Free Heritage of Lancaster County 02 The Confession by Unknown

Bennett?"
    Without warning, the chair began to shake. But it was
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    not from a tremor brought on by the disease. Laura Bennett was crying, soundless sobs.
    Rosie felt a peculiar urge to shield the woman but restrained herself, allowing the moment to unfold. After all, who was she to step in and keep the mistress from laying eyes on her daughter, at long last?
    It was nearly Christmas, for goodness' sake. Miracles were supposed to happen at Christmastime.
    Laura dabbed a tissue at her eyes repeatedly. Then after a time, she nodded--said almost pitifully, "Bring my dear one to me."
    Rosie braced herself, planting her eyes on the wide doorway, and gazed at the empty spot. She felt as if she were waiting for the heroine of a play to make a grand entrance ....
    She was pleasantly surprised when a young Amish- woman, dressed in Old Order garb and head covering tiptoed into the room, accompanied by Master Dylan himself. The slender girl, who couldn't have been a day over twenty, had eyes for Mrs. Bennett entirely. Her oval face burst into a spontaneous yet coy smile. "Hello, Mother," she said.
    The master was quick to speak, even before Laura could respond to her daughter's first words of greeting. "Darling, I'd like you to meet Katie."
    In spite of her husband's attempt to offer a formal introduction, Laura's gaze never once veered from the Amish girl. "Oh, Katherine, is it you? Is it really you?"
    Rosie surrendered her hold on the wheelchair and stepped aside, surveying closely the glint of--what was that strange look in Dylan Bennett's eyes? Certainly not glee... or was it?
    "Oh, do come closer, my dear," Laura said, fighting back tears that only served to cloud her vision further. "I want to
    77 have a good look at you. You won't mind, will you?"
    The Amish girl came near, and Nurse Judah promptly
    pulled up a chair for her to sit, facing Laura.
    "Denki," came the reticent reply.
    Laura noticed Katie's polite nod toward the nurse. Her heart fairly skipped a beat as she gazed happily at the young woman before her.
    Katherine, her beautiful daughter, was here at last! Here .. in this very house!
    The young woman spoke again. "Ach, but I want to look at you, Mam."
    The Plain, simple words seemed to hang in the air. Yet Laura fell silent as fluctuating emotions overwhelmed her. Elation, bittersweet joy ....
    The two of them--surrounded by Dylan, Rosie, and the nurse--observed each other curiously.
    Laura soon found her voice. "Katherine, my precious
    girl. Oh, I've waited so long, so very long for this day." Her daughter nodded, smiling sweetly.
    Laura's eyes filled with tears, and she brushed them away quickly, fearing she might look up and find that her dear one had vanished. "The Lord has surely answered my prayers," she whispered, reaching for the dainty hand. "How happy I am you've come, Katherine."
    "Please, you must call me Katie. It suits me just fine." So, thought Laura, her birth daughter's Amish par- ents--the Lapps--had modified the name she'd chosen. Renamed her Katie. Indeed, there was something simple yet charming about it. The short, fanciful name did suit
    her.
    "Then, Katie you are," she answered, surprised how the charming nickname rolled off her tongue. It was perfectly right--an acceptable substitute, being a derivative of Katherine, after all.
    The notion that she had provided this name warmed her
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    heart, made her feel more closely connected to this stranger somehow. Gave her a link to the past. A past the two had never shared. Lost... lost days. Gone forever.
    Still, they had this moment. She must cling to that. They--she and this adorable girl named Katie--had now. And with all the love she'd carried in vain for her daughter these many years, she decided they would indeed enjoy this time that was every bit as much a divine gift as it was Dylan's.
    Scarcely able to keep from staring at her child, Laura was struck by Katie's lovely face--the creamy white complexion, picture perfect. And the quiet smile.