Rose of Anzio
Book One ~ Moonlight
Chapters 1-3
Chapter One
It all began in the rose garden.
A light blue Buick convertible pulled up to the entrance of the driveway leading to a limestone mansion. The mansion itself was barely visible from the street, but from there, the passersby could catch glimpses of the magnificent rose garden in front of the house.
Anthony Ardley got out of the car, said goodbye to his friend who had driven him, and walked toward his home. It was only the end of May, still early in the summer, but the Chicago heat had already started to swell. He didn't mind though. With the heat, his summer vacation had begun.
Home at last.
Exams, over. No more term papers. No more endless debate team meetings. His first year at the University of Chicago, finished.
He slung his duffle bag over his shoulder. In the familiar front yard ahead, the roses in the garden should be in full bloom.
Indeed, the blossoms were as spectacular as he expected. What he didn't expect was a teenage girl kneeling on the ground, chopping away at the flowers surrounding the tiered water fountain. Her brown hair, cut just below her shoulders, fell forward down her neck. Her arms were lithe and quick as she gathered the cut roses. He had never seen her before.
Vandal! He walked closer. She was an unusual-looking girl. She wore her hair straight. Girls didn't usually wear their hair straight. Her bangs dampened by perspiration, she wiped the sweat dripping down the side of her face, leaving a dirt mark on her left cheek. Her hands and slender fingers were covered in soil. So immersed in her task of ravaging the roses, she didn't look up when he approached.
"Who are you?" he demanded. "You're trespassing."
"Who are you?" she asked him back, surprising him with her British accent. "Why do I have to answer to you?"
"Because this is my home," he said. A large patch of the flowerbed was now in disarray. "What have you done? You're destroying private property."
The girl barely raised an eyebrow. Without answering him, she picked up the cut flowers and put them into a bag next to her, then got up and walked away.
"Hey!" he called out after her. "Come back here! I'm not done talking to you."
Ignoring him, she disappeared onto the street, leaving him with no answer except the gurgles of water flowing down the fountain.
To continue reading:
http://tinyurl.com/ojgmlalTo read the originally posted fanfic version:
http://tinyurl.com/ovhtvyx
