Sick of Shadows by Sharyn McCrumb Read Free Book Online

lived on an estate. She should be used to it. After all, she and Bill had spent summers here as children. But that had been a long time ago, and children seemed to take any environment for granted. Now, after a span of years, it was different.
    Someone tapped on the door.
    “Come in!” called Elizabeth, wondering what Aunt Amanda had forgotten to tell her.
    When the door opened, however, it was not Aunt Amanda who came in, but Eileen.
    “Am I—I’m not disturbing you, Elizabeth?” she faltered, hesitating at the threshold.
    “Well, of course not, Eileen,” said Elizabeth. “Come in.”
    Eileen, who was still dressed in her painting khakis, brushed off imaginary dust and perched on the edge of Elizabeth’s bed with a tentative smile. “I wanted to thank you for coming,” she said.
    “Oh,” said Elizabeth, deliberating between “Thank
you
for asking me” or a more honest “You’re welcome.” In the end she said neither.
    “I see you brought the dress,” murmured Eileen, nodding toward the open closet.
    “Yes, of course.”
    “Mother picked it out.”
    Elizabeth sighed.
    “But I’m sure you’ll look lovely in it!” Eileen hastened to add. “You have such nice dark hair, and you’re taller than I am. You do like it, don’t you?”
    “It’s fine, Eileen. We had to have it altered, but it’s okay now.” Except that I loathe it, she finished silently.
    Eileen relaxed a little. “Well, that’s good. I hope everything goes all right.”
    “I’m sure it will, Eileen. Just try not to be nervous.”
    “Oh, no! I’m too happy to be nervous. Have you had a chance to talk to Michael?” Her voice softened as she said his name.
    “Oh—only at dinner,” said Elizabeth.
    “Isn’t he wonderful!”
    Elizabeth smiled nervously.
    “I knew you’d like him. Everybody does,” Eileen went on, twisting her engagement ring. “I want you to read some of his poetry, too, Elizabeth. It is so beautiful. He says I inspire him.”
    Elizabeth wondered how long she could go on smiling.
    “Maybe I can get him to give a poetry reading after dinner tomorrow night. He’s had three published in the campus literary magazine. Though, of course, he won’t be able to read the one he’s working on right now. It’s a wedding gift for me.” Eileen smiled complacently.
    She went on talking about how she had met Michael and about the wedding plans, while Elizabeth asked herself why women became so smug when they were in love. They all behaved as if no one were important except Mr. Wonderful. (“Michael was in the library working on a poem, so I thought I’d come and see you.”)
    “I feel like a fairy princess,” sighed Eileen. “I don’t suppose you’d understand, but I feel as if I’d been shut up in a tower all my life—just
looking
at life. And now that Michael has come along, I can finally begin to live.”
    “Well, then, I hope you live happily ever after,” said Elizabeth. She did hope that. Eileen had been through enough unhappiness as it was, and Elizabeth wished that things would work out. And the farther from Aunt Amanda, the better, she thought.
    “Thank you,” murmured Eileen. “I have to go in a minute and see if Michael is finished, but I am glad I got to talk to you. Things are so rushed these days. I guess Mother will arrange a rehearsal for us in a couple of days.”
    “I expect so.”
    “And I just found out that I can’t paint tomorrow because Mr. Simmons is coming over.”
    “So I heard,” said Elizabeth grimly, remembering her mistake before dinner.
    “It’s been so long since I’ve seen you, Elizabeth! You just graduated, didn’t you?”
    Elizabeth nodded.
    “And I’m getting married before you! Just imagine! I was sure you’d be the first one of us to do it, so I never even counted on the inheritance—”
    Elizabeth, who had been mentally rehearsing an edited version of the story of Austin, interrupted her. “What inheritance? What are you talking about?”
    “Oh,