Authors: Ruth Hartzler
Matthew 21:21.
And Jesus answered them, “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen.
Chapter 7
.
Nettie was relieved that her lawyer, Mr. Koble, was in the office, and was able to speak to her after just a short time on hold. After relaying that everything Jebediah Sprinkler had said to her, she waited nervously to hear what Mr. Koble had to say.
"Sprinkler; is that an Amish name? I've never heard it before."
Nettie frowned. That was the last thing she thought that the lawyer would say. "I have no idea, but I think his father came over from Germany. I'm not too sure; I only know that his mother was Amish." Nettie wondered what that had to do with anything, but thought it impolite to ask him.
"Why would your mother think to leave anything to this man?"
Nettie looked around nervously, but there was no one in sight, apart from two chickens scratching around outside the barn door. "We were engaged when I was sixteen," she said in a low voice. "My mother tried to force me to marry him."
There was silence on the other end of the phone, and Nettie said, "Mr. Koble?"
"Yes, I see," he said. "Obviously, there is no record of any such will here and I know nothing of it."
Nettie's spirits lifted for a moment. "Does that mean the will isn’t registered?"
Mr. Koble's words soon dashed her hopes. "No. Wills are only registered
after
the testator is deceased, not before. I registered this will at the Register of Wills at the Courthouse in Duke Street."
"What if the will leaving everything to Jebediah Sprinkler is found?" Nettie held her breath, waiting for the answer.
"Do you mean will it take precedence over the will I have just registered?" Without waiting for Nettie to answer, Mr. Koble continued. "Yes, it will, only if it was written
after
this will. And as this will was written before you were sixteen, if the will that allegedly leaves everything to Sprinkler is found, then yes, he will be the beneficiary."
Nettie clutched at her throat, and tears filled her eyes.
"You could, of course, contest the will," Mr. Koble advised, "but I know that the Amish do not contest wills, and you have already decided not to contest the funds going to the stray cat rescue league."
"That's right," Nettie said in a small voice.
"And clearly this Mr. Sprinkler has not been able to produce the will?"
"No, he says my mother must have it in the house somewhere. Mr. Koble, do you think there is such a will?"
"There is no evidence either way at this stage," Mr. Koble said in his sensible, lawyer voice. "Yet the will in my possession was not revoked. It is usual to revoke a will if a later will has been made. That suggests to me that this man's claim may be fraudulent. At any rate, let me know at once if you do happen to find a will. Goodbye, Miss Swarey."
"Oh, just one more thing."
"Yes?"
"What would happen if,
err
, if the will somehow got destroyed?" Nettie was shocked that she had even asked. Verbalizing what she had been considering somehow made it seem far more real.
"It is a felony criminal offense to destroy or hide a will." The lawyer's voice was stern.
"Oh yes, thank you, Mr. Koble." Nettie hung up and walked out into the sun. Daniel was over by the
haus
and when Nettie walked out, he walked toward her.
"Is everything okay, I hope?" He looked somewhat embarrassed, and then added, "I'm sorry; I don’t mean to pry."
Nettie smiled. "
Nee
, that's fine. A
mann
by the name of Jebediah Sprinkler - he was an old friend of my
mudder's
- came to visit me the other day, and said that he was the sole beneficiary of her will." Daniel gasped, but Nettie kept talking. "He doesn't have a copy of the will, but said my
mudder
must have put it somewhere in the
haus
."
Daniel was visibly shocked. "Could that be true?"
Nettie shrugged. "My lawyer doesn't think so, as the current will wasn't revoked, but it’s a possibility."
"And the current will left everything to you, I assume?"
Nettie tried not to cry. "
Nee
, only the
haus
and the farm. My
mudder
left all the money to a stray cat protection league."
Daniel gasped yet again. "But why would your
mudder
leave this
mann
the farm and the money?"
Nettie hesitated. She did not want to go into the whole story of her
mudder
trying to pressure her to marry Jebediah Sprinkler; in fact, Daniel was the last person she wanted to tell. Thankfully, Melissa chose this moment to hurry out of the
haus
.
"Nettie," she said breathlessly, after running over to her, "
Mamm
wants to invite you to come to dinner next week."
"
Denki
," Nettie said, nervous at the prospect of being around several people at once, and at the same time, nervous at the prospect of being in the same room as Daniel.
Melissa smiled, looked at Daniel and then at Nettie, and then hurried back into the
haus
.
Alone with Daniel once again, Nettie was afraid that his questioning would pick up where it had left off, but he seemed to have other things on his mind.
"You will have no income?"
Nettie shook her head. "
Nee
, that’s why I'm looking for work.
Denki
for letting me use your phone and
denki
for letting me borrow Blessing too. He's been, well, a blessing."
They both laughed, and Nettie relaxed somewhat. "So you haven't found work yet?" Daniel asked, his voice full of concern.
"Not yet, but I'm sure I will."
Daniel rubbed his chin. "Your
mudder
left you the farm as well as the
haus
?"
"
Jah
, she left everything to me, the
haus
, the farm, the furniture, absolutely everything, with the exception of her money."
"Have you thought about working the farm?"
"But, but," Nettie spluttered, "How could I? There's only me, and there are no plows, balers, mules, plow horses, anything!"
Daniel chuckled. "Sorry, that came out wrong. Your farm adjoins ours. We have fifteen acres of corn, fifteen acres of wheat, and twenty acres of alfalfa. The demand for alfalfa is increasing so much that we can’t keep up with it. My
vadder
has been looking to lease more land for alfalfa, but hasn't found anywhere suitable yet. This is just an idea that's only just occurred to me, but would you consider leasing your farm to us?"
"But the whole farm's run down and the fencing is in poor repair."
"I don't think the alfalfa will try to escape." Daniel chuckled again. "If you agree, I’ll tell
Datt
and see what he has to say, as he has to approve it, of course. Anyway, we're familiar with your land as it’s right next to ours, and that would cut our costs considerably."
Nettie beamed. This could be the answer to her financial troubles. She could scarcely believe it. Then again, Nettie figured, she had prayed to
Gott
to provide for her; what was the point of praying if one did not expect
Gott
to answer? Nettie sent up a silent prayer of thanks to
Gott
for his provision. Yet, as soon as she did, Nettie immediately worried that the will that was leaving everything to Jebediah Sprinkler would come to light.
I have to have more faith
, she thought.
I must rely on Gott
.
* * *
Daniel watched Nettie disappear from view. He hoped she would consider leasing the farm to his
familye
, and he was sure his
vadder
would be overjoyed at the chance to lease the adjoining farming land. It was good soil, and had lain fallow for many years.
Yet Daniel had an ulterior motive. He was attracted to Nettie. She appeared to be everything he wanted in a woman.
Steady on
, he said to himself,
you don’t know her well enough yet, not by a long way
.
Nevertheless, leasing the land would help his
familye
, and it would help Nettie. She wouldn't have to go out and find work. Daniel felt anxious at the thought of Nettie out amongst
Englischers
. Everyone in the community knew about the girl whose
mudder
had refused to allow visitors to come to the
haus
for years, and who had kept her
dochder
in virtual seclusion. Daniel was surprised that Nettie was as outgoing as she was. She must be of strong character to have withstood all that and come out unscathed.
Daniel’s thoughts turned to the will, and the stranger who had arrived at Nettie's, claiming that he was the sole beneficiary of her
mudder's
will. Something was not right there, of that Daniel was sure. This
mann
was clearly someone who was trying to take advantage of Nettie. "Not if I can help it," Daniel said aloud. He felt protective toward Nettie - and something more.
Matthew 14:31.
Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
Chapter 8
.
Nettie could not remember ever having gone out to someone’s place for dinner. Surely she and her
mudder
would have gone to dinner at someone's
haus
when she was younger, but try as she might, she could not remember such an occasion.
Nettie had washed and ironed her green dress to wear to the Glicks'
haus
. She also starched her prayer
kapp
and apron. She was determined to make a
gut
impression on the Glicks. Nettie wondered what the Glicks might know about her. Much to her embarrassment, everyone at the funeral seemed to have some knowledge of her
mudder’s
strange ways.
As she dressed for dinner, Nettie recalled how her heart had skipped a beat when she had seen Daniel speaking to an attractive girl. She was pleased that the girl happened to be his
schweschder.
She wondered if Daniel did have a girl that he was fond of. Maybe she would find out at dinner tonight. Surely he would have a girl already, a handsome
mann
like that.
Having no mirror in the
haus,
she went to the kitchen, took out a shiny, large, frying pan, and held it in front of her face to study her reflection. Nettie considered her best feature to be her blue eyes. They were a clear blue, not a gray blue or a hazel blue, but a clear blue like the sky.
She ran her hand over the roundness of her face, pleased that she had long since grown out of the spots that had troubled her as a teenager. She pushed stray hairs of blonde hair back under her
kapp.
Her
mudder
had caught her looking at herself in the frying pan once and she was scolded for it; her
mudder
had screamed at her and called her prideful.
“That’s the best I can do,” she said to herself. She often spoke aloud to herself, and had even done so when her
mudder
was alive. Her
mudder
was not someone she could speak to as one would speak to a friend, so she would speak to herself when she was in the
haus,
and when she was outside, she would tell her troubles to her horse.
Pangs of nerves rippled through Nettie’s stomach. What would she speak about at dinner? Earlier in the day she had baked a rhubarb pie to take to the Glicks', but now she was worrying if that was the done thing. Should she take something with her if someone invited her to dinner? It felt right to do so. Nettie hushed the questions that were flying through her head about dinner protocol.
Goodness me, Nettie, it’s just dinner
, she scolded herself, trying to push away her nerves.
Nettie harnessed up Blessing and made her way to the Glicks. She was careful to lock every door and every window in the
haus
before she left, just in case Jebediah Sprinkler might get the idea in his head to snoop around. She remembered that her
mudder
had told her with disapproval that most Amish did not have locks. There had been no sign of Jebediah, but Nettie wasn't taking any chances. As she drove along, Nettie realized what Daniel meant about Blessing loving being worked. He trotted along happily as though he were thoroughly enjoying herself. Blessing would not be happy just to be in a field; that was clear enough. He loved attention, and he loved trotting down the narrow ribbons of roads that made their way between the farms. As they neared the Glicks’
haus
, Blessing trotted a little faster.
He must have happy memories of this place,
Nettie thought.
Clearly, Daniel is kind to his animals.
Daniel appeared in front of her as she pulled up near the Glicks' barn.
“Blessing looks happy.”
“
Jah
, he enjoys the work; I can tell that.”
“How are you today, Nettie?”
“I’m well, Daniel. And you?”
Daniel nodded. “Fine,
denki
.”
As Nettie got out of the buggy, she said, “
Ach
, I almost forgot. I made a pie.”
“I love pie.”
Nettie laughed and then stopped herself when she realized that it had been many years since she had heard the sound of her own laughter. “It’s a rhubarb pie.”
“
Wunderbaar
." Daniel smiled at her, and led her to the
haus
.
Nettie smiled; it was nice to think of something other than her
mudder
and what might cause her to have one of her tantrums.
Mrs. Glick was at the door by the time they reached the front porch. “Hello, Nettie. Nice to see you again. I’m sorry I didn’t get to speak to you at the funeral.”
“Hello, Mrs. Glick. I’m afraid I didn’t really speak to anyone much at the funeral.” Nettie quickly changed the subject. “It was nice of you to invite me to dinner.” Nettie handed her the pie.
“You didn’t have to bring anything.”
“It’s a rhubarb pie.”
“That’s Mr. Glick’s favorite.” Mrs. Glick turned to Daniel. “Sit down with Nettie until dinner’s ready.”
“Let me help you with something.” Nettie was not used to being waited on, and she was a little nervous about being alone with Daniel.
“
Nee
, have a seat and relax.”
Daniel motioned for her to walk through the next doorway. She walked through to a huge room. Daniel’s
daed
was sitting on a large sofa near a corner. After they greeted each other, Nettie sat down.
Mr. Glick had a newspaper in his hands. He placed it down on the table next to him. “I hear you’re looking after Blessing.”
Nettie shot a look at Daniel who gave her a quick smile. “
Jah
, he’s a fine horse and he came along at just the right time. My other horse had just gone lame and now he can’t work anymore.”
Even though he was seated, Nettie could see that Mr. Glick was a large man. His hair was balding, but she could see some of the features of Daniel in his face. They had the same straight nose, the chiseled mouth, and the well shaped ears.
Maybe Mr. Glick was also good-looking in his day,
Nettie thought.
“Daniel says you’re looking for work?”
“That’s right.” Nettie took it as a
gut
sign that Daniel had obviously spoken of her to his parents.
“What kind of work?”
Nettie looked down at her hands as if looking at them would somehow stop them fidgeting. “I’m not trained to do anything at all. I don’t really know what I could do. I like to cook and I can sew.”
“Would you mind if I enquire on your behalf with people I know?”
“
Denki
, I would appreciate it very much if you could.” Nettie at once felt at home with all the Glicks. She had immediately warmed to Daniel’s
schweschder,
and his
daed
was just as welcoming as his
mudder.
She looked around the room; it was neat and well ordered. Colorful, crocheted rugs covered the backs of the three sofas.
“
Hiya
, Nettie.” Daniel's
schweschder,
Melissa, greeted Nettie as she came into the room. She settled into the sofa next to her
daed.
“
Mamm
sent me out of the kitchen to tell everyone that dinner will be ready in five minutes.”
“It smells delicious,” Nettie said.
“It’s roasted chicken and a beef stew.”
“That’ll do me,” Daniel said with a smile.
Nettie was glad that dinner would be only five minutes away. She had no idea what to say. Her worst fear was that she would sit in silence through the entire dinner and the Glicks would think her a little odd. She had to think of something to say, but what do people speak about at times like these?
Thankfully, Daniel spoke first. “It was a beautiful day today, wasn’t it?”
“
Jah
, I love this time of year. I don’t like it when it’s really cold. I much prefer the sunshine.”
“
Nee
, I like the cold because we can go ice-skating. Do you like ice-skating, Nettie?”
How could she tell him, without looking foolish, that her
mudder
had never allowed her to ice-skate? She would have to say it boldly and not in a timid voice. She turned to Daniel and looked him in the eyes. “I have never ice-skated.”
“Never?”
She shook her head.
“You must come with us then, Nettie,” Melissa said. "I can teach you."
“Will you come with us in winter?” Daniel asked.
Nettie smiled and nodded. She had always wanted to join in the games, the volleyball, the ice-skating and even the singings, but she was never allowed to do anything that would be enjoyable. Her
mudder
had always found some reason why she could not join in with others. The only thing her
mudder
had ever been keen for her to do was marry someone whom Nettie found entirely unsuitable.