Read Online For Elise by Sarah M. Eden - Free Book Online Page A

ground without one.”
    “That can be remedied, Elise.” It was such a paltry difficulty.
    “I don’t wish to put anyone out.”
    “You won’t inconvenience a soul.”
    “Thank you for introducing me to your tree, Miles.” Elise smiled at him, the first smile he’d seen from her that looked almost happy.
    His heart swelled in his chest. He had made a difference. He’d offered her his tree and had received, in return, a smile.
    “You have as much claim to it as I do. We shared ownership of the tree at Epsworth—”
    “At Furlong House ,” Elise corrected, her smile growing a bit.
    He loved hearing her tease him over a memory from their childhood. They’d often pretended to fight over which of the estates the tree actually sat on.
    “So I believe we can manage to share this tree.”
    “I’m glad. I do love trees.” Elise looked up into the branches once more. “I should . . . Anne will be up soon.”
    “Has she settled in?” Miles asked.
    Elise shook her head. She had turned a bit away from him. Her hand dropped from the tree. She clasped her fingers in front of her. She was retreating again.
    “What is it?” Miles asked, though he was certain she wouldn’t give him an answer.
    She only shook her head again.
    “I don’t want you to be unhappy.”
    “I have been unhappy for a long time, Miles.” She stepped away.
    “But what can I do about it?” Miles followed her retreating footsteps. “How can I help?”
    “I fix my own problems,” Elise insisted, returning to her somber countenance and detached stance.
    Whether she wished it or not, he would find the source of her pain and put things right. He owed that much to her father and his and to himself. And to Elise.



Chapter Ten
    “I want to do something for her,” Miles told Beth the next day. “Something to help her feel more at home here. I think that is what weighs on her. She has been away from all of us for four years and has only known for a handful of days that this very unfamiliar place is home now. That is a great deal to take in.”
    “So you mean to find ways of making Tafford feel like home to her?” Beth asked.
    “Exactly. I have been trying to think of her favorite things from our childhood.” Miles paced across the rug in the library. “Obviously, climbing trees and dressing up in Mother’s gowns won’t do the trick now that she’s grown. But I do remember she always enjoyed bread pudding. I’ve asked Mrs. Humphrey to make certain Cook serves that more often. Elise enjoyed spending time in the meadow yesterday. She found a picture book in the library that she meant to share with Anne.”
    “Elise was always fond of stories,” Beth acknowledged. She seemed to be warming to the idea. “And when Mama Jones arrives, you should ask her which things have brought Elise the most comfort the past four years. If we can surround her with the familiar—”
    “She might smile again,” Miles finished on a whisper.
    “I had a feeling that was bothering you more than you let on,” Beth said.
    “I want her to feel at home. If she can have that, she’ll be happy here.”
    “I think this difficulty goes beyond the unfamiliar,” Langley said, sitting beside Beth on the sofa. “Admittedly, I do not know her as well as you do, but from what I remember of her at Epsworth before her disappearance, something was bothering Elise then , even while she was surrounded by the familiar.”
    “Of course something was bothering her,” Miles grumbled, feeling frustrated at his continued inability to bring a smile to Elise’s face. “Her father had just been murdered. That was bothering me as well.”
    “You were unfortunate enough to have come upon their bodies,” Langley acknowledged. “Elise, however, saw them killed.” He gave Miles a pointed look. “She was little more than a child. She became unusually quiet. She picked at her food, didn’t speak much. Any hint of lightness in her countenance vanished. You worry that she is