The Forgiven Read online

  PRAISE FOR

  The Forgiven

  Keepers of the Promise, Book One

  “A tender novel of second chances, endearing characters, and a can’t-put-it-down story.”

  —Suzanne Woods Fisher, author of The Revealing

  “Tender, touching, and full of gentle wisdom as [Perry] explores the flaws and struggles of her Amish characters. There is so much to enjoy here that it’s hard to know where to begin, but I especially liked the weaving of past with the present as Grandmother Lapp passes her legacy of memories to three special granddaughters. I can hardly wait to see what happens with Barbie and Judith! This is going to be a terrific new series, and I’m confident readers of Amish fiction will love it, beginning with The Forgiven.”

  —Linda Goodnight, New York Times bestselling author of the Buchanons series

  “A gently drawn portrait of two lives renewed by the power of love. In this story of second chances, readers will come to care deeply about Rebecca and Matthew, as I did, and will look forward to the next book in this series.”

  —Robin Lee Hatcher, bestselling author of A Promise Kept and Love Without End

  “With exquisite grace and unflinching honesty, Marta Perry once again takes us into the Amish world . . . The slow, sweet realization of Rebecca and Matthew’s growing love takes us on a journey of healing and victory over difficult circumstances. This story touched my heart and held me captive until the last page. The Forgiven is a wonderful read that will bring a perfect peace to your heart while you escape into a place that brings hope to all of us.”

  —Lenora Worth, New York Times bestselling author of Bayou Sweetheart

  “Five stars! Marta Perry’s tender family saga of love and faith will touch your heart.”

  —Emma Miller, author of Plain Murder

  “A born storyteller, Marta Perry skillfully weaves the past and present in a heart-stirring tale of love and forgiveness.”

  —Susan Meissner, author of A Fall of Marigolds

  PRAISE FOR THE PLEASANT VALLEY NOVELS

  Susanna’s Dream

  “[Perry] has the ability to make the reader feel what the characters are feeling and thinking. That is truly a gift.”

  —I’m Hooked on Books

  Lydia’s Hope

  “I’m a big fan of Ms. Perry’s writing style, and it was no surprise that I fell in love with this newest addition to her collection. I’m so glad that I stumbled upon this book . . . This is one you shouldn’t pass up!”

  —Night Owl Reviews (4½ stars)

  Naomi’s Christmas

  “[Perry] never disappoints.”

  —The Mary Reader

  Hannah’s Joy

  “An enjoyable Mennonite romance starring two fascinating individuals . . . Fans will enjoy this warm tale of love and belonging.”

  —Genre Go Round Reviews

  Katie’s Way

  “A great story of friendship, second chances, and faith . . . Wonderful.”

  —Reviews from the Heart

  Sarah’s Gift

  “Perry’s fourth Pleasant Valley book places her well-rounded characters in a sweet, entertaining romance.”

  —RT Book Reviews

  Anna’s Return

  “Those who enjoyed the first two series titles will eagerly await this third entry, which does not disappoint. It will also appeal to fans of Amy Clipston and Shelley Shepard Gray.”

  —Library Journal

  Rachel’s Garden

  “A large part of the pleasure of this book is in watching Rachel be Amish, as she sells snapdragons and pansies to both Amish and ‘English’ at an outdoor market, taking in snatches of Pennsylvania Dutch.”

  —The Philadelphia Inquirer

  Leah’s Choice

  “What a joy it is to read Marta Perry’s novels! Leah’s Choice has everything a reader could want—strong, well-defined characters; beautiful, realistic settings; and a thought-provoking plot.”

  —Shelley Shepard Gray, New York Times bestselling author of Snowfall

  Pleasant Valley Novels

  LEAH’S CHOICE

  RACHEL’S GARDEN

  ANNA’S RETURN

  SARAH’S GIFT

  KATIE’S WAY

  HANNAH’S JOY

  NAOMI’S CHRISTMAS

  The Lost Sisters of Pleasant Valley Novels

  LYDIA’S HOPE

  SUSANNA’S DREAM

  Keepers of the Promise Novels

  THE FORGIVEN

  THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP

  Published by the Penguin Group

  Penguin Group (USA) LLC

  375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014

  USA • Canada • UK • Ireland • Australia • New Zealand • India • South Africa • China

  penguin.com

  A Penguin Random House Company

  This book is an original publication of The Berkley Publishing Group.

  Copyright © 2014 by Martha Johnson.

  Penguin supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin to continue to publish books for every reader.

  BERKLEY® is a registered trademark of Penguin Group (USA) LLC.

  The “B” design is a trademark of Penguin Group (USA) LLC.

  eBook ISBN: 978-0-698-13932-9

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Perry, Marta.

  The forgiven / Marta Perry. — Berkley trade paperback edition.

  pages cm. — (Keepers of the promise ; book one)

  ISBN 978-0-425-27141-4 (trade)

  1. Single women—Fiction. 2. Amish—Fiction. 3. Cousins—Fiction. 4. Family life—Fiction. I. Title.

  PS3616.E7933F68 2014

  813'.6—dc23

  2014016701

  PUBLISHING HISTORY

  Berkley trade paperback edition / October 2014

  Cover art by Shane Rebenshield.

  Cover design by Sarah Oberrender.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  PUBLISHER’S NOTE: The recipes contained in this book are to be followed exactly as written. The publisher is not responsible for your specific health or allergy needs that may require medical supervision. The publisher is not responsible for any adverse reactions to the recipes contained in this book.

  Version_1

  This story is dedicated to my granddaughter Georgia Lynn.

  And, as always, to Brian.

  CONTENTS

  Praise for Books by Marta Perry

  Books by Marta Perry

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  List of Characters

  Glossary of Pennsylvania Dutch Words and Phrases

  PROLOGUE

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER
TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  EPILOGUE

  Recipes

  Letter to the Reader

  About the Author

  LIST OF CHARACTERS

  Rebecca Lapp Fisher, widow of Paul Fisher; mother of Katie, 7, and Joshua, 5

  Simon Lapp, Rebecca’s brother

  Elizabeth Lapp, Rebecca’s grandmother

  Barbara “Barbie” Lapp, Rebecca’s cousin

  Judith Wagler, Rebecca’s cousin

  Matthew Byler, a furniture maker

  Silas Byler, Matthew’s uncle; husband of Lovina

  Isaiah Byler, son of Silas and Lovina; Matthew’s cousin; Sadie’s brother

  Sadie Byler, daughter of Silas and Lovina; Matthew’s cousin; Isaiah’s sister

  Anna Esch, Lapp family ancestor; lived through World War II

  Jacob Miller, Anna Esch’s beau

  Seth Esch, Anna’s brother

  GLOSSARY OF PENNSYLVANIA DUTCH WORDS AND PHRASES

  ach. oh; used as an exclamation

  agasinish. stubborn; self-willed

  ain’t so. A phrase commonly used at the end of a sentence to invite agreement.

  alter. old man

  anymore. Used as a substitute for “nowadays.”

  Ausbund. Amish hymnal. Used in the worship services, it contains traditional hymns, words only, to be sung without accompaniment. Many of the hymns date from the sixteenth century.

  befuddled. mixed up

  blabbermaul. talkative one

  blaid. bashful

  boppli. baby

  bruder. brother

  bu. boy

  buwe. boys

  daadi. daddy

  Da Herr sei mit du. The Lord be with you.

  denke. thanks (or danki)

  Englischer. one who is not Plain

  ferhoodled. upset; distracted

  ferleicht. perhaps

  frau. wife

  fress. eat

  gross. big

  grossdaadi. grandfather

  grossdaadi haus. An addition to the farmhouse, built for the grandparents to live in once they’ve “retired” from actively running the farm.

  grossmutter. grandmother

  gut. good

  hatt. hard; difficult

  haus. house

  hinnersich. backward

  ich. I

  ja. yes

  kapp. Prayer covering, worn in obedience to the Biblical injunction that women should pray with their heads covered. Kapps are made of Swiss organdy and are white. (In some Amish communities, unmarried girls thirteen and older wear black kapps during worship service.)

  kinder. kids (or kinner)

  komm. come

  komm schnell. come quick

  Leit. the people; the Amish

  lippy. sassy

  maidal. old maid; spinster

  mamm. mother

  middaagesse. lunch

  mind. remember

  onkel. uncle

  Ordnung. The agreed-upon rules by which the Amish community lives. When new practices become an issue, they are discussed at length among the leadership. The decision for or against innovation is generally made on the basis of maintaining the home and family as separate from the world. For instance, a telephone might be necessary in a shop in order to conduct business but would be banned from the home because it would intrude on family time.

  Pennsylvania Dutch. The language is actually German in origin and is primarily a spoken language. Most Amish write in English, which results in many variations in spelling when the dialect is put into writing! The language probably originated in the south of Germany but is common also among the Swiss Mennonite and French Huguenot immigrants to Pennsylvania. The language was brought to America prior to the Revolution and is still in use today. High German is used for Scripture and church documents, while English is the language of commerce.

  rumspringa. Running-around time. The late teen years when Amish youth taste some aspects of the outside world before deciding to be baptized into the church.

  schnickelfritz. mischievous child

  ser gut. very good (or sehr gut)

  tastes like more. delicious

  Was ist letz? What’s the matter?

  Wie bist du heit. How are you; said in greeting

  wilkom. welcome

  Wo bist du? Where are you?

  PROLOGUE

  Elizabeth Lapp made her way slowly and carefully up the steep attic stairs. It was nonsense, this insistence on the part of her children and grandchildren that she change the habits of a lifetime. Seventy-six wasn’t old, even if that young doctor acted as if she were teetering on the brink of the grave.

  Pausing, she gripped the railing, grateful for its support as she caught her breath. Ach, maybe she was getting on in years, but that didn’t mean she had nothing to contribute. There was an important legacy to be passed on, and she’d promised herself she wouldn’t delay any longer.

  Her three granddaughters would be arriving at the old farmhouse soon. Before they appeared, she needed to take one more look at the treasures collected in the attic.

  Cautiously, conserving her strength, she made her way to the top and paused again, feeling a flash of annoyance at how shallow her breathing was. The straight chair she’d used on her last trip to the attic stood where she’d left it. Using her cane as a hook, she drew it toward her and sat.

  Sunlight streamed through the window and played across the dozens of objects jammed into the space. Amazing, how quickly the attic of the old farmhouse had filled up. Her quest had begun with one small dower chest belonging to a great-aunt. She’d rescued it from being sent to auction at the annual spring mud sale, and it had lit a spark in her heart.

  She’d known then what had to be done. Family memories, the whole history of one Amish family in America, were bound up in the items she’d collected in her attic. That history couldn’t be allowed to die. Someone must see that it lived on.

  Advancing years had caught up with her, and before the farmhouse was sold to a distant cousin, before she moved into her son’s house, the memories must be passed on. That was why her granddaughters were coming today.

  Getting to her feet, she made her way across the rough-hewn floorboards, touching a spinning wheel here, a hand-carved rocking horse there. Each of these things must find a new home. It was too much to expect that any one person would take all of them.

  She’d hammered out her plan during the long, sleepless nights after the loss of her beloved William. The gifts must be made to the right person. Each object had a story to tell, and each story could influence the person who received it. She breathed a silent prayer, knowing she must rely on God to show her the way.

  It all began with the girls. She smiled. None of the three would appreciate being called a girl; each considered herself a woman grown. And so they were, but that didn’t mean they didn’t have something to learn from the past.

  Rebecca. Judith. Barbara. She pictured each one in her mind’s eye. Rebecca, so lost since the death of her young husband more than a year ago. Judith. She frowned a little. Something was wrong there, but self-contained, quiet Judith would not talk about it, making it more difficult to know what to do. And Barbara. Barbie always brought a smile to her grossmammi’s lips, with her pert, lively manner and her almost automatic rebellion against the restrictions of Amish life. Those three were the only ones of the right age to take on the task.

  Elizabeth stood, resting her hand on a dower chest, and faced the truth. This was, most likely, the final challenge o
f her life. To find the object that would speak to each one of her granddaughters and, through that, to entrust to their generation the promise of their family story.

  CHAPTER ONE

  Rebecca Fisher hadn’t summoned her family to meals with the bell on the back porch since Paul died. Today wasn’t the day to start, she decided. Instead she stood at the railing and called.

  “Katie! Joshua! Come to supper.”

  She stayed on the porch until she saw her two kinder running toward the farmhouse. Katie came from the big barn, where she’d been “helping” Rebecca’s father and brother with the evening chores. Katie adored her grossdaadi and Onkel Simon, and Rebecca was grateful every day that Katie had them to turn to now that her own daadi was gone.

  Joshua had clearly been up in the old apple tree by the stream, which was his favorite perch. Paul had talked about building a tree house there for Joshua’s sixth birthday. That birthday would come soon, but Paul wasn’t here to see it. Rebecca’s throat tightened, and she forced the thought away.

  “Mammi, Mammi.” Joshua flung himself at her, grabbing her apron with grubby hands. “Guess who I saw?”

  “I don’t know, Josh. Who?” She hugged him with one arm and gathered Katie against her with the other. Katie let herself be embraced for a moment and then wiggled free.

  “I helped put the horses in,” she reported. “Onkel Simon said I’m a gut helper.”

  “Mammi, I’m talking.” Joshua glared at his sister. “Guess who I saw?”

  “Hush, now.” Rebecca hated it when they quarreled, even though she remembered only too well how she and her brothers and sisters had plagued one another. She shooed them into the kitchen. “Katie, I’m wonderful glad you’re helping. Joshua, who did you see?”

  It had probably been an owl or a chipmunk—at five, Joshua considered every creature he encountered to be as real as a person.

  “Daadi!” Joshua grinned, unaware of the hole that had just opened up in his mother’s stomach.

  “Joshua—” She struggled to find the words.

  “That’s stupid,” Katie declared from the superiority of her seven years. Her heart-shaped face, usually so lively and happy, tightened with anger, and her blue eyes sparkled with what might have been the tears she wouldn’t shed. “Daadi’s in heaven. He can’t come back, so you can’t see him, so don’t be stupid.”