The Cedar Chest by Beth Wiseman

Author:Beth Wiseman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Zondervan
Published: 2018-03-09T00:00:00+00:00

SEPTEMBER 14, 1928

Elizabeth barely made it to the outhouse before she vomited for the sixth morning in a row. Over the past couple of months she’d had bouts of nausea, but she thought it was just nerves. After almost a week of mornings like this, she also realized that she had missed her monthlies since her arrival. How did I not notice that sooner? She felt silly, but she’d missed her period before sometimes when she was upset, and her mind had been filled with worry about everything. This explains the weight gain too. Elizabeth didn’t know a lot about babies, but she knew how they were made, and her and Isaac’s one indiscretion had presumably created a life. A life that Isaac would never know about. She put a hand on her enlarged waist, thankful for the baggy dress that had hidden a secret she didn’t know she had.

Elizabeth’s letter to Isaac had been returned unopened. She assumed Isaac must have left the reverend’s house before it arrived. Perhaps it was just as well since the letter Elizabeth received from Isaac a few days later told her to find someone else. She’d cried for days, and that was before she even knew she was pregnant.

Staggering, she fought her way up the porch steps, one hand across her stomach. Eli would be arriving soon to take her to worship service. The small community had started to recognize them as a couple over the past two months, and Elizabeth was planning to be baptized soon. But now the Amish community she’d grown to love would see that she wasn’t worthy of such acceptance. Pregnant and unmarried.

Isaac had abandoned her, giving up on their love. She wondered how he would feel if he knew Elizabeth was carrying his child, a child they’d created in sin. Was Elizabeth’s punishment to be ousted by her beloved? Was he even alive? Did the young man’s father do something horrible to Isaac, revenge for attacking his son, whom he believed to be an innocent victim? If only we hadn’t run away after taking him to the hospital. But Elizabeth wasn’t sure things would have turned out any differently since corruption flowed through the town like a turbulent river with hidden undertows.

Soon she would be spurned by the community. There wouldn’t be a formal shunning since she hadn’t been baptized yet, but a slow detachment process would begin. Would her aunt and uncle follow suit, distancing themselves from her, allowing shame to dictate their decisions? She wondered where she would go if they threw her out. Naomi told her that would never happen after Elizabeth had shared her worries with her, but Elizabeth wasn’t so sure.

Eli had already professed his love for her, and Elizabeth suspected he would propose soon. She didn’t feel the same way about him, the way she did toward Isaac, no matter how handsome he was. Isaac’s edginess was what had gotten him in trouble, but it was also his sense of adventure and his chivalrous nature that she loved.

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