Read Online Lemon Pies and Little White Lies by Ellery Adams - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Ellery Adams
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I’m not a big fan of beer, green or otherwise, and the pub is way too rowdy. Plus, Verena stopped by The Cubbyhole this afternoon. Ever since she mentioned your evening plans, I’ve been dying to come over and hit the books.”
“That wasn’t nice of her,” Ella Mae said, and made a mental note to chastise her aunt. “Aunt Verena forced you to divide your loyalty, and it wasn’t even necessary. I planned on recruiting you tomorrow anyway.” She placed her palmson a thick tome. “You should be out enjoying yourself. These can wait.”
Ignoring Ella Mae, Suzy turned to Reba. “I can take it from here.”
“You won’t hear any protests from me.” Reba practically leapt from the chair and, grabbing her whiskey, raised it in a toast. “May the hinges of our friendship never grow rusty.”
And with that, she was gone.
Suzy pointed at Ella Mae’s untouched glass of wine. “One shouldn’t drink or research potentially dangerous subjects alone.”
“There’s an open bottle in the kitchen. Feel free to bring it in here. This might be a long night,” Ella Mae said.
Suzy covered Ella Mae’s hand with her own. “You’ve had your fair share of late nights lately, haven’t you? I’d say you’ve been through trial by fire this year. Just when you got your mother back, Hugh took off. I don’t know how you’ve handled things as well as you have. If I were in your shoes, my pies would taste of disappointment and bitterness. Yet your food is still infused with good cheer. Verena said that you have so many wedding requests that you need to hire a catering manager.”
“I offered the position to Jenny, but she said that the odds of her slapping the first bridezilla she came across were on the high side.”
Suzy laughed. “No wonder she and Reba get along so well. Let me pop into the kitchen, and then I’ll start reading. Just push a pile of materials my way.”
Ella Mae complied and then opened to the page her mother had bookmarked in Women of Arthurian Legend . She began to read the chapter on the women of Avalon.
She instantly became absorbed in the author’s description of life on Avalon, which was also known as the island ofapples. Because the book was over two hundred years old, the author’s florid descriptions enhanced the mystical nature of the isolated community of magical women. For several minutes, Ella Mae was transported from the library at Partridge Hill to a mist-veiled island.
“The author calls them priestesses,” she murmured to herself, and began to jot notes on a memo pad. She continued to read about Avalon’s hierarchy and how the Lady of the Lake ruled over dozens of women. Until now, Ella Mae had never heard of a group of people coming together to pool their magical talents. What the book didn’t say, however, was what the priestesses did with their combined abilities.
“The Lady of the Lake is a title given to the most powerful woman of Avalon,” she told Suzy after finishing the chapter. “Centuries ago, the first woman to become Lady of the Lake was a priestess called Nimue. According to this book, she was also Merlin’s lover.”
“And his nemesis. See?” Suzy gently pivoted an illuminated manuscript page so that it faced Ella Mae.
Ella Mae couldn’t read the Latin penned so carefully in ink on the parchment, but she could decipher the meaning behind the exquisite images drawn in the wide margins. On the left-hand side, a bearded man was instructing a lovely young woman. He showed her scrolls in one scene, pointed out a bird in a tree in the next, and stood over a reflecting pool in the third. On the right-hand side, the older man and woman were caught in a passionate embrace. The last drawing showed Merlin being absorbed into a tree as lightning bolts flew from Nimue’s fingers and tears dripped down her cheeks and fell on her pale blue gown.
“It’s just like our curse.” Ella Mae stared at Merlin and the tree. “He was trapped inside. Not dead, but no
“That wasn’t nice of her,” Ella Mae said, and made a mental note to chastise her aunt. “Aunt Verena forced you to divide your loyalty, and it wasn’t even necessary. I planned on recruiting you tomorrow anyway.” She placed her palmson a thick tome. “You should be out enjoying yourself. These can wait.”
Ignoring Ella Mae, Suzy turned to Reba. “I can take it from here.”
“You won’t hear any protests from me.” Reba practically leapt from the chair and, grabbing her whiskey, raised it in a toast. “May the hinges of our friendship never grow rusty.”
And with that, she was gone.
Suzy pointed at Ella Mae’s untouched glass of wine. “One shouldn’t drink or research potentially dangerous subjects alone.”
“There’s an open bottle in the kitchen. Feel free to bring it in here. This might be a long night,” Ella Mae said.
Suzy covered Ella Mae’s hand with her own. “You’ve had your fair share of late nights lately, haven’t you? I’d say you’ve been through trial by fire this year. Just when you got your mother back, Hugh took off. I don’t know how you’ve handled things as well as you have. If I were in your shoes, my pies would taste of disappointment and bitterness. Yet your food is still infused with good cheer. Verena said that you have so many wedding requests that you need to hire a catering manager.”
“I offered the position to Jenny, but she said that the odds of her slapping the first bridezilla she came across were on the high side.”
Suzy laughed. “No wonder she and Reba get along so well. Let me pop into the kitchen, and then I’ll start reading. Just push a pile of materials my way.”
Ella Mae complied and then opened to the page her mother had bookmarked in Women of Arthurian Legend . She began to read the chapter on the women of Avalon.
She instantly became absorbed in the author’s description of life on Avalon, which was also known as the island ofapples. Because the book was over two hundred years old, the author’s florid descriptions enhanced the mystical nature of the isolated community of magical women. For several minutes, Ella Mae was transported from the library at Partridge Hill to a mist-veiled island.
“The author calls them priestesses,” she murmured to herself, and began to jot notes on a memo pad. She continued to read about Avalon’s hierarchy and how the Lady of the Lake ruled over dozens of women. Until now, Ella Mae had never heard of a group of people coming together to pool their magical talents. What the book didn’t say, however, was what the priestesses did with their combined abilities.
“The Lady of the Lake is a title given to the most powerful woman of Avalon,” she told Suzy after finishing the chapter. “Centuries ago, the first woman to become Lady of the Lake was a priestess called Nimue. According to this book, she was also Merlin’s lover.”
“And his nemesis. See?” Suzy gently pivoted an illuminated manuscript page so that it faced Ella Mae.
Ella Mae couldn’t read the Latin penned so carefully in ink on the parchment, but she could decipher the meaning behind the exquisite images drawn in the wide margins. On the left-hand side, a bearded man was instructing a lovely young woman. He showed her scrolls in one scene, pointed out a bird in a tree in the next, and stood over a reflecting pool in the third. On the right-hand side, the older man and woman were caught in a passionate embrace. The last drawing showed Merlin being absorbed into a tree as lightning bolts flew from Nimue’s fingers and tears dripped down her cheeks and fell on her pale blue gown.
“It’s just like our curse.” Ella Mae stared at Merlin and the tree. “He was trapped inside. Not dead, but no
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