A Mother for His Children

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Ruthy clenched her hands together on her lap. “I’m sure Levi Zook has considered what his daughters need.” She lifted her chin, looking at Eliza. She was beginning to understand why Levi was so anxious for her to stay here. “This family suffered a loss when their mother passed on, and it wouldn’t help anyone to separate them now.”

Eliza deflated in her chair, the corners of her mouth quivering. “Ach, you’re right. I hadn’t thought of that.” With the bluster gone, Eliza was just a lonely old woman.

“Would you like more coffee?” Ruthy rose and went to the stove. Eliza wouldn’t want a stranger to be a witness to her emotions.

“Ja, denki.” Eliza sniffed, and the chair creaked as she shifted. By the time Ruthy refilled the two cups, Eliza was back to her old self. “You seem like a young thing to be taking on a job like this.”

“Not so young. I’ll be twenty-four this spring.”

“Twenty-four? Why aren’t you married?”

Ruthy flinched at Eliza’s blunt words, but the other woman took another cookie from the plate and tackled it with relish. If she hadn’t seen the vulnerable crack in Levi’s sister a few moments ago, she might have run out of the room the same way Waneta had. But the downturned corners of Eliza’s mouth revealed more than a demanding aunt who was used to riding roughshod over everyone around her. Something else made her very unhappy.

Ruthy considered this as she took another sip of her coffee. Eliza may be a lonely old woman, but that gave her no excuse to be cruel to her brother. Eliza wasn’t going to bully this family while Ruthy was around.

“If I wasn’t a maidle, I wouldn’t be able to help this family, would I?”

Eliza raised her chin and regarded Ruthy through narrowed eyes, but Ruthy pressed on.

“If I wasn’t around, your brother would need you to help, ja? Is that why you came today? To see if you could get me to run back to Lancaster County?”

The other woman’s eyes narrowed further, and then a sudden smile broke over her face.

“You’ve got spunk. I like that. Maybe you will work out here.”

Ruthy nearly dropped her cookie. Instead she brushed nonexistent crumbs off her lap. What was going on? A chuckle from the other woman made her look up.

“My dear girl, I’m not nearly as grumpy as everyone thinks I am.” She tapped her knee with one hand. “Arthritis keeps me from getting around as I like, and sometimes the pain is unbearable. I try not to complain, but I know I can be short-tempered. I also know I stick my nose in where it doesn’t belong at times, but I love my brother. He has a long row to hoe in front of him, and I was just trying to help.”

Pieces fell together like a quilt top as Eliza paused to take a sip of coffee. Levi’s crafty sister used her cranky attitude to get her own way, just as Laurette used her pretty face. Was this nothing more than concern for her brother and his family?

“Don’t think I’m soft, though.” Eliza’s sharp eyes peered at Ruthy over the rim of the cup. “Levi’s my little brother, and I’ll take care of him just as I always have.” She lowered the coffee cup to her lap and regarded Ruthy, her eyes narrowing. “You are much too young and pretty for this job, you know.”

“What do you mean?”

Eliza’s head tilted toward her. “We are to avoid the appearance of evil, but here you are, living in this house with a single man...”

Ruthy felt a cold lump turn in her stomach. “But I live in the Dawdi Haus. Surely that can’t be construed into anything wrong.”

“You know how people can talk, dear, and it only takes one comment to start rumors flying.”

Ruthy concentrated on brushing a crumb off her knee as Eliza took another sip of her coffee. The woman was right. Even if she and Levi Zook avoided each other, her presence in this home could appear improper to anyone in the community. But what could she do?

As the other woman finished off her cookie, Ruthy caught a hint of a smile on Eliza’s face, and the cold lump of dread turned to seething irritation. What a wily fox she was! Her attempt to bully hadn’t worked, so she had changed tactics and had almost succeeded. Levi’s sister didn’t know her at all. Daed had always said she was stubborn as a mule, and she would keep her heels dug in. Levi Zook had hired her to be his housekeeper, and that’s what she would be as long as he wanted her to stay.

Thumps and stamps from the porch told her Levi was coming in, so Ruthy rose to refill the plate of cookies and pour his coffee. How easily was he swayed by his sister?

* * *

Levi took a deep breath, his hand on the kitchen doorknob. He had put off facing Eliza for as long as he could, but now worry set in. Had she already succeeded in running off Ruth? Would he be searching for another housekeeper before the day was out?

Pushing the door open, he sought Ruth’s face first. She glanced at him from the stove, where she was pouring a cup of coffee, her face pinched. At least Eliza hadn’t reduced her to tears.

His sister, on the other hand, was settled into the rocking chair like a toad that had just snagged a fat moth. Whatever they had been talking about, it looked like he had come in just in time.

“Some coffee?” Ruth handed him a cup as she sat on the bench.

“Denki.” Levi sat on the bench beside her and took a sip from the steaming cup.

“We were just discussing your situation,” Eliza said.

“What situation is that?” Levi took a cookie from the plate Ruth had set on the table behind him and took a bite. A piecrust cookie, just like his mam had made. Ruth Mummert was full of surprises.

“A young girl, living in the same house as an unmarried man.” Eliza leaned the rocker forward. “You know how that will look to the community.”

Levi glanced at Ruth. Her face was growing red, but she tilted her chin up as she returned his look.

“I’ve done nothing against the Ordnung, sister. Ruth is no different than any other helper I might hire to work on the farm.” Levi kept his voice sure and strong, but at the back of his mind a whisper of doubt crept in. What would the ministers say about this situation? After all, it wasn’t what he had expected when he made the arrangement.

“I still think you should follow through on what we agreed.”

All doubt disappeared.

“We never agreed to anything, Eliza. I am the head of this family, and I would never agree to send any of the children away.”

Eliza drained her coffee cup and then looked at Levi. “You would if the ministers insisted.”

She was right, of course. If the ministers decided it would be best if the girls went to live with Eliza, he wouldn’t have any choice but to submit to their decision. He had hired Ruth Mummert to avoid this, but Eliza seemed intent on pursuing her plans. If only she had remarried when she had the chance twenty years ago, then she might have her own family and wouldn’t be so interested in taking his.

Eliza planted her cane in front of her and hauled herself to her feet.

“I must be getting back. Susie needs milking on time, you know.”

Ruth hurried to fetch Eliza’s bonnet and shawl from the hook by the door. “You’ll miss seeing the scholars. They’ll be home in another hour.”

“Ne, I can’t wait that long.”