Read Online The Lady Who Saw Too Much by Thomasine Rappold - Free Book Online

and dabbed at Gia’s tears. “That’s why it’s so difficult to let it go.”
    The dream was the only good thing Gia had left home with. She’d tried so often to finish the dream, to return to it—to him. With a heavy heart, she endeavored to put it aside, but she’d never discard it.
    The door flew open, and the sound of Clara’s voice flooded the room. “See to it the champagne is properly chilled, and the flutes are sparkling,” she said to the harried maid she left in the hall as she swished into the room.
    Dressed to the nines, Clara looked radiant. Despite her seventy-plus years, her energy was relentless. As was her attention to detail. For the past week, the stout woman had barreled through the house like a loaded cannon, firing preparation orders at every turn. Get this, get that, do this, do that. And everyone from the gardener who’d trimmed the hedges to the pastor, who would perform the ceremony, had scurried to accommodate, including Landen, which had surprised Gia the most.
    “I have something for you, Gianna,” Clara said, her face aglow with excitement. She opened the small box in her hand, then placed it on the dressing table in front of Gia.
    Gia glanced down at the cameo nestled inside the velvet-lined box. “It’s lovely.”
    Clara puffed her ample chest. “That broach has been in the family for generations. Every woman in the Elmsworth family has worn it during her wedding ceremony.”
    “My mother wore this?” Alice asked, leaning in for a closer look.
    “Yes, of course,” Clara said. “Landen’s mother wore it as well. God rest her pitiful soul,” she muttered with a shake of her head.
    The grim comment piqued Gia’s interest in the story of Landen’s mother. Something told her there was an intriguing tale to be told, but Clara’s solemn expression during the heavy silence that followed deflated Gia’s urge to prompt for more.
    “It’s tradition to wear something borrowed for good luck,” Clara said with a renewed lilt in her voice. She patted Gia’s shoulder. “I’ve a feeling you’ll need it.” She started from the room. “Come, Alice. I need you to help me with my rhinestone headpiece.”
    Alice rolled her eyes. “One might think she were the bride.”
    Gia smiled, nodding in agreement. “Thank you for helping me get ready, Alice.”
    “You’re welcome.” Alice kissed Gia’s cheek and then hurried after her aunt, who’d rushed off at lightning speed.
    Lifting the cameo carefully from its velvet bed, Gia caressed her thumb over the regal profile of aged ivory. It was a lovely piece, made more priceless by its history. A history she was about to become a part of. Clara’s surprising comment about Landen’s mother echoed in her head.
    Gia would enter this family dragging a dark past with her, but she’d been so engrossed in hiding her secrets it hadn’t occurred to her that the Elmsworths might have a few secrets of their own.
    She opened the clasp to pin the broach to her collar. The sudden heat in her palm signaled a warning. Her flesh prickled. Her breath hitched. Closing her eyes, she surrendered to the unstoppable force, as the vision emerged from the darkness, sucking her in.
    The smell of bourbon filled her nose. The air became stiflingly hot. Clara lay in bed, her face deathly white against her disheveled gray hair. Clutching the sheets, she moaned, writhing in pain. Her eyes bulged with fear.
    With a gasp, Gia opened her eyes. Blood pulsed at her temples. Slumping back in the chair, she sank against the crush of her veil behind her, too drained to move. She unfurled her clenched fist, staring down at the cameo in her palm until her racing pulse slowed.
    Still trembling with the dread the image had induced, she shot to her feet. She paced the room, trying to gather her wits. Somehow she had to warn Clara. But how? How could she possibly warn the woman about something that would happen—something she had no logical explanation for knowing? She