”
“Well, what did he say?”
Lilly sighed, reflecting on the night before. Jacob had not been very happy, to say the least. She wrapped her hands around the mug.
“Well, are you going to tell me the story or not?”
“Long or short version?”
“Long, of course, don’t leave any details out.” She leaned forward, eager to hear it all.
“All right then. I let Jacob inside—the hallway was dark of course. Mamm had set no light on the table. As usual, it smelled like pine disinfectant and mothballs. I so wanted to apologize for the smells, but I decided he might as well experience everything. I remember swallowing my apprehension as I made my way into the sitting room where the single lamp burned. He caught my hand in the dark and squeezed my fingers.”
“How sweet,” Alice said.
“I know. And I was so grateful. It made me feel strong enough to face Mamm. But I supposed that one meeting with her and he’d be running to the bishop to retract the engagement.”
“No kidding,” Alice said, then quickly put her hand on Lilly’s arm. “I mean no respect toward your—”
“Alice. It’s okay. It’s nice to have someone who understands what it’s like.”
Alice smiled. “So? Don’t stop now.”
“Before we even got to the sitting room, Mamm called, ‘Is that you, Lilly? I’ve been worried sick. It’s way past the time I told you to be home—whatever happened?’ ”
“I was so embarrassed. I felt like a boppli. But Jacob spoke up. ‘Forgive me, Mrs. Lapp. It’s my fault Lilly’s been gone so long.’
“ ‘Who do you have with you?’ Mamm cried out. I felt bad for her. I could see her kapp was actually quivering. She shrank back on the couch like he was going to attack her.”
“Your poor mamm,” Alice said. “It must be awful to be so afraid.”
“Well, it didn’t last for long. I took him into the small circle of light near her. I told her, ‘It’s all right, Mamm. It’s Jacob Wyse. He brought me home.’
“We walked into the room and I tried to see her as Jacob might. She looked so tiny with all those quilts round her. About all you could see were the lines on her face and dark shadows under her eyes as she peered up at us. That might have been okay. But then she started in on him.
“ ‘Jacob Wyse? Bringing you home? And on Sarah King’s wedding day.’ She looked at him like he was an insect getting into her bread dough. ‘I’m surprised you could bear to attend the service.’ ”
Alice sucked in a breath of shock. “What did you say?”
“I tried to plead with her to be silent. Then it got worse.”
Lilly closed her eyes as Jacob’s calm voice echoed in her head. “He said, ‘Yes, Mrs. Lapp, we both attended the celebration today, but we were delayed some by the weather and by our own talk.’
“Mamm wiped her nose with a hankie and stared at him. ‘What’s that now?’
“Jacob tried to be polite. He told her that we were delayed by our own talk—of our future together. ‘Sei so gut,’ he said kindly. ‘Forgive me for not following tradition and sending a schtecklimann to ask your permission first, but I was . . . caught up in the moment. I’ve announced our engagement to both the bishop and the community.’ ”
“Wow,” Alice said. “He sounds as though he was very formal and polite.”
“Yes, he was. I was impressed. But I hadn’t thought about the schtecklimann until he mentioned it.”
Lilly poured more tea into her mug and took a sip, thinking about the schtecklimann—a potential groom’s go-between. Normally Jacob would have asked one of the deacons to go in secret to ask her mother’s permission for her hand in marriage. Of course, it should have been her father who received the request.
“Then Mamm bolted upright. ‘What? Lilly? What’s he saying? That you’re engaged?’ I don’t really blame her. It was a shocking announcement.”
“What did you say?” Alice asked.
“Actually, I didn’t say anything. Jacob spoke up right away. ‘Yes, Mrs. Lapp,’ he said. ‘Lilly and I are engaged.’ ”
“For a brief moment I thought Mamm might have apoplexy as she choked and coughed into her hankie. ‘Say it isn’t true,’ she said, giving me that glare.”
“I know the one,” Alice said.
“I tried to speak in a soft voice, hoping that might help her hear the shocking news. ‘It’s true. Jacob and I are engaged, Mamm. I’m sorry for the short notice and the surprise. I hope you’ll be happy with the wedding though.’
“ ‘The wedding! When is the wedding—in a year’s time, surely?’
“ ‘Nee,’ Jacob said. ‘The wedding date has been given to the bishop as the twenty-third of December—this year.’
“ ‘Nee.’ ”
Alice gasped.
“ ‘What, Mamm?’ I asked her.
“ ‘I said no.’
“ ‘Does the date displease you, Mrs. Lapp?’ Jacob asked.
“ ‘No, young man, the engagement displeases me, and setting a wedding date for a few weeks out is entirely unacceptable.’ ”
“Oh boy,�
�� Alice muttered.
Lilly nodded. “Of all the possible reactions from Mamm, this is one I didn’t anticipate. I didn’t know what to say. I started to open my mouth to say something, anything to fill the awkward silence. But Jacob cleared his throat and stood up to her again. His voice came out low, husky. It sent shivers down my spine.”
“Mmmmm.” Alice sounded as though she had just eaten fresh strawberry ice cream. She gave Lilly an understanding smile.
The image of Jacob’s bare back danced behind Lilly’s eyelids like a mirage just out of reach. She would keep that thought to herself.
“He said, ‘I understand you’re upset, Mrs. Lapp, but you can rest assured that I have Lilly’s best interests at heart.’
“Mamm actually snorted. ‘Don’t try to horse talk me, young man. You forget that I lived for more than twenty years with an animal whisperer; it’ll get you nowhere. Now tell me, is she pregnant?’ ”
Alice burst out laughing, then clapped a hand over her mouth. “Ach, I’m sorry, Lilly. But I can’t believe she’d say that.”
Lilly stared down into her cooling tea and resisted the urge to rub her temples. “Well, she did.”
“And—Jacob?”
“He wanted to wring her neck, I think, but he took it. Then he just said straight out that he was marrying me, with or without her approval.”
“And then she said yes?”
“Nooo, then she was mad enough to spit.”
“It sounds like they’re a matched pair,” Alice observed.
Lilly laughed. “Maybe so. But she finally settled down when he told her that he was moving in with us instead of me going to live at the Wyses’.”
Alice stared at her. “Lilly, really? He must genuinely care for you.”
“I wish I could believe that, but I think he’s just doing what’s right—to see to my mother’s health and provision. He said he spoke to the bishop about it at the wedding. I don’t even know when he found the time.”
Alice added a spoonful of sugar to her cup, then stirred thoughtfully.
“What is it, Alice?”
“Ach, I don’t know. I mean, I know how you’ve felt about Jacob all these years and that this wedding probably seems like some kind of dream. But, are you sure it’s what you really want? I mean—with Sarah and all.”
“I’ve got to believe that it’s the Lord who’s guiding this.” She swallowed the edge of anxiety that laced her words, then looked determinedly at her friend. “I know it’s the right thing for me to do.”
“Lilly, tell me how it could be right! It was so fast. A whim. A mistake.”
Lilly shrugged her shoulders and stared into the mug with the dregs swimming at the bottom. “I can’t explain it, Alice.” She looked up. “It’s a little like the way you felt about David before he moved away.”
Alice set her mouth into a grim line. “Intuition is risky, Lilly.”
“I don’t think it’s all intuition. I think it’s Derr Herr’s whisper.”
Alice looked at her with resolve. “Then I will stand by you. Always.”
“Besides.” Lilly laughed. “If I didn’t marry Jacob, I don’t think another man would survive my mother’s tongue.”
Alice laughed with her. She picked up the mugs and put them into the sink. “Did she finally give her blessing?”
“Jah. But she told Jacob he’d have to earn her approval.”
“Ach, Lilly. This is going to be some marriage.”
“I’m beginning to see that.” She glanced at her brooch watch and groaned. “I’d best move before Mamm wakes up. I’ll see you later. Oh, and thank you for being willing to be my wedding attendant.”
Alice stood with her and gave her a big hug. “I wouldn’t miss it, Lilly. Not for anything.”
CHAPTER 7
Lilly hurried home from the Planks’, wondering if the daylight would dispel the sense of unreality from the day before. But there was no sense denying it, she was engaged to Jacob Wyse. She almost laughed out loud at the absurdity of the thought. She felt both excited and anxious, and no matter how confident she’d tried to sound to Alice, she wasn’t sure what it would be like to actually be his wife—not when he readily admitted his feelings for another. She shook her head at the sudden well of tears that filled her eyes. It didn’t matter that he loved Sarah; she was used to being lonely. She could withstand it in marriage as she could as a daughter, sometimes as a teacher. Besides, she knew that at the very least he would be courteous and that was good enough for her. And, she reasoned, brushing away her tears, the Lord could accomplish much with time. Then she swallowed hard as she considered her mother.
Weekday mornings always heralded the worst in her mamm, and the day after her announced engagement would be no exception as far as Lilly was concerned. She went into the kitchen and had just hung up her cape when her mother’s voice came plaintive and shrill from up the stairs.
“Jah, Mamm. I’m coming.” She hastened up the stairs to her mother’s doorway. The room was darkened, as usual, by the heavy press of bulky furniture placed against the drapes covering the width of the windows. When Daed had died, her mother had moved from the bright master bedroom on the first floor to the much smaller guest room on the second floor.
Lilly stood poised in the doorway, not really wanting to enter because of the oppressive feeling that her mother would continue to have more to say about the engagement and Jacob Wyse. “What would you like for breakfast, Mamm? I’ve got more than enough time to do bacon and eggs.”
“Fried cinnamon toast. My stomach might not hold much else. I had barely a moment’s rest last night after you shocked me so.”
“I’m sorry, Mamm,” Lilly said with sincerity. “But you know how much Daed liked Jacob. I’m thinking he would be proud.”
“He may well have been; your father loved anyone who loved animals. But that doesn’t excuse the fact that this hurried engagement doesn’t sit well with me. Not one bit.”
“Jah, Mamm. I realized that last night.”
“Well then, go on and get my breakfast and give me a moment’s peace.”
Lilly blew out a breath, then went down to the kitchen and turned up two kerosene lamps, remembering the brightness of the Wyse home. She got the woodstove going and set about beating an egg with ground cinnamon and milk and sighed aloud as she stirred. It was at this time of the day that she missed her father the most. Mamm had always been last to rise, and Lilly and her daed had a playful and merry time cooking breakfast together until Mamm came down to join them. Lilly knew that it wasn’t what other Amish mothers did, but she didn’t care. Not when she had her father’s steady smile and kind eyes to reassure her that everything was all right, even if it was different. Mamm had been normal in her own way—waking late, but working long into the night on quilts or fine needlework for other women. She’d had a tendency to be sad and angry at times, but nothing like the despair she seemed to sink into when Daed was gone.
Lilly dragged her thoughts back to the present, dropped a pat of butter into the frying pan, and set about cooking the piece of bread she’d soaked in the cinnamon mixture. It was soon finished, and she pulled out the usual tray, then added a small jug of maple syrup to the plated food and a brimming cup of tea. She gulped down her own tea, then snatched up the tray and went back upstairs. She settled the tray on her mother’s lap and stepped back, waiting.
“It looks soggy, but I suppose it’s the best you can do. I want you home directly after school today. Mrs. Stolis is bringing over some fabric from the dry-goods store for me to choose from, and you’d better be here to take proper measurements. I was going to have a blouse made, but now I fear I will need a new dress for the wedding instead.”
Lilly’s head began to throb at the thought of what she herself would wear to her wedding. Her mind couldn’t remain there long because of the more pressing issue of what they owed on the various debts her mother continued to incur. It seemed as though her mamm had taken to spending money on things she didn
’t really need as a way to try and comfort herself. Lilly knew even Mrs. Loftus, the bishop’s wife, had tried to speak to her about it. But the talk hadn’t deterred her mother; she didn’t seem to find comfort in the things Lilly might have expected.
“Mamm, I could easily go to the Stolises’ with your measurements. There’s no need for her to come by on a weekday with all of her work at the store. And I thought we’d talked about the fact that my wages can only stretch so far—you had three new blouses the month before last.”
Her mother frowned as her teacup rattled against its saucer. “We’ve talked of this before, Lilly. I told you that I am trying to cut back on the spending that brings me pleasure. I guess at least, with Jacob Wyse’s money, we will stand some chance of you not bringing this up again.”
Lilly slid from the doorway and pressed her thin fingers to her temple as she escaped down the staircase. Here was another thing she hadn’t considered—the Wyse family wealth. Would Jacob’s family think she sought to marry him for money? Of course, the bishop made sure that all the widows of the community were tended to with food and help with work about the house and farm, but what was needed did not always extend to what was wanted. And her mother did seem to find temporary solace in material things.
Lilly wished that she could improve her relationship with her mother, but when she tried to talk to her, it either produced a furious tirade, hours of wrenching tears, or a silent withdrawal into the darkness of room, bed, and soul. Lilly felt she could not bear any in great amount for much longer. Yet, she had to; she’d promised her father. It had been one of the last things he’d asked of her before succumbing to cancer—that she would care for her mother. Although she had no idea what havoc his death would bring to her heart and spirit, she could not break her word to the man who’d loved and nurtured her throughout her young life.
Today her teaching waited for her. It wasn’t until after she left the house to go to the barn that she recalled that she was without transportation. She’d insisted last night that Jacob take Ruler and the buggy since she felt it would be difficult for him to walk the distance to get Thunder. He’d promised to return the horse the next morn.