Читать онлайн книгу «Lost in Plain Sight» автора Marta Perry
Lost in Plain Sight
Marta Perry
Leah Miller's peaceful life as a member of the Spring Township Amish church shatters when she's accused of theft from an Englisch home in which she works. Even if she is not charged, if the crime is never solved, she will live under the taint of the theft and may never be able to participate fully in her Amish community.Josiah King, friend of Leah's brother, is drawn into helping Leah–and discovers the 'little sister' he'd always tolerated has grown into a strong, appealing woman.But what future can they have together if suspicion makes Leah an outcast? As they attempt to learn the facts behind the accusation, danger grows around them. It's only through their trust in each other and the support of a faithful Englisch friend that Leah and Josiah can find their way through a tangled, dangerous maze to the truth.An ebook exclusive novella from Marta Perry's The Brotherhood of the Raven series.
Lost in Plain Sight
Marta Perry
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
Leah Miller’s peaceful life as a member of the Spring Township Amish church shatters when she’s accused of theft from an Englisch home in which she works. Even if she is not charged, if the crime is never solved, she will live under the taint of the theft and may never be able to participate fully in her Amish community. Josiah King, friend of Leah’s brother, is drawn into helping Leah—and discovers the ‘little sister’ he’d always tolerated has grown into a strong, appealing woman.
But what future can they have together if suspicion makes Leah an outcast? As they attempt to learn the facts behind the accusation, danger grows around them. It’s only through their trust in each other and the support of a faithful Englisch friend that Leah and Josiah can find their way through a tangled, dangerous maze to the truth.
An ebook exclusive novella from Marta Perry’s The Brotherhood of the Raven series.
Discover more riveting suspense with an Amish backdrop
from author Marta Perry and HQN Books:
The Brotherhood of the Raven series
Murder in Plain Sight
Vanish in Plain Sight
Look for them wherever books and ebooks are sold.
A lifetime spent in rural Pennsylvania, where she still lives, and her own Pennsylvania Dutch roots led Marta Perry to write her current novels about the Plain People and their rich heritage. The author of more than forty novels, with over four million copies of her books in print, Marta is active in her church and community. She is a member of Romance Writers of America, American Christian Fiction Writers and Pennwriters. When she’s not writing, she and her husband enjoy traveling, gardening and visiting their six beautiful grandchildren. You can find her on the web at www.martaperry.com
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Pennsylvania Dutch Glossary
Glossary
Chapter One
Leah Miller’s brother had dropped her off at the home of Geneva Morgan to work that morning just in time to keep the older woman from scaling one of the apple trees in her orchard. Unlike the other Englisch women for whom Leah worked, who expected their Amish helper to get quietly on with the cleaning, Mrs. Morgan never ceased to surprise her.
Leah looked with satisfaction at the canning jars filled with applesauce that now lined the kitchen counter.
“That looks fine, doesn’t it?” Geneva shed the white apron that enveloped her small form, revealing a pair of denim jeans and a flowered top that fluttered when she moved. Her face was lit with the same satisfaction Leah felt.
“Ja, it does.” Leah wiped her hands on the kitchen towel. “A gut day’s work.”
“We deserve a glass of iced tea and a jumble cookie.” Geneva ran a hand over her short gray curls, setting her earrings jingling. She had to be older than Leah’s mother, but she was as slight and lively as a teenager, and despite her age and position, she often dressed like one, too. “Do you have time before your brother comes for you?”
Leah gave the stove a final wipe. Applesauce did stick so when it splattered. “Abe might be late today. He has a lot to do with a new baby in the house.” She smiled at the thought of her first nephew, not even a month old.
“It’s hard to believe Abe is married and a daadi already,” Geneva said.
She nodded. “It seems only yesterday we were playing hide-and-seek in the cornfield.”
“And what about you?” Geneva set a pitcher of iced tea and two glasses on the pine kitchen table. “Do you have a come-calling friend?”
Leah shook her head, not meeting Geneva’s gaze. “Not yet.”
Geneva’s eyes were too sharp, and sometimes it seemed everyone in the township, Amish and Englisch, confided in her. She didn’t want Geneva guessing at her secret hopes.
“I hear Josiah King is coming home after all this time out west.” Geneva’s voice was perfectly innocent. “I’m sure your brother will be glad to see his best friend again.”
“Ja, he will.” Leah could feel the warmth in her cheeks. Foolish, to cherish hopes that one day Josiah might look at her and see a woman grown instead of his friend’s pesky kid sister.
Geneva was taking hand-size jumble cookies from the cookie jar on the counter when Leah heard the clop of hooves and the jingle of harness, followed by footsteps on the two stairs up to the back door. They both glanced out the window.
But it wasn’t Leah’s brother. It was Josiah King.
“Why don’t you open the door, Leah?” Geneva’s eyes twinkled. “I’ll get out another glass.”
Leah smoothed her apron down over the skirt of her dress, thankful that she’d happened to put on the green dress and apron that matched her eyes this morning and hoping her hair hadn’t strayed from under the white organdy kapp on the back of her head.
She swung open the door. “Ach, Josiah, it is you. I didn’t think to see you here at Mrs. Morgan’s house.”
She had to look up farther than she used to in order to see Josiah’s frank, open face and his deep blue eyes. Broader and taller than when he’d gone as an apprentice carpenter with his uncle’s construction business in Indiana, he seemed to fill the doorway.
“Little Leah. But you are not so little anymore, ain’t so?” He saw Geneva behind her and snatched off his summer straw hat, revealing sun-streaked brown hair. “Mrs. Morgan, it’s wonderful gut to see you.”
“Come in, come in.” Geneva’s voice was warm with welcome. “Have you come to pick up Leah?”
Josiah stepped inside, his arm brushing Leah’s as he moved past her. “Ja, I have. I stopped to see Abe first thing when I got here today, and he was having such a struggle with that reaper of his that I said I’d pick up Leah for him.”
“You have time for a glass of tea, don’t you?” Geneva was already pouring the iced beverage into tall glasses. “We’ve had a warm afternoon for late September.”
“Denke.” Josiah accepted the glass she held out. “How are you—“
His question cut off when the front doorbell shrilled loudly over and over, as if someone had planted a finger on the button and kept it there. A flicker of annoyance crossed Geneva’s face.
“Help yourselves.” She waved at the plate of cookies. “I’ll just see who that is.” She hurried out the wide-planked hallway toward the front door.
Josiah grinned at Leah, his familiar smile making her heart seem to flip over. “Abe tells me you have quite a business working in different Englisch houses. Are you liking that?”
“It’s always a pleasure to komm here to help Geneva.” Some of the others weren’t so pleasant. Like Mrs. Grayson, where she’d been yesterday. “But some people act as if I can’t be trusted to clean the house.”
“Humility, little sister,” Josiah chided, laughter in his eyes.
Humility, that most Amish of virtues. She had need of it with some folks. “I’m not so little, remember?”
And I’m not your sister, Josiah. Will you ever see that?
For a moment the silence stretched between them. There was something a little startled in Josiah’s expression, and she seemed to be holding her breath.
A clatter of footsteps in the hallway had them both swinging in that direction. Geneva stood back, staring in amazement at the woman who surged past her, heading straight for Leah. It was Mrs. Grayson, with her husband lagging behind her.
“Mrs. Grayson?” Leah found her voice. “Is something wrong?”
“Wrong?” The woman’s voice rose on the word. “You know very well what’s wrong, Leah Miller. You’re a thief, that’s what!”
Josiah glanced from the Englisch woman’s mottled, angry face to Leah’s. Poor little Leah looked as if she was too stunned to speak. The desire to protect her surged through him.
Careful, he warned himself. This is a different Leah from the child you knew.
True, but people didn’t alter their basic nature. He surely knew Leah well enough to know she wasn’t a thief, no matter what this Mrs. Grayson said.
The woman had plenty to say, that was certain sure.
“I showed you that ring the last time you were at the house to clean. I told you how valuable it was. And now it’s gone. Who else could have taken it?” she demanded.
“But I didn’t. I wouldn’t.” Leah was so pale her freckles stood out on her fair skin, and her green eyes had gone dark with the shock. She glanced at the man, who stood several feet behind his wife as if he wanted to separate himself from her anger. “Mr. Grayson, Mrs. Grayson, you must believe me.”
“Perhaps the ring is lost,” Geneva said, coming to stand next to Leah. “It’s easy to mislay something small like that. Goodness knows I’ve done it many times.”
“I don’t lose things.” Mrs. Grayson’s tone was firm. “Besides, we searched the whole house. It’s not there.”
“How can you be sure?” Geneva’s voice was persuasive. “It would be a terrible thing to accuse someone of theft unjustly.”
“We did search, but it’s so small…” Mr. Grayson spread his hands. “It could be there somewhere. I’m sure you’ve just mislaid it, Angela. Besides, it’s insured.”
His wife dismissed that with a wave of her hand. “I don’t want the insurance. I want my ring back. A center emerald surrounded by diamonds…it was my anniversary gift, and I want it.”
“Perhaps if we all searched—“ Geneva began.
“If you think I’ll have that woman in my house again, you’re crazy,” Mrs. Grayson snapped.
Geneva clasped Leah’s hand reassuringly, and Josiah regretted he hadn’t done that. Leah deserved support from those who knew her.
“I’ve known Leah since she was a child,” Geneva said quietly. “I trust her implicitly.”
“That’s all very well, but it’s not your ring that’s gone.”
Grayson took his wife’s arm. “Come on, Angela. We’re intruding on Mrs. Morgan, and we don’t want to do anything hasty.”
“Hasty?” She shook his hand off, glaring at him. “There’s nothing hasty about it. If you won’t help, maybe the police can get to the bottom of this.”
Josiah had thought Leah pale before, but at the mention of the police she lost even more color. “Mrs. Grayson, I did not do this thing.” Her voice trembled.
“We don’t want to involve the police,” Mr. Grayson said, and Josiah thought there was sympathy in his face when he looked at Leah. “We’ll just tell the insurance company the ring is lost, and that’ll be an end to it.”
“Absolutely not.” The woman was not moved. “I’ll wait until Monday. If the ring hasn’t shown up by then, I’m calling the police.” She spun and headed for the door. “Come along, Phillip.”
“In a minute, dear.” Grayson turned to Leah, shaking his head, waiting until his wife was out the door before he spoke. “I’m sorry about this, Leah. Maybe I can get her to change her mind.” He pulled a wad of bills out of his pocket. “Let me pay what we owe you…”
“Thank you, no.” Leah stood very straight, clasping her hands behind her back.
The man hesitated for a moment. Then he shoved the bills back in his pocket and went after his wife.
The door slammed behind them, and Leah seemed to sag, as if her legs wouldn’t hold her up any longer. Geneva grasped Leah’s waist.
“Now, Leah, don’t be so upset. Everyone will know this accusation is ridiculous. You wouldn’t touch anything that doesn’t belong to you.”
Josiah clasped Leah’s hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “Mrs. Morgan is right, Leah. Everyone who knows you will understand that you didn’t do this thing.”
She shook her head, green eyes huge and lost-looking. “What about the other Englisch I work for? They will not want me in their homes anymore. What if the ministers and the bishop hear about it? My family will be so hurt and ashamed. And the police—will they put me in jail? I can’t give back something I never had.”
“No one is going to put you in jail,” Geneva said soothingly. “I promise you that. We’ll get a lawyer for you if we have to.”
Leah shook her head. “My daad would never agree to get involved with the law.”
Josiah’s gaze met Geneva’s, and he felt that she was thinking the same thing he was—that Harvey Miller was a gut man, but awful strict, always interpreting the Ordnung in the most stringent way possible.
“Well, we must just make sure it doesn’t come to the law,” Geneva said, her voice brisk, maybe in an effort to cheer Leah. “We believe in you, and we’ll find some way of proving you didn’t steal that foolish woman’s ring.”
“Denke, Geneva.” Leah squared her shoulders, seeming to call up strength from inside herself. “That is ser kind of you. But I cannot involve you in my troubles.”
“We’re already involved.” Geneva Morgan would not be one to back off when someone she cared about was in trouble. Everyone knew that about her. The Morgans were people you could depend upon.
Leah shook her head, a defeated look in her eyes. Josiah understood, in a way that even Geneva, with all her knowledge of her Amish neighbors, could not. Leah saw her whole life shattering—not just her job, but her standing in the Amish community, her relationship with her family, her whole future. For an Amish girl to be accused of theft…well, it was just unheard-of.
“I know you’re overwhelmed just now.” Geneva’s tone was gentle. “But I believe in you. Josiah believes in you. And we’re going to help you find out the truth, aren’t we, Josiah?”
He hesitated for a second, reluctant to get involved in something controversial before he’d even gotten settled back in the community again.
But this was Leah. He couldn’t let her be hurt if there was anything he could do.
“That’s certain sure,” he said. “We will learn the truth, and everything will be put right again.”
Chapter Two
Leah managed a weak smile, shaking her head as Geneva pushed another jumble cookie toward her. Geneva was a good friend, but eating cookies at Geneva’s kitchen table wouldn’t cure the trouble she was in.
“Sugar is good for shock,” Geneva declared briskly. “And don’t bother telling me you’re not shaken by that woman’s accusation, because I won’t believe it.”
It was easier to give in than to argue with Geneva’s kindness. She accepted the cookie, giving a tentative sideways glance at Josiah. He had his hands wrapped around a glass of tea, his normally friendly, open face now looking solemn.
“Ja, I am feeling shaky inside,” she admitted. “But mostly I just can’t believe this is happening. Mrs. Grayson has never been friendly, exactly, but she didn’t find any fault with my work.”
“What about her husband?” Josiah asked. “He seemed to be on your side.”
Leah nodded. “Ja, he did, didn’t he?” She felt a sense of gratitude. “Maybe he’ll convince his wife that she is mistaken.”
But she doubted it even as she said the words.
Geneva gave the short little nod that was characteristic of her. “We’ll hope so. But to tell the truth, I’ve seldom met a more determined woman than Angela Grayson.”
Josiah’s frown lightened a little as he looked at Geneva. Small wonder. Most people in the township had reason to be grateful to the Morgans for their kindness. “I don’t remember them at all.”
“No, you wouldn’t,” Geneva said. “They haven’t lived in Springville for more than a few years. He opened a real estate office here, and they both threw themselves into civic work. He was elected to the school board two years ago, and Angela is involved in all sorts of civic committees.”
She sounded a little vague, and Leah hid a smile. Geneva’s kindnesses weren’t the kind that involved going to lunches and talking about helping people. She’d more likely be found washing dishes or holding a fussy baby. Maybe that was why she got along so well with the Amish.
“This ring the woman was talking about…” Josiah turned back to Leah. “Did you ever see it?”
“Ja, last Wednesday.” Leah frowned, trying to fix it in her mind. “Mrs. Grayson was a bit fussed in the morning, because she was entertaining one of her committees that afternoon. She wanted me to get on with the cleaning, but Mr. Grayson was still there, talking on the phone, and she said he was in the way.” Truth to tell, Leah hadn’t thought much of the way the woman talked to her husband. “Anyway, she had me start in the bedroom instead of the family room because he was on the phone, and she got out the ring and showed it to me.”
“Did she have it locked away?” Geneva asked.
Leah shook her head. “Just in the box on her dresser. She was going to wear it for her meeting. Show it off, she said.” That was so un-Amish an attitude that Leah had trouble understanding it. “It seemed like she wanted the other ladies to envy her.”
Josiah shook his head, as if he didn’t understand it, either. “Well, I don’t suppose one of them would take it. Most likely the woman lost the ring herself. One thing’s sure. We know Leah didn’t take it.”
The confidence in Josiah’s voice warmed her heart. He might never think of her as more than a little sister, but at least he trusted her.
Geneva’s face grew thoughtful. “Do you think she lost it, Leah?”
She nodded, the warmth seeping away too quickly. “I guess so. But if she did lose it, how could I ever prove I didn’t take it?”
“They might find it,” Josiah said, but she could tell that he didn’t really believe that would happen.
“Maybe.” Geneva’s face was thoughtful. “But there have been some break-ins lately, mostly at isolated farmhouses. The thieves might be getting braver.”
“Isaiah Stoltzfus’s house was broken into a few weeks ago while the family was away visiting. But the thieves ransacked the whole house.” Much as she’d like to believe in that solution, she couldn’t quite manage it. “Would they just take a ring?”
“Ja, how would they know where it was kept?” Josiah saw the flaws in that as well as she did.
“Someone might have told them.” Geneva obviously didn’t want to give up on her idea. “Maybe someone mentioned it in all innocence, and the thieves overheard the conversation.”
“Really?” That seemed unlikely.
Geneva smiled suddenly, as if laughing at herself. “I know that sounds silly. But there has to be some way of figuring out what happened. You know, maybe it would be for the best if she did go to the police.”
“Ach, no!” Panic grabbed at Leah’s heart. “The police—what would my parents say, and the bishop, and the ministers? That would be terrible.”
Geneva reached across the worn pine tabletop to grasp her hand. “I know the idea of the police sounds scary. But Chief Adam Byler is a fair, sensible person. And if he were involved, Angela Grayson would have to answer his questions about the ring.”
“There must be another way.” Leah knew she sounded desperate, but she couldn’t help it. “I can’t have the whole church community know I’ve been called a thief.”
“It won’t come to that.” Josiah clasped her other hand, holding it warmly in his. “You are innocent, and God will protect you.”
“Of course He will,” Geneva said. “But it won’t hurt for us to take some action, too.”
“But what?” It was gut of Geneva to want to help, but the more Leah thought of it, the fewer options she saw. “Mrs. Grayson would never talk about it to me. That’s certain sure.”
“No, but she might talk to me once she calms down.” Geneva’s blue eyes sparkled, as if she’d thought of something that amused her. “I imagine Angela might already be regretting bursting into my house that way. She may be looking for an opportunity to apologize to me, so I could give her one.”
Leah mulled that over. Even though Geneva acted just like anyone else, the Morgans had been the most important family in the township for as long as anyone could remember. It was true that Mrs. Grayson might regret antagonizing her.
“Even if she wants to apologize, how will that help?”
“I’ll get her talking,” Geneva waved her hands in the air, as if about to produce an answer there. “Maybe she’ll let something slip that will help.” Her voice grew more enthusiastic as she talked. “Tomorrow morning is the Library Friends meeting. She’s sure to be there. Are you working tomorrow?”
“I’m supposed to work at the Reynolds house. But if Mrs. Reynolds hears…” She didn’t want to finish that, as she seemed to see all her jobs disappearing.
“If there’s a problem, you just come here instead,” Geneva said briskly. “And if not, come after work. You, too, Josiah. We’ll talk it over then.” She jumped up and came around the table to hug Leah. “In the meantime, try not to worry. Okay?”
“I will try.” That was easy to say. Leah had a feeling it would not be so easy to do.
Josiah spent the first part of the drive to the Miller farm trying to reassure Leah, but eventually he had to admit to himself that he couldn’t think of anything else to say. Leah didn’t seem inclined to talk, and soon the only sound was the clop of the mare’s hooves and the gentle creak of the buggy.
He stole a sideways glance at Leah’s face. Under the brim of her bonnet her expression was pensive, the corners of her soft lips drooping. She looked as if she’d given up already, and that made his heart hurt. Little Leah’s sorrows should be easily fixed, but this one… Despite Geneva Morgan’s optimism, he didn’t see a simple solution.
Leah’s lashes swept up, and she met his gaze. “Will you promise me something, Josiah?”
“If I can,” he said. Promises weren’t to be given unless he could be sure of keeping them.
Her lips firmed, as if she prepared to battle him over this, whatever it was. “Promise me you won’t tell anyone about this. Not right away, anyway.”
What was in her mind? “What about your mamm and daad? And Abe?”
“Not yet,” she said, her gaze suddenly pleading. “They will be so upset. And maybe by tomorrow, Geneva will have found something out.”
“Surely you want to tell Abe. He’s your big brother.” Abe had always been especially close to Leah. “He’d want to know.”
“He’d want to fix it,” she corrected with a slight smile. “And he can’t. Besides, he has enough on his hands now with a brand-new boppli. I don’t want him worrying about me.”
The determination in her voice surprised him a bit, but Leah was growing up, wasn’t she? And she knew her brother. Abe would want to make her problem better.
“All right,” he said finally. “But you’ll have to tell them soon, before they hear it from someone else.”
“Ja. I know.”
He didn’t have the heart to push her further. But he didn’t really see a way this would be cleared up without folks knowing.
He concentrated on the turn into the farm lane, trying not to think what Abe would say if he knew Josiah had held this back from him.
The farmhouse came into view, as well as the barns and outbuildings beyond. No one was in sight.
“Mamm and Daad and the little ones went over to the sale at New Holland today,” Leah said, interpreting his look. “They should be back soon.”
He pulled the buggy to a stop at the back door, and Leah jumped down.
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Marta Perry
Leah Miller's peaceful life as a member of the Spring Township Amish church shatters when she's accused of theft from an Englisch home in which she works. Even if she is not charged, if the crime is never solved, she will live under the taint of the theft and may never be able to participate fully in her Amish community.Josiah King, friend of Leah's brother, is drawn into helping Leah–and discovers the 'little sister' he'd always tolerated has grown into a strong, appealing woman.But what future can they have together if suspicion makes Leah an outcast? As they attempt to learn the facts behind the accusation, danger grows around them. It's only through their trust in each other and the support of a faithful Englisch friend that Leah and Josiah can find their way through a tangled, dangerous maze to the truth.An ebook exclusive novella from Marta Perry's The Brotherhood of the Raven series.
Lost in Plain Sight
Marta Perry
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
Leah Miller’s peaceful life as a member of the Spring Township Amish church shatters when she’s accused of theft from an Englisch home in which she works. Even if she is not charged, if the crime is never solved, she will live under the taint of the theft and may never be able to participate fully in her Amish community. Josiah King, friend of Leah’s brother, is drawn into helping Leah—and discovers the ‘little sister’ he’d always tolerated has grown into a strong, appealing woman.
But what future can they have together if suspicion makes Leah an outcast? As they attempt to learn the facts behind the accusation, danger grows around them. It’s only through their trust in each other and the support of a faithful Englisch friend that Leah and Josiah can find their way through a tangled, dangerous maze to the truth.
An ebook exclusive novella from Marta Perry’s The Brotherhood of the Raven series.
Discover more riveting suspense with an Amish backdrop
from author Marta Perry and HQN Books:
The Brotherhood of the Raven series
Murder in Plain Sight
Vanish in Plain Sight
Look for them wherever books and ebooks are sold.
A lifetime spent in rural Pennsylvania, where she still lives, and her own Pennsylvania Dutch roots led Marta Perry to write her current novels about the Plain People and their rich heritage. The author of more than forty novels, with over four million copies of her books in print, Marta is active in her church and community. She is a member of Romance Writers of America, American Christian Fiction Writers and Pennwriters. When she’s not writing, she and her husband enjoy traveling, gardening and visiting their six beautiful grandchildren. You can find her on the web at www.martaperry.com
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Pennsylvania Dutch Glossary
Glossary
Chapter One
Leah Miller’s brother had dropped her off at the home of Geneva Morgan to work that morning just in time to keep the older woman from scaling one of the apple trees in her orchard. Unlike the other Englisch women for whom Leah worked, who expected their Amish helper to get quietly on with the cleaning, Mrs. Morgan never ceased to surprise her.
Leah looked with satisfaction at the canning jars filled with applesauce that now lined the kitchen counter.
“That looks fine, doesn’t it?” Geneva shed the white apron that enveloped her small form, revealing a pair of denim jeans and a flowered top that fluttered when she moved. Her face was lit with the same satisfaction Leah felt.
“Ja, it does.” Leah wiped her hands on the kitchen towel. “A gut day’s work.”
“We deserve a glass of iced tea and a jumble cookie.” Geneva ran a hand over her short gray curls, setting her earrings jingling. She had to be older than Leah’s mother, but she was as slight and lively as a teenager, and despite her age and position, she often dressed like one, too. “Do you have time before your brother comes for you?”
Leah gave the stove a final wipe. Applesauce did stick so when it splattered. “Abe might be late today. He has a lot to do with a new baby in the house.” She smiled at the thought of her first nephew, not even a month old.
“It’s hard to believe Abe is married and a daadi already,” Geneva said.
She nodded. “It seems only yesterday we were playing hide-and-seek in the cornfield.”
“And what about you?” Geneva set a pitcher of iced tea and two glasses on the pine kitchen table. “Do you have a come-calling friend?”
Leah shook her head, not meeting Geneva’s gaze. “Not yet.”
Geneva’s eyes were too sharp, and sometimes it seemed everyone in the township, Amish and Englisch, confided in her. She didn’t want Geneva guessing at her secret hopes.
“I hear Josiah King is coming home after all this time out west.” Geneva’s voice was perfectly innocent. “I’m sure your brother will be glad to see his best friend again.”
“Ja, he will.” Leah could feel the warmth in her cheeks. Foolish, to cherish hopes that one day Josiah might look at her and see a woman grown instead of his friend’s pesky kid sister.
Geneva was taking hand-size jumble cookies from the cookie jar on the counter when Leah heard the clop of hooves and the jingle of harness, followed by footsteps on the two stairs up to the back door. They both glanced out the window.
But it wasn’t Leah’s brother. It was Josiah King.
“Why don’t you open the door, Leah?” Geneva’s eyes twinkled. “I’ll get out another glass.”
Leah smoothed her apron down over the skirt of her dress, thankful that she’d happened to put on the green dress and apron that matched her eyes this morning and hoping her hair hadn’t strayed from under the white organdy kapp on the back of her head.
She swung open the door. “Ach, Josiah, it is you. I didn’t think to see you here at Mrs. Morgan’s house.”
She had to look up farther than she used to in order to see Josiah’s frank, open face and his deep blue eyes. Broader and taller than when he’d gone as an apprentice carpenter with his uncle’s construction business in Indiana, he seemed to fill the doorway.
“Little Leah. But you are not so little anymore, ain’t so?” He saw Geneva behind her and snatched off his summer straw hat, revealing sun-streaked brown hair. “Mrs. Morgan, it’s wonderful gut to see you.”
“Come in, come in.” Geneva’s voice was warm with welcome. “Have you come to pick up Leah?”
Josiah stepped inside, his arm brushing Leah’s as he moved past her. “Ja, I have. I stopped to see Abe first thing when I got here today, and he was having such a struggle with that reaper of his that I said I’d pick up Leah for him.”
“You have time for a glass of tea, don’t you?” Geneva was already pouring the iced beverage into tall glasses. “We’ve had a warm afternoon for late September.”
“Denke.” Josiah accepted the glass she held out. “How are you—“
His question cut off when the front doorbell shrilled loudly over and over, as if someone had planted a finger on the button and kept it there. A flicker of annoyance crossed Geneva’s face.
“Help yourselves.” She waved at the plate of cookies. “I’ll just see who that is.” She hurried out the wide-planked hallway toward the front door.
Josiah grinned at Leah, his familiar smile making her heart seem to flip over. “Abe tells me you have quite a business working in different Englisch houses. Are you liking that?”
“It’s always a pleasure to komm here to help Geneva.” Some of the others weren’t so pleasant. Like Mrs. Grayson, where she’d been yesterday. “But some people act as if I can’t be trusted to clean the house.”
“Humility, little sister,” Josiah chided, laughter in his eyes.
Humility, that most Amish of virtues. She had need of it with some folks. “I’m not so little, remember?”
And I’m not your sister, Josiah. Will you ever see that?
For a moment the silence stretched between them. There was something a little startled in Josiah’s expression, and she seemed to be holding her breath.
A clatter of footsteps in the hallway had them both swinging in that direction. Geneva stood back, staring in amazement at the woman who surged past her, heading straight for Leah. It was Mrs. Grayson, with her husband lagging behind her.
“Mrs. Grayson?” Leah found her voice. “Is something wrong?”
“Wrong?” The woman’s voice rose on the word. “You know very well what’s wrong, Leah Miller. You’re a thief, that’s what!”
Josiah glanced from the Englisch woman’s mottled, angry face to Leah’s. Poor little Leah looked as if she was too stunned to speak. The desire to protect her surged through him.
Careful, he warned himself. This is a different Leah from the child you knew.
True, but people didn’t alter their basic nature. He surely knew Leah well enough to know she wasn’t a thief, no matter what this Mrs. Grayson said.
The woman had plenty to say, that was certain sure.
“I showed you that ring the last time you were at the house to clean. I told you how valuable it was. And now it’s gone. Who else could have taken it?” she demanded.
“But I didn’t. I wouldn’t.” Leah was so pale her freckles stood out on her fair skin, and her green eyes had gone dark with the shock. She glanced at the man, who stood several feet behind his wife as if he wanted to separate himself from her anger. “Mr. Grayson, Mrs. Grayson, you must believe me.”
“Perhaps the ring is lost,” Geneva said, coming to stand next to Leah. “It’s easy to mislay something small like that. Goodness knows I’ve done it many times.”
“I don’t lose things.” Mrs. Grayson’s tone was firm. “Besides, we searched the whole house. It’s not there.”
“How can you be sure?” Geneva’s voice was persuasive. “It would be a terrible thing to accuse someone of theft unjustly.”
“We did search, but it’s so small…” Mr. Grayson spread his hands. “It could be there somewhere. I’m sure you’ve just mislaid it, Angela. Besides, it’s insured.”
His wife dismissed that with a wave of her hand. “I don’t want the insurance. I want my ring back. A center emerald surrounded by diamonds…it was my anniversary gift, and I want it.”
“Perhaps if we all searched—“ Geneva began.
“If you think I’ll have that woman in my house again, you’re crazy,” Mrs. Grayson snapped.
Geneva clasped Leah’s hand reassuringly, and Josiah regretted he hadn’t done that. Leah deserved support from those who knew her.
“I’ve known Leah since she was a child,” Geneva said quietly. “I trust her implicitly.”
“That’s all very well, but it’s not your ring that’s gone.”
Grayson took his wife’s arm. “Come on, Angela. We’re intruding on Mrs. Morgan, and we don’t want to do anything hasty.”
“Hasty?” She shook his hand off, glaring at him. “There’s nothing hasty about it. If you won’t help, maybe the police can get to the bottom of this.”
Josiah had thought Leah pale before, but at the mention of the police she lost even more color. “Mrs. Grayson, I did not do this thing.” Her voice trembled.
“We don’t want to involve the police,” Mr. Grayson said, and Josiah thought there was sympathy in his face when he looked at Leah. “We’ll just tell the insurance company the ring is lost, and that’ll be an end to it.”
“Absolutely not.” The woman was not moved. “I’ll wait until Monday. If the ring hasn’t shown up by then, I’m calling the police.” She spun and headed for the door. “Come along, Phillip.”
“In a minute, dear.” Grayson turned to Leah, shaking his head, waiting until his wife was out the door before he spoke. “I’m sorry about this, Leah. Maybe I can get her to change her mind.” He pulled a wad of bills out of his pocket. “Let me pay what we owe you…”
“Thank you, no.” Leah stood very straight, clasping her hands behind her back.
The man hesitated for a moment. Then he shoved the bills back in his pocket and went after his wife.
The door slammed behind them, and Leah seemed to sag, as if her legs wouldn’t hold her up any longer. Geneva grasped Leah’s waist.
“Now, Leah, don’t be so upset. Everyone will know this accusation is ridiculous. You wouldn’t touch anything that doesn’t belong to you.”
Josiah clasped Leah’s hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “Mrs. Morgan is right, Leah. Everyone who knows you will understand that you didn’t do this thing.”
She shook her head, green eyes huge and lost-looking. “What about the other Englisch I work for? They will not want me in their homes anymore. What if the ministers and the bishop hear about it? My family will be so hurt and ashamed. And the police—will they put me in jail? I can’t give back something I never had.”
“No one is going to put you in jail,” Geneva said soothingly. “I promise you that. We’ll get a lawyer for you if we have to.”
Leah shook her head. “My daad would never agree to get involved with the law.”
Josiah’s gaze met Geneva’s, and he felt that she was thinking the same thing he was—that Harvey Miller was a gut man, but awful strict, always interpreting the Ordnung in the most stringent way possible.
“Well, we must just make sure it doesn’t come to the law,” Geneva said, her voice brisk, maybe in an effort to cheer Leah. “We believe in you, and we’ll find some way of proving you didn’t steal that foolish woman’s ring.”
“Denke, Geneva.” Leah squared her shoulders, seeming to call up strength from inside herself. “That is ser kind of you. But I cannot involve you in my troubles.”
“We’re already involved.” Geneva Morgan would not be one to back off when someone she cared about was in trouble. Everyone knew that about her. The Morgans were people you could depend upon.
Leah shook her head, a defeated look in her eyes. Josiah understood, in a way that even Geneva, with all her knowledge of her Amish neighbors, could not. Leah saw her whole life shattering—not just her job, but her standing in the Amish community, her relationship with her family, her whole future. For an Amish girl to be accused of theft…well, it was just unheard-of.
“I know you’re overwhelmed just now.” Geneva’s tone was gentle. “But I believe in you. Josiah believes in you. And we’re going to help you find out the truth, aren’t we, Josiah?”
He hesitated for a second, reluctant to get involved in something controversial before he’d even gotten settled back in the community again.
But this was Leah. He couldn’t let her be hurt if there was anything he could do.
“That’s certain sure,” he said. “We will learn the truth, and everything will be put right again.”
Chapter Two
Leah managed a weak smile, shaking her head as Geneva pushed another jumble cookie toward her. Geneva was a good friend, but eating cookies at Geneva’s kitchen table wouldn’t cure the trouble she was in.
“Sugar is good for shock,” Geneva declared briskly. “And don’t bother telling me you’re not shaken by that woman’s accusation, because I won’t believe it.”
It was easier to give in than to argue with Geneva’s kindness. She accepted the cookie, giving a tentative sideways glance at Josiah. He had his hands wrapped around a glass of tea, his normally friendly, open face now looking solemn.
“Ja, I am feeling shaky inside,” she admitted. “But mostly I just can’t believe this is happening. Mrs. Grayson has never been friendly, exactly, but she didn’t find any fault with my work.”
“What about her husband?” Josiah asked. “He seemed to be on your side.”
Leah nodded. “Ja, he did, didn’t he?” She felt a sense of gratitude. “Maybe he’ll convince his wife that she is mistaken.”
But she doubted it even as she said the words.
Geneva gave the short little nod that was characteristic of her. “We’ll hope so. But to tell the truth, I’ve seldom met a more determined woman than Angela Grayson.”
Josiah’s frown lightened a little as he looked at Geneva. Small wonder. Most people in the township had reason to be grateful to the Morgans for their kindness. “I don’t remember them at all.”
“No, you wouldn’t,” Geneva said. “They haven’t lived in Springville for more than a few years. He opened a real estate office here, and they both threw themselves into civic work. He was elected to the school board two years ago, and Angela is involved in all sorts of civic committees.”
She sounded a little vague, and Leah hid a smile. Geneva’s kindnesses weren’t the kind that involved going to lunches and talking about helping people. She’d more likely be found washing dishes or holding a fussy baby. Maybe that was why she got along so well with the Amish.
“This ring the woman was talking about…” Josiah turned back to Leah. “Did you ever see it?”
“Ja, last Wednesday.” Leah frowned, trying to fix it in her mind. “Mrs. Grayson was a bit fussed in the morning, because she was entertaining one of her committees that afternoon. She wanted me to get on with the cleaning, but Mr. Grayson was still there, talking on the phone, and she said he was in the way.” Truth to tell, Leah hadn’t thought much of the way the woman talked to her husband. “Anyway, she had me start in the bedroom instead of the family room because he was on the phone, and she got out the ring and showed it to me.”
“Did she have it locked away?” Geneva asked.
Leah shook her head. “Just in the box on her dresser. She was going to wear it for her meeting. Show it off, she said.” That was so un-Amish an attitude that Leah had trouble understanding it. “It seemed like she wanted the other ladies to envy her.”
Josiah shook his head, as if he didn’t understand it, either. “Well, I don’t suppose one of them would take it. Most likely the woman lost the ring herself. One thing’s sure. We know Leah didn’t take it.”
The confidence in Josiah’s voice warmed her heart. He might never think of her as more than a little sister, but at least he trusted her.
Geneva’s face grew thoughtful. “Do you think she lost it, Leah?”
She nodded, the warmth seeping away too quickly. “I guess so. But if she did lose it, how could I ever prove I didn’t take it?”
“They might find it,” Josiah said, but she could tell that he didn’t really believe that would happen.
“Maybe.” Geneva’s face was thoughtful. “But there have been some break-ins lately, mostly at isolated farmhouses. The thieves might be getting braver.”
“Isaiah Stoltzfus’s house was broken into a few weeks ago while the family was away visiting. But the thieves ransacked the whole house.” Much as she’d like to believe in that solution, she couldn’t quite manage it. “Would they just take a ring?”
“Ja, how would they know where it was kept?” Josiah saw the flaws in that as well as she did.
“Someone might have told them.” Geneva obviously didn’t want to give up on her idea. “Maybe someone mentioned it in all innocence, and the thieves overheard the conversation.”
“Really?” That seemed unlikely.
Geneva smiled suddenly, as if laughing at herself. “I know that sounds silly. But there has to be some way of figuring out what happened. You know, maybe it would be for the best if she did go to the police.”
“Ach, no!” Panic grabbed at Leah’s heart. “The police—what would my parents say, and the bishop, and the ministers? That would be terrible.”
Geneva reached across the worn pine tabletop to grasp her hand. “I know the idea of the police sounds scary. But Chief Adam Byler is a fair, sensible person. And if he were involved, Angela Grayson would have to answer his questions about the ring.”
“There must be another way.” Leah knew she sounded desperate, but she couldn’t help it. “I can’t have the whole church community know I’ve been called a thief.”
“It won’t come to that.” Josiah clasped her other hand, holding it warmly in his. “You are innocent, and God will protect you.”
“Of course He will,” Geneva said. “But it won’t hurt for us to take some action, too.”
“But what?” It was gut of Geneva to want to help, but the more Leah thought of it, the fewer options she saw. “Mrs. Grayson would never talk about it to me. That’s certain sure.”
“No, but she might talk to me once she calms down.” Geneva’s blue eyes sparkled, as if she’d thought of something that amused her. “I imagine Angela might already be regretting bursting into my house that way. She may be looking for an opportunity to apologize to me, so I could give her one.”
Leah mulled that over. Even though Geneva acted just like anyone else, the Morgans had been the most important family in the township for as long as anyone could remember. It was true that Mrs. Grayson might regret antagonizing her.
“Even if she wants to apologize, how will that help?”
“I’ll get her talking,” Geneva waved her hands in the air, as if about to produce an answer there. “Maybe she’ll let something slip that will help.” Her voice grew more enthusiastic as she talked. “Tomorrow morning is the Library Friends meeting. She’s sure to be there. Are you working tomorrow?”
“I’m supposed to work at the Reynolds house. But if Mrs. Reynolds hears…” She didn’t want to finish that, as she seemed to see all her jobs disappearing.
“If there’s a problem, you just come here instead,” Geneva said briskly. “And if not, come after work. You, too, Josiah. We’ll talk it over then.” She jumped up and came around the table to hug Leah. “In the meantime, try not to worry. Okay?”
“I will try.” That was easy to say. Leah had a feeling it would not be so easy to do.
Josiah spent the first part of the drive to the Miller farm trying to reassure Leah, but eventually he had to admit to himself that he couldn’t think of anything else to say. Leah didn’t seem inclined to talk, and soon the only sound was the clop of the mare’s hooves and the gentle creak of the buggy.
He stole a sideways glance at Leah’s face. Under the brim of her bonnet her expression was pensive, the corners of her soft lips drooping. She looked as if she’d given up already, and that made his heart hurt. Little Leah’s sorrows should be easily fixed, but this one… Despite Geneva Morgan’s optimism, he didn’t see a simple solution.
Leah’s lashes swept up, and she met his gaze. “Will you promise me something, Josiah?”
“If I can,” he said. Promises weren’t to be given unless he could be sure of keeping them.
Her lips firmed, as if she prepared to battle him over this, whatever it was. “Promise me you won’t tell anyone about this. Not right away, anyway.”
What was in her mind? “What about your mamm and daad? And Abe?”
“Not yet,” she said, her gaze suddenly pleading. “They will be so upset. And maybe by tomorrow, Geneva will have found something out.”
“Surely you want to tell Abe. He’s your big brother.” Abe had always been especially close to Leah. “He’d want to know.”
“He’d want to fix it,” she corrected with a slight smile. “And he can’t. Besides, he has enough on his hands now with a brand-new boppli. I don’t want him worrying about me.”
The determination in her voice surprised him a bit, but Leah was growing up, wasn’t she? And she knew her brother. Abe would want to make her problem better.
“All right,” he said finally. “But you’ll have to tell them soon, before they hear it from someone else.”
“Ja. I know.”
He didn’t have the heart to push her further. But he didn’t really see a way this would be cleared up without folks knowing.
He concentrated on the turn into the farm lane, trying not to think what Abe would say if he knew Josiah had held this back from him.
The farmhouse came into view, as well as the barns and outbuildings beyond. No one was in sight.
“Mamm and Daad and the little ones went over to the sale at New Holland today,” Leah said, interpreting his look. “They should be back soon.”
He pulled the buggy to a stop at the back door, and Leah jumped down.
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