Arielle Immortal Journey (The Immortal Rapture Series Book 5)

by Lilian Roberts

  “I’d love to get to know you a little better. Can I see you tomorrow?”

  “Perhaps,” she said in an unconvincing tone. She heard him chuckle as he fixed his eyes on her face.

  Leaning in again, he whispered in her ear, “I’m very sure that we’ll see each other again.”

  She was convinced that he was an immortal. It frightened her. Sebastian had mentioned that there were many immortals in the sixteenth century, she just didn’t expect to meet one in the flesh. She was hopeful that he didn’t have the same ability as Sebastian to read people’s minds. That alone would put her life in immediate danger. In the 1500s, immortals were sought and killed in a horrible way, so they didn’t want to be exposed. Gaston didn’t show any signs that he could read her thoughts. When the dance ended, they walked back toward the balcony door where Eva was talking to a couple of men. Gaston held her hand firmly, gazing deeply in her eyes, his lips curving up.

  “Make sure you hold a couple more dances for me. You are a wonderful dancer.” His voice sent a shiver down her spine as it came across strong and unwilling to accept rejection. She forced a weak smile. His statement gave her a weird sensation. His eyes never left her face. He was refusing to let go of her hand until she agreed. She pressed her lips together and struggled to appear relaxed. She smiled, trying to hide her true feelings, and watched him stride away across the room in that familiar seamless walk. She stood there in bewilderment, and finally turning away she stared at Eva anxiously. Eva excused herself and walked up to Arielle. Gabrielle came up at the same time and stood by Arielle’s side. She looked between her two friends, not knowing what was going on.

  “What’s wrong?” Eva whispered, watching Arielle with speculation.

  “Oh, my God,” Arielle said over and over again.

  “Arielle, you look sick. What happened?” Gabrielle asked, clearly concerned. Arielle pulled her friends closer, and dropping her voice to a mere whisper, she said, “You would absolutely not believe this, but the guy that just walked away is an immortal.” They let out a faint gasp and exchanged looks. Eva took her hand and pulled her away from the crowd. Gabrielle followed closely behind.

  “How do you know that? Did he say something?” Gabrielle asked.

  “No, he didn’t have to say a thing,” Arielle said quietly. “I breathed that unmistakable immortal scent you possess,” she said, directing her comment to Eva. “I stared at his flawless beauty, his seamless walk, and then I heard that unique musical voice. There is no mistake about this, he’s an immortal,” Arielle said breathlessly.

  Eva smiled with amusement. “So, why is that an issue for you?”

  “Eva! Are you serious!” Arielle cried out.

  “Arielle, calm down. It should make no difference to us who is here, why they are here, and what they are. We’re here for one purpose, and one purpose alone, and that is Sebastian. Everything else in this century is for us to enjoy, learn, and absorb while we are here, do you understand?” she said, watching Arielle carefully. Arielle knew that Eva was right.

  Eva put her index finger under Arielle’s chin and lifted her face to meet her gaze. “Arielle, look at me.” She held her with that immortal gaze for a short moment, and Arielle felt a peculiar sensation spreading across her body. She immediately succumbed to Eva’s powers of persuasion. She felt calm and confident. She ran her hand over her hair lightly and blinked several times, gaping at Eva.

  “Absolutely extraordinary!” she said. “How, how did you do that?”

  “Well, how are you feeling?” Eva asked.

  Arielle blinked. “Surprisingly fine,” she replied hesitantly, running her fingers through her hair.

  “Excellent!” Eva remarked.

  They stood at the edge of a dance floor crammed with satin, silk, muslin, and ivory lace. They gazed out into the moving wave of colors, and heard the laughter and the loud chattering that nearly surpassed the soft music. Their gaze lingered around the room transfixed by the sight of the well-born aristocrats clustering around the dance floor wearing their social smiles and carrying on casual conversations.

  “It’s like I’m watching a movie on the telly,” Gabby observed.

  “I was thinking the exact same thing,” Eva said.

  Arielle found herself comparing fantasy and reality, mesmerized by the sights in front of her. Silence fell between the three friends.

  The muffled laughter that broke the silence brought Eva's and Gabby’s gaze to Arielle. She was trying hard to stop giggling, but soon her body was vibrating with quiet laughter. Eva’s eyes widened and Gabby looked puzzled.

  “What’s with you?” Gabby asked.

  Arielle bit her lip and tried to repress her laughter, failing miserably. Clearing her throat she fought to compose her voice. Leaning forward she took her friend’s hands and pulled them toward her, saying conspiratorially, “I was just wondering what these well-born folks would think of a little Tinie Tempah?”

  Eva’s brows shot up and Gabby clapped a hand over her mouth stifling a loud snort.

  “Well?” Arielle insisted, nearly immobilized by quiet laughter.

  “They would bloody die,” Eva said.

  They stared at each other mischievously and, as if an invisible conductor had waved his baton in front of them, they lowered their voices to a mere whisper and rapped in perfect rhythm the lyrics, “And we can do this until we pass out,” imitating the English rapper. A minuscule span of time passed, as they looked at each other with amusement. All at once they erupted into hysterical laughter.

  They stopped laughing just as quickly, reason telling them that this was not the place for this type of outburst. A long, tense moment followed while they took a look around. They were thankful to discover that no one had paid attention to their outburst.

  Arielle cleared her throat and her gaze drifted back to Eva and Gabby. “Yes, I think a few lyrics from 'Pass Out' will rejuvenate the atmosphere,” she said wryly.

  The air in the room felt extremely warm. They walked around to admire the art when a servant appeared with a tray of champagne in crystal glasses. All three of them reached for a glass at once, and took a welcome drink. Soon, they fell into a pleasant conversation.

  “Arielle, the guy you danced with was amazing looking,” Gabrielle noted.

  “Um, well, Gabby, he’s an immortal. He couldn’t be anything less than amazing. You should know firsthand about their astonishing looks.”

  There was a long silence again and Arielle turned to face Eva one more time.

  “Holy crap! I just thought of something else,” she said worriedly.

  “What?” Eva and Gabby said simultaneously.

  Arielle groaned quietly. “What if I don’t want to dance with Gaston again, and he decides to compel me? I’ll be completely helpless!” she said swallowing hard. She stared at Eva.

  “Arielle,” Eva said with a reassuring voice, “we aren’t going to be here but a day or two, not long enough for Gaston to do anything at all. He seems handsome and nice, and he’s attracted to you. Avoid looking directly into his eyes and just enjoy yourself.”

  “You are right.” Arielle decided to relax and enjoy the gala. She looked at Gabrielle who appeared captivated by her surroundings.

  “What’s going on with you?” Arielle asked her.

  “I couldn’t possible describe how absolutely amazing this night has been, and we’ve been here only a short time.”

  “How so?”

  “Some of the guys that I’ve danced with introduced me to their friends who are aspired artists, sculptors, and poets,” she said. “But the amazing thing is that I recognize some of those names. They are very famous artists, sculptors, and poets in our day. Their work is worth millions of pounds each.” Gabrielle’s voice was exuberant and her eyes sparkled gleefully. She took a deep breath and continued. “Eva, this is the most amazing adventure. Do you realize that some of these people may be in our history books?”

  Eva nodded and smiled. “Yes, I’m sure tha
t they are. Did you expect something different?” she asked blankly.

  “No, I guess not,” Gabby conceded.

  They moved slowly around the huge ballroom. Eva was able to clearly hear every conversation, and some of the women were out for blood. Eva pulled her friends closer and let them on the wicked gossip that was going around the room. She had them laughing in total amusement.

  It was not long before another guy came up to ask Eva to dance. It was not a big surprise as Eva’s immortality made her the most desirable girl in the room. Eva was an elegant dancer too, moving in that faultless way only immortals possessed.

  Gabrielle leaned over and whispered, “I still can’t get out of my mind the picture of Eva diving for her bathing suit bottom.” That’s when they both lost it again, nearly howling with laughter. Tears trickled down their faces.

  When Eva came back, they decided to take a closer look at the beautiful art on the walls and maybe talk to a few people on their own.

  Chapter 23

  THEY STOPPED TO ADMIRE a wall painting and found themselves next to a couple of groups of young gentlemen and behind a group of six ladies. The ladies were ripping apart some of the women on the dance floor. The woman standing directly in front of Eva sounded to be the most venomous one. She looked as if she had been poured into her silk blue dress. Tiny buttons starting at her nape and going all the way down to her lower back adorned the dress. Arielle chuckled inwardly. I wonder if there is any room left for breathing air, she thought.

  She shook her head in disbelief and glanced around, letting her smile fade. She noticed that several groups of men were holding flutes of champagne in their hands and seemed to be enjoying themselves with the same malicious conversations. She translated the lethal words that were spoken by the bitter, jealous women.

  “The dress looks like it’s going to explode at any moment,” Eva said, dropping her voice to a whisper so that it only reached her friends’ ears.

  Gabby giggled and Arielle snorted. “If she breathes in, it’s a sure thing she will bust,” Gabby said between giggles.

  Arielle tried but couldn’t hear everything that was said. Suddenly, the whole group in front of them exploded into robust laughter.

  Eva and Gabrielle glanced at Arielle quizzically, but she shrugged her shoulders. She couldn't translate for them because she hadn't heard what was said. They watched in dismay as the woman in the tight blue dress started to quiver violently, her body bouncing up and down with fierce hilarity.

  Suddenly, a loud pop brought everyone’s focus to the lady in blue. They stared in amazement as a hail of small buttons flew up in the air, over their heads, and scattered across the floor making cracking sounds. Their jaws fell open at the sight of the woman’s gown wide open in the back and exposing her undergarments.

  The woman frantically began twisting her hands behind her back in a desperate attempt for some kind of control. She grabbed a hold of the sides of her dress and pulled them together. In the process, she lost her balance and fell face first onto the floor. Loud gasps filled the air and bounced off the walls when her skirt flipped up exposing her privates. Her friends rushed to her side and tried to help her off the floor, but the damage was already done.

  Arielle, Eva, and Gabby pressed their hands over their mouths, trying to hold back robust laughter, and turning around they took off practically running toward the other side of the room where they succumbed, exploding into loud laughter. Tears ran down Arielle's and Gabrielle’s faces, and Eva was just coming apart with hilarity.

  “She sure got what she deserved,” Arielle said between giggles.

  “What goes around bloody comes around,” Gabby said emphatically, and busted out laughing again.

  “Ce qui est si drôle?”

  The laughter froze mid-air as they spun around to come face to face with two elegantly dressed young men. The girls were startled speechless. Arielle and Gabrielle wiped their eyes with the backs of their hands. The men watched them closely. They both had blond hair ruffled up in a cute way and amazing blue eyes. Arielle thought that the men looked oddly familiar. She smiled as she quickly glanced at Gabrielle. Her friend was also lost for words.

  “Ce qui est si drôle?” the guy closest to Arielle asked again.

  “Um, nothing important, just an inside joke,” Arielle replied in English.

  “You are English?” The second guy said with a surprised tone in his voice.

  “Yes,” Arielle replied.

  “Would you like to dance?” they asked simultaneously.

  Gabby and Arielle gave them their hands. They lifted them to their lips and gazed into their eyes. The girls noticed the pattern, deciphering that this was some sort of ritual men went through when they asked women to dance. It was protocol. The ladies looked back at Eva as they were pulled toward the dance floor, but she was already engaged in a conversation with a young man. Out on the floor, they moved to a wonderful waltz, following their leads with no difficulty.

  The men were fantastic dancers. Arielle thought that this was turning out to be a lot of fun. She closed her eyes as Sebastian’s lovely face filled her thoughts, and she sighed softly. She felt her dance partner’s hand pressing on her lower back, and she opened her eyes to find him searching her face for a clue to what the sigh was all about.

  “What’s your name?” he asked softly.

  “Arielle.”

  “You’re very beautiful, Arielle,” he said, still staring at her. She lowered her eyes as her face flushed, and she felt him pulling her closer. She looked up at him.

  “You have the most extraordinary eyes I’ve ever seen,” he whispered.

  “Thank you,” she replied shyly. “What’s your name?” she asked, trying to make simple conversation.

  “Anton, Anton Gaulle.”

  Arielle shivered at the sound of his name. That’s why he looked so familiar! Anton bore a true likeness to Gustave, Sebastian’s father. She felt the floor drop away from her, and she desperately tried to hang on to Anton to stop her from finding herself on the floor.

  “Are you all right?” Anton asked with concern.

  Arielle took deep breaths. She coughed softly to clear the lump in her throat before she could find her voice. She couldn’t believe she was in Anton’s arms.

  “I’m so sorry, I felt a little dizzy, but I’m all right now,” she said, resting her eyes on his beautiful face. She smiled and he eased his hold on her.

  “You scared me for a second there,” he said.

  Arielle smiled again, and tried to clear her thoughts. He pulled her just a bit closer, keeping his eyes on her face. She felt a little strange knowing that this was Sebastian’s brother. She was wondering if the guy that was dancing with Gabrielle was Marcus. She gulped. This was just incredible, I am dancing with Sebastian’s brother! She took a deep breath, and decided to go for it.

  “So, this is your home then?”

  “You can say that,” he said. “Are you visiting here or do you live in Calais?”

  “No, I’m actually here on holiday with my two sisters. They are both on the dance floor.”

  “Oh, so the girls you were talking with are your sisters?”

  “Yes. Do you have any siblings?”

  Anton was oblivious to the fact that Arielle knew all about his family history. “Yes, I have two brothers, one is Marcus, he is dancing with one of your sisters, and the other is Sebastian, who is the youngest.”

  “I think you and Marcus look a lot like your father,” Arielle said.

  “Yes, we’ve been told that many times, however Sebastian looks exactly like our mother. Girls seem to pursue him beyond belief, and I’m sure he’s somewhere with some young lady just as we speak.” He threw his head back and laughed as if this was a common occurrence.

  Arielle felt a pang of jealousy, but she had to remind herself that this is centuries before she met Sebastian. She tried to turn her mind away from Sebastian since she couldn't get over the jealousy issue.

  �
�I’m very much into Renaissance architecture,” she said out of the blue. “Your home is a beautiful piece of architecture. I would love to see some of the rooms,” she said, hoping, but not expecting, that he would actually agree to give her a tour of the house.

  “Do you now? I’d be delighted to show you around,” he replied excitedly. “Do you think your sisters might want to join the tour?”

  “Thank you, that would be wonderful,” she said. The possibility of touring the house exhilarated her. The music came to a stop and they walked off the dance floor. She introduced Gabrielle and Eva to Anton. Anton in turn introduced his brother Marcus to Eva and Arielle. The surprised look on the faces of Eva and Gabrielle didn’t escape Arielle.

  “Anton has agreed to give us a tour of this beautiful house,” Arielle said. “Would you like to come along?” she asked her best friends. Gabrielle and Eva appeared enchanted at the thought. Marcus smiled softly, and taking Gabrielle’s hand pulled her closer to him. Arielle noticed the movement and glanced at Eva. She succeeded in hiding a chuckle.

  They were standing by the balcony door making small talk when Arielle felt the weight of an intense stare. She looked around and saw Gaston watching her vigilantly. He was pushing his way through the crowd on the dance floor trying to reach them. She knew why he created such an unsettling feeling in her. Even the reasonable part of her couldn’t erase the sensation that Gaston was generating. She was sure that Gaston liked her a bit too much. The edgy sensation burned her throat, but she knew she had to endure it.

  Anton took her hand, a move that made her a little uncomfortable, but she didn’t want to become obvious, so she rested her hand in his and smiled. They all started to walk forward when she heard Anton’s voice.

  “Gaston! How are you? I’m so glad to see you.” Her heart raced at the sight of Gaston’s intense gaze. Anton reached over and gave Gaston a warm hug, and so did Marcus. They seemed friendly with each other.

  “Anton, Marcus.” Gaston’s voice was velvety soft but full of pleasantness toward the Gaulle boys. However, his eyes never left Arielle’s face. Marcus introduced Eva and Gabrielle to Gaston.