Give me your daughter and Ill keep my mouth shut.
Its my fault, I didnt see it, be a decent man, Ian, dont ruin everything
What do you call me, Ian? Have you forgotten my name? To you Im Ian Whitaker.
Have mercy, dont drag this to the magistrate
Ian stood, straightened his back, and lifted his shoulders until his shirt creaked. A fierce fire flared in his dark eyes, scorching the frail Zachary, whose shoulders slumped in terror.
Zachary had been foreman for years, but Ian only became chairman of the village cooperative a year ago. At first people doubted him he was barely twentyfive. Yet the district officers, impressed by his grip on farm matters, his zeal and sensible approach, gave him the nod.
Youre a thief, Zachary Archibald, Ian said, his voice edged with steel. If I say something, you cant back out; Ill bend the law to my will.
The haystacks vanished, the chairman continued. It was just after spring, you think I forgot? Ill hand you over to the court!
Whatever, Ive been honest on the farm, I swear I didnt take anything. Ian, perhaps we can strike a deal? My wife wont survive this, and I have children
Children, you say? Ian mused. You want a bargain? You want protection but whats in it for me? If I shield you, I need a reason.
Zachary strained, watching the chairman, hoping he might be swayed.
And your girl, Oliva, shes a proper young lady beautiful. What if I married your daughter? I could become her fiancé, eh?
Zachary paled. Think straight, Ian, shes still a child.
Child, you say? I saw her at the farm just the other day, a bridetobe
No bride shes only just turned seventeen, still a doll, being nursed by her mother.
Its time she grew up. Heres my condition: hand me your girl and Ill keep quiet about your mistake. If you refuse, Ill inform the district officers and youll end up in court. So decide hand over my daughter or keep grinding flour, and who knows if youll ever see your family again.
Zachary fell to his knees. What do you want from me? This is an impossible burden! How could I possibly give my daughter to you? Am I a monster?
Ian returned to the table, sat down and pulled out a sheet of paper. Alright then, lets record it: Zachary Blythe went against authority, meddled with the public good
Wait, dont write yet, Zachary whispered, his voice breaking. Ill speak with my daughter today.
Do that then. Shes a headstrong one, daring to protest
And you say shes a child.
Youre at fault, you took her, Ian replied.
Zachary sighed heavily. If only my soul were willing
He went home, collapsed onto the bench, and began pulling off his boots.
Whats the matter? asked Martha, his wife.
The kitchen already held a pot of potatoes, and fresh bread was baking, its scent filling the cottage. Whats got you so glum?
Oliva! he called. Shes just come out of the bedroom, hasnt even braided her hair yet.
Uncle?
He looked at her. Our chairman has taken a fancy to her says he wants to marry her.
Olivas lips trembled, her hands fidgeted with her tangled hair, and she stood like a trembling birch. Why would he want me? I dont want this
Martha clutched her chest and slumped onto a stool.
Zachary sighed again. I know you dont want it, and I dont want it either. Its too early for you what can we do?
Uncle, why are you treating me like this?
It wasnt my idea to force a girl into the council, were not living in the days of the king
The chairman thought it up, and now the officials are breathing down our necks
Just refuse, thatll end it, Martha suggested.
Uncle, I wont go to him, hes cruel, everyone fears him
Their younger son, Charlie, leaning against the stove, listened intently.
Im sorry, I messed up, my mind wasnt right, I missed the haystacks in spring
Oh dear, theyll lock you up
Ian swore hed lock me up, that Id be hidden away, that Id betray the trust
So whats the point, if he wants to marry Oliva hell just take you too
Exactly, Zachary agreed, hand over my daughter for my mistake I dont need a soninlaw like that.
Father, you should complain, Charlie interjected.
Silence, Ill manage without your advice, the father snapped. If you complain youll get yourself into trouble, the chairman will hear you
Im scared of him, Oliva sobbed.
Zachary looked at his daughter, then at his wife, sighed and began to pack.
Where are you going? Martha asked.
Pack, mother, a clean shirt, dont forget the biscuits Ill go to Ian tomorrow morning, let him arrest me if he must, Im not an enemy to my daughter, but I cant force her into marriage, shes still too young.
Martha rushed to him, embraced him, and called out. Oliva retreated to her bedroom and lay on the madeup bed, listening to her mothers cries and her fathers sighs. She hadnt noticed anyone else, only her friends coming and going perhaps only Fred, Mathews son, a year older, a decent lad. She hadnt even thought of the chairman; he was older and his sour face always frightened her, always shouting, always demanding. He was a stranger to her.
Oliva felt sorry for herself, for the sudden marriage proposal, and for her father who might be taken away forever. She started braiding her hair, tugging at the strands, feeling only anger and desperation. She went back to her parents, took the satchel from his hands. Dont go anywhere, Father, she said, finally using the word father like an adult for the first time.
If I were willing, Zachary thumped his chest, it wouldnt hurt me so much. Youll have a hard time with him better I serve my time, but youll live without tears.
Father! Oliva clutched him. Dont leave! Hell lock us up, the whole village will turn on me, on Charlie, on my sister Antonia, who already has a husband and children.
Zachary slumped onto the chest at the door, which served as a bench. I know, Antonia will suffer too, the shame will fall on the whole family, theyll say Zachary Blythe stole the hay
Tell him tomorrow Ill agree, let the matchmakers come, Oliva pleaded.
Martha gathered the packed belongings and placed them by the stove, wiping her eyes as she set the table.
That night Zachary and Martha lay awake, talking, tossing, sighing heavily. From the next room Olivas sobs could be heard.
No, Martha, shes scared of him, marriage would be a burden, especially now. You fetch my satchel early tomorrow, Ill go out to the yard and speak to Ian, I wont give my daughter to him.
Martha, hearing this, clung to her husband. Zachary, as you say, but how will we manage without you
* * *
At dawn they rose, careful not to wake the children. While they were in the yard, Charlie slipped out the gate. By the time they gathered, the sun was high.
Wheres our little boy? Zachary asked.
I think he ran off to school, Oliva replied, I havent seen him since this morning.
Alright, hell come back. Ill stay home a while longer
Zachary, stay home until lunch, we wont have enough men to chase him, the district officer will be a bother, Martha said, still hoping the trouble would pass.
Better not rush to prison, Zachary thought.
Meanwhile Charlie rode a cart with his uncle Matthew, heading for the district centre.
Charlie, why are you going to the centre? Matthew asked.
The school gave me an assignment to collect the certificates. Im in a hurry.
Charlie lied, making up a story as he went. Matthew urged the horse, rattling the barrels, and they entered the town.
Charlie leapt off, thanked the driver and rushed to the district office. The first secretary, Mr. Gresham, a solid man in his midforties, arrived. Charlie, thinking he could find help, blurted out, I need Alex Mitford.
What for? the secretary asked.
I have a matter.
The children arent welcome here.
At that moment Gresham himself appeared. Charlie, flustered, rammed the secretary with his words.
Hold on, you cant be talking about the chairman like that, the secretary warned.
Its the honest pioneers tale! My sister and mother are in tears, my uncle is about to go to jail. He didnt take the haystacks, I swear
How do you know?
It was Ian Archibald who concocted it to snatch Oliva for marriage she wont have it.
Alright, I was coming to see you today wait by the gate until Vasili brings the carriage.
Back at the village, the secretary first inspected the council building. Ian Zorin, issuing orders, toured the fields and visited the farm, scolding the negligent tractor driver Peter. When Ian saw Gresham, everyone fell silent. He straightened up, ready to report on current affairs.
Charlie lingered near the council, peeking through the windows. He rarely complained, even when wronged, but now he felt sorry for his father, wondering why hed be thrown in jail.
Gresham asked, Tell me, how do you run things here?
Alex Mitford, everything as usual, we try
I see youve lost the haystacks since spring, yet you only now raise a storm. Why stay quiet before? Waiting for a convenient moment? And why are you so sure my foreman Zachary is to blame? Is it because my daughter refused you, so you turned to blackmail?
Ian grew paler with each question. I understand. Its my fault, he admitted. It isnt proven, it wasnt Zachary, someone else took them I tried to scare him.
Thats your answer, Gresham said softly, his words like a whip. I promoted you, Ian, and I can pull you back. Youll face court for overstepping.
Charlie burst in, flinging the door wide. There turn it on, he pointed at the radio. Its on the war news.
The room fell silent as the broadcast announced the war, dated 22 June 1941.
Ian, pale, said, I dont deny my guilt, but this isnt the time. Dont take it to court, let me go to the front; Ill be called up anyway.
Gresham, stunned, leaned over the desk, pondering Ians fate.
The hay was eaten, Ian continued, we dont know whose cattle ate it. Im needed on the front now.
Wholl stay here? Gresham asked.
Therell be men, like Matthew Iliffe, too old for conscription but fit to chair.
Alright, Zorin, Ive other matters. Ill think about yours later.
A week later carts gathered outside the council, villagers from Murton assembled. Some wept, others sang, some laughed.
Ian bowed, removed his satchel and stepped into the circle. The fiddler lifted his instrument, and Ian, usually stern and unyielding, transformed. He spread his arms, stomped, and began a lively dance, the crowd forming a tight ring around him.
Ah, Ian Whitaker, those hands of yours you could crush a wife, yet now youll have to hug a rifle, muttered Matthew Iliffe, now acting as chairman.
The Blythe family bid farewell to the soninlaw. Aunt Antonia clung like a lash, holding on until the command Off the carts! rang out.
Hard winter months followed, then unpredictable springs, and grim days when sorrowful news arrived.
Alas, Martha sighed, eyeing her daughter, we thought wed escaped one trouble, only another appears. Compared to todays sorrows, the old ones fade like a dying fire in the hearth.
Four years had thinned Murton, leaving widows and orphans, but the spring of 45 lifted spirits as victory neared.
Ferdinand returned in March, after a wound sent him home; hed been called up at eighteen and now was a confident young man, a soughtafter fiancé.
What, are you turning your back on Ferdinand? Martha asked the grownup Olivia. Where else will you find such a groom? Dont rebuff him now, he might propose.
I get it, Mother, but I just dont feel it
What feelings, Olivia? Youll stay a spinster then.
Months later Ian Zorin walked back into the village. Women stared as he passed, noting his oncefull coat now empty.
Good day, ladies! How are you? he asked. Wheres my mother?
Joy, dear shes on the farm, you should go and cheer her; todays a celebration my sons returned.
Ian quickly threw himself back into work. At the first meeting he was proposed as chairman.
We have a chairman, Ian said, Matthew Iliffe ran the coop through the war, isnt he fit to stay?
Selfremoval? the villagers asked.
Seems so.
He changed; his demeanor softened, the arrogance that had plagued him before the war faded.
Good to see you, Zachary Archibald, Ian greeted first. Good to see you, Ian Whitaker.
Come now, whats with the patronymic? Im younger than you. I used to be proud I thought of you through the war, regretted not asking forgiveness. So Ill say it now: forgive me for those haystacks, I knew I wasnt at fault
Zachary coughed. And you, Ian, forgive me, I was the one who moved the haystacks
How so?
Its simple. The farm had no feed for the calf, yet higher orders said not to touch the stacks. Both you and I got the same order, and I disobeyed. He took off his cap, clenching it in his hand. I didnt take a single stalk for myself, so it isnt my fault
Thats the story, Ian said. Seems you fed our cows anyway, lets not dredge up old wounds, that was ages ago, before the war.
Dad, why are you babbling? Charlie asked when Zachary stepped away from Ian. He was a snake, now his venoms been removed.
Charlie received a sharp rebuke.
You know little! You havent lived, yet you start judging. Ian Zorin didnt spare a life on the front, look at his two medals and hes no snake.
Father?
Forget it just know this: its easy to err, hard to fix. He patted his sons shoulder. Alls well, son, the wars over, well live on.
* * *
Olivia, overjoyed, helped pull the milk barrels onto the cart. Ian, tying a horse with one hand, turned and saw Olivia approaching with a barrel. Hold on, lets do it together, he said, taking the other side. As he moved the barrels, she untied the horse. Their hands brushed; his gentle touch steadied her.
I only wanted to help, she said.
And you did, he nodded toward the cart, we all helped.
He nudged the horse forward. Watching him, Olivia felt a strange pity for Ian, a warscarred man shed once feared like fire, ready to step into the shadows to avoid his gaze.
For days Ian didnt return; teenagers from the neighboring village took his place. OneWhen the last cart rolled away, Ian stood alone under the setting sun, his heart finally quiet, knowing the village would heal without the weight of his unforgivable bargain.
