Thrown to the Wolves (The Faith in Peril Trilogy) Read Free

The girls wore shawls and bonnets, as the rain had brought a chill. David looked distinguished in a black suit with a black felt hat.
    Dat clucked to the horse, and, with a jerk, we were off. The singing began almost immediately. “Gott ist die Leibe” was one of Jacob’s favorites, the little boy joining in with enthusiasm. We lived a mile down the road from the Troyer farm, and we bobbed and shook on our seats, as the wheels jostled over uneven ground.
    Mam, who held Abe, met Dat’s gaze, her smile deepening. I frequently caught their exchanges; the affection they felt for one another evident. I wanted so much to feel this way with Michael.
    “ Sie sind schön ,” he murmured.
    She smiled coyly, clearly relishing being called beautiful. But my mother was lovely, with thick blonde hair, an unlined face, and clear blue eyes. All the females in the family possessed these features, although none of us had grown as tall as our mother. I was an inch shorter and Anna two, but she awaited a growth spurt. Ruth, who was nearly twelve, was even smaller.
    We passed fields on either side of the road, but they did not belong to us. Rather they belonged to the Stoltzfus family on the right and the Esch family on the left. I craned my neck to look left; their house stood off at a distance, its roofline hidden by an enormous hickory tree. A black buggy waited out front, which brought a surge of hope through me. Michael would be at the singing tonight, and I had every expectation he would ask to court me. I had known him since I was a child. He had recently submitted to the Gmay , and he was ready to become a member of the brotherhood, which meant marriage, children, and farming. These were the things I wished for as well, and I felt confident I had chosen the perfect partner, although Michael had yet to know this.
    A long line of buggies approached the Troyer farm from either side. Most of the households in the district had returned to participate in supper and singing. We carried our pies, while others had baked heartier dishes. The ladies brought their burdens towards the house, while the men congregated in the yard. The boys—acting as hostlers—ran out to unhitch the horses, leading them to the barn for food and water.
    Anna stood with me, as we watched the buggies arrive, clattering down the drive, noting exactly which family would be joining us tonight. I hoped Michael Esch would appear soon. He was a fair-haired young man of good standing, whom I had come to admire. I valued kindness and honesty in a potential mate, and I believed he held these characteristics, as I had never seen him treat anyone ill.
    “Can I guess who you’re looking for?” asked Anna
    “Um … I suppose.” Groups of men stood by the barn, while youths wandered towards the house, where we would sit for supper.
    “Mr. Esch is pleasing enough, I suppose, but what about someone like Daniel Stoltzfus?”
    I glanced at Anna, who smiled teasingly. “Pleasing enough? You know I don’t like Daniel. Why must you bring him up?”
    “If you prefer bland. I’ve never found Michael all that interesting. I once listened to him prattling on about how long it took to till a field. He described it row by row.”
    “Oh, stop it.”
    “What on earth would you talk about?” She seemed determined to belabor this topic. “How many eggs the hens laid or whose cow knocked over what fence or who fell in a ditch and broke an arm.”
    “You’re being annoying now.”
    She nodded, indicating I look in another direction. “There comes Daniel Stoltzfus. Hasn’t he grown handsome? He’s taller than nearly everyone.”
    I was well-acquainted with every member of the Stoltzfus family, and, although I adored Daniel’s sisters, Rose, Jane, and Mary, along with his younger brothers, Adam, John, and Henry, I could scarcely contain my distain for Daniel.
    Anna knew why I disliked him, but she persisted on annoying me by pointing him out wherever we went, as if I could ignore