The Only Way (The Amish Millers Get Married Book 4) Read online

  “Martha, were you speaking to Sarah or to me about Elijah?”

  Martha looked up, puzzled. “Why to you, of course.” When Rebecca didn’t answer, Martha continued, “You’ll be next, Rebecca.”

  “Next for what?” Rebecca’s reply brought laughter from everyone present.

  “To marry of course.”

  “Oh.” Rebecca didn’t know what to say, and was suddenly perturbed as everyone in the kitchen was looking at her.

  Mrs. Weaver, a kindly, elderly widow, took her arm. “Isn’t that lovely, dear. Your three schweschders are married to the three Hostetler bruders, and when you marry Elijah Hostetler, that will make it complete.”

  “But I’m not marrying Elijah,” Rebecca protested.

  “That’s right, dear,” the hard-of-hearing Mrs. Weaver said. “Your wedding will be next. I hope your mudder has many chickens being fattened in readiness for your wedding. Oh how happy your mudder must be, and Elijah’s mudder too. Soon you and Elijah will have plenty of bopplis.”

  The people in the room chuckled at some length, most likely driven on by Rebecca’s horrified expression. “I’m not marrying Elijah,” Rebecca insisted as loudly as she could.

  Mrs. Weaver looked upset. “Don’t worry, dear. Go and speak to the bishop and he’ll be able to help you two with your problems.”

  There’s no point saying any more, Rebecca thought. She picked up a large tray of apple pies. “I’ll just take these out the refrigerator in the mobile kitchen,” she announced.

  On her way to the mobile kitchen, Rebecca walked past Elijah and Sarah, who stopped speaking as soon as she approached. The three smiled at each other and Rebecca kept going. Why did they stop talking as soon as they saw me? she wondered. I hope they’re not dating. Tears pricked at Rebecca’s eyes. Despite her protestations, she did want to marry Elijah, but not just yet. Everyone expected them to marry, and Rebecca wanted to make very sure that Elijah really wanted to marry her for the sole reason that he was truly in love with her, not just because it was something that was expected by the whole community. Rebecca loved Elijah with her whole heart; she had loved him for as long as she could remember. The only trouble was, she had no idea how Elijah felt about her. He was her best friend, and they usually teased each other and joked with each other.

  Rebecca had always felt that she would marry Elijah one day, but had never felt any urgency about that matter—at least, not until now.

  Rebecca carefully placed the apple pies in the walk in refrigerator, and then hurried back out the door, straight into the hard chest of a young man.

  “Sorry,” she said automatically, before she looked and saw that the person was none other than Nash Grayson. She recoiled, a fact which did not go unnoticed by Nash. “Sorry Nash, err, Eli, err, Nash.” Rebecca had no idea how to address the young mann, and fumbled with her apron in an attempt to hide her awkwardness.

  Nash was visibly annoyed. “It’s Nash,” he said, with irritation in his voice.

  “Nash,” Rebecca repeated. “What are you doing here?”

  “Helping, obviously. Englischers aren’t forbidden to help the day before a wedding, are they.”

  “I don’t know,” Rebecca said, and then put her hand to her mouth when she realized it was said as a statement and not a question, and at that, with more than a little bit of sarcasm. She wished she would learn to think before she spoke. “Of course not. Um, it’s gut that you’re helping.”

  Rebecca looked up to see that Elijah was studying her carefully. Sarah was still speaking to him in an animated fashion, but he was staring at Rebecca. A little thrill of excitement ran through Rebecca as she wondered if Elijah was jealous.

  *

  Nash Grayson was no fool; he had seen Elijah watching him and Rebecca. So, I have competition, he thought. Still, that blonde girl was talking to Elijah. If he could help get those two together, that would leave the way clear for him and Rebecca. It was simple: all he had to do was to drive a wedge between Rebecca and Elijah and find a way to get the blonde girl and Elijah together.

  *

  So that’s Nash Grayson, Elijah thought. I suppose girls might find him handsome. He’s tall, and looks mysterious. I believe girls like that sort of thing.

  Elijah was uncomfortable over the cozy conversation that Nash and Rebecca appeared to be having. He had come to ask Rebecca on a buggy ride, but had been waylaid by Sarah asking him all sorts of questions about his mudder’s quilt store. Hannah had been taking in sewing for his mudder and doing it at her haus, but she was now overwhelmed with the twins and had told Katie Hostetler that she could no longer continue. It seemed that Sarah wanted to be her replacement.

  Elijah had, however, been gratified that Rebecca had flashed him what he hoped was a look of jealously when she saw him speaking to Sarah. Perhaps Rebecca didn’t find Nash all that attractive after all. Elijah certainly hoped that was the case.

  Luke 8:16.

  No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, so that those who enter might see the light.

  Chapter 6

  By dawn on the morning of Martha’s wedding to Moses, Rebecca was already exhausted, not only by the hard work of the day before, for she was used to hard work, but by the constant jokes that she would be the next to be married, and at that, to Elijah. Sure, the jokes were well-meaning, but that did not in any way lessen their impact. One or two jokes might have been funny, but the constant barrage of them was tiring.

  The wedding service began at 8 a.m., and there was still plenty to do. Mr. Miller had set up a tie-line for the horses, and many horses were already tethered there, with a long line of buggies parked in the nearby field. Their attendants, young teenage boys, were hurrying around efficiently, making sure that everything was in order.

  Rebecca poked her head inside the mobile kitchen, looking for her mudder. Four couples were in there, preparing the Roascht, the traditional Amish wedding roast of chickens and stuffing bread with spices and celery. A further four couples were mashing copious amounts of potatoes while a further two women were making sure that there would be an unending supply of freshly brewed kaffi.

  There was no sign of Mrs. Miller, so Rebecca hurried back into the haus to consult the notes which had been drawn up by Martha. She ran her finger down the list of cooks’ names on one side, and the items that each person was cooking on the other. Everything appeared to be running smoothly.

  Her mudder was there in the kitchen, making gravy. “Mamm, what would you like me to do now?” Rebecca asked. “The creamed celery’s all done and so is the gravy.”

  Mrs. Miller looked up briefly. “Gut. You can go and start as a Vorgeher now.”

  The Old German word Vorgeher meant a leader, but in the context of Amish weddings it meant an usher. Elijah and Rebecca had both agreed to be ushers, a job often given to the siblings of both the bride and the groom. For the wedding ceremony, Martha had two newehockers, “side-sitters” or attendants, and so therefore did Moses. As Martha’s schweschders were married to Moses’ bruders, it was clear that the two couples would be the newehockers.

  The traditional number of the newehockers was two for the bride and two for the groom, although in some communities in Lancaster, three newehockers each were becoming more frequent. Rebecca, however, did not want to be so closely thrown together with Elijah yet again, so had said she would rather be a Vorgeher than a newehocker. This had pleased her mudder, who had more of a traditional mindset. Mrs. Miller always said that any break in tradition was of the devil, not that she professed to believe in the existence of the devil apart from his literal existence as a Biblical entity, and of course, Mrs. Miller did firmly believe in hell. This paradox of their mudder’s was one that the Miller girls had always wondered about, although were never impolite enough to ask.

  Rebecca hurried outside to the community’s bench wagon which had delivered the benches as well as all the folding chairs for the elderly guests. The folding chairs
were also used for elderly folk at the church services. At any rate, it would be difficult for the elderly to sit through the three hours of the wedding service on backless benches. The bench wagon also contained the hymn books. It was Rebecca’s duty to meet with the other ushers to confirm the layout of the tables and benches for the reception. They had already had a rehearsal of turning the benches into tables and seats for the reception the day before.

  Rebecca’s heart fluttered when she saw Elijah, who caught her eye and smiled. Rebecca walked over to speak to Elijah, but to her dismay, Sarah appeared, and handed Elijah a mug of kaffi. Rebecca’s heart sank; the two of them already looked like a couple, and given the Amish fondness for secrecy when dating, they could already be a couple for all she knew.

  Elijah thanked Sarah and looked at Rebecca expectantly, but she ducked into the large tent which stood against the wide open doors of the barn. The large tent provided extra seating, and was where the Englischer guests were to sit during the ceremony. Mrs. Hostetler, the mudder of the groom, as well as of Elijah, owned a quilt store and had made several Englisch friends, as had Mr. Miller in the course of his furniture making business.

  Rebecca clutched at her stomach. Had she made a grave mistake in waiting for Elijah to show he did indeed love her with all his might? Or had the fact that she was waiting for him to declare his affections left the way open for another girl?

  “Are you all right?”

  Rebecca looked up at the owner of the voice to see Nash Grayson looming over her, his face full of concern.

  “Yes, denki,” she said.

  “You’ve gone all white.”

  “Are you staying for the wedding?” Rebecca said by way of reply, mentally assessing where Nash should be seated. He would have to be seated with the Englischers, of course.

  “No,” he said. “I’ve just brought my mother here. Disappointed?”

  Rebecca was puzzled. “What, disappointed that your mudder is here? What do you mean?”

  Nash laughed so hard that he clutched his sides. “No, silly. Are you disappointed that I won’t be here for the wedding?”

  Rebecca was about to say something cutting, but saw that Moses had stuck his head inside the tent and was watching them. She felt it only proper to introduce the two menner. “Nash, this is Elijah Hostetler, the bruder of the groom. Elijah, this is…”

  Nash cut her off. “Hi, I’m Nash Grayson.” He put out his hand and Elijah shook it. “I’m staying at the B&B for some time. I just gave Mrs. Flickinger, the owner of the B&B, a ride here in my car. I’m leaving now.”

  Aha, so he doesn’t want anyone to know that he’s really Eli Flickinger, Rebecca thought.

  Nash nodded to Elijah, winked at Rebecca, and then left. By the look on Elijah’s face, it was clear that he had seen the wink. Rebecca struggled with her loyalties: should she tell Elijah the truth about Nash, when it was clear that Nash had tried to keep the truth from him? If she didn’t, the truth would soon get out, and Elijah would wonder why Rebecca hadn’t told him. That secret was not one which would last for any length of time in the community. Nash had put Rebecca in a difficult position, a difficult position indeed.

  *

  Why didn’t Rebecca tell me that Nash Grayson was the Flickingers’ son? Elijah wondered. She would have no idea that I already know, so it’s not gut that she’s keeping secrets from me. It’s obvious that Nash didn’t want me to know his true identity. Besides, that Nash has a nerve, winking at Rebecca like that.

  Had Elijah being so slow to ask Rebecca to marry him, left the way open for her to have feelings for another mann? He had been looking for an opportunity to speak to Rebecca, but Sarah had stuck to him like glue, asking all sorts of questions about his mudder’s store. He had finally told her that she needed to speak to his mudder.

  He had enjoyed the proximity to Rebecca that day, despite all the jokes that came his way about him being the last Hostetler bruder to marry the last Miller schweschder. If he’d heard that joke once, he’d heard it a thousand times. It became wearying after a while.

  His heart belonged to Rebecca; of that he was certain. Yet he had no idea how she felt about him. Did she too feel the pressure to marry him? If he proposed to her, would she marry him only because it was expected of her? Elijah wanted true love, the sort that his bruders had. Was he silly to want that? Or should he propose to Rebecca and be grateful if she agreed to marry him, even if she didn’t love him and thought of him only as a gut friend?

  Daniel 2:47.

  The king answered and said to Daniel, “Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery.”

  Chapter 7

  As would be expected with every Amish wedding preparation, the morning had run smoothly and to plan. Rebecca and Elijah had shown the guests to their seats, and everyone was now seated in the correct, traditional order.

  Rebecca finally sat down, relieved and excited that Martha was about to be married. Just on 8 a.m., everyone started singing the first traditional wedding hymn in German. The ministers walked out the barn, followed by Martha and Moses. While Rebecca was singing the hymn which was about the church as Christ’s bride, she stole a look at Martha. Martha and her two newehockers, Hannah and Esther, were all wearing the same purple dresses, along with their aprons and prayer kapps. Martha was wearing black, high-topped boots. Moses and his two newehockers, Noah and Jacob, were wearing black suits, black brimmed hats, white shirts, and black high-topped boots. Moses was wearing a black hat with a wide brim. Rebecca thought that Martha looked nervous, and even the ever-cheerful Moses looked solemn. This was Martha and Moses’ time of Abroth, the questions that the bishop would ask them, and then the advice he would give them.

  The next song was Das Loblied, “The Song of Praise,” from the Amish hymn book, the Ausbund. Rebecca smiled to herself while singing the hymn in the traditional, very slow manner. Mamm will be happy that this wedding is traditional, she thought, not that Martha had any choice in the matter. I wonder if anyone from the community will ever break away from tradition in their wedding?

  Rebecca had a momentary pang of guilt for thinking such thoughts, and then her thoughts turned to her own wedding. It will be right here, just like this wedding, she thought, but then suddenly felt downcast. What if I never get married? I won’t marry Elijah unless he’s truly in love with me, but he’s never shown any sign that he is. I’m sure he just expects to marry me—me, the last Miller girl, marrying the last Hostetler boy. All my schweschders are married to his bruders, and the whole community expects us to marry. I think Elijah is just falling into everyone’s expectations for us.

  Rebecca fell deeper into sadness for her future, when, after around fifteen minutes of singing Das Loblied, Martha and Moses reappeared, and this cheered her up. Martha and Moses went to sit next to their newehockers, who were sitting on the benches in front of the ministers. Moses took up his position on the bench next to his newehockers, his bruders Noah and Jacob. The three of them were on the bench directly opposite the bench on which Martha, and her attendants, her schweschders Hannah and Esther, were sitting.

  Rebecca wondered again what it would be like to marry Elijah. If I married Elijah, I’d have to have all three of my schweschders as newehockers, she thought. Then Mamm would be really annoyed with me for breaking tradition. She suppressed a chuckle.

  Rebecca turned her attention back to singing, as the third hymn had begun. Like the first hymn, this hymn was also about the church as the bride of Christ.

  One of the ministers then stood up and launched into a talk about marriage in the Old Testament. Two hours later, everyone present kneeled for a silent prayer, and then stood up when Matthew chapter nineteen, verses one through twelve were read out loud.

  The bishop then started his talk, beginning in Genesis. Rebecca shifted her weight on the bench and looked in the direction of Elijah. Would she one day marry Elijah? She loved him with all her heart, but d
id he love her back? She did not want to spend her lifetime in a loveless marriage. Sure, Elijah would make a wonderful husband, but she wanted more. She wanted his love. Elijah was kind-hearted and sweet, and everyone expected the two of them to marry. He probably thinks it’s his duty to marry me, she thought with dismay. The pressure on the two of them to marry had been considerable. Sure, it was always said in a joking, light hearted manner, but it was there, nonetheless. With her three older schweschders married to his three older bruders, most people considered it a done deal that Rebecca would marry Elijah.

  Rebecca was away with her thoughts of marriage and Elijah when she heard the bishop say, “Now here are two in one faith.” This meant that he had come to the end of his talk and was starting the short, actual marriage ceremony. The bishop continued by asking the assembly if anyone knew of any reason why Martha and Moses could not be married. The bishop paused so long that Rebecca nearly had a fit of the giggles. She remembered this part of Esther and Jacob’s wedding, when she had imagined that Jessie Yoder would run to the bishop with a fanciful story.

  The bishop finally spoke again. “If it is still your desire to be married, you might in the name of the Lord come forth.” He told Moses and Martha to stand in front of him.

  The bishop then questioned Moses and Martha in turn. “Moses, do you believe and confess with your mouth that it is scriptural order for one man and one woman to be one, and state that you have been thus led so far?” After Moses affirmed, he repeated the same question to Martha. The bishop turned back to Moses. “Moses, can you, bruder, state that the Lord directs you to take this schweschder as your wife?” The bishop then addressed the question to Martha.

  The bishop continued to question Moses. “Moses, do you promise to support your fraa when she is in weakness, sickness, whatever trials might befall you, and stand as a Christian husband?” Again, the parallel question was put to Martha.