Lancaster Hearts (Out of Darkness - Amish Connections (An Amish of Lancaster County Saga)) by Ruth Price Page A

of riding with the other women, they knew Judith wasn't inclined towards idle chatter in the morning, so she let the conversation flow around her as she watched the fields blur past her window. When the car slowed, both Rachel and Isaac stood on the porch. Judith's stomach clenched as the pair walked towards the van. They were talking, Rachel throwing animated gestures, her creamy complexion alight with a beauteous smile. Isaac seemed captured by her words, nodding as he walked. He opened the van door and gestured for her to step in first.
    Rachel greeted everyone in the van. Unlike Judith, Rachel was dressed Plain, her hair braided modestly beneath her kapp, the rich brown of her dress setting her blue eyes in perfect contrast. A curl had escaped her braids, and it hung artfully over her wide eyes. In that moment, Judith felt both shabby and immodest.
    “ Judith! ” Rachel exclaimed. “ Oh my, I hope our Plain attire is suitable for this class. ” She breezed towards the back of the van as she spoke, her apron swaying as she walked. “ Isaac wasn't sure if it would be okay if I watched, but I've been charged with keeping Isaac out of trouble and it seems that I can ask at least, if that's okay? ”
    Judith grit her teeth and forced a tight smile. Rage was a sin. Ordinarily, Judith would have been happy to see Rachel taking an interest in Englischer education. She'd always looked at Judith with vague disapproval of her interests, though Rachel didn't n eglect attending Englischer parties with some of the other, wilder, Amish boys and girls on their Rumspringa . “ Of course we can ask, ” Judith said. “ I wish I'd known you were interested in coming earlier, or else I'd have asked yesterday on your behalf as I did for Isaac. ”
    Rachel sat down on the seat beside Judith, while Isaac took the empty seat on the other side of the aisle, thus placing Rachel and Isaac essentially side by side. “ I sincerely apologize! ” Rachel said, taking Judith's hands in her own. “ I had no idea that this was happening until yesterday evening, when Isaac returned from his carpentry work. ”  
    “ It's fine, ” Judith said.
    Rachel pointed to the pamphlet in Judith's lap. “ Is that about the class? ”
    “ Ja. ” Judith opened it up. Rachel spread it across her lap and beckoned Isaac to lean in. Judith went through the details of the pamphlet, stopping only when Rachel interrupted with exclamations and observations, some sensible and others a bit ridiculous. Isaac simply nodded, tapping at some of the pictures with his index finger as though entering them into an Englischer push button phone or computer, like Judith had used for some of her school papers. Rachel had a habit of giggling behind her hand that Judith had always found a bit grating. Now it made her fingers twitch with a desire to force silence. This trip, which she admitted she'd been looking forward to since Monday morning, now made her gut burn like the powerful acids were dissolving her stomach lining.
    When Judith had finished going over the pamphlet, Isaac asked to look over it. Rachel handed the other boy the paper, their fingers lingering in the pass. Of course Rachel, vicarious and pretty with appropriate interests had captured Isaac's attention. Was it even such a bad thing? Judith had her own goals to pursue.
    Once the pamphlet was put away, Rachel engaged Isaac and the other women in the car in a bubbling stream of inane chatter. Judith, who had never excelled at such things, sat quietly, sandwiched between Rachel and the window. Judith didn't dare look at Isaac, for fear of seeing the admiration in his eyes directed at Rachel. The van ride stretched in an infinity of agony. When they pulled up in front of the Community Center, Judith was the first to stand, her hip jogging Rachel's shoulder in her eagerness to just have it all be over.
    Rachel shot Judith a glare from beneath her lashes and then stood. “ Come along, Isaac. ”
    If Judith and