by Sarah Price
“Come, Fanny,” she heard someone say behind her. “You need to take a break.”
To her surprise it was Martha who forced her to stop working in the kitchen and to sit for a moment with a plate of food. It was the first time in a long time that Martha had taken initiative to care for a member of her family. Usually it was Fanny caring for her, which made the attention even more endearing to her.
“And you should let the others take care of the evening meal,” Martha instructed her in a soft voice. “You don’t want to miss the singing and the games with the others, do you now?”
Fanny could think of nothing she would rather miss, with the exception of the evening meal!
After sitting down and eating the food which, by now, was cold and not nearly half as good as it had smelled just two hours ago, Fanny glanced around the room at the chairs occupied by the older guests. Most of the young people were outside, probably gathered together in the barn and sitting on hay bales. Jeb and Miriam, however, remained in the house with the others. Now that they were married, they would not interact with the social gatherings of the young, unmarried people in their church district.
For a long few minutes Fanny took advantage of the activity in the room to watch Miriam. After all of the preparation and days of emotional outbursts, Miriam seemed subdued and distracted as she sat next to Jeb. People continued to approach them to offer their well wishes and blessings. While Jeb grinned and beamed, his happiness resonating with every person who came, Miriam sat slouched over, her eyes barely looking at the well wishers. Instead, she seemed to be searching for someone in the room.
Fanny could only imagine what was bothering her cousin now.
“There she is!”
Fanny looked up and saw Mary walking toward her. She stood before Fanny and reached for her wrist, pulling gently to get her to stand up. “You are missing all of the fun, Fanny Price! Come outside. We are playing Around the World and Elijah says that you are the best at that game!”
“I really should help with the . . . ”
“Nonsense! There are plenty of women in here to help with the dishes and cooking for supper! This is our time!” Mary wouldn’t take no for an answer, and before Fanny knew what had happened, she found herself in the barn and seated at a makeshift table playing the marble game with Elijah, Mary, and Henry.
Of course, Henry, she thought as she took the only vacant seat left.
“I didn’t know you played games!” Henry said, his expression full of delight at having made this wonderful discovery.
“There is much you do not know about me, I’m sure,” Fanny retorted. Too aware that her voice sounded sharp and unkind, she forced herself to smile. “But marble games are one of my favorites.”
Elijah laughed. “She always loved playing games as a child. When she arrived, I taught her this game and, why, she made me play it with her every Saturday evening!”
His memory made her smile feel less forced.
“Then I look forward to requesting that we team up, Fanny, and play against Elijah and Mary!”
Oh, how she dreaded this matchmaking business at weddings. But she did not want to sound unpleasant or rude so she agreed and found herself in Henry’s company for the rest of the afternoon and well into the evening. It wasn’t as tiresome as long as Elijah and Mary remained nearby. Even the supper meal was not as dreadful as Mary sat next to her and provided nice conversation during the meal. As for Henry, every time he spoke to her, Fanny would look up see Elijah beside him.
If only they could remain friends, Fanny thought, her eyes lingering on Elijah for a moment longer than they should have. No thoughts of marriage or courting, just friends. Anything that permitted her and Elijah to remain at the Bontrager farm without any interference from either of the Coblentzes.
Chapter 15
WHEN HENRY ARRIVED at the Bontrager farm on Thursday evening, Fanny noticed that Timothy seemed to be expecting him. She had been working on a small basket while sitting in her special spot, hidden from the rest of the room. But she heard Henry’s voice greeting Timothy and then Elijah, who seemed equally as surprised as Fanny.
“Something wrong at the Yoders?” Elijah asked, the concern in his voice immediately indicating that he worried more for Mary’s safety than the bishop or his wife.
“Nee, not to fret,” Henry laughed. “My schwester is fine, since I suspect that is what you truly mean.”
From her hidden corner, Fanny grimaced at how forward Henry sounded.
Elijah sounded relieved. “Gut, gut. But I do hope all are well in the household.” She heard the sound of a friendly laugh with reassurances from the visitor that there were no issues at the Yoder household. “Well then, I’ll be quick to run, Henry,” Elijah said in a much more jovial tone. “I promised Benjamin I’d go look at his mare. Something’s off with her hind leg and he’s reluctant to summon the vet.”
As Elijah left the room, it dawned on Fanny that Henry had not come to visit with him. Miriam and Julia sat at the kitchen table, both of them working on a tie-knot quilt; from where she sat, Fanny could not see either of them. Their silence, however, indicated that they were hanging onto every word that had just passed.
After the wedding Jeb had stayed at the Bontragers so that he could help with the clean-up in the morning. And then, after a big noon meal, he had left his new bride and returned to his own farm, pausing to kiss her in front of the rest of the family before he left. Miriam had turned red at his public affection, and as soon as the door shut behind her husband, she had run upstairs, hiding in the room where she had spent the first night as a married woman.
Ever since then, her demeanor had been quiet and sullen as if angry with the world. Seeing Henry walk into the house had done nothing to change that.
Timothy waited in silence, as did the rest of the people in the room, anticipating Henry’s purpose for such an unexpected visit.
“I’ve come to speak with Fanny.”
“Ah, ja! Right,” Timothy said, sounding neither surprised by nor curious about Henry’s statement. Fanny, however, wished that she could blink her eyes and disappear. Why on earth would he want to see her?
“Fanny!” Timothy’s booming voice clearly indicated that he knew exactly where she was hidden and he fully expected to her to come greet their unexpected visitor.
She shut her eyes, saying a quick prayer for God to give her the strength to maintain her conduct as expected by her aunt and uncle as well as herself. Especially after the disastrous buggy ride home from the Yoder house after the singing, Fanny knew that this visit from Henry Coblentz did not bode well, and she would need God’s grace to avoid hurt feelings.
Setting aside the basket, she arose from the chair and slowly made her way into the main area of the kitchen. From where she sat at the table reading Family Life, Naomi watched her with an expression of curiosity. Next to her, Julia looked from Fanny to Henry and then back to her. Miriam merely avoided meeting his eyes, but the expression on her face displayed her resentment.
“Ach, Fanny!” Henry removed his hat and held it before him. “I stopped by for a visit.”
“So I see,” she responded. From the corner of her eye, she noticed that Naomi frowned. She hoped that her neutral response had not carried a tone of disdain which, undoubtedly, would distress both Naomi and Timothy.
Henry shuffled his feet for a moment as if searching for something to say.
When it was clear that Henry struggled for words, Timothy cleared his throat. “Mayhaps you two might want to go sit on the porch.”
With the chill in the weather, the last thing that Fanny wanted was to sit outside, regardless of whether or not it was with Henry. However, she remained obedient to her uncle and walked toward the entry room, pausing to take her heavy black coat from a hook. She slipped her arms into it and was buttoning the front when Henry opened the door and walked through it. He didn’t even hold the door for her. Fanny pressed her lips together, the muscles in her jaw twitching as she
pushed through the door herself.
Outside, with a kerosene lantern already lit and on the porch, Henry motioned for Fanny to sit on the swing. She didn’t want to sit there, especially since she knew that, most likely, he would sit beside her. Too many times that spot had been occupied by Elijah, and while she doubted that there would be many more, she didn’t want the memory soiled.
But he insisted.
She took a heavy breath and sat down, staring straight ahead so that she did not have to see Henry as he spoke.
“Fanny, I’m sure that you have noticed my attentions to your person,” he said, the words stilted and awkward.
No, no, no, she screamed inside of her head. She wanted to stop him from talking, to beg him to not say the words that she could just feel were lingering on the tip of his tongue. Not me, she wanted to cry out.
“I am most impressed with your submissive obedience to the Ordnung as well as your modest mannerisms in social dealings.”
Fanny couldn’t help herself. She turned her head and looked up at him. Submissive obedience? Modest mannerisms?
It was just the gesture that he needed to encourage him. He sat down next to her and reached for her hand. “It was a joy to work beside you in preparation for the communion and to see how hard you worked to ensure that your cousin’s wedding went smoothly. I fear that you may not always be treated the way you should be treated, Fanny Price. There is such a gentle sweetness about you.”
She felt the urge to speak. “Nee, Henry. No more so than most other women.”
His grip on her hand tightened. “There is that modesty, so rare and infrequent among others. It is the truth, Fanny, and my affection, which increases with every moment spent in your presence, has grown to the point where I fear the only recourse is to offer you my hand in marriage.”
Fanny withdrew her hand from his and stood up, taking a step away from him and shaking her head. “Nee, nee, nee!” She spoke the words aloud but she was speaking mostly to herself. “Your words distress me, and I can hear no more of this.” She started to walk toward the door but Henry was already behind her, reaching, again, for her hand.
“Fanny—” he said.
But Fanny pulled her hand from his. “Please, Henry,” she whispered loudly, avoiding any eye contact with him. “You are crossing the lines of decency.”
She turned her back to him and quickly opened the door. She needed to put distance between herself and this man. His proposal shocked her, not only because of how little she thought of him, but also because it spoke clearly of how much he thought of himself. His compliments were not meant to show his admiration, but to finally charm her into falling for him. She suspected she was the one woman he had ever failed to win, and he had fallen in love—not with her, but with the challenge of conquering her.
From the moment she first met him, she had given no indication of harboring any interest in him, and if he had an ounce of honor, he would have respected her wishes and stayed away. If anything he should have been satisfied with Julia, who clearly had fallen for his wily charms.
Timothy looked up as she entered the room. “Fanny? What is the good news?”
Fanny stood there, feeling helpless as the eyes of her aunts and uncle stared at her. “Good news?”
Timothy stood up and walked toward her. The smile on his face, so rarely directed at her, began to fade as he glanced over her shoulder toward the door. “Here now! Where is Henry? Surely he would like to share the news of your engagement with the rest of the family, ja?”
At the same time, Miriam and Julia jumped to their feet.
“What?” Julia cried out.
Miriam said nothing, but when Fanny looked at her two cousins, she saw that the color had drained from both of their faces.
“Is there to be another wedding, then?” Martha asked.
“Fanny? I asked you a question,” Timothy said in a firm voice.
“I—I don’t know where he is,” Fanny admitted at last.
“You don’t know where he is? Why, he was just speaking to you!” Suddenly as if realizing that Fanny’s timidity was not due to bashfulness, Timothy’s expression darkened. “Am I to take by your demeanor that you have refused him?”
“I did.”
“Refused Henry’s offer?” It wasn’t a question that was asked in expectation of an answer. “For heaven’s sake, Fanny, what reason do you give for denying a perfectly suitable courter?”
She bit her lower lip and tried to find the right words to respond. “I—I do not care for him,” she said at last. “I do not care for him at all.”
“You don’t care for him?” Timothy seemed to weigh the word in his mouth. He stood before her, a stunned expression upon his face.
Naomi shook her head and scowled. “What does caring for him have to do with marrying him?”
“How very strange.” Frustrated and clearly not quite understanding what had just occurred, Timothy rubbed at his face with his hands. “Fanny, do you realize that Henry Coblentz is a very proper young man with a very good upbringing and he’s purchasing the Yoders’ property? That is a sound future for a young woman of your means,” Timothy said. “Why on earth would you refuse him?”
“He is not a righteous man.” Her voice sounded as small as she felt.
Timothy blinked once, his head moving backward as though he had been slapped. “Not righteous? Why, do you think you are above Henry Coblentz? Do you feel yourself superior?” He gave a small laugh that sounded hard and sarcastic.
Naomi pursed her lips and added her contribution to the discussion. “You will never find another man as honorable and righteous as Henry Coblentz.”
“I—I beg to differ.”
“And what gives you such an opinion, Fanny?” Timothy asked. “Has he treated you ill? Others?”
Fanny wished that she could tell her uncle of how Henry Coblentz had trifled with the hearts of her cousins. She wanted to remind him of Henry’s involvement in the Englische hymn debacle. And she longed to explain that his ongoing attention to her, despite her efforts to discourage him, spoke volumes about his character. She glanced over at Miriam and Julia, only partially surprised to see that the former scowled at her while the latter looked close to tears.
“Nee, I dare not say,” Fanny whispered, returning her attention to her uncle.
Timothy walked toward her, his eyebrows furrowed together in cold fury. “Refusing such a proposal is most disappointing, Fanny. It lacks the very good sense and reasoning that I had come to expect in you. My favorable opinion of your character is most suddenly reversed. I have to wonder from where this display of willful behavior comes, not to mention the lack of consideration for your family.”
Her mouth opened into a small O.
“Oh, ja,” Timothy said angrily. “You never once think of your parents—your brothers and sisters—who might have benefited from a marriage to Henry Coblentz! Instead you question his righteousness without any cause. It is folly, indeed, if you believe another proposal from such a man will come your way again! Had he proposed to one of my dochders—” He didn’t finish the sentence.
Julia jumped up from where she sat and ran from the room, leaving the house through the side door. Miriam glanced at her and, with the greatest of reluctance, stood up and pushed back her chair. “Now look what you’ve done,” she hissed in Fanny’s direction.
As Miriam left through the same door as Julia, Timothy began to pace the floor as he shook his head. “Indeed!”
“I’m so sorry,” Fanny managed to say.
“Sorry? Well, I hope you are. Despite the past eight years of providing for you, I do not pretend that you owe me the same duty as my dochders do, but I would think that you could have at least demonstrated an ounce of gratitude instead of such self-centered concern!”
Fighting tears, Fanny bit her lower lip. “It is less my misery I consider than my inability to make him happy.” Try as she might, she couldn’t hold back her emotions, and the tears began to fall from
her eyes.
When he noticed that she was crying, Timothy stopped pacing. “Now, now, there is no need for such an emotional display. Mayhaps it is just the surprise of such an offer. Time will change this feeling, Fanny. Ja, time.” He seemed pleased with this thought and the stern expression on his face changed to one of hope. “You need more time to get to know Henry, to see what he has to offer you.”
She wished that she could blurt out the truth, that time and familiarity would only increase her antipathy toward Henry.
While Fanny remained silent, not wishing to further damage her uncle’s opinion of her, Naomi took advantage of the break in conversation. She clicked her tongue and cast a disapproving look in her niece’s direction. “Timothy, you presume Henry will risk further humiliation by asking her a second time.”
Her aunt’s comment should not have surprised Fanny, as Naomi was always eager to offer her thoughts on matters—especially when she found fault with something related to Fanny. But this time, followed on the heels of Timothy’s criticism, the words stung ever more than usual. “I’m suddenly not feeling well,” she managed to mumble. “Mayhaps I might go lie down?”
If she had displayed ingratitude toward her uncle in rejecting Henry Coblentz, she felt nothing but appreciation when he dismissed her from their company. As quickly as she could, without appearing overly eager, Fanny climbed the stairs and hurried to her room. No sooner had she shut the door behind herself than she collapsed onto her bed, burying her face into her pillow to stifle the sounds of her sobs.
Despite only knowing Henry for just twelve short weeks, Fanny knew that there was no amount of time that would change her opinion of Henry nor her position about marrying him. She had seen the true essence of his character from the very first day she had met him. And while she had done nothing to encourage him, it seemed that that alone was responsible for motivating Henry’s ardor. Now that her uncle was convinced of the match’s soundness, Fanny knew nothing would stand in the way of his desire to clinch it.