The Ruby Locket Read Online Free Page A

touched his back.
                  He trembled under my fingertips.
                  Feeling bolder, I turned him around to face me. He’d grown pale. “Please tell me what’s wrong.” My hands felt restless, so I folded my arms around my waist. “I suppose it’s possible to love someone and have little passion. I’m willing to marry you even if you don’t have those kinds of feelings for me. But am I that undesirable?”
                  Ivan looked at me, his eyes a darker hue than I had ever seen. “You are desirable to me.”
                  “Please tell me what’s troubling you.” I reached up to his face, cradling his cheek in my hand again.
                  Ivan started to speak and then paused. “I do care for you in every way.” He took in a deep breath and looked at me with the saddest eyes. “It’s a cliché to say I’ve waited a lifetime for you, and yet for me, it is far beyond that.”
                  His declaration was a mystery, but his affection moved me. My fingers touched his lips. “So you understand me then?”
                  “Yes.” Ivan kissed the palm of my hand. “Tokeletesen megertem.” Then he placed the engagement ring on my finger. “It means I understand perfectly.”
                  From the way he stared at my lips, I knew that he’d been fully persuaded. I smiled and closed my eyes. Waiting.
                  Ivan lowered his lips to my mouth, but he paused just before we touched. Our breath mingled. Was it indecision, or was he trying to gain my attention? I hadn’t expected such a tug of emotion within my body, such expectancy. A new awareness filled me, taking me by surprise. I reached up to him and eased his lips to mine. There was little warmth in our contact, but the union was not unpleasant.
                  He pulled away for a moment. When he caught my gaze, his eyes appeared misty, but his expression was unwavering. This time when Ivan leaned down to my lips there was no more hesitation, no more need for persuasion. He kissed me at length and with fervor.
                  Then Ivan slipped a scarlet ribbon from his pocket, swept my hair from my shoulders, and as his fingertips lighted across my skin, he tied the piece of satin around my hair. What kind of sweet bewitchment was this? I felt myself descending as Ivan let his finger glide from my temple to my chin. Then he bent down and kissed the exposed curve of my neck.
                  Up from the vast grounds rose a lone and savage howl. Was that a wolf—in these parts? Couldn’t be. I’d never been one to be overly undone from noises heard in the night. And yet this sound, this wailing cry echoing through the forest, held anything but comfort.

 
     
    Chapter Four
    Anne
     
    T he food spread out on the long, polished table redefined the word “breakfast.” There were bowls overflowing with fresh fruit, frosted pastries, glass carafes of different juices—one for every color of the rainbow. There was steaming coffee, a dozen types of cereal, and bagels heavy with cream cheese and smoked salmon.
                  I paused outside of the arched doorway leading into the breakfast room, just so I could take it all in. “Whoa. Is this all for us?”
                  Mom stopped in her tracks too. “I suppose so.”
                  Ever since we had entered the main house, Mom’s eyes had taken on kind of a glassed-over look, like she couldn’t quite register what she was seeing. I couldn’t blame her. The inside of Belrose Abbey was just as grand as the outside. Marble statues, massive oil paintings, ornate antiques, winding staircases, vast rooms, and echoing ceilings. Miss Easton had led us through so many doors and hallways that I was already hopelessly lost. If only Belrose were outfitted with those “You are here” signs,