Read Online Spirit of the Valley by Jane Shoup - Free Book Online

as a breeze blew, a pair of squirrels engaged in a mad game of tag, and birdsong filled the air. The place seemed positively enchanted.
    â€œWe should go into town soon,” April May said as she stepped inside. “See T. Emmett Rice about the deed. He’s a lawyer, but a good man despite it. Fact is, he was one of the few who befriended Lionel.”
    â€œOh?”
    â€œThere were a few good men. They played cards and drank too much. Lionel enjoyed those get-togethers.”
    Pauline followed April May, stepping inside an almost empty parlor that smelled of mildew. Dust hung thick in the air, some partially illuminated from rays of light that filtered through grimy windows.
    â€œPart of the floor’s got to be torn up,” April May commented. “Moisture’s ruined it. I’ll tell you what else, there used to be a lot of furniture that’s not here anymore. Which aggravates the life out of me.”
    Pauline was oblivious to the flaws. This was her new start, and a far better one than she’d dared imagine. It didn’t matter if every stick of furniture had been stolen; it was a house with a roof and four walls. They’d fill it with furniture in time. April May went one way while Pauline turned down a hall and walked into a small bedroom with a bed and a chest of drawers.
    â€œThere’s a little stone winery out back with a cellar underneath, and there’s a bathhouse, too,” April May said from the other room.
    â€œWhat’s a bathhouse?”
    â€œIt’s made of cedar and tile and it’s got a big ol’ tub and a separate place where a shower of water comes down on you, because you’re supposed to clean yourself before you go into the bath, if that don’t beat all. Lionel swore that long, hot baths were good for you. It’s got a pump hooked up to a wood-burning thingymajobber, and so the bathwater is hot going in. The shower, too. Lionel liked his conveniences. That’s what he always said—good wine, good books, good friends, and modern conveniences are what makes life worth living.”
    Pauline smiled, knowing that she would have liked the man. She walked farther down the hall and turned in to what must have been Lionel’s room. It had a wide bed and more furniture than the parlor. There was even a book on the bedside table. She rubbed her arms as she experienced a shiver. The bed was beautiful, with a tall, hand-carved walnut headboard. It was a wonder no one had carted it off.
    She walked over and picked up the book, Desperate Remedies by Thomas Hardy. I know a thing or two about desperate remedies, she thought as she set the book back down.
    â€œTell you what,” April May said loudly. “When a place has sat empty as long as this one has, there’s sure to be a surprise or two. Nests of rats, hornets, snakes, spiders. We’ll need to be mighty careful.”
    There were two other rooms down the hall, another small bedroom and a study with a bookshelf full of musty-smelling books. They were in disarray, as if they had been rifled through. April May walked in behind her and clucked her tongue in disapproval. “Yep, and there was a fancy desk in here and a nice chair to go with it. Damned thieving people. Wish I knew who snatched it.”
    â€œBut it’s so much more and better than I could have dreamed of,” Pauline said, turning to the older woman. “I’m so glad Papa left it for me.”
    April May grinned. “He always knew you’d come back sometime.”
    April May walked on as Pauline made her way to a bay window flanked by heavy, plum-colored drapes. She peered out on the badly overgrown backyard, covered walkways, and outbuildings. It had been a lovely place and it would be again if she had her way. “Promise,” she whispered to Lionel.
    She had thought the name Elizabeth Anne Greenway Carter dozens of times since she’d heard it, but, as of this second, she was