River of Mercy

River of Mercy by BJ Hoff Read Free Book Online Page A

Book: River of Mercy by BJ Hoff Read Free Book Online
Authors: BJ Hoff
wondering if Rachel might be at Friday night’s supper. She was Susan’s daughter, after all. It wouldn’t be all that unusual for her to join them, would it?
    On the other hand, Rachel seemed set on avoiding him most of the time. He was beginning to wonder if it was altogether because she was attempting to obey the bishop’s stipulation that they not spend any time in each other’s company, or if she was deliberately trying to cut herself out of his life because of the seeming hopelessness of their situation.
    He hoped that wasn’t the case. If Rachel truly felt that a future together was hopeless entirely, it would only make it that much more difficult for him to believe otherwise, and it was hard enough already to keep a remnant of hope alive.
    Still, he wasn’t about to give up. Not yet. Maybe not ever.

6
T HE M AN W HO W OULD B E B ISHOP
    I know myself a man,
Which is a proud, and yet a wretched thing.
    J OHN D AVIES
    S amuel Beiler knew he shouldn’t want to be bishop.
    Most men would lament the idea, groaning at the very thought. The responsibility was overwhelming—a burden to dread, not to covet. But in his secret heart of hearts, Samuel admitted that he did want the office. Badly.
    He stood in front of the barn, studying his white two-story house and surrounding field. It was that quiet time of evening when the daylight was almost gone but darkness not quite settled. Somewhere in the distance a dog barked. The tree branches, November bare, cracked and whispered as the light wind lifted them.
    Was it really so wrong, this wanting, this wish to be leader of the community in which God had placed him? After all, any Amish man baptized in the faith had to be willing to become a minister or even a bishop, should the lot one day fall on him. Still, it was a heart-heavy, serious responsibility and a lifetime commitment. No doubt if others knew he actually wanted the position, they would look on him with doubt or, more likely, disapproval or distrust.
    That was for them to deal with. Truth was, few men among them were strong enough to be a good bishop. He could count on one hand the number fit for leadership.
    A man must possess strength of character and discernment, and he must follow faithfully after the Lord God. As it was, only two other men besides himself were eligible to participate in the lot: Abe Gingerich and Malachi Esch. Both were good men, but Abe was slow and plodding, not a man to make insightful or even wise decisions. And Malachi, while an intelligent and physically strong man, was, in Samuel’s estimation, too lenient with the People and sometimes negligent of tradition.
    He suspected some would say that he was too young—and the fact of the matter was that he would be a young bishop. Others might point out that he was a widower and not presently a married man, but that would change soon enough once Rachel came to her senses.
    And if she did not…well, he would make it his business to put an end to her dithering once and for all. When he took over as bishop, he would insist that she bend to his will and his judgment. She would be under his authority and subject to his decisions.
    The next bishop would need to make many changes, not the least of which involved the foolish leniency some men allowed their wives and children. Amos Kanagy, for example, before his death, had been far too easy on Susan and Rachel. Indulged them to a fault, Amos had.
    And just see the result. Rachel especially, with her willful ways setting a poor example for the other young women in the community. Headstrong and independent, she had developed her own business, selling her handmade birdhouses to Englischers. Worse still—outrageous, really—was her befriending of the auslander, that Gant fellow.
    Everyone knew the sort of lives those river people led, lives of immorality and debauchery. Bad enough that she’d given him and his slave shelter, but to think she apparently

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