Moonlight Read Free Page A

No,
it wasn’t the rain stopping her. It was him.
    Whenever
she let her mind wander, he came up. Why had he been dressed like
that and who really spoke that way?
    The clock
down the hall chimed the hour. Six. The weather showed no sign of
letting up. Would the man walk the garden again tonight if it did?
She told herself that she didn’t care if he did or
didn’t.
    Giving up
on the book, she went to the kitchen to fix herself dinner. Not
even that could rouse her. The meal tasted plain and boring. The
wine didn’t stir any emotion inside her. She set the empty glass
down and looked at the ceiling, listening. It was quiet again. She
glanced at the clock on the mantelpiece above the cooking range.
Eight thirty. Had the rain stopped?
    She
slipped from the stool, dusted her black jeans down and walked back
up the stairs to the ground floor. The dark windows in the
reception room revealed that it had stopped raining, although there
was no sign of the moon. She picked up her dark red jumper from the
back of the armchair and pulled it on. The fine strands of her rich
brown hair stood up, tousled by the neck of the jumper. She
smoothed them back and ran her hand down the length of her
ponytail. Her eyes strayed to the mirror on the far wall and she
walked over to it. She didn’t look as tired as she had done
recently and the few pounds she’d put on since her parents’ death
made her look more shapely. Her brow furrowed as she thought about
them. It had been so hard learning to live without them. Her aunt
had been so good to her and her two older sisters. She’d spent
weeks at their house, consoling them and cheering them up. It must
have been hard for her to lose her sister too. Pushing away from
the dark thoughts, Ashlyn stared into her almost black eyes for a
few seconds longer and then walked towards the French doors. She
slipped her black trainers on and then opened the doors and stepped
out onto the patio.
    The
clouds were thinning to reveal patches of dark sky and an
occasional hint of the moon. It turned them white and silver where
it hung in the heavens, throwing long shadows across the
garden.
    She
wandered aimlessly at first, letting her feet take her wherever
they wanted to roam, and then decided to head towards the woods.
The moon had no chance of penetrating the tall black pines. No
matter how hard she looked into the woods, nothing but darkness
greeted her. An owl hooted in some distant tree. A twig snapped
closer by, sending her heart racing. She stepped backwards, away
from the trees in case someone was in there watching her. Another
step and she hit something solid.
    It
moved.
    She
shrieked and turned on a pinpoint to face her attacker. He smiled
at her, still as handsome as she remembered him. Her cheeks blazed
with embarrassment. She’d never felt so foolish.
    “ I was coming to see you. I did not mean to frighten you,” he
said, honeyed tones warming her.
    “ I wasn’t scared.” She placed her hands on her hips to
emphasise her words, her head tilting back to show him her most
fearless expression.
    He
laughed.
    She
smiled at her own pathetic lie.
    “ Would you take a walk with me?” Those words made her heart
beat a little quicker. She blamed the wine. It always made her
giddy.
    “ Sure,” she said and started towards the fountain at a slow
pace. There was no need to rush. She looked up at the moon, clear
of cloud now, its full disc bright and almost blinding. It was
still early.
    He walked
beside her, a silence between them that felt peaceful and
comfortable. Her gaze took in his profile. There was still
something familiar about him, but she couldn’t place where she’d
seen him before. She must have done. He’d said that they’d met
before. Her eyes lowered to his clothes. His black jacket was just
like Mr. Darcy’s.
    “ I am sorry the weather has not been better for your stay,” he
whispered, as though he feared breaking the pleasant
silence.
    She
shrugged. “It’s Britain. It’s