Free Heritage of Lancaster County 03 The Reckoning by Unknown

strength today. Help me release Katie--Katherine, as she now calls her-self--to your safekeeping and care. Yet help" me win her to you. Open doors so that I may witness to her of your love and saving grace. I'm ready to do your will, no matter the cost. In Jesus' name. Amen."
    Opening his eyes, he gazed through the windshield at the sun doing its best to pierce the gray pall of smoke and clouds. He scanned a stand of trees situated between crowded buildings, their spartan limbs like three- and four-pronged pitchforks thrust against the misery of the pollu-
    In spite of his prayer, Dan was smitten with gloom and might as well have worn mourning clothes to announce it to the world.
    As he looked on, several other vehicles pulled in and
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    parked on either side. It was time to get out of the car and head into the white-columned Colonial-style church. Friends waved cheerful greetings, and though Dan might're given in to the urge to simply back out of the lot and drive home, he pressed on, eager to find solace in worship and the preaching of the Word. And especially today, he needed the fellowship of brothers and sisters in Christ.
    Katherine felt sorry about having to decline Rosie's thoughtful invitation to attend church services with her and her husband.
    "Perhaps some other time," Rosie said with a smile. "Do take care of yourself, Katherine."
    She hoped Rosie would understand. It wasn't that she had no interest in going to the church where Laura had been a member; there was so much more to it. Katherine felt terribly tired, emotionally exhausted from a night of tossing about in bed crying, even though she willed the tears to stop. Her world had tilted nearly off its axis yesterday. Everything ... everything had changed. Even her dinner plans with Justin Wirth were now in question. And there was the letter to Mar; mailed just hours before Daniel's appearance.
    Oh, if she'd only known, she might not have dictated the letter to Rosie at all, might not have started up such a preposterous correspondence. Her desire to reach out to her Amish girlfriend might've been hampered, truly, by her knowledge that Dan was alive.
    She sighed deeply, deciding to spend the morning in her bedroom, taking her breakfast there. She preferred to stay put--alone, still wearing her nightgown and robe.
    The weather played a role in her lethargy, she was nearly sure, and she sat near the window, watching the snow pile
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    up, hoping her butler and maid had arrived at church safely.
    After she'd eaten her breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, and juice, she slipped back under the covers, desiring a reprieve from troubled thoughts. Trying her best to relax, she began to sing softly in German, an old song from her childhood. "What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and
    griefs to bear "
    Griefs to bear.
    The words filled up the hollow places in her heart, and she wondered about Laura's love for Jesus amidst the perplexing reality of her own life. It was hard to imagine the Son of God understanding her grief, leaning over the balconies of heaven to be intimately involved in one person's life. The idea seemed worldly, even heretical.
    Turning on her side, she drew her knees up and wrapped her hands around her stomach, trying to get warm enough . . . secure enough to sleep again.
    Several hours later, close to dinnertime, Justin Wirth phoned. Leoma, one of the several elder housemaids, came to the French doors leading to the secluded sitting room where Katherine was lounging. "Mister Wirtl is on the line for you, Miss Katherine."
    "Thank you," she said, reaching for the telephone on the small table next to her.
    Justin's voice sounded edgy. "Hello, Katherine. I hope my calling this late won't upset your plans for the day, but the roads are becoming treacherous, according to news reports. I don't think it would be wise to risk taking you out on a night like this. I'm afraid the castle will have to wait."
    Katherine was secretly relieved. She hadn't