Garden of the Moon Read Free Page A

spattering the tall grass like droplets of blood. From a tangle of holly shrubs and jasmine vines, marble statuary gowned in sage-green lichen peeked at her like naughty children preparing to do mischief. Even the angry puffs of dust nudged into life from the drive by a stiff breeze off the river seemed to voice the very earth’s displeasure at their intrusion.
    What of the other times she’d visited her grandmother’s home? Had it been like this? No. On those occasions the house and grounds had always been a welcoming presence in her young life. Now, they seemed to be warning her away. But in the five years since her grandmother’s death, there had been no slaves to keep the place manicured. Logically, the grounds would be wild and overgrown.
     
    ***
     
    But it wasn’t just the overgrown vegetation that made Sara’s skin crawl. The heavy atmosphere seemed to suck the air from her lungs, as though something dark and evil lurked in the shadows of the trees and bushes, something that had been waiting just for Sara.
    I’m waiting . The words the ghost had spoken to her in the bayou played through Sara’s mind. Was he here at Harrogate…waiting for her?
    She drew her shawl closer around her trembling shoulders. Surely she was being foolish. But the icy fear continued to coil in a tight ball in the pit of her stomach.
    Contrary to the inexplicable alarm that had suddenly turned her insides to ice, Sara calmly patted Raina’s arm. “It’s fine. Just a bit…out of hand is all. Samuel will have the men Papa’s sending organized in no time, and before you know it, everything will be as beautiful and orderly as when my grandmother was alive.”
    “Yes, ma’am.” Raina didn’t sound at all convinced. Her wide-eyed gaze continued to dart over the snarled landscaping and her hands twisted in her lap until Sara thought the woman might remove the skin from them.
    Sara shook her morose thoughts loose, and peered eagerly ahead of them. Nothing would spoil this day for her. Nothing. Clearing anything that would dampen this moment from her mind, Sara gazed raptly at the mansion.
    Unlike the gardens, the snow-white, antebellum mansion resembled a giant, frosted wedding cake, an image of conformity, order, and balance in the identical wings that extended from either side of the main house. Though the grounds had been far from what she’d expected, in her heart the old house seemed to welcome its new mistress.
    Samuel maneuvered the carriage down the drive and then drew the horses up in front of a wide porch flanked by two, sweeping staircases leading to the main level of the home.
    Excitement drowned out the anxiety. “Oh, what parties I’ll give here.” Sara clapped her hands like an excited child. “They’ll be just as grand as the ones Gran gave, you’ll see.” Raina remained silent, obviously still not finding anything about the place to feel good about. “I’ll invite all the neighbors to celebrate the reopening of Harrogate, the rebirth of this stately old home.”
     
    ***
     
    Raina still didn’t reply. She just continued to look around her as if some demon would lunge from the bushes at any moment and devour her.
    “Can’t you imagine it, Raina?” Sara went on, caught up in her daydream. “Can’t you just picture elegant ladies in lovely gowns gliding over the galleries or hurrying down the wrought iron stairs to the veranda?” She giggled. “Maybe some will even sneak into the shadows of the Corinthian columns for a clandestine assignation with their sweethearts, out of the view and hearing of vigilant parents and hovering guardians.”
    Plans for the future filled her head. Her thoughts bursting with images of her new life, Sara took in the beauty of the house. Closed shutters covered all the windows save one on the second floor portico. She glanced up at the window.
    She gasped.
    The tall, handsome man from St. Claire’s Bayou gazed down at her.
    He smiled and nodded as though giving his approval