at best, and she might go home having forgotten he existed at all. Then what would Portia and her father make of it?
What a mess!
CHAPTER SEVEN
For Liv, the next hour passed like a beautiful dream. All of the strangeness she had experienced seemed to fade away. There was just the handsome Rene holding her hand like he never wanted to let it go, and the beautiful Jane, whose comforting presence made the strangeness less threatening.
What had possessed her to hide in that wardrobe when she heard footsteps approaching Rene’s bedroom door, she had no idea. Neither did she know what drove her to dive out of the wardrobe, and follow him into the bright light that had appeared in the room. It had all seemed preordained somehow, as if she was simply following her destiny, without the need of rational decision-making. ‘Following your heart’, Portia would have called it. And that was what she had done, as she saw the first man she had ever felt affection for disappearing into who-knew-where. She couldn’t let him go alone. Her destiny and his were somehow bound.
Those had been the insane thoughts that had passed through her mind as she entered that blinding white-light that had hummed so loudly she thought her head would explode. For several terrible seconds, she had thought she had lost him. There was nothing there but her, and yet she couldn’t even see her feet beneath her. Then, she’d finished the step, and instead of the Persian carpet underfoot, there had been sandstone. And, instead of a bedroom at Foxmoor Manor, there was a vast, underground cavern filled with twinkling lights, and a massive stone doorway with ancient symbols engraved into it.
But, for all the strangeness, there had been a sense of peace, too, because she could now see Rene, and he was holding onto her as if she truly mattered to him. His blue eyes had been wild when he looked at her. And he’d clung to her arm as her legs gave way under her. Shocked, horrified and distressed as he was, he didn’t reject her. Instead, he seemed protective of her, as if she was his responsibility now.
When the beautiful goddess had come to her side, she had thought the familiarity between them meant they were lovers. But that had been cleared up later. The beautiful goddess was called Jane, and her husband was the handsome Portuguese man who had demanded answers from the shocked Rene.
She didn’t remember much after that. Somehow, they had brought her up here to this garden, and for the first time she’d felt as if everything was going to be all right. The world would stop spinning off its axis, and right itself in time, just as Jane said it would. Then she would be able to make sense of it all.
New Atlantis. Yes, it had the feel of a place with a name like that. And everyone here wore roman togas and classical gowns, just as they had in times gone by. It was a peaceful place with no jarring noise to agitate the mind.
As she lazed with her companions like a lizard in the sun, she noticed three people heading their way along the white path between the colourful beds of flowers. One was a giant Nordic man, who was holding the hand of the beautiful, blonde woman at his side. The third was a small, oriental gentleman who seemed to be as calm as his surroundings.
They all wore the classical costumes that she had seen everywhere since her arrival. Staring at the men’s legs and the woman’s calves seemed indecent, but no more than staring at a Grecian statue. And it was important that she remember what her grandfather had taught her about journeying to strange, unEnglish places: This was their world. Her customs didn’t apply here. She must adapt to her surroundings, while she observed their ways. Liv realised with a jolt that it would be refreshing to put aside her society’s strict mores for a time, and just go with what was acceptable to others.
The three strangers slowed down as they reached Liv and her companions. The woman separated herself from the other two, and moved forward first.
‘Well met Rene, I see you accidentally brought us a visitor. Would you introduce us, please?’ The woman with white-blonde hair said, as she came to stand in front of Liv.
‘Certainly, Miss Livianna Mulgrave, may I introduce Cara and her husband Jac. They are both leaders of our