A Modern Day Sense and Sensibility: An Adaptation of Jane Austen's Classic by Kaitlin Saunders Read Free Book Online Page B

her sister knew what she was talking about concerning Edward, Ellie blurted, “I don’t even know if he’ll ask me out on a date!”
    Marianne gave Ellie a sideways, mischievous glance as she started toward the bedroom door. “I don’t think it’s a matter of ‘if’, but ‘when’.” With that, Marianne raised her eyebrows suggestively before leaving Ellie alone with her thoughts.
    Ellie found it hard to fall asleep that night. She kept thinking about how great ‘Ellie Ferrars’ sounded.
It does have a nice ring to it
, she thought, but then suddenly chided herself. “Oh, why does Marianne have to encourage me so!” she exclaimed before flopping down onto her other side and forcing her eyes shut.

“Is there a small room that’s out of the way? I’d like to get some work done,” Edward asked one of the household staff. He was juggling his camera, a bag containing his developing material, and several rolls of undeveloped film. Since arriving, Edward had been snapping pictures right and left, the Dashwood house and its inhabitants being ideal subjects.
    “What about the upstairs laundry room?” the maid suggested. “It rarely gets used.”
    “That’ll be perfect. Thanks.”
    Making his way upstairs, Edward had no problem locating the vacated laundry room. The large countertop opposite the front-loading washer and dryer suited his needs perfectly. Dropping off the items on hand, Edward went back to his room and retrieved his portable darkroom enlarger and the red lamp he used to see while working. Returning to his make-shift workspace, he plugged in both devices before turning out the overhead light. Next he tacked up a heavy curtain over the one small window in the room and began unloading the gear from his backpack. Setting up three tubs and filling them with the appropriate chemicals, Edward next strung up a sturdy piece of rope with clothes pins attached. Ready to work his magic, Edward opened the first roll of film and began enlarging the best of the photos. This particular roll included stills from the evening they made banana splits. He chuckled at Margaret’s expression—he’d have to makea copy for Diane. Enlarging the next few as well, Edward paused to study the striking portrait of Ellie. Ellie hadn’t noticed, but he had taken a photo of her while she studied Marianne’s painting. Placing the photo paper into position, he turned on the enlarger and exposed the image for the allotted time. Then dropping it into the first tub, he agitated the solution until her image began to reappear. There was something about Ellie’s features which captivated him, yet he couldn’t quite pin down exactly what—maybe it was her countenance. Edward felt like he could be himself around her.
    She’s so different compared to
—Edward stopped himself. Perhaps that was why he found himself so attracted to Ellie—but he wouldn’t let his mind go there. Using the tongs, he transitioned her image to the second tub and dropped another photo into the first. Agitating both, Edward attempted to keep his thoughts from returning to Ellie and was surprised when someone suddenly opened the door, flooding the room with light.
    “Hey!” Edward exclaimed, trying to shield the tubs from the abrupt white light with his body. “Shut the door!”
    “Oh!” Ellie gasped, frightened at finding Edward alone in a dark room. Stepping the rest of the way inside, she quickly closed the door behind her. “I’m so sorry!” she apologized.
    Discovering it was none other than the person foremost on his thoughts just seconds earlier, Edward blushed. “Ellie, I should be the one apologizing. I hope I didn’t scare you.”
    “Just a little,” Ellie shuffled nervously, her eyes adjusting to the dim red light. “Did I ruin any of your pictures?” she asked, her eyes taking in the damp string of photos hanging from the rope and the two still soaking in the tubs. She was surprised to see most of them were of her family.
    Edward