The Christmas Secret (6 page)

A short time later, David entered the Warners’ front yard and gave the brass knob a quick pull.

“Is Helen at home?” he asked when Helen’s mother, Margaret, answered the door.

“She’s in the parlor, practicing the piece she’ll be playing for church this Sunday,” the petite woman replied.

“May I speak with her? It’s of the utmost importance.”

Margaret hesitated a moment and finally motioned to the room on her left. “Go on in.”

David stepped into the parlor, where Helen sat in front of a spacious organ, pumping her feet as she played and sang, “Sweet hour of prayer, sweet hour of prayer, that calls me from a world of care, and bids me at my Father’s throne, make all my wants and wishes known!”

When David moved closer to the organ, Helen’s head jerked, and she blinked several times, looking up at him like a frightened bird. “Oh my! You startled me, David. I—I didn’t know anyone had come in.”

“I need to speak to you. Your mother said that I could come in.”

“Wh–what did you wish to speak with me about?” Helen seemed nervous, which was out of character for this usually calm, confident woman.

He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out Elizabeth’s note. “I found this at the cabin.”

Helen dropped her gaze to the organ keys.

“It’s a note from Elizabeth.”

Still no comment.

Why is she acting so strange? She must know something, and I have to find out what it is.

“She called off our wedding and has gone away,” he said.

“I’m very sorry, David.”

“Did you know about this?” he asked, taking a seat on the bench beside her.

She nodded slowly.

“Where is she, Helen? What caused Elizabeth to change her mind about marrying me?”

Helen’s shoulders trembled as she lifted them in a brief shrug, refusing to make eye contact with him.

David placed his hand on her shoulder. “Please tell me what you know. I can’t bear the thought of losing Elizabeth. I love her so much, and until I found this note, I was sure she loved me, too.”

Helen’s chin quivered as tears gathered in the corners of her chestnut-colored eyes. “I know this is painful for you, David, but you must accept Elizabeth’s decision and get on with your life.”

“Get on with my life?” He shook his head vigorously. “How can I accept her decision when I don’t understand the reason she called off the wedding?”

Helen said nothing.

Irritation welled in David’s soul. Helen was hiding something; he was sure of it. Was she trying to spare his feelings, or had she promised Elizabeth not to tell?

“Is there someone else?” he questioned. “Is Elizabeth in love with another man?”

“No.”

“Then what is it? Why couldn’t she look me in the eye and tell me that she doesn’t love me anymore?”

Helen rose from the bench and moved over to the window. “I can’t discuss this with you. I gave Elizabeth my word.”

“If you won’t tell me why she wrote the note and left town, then at least tell me where she’s gone,” he said, quickly joining her at the window.

“I—I truly don’t know.” Helen whirled around and dashed out of the room.

David’s heart sank. If Helen knew the truth but wouldn’t tell him, how was he ever going to get Elizabeth back?

E
lizabeth took a seat in the spindle-backed rocking chair by the fireplace and placed her Bible in her lap. She’d arrived at her grandparents’ house in Coopersburg two days ago and had been welcomed with open arms. She was relieved that they’d accepted her excuse for being here and hadn’t questioned her about the reason for her breakup with David. All she’d told them was that she’d changed her mind and had come to realize the two of them weren’t meant to be together. Grandma had hugged her and said, “Remember, dear, you’re welcome to stay with us for as long as you want.”

That could be indefinitely,
Elizabeth thought,
because as long as David lives in Allentown, I don’t see how I can return. It’s hard to think of him as my brother, and I simply can’t face him again, knowing the terrible secret that lies between us.

Forcing her thoughts aside, she opened the Bible. Her gaze came to rest on Proverbs 3:5, a verse she’d underlined some time ago: “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.”

She was trying to trust God, but it was difficult when her world had been torn apart and there was no hope of her ever marrying David.

Elizabeth heard whispered voices coming from the kitchen, where her grandparents had gone to have a cup of coffee. Her ears perked up when she heard Grandma say, “Elizabeth is so sad. I wish there was something we could do to make her feel better.”

“She’s obviously hurting over her breakup with David,” Grandpa said. “It’s going to take her some time to get over it.”

I’ll never get over it,
Elizabeth thought as tears sprang to her eyes.
As long as I live, I’ll never forget what David and I once had, and I’ll never let myself fall in love with another man.

Unable to eat, sleep, or work for the past two days, David decided the only thing he could do was to go back to Helen’s, hoping he could convince her to tell him something. He needed to know why Elizabeth had broken up with him and where she had gone. He needed to speak with her, and he wouldn’t take Helen’s no for an answer this time.

When he stepped up to the Warners’ front door and rang the bell, Helen answered, wearing an apron splattered with flour over her long, calico dress.

“I need to speak with you. May I please come in?” he asked, praying she wouldn’t say no.

She hesitated but finally said, “Father’s in the parlor, studying his sermon for this Sunday, and I was in the kitchen making some bread, but I suppose we could speak in there.”

“That’s fine.” David entered the house and followed Helen to the kitchen.

“Would you like a cup of coffee or some tea?” she asked after he’d taken a seat at the table.

He gave a nod. “Coffee sounds good.”

She went to the coal-heated stove and picked up the coffeepot.

“Aren’t you going to join me?” he asked when she handed him a cup of coffee and moved over to the cupboard next to the stove.

She shook her head. “I have bread dough to knead.”

David blew on his coffee then took a sip. The warm liquid felt good as it trickled down his parched throat.

“What did you want to talk to me about?” Helen asked, turning her back to him as she began to work the dough.

“I need to know why Elizabeth left and where she’s gone.”

Helen whirled around, lifting her flour-covered hands. “I wish you’d stop asking me about this. I promised Elizabeth I wouldn’t say anything about what she’d read in her aunt’s journal.” She gasped and covered her mouth with the back of her hand. “I—I didn’t mean to say that. I meant to say …”

David leaped to his feet. “What about her aunt’s journal? What’s it got to do with Elizabeth leaving?”

Helen sucked in her lower lip as her gaze dropped to the floor.

David clasped her arm. “Please, you’ve got to tell me. I love Elizabeth, and I have the right to know why she called off our wedding.”

Helen moaned and flopped into a chair at the table. “I agree, you do have the right to know, but it’s going to come as a shock, and it’s going to hurt you the way it did Elizabeth when she found out the truth.”

“The truth about what?” David took a seat across from Helen and leaned forward, anxious to hear what she had to say. “What could Elizabeth’s aunt have written that would have caused Elizabeth to go away?”

David sat in stunned silence as Helen told him about the entry in the journal.

“So as I’m sure you now realize,” Helen said in a tone of regret, “Elizabeth is your half sister, which means you can never be married.”

David groaned. This was worse than he could have imagined! No wonder Elizabeth had run away. Learning that she was the illegitimate daughter of David’s father had to have been a terrible shock.

“Is Elizabeth sure that what she read is the truth?” he asked, grasping for any ray of hope. “Has she spoken to her aunt about this?”

Helen shook her head. “She doesn’t know where her mother’s sister is, but I’m sure it has to be true. I mean, why would Elizabeth’s aunt write something like that if it wasn’t true?”

“What’s the aunt’s name—do you know?”

“Lovina Hess.”

“Where is Elizabeth now?” David asked. “I really must speak to her about this.”

“I honestly don’t know. I haven’t heard anything from her since she left home, and when I spoke to her stepmother the other day, she said she hadn’t heard from Elizabeth either.”

“Will you let me know if you do hear from her?” he asked as a feeling of desperation gripped him like a vice.

Helen shook her head. “That’s not a good idea.”

“Why not?”

“It would be too painful for Elizabeth to see you again, and nothing would be gained by hashing this over with her.”

Forgetting about the coffee, David rose from his chair. “Thank you for at least telling me about the journal. There’s a small measure of comfort in knowing that Elizabeth didn’t leave because she’s in love with someone else.” He turned and walked out the door, a sense of determination welling in his soul. Despite what Helen had said, he would somehow find Elizabeth and try to offer her some comfort. Truth was, he needed comfort right now as well.

I
t had been two weeks since Elizabeth had arrived at her grandparents’ house, and with each passing day she became more despondent. Even the delicious Thanksgiving meal Grandma fixed for the three of them yesterday had done nothing to lift Elizabeth’s spirits. All she could think about was that Christmas was only a month away and she would not be getting married to the man she loved.

She thought about the telegram her grandparents had received from her father the day he’d returned from his business trip and discovered she was gone. His message said he wondered if she may have come here and that he and Abigail missed her and hoped she would come home soon. Elizabeth had sent a reply, letting him know she was here and missed them, too, but that she planned to stay with Grandpa and Grandma for now. She also asked that he not tell anyone where she was—especially David. Then she’d written a letter to Helen, telling her the same.

Dear Lord, please help me,
she prayed.
Take away the ache in my heart and the love I feel for a man I can never marry.

“You’ve been sitting in that chair, staring at the fire for hours,” Grandpa said, touching Elizabeth’s shoulder. “Why don’t you put on a wrap and take a ride with me and your grandma? The fresh air might do you some good, and since we’ll be stopping at a couple of stores, you can do a bit of Christmas shopping.” He chuckled. “Your grandma always says she feels better whenever she’s able to buy anything new—even if it’s for someone other than herself.”

“You two go ahead,” Elizabeth replied. “I’m not in the mood to do any shopping.”

“You’re not doing yourself any good by sitting here pining every day. If you miss David so much, then you ought to return to Allentown and marry him.”

Unbidden tears sprang to her eyes. She wished it were as easy as Grandpa suggested. “I—I can’t. It’s over between me and David.”