A Knight Such as This: Enhanced with Interactive Content: (Time Travel Romance) Book 1 & 2 (Ravenhurst Series)

by Lorraine Beaumont

  Crossing the room, I looked behind the curtains and under the bed just in case the Looney-toon found another way in. I was positive that was who was in here my first day here. I couldn’t help but wonder what she wanted. Did crazy people need reasons for doing crazy things? Somehow, the topic of the woman in question didn’t come up, which was strange as well. I supposed that was going to be a topic for discussion once everyone was together in one room again. At least, that way we could compare stories and try to figure out who the woman was, or at the very least, what she wanted.

  Devlin mentioned there were at least two but I only saw one. So where was the other person? I would have to figure that out later. Now I needed to finish getting ready.

  Fifteen minutes later, I unlocked the door of the bathroom and peered out into the room. The door creaked. Note to self: Bring a weapon in the damn bathroom next time.

  Luckily, no one was in the room, but I still moved pretty fast and made a dash for the wardrobe. Once in front, I pulled open the door, grabbed the first gown I found and ran back to the bathroom. Unfortunately, the gown I grabbed was an ugly green color with little leaves sewn onto the neckline and sleeves. It was far from pretty, but right now, I didn’t care.

  After I was all buttoned up in the gown, even though I had thought it ugly moments before, it did have some definite perks. It made my waist look impressively small and gave my boobs a good lift, which made them appear more substantial than they really were. The color wasn’t as bad as I originally thought either. It made my pale face look pretty good, even though I would have preferred to forgo the gown in exchange for some nice comfy sweats. Sweats would have been awesome but then again sweats were your enemy if you were trying to lose weight. The damn things gave too much.

  At least with jeans they squeezed your belly if you tried to eat too much. Thinking about twentieth century clothing or lack thereof made me think of my skinnier twin Marguerite. I couldn’t help but wonder how she was faring after her encounter with Jack. Every time I thought about what I may have done to her accidentally, it gave me the willies. Although, it could have been so much worse. Or would it have been? Did I really have the ability to move Marguerite through time? Or was it just a coincidence?

  Once again, my eyes slid over to the bureau…and then over to the clock…I had time. Should I try again just to see if I could really send her places? Of course, I would make sure I was more careful this time and not think of anything gruesome. Yes, that would work, I convinced myself. Before I changed my mind, I leaned down, opened the drawer, and pulled out the amulet. Still, I held the chain in the folds of my gown to be on the safe side as I walked over to the door and opened it just enough so I would be able to hear if someone was coming down the hall to get me for dinner.

  Once I adjusted the door, I walked back over to the fireplace and sat down in one of the chairs. Clearing my mind, I placed my hand on top of the stone and concentrated only on Marguerite. Instantly, a sharp jolt shot up my arm as a flash of white stole my sight momentarily, and then my vision cleared and I was once again a spectator in another time…

  FLASH * NEW YORK CITY* PRESENT DAY

  Marguerite paced back and forth across the expanse of the high-rise apartment. She was wearing a new pair of pajamas, her long wet hair hung down her back. She sat down on the patterned carpet, pulled her knees to her chest, and rested her chin on her knees. Her expression looked forlorn.

  Why was she on the floor? I didn’t know why but seeing her that way instantly irritated me. There was a rather nice looking sofa with tons of pillows piled on the top. “Oh come on, sit on the damn sofa,” I complained aloud.

  Marguerite jerked upright. She looked around the sumptuous apartment, and scrambled to her feet. She ran over and sat on the edge of the sofa.

  Hmm, interesting. I wondered if she actually heard me or was it simply another coincidence. Well, that really did not prove anything. There was a book on the coffee table, and without really thinking about what I was doing, I focused on the book. It was entitled The French Revolution: The Downfall of a Monarchy. I instantly remembered the rumor spread about MARIE ANTOINETTE. “Let them eat cake,” it was a terrible thing to say to people who were starving…

  IV

  I had always wondered if the saying were actually true or merely a rumor. I guessed no one would ever know for sure. The scene jiggled and then blurred out of focus. I couldn’t see anything and then another tingling shock slid up my arm.

  A door slammed in the distance. Shit. Someone was walking down the hall. I dropped the necklace and stood. My mind slammed back to the present. I ran over to the door and poked my head out. Eerie shadows slid down the walls, growing in length with the darkness. Straining my ears, I waited for a sound or movement. There was none. Huh? I pulled my head back in the room and rubbed my arms. “This place sure is creepy at night.”

  Well, it was actually creepy all the time, but at night, it was even creepier. I smoothed the wrinkles from my gown. What was taking Sebastian so long to get me? I glanced back at the clock. It was seven thirty. Oh well, maybe he got tied up doing something. I paced back and forth for a minute debating whether to go downstairs alone and then saw the necklace.

  Oh no! I ran back across the room and picked it up off the floor. As soon as I wrapped my fingers around the stone, my mind flashed to another place and I was once again a spectator in another time.

  FLASH* October 16, 1793, Place de la Concorde

  Early morning mist clung to the earth like a shroud. In the distance was the outline of a massive structure, and in front of it was a GUILLOTINE. Its ropes tethered at the side, the blade shone brightly and glinted in the early morning sun.

  V

  A crowd of filthy people gathered down at the base of the structure…waiting. A shadowy form climbed the stairs. The heavy thud of footsteps on the wooden planks vibrated in my ears. A shiver of dread swept over me as a huge man wearing a black hood came up the stairs and was dragging his hapless victim by a rope, their arms tied behind their back with a dark cloth covering their face.

  The crowd jeered as the man pulled the cloth away revealing a woman. Her dark hair was tangled with dirt and filth that covered most of her face. The executioner pushed her down to her knees and pressed her forward, until her neck lay inside the blood-soaked groove of the guillotine. The girl gazed listlessly at the screaming crowd below.

  My heart thumped against my ribcage as a cold sweat broke out on my forehead. Whoever the girl was, she seemed to be in full acceptance of her fate. Indignation filled me. What could have possibly happened to a person to make her not want to struggle to breathe for at least one moment more? How could she give up so easily? Although I was appalled by what I was seeing, I could not look away.

  The girl lifted her face once more, her neck covered in blood that dripped down its length as she cast her eyes towards the sky.

  In horror, I suddenly realized who was about to be decapitated. Covering my mouth, I felt like I was going to pass out or be sick, I didn’t know which. My mind reeled, the girl about to get her head separated from her body was, is…Marguerite. She was still wearing her fancy pajamas and staring right at me.

  “OH MY GOD! Oh no! No, no, not her, not here!

  I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to block out the gruesome sight and force another one in my mind instead. Even as I tried to envision the apartment, I couldn’t get the sight of Marguerite about to get her head chopped off. I stomped my feet and squeezed the stone as hard as I could. My fingers burned, I didn’t care. I shook the necklace. “Why aren’t you working?”

  The blade glinted in the sun, and the executioner was about to release the rope. The crowd jeered louder.

  “Oh Good Lord, please, NO!”

  I pressed my mind as hard as I could, but the morbidity of the situation was foremost in my mind. I was panicking and could not grasp anything tangible. Random things flitted through my mind.

  The executioner released the blade.

&nb
sp; I strained to envision the sumptuous décor, the rug. I held my breath. Another flash came and I staggered backward from the force. My head felt like it was going to split in two.

  Finally, I opened my eyes once more. “Thank God!”

  Marguerite was back in the apartment, but this time she was screaming at the top of her lungs. The sound hurt my ears, but I didn’t care. At least it was better than the alternative. Tears slid down my face as Marguerite stormed through the apartment, covered in blood. She shook her fist in the air.

  Of course, I could not make out all of what she was saying, but I had a good idea. I had a feeling Marguerite was going to look at me any minute now and accuse me of sending her to hell…again.

  This really wasn’t too far off the mark. “I am so sorry,” I whispered and released the necklace. The vision dissolved.

  “Holy Shit! I almost killed Marguerite…again.”

  THIS TANGLED WEB WE WEAVE

  RAVENHURST

  AFTER the necklace debacle, I thought it best not to be left alone for a while. Apparently, I couldn’t be trusted to my own devices. This was two times now that I had almost killed Marguerite. Obviously, I had my answer now. I really could send the poor girl through time.

  I left the room and didn’t bother to slow down when I hit the stairs. My hand slid down the banister as I ran down as quickly as I could.

  Once at the bottom I made a hard right and nearly took down one of the gargoyles in the process. “Damn it, Joey, stay put,” I whispered fiercely. Joey was the name I dubbed the gargoyle to make it seem less threatening.

  The massive doors of the library stood open, and I could hear voices. Just outside the doors, I stopped. Everyone was already inside. I felt a sinking sensation in my stomach. Why didn’t anyone come and get me? Even Devlin was inside.

  Isabelle and Grayson were talking quietly in a far corner of the room. They couldn’t keep their hands off one another. It was obvious they were in love. Instantly, I was envious and wished Sebastian acted the same towards me…and then I saw him and my stomach flipped over on itself. Sebastian was leaning on the mantel, gazing into the flames, his profile even more handsome than I remembered. I wished I knew how he felt about the story I told him, or how he felt about me. Everything was such a mess.

  Devlin was sitting up on the settee with his leg propped up. He turned and looked right at me and gave me a big, broad smile.

  A rush of heat climbed to my face and I instinctively smiled back at him. I was so relieved he was not in pain any longer. There was something about him that made me instantly feel more at ease. I wasn’t sure if it was his boyish charm or something altogether different.

  Prickles of awareness made me pull my gaze from Devlin. Sebastian was looking directly at me with an unreadable expression on his gorgeous face.

  I was busted, again.

  A wave of dread passed over me. Sebastian was not happy, not one bit. I could tell that from across the room.

  Sebastian rubbed the crease between his eyes. What in the hell was between them? Oh, he had seen that little exchange. He felt the all too familiar sting and his blood began to boil. He was pissed and rightly so. It was the same song and dance with Devlin and Marguerite. The way her eyes followed Devlin as she watched him from afar. Sebastian ignored it, or tried to. Was he a fool all along? Was there something between Marguerite and Devlin, and was he trying to woo Katherine now as well?

  Sebastian had to shake himself. He was being bloody ridiculous. If he did not watch himself, he would end up pushing her directly into Devlin’s waiting arms. That was not an option. He pushed off the mantel, closing the distance between them quickly, and stopped.

  I didn’t move an inch. He slipped his finger gently under my chin and lifted it upward. Slowly I raised my eyes to his, the stormy depths pulling me further in with every second that ticked by. I wasn’t sure if he was mad or happy… “What took you so long?”

  I felt like he knew what I had done. “I was ah, trying to find a dress,” I lied. I wasn’t going to tell him I was sending Marguerite, his real betrothed, off to the guillotine… Nope, wouldn’t say that. Maybe I should say, waiting for you, which I was, because he told me to…but I said neither.

  “Ahem.” Someone cleared his or her throat loudly.

  My eyes jumped to his gorgeous face.

  “Would you care for a drink before we start?”

  “Huh?”

  “I asked if you would care for a drink.”

  “Yes, I would love you, I mean, ah, thank you.”

  Sebastian froze. Did she just say…I would love you? Surely, it was a mix of words, she meant nothing by them, and yet he could not stop the warm feeling from invading his heart, making the wall crumble just a bit more. He reached forward to take her hand and pull her from the room but a voice interrupted him.

  “Say, de Winter, I will take one as well,” Devlin called out.

  Sebastian jaw clenched and he dropped his hand. “I did not ask you.” Another wave of tension assailed him when his Aunt cut in, giving her unwelcome opinion on the matter.

  “Now dear, he is injured,” she said, reminding Sebastian, as if he could forget.

  “Fine,” he said and turned to get the drinks.

  Not having any alternative, I crossed the room and sat down in the chair facing the settee. I tried not to look at Devlin, but he was right in front of me. He was smirking at Sebastian’s back, like a spoiled little kid. I would have laughed but that wouldn’t do well for either of us if I did. He was pushing his luck though; he was at Sebastian’s mercy now and should really be careful not to try his patience.

  Devlin tore his gaze from Sebastian’s back. There was no use in tossing eye daggers any longer when the blasted do-gooder was not even looking at him. Besides, his shoulders were growing before his very eyes. The last thing Devlin needed was to look at Sebastian’s incredible physique. He turned. Katherine was giving him an incredulous look.

  “What?” he mouthed and tried to ignore the look she was giving him, like he was ungrateful, or something comparable. Therefore, he did the only thing he could think of, he shrugged his shoulders indifferently and crossed his arms over his chest, letting her know he could care less, even though he kind-of did.

  A hand holding a glass blocked my silent exchange with Devlin. I looked up to Sebastian’s unsmiling face and took the glass. “Thank you.”

  He turned and dropped the other drink over Devlin’s lap.

  Devlin snatched the glass from the air. “Thanks.” He smiled with smug satisfaction and lifted his glass in the air.

  “You are not welcome.” Sebastian fisted his hand. He wanted nothing more than to punch Devlin right in his smug face. Instead, he walked over and retrieved his own drink, then resumed his silent vigil in front of the fire.

  The tension in the room was so thick, you could cut it with a knife. Grayson had had enough. He was a patient man, but even he found he could not tolerate much more of their childlike antics. Normally, he would let them have a go at each other, but Devlin was injured, and well, Sebastian was not in the right frame of mind. Just watching them, he could tell Sebastian might very well wring Devlin’s neck before the night was through. He knew that would upset Isabelle and that was not an option at this point. “Let us get to this, shall we, gentlemen?” Grayson booming voice commanded attention.

  Taking a breath, Sebastian reined in his temper. There were more important matters at hand than choking the life from Devlin, although he would not mind doing that, either. “Yes, Grayson, we should. Thank you.”

  Grayson inclined his head toward Sebastian and grabbed hold of Isabelle’s hand. He caressed it lovingly.

  “What do we know?” Sebastian asked the room at large trying to ignore the intimate exchange between Grayson and his Aunt.

  Devlin gaped at Isabelle. She was making a spectacle of herself, petting and kissing the Duke’s hand. He frowned at her. Could the woman not wait until she and Grayson were alone? He did not remember
her acting that way towards him in public. He rolled his eyes. “What are you speaking of, exactly?”

  “Good Lord, man.” Sebastian gave Devlin a look of disbelief. “I am talking about the person that took you both.” His patience was wearing thin.

  “Oh, that,” Devlin said with feigned disinterest, and plucked a piece of lint from his trouser leg.

  “Yes, that.” Sebastian widened his eyes.

  Devlin waited until he had everyone’s undivided attention. “There had to be at least two of them. Had there only been one, I would not have found myself in that pit, chained, and with a broken leg.”

  Isabelle rolled her eyes. “Are you sure?” she asked.

  “Yes, I am sure,” Devlin huffed indignantly.

  “Well, Katherine, what do you have to say?” Isabelle asked.

  I spluttered out my drink. “Me? Ah, well, I only saw one.” The woman’s horrid face came to mind and I shivered. “It was a woman…she was disfigured.”

  “Are you sure it was a woman?” Isabelle’s face paled.

  Devlin cut in, “Yes, that is what she said. Good Lord woman, can you hear?”

  “Oh.” Isabelle sat back in her chair as her face drained of all color.

  Grayson noticed Isabelle’s demeanor had changed the instant Katherine mentioned the disfigured woman. “Enough!” he bellowed. “We have established there was a woman, at least. Obviously, she wants something. What could she want?”

  “How am I supposed to know?” Devlin shrugged.

  “I have no idea.” I slouched down in the chair.