A Time for Love
By
Donna Hernandez
Kindle EDITION
* * * * *
PUBLISHED BY:
Hernandez Inc Publishing
A Time for Love
Copyright © 2012 by Donna Hernandez
All rights reserved. Except for the use in any review, the reproduction of utilization of this work in whole or part in any form of any electronic mechanical or under means, now know or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying or recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system is forbidden without the permission of the publisher and author.
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This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously
A Time for Love
Chapter One
The sun was warm upon her face as she made her way across the huge lawn, only recently mowed judging by the smell as the air was filled with the overpowering fresh scent of recently cut grass. It was a scent that took her back in time to when she was a young girl playing with her friends in the summers between school terms. Back then, the summers had seemed to last forever, almost timeless. The sounds of children laughing somewhere behind her reminded her of the long summer days spent roaming the streets of Winsgown with her best friend, Amy, both searching for a long lost treasure, hidden by the generations long since passed away. They never found any treasure but the experience had molded Rachael into the person she had become – an old-fashioned romantic that adored everything about the past, especially the dashing gentlemen who swept women off their feet in the early 20th century. Looking up at Winsgown Manor, comprised of a huge main building and several smaller buildings and additions clearly newer than the original structure, Rachael felt a familiar shiver of excitement. As a young girl, the huge Manor of Winsgown had fascinated her and each afternoon as she passed by the huge wrought iron gates she would stand and stare at the old but beautiful building with its dozens of windows and chimneys, in love with the historical grandness of the main building. She had sworn, all those years ago, that somehow she would find herself beyond those gates and inside the grounds, exploring and soaking in the majesty of what had once been inhabited by lords and ladies dressed in regal attire while servants were at hand to cater to their every need.
Outside the main house, a sleek red sports car was parked by the entrance, at the foot of the steps spoiling the effect somewhat and Rachael did her best to ignore it, looking up instead at the finely decorated double doors that would lead into the interior of the house. At the foot of the steps, she turned and waited for her students to catch up, watching them as they approached, chattering excitedly. She smiled, they were excited but she knew her own eagerness to explore the interior of the 15th century manor far surpassed their own. This field trip was something she had been planning for months, ever since she became the history teacher at Winsgown Primary School. She had studied its history and knew everything about the old manor. Although it had once been the domain of a long line of lords, it was now just a mansion owned by a local businessman, Mr. Fairgreen who had spent millions on it. He had been kind enough to allow her onto the grounds with her students and had assured her that today she would have the manor to herself and her students. Good. She would certainly make use of the freedom afforded her by the owner.
Her students finally arrived and together they made their way up to the entrance where she split them into groups and handed out the maps provided by Mr. Fairgreen. Each group was accompanied by a servant who would lead the students throughout the house for the next 2 hours and at the end of the tour, they would be treated to a fine meal in the dining room. Although she knew she shouldn’t, Rachael couldn’t resist breaking off from the rest and exploring on her own. Making sure none of the servants noticed her as they went about their daily business; Rachael separated from the rest at the top of the marble stairs and followed a long carpeted corridor towards the east of the building. She knew where she was going. She had studied the layout of the house until she knew it by heart and now as she headed towards her goal, her heart began to thump faster as she became excited at the prospect of what she might find.
The stairs leading up to the attic were steep and narrow and Rachael had to tread carefully to ensure she didn’t fall, keeping her excitement in check as she made her way towards the door at the top. As she had walked through the long and winding corridors of the house, paintings of previous lords and ladies of Winsgown Manor had adorned the walls and they were all clearly old and valuable, still, she hadn’t found what she was looking for. As she placed her hand upon the cool metal of the door handle, she breathed in the musty smell of history that seemed to pervade the air around her, the smell was stronger here and she knew she was close. Turning the handle, Rachael was pleased to discover that the door was unlocked and as it opened she gasped in delight at the sight before her. It was as she had imagined it.
