Still reeling from the intense encounter with Mr. and Mrs. Everwine, Runa wiped beads of perspiration from her upper lip. She had no idea what happened, but clearly her presence greatly disturbed them.
Glancing at Chase, she noticed his face was a mask of indifference. He seemed completely unruffled by his parents’ reactions to meeting her.
Needing some sort of explanation, Runa stopped walking.
“What was that about, Chase?”
She planted her body firmly in front of his, refusing to move until her question was answered.
“What do you mean?”
“The way your parents reacted. Why did they say those things?”
“Oh, that was nothing. My mother is a drama queen, and my father is always over the top. Don’t worry about them,” Chase explained with a grin and a wave of his hand.
“Your mother looked like she wanted my head on a silver platter, Chase. I’m not sure how I’m supposed to ignore that,” Runa replied indignantly.
“They don’t matter.”
“Your parents don’t matter?”
“They have their lives and I have mine. Their opinions are inconsequential.”
Runa searched Chase’s face for clues but found none. Something told her she should simply thank him for the invitation and leave. It was clear there was more to the Everwines’ reactions than met the eye, and getting involved with Chase was probably a bad idea. She should go home and forget she’d ever met him.
As if he could read her mind and sense her apprehension, Chase traced his fingertip across her cheek, wiping a wayward wisp of hair from her face. Her heart lurched inside her chest. She felt drawn to him in a way that was both exciting and terrifying. He was such a nice man. Maybe she should give him a chance. In that moment, against her best judgment, she pushed all thoughts of leaving aside.
“Forget about my parents. Come with me, Runa. I’ll show you the rest of Everwine Manor.”
He extended his open hand, and she placed hers inside without another moment’s hesitation. All thoughts of anything besides Chase were whisked away on the breeze that ruffled the leaves of the weeping willow trees.
The pair wandered hand in hand down a winding path aglow with twinkling lights. Before Runa could prepare herself for the shock, Everwine Manor emerged into view. Resting upon a sheer cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, the mansion was both imposing and inviting. She caught her breath, unsure of whether she wanted to run away or inch closer. As her eyes adjusted, the house seemed to exhale, as if it had been waiting for her all along.
“It’s beautiful,” she breathed.
“It is,” Chase replied.
“Tell me about it.”
“Everwine Manor was built in 1898. It’s surrounded by acres of forests overlooking the ocean. There’s not another house for miles around.”
Trying to memorize each nook and cranny of the exterior of the vast estate, Runa moved forward as if in a trance. Everwine Manor was a grand Victorian mansion interspersed with elements of both Queen Anne and Gothic Revival architecture. It was three stories tall, boasting cupolas, pointed frames and arches, wide porches, and a dizzying array of stained glass windows.
The steeply pitched roof was scattered with several gables, ornamental pillars, and various asymmetrical facades. A startlingly high tower with a large turret jutted from one side of the third floor, standing like a sentry above the house.
“It’s huge. A person could get lost in there,” Runa murmured.
“The sheer size is the only reason I’m able to live under the same roof as my parents,” Chase quipped.
“How big is it?”
“The house is over twenty thousand square feet in area, with three floors, two separate wings, and twenty-five rooms. The tower itself rises a hundred feet above the ground,” he explained.
Runa fixed her gaze upon the imposing turret at the top of the dangerously high tower. Something about the structure felt familiar, but she couldn’t pinpoint why. It was circular in shape and boasted some of the most beautiful and intricately designed stained glass windows she’d ever seen.
As she watched, she thought she detected movement behind the windows, but it was so far away that she couldn’t be certain.
“Would you like to see the inside?” Chase interrupted her thoughts.
“I’d love to. Can we go inside the tower?”
“No. The third floor has been closed off for years.”
Runa followed Chase through the mammoth front door and stood in the grand entryway. Inlaid hardwood floors gleamed beneath her feet, and a sixteen-foot ceiling loomed above. Several glimmering chandeliers hung from the ceiling, bathing the area in soft light. She tried to conceal her shock and awe, but it was pointless. Everwine Manor was impressive, and it was absurd for her to pretend otherwise.
As she entered the hall, she noticed exquisite rooms to both her right and left. The first appeared to be a formal parlor. The polished table was set with a lovely china tea service, the ornate empty chairs beckoning, seemingly ready to entertain guests at a moment’s notice.
A large maritime painting hung above the fireplace. The vivid depiction of the ocean caught Runa’s attention. She could almost feel the icy coolness of the water upon her skin.
“That painting is lovely,” she gushed.
“It’s a Cleveland Rockwell. He did a lot of paintings of the area around the time Everwine Manor was built,” Chase explained.
“I’ve always been drawn to the water.”
“Well, you’ve come to the right place. The best view of the ocean is right outside.”
Runa glanced in the opposite direction, toward the music room. Another large fireplace towered above a grand piano. A gigantic stained glass window decorated the far wall, and she drew closer to inspect its design as she absently traced her fingertips across the fabric of a plush velvet sofa.
Upon examination, Runa inhaled sharply. The colorful window depicted a blonde woman standing on the shore next to the crashing waves of the ocean. Peering intently at the glass, she realized the woman looked eerily like her.
“Who is the woman in the stained glass window, Chase?”
“I honestly have no idea,” he replied nonchalantly, appearing not to notice the resemblance.
Runa inspected the window, finding it difficult to look away. As she tried to make sense of the uncanny similarities between herself and the woman, she felt a light touch upon her shoulder. Expecting to find Chase standing there, she was surprised to find him across the room sprawled over a velvet settee. He wasn’t near enough to have touched her, yet they were the only ones in the room.
“Du er i fare,” a woman’s voice whispered in her ear.
They were the same words she’d heard before, but she still couldn’t decipher their meaning. The sudden chiming of a grandfather clock caused Runa to nearly jump out of her skin.
“Feeling a little spooked?” Chase asked with a grin as he rose and came to stand next to her.
“Maybe a bit,” she admitted sheepishly.
“The house has that effect on people.”
“Don’t get me wrong. It’s gorgeous. It’s just a lot to take in.”
“You have nothing to fear here,” Chase said, moving closer.
Runa turned to face him, her heart beating rapidly inside her chest. He took another step toward her, and she noticed the heat emanating from his body. Tilting her head up, she looked into his eyes, feeling a little dizzy. In one swift movement, he dipped his head toward hers. Their lips touched, and a jolt of electricity arced into her, the intensity of the kiss suddenly magnified.
The feel of his lips on hers was excitingly new, yet somehow familiar. It was as if she had always known him, as if some part of her had experienced this moment before. She knew it wasn’t possible, and yet she couldn’t deny the feeling.
“Wow…,” she breathed when the kiss ended and they pulled apart.
“My sentiments exactly,” Chase whispered, a knowing smile turning up the corners of the lips she’d just kissed.
“So… the window…,” she said, breaking eye contact. She cleared her throat and tried to regain her sense of balance.
“Yes?”
“Well… don’t you see it?”
“See what?”
“Forget it,” she said with a wave of her hand.
If Chase didn’t see the resemblance between her and the woman in the window, perhaps it wasn’t actually there.
“What were you going to say, Runa?” he persisted.
“Well, this may sound odd, but I thought I recognized the woman in the design of the stained glass window,” she began.
“That wouldn’t be possible. I’m not sure if the artist based the design on a real woman or not, but even if he had, she wouldn’t be alive. Those windows were crafted in the late 1800s.”
Chase patted Runa on the arm and chuckled. She suddenly felt silly and naïve.
“I suppose you’re right It’s just that….”
“Yes?”
“The house feels… I don’t know… familiar and… almost… alive.”
“I assure you, Everwine Manor is nothing more than wood and glass.” Chase grinned.
“It feels like more than that,” she mumbled to herself.
Runa wasn’t sure how to voice her feelings, but something about the atmosphere made her uneasy. It suddenly felt like the walls were closing in, like something was pursuing her and she needed to flee. Her stomach clenched with anxiety.
“Are you all right, Runa? You look pale.”
“I’m not feeling well. I think I need to leave,” she offered weakly.
“If you’re ill, you have no business driving home alone. The roads out here are treacherous. Let me drive you, and I’ll have my chauffeur pick me up at your house and bring me back.”
“Chase, that’s not necessary,” she protested.
“Please. It’s dark, and you don’t look well. It’s the least I can do after convincing you to come here,” he insisted.
Not feeling up to an argument, Runa reluctantly agreed. Taking one last glance at the stained glass window, she allowed Chase to lead her to her car.