Double Take

by Melody Carlson

  Lucinda frowned. “I think it looks about two sizes too big. Mom had been getting this dress ready for Brianna McCluskey to wear. Really, it looks much better on you.” She stepped forward with pins. “Just let me take it in here and there.”

  Anna cooperated with her, holding her hands up, turning from side to side. She controlled herself from saying that Lucinda was pinning the dress too tightly. After all, this was an English dress, and they all seemed to be tight. Again the irony of it hit Anna. The English liked their beds and furniture to be soft and comfortable, but their shoes and clothing had to be tight and constricting. It just made no sense.

  “Now step on that stool and I’ll set the hem.”

  Anna stepped up. She was still admiring this amazing sewing room. She would have such fun in a place like this.

  “What’s up with the hairy legs?” Lucinda asked. “Don’t tell me you’re turning into an earth muffin.”

  “Earth muffin?” Anna frowned.

  Lucinda laughed. “That’s what my mom calls hippies.”

  Anna was about to question the meaning of the word hippy but decided that might draw more suspicion. As it was, she hadn’t even considered the hair on her legs. She knew English girls shaved their legs—which was very strange—but she had no intention of doing such a thing.

  “Madison?” Lucinda’s voice had a surprisingly sharp tone now. “What is going on with you?”

  “What?” Anna turned back around to look at her.

  Lucinda’s eyes were narrowed and her jaw was firm. “What is going on?”

  “I don’t know what you mean.” Anna bit her lip, trying to think.

  “I mean—who are you?”

  Anna stepped down from the stool and tried to make an expression that she thought Madison might make. “What are you talking about?”

  “I’m talking about you.”

  “I’m going to change back into my clothes,” Anna said.

  “No, you are not.” Lucinda stood in front of her now. “Not until you tell me who you really are.”

  “I do not understand.” Fear rushed through Anna.

  Lucinda pointed a finger at her. “That’s another thing. You talk weird. I thought maybe you had a sore throat, but your voice and your words are different.” Lucinda reached up to touch Anna’s hair. “Your hair is different too. I thought so the other day, but I figured you’d just found someone really good. But today when I saw your hairy legs—”

  “I gave up shaving,” Anna said quickly. “Just to try it.”

  “Well, how about that scar?”

  Anna glanced over to the curtain where her things were, wondering if she could dash over, get them, and make a run for it.

  “What happened to it, Madison?”

  “What?” She inched toward the curtain.

  “The scar.”

  “What scar?” Anna knew it was futile to pretend.

  “The scar where Bobby bit you.”

  “Bobby?” Anna imagined some guy sinking his teeth into her.

  “Your grandma’s schnauzer.” Lucinda reached over and grasped Anna’s forearm. For a small girl, she had a tight grip. “Who are you? And what have you done to Madison?”

  “I don’t know what you’re—”

  “I know you’re not Madison.” Her dark eyes were penetrating. “Madison and I were best friends for seven years. You can’t fool me.”

  “I just want to get dressed,” Anna said. “And leave.”

  “You are going nowhere until you fess up.” Lucinda pulled her phone out. “Or else I’ll just call the police and that will—”

  “No,” Anna said quickly. “Please do not do that.”

  Lucinda held out her phone almost as if it were a weapon. “Tell me the truth—who are you?”

  Through tears, Anna told Lucinda the whole unbelievable story.

  “No way.” Lucinda paced back and forth, still waving her phone as if she planned to use it. “There is no way Madison would do something that crazy. I don’t believe you.”

  “It’s true,” Anna pleaded. “I promise you it is true.”

  Lucinda stopped pacing now. She came closer and peered into Anna’s eyes. “I suppose you don’t know that Madison Van Buren is a member of one of the wealthiest families in New York—in the world, for that matter.”

  “I—I don’t know what you mean.” Anna shook her head. “I know she is rich. What are you saying?”

  “I’m saying that between Madison’s mother’s family and her father’s family—we’re talking old money and a lot of it—they are worth more than a billion.”

  Anna was trying to understand this. Was Lucinda suggesting that Anna was here to steal? “I have taken nothing,” she said. “Nothing that Madison didn’t tell me to use. That is all.” The truth was Anna had been quite frugal with Madison’s money and credit cards.

  “How am I supposed to believe you aren’t part of some kidnapping crime ring? Maybe you’ve got Madison stashed off somewhere while you bilk her family for millions.”

  Anna blinked. “What?”

  Lucinda held up her phone again. “I’m calling my mom.”

  “Please don’t.”

  “Then prove to me you’re not a criminal, and that the insane story you told me is really true.” Lucinda was starting to dial.

  “I have a message from Madison,” Anna said suddenly. “It’s on her phone.” Anna started to go back to get her purse, but Lucinda stopped her.

  “I’ll get it,” Lucinda said. “You stay put.”

  When Lucinda returned with Madison’s purse, she pulled out the Blackberry and turned it on, waiting as Anna told her the code numbers. It felt like an eternity as Anna waited for Lucinda to push the right buttons and listen. Finally she dropped the phone back into the purse and looked curiously at Anna. “That first message sounded like Madison. It also sounded like she wanted to switch places with you.”

  “She did.” Anna nodded. “I wanted to switch with her also. But then, by the time we spoke on the phone together, Madison had changed her mind.” Anna shrugged. “I was very surprised. I still cannot believe she would want to stay with my aunt Rachel for a whole week. Even I did not want to stay with her.”

  Lucinda’s features softened. “So, really, you’re telling the truth?”

  “I promise you, I am.” She glanced toward the curtain. “I want to change my clothes now, please.”

  “Go ahead.” Lucinda set Madison’s purse on a table and laughed. “Yeah, I knew something was fishy about you when I saw you wearing that outfit in the elevator the other day. Madison never dressed like that.”

  “You said you liked it.” Anna carefully removed the bright-colored dress, trying not to get stuck with the pins.

  “I did like it. You have a fun sense of style—especially for an Amish girl.”

  “I would never dress like that at home. Never!” As Anna pulled on the trousers, she realized she would never dress like this either. So many things to feel guilty for.

  “What’s your real name?”

  “Anna Fisher.” As she buttoned her shirt, she explained about how she’d been looking for Jacob. “That is why Garret has been with me so much. He wanted to help me.”

  Lucinda laughed. “Or wanted to help himself to you.”

  Anna emerged from behind the curtain. “I can make him mind his manners.”

  “Maybe so.”

  “I am sorry, Lucinda.” Anna handed her back the bright dress. “I should not have promised you that Madison would wear your mother’s dress for the Fashion Fling.”

  Lucinda rolled her eyes. “I should’ve known it was too good to be true.”

  “Can I ask you something?”

  Lucinda nodded as she hung the dress back up.

  “Why are you and Madison no longer friends?”

  “It’s a long story.”

  “I have time.”

  Lucinda glanced up at the big wall clock. “Unfortunately, I do not. I’m supposed to meet my mother in ha
lf an hour. I’m going to be a designer someday too. I work with my mom, learning the ropes of the business.”

  Anna nodded. “That is how it is in my community too. Children learn from their parents.” She ran her hand over one of the sleek sewing machines again. “Do these sew fast?”

  “Fast enough.” Lucinda turned off the lights. “Do you sew?”

  As they went to the elevator, Anna told about the treadle machine she used at home. “It is not so fast. But like you said, fast enough.”

  “Hey, maybe you can come over here tomorrow,” Lucinda offered. “You can try out a machine if you like.”

  “Really?”

  Lucinda nodded as she pushed the down button. “Then we can talk some more. Maybe I can tell you about Madison and me.”

  “I would like that.” Anna smiled.

  Riding back down to the lobby with Lucinda, Anna felt even more curious. Why would Madison give up a nice friend like her? Lucinda seemed like a genuine person—and a hard worker too. As Anna rode the elevator back up to the penthouse, she hoped she might solve the Lucinda and Madison mystery tomorrow. As for the missing boyfriend mystery . . . maybe she would never get to the bottom of it.

  14

  Madison was just ladling herself a bowl of creamy potato soup when Malachi walked into the kitchen.

  “Any more of that left?” Malachi asked as he went over to the sink to wash his hands.

  “Ja, ja,” Madison said, trying to imitate Rachel. “There is plenty.”

  “Where is everyone?” He rubbed the gray block of soap so vigorously that it almost began to lather. Was he angry or just energetic?

  “Uncle Daniel came early to eat,” she explained as she filled another bowl. “He had to drive over to the Vorschke farm to get something for his plow.”

  “Ja. He broke down this morning. He thought he could fix it himself.”

  “Maybe not.” She sliced a few more pieces of the whole wheat bread, setting them on the table next to the homemade butter. Yesterday afternoon Madison had cranked the handle of that butter churn herself, watching in wonder as the cream went from liquid to solid. Who knew?

  As Malachi dried his hands, she explained that she had just fed Jeremiah and Elizabeth their lunch, and that Aunt Rachel was putting them down for naps. “Then she will rest too.”

  “So we are alone?” His blue eyes lit up with mischief.

  “Ja.” She smiled boldly at him. “Just the two of us.” She wondered if he would mention the missed meeting by the pond. Or perhaps he had missed it as well. But he just sat down on the bench and rubbed his hands together.

  “Some of the women say Aunt Rachel is not so good in the kitchen,” he said quietly. “But I say no one makes potato soup as good as her.” He picked up his spoon and dipped it in without bothering to pray, to Madison’s surprise.

  “You don’t pray before eating?” she whispered.

  Looking embarrassed, he left his spoon in the soup and bowed his head. He did seem sincere. “Sorry about that. I was too hungry.”

  “It’s all right.” She picked up her spoon. “You were saying . . . other women say mean things about Aunt Rachel?”

  He nodded and took another bite.

  “Why do you think that is?”

  He shrugged. “It’s just the way it is.”

  “It seems wrong and mean.”

  “It is wrong and mean. Some people are like that.”

  She thought about this. It was somewhat reassuring that Rachel had been telling the truth about how she was treated. Certainly she had no reason to lie about something as unflattering as being called lazy. Although that seemed unfair. Rachel worked hard.

  It was disturbing to think that “godly” women thought it acceptable to gossip and slander each other. And what was up with the shunning business? Rachel had said that Malachi and his mother had experienced something like that too. Madison wished she had the nerve to ask Malachi about this, but for now his attention seemed primarily on his food.

  She discreetly watched him eat. Focused intently on each bite, he seemed ravenous, yet he moved the spoon gracefully up and down, not spilling a drop. He even tore his bread in half, buttering it with care. Almost as if he’d had some kind of etiquette training. Anna’s uncle, who slurped his soup and belched on occasion, must’ve slept in on that day.

  “I know you’re watching me.” Malachi suddenly looked up, catching her staring.

  “I’m sorry.” She looked down at her barely touched soup.

  “You aren’t hungry?”

  She chuckled. “Yes. Just distracted.”

  “What has you so distracted?” Again he flashed that killer smile—like he knew he was the reason for her anxiety.

  “Oh, you know . . .” She tried to think of something harmless and believable. “Aunt Rachel is so pregnant. I’m thinking she could have that baby any day now.”

  “Ja, for sure.” He looked dismayed. “I hope not too soon, Anna.”

  “Why is that?”

  He smiled sheepishly. “Because after you help Aunt Rachel, would you go back to your family?”

  “Ja. After a while I have to go home.” She wanted to confide in him that she had only a few more days here. She wanted to admit that she was not Anna, that she’d never lived like this before, and that she knew nothing about birthing babies. Instead she decided to see what she could learn about him. “Aunt Rachel tells me you’re not from here, Malachi. Is that right?”

  He nodded, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, reminding her that there seemed to be no napkins in this house. Whether it was just Rachel’s way or something Amish, Madison didn’t know.

  “And you work for your other uncle part of the time.”

  “Ja. I work in his wood shop. He is teaching me how to make furniture.”

  “Furniture?”

  “Ja. I am working on a table now.”

  A handsome young man who was capable of working a farm and making tables? Perhaps she had been too hasty in writing him off. She tried to imagine the two of them as a couple, living plainly, working hard, being together. On some levels it had allure. Then she remembered all the little—and the not so little—inconveniences of this so-called simple life, and she knew it was nothing more than a fantasy. At least for her.

  “Do you want to walk outside?” Malachi asked as he stood. “There’s something I can show you.”

  She stood and smoothed her apron. “Ja. I would like to come.”

  “It’s at the pond,” he said as he led the way through the planted field, stepping carefully between the rows of young corn plants.

  “The pond?” She remembered their planned meeting. Should she mention it?

  But he didn’t say anything more as they cut through the tall grass and reeds right near the pond. He stopped and put one forefinger to his lips, then pointed with the other to a shady corner on the far side of the pond. “See?” he said.

  Shielding her eyes from the sun overhead, Madison peered into the shadows, curious as to what he was looking at. Then she saw them—a mama duck with five or six baby ducklings paddling along the edge of the pond. “Oh, that is so sweet,” she whispered.

  “I spotted them this morning.” He led her over to the bench, turning to look into her face. “I was here Sunday night, Anna. But you were not.”

  “Oh.” She sighed. “I’m so sorry. I was so tired that night, I fell asleep.”

  He chuckled. “That is better than saying you forgot, or that you didn’t care.”

  She looked into those sincere blue eyes. “I came here last night.”

  He seemed surprised. “You did?”

  She nodded. “I did. It was so beautiful. I did not even mind that you weren’t here.”

  He frowned. “You didn’t miss me at all?”

  She laughed. “Oh, ja, I missed you. But I enjoyed just being here, even by myself.”

  “I know.” He sat on the bench, patting the spot beside him.

  “I looked at the stars,” she
admitted as she sat. “And I thought about God. It felt like he was near.”

  “That is amazing.”

  “I know.” She nodded. “I didn’t expect that.”

  “Do you know that is exactly what I did, Anna, when you never came on Sunday night? At first I was disappointed. Then I sat here and I thought about God too. And then I prayed. For the first time since I was a boy, I prayed. I have to say it felt good.”

  “It was the first time you’d prayed since you were a boy?”

  “Ja. When my mother and me left here, I was hurt and angry. I know now I was hurt and angry at some people, but back then I thought it was at God.”

  “You’re all right with God now?”

  “I am all right with God now, Anna.” He looked directly into her eyes. “I am so all right with God that I told Uncle Andrew I want to be baptized.”

  “Baptized?”

  “Ja.” He reached over and took her hand in his. “You know why, Anna.”

  All this was over her head. What was he saying? What did it mean to be baptized, and what did it have to do with her?

  “How about you, Anna? Will you be baptized too?”

  “I, uh, I don’t know.”

  Disappointment washed over his face. “You don’t know?”

  “It is much to think about.” She stood.

  “Ja, ja. You are right, Anna. It is much to think about.” His smile returned. “And if Uncle Daniel finds me sitting around like this, I will have much to think about too.”

  Madison nodded. “Ja, ja. I will talk with you later, Malachi.”

  His eyes twinkled. “Ja, you sure will.”

  As Madison hurried back to the house, she was seriously worried. This game had gone too far. It was time to tell Malachi the truth. He trusted her. He deserved her honesty. But what if he was hurt or angry? What if he told his uncles? Then Anna would be in a lot of trouble. Yet by being here, being with him, talking like that—even if no one ever guessed about the switch—she had probably gotten Anna into trouble. The kind of trouble that would catch up with her eventually.

  Madison worked hard to clean up the lunch things in the kitchen. Strangely enough, she was taking some of these chores in stride now, like washing the dishes. She had come a long way in a few days.