A Hidden Truth Read Free Page A

is needed.” She straightened her shoulders and jutted her chin. “The letter will wait. Hungry stomachs will not.”
    Though I wanted to ask if I could read the letter while she continued with her chores, I bit back the request. Seeing the determined look in her eye, I knew the roasted pork, sauerkraut, and boiled potatoes would come first.
    For all of us.
    A short time later the men, women, and children entered the dining hall. Our parlor and bedrooms were on the upper floor of the house, while the large kitchen and dining hall encompassed the lower floor. The men took their positions at tables on one side of the room, and the women and children gathered at tables along the other side. Once prayers for the meal had been offered, everyone took their seat on the wooden benches along each side of the tables. Wood scraped on wood as everyone settled. Everyone except the kitchen workers who remained busy filling pitchers and bowls until the meal had been completed. Only then would my mother and the other workers eat.
    I glanced at my father several times throughout dinner. He shifted his weight, as though sitting on the bench was causing his bones to ache. When the junior girls who were learning kitchen work began to serve our dessert of stewed apples and raisins, I managed to signal him. Once the parting prayers had been uttered and most of the others had departed, my father approached.
    â€œYou are worried about the sheep?” A faint smile curved his lips.
    I nodded. “Did you get them to the barn, or do you need me to help you?” Since my father’s health had worsened, I’d been assisting him more and more with the sheep. And although the work wasn’t really proper for a young woman in our society, I had been around the animals since I was a young girl and had inherited my father’s love for tending sheep. A fact that hadn’t escaped my mother. I wasn’t certain if she’d turned a blind eye to my time in the barns because I was such poor help in the Küche or because of my father’s declining health. To me, the reason didn’t matter. I was simply pleased she didn’t object.
    â€œJa. They are fine.” His gaze settled on the tables filled with dirty dishes. “You were hoping to get out of helping wash dishes?”
    â€œ Nein . It’s not my week for dishwashing.” I stepped closer. “Mutter received a letter today—from Dovie Cates.” I waited, hoping he’d supply me with additional information, but he didn’t respond.
    â€œWas there anything else in the mail?”
    I shook my head, disappointed by his lack of interest. “Mutter said she is the daughter of her cousin Barbara.”
    â€œI suppose that is right. I knew Barbara had a daughter, but I didn’t remember her name. What did she say in her letter?”
    My excitement mounted. Perhaps he was more interested than I’d thought. “Mutter hasn’t opened the letter yet. She said she’d wait until after we finished the noonday meal.”
    He grinned. “And you are hoping that I will hurry her along with reading the letter. I am right?”
    Seldom could I hide such feelings from my father. In my younger years he said he knew me better than I knew myself—and he probably still did. “You are right.” I grasped his arm and he flinched. “I’m sorry, Vater . Your bones are aching more than usual today?”
    â€œJa. But don’t say anything to your Mutter. She will only worry. Come. Let’s see what we can find out about this letter from your Mutter’s relatives.”
    I followed behind. Better to let him take the lead. My Mutter would be quicker to answer Vater’s questions than my own. He stood in the kitchen doorway and waited until Mother finished talking to the other women. “You have a few minutes for me, Louise?”
    Mother turned and her eyes softened when she looked at my father. “I