Immortal Beauty Read Online Free PDF Page B

no part of. All her life she was accustomed to an easy existence and now she was helpless against the tide that was threatening to sweep over the entire country.
    “Madame Corbet!” A loud whisper came from the trees to her left. Her heart leapt out convulsively and grabbed her chest to still the beating. Slowly from behind one of the ancient arbors appeared a young man certainly no older than herself. He was so obviously handsome. She smiled gracefully and knew instantly that he was her lover.
    “Etienne! You will be the death of me! How dare you frighten me so?” She could not stop the smile from spreading across her face. She pretended to be upset but he knew her far better than that. The man with dark blonde hair pulled in a low ponytail so very like the American Revolutionaries and even in the darkness his light gray eyes sparkled with amusement.
    “Your beauty will be the death of me my love.” He grabbed one of her hands and raised it to his generous lips.
    “Ah…you have such a way with words my darling. But honestly do we have to meet like this in the darkness like criminals? It’s absurd!” She tried to sound hurt. His arms reached out for her shoulders and he stared into her eyes causing her to weaken. My god he was beautiful, she thought…or was it Sasha now?
    “You know we have to be careful these days Helene.” He acted as if he were scolding a petulant child. “Everywhere we turn there are spies. Every salon is brimming with them. You cannot be too careful. One wrong word and the King could strip away our titles and sell them to some commoner. It happened only last week to Charles. Now he has nothing. Last month he was the toast of Paris and now he is fleeing France in fear for his life. I’m afraid things are only going to get worse.” His hands moved down her arms until his fingers entwined with her own. She suddenly felt calm and unafraid. Slowly he raised one of her hands to his lips and began to kiss her fingers, then her wrist. She began to yield to him and started to forget where they were.
    “Etienne. Not here!” She pulled her hands away and returned them to the warmth of the cloak. “We should go into the pavilion. No one will see us there….come.” She pulled his arm playfully and teased him until they were outside a small pavilion in the heart of the garden. It was completely round and very charming. Helene loved it the minute the architect had shown her the design and had to have it for herself in the very heart of her beloved park. Hidden by the trees it was truly her retreat. This was her secret place and it was the one place on Earth where she allowed herself to be herself completely and absolutely without any of the pretense or posturing that consumed most of her social life. It was her favorite place too because it was here that she and Etienne existed without the troubles of the world from intruding. He grabbed her and kissed her passionately for a moment or two before they entered their tiny little paradise. Under the moonlight they were perfect and complete, unaware of the storm that was about to descend upon them. The trees shivered in the wind whispering nothing to the heavy night. Quietly Helene opened the door and they entered it almost reverently as if they were a little timid of what lay before them. She led him in with a smile and he laughed nervously taking one last look at the park around him. Satisfied that they were alone he followed her in.
    Sasha squinted her eyes against the invading light. It was morning. She glanced at her clock to see that she had overslept. No time for a bath which was not such a big deal overseas. She jumped out of bed quickly and filled her sink with hot water. A basin bath is what her mother used to call it. So many reminders of her mother lay like little landmines waiting to explode all over her heart in each and every day. She learned very quickly that you never get over the loss of a loved one, you simply change your life. Her