Timekeeper by Alexandra Monir

Author:Alexandra Monir [Monir, Alexandra]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Romance
ISBN: 9780375894138
Publisher: Delacorte
Published: 2012-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

I descend the grand staircase alone, having just managed to wriggle out of Rebecca’s suffocating goodbye embrace. As I reach the bottom step, my hair mussed and face still fixed in a grimace, I fail to notice Rupert at the foot of the stairs until the butler clears his throat.

“Oh—hello, Rupert. I’m just about to go into town to catch a train back.”

“You’re planning to return here often, aren’t you?” Rupert gives me a knowing look. “Even after graduation.”

“What do you mean?” I ask sharply. Does he know?

“I mean that Miss Rebecca always gets her way,” Rupert says pointedly. “As your friend, I had hoped for a better sort of girl for you—though I can understand your reasoning for being with her. But if you are going to be living in the Windsor Mansion, there is something in this house that I feel I ought to show you. You might find it gives you an escape when you need one.”

Rupert moves in the direction of the library, and I shuffle behind him. My face burns with shame as I realize he must somehow know that I plan to marry Rebecca and clearly don’t love her. He must think I’m doing it for the money and status, and the thought makes me cringe with disgust. If only I could tell Rupert the truth!

We quickly reach the library, my favorite room in the new Windsor Mansion, with its floor-to-ceiling shelves and glass-enclosed cases filled with books upon books. Prized artwork and regal furniture also decorate the library, but I only have eyes for the hundreds of leather-bound tomes.

Rupert gives the room a careful once-over, then moves toward one of the glass bookcases at the back of the library. To my surprise, the always-polite butler pushes his hands against the bookcase rather roughly, as if trying to move it!

“What are you doing?” I ask, bewildered. “You’ll break—”

I stop mid-sentence, my mouth hanging open as the bookcase mechanically swerves to the side, revealing a vast empty space that resembles a tunnel. I step closer and see that it is a tunnel built of gray stone and brick, and just high enough to stand upright in.

“What is this?” I exclaim.

Just as quickly as he opened the passageway Rupert closes it, nervously glancing at the front door of the library as he pushes the bookcase back in place. “It’s a secret passage that leads to the back lawn of the house. For a space consisting of mere stone and brick, with no heat or decoration, it is a surprisingly comfortable place to get away for a bit.” Rupert smiles, and then his expression turns serious. “No one else knows about it, especially not the family, so I must ask that you keep this a secret. I’m sharing it with you because I feel you might need it one day. Miss Rebecca is rather vile to all the staff here, and while she is enamored with you now … you don’t know if one day she might become cruel to you too.

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