The Shunning (16 page)

"But, that is ridiculous!"

"It is, but he is planning to speak with your Dat and counsel him to keep you away from me."

"What? Oh no! Oh Samuel, I could not bear that!"

"I couldn't either, Sadie. The Bishop thinks I am planning to yank you over to Englisch ways."

"Surely you told him this is all lies...?"

"I did, and I showed him my barns. I am not convinced the Bishop believes me."

"I will speak with Dat, Samuel. I will not be separated from you!" Her temper flared and twin spots of anger appeared on her cheeks. "Who would stoop so low?"

"I can't imagine. Did some other man wish to court you, Sadie? If he discredited me in your Dat's eyes...?"

"There is no one, Samuel. I did not encourage anyone but you."

"Very well. You'd best get back inside, my lieb. I will go and speak with your Dat. I would rather address this with him before the Bishop discredits me."

"Oh, Samuel, I am so angry with the person who falsely accused you."

"Sadie, you are needed in the dining room," Hiram called outside.

"I must go, Samuel. Please come and see me tonight and we'll figure this out."

"I will, Sadie," he promised, having no idea that he would be unable to keep his promise.

* * *

"I will not have my daughter courted by a man who is not faithful to our ways, Samuel Hilty," Levi stated firmly, looking the younger man in the eye. "The Bishop is concerned about you, and after what he has heard, I have my doubts."

"Sir, those are lies. I haven't made any of those comments, and I do not have a car or a cell phone."

"Then why are people going to the Bishop and saying otherwise, Samuel?" Levi demanded.

"I have no idea, sir. It isn't the truth. I have been living the Amish way since I moved on my farm. I would do nothing at all to push Sadie away."

"The Bishop has advised me to keep Sadie away from you, and that is what I intend to do until you are again in favor. You are close to being shunned, Samuel, and I will not permit Sadie to associate with you until I am certain this talk has no foundation." He returned to work, giving the younger man his back. How could Samuel pretend to be something he obviously wasn't?

Samuel was devastated and he had no idea where to turn for help. He'd been so sure that Levi would believe him, but the Bishop got there first and Levi already had his mind made up. And now he was not permitted to see his beloved Sadie. Samuel drove home and stabled his horse, and then busied himself about the farm while trying to decide what he could do to prove himself innocent. He had to figure out who was behind all the talk and then get them to confess. But, where did he start?

* * *

"Surely you do not believe the rumors,
Dat
?" Sadie asked in disbelief as she looked at her parents. "Samuel doesn't have a car or a cell phone, and he hasn't once complained about life here. He only speaks of our future together, and the plans he has for the farm to grow. We are engaged,
Dat
, and I am going to marry Samuel," she announced.

"There will be no wedding as long as Samuel is under criticism from the elders and the Bishop, daughter. You will not be seeing Samuel Hilty, period."

"No,
Dat
! You cannot mean that! I love Samuel!"

"I mean what I say, Sadie. I will not argue the matter with you. This discussion is over; you are not to see Samuel Hilty, and he is not welcome here."

Sadie squared her slender shoulders and then said, "I am grown,
Dat
. I will make my own decisions. Samuel is innocent of these charges and I believe in him even if you don't." She turned on her heel and left the room, going upstairs to her bed. She threw herself down and cried, not caring if everyone in the house heard her.

"I knew that this would happen," Mary stated. "You were a fool to fall in love with a man like him. He is just no good and you are the only one who can't see it!"

"Mary, I won't hear you speak against Samuel. You are just a foolish child and you don't know anything at all about Samuel or how I feel about him. Leave me alone!"

"This is my room, too, and I can be here if I want," Mary snapped at her. "I am glad he is gone."

Sadie jumped to her feet and gave her sister a look full of anger. "Mary, do not speak to me of Samuel or I promise I will lose my temper and do something I am sure you won't like!"

Mary wisely shut her mouth in the face of her sister's temper but she couldn't help but smirk now that Samuel Hilty was out of their lives forever.

* * *

"Sadie, what are you doing here?" Samuel asked as he opened the door to find her standing on the porch. "My
Got
, it is dark outside and you shouldn't be out alone."

"I had to come, Samuel. I am miserable and I don't know what to do. I had words with
Dat
, and he forbade me to see you. I told him that I am an adult and would see you if I wished. I also told him we are engaged and planning to be married this fall. He said there would be no wedding!" She burst into tears again and Samuel simply held her. "Mary is gloating."

"Sadie, I hate to ask this, but do you think it possible that Mary is responsible for the rumors?" Samuel asked hesitantly. "I just can't believe she would do this to you, but she is the only person that I know of who dislikes me so much."

"I asked her if she was behind it and she denied having anything to do with it, Samuel. Mary is not a liar. I have no clue who is responsible, but I wish I did. I am heartsick. We might have to leave here," Sadie said. "I will not be separated from you, Samuel. I love you."

"I love you, too, Levi's Sadie, and I am happy you came to tell me so. But, it is late, and you should be at home and in your bed."

"You should be in your bed, too, Samuel, but I am sure you could sleep no more than I could."

"No, I could not," he admitted. "Come with me and I'll harness the horse to the buggy and take you home. I will not allow you to walk all that way, and if I wasn't so thankful to see you and know that you still love me I would turn you over my knee and spank you for walking all this way in the dark."

"I did not wish to risk waking
Dat
by taking a buggy," she confessed, and then added, "I will be grateful for a ride home, though."

"You had best let me take you home, Sadie," a voice came from the dark. "
Dat
would not be pleased to see you with Samuel, and you need to be patient right now. Atlee and I will solve this problem," David said, stepping forward.

"David, I did not hear you!" Sadie said as she looked for his buggy.

"I followed you on foot. I knew where you were coming, and I wouldn't let you come alone. It just isn't safe, little sister. I will walk you home."

"It is for the best, Sadie," Samuel said. "We will find the person responsible and then we'll be permitted to be together in the right way. I do not want you sneaking around. Is this clear?" Samuel asked.

"It is, as long as it doesn't take too long. I meant what I said to
Dat
."

Samuel gave her a chaste kiss and then sent her on her way with her brother, thankful the other man loved his sister enough to make sure she was safe. He watched until the dark swallowed them and then went inside his lonely house. At least now he would be able to get some sleep; he knew that Sadie believed in him and still loved him. That was all a man could ask for.

* * *

"No, Atlee!" Miriam pleaded with the man she intended to marry. "I do not want a spanking! I fear you do not know your own strength, and I did not sit for a full week after the other time!"

"I have told you how I feel about gossiping and carrying tales, have I not?"

"I meant no harm, Atlee. It was Sarah Troyer who repeated what she heard."

"And where did she hear it?" Atlee demanded, determined to get to the bottom of the matter and clear Samuel's name.

"I am not sure," Miriam answered, her eyes full of tears. "I am sorry I repeated it, Atlee. I had no idea that someone would go to the Bishop. I didn't really believe those things were true."

"Miriam, you repeated gossip to the Bishop's niece. She told her
Mamm
, and her
Mamm
went to her brother. Now my sister is crying her heart out because the Bishop has forbidden her to see Samuel, and he told
Dat
that Samuel will be shunned if enough people step forward to speak against him."

"I am sorry," she said, weeping. "I feel so terrible."

"You are going to feel worse," Atlee promised. He took Miriam's hand and led her behind the barn on her father's property. "You are not going to carry gossip, Miriam. It might be permitted in your father's home, but it will not be in mine. It is best you learn this right now and then decide if you can live with my rule." He bent down and broke a slat off of a wooden crate, and then he pulled her to where a bench rested against the back of the barn. "This will do." He sat down and then said, "Pull up your skirt and lie over my lap, Miriam."

"Oh, Atlee, I do not want a
bletching
. Please! I meant no harm, and I will go to the Bishop and tell him that I spoke without knowing the truth of the matter."

"What you will do is go to Sarah and ask her where she heard these rumors. I will have answers, Miriam." He looked at her. "Do as I said right now and no more stalling."

Miriam cried even harder as she obeyed Atlee. She did not want the pain of a spanking, even though she knew she was guilty as could be. Once she was lying over his lap and supported by the bench as well, Atlee gave her the first spank with his hand. She couldn't prevent herself from crying out, but Atlee didn't seem to care that his hand was hard and painful on her tender bottom. He continued to spank her for what seemed like an eternity, and then he stopped to scold her once again, his words hurting her far more than his spanking hand.

"Do you understand the seriousness of your actions, Miriam?" Atlee demaned of her.

"
Ja
!"

"Then tell me why you would repeat something that you didn't know the source of to the Bishop's niece? How would you feel if someone did that to us...? How would you feel if someone carried tales about me to the Bishop and your
Dat
forbabe you to see me? Forbade us to marry?"

"I would be devastated," she answered.

"
Ja
, and so would I. Sadie and Samuel are devastated. My sister cried and cried tonight before I left the house to come and visit with you. She had harsh words with
Dat
, and
Dat
is not one to tolerate harsh words from his children. That is why you are getting a paddling now, and when it is done, you will go inside and to your bed and spend some time reflecting on how you intend to deal with gossip in the future." Atlee raised the slat and brought it down with a loud splat on her panty covered bottom. Miriam tried to throw herself off his lap, but he held her in place and gave her a second firm smack right below the first.

"No! Atlee...! No! It hurts too much and I can't stand it! Stop!" she hysterically pleaded, but he continued to use the slat to redden her upper thighs and her bottom, and the delicate area in between. Over and over the slat cracked loudly against her skin while she kicked and fought until she went limp, exhausted physically and mentally.

Atlee could tell that Miriam was past her limit, but he gave her several more hard spanks with the slat before he stopped the
bletching
. He stood her up and then said, "I love you, Miriam, but I will not be back until this problem with my sister and Samuel is fixed. While you did not originate the gossip, you did your part to spread it and make sure it reached the Bishop's ears. I won't overlook that." He gave the slat a toss and it bounced against the barn. He guided Miriam to the front porch of her parents' home and then he said goodnight. Leaving her there, crying her heart out, was the hardest thing he ever did. He hoped that he and David could get to the root of the problem and learn who was telling tales about Samuel before too much longer. He would go crazy if he had to go very long without seeing Miriam, and the punishment would be as hard on him as it was on her.

Chapter Eleven

Four weeks later Samuel was no closer to figuring out who was telling all the lies about him than he was when the Bishop first came to him with a warning. Two weeks ago at the worship service Samuel was officially shunned and no one within the community would speak to him or do business with him. The lies persisted to circulate and he felt as though he had no control over his life at all. He hadn't seen Sadie, either. Levi kept her under close watch and the Amish at the restaurant prevented him from seeing her there the one time he tried. Atlee came to see him once and reported that his attempt to learn who was behind the falsehoods was not going well, but he promised Samuel he would keep trying. Samuel once again asked about Mary, but Atlee shook his head in denial, stating that his little sister wouldn't do such a thing. Samuel had no one else he could point to.

Sadly, he went about his days, trying desperately to figure out a way to make things right. He suffered, too, knowing that he'd done nothing to deserve a shunning. How his
Mamm
must have struggled through each day after her husband was shunned and he took her away from everything and everyone she knew and loved. His selfish actions cost her her family, too; Samuel knew how much sorrow his
Mamm
suffered from their shunning of her, blaming her for standing by her husband when Melvin Hilty gave her no say in the matter. Samuel felt now as she must have felt then and he truly wanted to sit down and cry. He almost wished he was guilty so he could repent and go to the Bishop and express remorse. But, he wasn't guilty and he could not apologize for something he didn't do!

Worse than the lack of company was not being permitted to see the woman he loved. Samuel missed Sadie with all of his heart.