The three older people launched into a conversation about the Rothhauses’ journey from Venne. Though he remained quiet, a pensive look wrinkled Diedrich’s brow. Then in the midst of his father recounting an incident on the flatboat during their trip down the Ohio River from Pittsburg to Cincinnati, Diedrich broke in.
“Forgive me, Vater. Herr Seitz. Frau Seitz.” He looked in turn at the three older people. “I have been thinking. You are right, Vater. We do owe Herr and Frau Seitz much, as well as Fräulein Regina.” His tender gaze on Regina’s face set her heart thumping in her chest. “The scriptures tell us to owe no man anything. And King Solomon tells us in Proverbs that the price of a virtuous woman is far above rubies.” He turned to Herr Rothhaus. “Vater, I feel it is only right that before any marriage takes place, we should work the summer for Herr Seitz. With our labor, we can at least repay him our passage.” His focus shifted to Regina. “And the extra months will allow time for Fräulein Seitz and I to get to know one another—which, I think, will make for a stronger union.”
At his quiet suggestion a hush fell around the table. Then the elder Rothhaus began to nod. “Ja,” he finally said. “What my son says makes much sense, I think. I am not a man who likes to feel beholden.”
Looking down at his plate, Papa frowned. But at length he, too, bobbed his head in agreement, though Regina thought she detected a hint of disappointment in his eyes. “In my mind, you and your son owe me nothing, Herr Rothhaus. But I understand a man’s need to feel free of obligation.” Smiling, he turned to Regina and Mama. “And waiting until September will give you two more time to plan the wedding, hey, mein Liebling?”
During the exchange Regina sat agape, relief washing through her. Vaguely registering Mama’s agreement, she could have almost bounded around the table and hugged Diedrich’s neck. A reprieve! It did not entirely undo the deal, but it bought her some time to put her plan into action and a real chance of escaping this unwanted marriage. She glanced up at him engaged in conversation with Papa and couldn’t stop a smirk from tugging up the corners of her lips. By the end of summer, Diedrich Rothhaus would beg to be let out of the agreement.
Over the next week Regina had managed, for the most part, to stay clear of Diedrich. Their only interaction was at mealtimes and after supper when everyone sat together in the front room listening to either Papa or Herr Rothhaus read from the Bible. To her parents’ chagrin, Regina began taking less care with her appearance. Only on Sunday and when she took her pony cart past the mill on the road to Dudleytown did she make sure that her hair was neatly plaited and her dress clean and mended.
A smug grin lifted her lips as she fairly skipped through the chill dawn air to the barn, swinging her milk bucket. The sunrise painted streaks of red and gold in myriad hues across the blue-gray of the eastern sky. The sight would normally be enough to brighten her mood, but this morning she had even more reason to smile. So far, her plan to turn Diedrich against her seemed to be working. Only rarely did she catch him looking her way, and she doubted the two of them had shared a dozen words since his arrival. On Sundays when the five of them all rode to and from St. John’s Church together, Regina was careful to sit between Papa and Mama. And during the week, the men spent their days in the fields plowing and planting while Regina and her mother worked around the house.
Her grin widened. This morning she had taken her plan to discourage Diedrich even further. Time and again over the years, Mama had reminded Regina and her sisters that a man would often overlook appearance if his wife was a good cook. Regina had noticed that Diedrich and Herr Rothhaus were usually the first up and out of the house each morning, often putting in as much as an hour’s work before returning for breakfast. So this morning, Regina had gotten up extra early and made two batches of biscuits, one the normal way and the other with twice the flour. It had taken some vigilance, but she made sure that Diedrich and his father got the rock-hard biscuits while she saved back the good, soft ones for her parents.
Remembering the look on Diedrich’s face when he bit into one of the hard biscuits, she laughed out loud. For a moment, she actually feared he had broken a tooth. But even more encouraging was the frown Herr Rothhaus had exchanged with his son when he tried unsuccessfully to take a bite of his own biscuit. Though the two men had smiled and thanked her, they were forced to finally abandon the biscuits. Somehow they’d managed to chew most of the eggs she’d fried to almost the consistency of rubber as well as the fried potatoes she’d carefully burnt.
As she neared the barn, she hummed a happy tune, trying to think of how she might destroy another meal for the Rothhauses. No man in his right mind would marry a woman who cooked like that, and no caring father would commit his son to a lifetime of dyspepsia.
In the barn, she made her way through the dim building to the stall where their milk cow stood munching on timothy hay. “Good morning, Ingwer.” She pulled her milking stool near the big, gentle animal and patted her ginger-colored hide that had inspired the cow’s name. “How are you this fine morning? Will you give me lots of good milk with thick, rich cream today?”
Settling herself on the stool, Regina giggled, the happy noise mingling with the cow’s dispassionate moo. “I shall be careful not to startle you with cold hands so you will not kick over the bucket like yesterday,” she said as she crossed her arms over her chest and warmed her hands in her armpits.
As she bent down and reached beneath the cow, a hard hand clamped down on her shoulder, and she jerked. Her head knocked into Ingwer’s side, causing the cow to moo and kick the bucket over.
Whipping her head around, Regina met Eli’s angry glower. She jumped to her feet. “Eli, you scared me! What are you doing here? You know my Vater will be very angry if he finds—”
“I thought you were my special girl. Now I hear you’re gettin’ married.” Not a trace of sorrow or even disappointment touched his green eyes. The only emotion Regina could read in his twisted features was raw fury. For the first time, she felt fear in Eli’s presence.
She shrugged her shoulder away from his grasp. If possible, his face turned even stormier. He stepped closer, and for an instant the urge to run from him gripped her. But that was silly. She’d known Eli since they were children. He would never hurt her.
His fists remained balled at his sides. The rays of the morning sun filtering between the timbers of the barn’s wall fell across his thick, bare forearms. In the soft light, she could see the muscles flexing beneath his tanned skin like iron springs. He leaned forward until his face was within inches of hers. “So are you gettin’ married or not?”
“No, of course not. I’m not marrying anyone.” Regina prayed she could make her words come true. “And I am your special girl.”
“Not what I heard.” He eased back a few inches, but his face and voice remained taut with anger. “Heard you were marryin’ some German right off the boat.”
Regina waved her hand through a sunbeam that danced with dust mites. “Oh, it is all Papa’s idea. I knew nothing about it.” She didn’t know who she was angrier with—Papa for making the deal with Herr Rothhaus without her knowledge, neighbors who had trafficked in gossip disguised as news, or Eli for questioning her interest in him. “Do not believe everything you hear, Eli. I have no intention of marrying anyone, including the man Papa chose for me.”
Instead of diluting Eli’s anger, Regina’s words seemed to stoke it. Lurching forward, he grabbed her arms. His fingers bit into her skin as he glared into her face. “You’d better be telling me the truth. I let a man take a girl from me once. I won’t make that mistake again.”
Regina yelped at the pain his hands were inflicting on her arms and struggled to pull away. “Ouch! Stop it, Eli. You are hurting me!”
Ignoring her plea, he pulled her roughly to him, and a ripping sound filled her left ear. Glancing in the direction of the sound, she noticed with dismay that the right sleeve of her dress had torn away at the shoulder.
“Look, you tore my dress!”
Furious, she wriggled in vain in Eli’s iron grasp.
His only answer was a throaty chuckle as he tried to press his mouth down on hers. But she turned her head at the last instant, and his lips landed wetly below her right ear.
“Eli, please stop it!” Tears flooded down Regina’s face. Vacillating between pain, fear, and anger at his bad manners, she fought to free herself.
“Let her go, friend.” Like the sound of distant thunder, an ominous warning in German rumbled beneath the deep, placid voice to their right.
Chapter 5
R elief and shame warred in Regina’s chest as she looked over to see Diedrich’s tall, broad-shouldered form filling the barn’s little side doorway less than five feet away. She had no idea how much German Eli knew. But whether or not he understood Diedrich’s words, Eli could not mistake the threat in Diedrich’s voice as well as his stony glower and clenched fists.
Eli took his hands from Regina and stepped back. The two men traded glares, and for a moment, Regina feared a fight might ensue. Instead, Eli visibly shrank back and turned to her.
“Call off your German dog, Regina.” Though audibly subdued, his voice dripped with scorn as he shot Diedrich a withering glance. “And you tell him not to say a word to your pa about our … argument, or we are through.” With one last caustic glance between Regina and Diedrich, Eli turned on his heel and stalked out of the barn.
Only when Eli had disappeared through the big open doors at the end of the barn did Diedrich cross to her. “Are you hurt?” His gray eyes full of concern roved her face then slid to her bare shoulder and the ripped calico fabric hanging from it.
“No, I am not hurt.” Fumbling, Regina tried to fit the torn sleeve back in place, but it wouldn’t stay. She had done nothing wrong and should not feel embarrassed. Still, she did. But any embarrassment took second place to the anxiety filling her chest at Eli’s parting warning. If Diedrich told Papa or Herr Rothhaus about what had just transpired between her and Eli, Papa would never allow Eli back on the farm. Stepping to Diedrich, she put her hand on his arm. “Please, do not tell Papa and Mama what you saw, or even that Eli was here. Eli is a … friend. We were just having an argument.”
Diedrich’s brow furrowed, and he glanced down at the straw-strewn dirt floor. After a long moment, he lifted a thoughtful but still troubled face to her. “To me, he did not look friendly. But unless I am asked, I will say nothing. And Herr Seitz knows he is here. The man you call Eli brought a bent driveshaft from the gristmill for your father to straighten at his forge.”
Relief sluiced through Regina, washing the strength from her limbs. She grabbed the railing at the side of Ingwer’s stall for support and blew out a long breath. “Gott sei Dank!” With the closest blacksmith shop at Dudleytown three miles away, it was not unusual for neighbors to bring their broken and bent iron pieces for Papa to fix at his little forge behind the barn.
“Thanks be to Gott that you were no more hurt.” Only a hint of admonition touched Diedrich’s voice as he bent and righted the milk bucket. When he straightened, his gaze strayed again to her bare shoulder. His face reddened, and he looked away. “You must mend your frock. I will milk the cow.”
“Danke.” At his kindness, Regina mumbled the word, emotion choking off her voice. He is our guest. Of course he feels obliged to be kind . But deep down, she knew his kindness did not spring entirely from a desire to be polite. She also knew intuitively that he would keep his word and not mention to her parents the incident between her and Eli. Turning to leave, she glanced back at his handsome profile and her pulse quickened, doubtless a reaction to her earlier fright with Eli and her embarrassment that Diedrich had witnessed the scene.
“Regina.” His soft voice stopped her. “You do not want this marriage between us, do you?”
His blunt question caught her by surprise, and her heart raced as she turned around in the narrow doorway. Would Diedrich, like Eli, become enraged at her rejection? After all, he had sailed all the way from Venne to marry her. “No.” The honest word popped out of her mouth, accompanied by an unexpected twinge of sadness.
To her confusion, instead of showing anger or disappointment, Diedrich’s expression took on the same closed look she’d seen on Papa’s face when he engaged in horse trading. “Neither do I want it.”
Regina’s jaw sagged. “But—but Papa paid your way here so you would … so we would—”
“I know.” He winced. “Why do you think I suggested that my Vater and I work here through the summer to pay off our passage?”
“You—you said so we could get to know each other better.” Her face flamed, and her eyes fled his.
“May Gott forgive my lie.” His deep voice sank even further with regret.
Amazed at his words, Regina took a couple of tentative steps toward him. So all her scheming to put him off had been unnecessary? “You do not want to marry me?”
At her breathless question the emotionless curtain that had veiled his eyes lifted and they shone with both sorrow and remorse. “Please, Regina, I mean you no insult. It is not my intention to hurt you. I mean, look at you. Any man would be pleased …” Reddening, he shook his head as if to bring his thoughts back into focus. He took her hands in his, and the gentle touch of his fingers curling around hers suffused her with warmth. “It is not that I do not want to marry you. I do not want to marry anyone. Not until I have made my fortune.”
Regina slipped her hands from his and stifled the laugh threatening to burst from her lips. “Made your fortune?” She glanced through the open doors at the end of the barn. In the distance, the morning sunlight turned the acres of winter wheat to fields of emerald. From a fence post, a cardinal flew, the sunlight gilding the edges of the bird’s ruby-red wing. This farm had been her home for the past ten years since her family moved here from Cincinnati, where they’d first settled after arriving in America. After their cramped quarters in the German part of the noisy city, this place had seemed like Eden to seven-year-old Regina. And she still loved the farm with all her heart, but there was no fortune to be made here, despite what Diedrich and his father might have been told. Shaking her head, she gave him a pitiful look. “I do not know what others have told you, but you will find no fortune here. Papa has one of the most prosperous farms in Sauers, and we are certainly not wealthy.”
Diedrich nodded. “You have a beautiful farm. I have been plowing for days now, and never have I seen better, richer soil than what I have found here. But I do not mean to make my fortune in Indiana.”
“Then where?” Intrigued, she barely breathed the query as she drew closer.
A spark of excitement lit his eyes and his expression grew distant. “By September I hope to have paid off my passage and earned enough money to make my way to the goldfields in California.” He fished a tattered scrap of newspaper from his shirt pocket and handed it to her.
Regina could barely make out the faded German words, but what she could read had a distinctly familiar ring. Since last autumn when newspapers first heralded the discovery of gold in California, advertisements like this one—only in English—had peppered every newspaper in the country. Offering every kind of provision needed by the adventurous soul willing to make the trip west, such notices promised riches beyond all human imagination, with little more effort than to reach down and scoop up gold nuggets from California’s streams and mountainsides. Many young men from all over the country, including Jackson County, had hearkened to the siren’s song and braved myriad dangers to make their way to the continent’s western coast. And though a goodly number had lost their lives in the effort, to Regina’s knowledge, not one had “struck it rich” as the papers put it.
She handed Diedrich back the scrap of paper and experienced a flash of sorrow tinged with fear. Would he be among the number to forfeit his life in the quest of a golden dream?
Diedrich tucked the paper back into his shirt pocket. “You asked me to keep the secret of your Liebchen from your parents. I must ask you to keep from
them my plans as well.”
Heat flamed in Regina’s cheeks that he had guessed Eli was her sweetheart. Then anger flared, stoking the fire in her face. Despite her relief in learning that Diedrich did not want to marry her any more than she wanted to marry him, it did not excuse the fact that the Rothhaus men had lied to Papa. They had taken advantage of his generosity and used his money to come to America under false pretenses. “And when do you and Herr Rothhaus plan to tell my parents that you lied to get money for your passage here? Or will we just wake up one morning to find you both gone?”
“Nein.” He barked the word, and an angry frown creased his tanned forehead. He grasped her arm but not in a threatening manner as Eli had done; his fingers did not bite into her skin as Eli’s had. “You do not understand. My Vater knows nothing of my plans. He is an honorable man. He made the agreement with your Vater in good faith.” His chin dropped to his chest, and his voice turned penitent. “I have deceived my Vater as I have deceived yours.” He let go of her arm, leaving her feeling oddly bereft. “I know it was wrong of me, but I had no other means to get to America.” When he raised his face to hers again, his gray eyes pled for understanding. “For many months, both my Vater and I had prayed that Gott would find a way for me to leave Venne for America before the army called me into service. So when the letter came from Herr Seitz offering us money for passage, it seemed an answer to our prayers.” Diedrich’s Adam’s apple bobbed with his swallow. “My Vater was so happy that we were coming to America. I did not have the courage to tell him how I felt and to ask him to refuse your Vater’s gift.” He shook his head. “For months I have dreaded this moment, praying that Gott would find a way for me to get out of this marriage without disappointing both our Vaters.” He swallowed again. His gray gaze turned so tender tears sprung to Regina’s eyes. “But mostly, I prayed I would not break your heart.”
A Bride's Sweet Surprise in Sauers, Indiana Page 4
