The Willows Read Online Free PDF

looked up to see her uncle at the
gate, looking so much like daddy, it was all she could do not to
throw herself in his arms.
    “ But what are you doing out
here?” He asked, clearly confused. “Wherever is Lance?”
    She looked down the street, noticing
that the stranger had vanished. “Oh, Lance, he went back for my
chunks,” she stammered, trying to keep her tone light. “I was in
such a hurry to the home, I couldn’t wait for them to be unloaded
off the boat.”
    “ Well, let’s have a look at
you. My, my, but you’ve done some growing up in Boston. You become
quite the beauty Gwen Elizabeth.”
    She wished she could say the years had
been equally kind to him. The blonde mane in which he’d once taken
such pride had not only grayed, but was sending to near extinction.
Looking at his lined, florid face and portly frame, when it was
hard to put to remember that this man was ten years her daddy’s
Junior.
    As he lifted up her bag and lead the
way through the gates, when saw that more than uncle Jervis had
aged in her absence. The cool shade of the patio provided a will
come hideaway from the heat, but she could not help notice the need
for Judicious pruning, how the walls of the house screamed for
paint.
    “ What happened to the
fountain,” she asked in a subdued tone. “Where is the
water?”
    Will John cleared his throat “you’ve
got to remember, please has been sitting idle for some
time.”
    “ I know. It’s just, well, I
remember it’s all so differently. Back then, this courtyard seem so
grand, so special.”
    He sighed. “That’s the thing about
going away. Precious little stays the way we want it. We use day
gone for five years, honey, things are bound to change in your
absence.”
    Gwen tried to shrug it off, to tell
herself that change was natural and inevitable, but his words
struck and an easy cord. She did not like change, do not want
surprises. Indeed, she’d give anything to go back to the time when
her daddy adored her and mama was still alive.
    Take me to Camelot, found herself
thinking again.
    But there would be no escape today.
Edith appeared on the porch, smiling as graciously as any lady of
the manor. “Welcome home, Gwen Elizabeth,” she said sweetly enough,
but as ever, Gwen felt that instant friction between them. House
it. Her cousin seemed, welcoming her into her own home.
    Smiling tightly, Gwen climbed the porch
steps to be at eye level when she returned the greeting. “You are
looking well,” was all she could think of to say, and worse it was
true. Five years ago, that soft blue morning dress would have hung
on her cousins skinny frame, the time seem to build out her figure
considerably. Even her complexion had cleared. With her light brown
hair and amber eyes, Edith might never be the reigning beauty of
Louisiana, but she was a far cry from the ugly duckling Gwen
remember.
    Hamilton Colby, their good friend and
neighbor, peered in the doorway behind them. “Ah, Gwen Elizabeth,
it’s so good to have you home,” gushed, taking her hand and pumping
it’s enthusiastically. "Edith and I were just remarking on how
boring Louisiana has been in your absence.”
    This time Gwen smile was true. Like
Lance, Hamilton had long been a fixture in the McCloud household,
and she’d always felt a fondness for him. Two tall and gangly and
prone to saying the wrong thing, Hamilton was a nice person any
trustworthy friend.
    Though the longing in his gaze as he
followed her cousins every movement led Gwen to suspect that some
time in her abstinence, Hamilton had decided he wanted for more
than near friendship with Edith.
    Not that the girl seemed aware of it.
Knowing him entirely, leaving him in the parlor with her father,
Edith assisted on showing Gwen to her room.
    Gwen would have been just as happy
making the climb upstairs alone, for her cousin made her feel like
a guest in her own home. No, perhaps that was not entirely
accurate. Was the house itself that made her feel like a