Hope Chest by Wanda E. Brunstetter Page A

thoughts drifted slowly back to the present, the pain in her heart lessened a bit. If God could perform so many miracles, allowing her to give birth to five babies after the doctors had said she might never conceive, then He could do anything.
    “Dear Lord,” she whispered in prayer, “You blessed Daniel and me with our special kinner to raise, so now I’m committing my oldest child into Your hands and asking that You give her a life full of love, joy, and miracles beyond measure.” She paused as tears clogged her throat and clouded her vision. “Please let Anna know that we love her despite the shunning she’s brought on herself by choosing to marry Reuben and go English.”

CHAPTER 9
    Rachel tossed and turned in her bed for most of the night. Knowing Anna wasn’t in her room across the hall left a huge empty spot in her heart. Until recently, she and Anna had shared secrets and hopes for their future. For some time, Rachel had known something was going on with Anna, but she’d thought her sister was only going through a phase that would pass. Never in a hundred years would she have suspected that Anna was interested in Reuben or that the two of them had been secretly courting. And the fact that they’d run off and gotten married by an English justice of the peace was the biggest shock of all.
    Rachel closed her eyes and tried to picture Anna married to Reuben, making their home in Lancaster, wearing English clothes, and living the fancy, modern life.
    “Does Silas know about this yet?” she whispered into the night. Surely Silas’s heart would be broken when he heard the news, for he’d lost Anna not only to the modern world, but to one of his childhood friends, no less. Thinking about Silas helped Rachel feel a little less sorry for herself, and it was a reminder for her to pray for him.
    Ping! Ping! Rachel rolled over in bed. What was that strange noise? Ping! Ping! There it was again. She sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. It sounded like something was hitting her bedroom window, but she couldn’t imagine what it might be.
    She hurried across the room and lifted the window’s dark shade. In the glow of the moonlight, she could see someone standing on the ground below. It was a man, and he appeared to be tossing pebbles at her window, of all things.
    “Who’s wanting to get my attention at this time of night?” Rachel muttered as she grabbed her robe off the end of the bed.
    Quietly, so she wouldn’t wake any of the family, she tiptoed in her bare feet down the stairs, being careful not to step on the ones that creaked. When she reached the back door, she opened it cautiously and peered out. She could see now that it was Silas Swartley standing on the grass, bathed in the moonlight.
    Rachel slipped out the door, closing it quietly behind her, and dashed across the lawn. “Silas, what are you doing out here in the dark, throwing pebbles at my window?”
    He whirled around to face her. “Rachel?”
    She nodded. “What’s up, anyhow?”
    Looking more than a bit befuddled, Silas shifted his long legs and gave his suspenders a quick snap. “I ... uh ... thought it was Anna’s window I was throwing stones at. I’ve been wanting to speak with her for several days but never seem to get the chance.”
    Rachel’s heartbeat quickened. So Silas didn’t know. He couldn’t have heard the news yet, or else he would have realized Anna wasn’t here. She took a few steps closer and reached out to touch his arm. “Anna’s not in her room, Silas.”
    “She’s not? Where is she, then?”
    Rachel’s lower lip quivered, and she pressed her lips tightly together, trying to compose herself. This was going to be a lot harder than she’d thought. “I hate to be the one telling you this, but Anna ran off and got married last night. She left home this morning.”
    Silas’s mouth dropped open like a window with a broken hinge. “Married? Left home?” He stared off into space as though he were