Chapter 8

Alexandria

The hands of the clock moved painstakingly slowly as the sky beyond my bedroom morphed from Georgia sapphire blue to a deep, velvety black and eventually filled with stars. Sitting in the sill of the giant window, I watched the driveway. The cobblestones were no longer illuminated with lights. They'd all been turned off near midnight. Now, nearing two in the morning, only the silvery shadows cast by the moon lit the property in front of Montague Manor.

There wasn't much to see. If my bedroom faced toward the back of the original plantation, I could watch the lake and the fields beyond. However, my view was limited to the front. I’d imagined Clayton’s SUV barreling toward the manor.

It hadn’t happened. Not one car had come up the drive, not since I took up my post. One had left. I’d watched from behind the curtain. I was a spy trying my best to understand this strange yet familiar terrain.