Heritage of Lancaster County 03 The Reckoning Read Online Free PDF

child.
    Dismissing the clamor, Katherine went to sit at the petite writing table across the room and searched for her prettiest stationery.
    Daniel stepped back, away from the door. "Are you saying.., that Katie Lapp no longer lives here?" His breathing was coming fast.
    "Lest I repeat myself, young man--she is gone like so much rubbish," the butler said, his nostrils flaring like an irritated horse. "The no-good woman left on her own accord weeks ago, though I rather regretted not having thrown her out myself."
    Daniel shook his head, pained by the man's words. "Is it possible that we're talking about the same woman? You see, it's Katie I wish to see--the Amish girl from Lancaster County. We grew up together, we were sweethearts .... " Daniel made an attempt to demonstrate just how tall Katie
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    might be, then mentioned the color of her hair, physical traits--all to no avail.
    "Sounds as if the woman's got you fooled, too."
    "But I was told she'd come here."
    "Come she did ... caused absolute mayhem, too." The butler's face grew red. "Over the holidays, no less."
    Dan grimaced at the stranger's disparaging remarks. How could this be? Where was his precious Katie?
    Quickly, he had the presence of mind to inquire, "Do you have any idea where she might've gone? The slightest tip--anything--would be appreciated."
    "I would expect she returned to New York City, from whence she came."
    "Who in the world does she know there?" he said, more to himself than to the distinguished-looking gentleman before him.
    "Contacts at a talent agency, I was told." The tall man reached for the door handle. "I don't mean to be rude, but the woman was a phony, through and through. Now, if you'll excuse me .... "
    "Uh, I'm very sorry to have bothered you." His hopes
    were dashed. "Thank you for the information."
    "Good day," said the butler.
    Turning, Daniel made his way across the wide snow- dusted driveway to the car. He thought of the Wise Woman, her words of warning. Katie's not the girl you grew up with.
    Well, certainly, she would've changed some since their teen years--their blissful courting days. Given the circumstances of the imposed shunning, she may have seemed somewhat rebellious in her coming here, but understandably so.
    Despite what he thought he knew about his former girlfriend, this encounter with a stranger--a butler--at the door of Katie's birth mother's estate troubled him greatly. And the information offered made no sense. None whatever.
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    The noise from the front door disturbed Katherine. She'd gone to stand just outside the wide French doors leading from her suite to the main hallway. She listened, though no matter how hard she strained to hear, it was impossible to make out the nature of the exchange taking place on her doorstep.
    Unexpectedly, two housemaids rounded the corner, nearly bumping into her. Stepping back, she decided against eavesdropping and closed the glass doors behind her.
    Preoccupied with her plan to have Rosie write a cordial letter to Mary, she slid open the narrow drawer in the center of the desk. There she found several plain white pages, just right for taking a few notes, making something of a rough draft.
    Picking up a pen from the drawer, she began to write an example for Rosie:
    Saturday, January 17
    Dear Mary,
    You do not know me. However, I know something of you.
    Stopping to read, to see how the English words looked on the page, Katherine wondered if they sounded affected. Stilted.
    "I'll ask Rosie," she said aloud. Mrs. Taylor would know. After all, she was of British descent. In fact, her writing style might seem even more formal than the forced, sophisticated way Katherine was attempting to word her initial thoughts.
    She sighed, not sure if she should begin by owning up to the fact that the ul,timate writer--Rosie--knew only of Mary through Katherine. That the Amish girls had been dear friends all their lives, but because of the physical separation caused by the Ban and the many miles