“Why was it such a secret?” Mary drew her thread through the seam. She had chosen the more difficult task of inserting the sleeves into the bodice of Judith’s dress.
“She was afraid that if Daed had known she was seeing someone, he would have put a stop to it, the way he had tried to do with Katie.” Esther’s voice dropped, remembering. “Katie ran away with her beau to get married in Ohio, but Annie didn’t want to run away. She didn’t want to be separated from us.”
Mary shifted in her chair. “But the bishop wouldn’t allow them to marry without your daed’s permission, would he?”
“I don’t know how Annie did it, but Bishop Yoder in Eden Township came here to talk to Daed, along with Matthew and Deacon Beachey. They wanted Daed to give his permission for the marriage.”
Judith looked up from her sewing. “Ach, remember how angry he was?”
“He was so angry that Matthew left without Annie.”
“I remember how she cried,” Judith said. “She was afraid she would have to run away like Katie did.”
“But Matthew came back when he heard Daed had died. It was after the funeral, but not too much time had passed.” Esther sighed. “Samuel acted just like Daed, until Annie told him she was going to marry Matthew with his permission or without it.”
“He stomped off to the barn then, didn’t he?”
“But he gave her his permission first.” Esther picked up her sewing again. “We haven’t seen Annie since that day. We didn’t go to the wedding, and we never go to visit the Eden Township folks.”
“But she lives so close,” Mary said. “I can understand that you wouldn’t see Katie, living in Ohio the way she does, but Annie is only a few miles down the road.”
“Even so,” Esther said, “we’ve never gone for a visit, and she hasn’t come here.” Esther stopped to thread her needle. “I hope we get to see Bram on Thursday. He’s our other brother, and also lives in Eden Township.”
“I do, too,” said Judith. “I was only five years old when he left home, and I hardly remember him.”
Mary sewed basting stitches in the right sleeve and then gathered them before she pinned the sleeve to the bodice. She had never met a family like the Lapps, where the scattered family members didn’t try to see one another, even when they lived in the same area. But if Samuel had been as angry as the girls said when Annie left...
Rethreading her needle, Mary tried to imagine Samuel being angry. She had seen him embarrassed, and a bit grumpy, but angry? She imagined his eyes darkening, his mouth twisting, his hand reaching toward her... Her vision suddenly blurred, swirling so that she couldn’t see the needle’s eye. She took a deep breath and started counting.
There was nothing to fear from Samuel. He was a neighbor. Judith and Esther’s brother. She would never be foolish enough to be alone with him in a secluded place. She would never let herself be at the mercy of any man again.
She started over. One, two, three, four... She fixed her eyes on the wooden planks of the floor in front of her toes. Ten, eleven, twelve... Her breathing slowed and she relaxed. Twenty-five, twenty-six...
Safe. She was safe in Aunt Sadie’s home. Safe with the girls and Ida Mae, without any men around to intrude.
Except Samuel, and he would soon learn that they didn’t need him to do Sadie’s chores any longer. Then she would only have to see him on church Sundays.
Esther’s voice penetrated the hum in Mary’s ears.
“What?”
“Did you enjoy church on Sunday?” Esther asked, looking at both Mary and Ida Mae.
“We did,” Mary said. She forced herself to smile. “There were a lot of new people to meet, but other than that it was very much like church at home.”
Judith giggled. “I saw someone taking notice of Ida Mae during dinner.”
Mary exchanged glances with her sister, but Ida Mae shrugged, her eyebrows lifted.
“What do you mean? I didn’t see anyone noticing me in particular.”
The girl grinned, looking at their faces. “I can’t be the only one who saw him. He couldn’t take his eyes off you.”
“Whoever it was,” Mary said, “he was probably only looking at us because we’re new.”
Judith shook her head. “He was only looking at Ida Mae. I don’t think he saw anyone else all day.”
Esther leaned forward. “You have to tell us who it was.”
Judith only grinned until Esther nudged her knee with her foot.
“It was Thomas Weaver.”
“The minister’s son?” Esther sat back in her chair. “Every girl around has been trying to catch his attention.”
Ida Mae turned to Mary. Her face was mottled pink. “I...I’m going to check on Sadie. I’ll be right back.”
After she left the room, Esther said, “I hope we didn’t say anything to upset her.”
“It isn’t anything to worry about. Ida Mae just isn’t interested in getting to know any boys right now.” She shifted the bodice in her lap and changed the subject. “There were so many other young people at church on Sunday. I’m looking forward to getting to know the girls. Do you attend the singings?”
“Samuel won’t take us, and he won’t let us drive ourselves. I think he’s afraid we’ll end up the same way as Annie and Katie.”
“But he lets you go to the quilting on Wednesdays.”
Judith nodded. “That’s because there aren’t any boys there.”
Esther stifled a giggle. “Can you imagine a boy at a quilting frolic?”
They all laughed at that.
Ida Mae came back into the room. “Sadie is sound asleep.”
“I’m so glad,” Mary said. “If she doesn’t take a rest she gets overtired in the evenings and forgets things too easily.”
“Everyone is glad you came to live with her,” said Esther. “She shouldn’t live alone anymore, not at her age. Too many things can happen.”
“Like when she didn’t come to church one Sunday last winter.” Judith’s face had grown pale. “The deacons went to check on her after the worship service was over. It turns out she had made a wrong turn on the way to meeting. They got here to her house just as she returned. She had gone all the way to Middlebury, but when she knew she had gone the wrong way, she let Chester bring her home.”
“It’s a good thing she has a smart horse,” Esther said.
Mary and Ida Mae looked at each other. Mary saw the same alarm she felt reflected in her sister’s eyes.
“That could have ended in disaster.”
“But it didn’t.” Esther tied a knot in her thread. “The Good Lord was watching out for her that day.”
What would they do if something like that happened again? Mary rubbed her tired fingers. She and Ida Mae would have to watch Aunt Sadie very closely.
* * *
Samuel was at work early on Thursday, preparing for the trip to Eden Township. Tilly stood with a hind leg cocked, head down, her side to the morning sun as Samuel brushed her. The new bristles lifted the dust off her coat with little puffs that glinted in the sunlight. The mare’s skin twitched in response. She was enjoying the pampering.
Samuel had curried and brushed