The Judgment by Beverly Lewis

Author:Beverly Lewis [Beverly Lewis]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2011-04-06T14:00:00+00:00

As Wednesday morning dawned—before Rose left to meet Silas—she sat in bed reading one of her favorite novels, A Girl of the Limberlost, wishing she could someday see the beautiful area where the long-ago story had been set. Might it be close to Rebekah’s parents’ home? she wondered.

Later, when she’d washed and dressed, Rose asked of both Hen and Mammi Sylvia if her being gone for a little while would cause a hardship for either of them. Hen reminded Rose she was scheduled to work that afternoon. “Till four-thirty—only a few hours today.”

Mammi fairly shoved Rose out of the house, eager to tend to Mamm, Rose thought. So Rose took off walking down the driveway, expecting Silas to be prompt as always. She eyed the spot near the road where Nick had clasped her arms the pitch-black night he’d taken her down Bridle Path Lane—a supposed shortcut. Not wanting to dwell on that, she quickened her pace and turned west toward the designated location to meet Silas.

Her fiancé was as punctual as she’d assumed. He smiled and waved as she walked toward his father’s gray family carriage. “It looked like it could sleet or snow, so I brought the family buggy,” he explained quickly. The enclosed buggy would also shield them from prying eyes—a good idea, since they had another year before they would announce their wedding.

She smiled at him, appreciating the warmth and shelter of the carriage as she carefully raised her skirt to climb inside.

In due time, they arrived at Reuben Good’s great spread of land, just four miles south of Dat’s farm. Silas’s younger sisters, Sarah and Anna Mae, ran out to greet them as Rose stepped out of the carriage. The girls walked with her and Silas toward the barn, and Rose noticed her betrothed’s face light up like a lantern when he began talking of the large herd of dairy cattle he would oversee—“forty milking cows, with additional heifers for replacements.”

They strolled through the stable, past the box stalls for birthing, and out through the barnyard, with Sarah and Anna Mae happily tagging along. Even compared to her father’s expansive acreage, the place was enormous. Silas mentioned the many workers the daily production required, obviously excited to have been chosen to take over the sizable operation.

Rose wondered if she would be expected to help with the milking. Oh, she’d do so, if need be, but it was not her favorite thing. She surveyed the grand main house, where she and Silas would eventually reside. Its white clapboard exterior gleamed in the sunlight and was the center of activity, with several smaller houses connected to it. She was eager to set up housekeeping here and make a home for Silas and their future children.

Rose continued to follow Silas demurely as he showed her the outbuildings and narrow mule lanes rimming the vast fields.

Sarah and Anna Mae urged her to come again soon before they headed back to the house to finish cleaning and baking. “Your sisters are real sweet,” Rose told him later.

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