Forgotten Time (Ravenhurst Series, #1) A New Adult Time Travel Romance Read Online Free PDF Page A

into the distance across a vast countryside. Dark clouds gathered above his head, and his cloak billowed out from behind. He looked sad.
    A brief glimpse of him in misery flashed across her mind, leaving her saddened to her core. Her heart went out to him. She tried to recall where she may have seen him before, but couldn’t grasp it; there was nothing tangible. She shook herself, determined to have a good time, and made herself move from his portrait. She took another small sip of champagne and instantly wished she took the bottle instead of just two glasses when she saw the other portrait.
    This one showed a man leaning against a mantel in a library or study. Katherine could swear the room turned colder as soon as she looked at the unpleasant man in the portrait.
    It was disturbing; there was no other word for it. He was not unattractive, but his eyes were cold, unfeeling, like he wanted to, or did some foul deed. She rubbed her arms to try to ward off the unpleasantness, but the feeling held tight. She strode as quickly as she could to the next painting.
    Katherine froze and her heart skipped a beat. She could hardly take a breath, staring into the eyes of yet another man. He was all alone on a grassy hilltop, with this very estate as the backdrop. He was smiling. He was perfect .
    Disjointed images hit her in waves, making her stomach lurch. She felt like she was going to be sick. Then she saw him in another time, laughing; then for a split second, his gray eyes flashed anger before they softened. She could see the love in them, which warmed her all over. She barely caught her breath when another image hit her. This time, his beautiful face was devastated. Her heart dropped as she watched him suffering. Then, just as suddenly, his eyes went blank, devoid of all expression. There was no spark of life, anger, or love; he became nothing more than a shell of emptiness.
    Katherine couldn’t take it; it felt worse than his suffering. Her breath squeezed from her chest.
    She turned away, choking back a sob. It was horrible; she could not stand seeing him like that. But the vision did not fade. It stuck in her mind, suffocating her. She closed her eyes and concentrated on breathing, trying to alleviate the terrible feeling.
    After a few moments, the feeling abated a little, but not entirely. She walked away from the painting, towards another painting at the far end of the room. This one stood all alone in the corner, where she could not see. Her feet were moving, but her mind wanted no part of where they were taking her. A friction began to build in the air. She stopped in front of the last portrait. She lifted her glass and gulped her champagne, while she squeezed her eyes tightly shut. She was being a coward, she knew, but she did not want to look. Finally, she forced her eyes open and immediately wished she hadn’t. Recognition slammed through her. Her mind screamed, “ This can’t be happening !” as her world fell away, turning everything black.

<>*LB*<>
    Ravenhurst, Victorian England
    T he Earl of Ravenhurst, Sebastian de Winter, looked out his library window, toward the setting sun, watching it disappear into the coming night. He couldn’t help thinking it was vanishing, just as Marguerite had, without a trace.
    He let out a heavy sigh. She was certainly not his first choice for a bride, and would not have been a candidate at all, if Sebastian had any say in the matter. He was quite content with his life just the way it was. When he wanted a woman, he bedded one. There was no rhyme or reason to his choosing; he enjoyed all women and they him. He had yet to hear a complaint.
    He laughed lightly, remembering Annabelle’s horrified expression when he told her he was getting married.

    “What do you mean you are getting married?” Annabelle Dandridge shrilled out loudly, pushing her long, red, curling hair away from her face. Her blue eyes ignited in anger.
    “Sorry, love; I don’t know what to tell you. A man has