Read Online The Forbidden by Beverly Lewis - Free Book Online Page A

glance away. She could not abide her cousin’s coming here any longer.
    Inching back toward the kitchen, she wondered if Kate was taking any herbs known to help alleviate depression. Maybe she should simply go through her cupboard and offer Kate some blessed thistle or evening primrose oil to brew for tea. She knew, as many of the womenfolk did, that these would not interfere with nursing. Though I wouldn’t mind that coming to an end.
    Suddenly Kate burst into tears in the next room. “Oh, my precious Boppli. ” She rose from the rocking chair, waking tiny Eli. Then, wandering to the front room, she carried him over her shoulder, stroking his back while he blinked his little eyes at Rosanna.
    Ach, is she having a breakdown? Or does she really have so little regard for my wishes?
    Then and there, Rosanna decided she’d definitely go to the next quilting frolic, or maybe go visiting and take the babies along. Let Kate come to call and simply not find us here!
    Nellie Mae suppressed a squeal of delight when she went to pick up the mail before returning to the shop after the noon meal Thursday. Caleb’s name and return address were printed in the corner of an envelope for all to see.
    Another letter so soon . . . how bold of him!
    She ran across the snowy yard to the front porch, where she sat, in spite of the cold, to read the letter from her beloved.
    Dearest Nellie,
        I’ve missed you more than I dare to write. I must see you again. Let’s meet secretly at our special place.
        I will come on foot this Friday following supper. Hopefully it won’t be too cold for you. Bundle up, all right?
        Counting the hours.
    Yours always,
Caleb Yoder
    She pressed the letter to her lips. He cared deeply for her—that much was clear. He had again risked being found out with yet another letter. Of course, there was nothing for him to fear here, for her parents were not holding an inheritance over her head.
    No, Nellie was free to see whomever she wished . . . to marry Caleb, for that matter. Obviously Dat and Mamma wanted her to join them in their beliefs, but they had not expressed any conditions about whom their daughters might marry.
    Even so, Nellie worried for Caleb . . . for them. What would he do if his father refused to change his mind and allow him to court her?
    Will Caleb love me enough to bid the farm good-bye?
    Nellie knew that Caleb’s love for his birthright lay less in the land than in what it meant for his future family. Caleb was not selfish in desiring it. Rather, he showed himself to be prudent and reliable, and for that she loved him all the more. But she could not tell him so before Friday, because she did not dare to write a letter back.
    Tomorrow I’ll see him!

C HAPTER 10
    Friday evening Nellie managed to leave the house only after helping in the kitchen, making small talk with Mamma and Nan. It was imperative, to her thinking, to lend a hand, since Rhoda hadn’t yet arrived home, something that was becoming the norm. Nellie stayed as long as she could, risking being late for meeting Caleb.
    Had her heart ever pounded this hard before? She hurried now along the snowy road to meet her beau, the air of excitement within more noticeable to her than the bitter cold.
    Soon, very soon, we’ll be together!
    She wished she might have thought to hitch up the horse and buggy. Maybe, just maybe, Caleb was counting on her doing so, though he hadn’t suggested it in his sweet letter. Still, she had plenty of layers on and would fare well on foot for a good couple of hours or so, if necessary.
    As she picked her way along the road, she longed to lay eyes on Caleb—to see him, talk to him, and listen to the news he had to share with her. To think they had been apart for more than a month. How long would it be till they’d see each other again, after tonight? She would not allow herself to think that way. It was far better to live for this precious moment and be thankful for what time they did have