Free Liz Ireland by The Outlaw's Bride Page B

her dress perfectly; this one had a veil of blue netting that covered her face, making her look older and more distinguished than Emma could remember. Not that it mattered. Rose Ellen, with her beautiful skin and pampered life, was one of those women who only seemed to become more lovely as the years went by. Her eager, plump, youthful look had given way to a more angular grace, which turned more heads than ever. Certainly there was no shortage of men taking note of her this morning. Emma counted no less than five pairs of hands helping her to step down from the carriage—even the driver, who looked as if he couldn’t care less whether ladies tripped coming down from his coach or not, had leapt off his perch to come to Rose Ellen’s aid.
    And Rose Ellen accepted help in this simple task with open delight that made the men all the more glad they’d come to her rescue. No wonder males loved her!
    Emma snapped out of her trance when Rose Ellen looked up and met her gaze. “Emma!” her sister cried, running forward. She grabbed her by the shoulders and kissed the air above one of Emma’s cheeks. “Dear, dear Emma!”
    Numb, Emma accepted the embrace, though she felt conflicted as always around Rose Ellen. She had genuine affection for her sister, who after all had been the companion of her youth; then again, why did she always feel like a barn wren next to Rose Ellen’s swanlike glory?
    “I’m so glad you came to greet me!” Rose Ellen said,as if this meeting could have possibly been planned. Why hadn’t Rose Ellen given her some warning?
    “Rose Ellen, what on earth are you doing here?”
    Rose Ellen laughed. “Why, I would think it would be obvious! I’ve come for a visit!”
    Clammy panic stole over her. “V-visit?”
    “Of course! You never wrote me back, not for weeks and weeks, and I was so-o-o worried that you were rattling around that old house just dying of loneliness that I entered into a little correspondence with my old friend Janine Littlefield.”
    And Janine, who was Joe Spears’s niece by marriage, would know everything that happened in Midday.
    Rose Ellen’s expression turned mournful. “Emma, Janine said you’d taken in a…well, some wretched girl so insignificant I’d never even heard of her!”
    To cover her anger, Emma turned to her niece and smiled. “Hello, Annalise. Do you remember me?”
    The little girl lifted her chin and frowned gravely. Deep dimples appeared in her chubby cheeks. “Of course, you’re Aunt Emma. Mama says I’m supposed to try hard to be nice to you.”
    Emma laughed. “The effort won’t be too prodigious, I hope.”
    The little girl’s lips turned into a pout. “What’s prodigious?”
    Rose Ellen tapped her foot impatiently at the distraction her daughter posed. “We’ll explain later, honey.” She turned back to her sister. “Emma, aren’t you even going to tell me who this strange woman is living in the house Daddy left to you?”
    Emma swung little Annalise up into her arms. The girl didn’t look pleased. With Rose Ellen and her daughter both glaring at her unsmilingly, Emma felt as if she were seeingdouble. “Her name’s Lorna McCrae. You’ve heard of the McCraes, Rose Ellen. The family’s been here for years.”
    “Where?”
    “Out toward Little Sandy.”
    Rose Ellen’s big blue eyes nearly popped out of her head. “Little Sandy!” she exclaimed in horror. Little Sandy was where many poor farmers lived, trying to scrape a living off land that was not the best quality. “Oh, Emma! How could you?”
    “She’s a very nice person, Rose Ellen.”
    From Rose Ellen’s expression, Emma could tell that being a nice person held as little weight as ever. “That’s all fine and good, but what right does that give her to impose on your kindness?”
    “I enjoy having her company.”
    “I knew your living in that big empty house was going to have a harmful effect on you! You’re lonely, and now you’re behaving foolishly!”
    Emma managed