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He took a deep breath, his gaze steady on hers. “I used to think... a long time ago... that there might have been something...”
She shook her head, the movement one of quick denial. “Don’t, Jed. Not when you and Louisa have so much to look forward to.”
His eyes clouded, and part of Ellen wanted to rail at him. If he’d ever thought the two of them had a future, why hadn’t he said? Why had he let Louisa turn his head, and why had he fallen into this engagement? Yet she knew there was no point to such demands now. If Jed had told her he loved her, would she have even realized she loved him? They’d always been so prickly with one another, and she hadn’t known her own heart for so long.
“That we do,” he finally said, and turned away from her to continue up the lane. “That we do.”
And that was that, Ellen thought with a pang. That chapter of her life and her hopes was closed and finished. And while she still felt a sweet sorrow flood through her, it wasn’t the devastating ache of a few months ago. She was stronger now, with new hopes and plans. Just like Louisa and Jed, she had so much to look forward to.
Jed glanced up the lane. They were near the house, yet still far away enough to remain unseen. “You coming up?”
Ellen nodded. “In a minute.”
She watched him go up the lane, a fond, familiar figure. She didn’t know why she felt as if she were losing him now, when surely if
she’d ever had him, she’d lost him long ago.
Yet with that pang of loss came another emotion, one Ellen let fill up her heart like a sail. Hope.
A chapter of her life might have finished, but a new one was just beginning, a crisp, blank page upon which to write her fledgling dreams and ambitions.
A wind blew off the lake, a crisp wind of autumn, ruffling her hair and promising frost. The wind of change, Rose would call it. Ellen thought of the catalogue store in Seaton, the motorcar coming to Amherst Island, the sketches she’d sent Henry McAvoy. With the legacy from Aunt Ruth, art school was now a distinct and wonderful possibility. Yes, the winds of change were blowing.
The sun was setting fire to the horizon as she lifted her face to the breeze.
“Blow, winds of change,” Ellen whispered with a tremulous smile. “And take me with you.”
Continue Ellen’s story with the second book in the Amherst Island trilogy,
On Renfrew Street, available in Summer 2016—turn the page for a sneak peek!
Also check out Kate’s other books at www.kate-hewitt.com
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A sneak peek of On Renfrew Street, the second book in the Amherst Island Trilogy.
“Care to dance, Ellen?”
Ellen turned to see Jed’s brother Lucas smiling at her. They hadn’t spoken much since Lucas had declared his love for her last May, and she felt an uncomfortable awkwardness at seeing him now.
“I’m...” she began, and Lucas smiled wryly as he held out his hand.
“For old times’ sake, if nothing else?”
“Not just old times, Lucas,” Ellen answered. Regret rushed through her at the thought of how things had changed between them; before that party at Queen’s, they’d been good friends. “I’m honoured to dance with you.”
She took his hand and soon they were dancing amidst the other couples.
“Are you looking forward to going back to Queen’s?” Ellen asked. “It’s not long now.”
“No. And I am looking forward to resuming my studies for my last year.” He smiled whimsically. “I’ll have to start buckling down, you know. Looking for work.”
“What are you thinking of?”
He shrugged. “Law seems practical.”
“Law!” Ellen stared at Lucas in surprise. “But history has always been your first love.”
