Read Online Love Entwined by Danita Minnis - Free Book Online

murmured, turning back to the abbey’s stone walls, aged and covered in lichen as if the earth had given birth to it.
    Just as she knew there was no brochure, she knew this three hundred-year-old abbey. She also knew she must not tell Roman how the name had come to her as it came into view, sitting tall on a hill overlooking the valley where more sheep grazed.
    He noticed her interest and slowed the car. She kept her eyes on the tall mahogany doors and felt that same step back in time as she had when she’d first arrived at St. Clair Manor.
    She closed her eyes and in her mind’s eye saw the sunlight streaming down from stained glass window casements onto polished pews, painting the wood in rainbow colors. Footfalls against the stone floor inside broke the peaceful silence.
    When the hymn began, it was not with the joyous melody she’d expected. Incense and candelabra left a haze over the congregation as the weeping filled her ears. It was a funeral mass. She had died so young…
    Her eyes flew open.
    “Want to have a look inside?” Roman was smiling at her.
    “No. Let’s drive on.”
    He gave her a curious look but put his foot down on the accelerator and they sped away.
    She watched the road in silence for a while and wondered if she might be going a little bit crazy in England. She’d managed to leave those disturbing dreams behind in New York and now, Yorkshire’s historic landmarks were giving her the chills.
    And why couldn’t she leave the name Jacqueline behind with her dreams? Lately, she could not doodle on a sketchpad without the name popping up. Then there was a woman with auburn curls in the manor that no one else would admit to seeing. But Roman had seen her. Why, they had practically chased the woman down at Scarborough Castle earlier, but he refused to admit it.
    Amelie was torn between a bizarre excitement of the happenings and a very real fear of what was unknown to her. What were the reasons for these occurrences and why were they happening to her?
    * * * *
    They reached a distinctive set of rolling hills when Roman stopped the Porsche.
    “I want to show you something.” He helped Amelie out of the car and motioned for her to follow him over to a padlocked gate. Taking a set of keys from his pocket, he unlocked the gate and they continued on foot up a grassy path.
    A deer broke through the brush and stopped in its tracks when it saw them, then darted straight across the trail in front of them.
    Amelie tried to coax the deer back with sweet words and started to follow it, but the deer ran off.
    He helped her over a rock-strewn path and they walked up a slight incline. “This was once a deer park, covering thousands of acres. Over the years most of the deer have been captured in the hunt.”
    He leaned against a tree as she stared out over the rolling countryside and in that moment he realized that she needed this. A break from the city, her job. He waited until she turned back to him, with a content smile on her face.
    “We’re restoring this park to what it once was, teeming with deer.” He led her off the passageway to a hidden dell. A crisp breeze blew and a gurgling brook eddied through the rocks. Eyeing her skirt, he took off his jacket. He was spreading it on a boulder when she stopped him and sat down. “I’m fine. It’s a brisk day. I like it.”
    He stretched out next to her, leaning up on an elbow. “An outdoorswoman. I knew you were made for me.”
    “It is beautiful here,” she said. “England is beautiful.”
    “Is it so different where you grew up?”
    “Not really different.” She scanned the forest. There was nothing but vibrant greens, buttery golds, and rich browns as far as she could see. “Just smaller.”
    He laughed. Her laughter made him stop laughing. Hers was a beautiful laugh, light and carefree and he wanted to hear more of it.
    “My parents still live in Rouen. I remember when I would sit in the back of my father’s shop sketching shoes and playing