More Than Words (20 page)

The Gartebaas expected help from all of the women, and my father always offered my assistance in both July and August. After the August digging of the sets came cleaning off the dirt and sorting the sets by size. At least I could sit and visit with the women during the cleaning and sorting. When our task was completed, usually a week later, a portion of the sets would be shipped to seed companies. The rest would be stored in the cellars of the kitchen houses.

But today the July harvest had begun. While Mina worked alongside me in the Küche, I told her about Mr. and Mrs. Lofton and their daughter. She agreed we should pray for the family. “We’ll spread the word so that others will pray for the little girl’s safe return.” She arched her brows. “And what if the elders told each of the prayer-meeting groups, so we’d all be praying for the family? That would be gut, wouldn’t it?”

“Ja. I will ask Vater to speak to them.” After receiving Mina’s compassionate response, I decided it would be safe to tell her about Lalah. She clung to every word as I described my trek into the grove, where I found Grandmother’s missing cap in Lalah’s possession.

Her mouth agape, Mina dropped the kettle onto the stove with a bang. “You went to the Gypsy camp alone? You know better, Gretchen Kohler!”

Perching a fist on each hip, I met her hard stare with one of my own. “What was I supposed to do?”

She squared her shoulders and pointed at me. “You could have asked Conrad to go with you. Even Stefan would be a better choice than to go alone.”

“Stefan wasn’t around. Besides, there wasn’t time to seek help. I didn’t want Vater to know Oma had been to the Gypsy camp. You know how he feels about taking her to Mount Pleasant.”

Her shoulders dropped a notch and her gaze softened. “Ja, I know, but I don’t think he will really send her away. If your Mutter were alive, he knows she would object. If nothing else, he will think twice because of your Mutter’s wishes.”

“Maybe, but I can’t be certain. He isn’t the same as when Mutter was alive. Now he acts angry most of the time.” As I spoke, I recalled his kindness over reading the books and added, “But once in a while I see a glimmer of the man he used to be—his kind heart—but mostly he is unhappy or provoked.”

“If he speaks of Mount Pleasant, you should remind him of your Mutter’s wishes. Even if it makes him angry, it will cause him to think.” She tapped her finger to the side of her head. “And he needs to think before he does something foolish. Your grandmother belongs in Homestead with her family.”

Mina didn’t need to preach at me. I already agreed with her. It was my father who needed to be convinced. “I will remind him, but I hope you will move ahead with the idea for the Älterschule.” Though I agreed to tell my father, I wasn’t sure I could carry through. To dispute Vater when he was annoyed usually made matters worse rather than better.

Mina didn’t comment on the Älterschule. From her frown, I could see she didn’t want yet another reminder from me. She grabbed a knife and pointed to the ham. “I’ll slice the ham. You slice the bread. We need to make sandwiches.” After we both set to work, she said, “Now, tell me what happened when you got to the grove near the Gypsy camp.”

Hoping to justify my actions further, I told her that I hadn’t gone into the camp, but that Lalah had come to the grove. “The girl was quite dirty, but from the moment I set eyes on her, I wondered about her parents. She didn’t look like a Gypsy.”

Over the next few minutes, Mina asked all the questions I had hoped to hear. One by one, I answered them; then I mustered courage for my question. “I need to go speak with Lalah—to see if she has that dark spot on her head. I know she probably isn’t the Loftons’ child, but I can’t quit thinking about the possibility.” I touched Mina’s sleeve. “And just think what it would mean to them if she is their child. Not only would it restore their lives, but it would give Lalah the opportunity she deserves for a better life.”

Mina stared at me as though she hadn’t understood a word I’d said. Finally she took a backward step. “Are you saying that you want to go back to the Gypsy camp?” When I nodded, she hesitated for only a moment. “Now? You want to go there now?”

“After we take the food to the workers, I could go to the grove, and you could return to the Küche.”

“And what am I to tell Sister Marguerite when she asks why you’ve disappeared from the Küche?”

Mina wouldn’t lie, so I would have to find a solution. I thought for several minutes and then turned to her. “Before we leave for the field, I’ll tell Sister Marguerite that I need to stop by the store on our return so that I can check on Oma and make certain Vater doesn’t need my help.”

I saw the disbelief in Mina’s eyes. “You would lie?”

“It won’t be a lie. I’ll stop by the store after I go to the Gypsy camp. Then I will return to the Küche.” I could see the hesitation in Mina’s eyes, but I was pleased with the plan.

She slapped a piece of ham between two slices of bread. “I’m not so sure this is gut. I don’t like you going to that camp alone. What if something should happen to you? Maybe if Conrad went with you, I wouldn’t worry so much.”

Asking Conrad wasn’t a part of my plan. Besides, since the incident over the mail to Mr. Finley, Conrad wasn’t easily influenced. He would likely tell me the idea was foolish and I should stay away from the Gypsies.

I handed Mina several more slices of bread. “It would take far too long. My way is best.”

“That’s what you always think, but I’m not so sure.”

Instead of arguing, I remained silent. There wasn’t anything more I could say that would influence her. Both she and Conrad often remained stuck in their thinking, unwilling to step to the right or the left of a straight line. But I didn’t believe they had a clear understanding of everything. Sometimes a step to the left or the right could be a good thing—at least that’s what I wanted to believe. I could only hope Mina would think about the little girl and agree to help me. When we’d finished packing the baskets that would feed the workers from our kitchen, I glanced at her. “Should I speak to Sister Marguerite?”

She inhaled a deep breath and closed her eyes. “Ja, you can tell her, but you’d better be careful. If anything happens to you, I won’t be able to forgive myself.”

“Thank you, Mina.” I pulled her into a quick embrace. “You’re doing the right thing.”

“We will see,” she said.

I should have known that Mina’s agreement didn’t mean she would remain silent on our journey to the field. While we sat in the back of the wagon with women from the other kitchen houses, she whispered her stern warnings. On the return it was the same. We both jumped down from the wagon at the edge of town. I was glad when the other women decided to ride until they were closer to their own kitchen houses.

I nudged Mina toward our kitchen. “Go on. I’ll be fine. I should be back within an hour.”

“If you haven’t returned by two-thirty, I will go and fetch Conrad.”

Her warning was enough to send me running toward the grove at breakneck speed. I didn’t want Conrad or my father to know what I was doing. Neither would approve. When I drew closer to the grove, I slowed my pace. Better to go slow and be cautious. If I was to go undetected, I’d need to avoid any undergrowth that might crackle beneath my feet or low-hanging branches that could snag my clothes. I approached the spot where I’d hidden on my earlier visit and crouched beside the tree.

Peering through the brush, I kept a vigilant watch for Lalah, but she was nowhere in sight. The camp appeared deserted except for Alija, who was sitting near a fire stirring some sort of brew in a large iron cauldron. Despite the heat, I shivered. No telling what the old woman had concocted in that kettle.

“Please, Lalah. Where are you?” I whispered, hoping that somehow I could will the girl to make an appearance.

I could wait a little longer, but if she didn’t soon appear, I’d need to return. In all my planning, I hadn’t considered that I’d have difficulty locating her. Where had all of them gone? I hadn’t seen any sign of them when we traveled through town on our way to the fields, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t be there now. I didn’t worry overmuch about the store. If there was any trouble, Vater would shoo all of them outside.

A southerly breeze caused smoke from Alija’s fire to drift toward me. I lifted a corner of my apron and pressed it to my nose and mouth. Though the cloth covering offered a little relief, my eyes watered, and I lifted my shoulder and swiped one eye and then the other. If I was going to gain any real relief, I’d need to change positions.

After watching the direction of the smoke, I decided upon a clump of trees and bushes that would provide shelter from Alija’s fire as well as hide me from view. Careful to keep low and avoid the brush and limbs, I crept into a spot near a large oak. A short time later, I heard Alija speaking to someone, and I trained my eyes on the cauldron. My view wasn’t as clear here as at my earlier hiding place, so I inched forward, hunkered down low, and craned my neck for a better look. My spirits plummeted when I saw it was another older woman talking to Alija.

I’d lifted an inch or two to scoot back into position beside the tree when an arm circled my waist and lifted me off the ground.

My scream was drowned out by a booming voice. “What are you doing?”

I twisted my neck and stared directly into dark angry eyes.
Loyco!
Fear seized me, and I squirmed to free myself, but he held fast. I felt like a chicken being carried to the chopping block. “Put me down.” I had intended an authoritative command, but my dry mouth and tight throat permitted no more than a strangled plea.

His harsh laughter filled me with a mounting sense of panic. I kicked and swung until he finally set me on my feet, but he didn’t release his tight hold around my arm. “Why are you hiding back here spying on us? What do you want?”

My bonnet had tipped sideways, and I used my free hand to set it aright while I attempted to gain my senses. “I don’t want anything.” I squared my shoulders in an effort to appear brave, but my body trembled beneath his grasp.

“If you did not want anything, you wouldn’t be here. Either you tell me now, or I will take you to Alija, and she will find a way to make you talk.”

I didn’t know if he was speaking the truth, but I didn’t want to go anywhere near Alija. She’d probably boil me in her cauldron. The woman frightened me even more than Loyco. “I wanted to speak with Lalah.”

“Lalah?” For a moment his grip weakened, and I attempted to pull free. But just as quickly, he grabbed hold with a vengeance, causing me to yelp in pain. “What do you want with my daughter?” His eyes flashed with anger or perhaps disbelief, I couldn’t be certain which.

“Please loosen your hold. I will tell you, but you are hurting me.”

He pushed me backward. “Stand against the tree and I will release you.” I did as he commanded and he let go. But with a hand on either side of the tree, he pinned me in place. The mustiness of his clothing and the smoky odor that clung to his hair assailed me. “I am waiting to hear what you have to say.”

I explained that I’d met Lalah when I’d been looking for my grandmother’s cap weeks earlier. “She doesn’t look like you.”

He tipped his head to the side and gazed into my eyes. “She is not supposed to look like me. She is a girl.”

“That’s not what I mean. Her hair is light in color, and her complexion is fair, like mine.”

“And?”

“And I wondered if she was truly your child, or if … if …”

He leaned closer. “If what?”

I hated that he was going to make me say the words, but it was too late to change the path I’d taken. “If she belongs to someone else.”

He dropped his arms to his sides and took a backward step. “You think she is stolen?”

“I didn’t say she was stolen, but if she is, I—”

“She is not stolen!” His words thundered through the grove, and Alija jumped to her feet. Loyco hollered for her to remain in the camp, and she dropped back onto the log where she’d been sitting. “You think because she is fair-skinned and because you hear stories of Gypsies stealing children that she is not my daughter?”

“She said she doesn’t remember her mother.” My defense was meager and timid, but if this girl was Cecile Lofton, she’d likely been threatened with her life if she told anyone the truth about what had happened. Either that or her memory had been wiped away by the tragic event she’d endured.

He ran his fingers through his long hair. “That’s because her mother died when she was a small child. Her mother wasn’t a Gypsy—she was as fair as you.”

I wasn’t certain whether I could believe him. Even more, I didn’t want to believe him. I wanted Lalah to be the Loftons’ little girl. “There was a couple who came to town for a visit. They told me of their daughter, who had been stolen by Gypsies.”

His jaw twitched while I continued my rambling story about the Loftons’ child. “So you come here to look at Lalah’s head. To see if she has this dark spot you are looking for, and you won’t be satisfied until you see for yourself. Is that what you are saying to me?”

“Ja,” I whispered. I should have told him I didn’t need to look at Lalah’s scalp, that I believed every word he’d told me. But I couldn’t—not until I saw for myself.

He shouted Lalah’s name, and the child poked her head out of a wagon not far from Alija. “Come to me.” She jumped down and raced to him, her hair flying in the breeze, a smile on her childish lips.

She came to a halt beside us. “Oma is here with you?” She peeked around the tree and glanced toward a clump of bushes. “She is hiding?”

“No. She is at the store today.”

Loyco pointed to Lalah. “Go ahead and look for yourself.”

I asked the girl’s permission to look at her hair. “I want to push it aside a little if you don’t mind too much.”

She shrugged. “You can look, but there are no bugs in there.”

I pushed her hair first one way and then the other. “I didn’t think there were, Lalah. I’m not looking for bugs, just a dark spot on your scalp.” My disappointment swelled when I’d completed my examination. “Thank you for letting me look. The next time you come into the store, you may select something special for yourself—a gift from me.”