Lancaster Burning Trilogy by Linda Byler

Author:Linda Byler
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing
Published: 2014-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 14

When Jonas King said loudly that their school needed help, Sarah’s fork stopped, the spaghetti slid off, and a wave of shock zipped from her head to her stomach. The school board! It was October, and the school board was here?

She leaned back against the kitchen chair, her breath creating a small puffing sound as it left her body.

“So, we didn’t know if Sarah would consider taking on the school or not.”

She heard the words through the rapid pulse in her ears, but it was followed by a high-pitched ringing that blocked out Dat’s answer.

Then they all turned to look at her, their eyes kind and curious, their straw hats held politely in their hands. Their hair stuck to their foreheads, the way Amish men’s hair always does after their hats are removed.

Vaguely, she saw Mam’s wide eyes, Priscilla’s downcast ones, Dat’s questioning.

“Sarah?” he asked.

She focused on the kind eyes of her father, a shyness overtaking her, the reality of these men’s visit too much to fathom.

Jonas broke into the silence.

“We have a real mess. I simply don’t know how else to put it. Disrespect, disobedience, pupils simply refusing to cooperate. Mothers, parents, are taking the children’s sides. I won’t blame you if you refuse to help us out, but we all agree, perhaps you can. We did hear about driving off the…the…those who came into Lydia Esh’s barn, and we thought maybe if you could do that, you could handle a roomful of problem pupils.”

Sarah smiled shyly and picked at the tablecloth where the hem was wearing thin, leaving strands for her to pull. She didn’t want to remember that night, especially not now with Ashley upstairs, so frightened of being here, her future in jeopardy.

“I…have a job,” she said, facing the men now, able to warm up to them, inspired by the praise, which was not given easily, she knew.

“You go to market?’

“Yes.”

“Well, there are market girls all over Lancaster County, but not everyone can teach a school, especially not this one,” Abner Esh broke in, his rotund little form shifting from one foot to the other.

Mam asked the men to be seated. The table was cleared discreetly, Priscilla dutifully washed dishes, and Levi listened respectfully as talk swirled across the table, the problems, the solutions, the task at hand a monumental one by all accounts.

Mam served coffee and a platter of pecan bars. Sarah asked them if it was alright if she took a week to think it over. She would have to let her boss have at least a week or two to find a replacement.

“So you are considering?” Abner Esh asked.

“Yes.”

It was a long time before Sarah fell asleep that night. The events of the day crowded out any relaxation as her mind picked up and examined first one obstacle and then another, discarding one solution and then the next until she became quite weary of it.

Ashley was the first problem. She couldn’t just hide out here with Mam, spending her days in idleness, worrying Mam.

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