She saw the look of disbelief on Raige's face as he threw down his sword and grabbed her in his arms.
"My God, Jade, what have I done?" he cried in a strangled voice. He could tell by the position of the bloodstain on the front of her dress that the wound was fatal!
Jade reached her hand up to her chest and felt a wet stickiness. Strange, she thought, there was hardly any pain.
"It wasn't your fault, Raige," one of the observers said, as the crowd gathered about them. "We'll all bear witness that she just ran in front of your sword."
Raige's hand trembled as he gently touched Jade's face. "Did you love Tyrone so much that you were willing to die in his stead?" There was pain in his voice, but accusation as well, the accusation of a man who thought he had been betrayed by the two people he trusted most in the world.
Jade licked her dry lips. "I… love…" She was screaming on the inside, but she could not give voice to the words that would make him understand. She wanted so desperately for Raige to hold her and keep back the darkness that hovered over her.
In that moment, Jade knew she was dying, and she saw that Raige knew it as well. She wanted to comfort him and tell him not to grieve-not to blame himself-but she was too weak.
She closed her eyes for a moment and whispered a prayer that God would be merciful and give her another chance- if only she could turn back time and relive last night, this would not have happened.
Jade focused her eyes on Raige, wanting his face to be the last thing she saw before she died. She loved him with her whole being, but he would never believe it now.
Raige had dropped to his knees and was cradling her head on his lap. Jade, his only love, her delicate face now so pale, her glorious green eyes dull with pain. He was tormented and would gladly give his own life to save hers if he could.
"Why, Jade-why?" His voice was choked, his eyes were bewildered and swimming with tears. "We were to be married in two days. Why did you betray me?"
She tried once more to speak, but could not-her throat was too dry and the darkness was winning over the light.
Helplessly, Raige watched as she struggled to breathe. Then he felt the life leave her body as she went limp in his arms.
A large crowd had gathered and pressed forward to witness the aftermath of the tragedy. A doctor appeared, but sadly shook his head, turning away from Jade to treat the wounded Tyrone.
Raige lifted Jade in his arms, refusing all those who offered to help. He raised his head to the heavens as an agonizing sound issued from his lips.
"Dear God, non-I killed that which I loved most in life!"
Seated in the window seat of the 747, Olivia Heartford unconsciously uncapped her ballpoint and began to trace an outline of a face in her open notebook. The pen seemed to move of its own volition, tracing the manly beauty of a godlike person.
There was arrogance in the lofty tilt to his chin, and although she had never met him, she knew that his eyes were golden brown. She had imagined this face many times, but never before had she drawn him. In fact, Olivia had not even known she could draw.
The man was not real, but a vision she had conjured up out of her loneliness, a face that came to her almost nightly in her dreams. Her pen dipped down to trace the sensitive mouth and its mocking twist. A strange yearning mixed with sadness came over her as it always did when she thought of him.
At times Olivia was afraid that she was losing her mind-she must be, to chase a dream all the way from Boston to New Orleans.
The roar of the giant aircraft was deafening as it dropped its landing gear and tilted to the right on its final approach to New Orleans International Airport. Olivia pressed her forehead against the oval window for her first view of New Orleans-lush and green, with fingers of waterways weaving their way through the land like a colorful tapestry.
"Quite breathtaking, isn't it," Ada Harmon, the grandmotherly woman seated next to Olivia, observed. "You are going to love it here-everyone does. New Orleans is like no other city in the world."
Ada was returning from visiting her daughter in Boston, and she and Olivia had become acquainted on the long flight. Olivia had found her to be a fountain of information, and Ada could not have found a more attentive listener, because Olivia was fascinated with everything that concerned old New Orleans.
"I must say," the older woman observed, glancing over her bifocals at Olivia, "for one who was born and raised in the East, you are very knowledgeable about our history. One would almost think you were a native."
"I have been interested in your history as long as I can remember. As a child, I read every book I could find on it." Olivia smiled shyly. She had never revealed so much of herself to a stranger. "As I told you, I'm a librarian and have access to many books."
Stuffing her knitting gingerly into a canvas bag, Ada eyed her young companion critically. Olivia seemed nice enough, but she was not a woman who would stand out in a crowd. There was nothing remarkable about her face, and she wore such thick glasses that it was difficult to tell if her eyes were blue or gray. Her hair was a nondescript brown, and although she was young, she wore it pulled away from her face in a tight little bun.
Ada somehow found herself pitying her companion, who could certainly use some advice on how to dress. The pale yellow suit she wore made her skin look washed out and sallow, and the skirt was much too long to be in style.
With interest, Ada noticed the drawing on Olivia's lap. "You are quite good. Did you have art lessons?"
"N-no," Olivia admitted. "Until this moment, I had no idea I could draw."
Ada looked doubtful, but then she smiled in her friendly Southern manner. "Where will you be staying in New Orleans, dear?"
Olivia's face became flushed with excitement. "At a bed-and-breakfast called the Bridal Veil Inn. Have you heard of it?"
Ada looked dismayed. "Yes, I have, but it is so far from the city and it's desolate and run-down-hardly anyone stays there." Not wanting to criticize Olivia's choice, she selected her words carefully. "Bridal Veil was once a great plantation, until the daughter of the house met a tragic end. They say the inn is haunted."
Olivia nodded. "I know. I have read the legend of how Jade St. Clair was accidentally slain by her intended husband."
Ada shrugged. "There are those who say it was no accident." She saw Olivia tense, so she tried to reassure her. "But, there now, you have come to enjoy yourself and don't want to hear old ghost stories."
Olivia could have told Ada that every choice she had made in her life had brought her to this moment. She could have told the kindhearted woman that Olivia Heartford was not her real name, but a name the Catholic sisters had given her at the orphanage where she had grown up, because no one knew who her parents were. She had never told anyone about the vivid dreams she'd had since childhood, dreams that were so real they were more like visions, and the people in those dreams were more real to her than the people she knew in everyday life. The odd thing about her dreams was that they were from a bygone era, which her research had indicated was the early 1800s.
Olivia would never forget that day two years ago when she had been thumbing through a travel magazine and came across an article featuring the Bridal Veil Inn. Her throat had tightened and she had felt frightened, for she knew that house well. Although the years had changed the facade and grounds, it was the house in her dreams. That very day she had started planning this trip, not knowing what she would find at the Bridal Veil Inn, but knowing she had to go.