It was impossible for Susanna to keep a secret. Arranged marriages were confidential between the candidates and the matchmaker, not food for neighborhood gossip.
Hannah took the laundry basket from her daughter. “Would you like me to help you fold? We’ll take these sheets upstairs and put them away and then you can go and see the kittens.”
“Ya, Mam.” Susanna giggled again. “I’m gonna see the new kittens. We’re gonna name them, me and David. I love David.”
Hannah smiled lovingly. “I know you do. Now come along.”
Leah waited until her mother and sister were out of the room before adding more tea to Hannah’s cup and her own. Then she took her cup in both hands, gazed down into the swirling liquid and said, “I want to marry again, Cousin Sara.” She sighed. “It’s been more than a year since I lost my Daniel and our little one and...I’m the kind of person who needs to be married. It’s what God has always wanted for me.” Her eyes teared up. “I want a husband and children.” She looked up, unashamed of her tears. “Can you help me find a husband?”
Sara leaned forward. “Of course. As I started to say, my contacts among the Mennonite faith are not as extensive as—”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Leah interrupted. “I didn’t make myself clear. I mean to return to the Amish church. I became Mennonite for Daniel, as was right. I believe it was God’s plan for me at the time. And now, I think He means for me to accept the Amish way of life again.”
Sara reached for a sugar cookie on a blue-and-white plate. “I assume you’ve considered this carefully? You’ve lived with many conveniences since your marriage. Are you sure that you can live Plain, as you did as a child?”
Leah didn’t answer at once, and Sara liked that. This was no flighty young woman who chose first one path and then another on a whim. Sara nibbled at the cookie and sipped her tea.
“I’ve thought of little else since I left Brazil,” Leah said finally. She offered a half smile. “I loved my husband. I’ve mourned him with all my heart. I think I will grieve for him until my last breath, even though I know he’s in heaven. Grieve for myself, I suppose. But ours was a good marriage, a strong one, and I want that again. I’m young enough to bear more children, as many as God will send me, and to marry again just seems...right.”
“Children are our greatest blessing,” Sara said. She had never been fortunate enough to have a child, but she had loved many children and hoped to love more. Why God chose to not give some women children—or to take them away—she would never understand. “The ways of the Lord are often a mystery to us, aren’t they?” she murmured.
“Ya,” Leah agreed. “I thought I would lose my mind in those first months after I lost them. I know I shed enough tears to raise the level of the Amazon River, but, fortunately, I had our work. We had a small school and Daniel’s clinic. He had been a nurse and I learned so much from him working at his side. After he was gone, there was no one else to help and I had to make do.” She looked up and Sara gazed into the depths of those cornflower-blue eyes. “I delivered babies, sewed up knife wounds and set broken arms and legs. I was too busy to think much about what I wanted for myself when I could come home.”
“But you knew that you wanted to come home to Seven Poplars?” Sara asked.
Leah nibbled absently at a knuckle. Her hands were slender, her nails clean and filed. They were strong hands to go with her strong spirit, Sara thought.
“There was no question of my staying in Brazil as a woman alone. I wouldn’t even have remained there as long as I did, but there was unrest. Trouble between the lumber contractors and the native people. And there were floods. They were so bad that our clinic was cut off from the nearest town for quite some time. It wasn’t safe for a new team to come in. It was a blessing, really. I had a chance to say my goodbyes and see the school and clinic put in good hands before I left.” Leah shook her head. “But I won’t bore you with my memories. If you think you can help me, then I want to tell you what I require in a husband.”
“I could never be bored with tales of your experiences in Brazil,” Sara assured her. “But it would be helpful if you tell me what your expectations are in a husband.”
Leah steepled her hands and leaned forward on the kitchen table. “First, he must be Amish, of strong faith and respected in the community. I would prefer a mature man, a middle-aged widower, someone who may already have children. How old doesn’t matter, so long as he isn’t too old to father children.”
Sara pressed her lips together to keep from smiling inappropriately. This adventurous child of her cousin was certainly outspoken. Whether it was her nature or a trait she’d picked up in her travels, Sara wasn’t certain. It was all she could do to not show her amusement. “You’re still a young woman,” she said. “Not yet thirty. Are you certain you wouldn’t prefer a younger bachelor?”
“Ne. I’m sure of it,” Leah said firmly. “I’ve been the wife of a young man. I married for love. I’ll never have that again, and I know that. I’m a realistic woman, Cousin Sara. I know that affection and respect may lead to a different type of love someday.” She met Sara’s gaze. “I want someone different for a second husband, someone I’ll not ever compare to my Daniel.”
Sara nodded thoughtfully, and while she didn’t know that she was in agreement, she certainly understood what Leah was saying. “Do you have a choice of occupations?” she asked. “Farmer? Carpenter?”
“It matters not. I’m used to making do with few material goods. I ask only for a husband who isn’t lazy and will be a good example for our children. He must know how much I want more children.” Leah’s voice took on a breathy tone. “I could not bear it if I never rocked another baby in my arms or woke to see my precious child’s shining face beaming in wonder at the new day.” She inhaled deeply. “So you see, it might be best if my husband-to-be already has children. I can adapt to any personality, but he must be someone who will welcome children and not treat them harshly.”
“Or treat you harshly,” Sara suggested.
Leah shrugged. “I can accept whatever the Lord sends me. I’ll be a good and dutiful wife, so long as he knows that my children must come first. My Daniel was an indulgent father. He adored our...” Tears glistened in her eyes again. She looked down, took a moment, then looked up at Sara again. “I want to be sure I’m being clear, Cousin Sara. What I want is a marriage of convenience, a union entered into for the purpose of forming a solid family. I’m not afraid of hard work, and I’ll be the best wife and helpmate I can. But I need a sensible man, a practical man who doesn’t expect more than I can give.” She hesitated. “Because part of me died in Brazil, Sara. All I can do is go on with what I have left.”
“You don’t believe in the possibility of a second love?” Sara asked gently. “Not when you see how happy your mother is with Albert, after the death of your father?”
“I’m not my mother,” Leah replied, sitting back in her chair. “I honor her, and I love her, but we are not the same. She and my father had many years together and time to form many memories. Daniel and I... It went by so quickly. Too quickly.”
Sara considered the young widow’s words. “Wouldn’t your Daniel want you to be happy?”
“Of course.” Leah smiled through the tears. “But I know myself. I know what I want. Offer me no lighthearted, carefree noodle-heads. I’m seeking a sober and steady husband, one with gray in his hair, who knows what it is to suffer loss.
