In Book 3, Elsie is 15 turning 16 years old. Her father, Horace, (who is now saved) has gotten married to Elsie’s former maid, named Rose. Elsie was living in the Oaks with her mother (Rose) and father for a few years when Rose had a baby. Elsie was given the opportunity to name him, so she named him Trip.
A few months before Elsie’s birthday, she was invited to her friend’s (Lucy and Herbert) house for a week to attend their birthday party. When Elsie asked her strict father if she could go, he actually said “yes”. When she got there, Lucy’s twin Herbert was so glad to see her, for he had missed her tremendously.
A few days after Lucy and Herbert’s birthday party, Herbert asked Elsie to take a walk with him, and she agreed. They set out into the night on an evening stroll. After a while Herbert sat Elsie down and told her that he liked her very much, but when he explained to her what he meant, she was very surprised. He asked Elsie if she would be his wife. Elsie told him he would have to ask her father for his permission, so Herbert wrote a letter to her father. As soon as Horace received the letter, he made Elsie come home immediately!!!
Elsie’s father did not allow her to get married to Herbert for two reasons. 1) He was very sickly, and had a bad hip condition. 2) Elsie was only 15 years old.
A few months later, Elsie received a letter from Herbert’s older brother saying that Herbert had died in his sleep. Herbert’s brother also mentioned that when Herbert was dying he said, “If I were Elsie’s father, I would have made the same decision in not allowing her to marry me.”
Overall, this was a very, very, very good book. I would rate it a 10 out of 10. It had a superb plot, and for once, Elsie did not cry a lot, except when Herbert died.
Charity's Book Reviews 