Forgotten Time (Ravenhurst Series, #1) A New Adult Time Travel Romance (19 page)

Snowflakes floated absentl
y
to the ground from the black sky above as she made her escape. She wondered when the snow fell. Wasn’t it too early for snow? She stumbled. Her hands and feet were like ice. The pain that was so intense only moments before began to fade into numbness. Isabelle knew she should be worried about whether or not she would ever make it to Ravenhurst, or if Devlin would find her; but instead, her mind strayed to Clive, her deceased brother. The way he passed had always seemed a bit too tidy to her.

Whips rent the air, cracking loudly…

Clive was at the front of the pack, the one that chased the “Master of Hounds,” his pink coat in vibrant contrast to the scenery. There were fifteen men riding in the hunt. “The Huntsman” and at least two “whipper-ins” kept the hounds in a pack off in the distance. The hounds barked loudly, alerting the group they were about to run the fox to ground. A large hedgerow ran through the middle of the hill. It was dangerously high on one side. Only a rider with a death wish would jump over the hedge at full speed, and the ravine was only a short distance away but you had to land perfectly.

Clive raced ahead of the group, flying at breakneck speed, his horse eating up the ground. He turned, calling out over his shoulder, the wind whipping his light brown hair. He was quite a spectacle to behold. Dashing, handsome even, Isabelle suddenly saw what Victoria had always seen in Clive. He was so arrogant, but in that moment, he was simply beautiful.

The jump was risky, almost impossible, and yet everyone held their breaths, hoping, watching in disbelief as his horse flew upwards over the hedge. She couldn’t believe he actually cleared the jump.

It happened so quickly; his trusty, dapple-gray hunter stumbled forward unnaturally. Clive’s body followed, flying from his horse. The entire scene slowed in her mind. It was almost as if an invisible force reached up and waylaid Clive.

The group took a moment to react, and by the time everyone reached the top of the ridge, it was too late. Clive’s horse was limping away, two bright red slashes on each of his front legs.

It was obvious Clive was not as fortunate as his horse. Some of the group looked over the edge of the ravine, confirming to her that Clive was indeed gone.

Tightness gripped her chest as a tear slipped from her eye, freezing as quickly as it fell. She spotted a tree ahead. She could make it to the tree and rest, even if only for a moment. Just to catch her breath, she told herself. She fell at the base, leaning against the rough bark, and situated herself between the thick roots, jutting out from the frozen earth.

She tucked her feet under her and tried to rub her frozen tears away.

She gave up; she was just too tired. She watched tiny snowflakes dancing across the horizon. So very beautiful, they were. She closed her eyes and gave her body and mind over to a wintry slumber. She let it pull her fully, into its icy grasp, even though she knew she might never awaken again.

…Hawthorne Manor, never underestimate your partner

“Impossible!” Devlin shouted at the top of his lungs. “What in the hell do you mean, ‘she is gone’?” He threaded his fingers through his hair in an aggravated gesture, leaving it standing on end, trying to control the urge to wrap his hands around Judith’s bare throat and choke the life from her.

“I am not sure what happened,” Judith cried as she wrung her hands like a child. “She was lying there unconscious. I thought she was ill and wanted to check on her. How was I to know she was faking it? She never tried anything before!” she said in her defense, warily watching Devlin’s unreadable face.

“Please Devlin, how was I to know she would trick me? One moment she was there, lying on the floor… and then, the next thing I knew, I woke up in that stinking pit all alone. Thank goodness she left the door open; else I would have been trapped.” She shivered.

Devlin was seething, his body rigid. “Shut your mouth, JUDITH, I cannot think with all your yammering!” he screamed. He knew exactly where Isabelle would run. “She will run straight to Ravenhurst! Now what in the hell do we do, Judith?” Devlin asked angrily.

“How can you blame me? I told you we needed to get rid of her, but you wanted her to sign those blasted papers. I knew you were taking a chance,” she accused, before seeing the look on his face, deciding she better tread lightly. She knew what his temper was like.

She walked over to Devlin, took his arm, and began to gently pat it as she tried to pacify his anger.

“Please do not be angry with me,” she implored. “Let’s take the money we have and leave this place before she ever reaches Ravenhurst. We can go abroad, make a new life with new identities. It worked before; why not again?”

Devlin tried to shake her off, but she would not let go. “Let go of me, Judith!” he yelled.

“Please Devlin, let’s leave now.” She begged more, still holding onto him, petting, and kissing his hand.

Finally, Devlin could not take it anymore; she was driving him mad with her insipid ways and it was too much. He shoved Judith, hard. Her body reeled to the ground.

Devlin clenched his hands together as he paced back and forth in front of her. He gave her a look full of loathing, “Now see what you made me do? I told you to shut your mouth… I have to think. But no, you can’t listen, can you? You never listen, do you, Judith?”

Judith narrowed her eyes, wiping the blood from her mouth. She leaned against the wall, feeling the tender skin on her lip from where she hit the floor. Devlin paced back and forth in front of her, seething.

There would be no pacifying him now, at least not this day. She needed to get the hell out of here while she was still in one piece; she knew what he was capable of, when provoked. She knew what he did to the man who killed his mother, and he was only a boy at the time. She shivered.

Devlin stopped pacing. He ran his hand through his hair, pulling at it, his frustration apparent. He began to laugh, a small chuckle at first, then more loudly as the last grains of sanity appeared to slip away.

“You do realize, Judith, we will hang on the gallows for sure now,” he stated simply. “Well, there is nothing to do now, I suppose.” He said the latter with a candor he did not feel. Truly, he was past feeling. Why bother? He poured himself a drink, downed it, and poured another, thinking he may as well enjoy it while it lasted.

Judith felt the inescapability of the situation and began to take pity on the man that was more than a bedfellow to her in the not-so-recent past. At times, she felt as though they were truly destined for one another. She cleared her throat, cautiously gauging his reaction to her next words.

“Devlin, surely she has not gotten very far; it is cold and getting late. Besides the cold, she has to make her way through the snow as well; it must be weighing heavily on her skirts by now.”

“What did you say?”

“I said it was getting dark.”

“Not that, JUDITH, the last thing you said.”

“I don’t know,” Judith cried.

He finished off his drink, squeezing the glass as he tried to control his growing ire again. He stalked purposefully towards his quarry with slow deliberation. Kneeling down, he took her chin in his hand and looked directly into her eyes.

“How long?” he asked slowly, in an unnaturally calm voice

“How long what, Devlin?” Judith whined.

Devlin released her, shoving her back against the wall in disgust. He shook his head, thinking he probably deserved the situation he was in for keeping Judith around in the first place.

She was obviously an imbecile. He slowed his words, articulating each one, holding the sides of his head as though he were in great pain. “How long has Isabelle been gone?” he asked again, trying to take calming breaths as he paced the room.

Judith stammered, “I really cannot say.” She crawled to stand and glanced toward the door, wondering if she could make a run for it. She inched closer to the doorway. “Surely it was not that long. As I said, there is snow, and if you go now, surely you can find which way she went.”

Devlin halted.

Judith froze.

A slow smile crept across Devlin’s face. If he acted quickly, he may have a reprieve from the gallows.

Grabbing a fresh bottle of liquor, he gave Judith one last, derisive look. She was pitiful. He wondered why in the hell he ever wasted his time on her.

Devlin put on his greatcoat and hat and strode purposefully out of Hawthorne Manor and into the dark night, hoping to find Isabelle before she made it to Ravenhurst.

The Duke of Radcliff, Grayson Radcliff
,
wiped a wet cloth across his new houseguest’s brow. “Who are you?” he whispered, more to himself than the woman lying in his bed.

When he discovered her on his way home from town, she was practically frozen. It was purely by chance he found her at all. If his horse hadn’t insisted on investigating a small patch of grass sprouting from the snow, he would have never even seen her lying at the base of a tree. Her eyes shut, her brows, lashes, and hair covered with fine dusting of snow, made her appear like a winter princess in her very own, winter wonderland.

He did not waste a moment. He quickly dismounted and checked her body for any signs of life. Her pulse was weak and faint at best. Gathering her up in his arms, he held her snugly against his chest, trying to give her whatever warmth he could as he remounted his horse. He carried her back to his home as quickly as the weather would permit.

…Ravenhurst, the crazy things that you do

Katherine decided she had it with the past. She wanted to go home and forget all about this place and its occupants. Why should she change her entire life just to help some knight she did not even know? Surely, Milford could find someone else. She stopped her pacing and looked at the dresser, with some of the vehemence gone from her earlier rant. Forget this, she did not need rejection in the past; she had enough of that crap in the future. Maybe she should just put the necklace back on and see? Would she disappear? Would Sebastian even know she existed? Really, should she even care at this point?

She took a breath, opened the bottom drawer, and took out the necklace; it really was beautiful. The blood-red stone sparkled in the light. The most unusual detail about the necklace was the strange little adornments resting on parts of the stone, protruding from the gold. They looked out of place somehow, not original, maybe added later, but why? Katherine instantly wished Amelia were around somewhere, even if she was a rude bitch at the party. At least, she could probably date the piece. Katherine searched the recesses of her mind, trying to recall anything similar.

The more she touched the stone, the warmer it became, and the color began to turn a deeper red with white smoke swirling within. She held the necklace tightly within her hand, feeling a jolt run through her body while a scene unfurled in her mind with vivid clarity.