The Amish Deacon's Daughter

by Samantha Price

  When they were away from everyone, Andrew turned to her and held her hand. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you, Amy. I know I should’ve written more, but I didn’t want to find myself hurt or disappointed. My mind was filled with images of you married to someone else, someone your age, better suited.” She remained silent, and he continued, “I figured it would be easier to forget about you considering the differences in age and the distance between your familye and where I live.”

  “I’ve missed you, Andrew.”

  “You have? You really have?”

  Amy nodded, and he took hold of her and held her close. “I never want to let go.” He released his hold on her to look into her eyes. “Will you come back with me?”

  “I don’t know if I can leave Mamm with everything. It’ll be so much harder without Martha in the haus.”

  “Amy, will you marry me? Your parents must solve that issue. I want you to come back and stay with my bruder again until we marry. I don’t want another day to pass without you in it.”

  Amy wondered if she was dreaming. Things were working out for her just as she’d always dreamed.

  She nodded. “Jah, I will marry you, Andrew.”

  He scooped her up into his arms and held her tight. “I’ll talk to your vadder and have him see that you must return with me. This is what we both want.”

  “More than anything.” With her head pressed against Andrew’s chest, Amy closed her eyes and thanked Gott for answering her fervent nightly prayers. She stepped away from him. “I still can’t believe you’re here.”

  “You lighten my life, Amy. I don’t want to be without you again.” He held onto her hand and his eyes misted over. “We’ll get married as soon as we can.”

  “I’d like that.” Amy giggled. “I tried to forget you and I couldn’t. I thought you'd decided I was too young for you.”

  He shook his head. “I was looking for reasons we mightn’t be good for each other rather than reasons we would. As the months passed, I faced down my fears. I won’t let my fear, your fears, or anything else, keep us apart.”

  Amy smiled as she looked into his kind blue eyes. “You’ve already met my vadder?”

  “Jah, he’s arranged somewhere for me to stay while I’m here.”

  “And you’ve met Micah, so come with me and meet the rest of them.”

  He took a deep breath and let go of her hand and then gave her a nod. Together they walked back into the crowd of wedding guests. As soon as he had met her family, she’d take him to meet her very best friends, Olive, Jessie, and Lucy. Claire hadn’t been invited to the wedding since she was married to an outsider.

  Chapter 37

  Meanwhile, back in Augusta,

  Gabbie had plans for a special dinner.

  * * *

  The night of the dinner arrived, and Gabbie looked out the kitchen window to see that Stephen and Ilsa had arrived in their buggies at the same time. Gabbie rushed to the front door. As Gabbie waited for them in the doorway, she sensed chemistry between the pair, just as she had the day of the picnic.

  As soon as the pair reached the door, Gabbie’s mother quickly stood by her side, and said, “Here you are. Please sit in the living room. Gabbie, you can help me for a minute in the kitchen.”

  Gabbie greeted her friends and gladly obeyed her mother. It was as if her mother was in on her plan to force the pair together. If Ilsa liked Stephen, then she would break off her relationship with Joseph, and he would be free, free for her to swoop up.

  “These apple pies smell lovely, Mamm.”

  “You did most of the cooking, Gabbie.” Her mother leaned in, and whispered, “What do you think of Stephen?”

  Gabbie frowned. “He seems nice, but he’s not for me.”

  Her mother raised her eyebrows. “We’ll see.”

  Gabbie remained silent; there was no use in objecting further. “Shall I make tea and take it out, since dinner will be a little while?”

  “Jah, do that, and we’ll sit down and have a chat with Stephen and Ilsa.”

  Gabbie and her mother sat down with their guests and served tea.

  After they had talked for a time, Gabbie’s mother said to Stephen, “You could go and see if Mr. Miller is ready for dinner; he’s with the horses. Sometimes he gets carried away and doesn’t notice the time.” She squinted her eyes and wrinkled her nose.

  “Jah, I’ll go and see if I can find him.” Stephen took his last mouthful of tea and then rose to his feet.

  “And the boys are all outside somewhere too,” Gabbie said with a laugh.

  The women waited until Stephen was out of the room until they started talking again.

  “What a nice young man,” Mrs. Miller said.

  “He is,” Ilsa agreed. “Denke for inviting me to dinner. It’s nice getting to know new people in the community.”

  “I’ve invited Cousin Mary for dinner too,” Mrs. Miller said.

  “You didn’t tell me, Mamm.” Gabbie had hoped to have fixed any bad feeling she had with Mary before she would see her in a situation such as this.

  Mrs. Miller frowned. “Didn’t I tell you?”

  “Nee, Mamm.” Gabbie had run away from Mary when her cousin had given her opinion on her behavior. “I’ll go and set one more place at the table.” Gabbie left her mother and Ilsa sitting in the living room.

  When Gabbie had set the table with an extra place, she heard the clip-clop of hooves and knew that it was Mary's buggy. She’d have to go and apologize to Mary before they had dinner, and she would have to make certain that no one overheard their words. Gabbie raced past the living room and through the front door to meet Mary.

  Her cousin had just stepped out of her buggy when Gabbie said, “Hello, Mary.”

  Mary looked up and smiled. “Oh, Gabbie, hello.”

  Gabbie was relieved to see the smile. “Can I have a quick word with you?”

  “Of course, what is it?” Mary asked.

  Gabbie spoke quietly. “I’m sorry about the way I acted the other day. You were right, what you said about me, and I’m sorry that I ran away. It was childish of me.”

  Mary smiled. “I’m glad you’re not mad at me; I thought you might be. I was only trying to help you see that there are other ways to go about things. You’re always trying to force things to go your way. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”

  Gabbie pursed her lips, and hoped that Mary wouldn’t guess that she was trying to match Ilsa and Stephen. She would have to keep that information to herself, as she knew that no one would approve of her plan.

  After Gabbie’s younger brothers had washed up, everyone gathered around the dinner table. The Miller family and their guests sat, and closed their eyes for the silent prayer of thanks for the food.

  Even though Gabbie had apologized, she still felt awkward with Mary's unexpected presence at dinner. Still, she gave Mary a crooked grin that could pass for a smile.

  With some clever maneuvering, Gabbie had arranged that Ilsa sit next to Stephen. Baked chicken was on the menu, and Mrs. Miller had tried a new recipe of baked vegetables in a white sauce. As always, there was plenty of gravy, and fresh bread.

  Stephen and Ilsa talked during the whole dinner, and laughed at each other’s jokes. At one point, Ilsa even offered to clean the corner of Stephen's mouth where he had a dab of white sauce. Stephen flinched at Ilsa’s touch, confirming Gabbie’s hunch that the two of them would make a good pair. These two were in love; there was no doubt that they would carve their initials on a tree soon enough. After the white sauce incident, Mary tried to gain Stephen’s attention by asking questions about his family, but after answering only two questions, his eyes were drawn back to Ilsa.

  Apple pie was what everyone expected at Mrs. Miller’s house, and tonight was no exception. During the mouth-watering apple pie, Gabbie felt bad about the prospect of breaking up a couple, and, of course, it was a wrong thing to do. Gabbie focused on the facts; Ilsa was the one acting like a single girl around Step
hen. Stephen reciprocated her feelings, and acted the part of a potential boyfriend quite well. Stephen had even blushed at Ilsa’s attention when they were in the woods before the picnic.

  I haven’t forced them to like one another, Gabbie thought when she caught her mother glaring at her. She looked away from her mother, and tried to engage Ilsa in conversation only to soften the words she knew her mother would have for her when their guests left.

  Gabbie’s brothers went to bed when the last of the guests left.

  Gabbie was left alone with her parents. “Well, gut nacht, Mamm and Dat.” She took quick steps towards the stairs.

  Her father’s voice boomed, “Not so fast, Gabbie. Come and sit with us.”

  She spun around, and looked at the hard stares coming from both parents. Gabbie obeyed, and sat on the couch. “What is it? I’ve cleaned the kitchen, and every last dish has been wiped and put away.”

  “It’s not about the dishes,” Mr. Miller said.

  “Nee, it’s not.” Mrs. Miller slumped down beside her husband. “It’s about why you invited Stephen and Ilsa to dinner tonight.”

  Mr. Miller scratched his beard. “I know you have a fondness for Joseph and that’s why we sent you to the Yoders’ haus for a time. We wanted to stop you from doing something that you might later regret. You wrote and told us you had changed, and that’s the only reason we allowed you back here.”

  Her mother leaned forward. “We didn’t let you come back here so you could find a way to come between Ilsa and Joseph.”

  Gabbie scratched her chin and frowned. “Is that what you two think I’ve done?” Gabbie was upset that her plan was so transparent.

  Mrs. Miller sighed. “That’s exactly what we think that you’ve done.”

  Gabbie looked wide-eyed at both her parents. “I’ve become more friendly with Ilsa, and when we were on our picnic we ran into Stephen; that got me to thinking that I should get to know more people in the community. They both seem to get along well, but that’s not something I could have foreseen. Especially not when Ilsa is betrothed to Joseph.”

  Her parents looked at each other, and then Mr. Miller said, “I hope you didn’t do this in an effort to come between Joseph and Ilsa. No gut comes from interfering in other people’s lives, Gabbie.”

  Gabbie nodded. “I have learned my lesson, I have. Now, can I go to bed?”

  Mr. Miller exhaled deeply, and waved his hand. “Off you go.”

  Gabbie wasted no time getting up to her bedroom. She slipped under the covers glad that her plan had worked, to a point. Now, the friendship between Ilsa and Stephen had to grow. Gabbie fell asleep wondering how she could help the pair get closer – without getting herself into trouble.

  Chapter 38

  Gabbie woke to sunlight streaming into her room. She realized she must have overslept, so jumped out of bed. Today, she’d have to go back and help Nancy. She washed her face congratulating herself on her success of the night before. Gabbie allowed herself to dwell on her daydreams for a while before her mother broke the silence with a loud request that all her children come downstairs for breakfast.

  Gabbie met one of her brothers at the top of the stairs. “I’ll race you to the table.”

  “You’re not getting the first pancake,” he said, before he gave her a light push, and ran down the stairs in front of her.

  Gabbie laughed at her brother and headed toward the kitchen.

  “Hush children,” Mrs. Miller called out.

  When the boys and Gabbie were seated, their father came into the room. He was dressed like he had somewhere important to go.

  “Where are you going, Dat?” one of the boys asked.

  “Children,” he began, hands on his hips in an odd manner as though his body could not contain a secret excitement. “After you have finished the breakfast your mudder so kindly put together, go to your rooms and get ready. Today we’re all going to a horse auction.”

  The boys squealed in excitement. Gabbie was pleased to see that her brothers were happy, but she had other things to do. Gabbie said, “I can’t go, Dat. I’m to go back to Nancy’s place today.”

  Her father lifted up his hand. “Nee. I’ve arranged for Mrs. Smith to take your place for today. You can go back there tomorrow.”

  “Denke, Dat.” It meant a lot to her that her father would think to do that for her. Gabbie smiled while wondering whom she might see at the auction. If Ilsa were there, she could say nice things about Stephen, but maybe Joseph would be there, so she wanted to look her best.

  Horse auctions were the family’s favorite outings. Gabbie rarely saw excitement on her father’s face, but today she saw joy.

  At the auction, Gabbie’s family took a whole row of seats between them. When Gabbie sat down, she looked around for someone she knew. She wasn’t pleased that it had rained during the night because the grounds had become muddy, and mud had clung to her black leather boots. She picked up a stick and scraped as much mud as she could off her boots. When she’d finished that, she looked around the crowd once more to find someone she recognized.

  Gabbie realized there must be someone she knew at the auction, so she left her family to take a walk around the sale yard. When she was halfway around the compound, she spotted Ilsa talking to someone. On a closer look, she saw that Ilsa was talking to Stephen. She couldn’t have seen a better sight, and her fingertips flew to her mouth as she continued to watch the pair. Stephen whispered in Ilsa’s ear while Ilsa looked at the skies and laughed.

  Gabbie could scarcely believe what she had seen. Talking as they were was risky as many people from the community were there, and it certainly was not behavior that would be approved of. Neither Ilsa nor Stephen appeared to care that tongues might wag at their closeness.

  Were things that bad between Ilsa and Joseph? How could Ilsa not care that she was speaking so closely with Stephen, as though they were a couple, above and beyond mere friends? Maybe Sally had been right to tell her about the conversation she had heard between Ilsa and Joseph. Being so friendly in plain view was outrageous. Gabbie could not wait to tell Sally about it.

  Wondering what to do, Gabbie walked on until she came to the other end of the compound. She sat on a wooden bench, leaned over and picked up some small stones at her feet. She idly tossed them at a tree just four feet in front of her. Sensing someone behind her, she looked over her shoulder to see Joseph.

  “We’ve got to stop bumping into each other like this. You must think I’m following you,” Joseph said with a smile.

  Gabbie smiled back but was lost for words. Did he know his fiancée was laughing and talking with another boy, and they weren’t far away?

  “What are you doing over here by yourself? The fun is over there.” He nodded his head toward the auction.

  She answered, “I am not much of an auction person. I’ve come over here where it’s quiet. Last night’s rain mixed with the horse manure is smelly. It seems this is the only dry place.”

  Joseph laughed. “I guess it is. Mind if I sit?”

  “Of course you can sit.”

  Joseph sat close to her.

  “Are you here to buy a horse?” Gabbie asked.

  He shook his head. “Nee, not this time; maybe next time when I’ve saved a little more money. You here with your familye?”

  Gabbie nodded. “They’re over there.” Gabbie wanted to move closer and put her head on his shoulder, but, of course, she couldn’t. She closed her eyes for a moment and wondered how that would feel. “You here by yourself?”

  “I’m with my vadder. He’s around somewhere.”

  In all this crowd, he might not even know that Ilsa is here. What would he do if he saw Ilsa talking and laughing so closely with Stephen Horst? Gabbie thought. She wondered if she could bring herself to tell him. Was it her place to share that with Joseph? “How come I always see you alone, Joseph? I would have thought somebody getting married would be too busy to wander around forests and horse auctions.”

  “I don’
t know. It is not particularly easy. You know?” he answered, lowering his head.

  “Why?” Gabbie asked, hoping he would say that he was no longer in love.

  “Well,” he replied, swallowing a bit. “There seems to be too much pressure on young people.” He paused and ended the topic abruptly. “Like I said, it’s not always easy.” He looked into the distance.

  Gabbie felt that her question had made him uncomfortable. Seeing him depressed like that made her think he deserved to know the truth. “You know Joseph,” she began nervously, “I feel kind of weird saying this, but I believe it is the right thing to do.”

  “Go on.” Joseph fixed his eyes on her.

  Gabbie knew that there was no going back. She might lose him or she could win him.

  “What is it, Gabbie?”

  “I’m not sure if I should be the one to tell you.”

  Joseph rubbed the back of his neck. “You can tell me anything. Are you in some kind of trouble?”

  He touched her shoulder gently, which gave Gabbie strength to speak. At first, Gabbie stuttered about seeing something, and after three stops and starts, she shook her head.

  Joseph frowned. “What did you see? What is it, Gabbie? Just tell me.”

  She took a deep breath then blurted out, “I think there is something going on between Ilsa and Stephen.”

  Joseph’s mouth fell open. “Stephen Horst?”

  Gabbie nodded. “They came to our haus for dinner and didn’t stop talking to each other. Now they’re over there laughing and giggling for all the world to see.”

  Joseph sprang to his feet. “Why would you tell me such a thing?”

  Gabbie opened her eyes wide; she understood she was in trouble.

  Joseph continued, “What makes you think that whatever ideas run around in your head can be spoken?”

  “I don’t know.” Gabbie looked down at the ground. She had hoped for a different response.

  “You’re way off, Gabbie” He scowled at her, and clamped his lips together. “Good day to you.”