The Widow and the Wastrel Read Online Free PDF

laughter Elizabeth forced through her throat, as she tossed a pleading look to Jed. "He was your uncle's brother. Of course he liked him."
    "That's not exactly true," he ignored her silent request to keep Jeremy's memory untarnished.
    "Jed!" Elizabeth appealed to him angrily.
    "He was my brother," Jed continued with a faint smile grooving the side of his mouth. "Because he was my brother, I loved him. But I didn't necessarily like him. Brothers tend to fight and argue a lot, Amy. Your father and I didn't agree on a lot of things."
    "What did you fight about?" Amy tilted her head interestedly to the side.
    "That's enough questions, Amy," Rebecca broke in coldly. "Your uncle is probably very tired after his long journey and you're supposed to be practising the piano. Mrs. Banks told me you didn't do very well today, so from now on you'll practise an extra fifteen minutes at the piano every day."
    "Oh, Mother, no!" Amy made her angry protest to Elizabeth, frowning her appeal for the edict to be rescinded.
    "You'd better do as your grandmother suggests," Elizabeth answered quietly. "If you do better at your next lesson, we'll consider eliminating the extra fifteen minutes."
    "Mrs. Banks is stupid," Amy grumbled.
    "I was going to swim in the pool after a while," Jed inserted quietly, too quietly Elizabeth thought. "Perhaps you can join me when you're finished with your practice, Amy."
    The frown was replaced by an immediate smile as Amy opened her mouth to heartily accept his invitation.
    "I believe you've forgotten, Jed," his mother spoke sharply, "but in this house, there are no rewards or bribes for doing what you are supposed to do."
    With that parting shot, Rebecca Carrel pivoted mound and left the kitchen. Seconds of heavy silence ticked by as Jed stared after her, yellow fire smoldering in his eyes.
    "I'm sorry, Amy," he said simply, turning back to the crestfallen child. "Maybe another day."
    "Yes, maybe," she sighed as if she didn't hold out much hope for that nebulous day to come. Her feet were dragging noticeably as she left the room.
    "Nothing's changed," Jed muttered bitterly beneath his breath.
    Elizabeth knew the comment was not directed to her, but at his mother's insistence on strict discipline. Several times she herself had protested in Amy's behalf, but Rebecca's argument that it was for the good of the child always seemed a valid one. Besides, Amy's spirit had never faded under the unbending rules of the house. In fact, Elizabeth was convinced it was the only way to keep her assertive personality under control. On her own she wouldn't have been as unwavering as Rebecca.
    "Why are you living here, Liza?" Jed asked as she began clearing the dishes from the table. "I'm certain the deaths of Jeremy and my father must have left you very well provided for."
    "They did," she acknowledged, not pausing in her task as she replied. "But this has been my home. And my name is Elizabeth."
    "What about the house you and Jeremy had? Wasn't that your home?" He countered.
    "We only lived here after we were married."
    "Oh, my God!" he laughed in disbelief. "You actually lived here—with my parents, after you were married! That must have given you a lot of privacy and time to get to know each other, with Mother for ever organizing your lives!" he jeered.
    "It was only a temporary arrangement!" His mockery stung her into retorting sharply in defiance. "We had bought a house, but the whole place needed to be redecorated and furnished and the kitchen remodeled. It would have been foolish to try to live in it when it was in such a disorganized state."
    "Of course it never occurred to either of you to move into it and re-do the house in stages," Jed offered dryly.
    "Jeremy couldn't see the point in prolonging it. It was his decision to do it all at once and I agreed with him," Elizabeth stated. "Besides, he was working very hard for your father. It was only natural for him to want to come home to an orderly house at night. What did you