Read Online Garden of the Moon by Elizabeth Sinclair - Free Book Online
Authors: Elizabeth Sinclair
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the table. “Let’s go into the garden. I need some fresh air.”
Julie followed her without a word. From the look on her face, Sara needed more than fresh air.
***
The garden was like none other Julie had ever seen. Everything from the unusual circular gate with the two, white marble dogs stationed on either side, to the profusion of snowy flowers went far beyond anything she could have imagined. In the distance, she could see the outline of a gazebo. She and Sara wound their way silently through the maze of gravel pathways that zigzagged through the garden.
Julie waited for Sara to speak. When she didn’t, Julie consigned her friend’s silence to grief she was still felling about losing her grandmother. She could have kicked herself for mentioning Sara’s grandmother. “I’m sorry I brought up your grandmother. I just thought that after five years—”
Sara raised her hand to stop Julie’s apology. “Please, don’t apologize. That’s not why I asked you to come out here.” She glanced at Julie. “I have something to tell you, and I didn’t want anyone else to hear us talking about it.”
Julie understood. Servants were well known for hearing everything that went on in the big house and then spreading the gossip like cotton seed throughout the slave community.
“Does this have anything to do with what you said earlier about you needing me now as much as I need you?” She hesitated before going on. “Does it have anything to do with that…that…thing you do?”
Julie was well aware, after having heard Sara’s complaints on her return to school from every vacation, how much her mother’s attitude toward her gift upset Sara. Being treated like a pariah by her own mother had to have been hard for her. Maybe it wasn’t wise to bring up the subject with Sara in such an agitated state, but the words were out, and it was too late for second-guessing.
Sara stopped walking and swung around to face her friend. As Julie had feared, anger tinted Sara’s cheeks a bright pink. “You’re my friend, and I’ve never hid it from you, so there’s no need for you to tiptoe around it. Just say it. I see dead people.”
Julie took a step back and held up her hands, palms out to ward off more of Sara’s anger. “Okay. You see dead people. What does that have to do with what’s bothering you? Talk to me, please.”
Instantly, Sara appeared contrite for her outburst. “I’m sorry.”
She dropped her gaze to her feet. Evidently, the wound her mother’s disapproval had inflicted on Sara’s heart hadn’t healed. And evidently something had happened to aggravate the situation.
Julie placed her hand on Sara’s forearm. She tilted her head to better see her friend’s face in the moonlight. “Sara?”
Without a word, Sara took Julie’s hand and led her to Gran’s favorite white, wrought iron bench nestled among a grouping of budding rose bushes and sheltered beneath the spreading branches of a towering magnolia tree. The tree’s deep green, leathery leaves glistened in the moonlight, and the heady mixture of the perfume from its saucer-sized, creamy blossoms vied with the moonflower’s intoxicating fragrance for dominance of the night air. The mixture made Sara lightheaded.
Once seated, Sara searched for the words to explain what had happened to her in the last few days. She raised her gaze to her friend’s. A strange light over Julie’s shoulder snagged Sara’s attention. The words froze on the tip of her tongue.
“Sara, what is it?”
Sara bolted to her feet. She could hear Julie, but she couldn’t answer her.
A few feet from them stood the figure of a man. Not just any man. It was the man from the window, the man in the portrait hanging in her bedroom. This time, she was certain he was Jonathan Bradford.
Chapter 5
Sara opened her mouth to explain her strange behavior to Julie, but before the words had passed her lips, the man’s image shimmered like heat waves and
Julie followed her without a word. From the look on her face, Sara needed more than fresh air.
***
The garden was like none other Julie had ever seen. Everything from the unusual circular gate with the two, white marble dogs stationed on either side, to the profusion of snowy flowers went far beyond anything she could have imagined. In the distance, she could see the outline of a gazebo. She and Sara wound their way silently through the maze of gravel pathways that zigzagged through the garden.
Julie waited for Sara to speak. When she didn’t, Julie consigned her friend’s silence to grief she was still felling about losing her grandmother. She could have kicked herself for mentioning Sara’s grandmother. “I’m sorry I brought up your grandmother. I just thought that after five years—”
Sara raised her hand to stop Julie’s apology. “Please, don’t apologize. That’s not why I asked you to come out here.” She glanced at Julie. “I have something to tell you, and I didn’t want anyone else to hear us talking about it.”
Julie understood. Servants were well known for hearing everything that went on in the big house and then spreading the gossip like cotton seed throughout the slave community.
“Does this have anything to do with what you said earlier about you needing me now as much as I need you?” She hesitated before going on. “Does it have anything to do with that…that…thing you do?”
Julie was well aware, after having heard Sara’s complaints on her return to school from every vacation, how much her mother’s attitude toward her gift upset Sara. Being treated like a pariah by her own mother had to have been hard for her. Maybe it wasn’t wise to bring up the subject with Sara in such an agitated state, but the words were out, and it was too late for second-guessing.
Sara stopped walking and swung around to face her friend. As Julie had feared, anger tinted Sara’s cheeks a bright pink. “You’re my friend, and I’ve never hid it from you, so there’s no need for you to tiptoe around it. Just say it. I see dead people.”
Julie took a step back and held up her hands, palms out to ward off more of Sara’s anger. “Okay. You see dead people. What does that have to do with what’s bothering you? Talk to me, please.”
Instantly, Sara appeared contrite for her outburst. “I’m sorry.”
She dropped her gaze to her feet. Evidently, the wound her mother’s disapproval had inflicted on Sara’s heart hadn’t healed. And evidently something had happened to aggravate the situation.
Julie placed her hand on Sara’s forearm. She tilted her head to better see her friend’s face in the moonlight. “Sara?”
Without a word, Sara took Julie’s hand and led her to Gran’s favorite white, wrought iron bench nestled among a grouping of budding rose bushes and sheltered beneath the spreading branches of a towering magnolia tree. The tree’s deep green, leathery leaves glistened in the moonlight, and the heady mixture of the perfume from its saucer-sized, creamy blossoms vied with the moonflower’s intoxicating fragrance for dominance of the night air. The mixture made Sara lightheaded.
Once seated, Sara searched for the words to explain what had happened to her in the last few days. She raised her gaze to her friend’s. A strange light over Julie’s shoulder snagged Sara’s attention. The words froze on the tip of her tongue.
“Sara, what is it?”
Sara bolted to her feet. She could hear Julie, but she couldn’t answer her.
A few feet from them stood the figure of a man. Not just any man. It was the man from the window, the man in the portrait hanging in her bedroom. This time, she was certain he was Jonathan Bradford.
Chapter 5
Sara opened her mouth to explain her strange behavior to Julie, but before the words had passed her lips, the man’s image shimmered like heat waves and
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