A Time to Heal(63)

He watched a blush creep up her cheeks. It was like watching a rose bloom, he thought. She had the most amazing skin.Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he dropped his hand and began walking toward the house. "Why are you here anyway? Were you invited for supper?"

"Nee. I promised to come over and help Jenny with something.I'm early."

Joshua was quiet at the table, but he tended to be sometimes.Jenny asked him something quietly and touched his forehead with the back of her hand, and he shook his head. Illness was a mother's universal answer for why a boy was being quiet or not eating much, he thought.

Chris felt guilty as he watched Joshua pushing the food around on his plate with his fork. He decided he should apologize when he got a chance and when he wouldn't be overheard.He hadn't expected that even asking him if he'd seen the book would upset him—but he should have remembered how sensitive he was.

Then, too, he hadn't thought about how different a child here might be from the ones he knew in the Englisch world. He doubted any of them would have reacted in the same way.

After supper, the children asked to be excused to play a game upstairs and Jenny nodded. The four adults were enjoying a second cup of coffee when there was a knock on the front door.

Matthew answered it, and when he returned, he looked at Hannah. "Bishop Miller's here to see you."

"Me?" Surprised, she got to her feet and followed him into the other room.

Jenny looked at Chris and shrugged. "Another slice of pie?" she asked him.

Chris shook his head. The piece he'd eaten was lying in his stomach like a cold stone.

"I don't believe this!" Hannah cried.

Jenny and Chris exchanged a look.

"Since when do you pay attention to anonymous notes? It's probably that old busybody Josiah and you know it! I did nothing wrong!"

There was a murmur of voices, Matthew soothing her and Bishop Miller saying something Chris couldn't distinguish.

Then Hannah stomped into the kitchen, her arms folded across her chest. Her eyes were flashing and two bright spots of color bloomed on her cheeks.

"I'm sorry, Jenny, but I can't stay. Can I help you with that proofreading tomorrow?"

"Sure, but what's the matter?"

Hannah glanced at the doorway. "Matthew can tell you later."

He came back into the room. "He's gone."

"Good!"

"Hannah! He wasn't trying to upset you."

"Well, imagine the job he'd do if he were trying," she said with a sniff.

"He just wanted you to be aware that your actions could be misconstrued, that's all."

"That's all? You wouldn't have appreciated that sort of thing and you know it."

Their eyes locked and Chris wondered who'd back down first. Hannah was one strong-willed woman.

"He's just trying to protect your reputation."

"I can protect my own reputation."

Matthew glanced at Chris, then back at his sister. He sighed."Well, I'm sure we won't be hearing any more about this."

Chris put down his coffee. "Matthew, does this have something to do with me?"

When the other man reddened, Chris figured he'd correctly interpreted his look.

"Someone wrote the bishop a note saying Hannah had behaved inappropriately with you the other night."

Hannah threw herself into a chair. "It's absurd paying attention to an anonymous note. It's just cowardly. A person should have the courage to confront me or be quiet."

Chris realized that Matthew and Jenny were watching him.

"I'm sorry for causing you any embarrassment," he said, getting up. "I truly didn't think when I came over to check on Daisy."

"It's allrecht," Hannah muttered. "You were just trying to be helpful. I'm the one who should have insisted that you go." She looked up at him. "But I enjoyed the company."

He sat again. "I don't understand why it's okay for a woman to sit by herself at night in a barn. What about her safety? I don't care what anyone says about some place being safe, you just never know what could happen."

He stopped. No one knew better than he what bad things could happen to a woman . . . he reminded himself that this wasn't that situation. And Hannah was staring at him strangely.

"The thing is, if a man's sitting there talking to her and nothing inappropriate is going on—well, suddenly it's someone else's business?" He blew out a frustrated breath.

Chris couldn't help but notice that Matthew and Jenny exchanged a look.

"It's just so insulting," Hannah said, still upset. "If I haven't proven that I'm a woman who knows how to behave by now, what is the point?"

"She's right," Jenny said. "I know I'm new to the community, but it seems to me that the reputation of being a woman of virtue should protect you from spurious letters from anonymous senders."