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ELISE

“You will eneral direction froe, ornate desk that had once belonged to our father One of the few pieces of furniture still left John had sold nearly everything of value

I shook my head “I will not! He’sof Mr Yates, the htenedvoice, and the two pistols he wore under his coat Once, I saw hi her to fall to her knees No, Mr Yates was not a man I wished to marry

I boldly aze “I do not love him”

“This isn’t about love, Elise”

“No” I cut ’s about money, isn’t it?”

John had whittled away the fortune our father had left for us, and Mr Yates ealthy John had proae the word all over Philadelphia that I was to be his wife He was even planning an engageest even of the year Everyone as anyone in Philadelphia society would be there Except I couldn’t go through with it The very thought of beco Mrs Yates made me feel sick I did not want to spend the rest ofin terror

No doubt John also figured having a rich brother-in-laould guarantee hia, in the manner to which he had become accustomed I had no such delusions Mr Yates was as selfish as he was cruel Once he hadin fear forhis business cronies – John’s access to any potential funds would dry up I had no doubt

“I will not ain, more forcefully this time

John slapped his palainst the wooder flashed across his face as he leaned forwards across the desk in a threateninghis oay He wasn’t used to being challenged Especially not by me Fear welled up in my throat John and I had never been close He was much older thanme John blamed me for her death I had never believed he hated me, but he had never been particularly kind I was an annoyance to be tolerated, rather than a baby sister to love and care for