Timeless Whisper (Timeless Hearts Series Book 1) Read online

  Raven soaked up the interior of the room. This room was unlike the hallway, where the walls were gray and the doors, skirting, and floors were the same shiny mahogany. The dense gloominess broken up only by the large windows at both ends and sunlight, which reflected off the beautiful portraits and their large gold frames dressing the walls.

  In here, the room was alive with bright cheery colors of baby pink, lilac, and slashes of burnt orange sprinkled in between. A voluminous lace canopy four-poster bed filled the room. Along with a redwood chest of drawers, three-sided mirror dressing table, and a large oak chest at the foot of the bed.

  Next to the bathroom was another door. Without thinking she moved toward it and opened the door to a dressing room. Women’s clothes, and shoes covered one wall, with men’s attire on the other. Straight ahead was another door.

  The room seemed to narrow as the door come closer and closer. She closed her eyes and shook her head to rid herself of the sensation of being pulled forward. Raven opened her eyes and blinked, and the sensation subsided. She stepped out of the room and closed the door.

  Leaning against it, she rubbed at her temple. The house was like a Chinese puzzle block with all the squares looking the same, but were uniquely different and serving their own purpose. She'd been here before. But how? She’d never stepped farther then the living room of the Thornton house. Or seen Lance's bedroom.

  When they were together, most of their time was spent outdoors under the moonlight, or in town with the others. Yet, there was a familiarity about this room which made her feel a part of it...at home, as if this was her bedroom. Decorated to her own specifications, except for the quilt covering the bed. That looked like something her mother would have made with the other women from her sewing bee.

  Pain shot through her skull. She clasped her hands to her head and fell to her knees with the voice inside her head screeching for her to remember, over and over. Remember what? Inside her head felt as if she had a hive of bee, buzzing around in her brain. They filled her ears and mind, traveling through her body like static electricity.

  She screamed, "Please go...I can’t remember what I don’t know. For heaven’s sake, remember what?" A black veil cloaked her vision, then she began to free fall, sucked into the black void of nothingness.

  Sunlight warmed her skin, and glowed orange inside her eyelids. The smell of summer fruit resided fresh and sweet in her nostrils as bird song caressed her ears, along with lips warm and full pressed to hers. She opened her eyes and realized the heat she felt wasn't only coming from the midday sun. But from the arms that engulfed her, crushing her against a hard, manly chest. Long, dark hair brushed her cheek and a strong forehead met her vision.

  She pulled away as her heart rate soared to new heights, accompanied by the heavy vibration from his chest to hers. Goose bumps crawled along her skin as she fought for breath. It took a while for Raven to realize these were not her eyes, feelings or her body. It was as if she was outside her body looking through the window of somebody else's world.

  Like two minds occupying the same space at the same time. It wasn't her lips being kissed but the face she recognized as Lance's. He was much softer than he was now, but he had the same scar in the middle of his eyebrow. It wasn't her Lance.

  "I'm so glad you agreed to marry me, Charlotte. For a time there, I thought you were going to choose Hank."

  "By blackmailing my father, you haven't given me much of a choice, have you?"

  "I only did that to make sure you would go through with the wedding. You must see, I'm a better man when you’re with me. You fill the hole left by the loss of my family. With you by my side I feel alive. Most importantly, I feel. I thought I never would again. Apart from Ryder, nothing and no one touches me. I grew afraid."

  He cupped what should have been her cheeks, but she couldn’t really feel his touch. It was more of a sensation, like a memory. The cold stare she’d gotten used to was no longer there, replaced by a defenseless truth.

  "This is too much of a burden to place on me, Lance. What if I'm...I'm not strong enough or even the one you truly need? I love Hank too, things are simpler with him. He doesn't scare me the way you do."

  He stood and walked a few steps away with his back to her. "Never speak of Appleton in my presence. He is nothing. A nobody."

  "You see there." Raven felt the panic emerge in the other woman. "There's a violence in you I don't think I have the capacity to control."

  "If not you, then who, Charlotte? Who will fill my emptiness? The day you fell from the tree and gave me this scar." His fingers followed his words. "My life changed. I was moved by you, and you continue to move me. I don't want to go back to feeling nothing. I won't go back to it."

  He returned and sat beside her under the shade of a fruit tree—drawing her back into his arms as if being parted from her left him vulnerable. "We belong together, I know it my heart."

  He placed her hand over his heart. Its rhythm pierced through her fingers and touched Raven to the point of tears as her heartbeat synced with his.

  "Appleton doesn't make you come alive the way I do. The passion in your kiss tells me how much you feel the same. Yet you fight against it...why?"

  In this cloud of madness, Raven empathized with the emotions coming from Lance. Didn't she feel the same way about future Lance and wished he'd been that way with her. Unable to control the urge, she reached out her hand to stroke his cheek. But they were not her fingers which caressed the contour of his face or her words which were uttered next.

  "You're right. When I'm with you, I'm consumed with a passion so intensifying, I feel governed by it. But it's not real, and it could never last. You'll grow to hate me, and I couldn't bear it. We are blinded by feelings, which feel unnatural to me. It's as if I'm bewitched."

  "So, what do we do? The wedding is tomorrow?" His eyes glistened with unshed tears.

  "I will honor my promise. But you must release the hold you have on my father first, or I can never truly trust you."

  "As you wish. I will see your father this evening and free him from his obligation. You will stay here with me. I have your room ready just as you asked."

  He rose and held his hand out for her. She took it, and he pulled her to her feet and into his arms. "I love you, Charlotte Springfield, never forget that. I will never tire of you. Your fears are unfounded."

  He placed a finger to her lips, shushing her response.

  "No, don't speak. Trust in me. We should be getting back. We've a long day ahead of us."

  They left the orchard hand in hand but Raven could sense a deep struggle of treachery and deceit, mingled with doubt and sorrow from the woman whose mind she occupied.

  Chapter 15

  They approached the house from the rear of the building. The silence between them and the atmosphere seemed dense, even though they were outside in the open air. Mrs. Jennings greeted them at the back door. She'd been helping another younger woman hang bedsheets onto a clothesline. She told the other woman to carry on without her, then wiped her hands down the front of her dress.

  "Miss Charlotte, it's good to see you. I have your room ready, Mr. Thornton. Mr. Lucore is waiting for you in the study. You can come with me, Miss Charlotte."

  Charlotte went to follow Mrs. Jennings, but Lance grabbed her arm and drew her to him, staring longingly into her eyes. Raven's heart fluttered at the intensity of his gaze. He leaned in and kissed her cheek.

  "I'll see you at lunch. I hope you like your room."

  With that, he strode ahead of them into the house. Mrs. Jennings took her arm and led her forward.

  "How's your pa?"

  "He's quite well, thank you for asking. He asked me to give you this note."

  "Thank you." Mrs. Jennings took the note and without reading it, slipped into the pocket of her dress. "I think you will like your room. Mr. Thornton has provided you with some beautiful dresses. He gave me instructions to see you were properly dressed for lunch with him, the uncles, and other gue
sts who've arrived for your big day tomorrow."

  Raven knew before the door was open what room it was. It was exactly as she'd seen it earlier.

  However, seeing it through the eyes of Charlotte Springfield, feeling and tasting the emotions coming from her host body, made Raven nauseous. This woman mind was riddled with guilt as thick as molasses. Conflict burned hot within her. She moved over to the mirror to gaze at her reflection. Raven was struck by the likeness, and insulted at the same time. This woman's hair had split ends, lacked luster and shine, her skin was ashy and could use moisturizing. Maybe a cleansing mask and blackhead nose strip.

  Her hair, was on point...it's L’Oréal shine, bounce, and all over body was nowhere near as tragic as this woman's. Raven prided herself on her flawless skin. So there was a slight resemblance, but this woman's eyebrows were a jungle in urgent need of deforestation, with a waxing strip and tweezers to excavate her unibrow.

  Would she turn into this without her cosmetologist to hand, if she was stuck in this time? She probably had arm hair too. Raven wanted to scream. Her hands rose to the side of her head, and paused as her attention was distracted by the vision through the mirror of Mrs. Jennings reading the note Charlotte had given her. Her face drained of color afterward, and Charlotte spun around to face the older woman.

  "Is anything the matter, Mrs. Jennings?"

  Mrs. Jennings scrunched up the note and shoved it back into her pocket, giving a forced chuckle. "Everything’s fine, whatever would make you ask such a thing? Come, let me show you the closet. You might want to pick something to wear for lunch. Mr. Thornton has filled it with all the latest fashion. I'm sure you will find something here to your liking," she said, color slowly returning to her cheeks.

  "That door, where does it lead?" Charlotte pointed to the door at the end of the room.

  "To Mr. Thornton's bedroom. There’s no need to worry as he will be staying in town with Mr. Lucore for the night. As will all the menfolk. He won't be using that door until after you're married." She smiled and patted Charlotte's arm.

  "You won't be needing your old things. Your father has asked me to return them. Now pick something for me to help you into, or you'll be late for lunch."

  Lunch was quite the family affair; Uncle Teddy was there with his wife and two sons. Raven discovered Lance had a younger aunt and uncle, Joshua and Mary. Both a few years younger than him. They had a different mother from his father and uncle.

  Charlotte seemed to know them and appeared quite friendly with Joshua’s wife and their son Jacob, whom they called Jake. They lived on neighboring land from what Raven could gather from the conversation they were having, as they ate their meal.

  The longer her conscious mind stayed trapped within Charlotte's, the worse Raven felt. A wave of panic came over her. What if she was stuck here to relive the memories of another woman over and over. She closed her eyes, and opened them again quickly. No, she was still trapped in here.

  Although she had no body of her own, she felt tense and afraid. Her eyes darted around the room. No one knew she was here. What was happening to her own body? Why was this happening to her? She felt stifled, caught in a scene of a bad movie. She wanted to be free. She clutched her imaginary stomach, unable to breath or hold back her tears.

  She was freaking out and she didn't even have her own body to do it in. Then everything went black.

  "I'm sorry, Raven. This must all seem quite overwhelming for you."

  The voice in her head was back. Did this mean she'd returned to her own body and this nightmare was over? She opened eyes she hadn't realized she’d closed. Charlotte was with her in what looked like her old apartment in New York. The tightness in her head loosened, the thumping in her chest slowed, but didn't return to normal. She was hot one minute, cold the next, sweat seeped from her pores but when she placed a hand to her forehead, she was dry. None of this made any sense. Was she back or not?

  "No, you’re not back, and this isn't your apartment. I had to put you under so I could talk to you face to face. This would have been so much easier if you’d let Cissie help you when you first arrived."

  Raven clasped the side of her head. Eyes closed, she began shaking it from side to side, then rocking back and forth. "None of this is real, none of this is real. I've lost my mind, that’s it? Isn't it? The pressure of losing my dad along with my livelihood, I've finally snapped, haven't I?"

  "No, you haven't but you need to be in a heightened state of awareness for me to contact you like this. I need you to calm down, but not too much or we’ll have to do this again. I can't crossover without you, and Lance can't move forward unless you stay and fix what I’ve broken."

  Crossover? Was she trying to tell her she was talking to a dead person?

  Well if she needed her to be stressed out so she could talk to her, she better start talking. Raven couldn't be any more freaked out.

  Chapter 16

  "Why me?" Raven’s fingers scraped her throat. Her mind was in a tailspin as she stared wide-eyed at the poised woman seated in front of her.

  "It could only be you. For over five generations I've only had male descendants until your mother, and then the conditions weren't right."

  "Weren't right? What do you mean?" Raven raised a brow. Why was she listening to this? Then again, where could she go? She was stuck here, wherever here was. Her mind felt ready to explode.

  "There had to be a Lance in your time for you to fall in love with. That way you could lose him and know the pain of a lost love. It was the only way."

  "I don't understand." This was all too surreal. At first, she thought she was dreaming. Her emotional attachment to Lance, coupled with her anger toward him, had blinded her to everything around her. Now this—her hold on reality was being tested and she was failing.

  "Your Lance of 2017 is not your soulmate. This one is. You have to make him forget me and love you, for you."

  "I'm...I'm losing my mind, aren't I? Come on, you can tell me."

  "No, you’re not." She shuffled in her seat.

  Raven laughed, a hollow aching sound. "You're expecting me to believe I'm here talking with a dead ancestor, while unconscious in the year 1880? At the same time, you want me to accept my love for a man I've known most of my life is not real, but a stop gap until you could bring me here...to that miserable self-righteous, killjoy, wearing Lance's face?"

  "I expect you to be quiet and listen. We don't have much time. I didn't want this, but I'm stuck in limbo with Lance's malevolent spirit hunting me down, and until you fix things, neither Lance nor I can rest. I'm tired of running, Raven. I need you to help me set things back on course. To take a leap of faith and believe me. What’s happening here is real."

  As poised as the other woman appeared, Raven began to see through the cracks in her exterior, her eyes were sunken and filled with sorrow. Her posture was not as composed as she first thought. She watched as Charlotte wrung her hands in her lap.

  Then she sighed. "He wasn't always this pompous. There was a time when his smile held a warmth so sweet it made me weak at the knees. He went from being a cold, aloof young man to a kind, gentle soul. He has known much sorrow and feels guilty he was allowed to live when his parents and sister died so painfully," Charlotte said, her voice barely above a whisper, as if talking to herself.

  "I find it hard to believe he didn't just move on. How could anyone change so completely over being jilted? "

  "Really?” Charlotte tilted her head and glared at her. “Did you move on?” Her chest rose, and she took a deep breath.

  “Why do you think I believe you’re the right one to save Lance from himself? You’re as intense with your feelings as he is.” She raised a bushy brow. “Have you ever loved another?"

  Raven fell silent as she pondered what Charlotte said. It was true, she had never even looked at another man since Lance broke up with her.

  She’d buried herself in her studies and then her career, never allowing herself any time to seek a full and lastin
g relationship. Raven had never gone out with a man past the first date. They’d always felt empty. She'd been searching for something deeper, more substantial, and knew that her search would be over once she recognized it.

  Was the Lance with the scar it? He certainly moved her in ways she hadn't experienced for a long time. Say her ancestor was right. How could she make him love her, when he'd clearly shown he couldn't stand a bone in her body? And if she did manage to pull it off, how would she know he loved her, and not the idea of her looking like Charlotte?

  These were all question she wanted to ask, but was afraid of the answers. Her Lance would be married by now. She had a chance to make a life with a man who looked like him. She could channel her unrequited feelings there. Could she love him? Was she capable of loving anyone else?

  "No," she answered her own question out loud.

  Charlotte must have thought Raven’s “no” was her answer. In a way it was. "And neither will Lance if you don't give him this chance."

  Before any decision could be made she had to know something. "Why did you run away?"

  "I didn't. I was forced. I had every intention of honoring my commitment. The decision was taken away from me by Hank and my father. I was abducted on my way to the church. At the time, I was mad, but by the time I was married to Hank, I knew my father made the right choice for me. My feelings for Lance were lascivious. It would never have stood the test of time.”

  Charlotte smiled softly.

  “My love for Hank was pure, stable, and fulfilling. We had forty blissful, wonderful years together. However, I’m still burdened with the guilt of leaving Lance without a word, knowing his fate was in my hands. He will die two months from now if I can’t change things. He became bitter and twisted, worse after Ryder mysteriously disappeared, taking to drinking and gambling. It eventually cost him his life. He accused a very bad man of cheating and was gunned down. His land was divided between his father's siblings. So if you fail, Lance will be cut down, wretched, desperate, and alone."