Read Online A Modern Day Sense and Sensibility: An Adaptation of Jane Austen's Classic by Kaitlin Saunders - Free Book Online

different between them that evening. Perhaps seeing Ellie pack made Edward realize he had few opportunities remaining to reveal his heart?
    “Yes,” Ellie answered anxiously.
    “Ellie, you do know that I attended Stanford several years ago, right?”
    Ellie was surprised at his choice of topic. It certainly wasn’t what she was expecting and certainly not what she’d hoped for. “No, I—ah, I don’t believe you’ve ever mentioned that,” Ellie replied cautiously, wondering where he was going with this.
    “I studied English there,” continued Edward.
    “Oh. . .” Ellie nodded, “um . . . so you like to write then.”
    “Oh no, I can’t stand English,” Edward confessed, “It was my mom’s idea.” He smiled at her before moving closer. If Ellie believed in such things as personal space, Edward had just stepped inside hers. She felt her lips tingle, her body anticipating what might happen next. Would he try to kiss her? The tension between mounted as the silence lengthened. Ellie was unable to tear her gaze from Edward.
    “Ellie, I—” Edward started to say, his voice deep and laced with another emotion Ellie couldn’t quite put her finger on. Was it regret?
    “Edward!” Francil’s frantic voice came crashing through the room.
    The pair quickly turned to see Francil gawking at them, and there was no mistaking the worried expression on her face after having observed their interaction. Her alarmed behavior effectively broke the intimate conversation started by Edward.
    “Edward—” she continued, somewhat flustered, “Mom wants to talk to you right away.”
    Edward’s brow wrinkled, “What’s the rush? Please tell her I’ll call her back later.”
    “No!” Francil pursued a bit too enthusiastically before reclaiming herself, “No, Edward, she wants to speak to you
now
.” Francil was going to use any means possible to separate Edward from Ellie.
    Knowing he could not win this battle, Edward glanced apologetically at Ellie before taking the phone from his sister and moving outside to take the call. With Edward’s protective presence now gone, Francil used this opportunity to send Ellie a condescending frown as an attempt to intimidate her sister-in-law.
    Instead of reacting like Francil expected though, Ellie averted her eyes and once again busied herself with packing dishes. Her hope was that Edward’s sister would eventually leave and Edward would return to continue their conversation.
    Unfortunately, the outcome of Edward’s chat with his mom ended with his running an “urgent” errand for Francil ASAP. Therefore, the closure Ellie hoped for did not come to fruition and she was instead forced to ponder what might have been while pouring all of her energy into work. Yet try as she might to keep on task, Ellie couldn’t stop hypothesizing over what exactly Edward had attempted to communicate. Had he been trying to tell her he wanted to go back to school? Or did Edward just want her to know he went to college? No, Ellie was sure Edward had been too serious for objectives such asthose. What if it was something about his past he’d wanted to share? Sighing, Ellie knew only time would tell. What was it that her mother used to say? “Patience is a virtue”? Now that long-suffering trait only seemed a torment.

That Sunday morning, Ellie awoke to surprising news—her family would be moving to their new home in just two days. Ellie was overwhelmed. Not only was the idea of leaving her heart behind troublesome, but now they only had a couple of days to pack up their bedrooms and be out of their long cherished home! Although it was hard to imagine any other place feeling like their own, the panicked Ellie tried to reassure herself that at least she and her family would be together as they started this new life.
    When hearing of their planned departure at breakfast, Francil was delighted. It was no secret she had been eagerly anticipating their evacuation. “So, are you excited about moving,