Hearts Across Time (The Knights of Berwyck: A Quest Through Time Novel ~ Books 1 & 2) (26 page)

T
he dimly lit
coffee shop
was filled to the brim with people complaining about the long line, along with other noisy conversations, as the customers waited impatiently for their turn at the counter. For two, the clamoring voices didn’t make one bit of difference as their nimble fingers practically flew across the keyboards of their laptops. They had been inspired during the past several months and had almost completed their latest manuscripts. Their “babies” were almost ready to take the next vital step toward publication.

Emily grabbed her backpack, withdrew a packet of tissues, and dabbed at her eyes. “Damn…that is just so friggin’ awesome, if I do say so myself,” she announced as she shut the cover and reached for her strawberries and cream Frappuccino.

Juliana hit the save button, and she also closed her laptop and put it away with a laugh. “I’m almost done, too. I hope we don’t have to do much time traveling in our future to get some form of inspiration for our next endeavors, though,” she said, taking a sip of her coffee. “I don’t think I could handle it twice in one lifetime, thank you very much.”

Emily gazed around the shop sadly. “It still feels like such a bizarre and crazy dream, doesn’t it, Jewel’s? I mean, who would have thought we’d travel back to the twelfth century, let alone get the opportunity to come back home.”

“I sometimes have to pinch myself to make sure I’m not dreaming,” Juliana confessed, “and yet I know we were there, seeing as we’re missing a couple of sisters here at our table.”

Emily sniffled again. “Ah, please Jewel’s, don’t remind me of that again, will ya? I swear, all I’ve done is cry my eye’s out for the past six months. I thought, I was made of sterner stuff than to become some pansy, like Katie.”

Juliana laughed. “Now wouldn’t
that
be something she’d just love to hear. I can almost hear her cheery voice, right now, ringing out in laughter as you call
yourself
a pansy for a change.”

“She would’ve loved that, wouldn’t she?” Emily said as a sob tore at her heart.

Juliana reached out a comforting hand. “What is it, Em?”

Tears filled Emily’s eyes, once more. “We’ve just lost so much, Jewels, and I hate talking about Katie and Brie in the past tense. It was only months ago that we were all sitting here together, planning our vacation.”

“Yes, dear, I know, but look what we’ve gained…” Juliana replied in a reassuring tone.

“But they should all be here, too,” Emily grumbled, reaching for another tissue. “It’s just not fair. I feel so empty without them and−”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake,” Juliana huffed as the door to the coffee shop opened to admit another pair of patrons.

Was it Emily’s imagination, or did the place seem to quiet down when the two newcomers entered. She looked up from the tissue she held over her eyes to see who could cause such a ruckus. She wasn’t surprised to see two of the most handsome men she had ever laid eyes on scan the room. Admiring their physique while she could, she noticed how their jeans fit their legs just right while their shirts hung open at the collar and fit their chests snuggly. Their laughter rang out in merriment, causing many female eyes to rake their forms, as if they were stripping them naked and enjoying the view in the process.

“Tiernan!” Juliana called out and the two men advanced toward their corner booth.

Emily felt him slide in next to her and, before she could voice any words, he kissed her most soundly.

“Tiernan…really…we’re in public,” Emily said in a snit, although it was hard to stay mad at the man when he looked at her as he did.

“Aye, that we are my beautiful wife. I must admit, I like the tradition o’ how Lady Katherine asked me to get yer mind off yer troubles,” he responded, and kissed her even deeper this time. “Has she been at it long, Juliana?”

Juliana’s short snort of laughter, which she covered quickly with her hand, escaped her before she could stop it then she glanced sidelong at Danior. “Long enough, I’d say.”

“Stop yer crying, Em. We’re about to embark on another grand adventure,” Tiernan declared, with a wide grin of pleasure.

Juliana turned to Danior. “You’ve been to the post office? You have the package we’ve been waiting for from Simon?” she asked anxiously.

“Aye, Jewel’s, that we do, and the Lady Katherine was right,” Danior said, wrapping his arm around his lady and giving her a hug. “Simon took almost the whole lot of coins with the exception of what Tiernan and I kept for…how do you say this? Ah, yes…for a rainy day. We are bloody rich, I tell you! I cannot wait until we return to English soil so I can see firsthand what some of our money has bought us.”

“I’ll miss living here,” Juliana said softly. “I never thought I’d live anywhere else but in my own country.”

Danior pulled her closer to his side and tilted her chin up so he could stare into her mesmerizing green eyes. “Second thoughts, my lovely wife?”

“Oh no…never Danior. It’s just a big adjustment, that’s all,” she said, with a timid smile.

Tiernan’s laughter rang out. “’Twill not be as hard as the one
we’ve
had o’er the past few months. The cruise ship that brought us here was indeed most splendid as was our drive across yer glorious country. Who would have thought a place could be so grand? Truly amazing!” He leaned forward and their group drew their heads closer so they could hear his whispered words. “I canna wait ’til I get on that…” his brow furrowed thoughtfully. “What did you call it, Em?”

“An airplane, babe,” Emily replied, with a short laugh as she clasped his hand in her own.

“Can ye imagine a machine made o’ metal able to fly us high up into the heavens?” Tiernan said in wonder.

Danior shook his head. “Nay, I cannot, and yet these modern time machines can supposedly also fly a man to the moon,” he retorted with a shake of his head, “although I still do not believe such rubbish.”

“’Tis almost as wonderful as those horseless carriages I canna wait to get my hands on,” Tiernan exclaimed with a roguish smile, rubbing his hands together in anticipation.

Emily groaned at the prospect of her husband behind the wheel of a car, and yet her heart gave a small leap, watching his gorgeous, smiling face light up in excitement.

Juliana leaned forward, placing a kiss upon her husband’s cheek. “You have a lot to learn about our time, Danior, but I’ll be with you every step of the way.”

He quickly kissed her lips. “You had better be, Juliana. I do not relish being stranded in this strange time of yours without you by my side.”

“I promise, you’ll never have to worry about that,” she said breathlessly.

“I shall endeavor to hold you to your word, my love, but here,” he said handing her a rather large manila envelope. “Surely, your curiosity must be driving you mad, wondering what our friend from across the pond, as you say, has sent us.”

Juliana reached for the envelope with shaking fingers and handed it to Emily. “Here Em, you do the honors. I’m trembling so badly, I’m afraid I might spill coffee all over it.”

Emily took the envelope and began carefully opening the package. Peeking inside, she saw a smaller envelope, which she opened first. With tears in her eyes, she took out a couple of brochures and laid them on the table for her friends to see.

“Look!” she said, amazed at what she was actually seeing. “It’s Warkworth and Berwyck Castles, and they’re in pristine condition. How the hell did that happen?”

Juliana passed on one of the pamphlets to Danior, who whistled, while Tiernan opened the other.

“Looks to me like they changed their past,” Juliana explained, “or their future.”

“Maybe, in the long scheme of things, it’s all just one and the same,” Emily said in wonder.

Tiernan picked up another sheet of paper. “Here Emily, read this. ’Tis a letter from Simon.”

Emily took the document from her husband. She took a deep breath before unfolding the letter and then began to read.

Emily took the picture out of the envelope and laid it on the table so everyone could see it at the same time. Carefully, she peeled back the protective paper to reveal the treasure beneath. Immediately, she sat back in her seat and could only stare in wonder at what was before her eyes.

It was a rather large family portrait, with Warkworth Castle as a backdrop. Katherine and Brianna sat together on a stone bench, clasping each other’s hands, with Riorden and Gavin, standing tall behind them. They were older, and their children sitting with them gave an indication as to their age.

Brianna looked radiantly happy, with her four children of various ages sitting around her. Emily could only surmise what a handful the two boys had been, as they appeared close in age. The girls, on the other hand, looked like two, demure, young ladies of breeding, and Emily could only wonder how far off the mark she was in her assumption.

Her gaze fell to Katherine and the serene look within the depths of her blue-green eyes. She appeared to be about in her mid-forties. Riorden had his right hand resting on one of her shoulders. The other was on the hilt of his sword. His jet-black hair was worn shorter with a hint of grey residing at his temples. But it was his eyes that remained the same spectacular color, drawing one in to wonder what he was thinking. No matter his age, he still had that commanding presence that always seemed to surround him.

Their son stood next to his father. There was no mistaking who his sire was as he was an exact replica with the exception of his hair, which was the same color as Katherine’s. His eyes looked steel-grey. Emily thought he was, maybe, twenty years old, give or take a couple of years.

The second child, a daughter, sat next to her mother with a book open on her lap and appeared to be, perhaps, three years or so younger than the older boy. Her long, blondish-brown hair had been pulled back and was braided with flowers. She had an innocence about her that even a picture clearly showed, and Emily had some unknown feeling within her that this girl loved to write and sing.

The last family member was a little girl of maybe eight years of age, with hair as black as midnight, just like her father’s, and clear blue eyes. She sat at Katherine’s feet, although one could almost tell it was done reluctantly. She had a bright smile on her pixie like features, which could be due to the antics of a black puppy with a curly tail, lying next to her. Or maybe her expression was from being young at heart. In either case, Emily just knew this one had kept her parents constantly on their toes.

Emily reached over and firmly grasped Juliana’s hand. The two women turned as one to look upon each other, with tears in their eyes until, in unison, they began to stare once more with loving fondness at the picture of their dearest friends.

At last, they had the answer they had been searching for, and yet, perhaps, they had known it in their hearts all along. Just as Emily and Juliana had found love and never regretted their decisions to return to the present, the same held true for their twelfth century sisters. They, too, had found true happiness, for it was as if the pinkish cherry blossoms depicted along the edges of the picture were a sign made just for them.

The faintest smell of their floral essence reached Emily’s nose just as surely as she watched Katherine’s smile broaden, ever so slightly. She turned to Juliana and they both broke out in laughter as they hugged one another.

Time truly was endless. Their friendship had and would always endure…

C
ountess
Katherine de
D
everaux
shook beneath the calm façade plastered on her face. Never in all her twenty-six years had she felt so much animosity in one room and, apparently, it was all directed at her. It certainly wasn’t her fault if she was married to one of the most gorgeous men who had ever walked the face of the planet, was it? From the looks she was receiving, without hesitation any number of the women in the king’s chamber would have given up their soul to the devil himself to be standing in her shoes.

She took her free hand and tugged at the silken wimple, wrapped so securely around her neck and chin it was choking the very life from her, and she felt as though she was suffocating. Pulling harder offered no relief, and she regretted having listened to the older woman who had informed her that all the ladies would be dressed in a similar fashion. The woman had tied and wound her hair in such tight, uncomfortable braids around her head that even her skull ached. It only added to her distraught feeling she couldn’t breathe.

Gazing around the room, she noticed there were plenty of other women with their hair unbound and only a small veil covering their heads. Even their bare chests showed more skin than was allowed by the high necked gown she wore. She should have dressed as she had seen fit, rather than cave in to a servant with whom she was not familiar. Katherine felt as if she were dressed like a nun instead of the vibrant young woman that she was.

With narrowed eyes, she espied the maid who had attended her. Katherine instantly cringed inside when the old biddy walked up to a group of what she would have termed high maintenance girls. They turned as one to look in her direction and promptly burst into rambunctious laughter. If there had been a hole big enough for her to hide in, she would have willingly fled to its safety. They continued to glare at her with utter hatred until their attention was drawn to the knight walking beside her. Maybe she should have thought of them as bitches in heat, given the stares they gave her husband while they all but undressed him with their eyes.

Katherine supposed it wasn’t really her fault she had screwed up by trusting the maid. She was completely out of her element here at court and already didn’t care for the intrigues swarming around her. Maybe if she had grown up in this time period instead of over eight hundred years in the future, she would have stood a fighting chance with these vicious, catty women. Where in the world was that spirited lady of modern times, who didn’t take crap from anyone and stood up for herself, she wondered? Surely, things were far more complicated in the future than what was found here in twelfth century England. What was wrong with her?

Katherine glanced behind her to fondly watch her dear friend Brianna, who had decided to remain with her here in the past. She laughed inwardly, since she had the feeling Brie, as she was endearingly called, had truly stayed here due to her own infatuation with her husband’s younger brother Gavin. That hunk of handsome, blue-eyed man candy, his brown hair streaked with blond highlights, was currently escorting Brie about the hall and hanging on her every word. Katherine gave her a slight smile that Brie returned. From her friend’s look, she too had her own reservations, clearly evident on her beautiful face, regarding the tension in the room.

Inwardly, she sighed, knowing they shared a common bond and at least had each other to lean on when things became too complicated here in the past. Was it really only several weeks ago that Katherine had watched her other dear friends Juliana and Emily, along with their own knights Danior and Tiernan, disappear through the time gate in one of Bamburgh’s towers? She shuddered with its memory. If it hadn’t been for her sisters of her heart, Time would have reclaimed her, as well. The thought of only being able to see the love of her life while she was sleeping caused her to shudder. It was no small wonder she wanted to leave Bamburgh as quickly as possible. They had tempted fate enough as it was.

He must have known her thoughts for his hand brushed gently over her own before he gave her a reassuring squeeze. She clutched at his arm to prove to herself that he was truly standing next to her. It was something they were both still trying to get used to...this strange connection between them that Time had blessed them with. She gazed up into his deep blue eyes and got just as twitterpated as the first time she had seen them in her dreams. She had never seen the color on another and doubted she ever would again.

Awestruck, she took in his handsome, muscled physique and hair as dark as the midnight sky. Silently, she wondered how on earth a man could appear so gorgeous, tall, and all powerful yet not be a conceited bore. There was nothing vain about the man she had married that she had seen thus far in their relationship. Katherine was still in a state of shock she could call this man her husband and that he loved her. She attempted a smile for his benefit despite the agony she was in. From his expression, she was sure it came off as a grim look of complete displeasure.

“Stop fidgeting, Kat. All is well, my love,” he whispered for her ears alone.

“Easy for you to say, Riorden,” she retorted in a snit, although inwardly she was pleased with his nickname for her. “You’re not the one smothering with this death trap wrapped around your head.”

He gave a merry chuckle. “A thin veil of silk is nothing to complain about, Katherine. Try wearing a helmet and armor made of iron, during the heat of the summer day, whilst you heft a sword just to stay alive. Then, I will listen to your grievances with a bit of cloth.”

“Are you mocking me, sir?”

“I would never dare, my lady. I was just trying to prove my point that there are worse, more annoying things than a little fabric,” Riorden explained. “Besides, you look beautiful.”

“Ha! You just don’t understand at all,” Katherine complained, ignoring his compliment. “I’m not used to being covered from head to toe in an amount of material only the dead would feel comfortable wearing. I never could stand to even wear a t-shirt close around my neck without feeling claustrophobic.”

His dark brows arched in confusion at her words. Leaning down, he kissed her cheek. “I still must needs get used to your language, Kat. Your speech is passing strange sometimes.”

“I just don’t know why you wouldn’t let me wear hose, tunic, and boots. I sure as heck would have felt more at home.”

“I sincerely doubt the king would have approved, my dear, but do not worry overly much. You can change soon, once we are again in our chamber.”

A groan escaped her lips as perspiration began forming on her upper lip. Was it just her, or did the room quickly become stifling with unbearable waves of heat?

“Katie, are you all right?” Brianna inquired in concern.

“She does look a mite pale, brother,” Gavin chimed in.

Katherine wiped at her dampening brow. “I think, I’m going to pass out,” she whispered in a low, miserable tone.

Katherine felt herself being ushered to one of the windows where a faint breeze brushed lightly across her face. It barely calmed the panic overcoming her. She began to breathe faster, trying to take in great, big, gulping breaths of air, but it seemed her lungs just wouldn’t fill to satisfy her need.

“Come here, Katherine,” Riorden offered, placing her in a chair. “Let us see if we can get you more comfortable.

Katherine made a strange wheezing sound. “I can’t breathe−”

“Put her head down between her knees,” Brianna ordered. The two men looked at her as if she had lost her sense. “Truly...it helps.”

With Brianna and Gavin providing a mediocre of privacy as they blocked the view from curious eyes, Katherine didn’t care what Riorden did to her, as long as this insufferable cloth was removed from her head. Without delay, he swiftly removed the silk wrapped around her chin, but the dress collar close around her neck only added to her distress of not being able to inhale. If she didn’t calm her breathing, she was going to hyperventilate and really give everyone something to talk about when she fainted in a heap on the floor.

Riorden seemed to understand her sense of emergency and made quick work of tearing the fabric to give her more air. The dress was ruined, but she didn’t care as long as she didn’t feel tied up like a Christmas goose! She at last was able to take a deep breath and looked at her hero with worshiping eyes. He in turn only stared at her with a frown upon his handsome face. “What?” she asked with a still shaking voice.

He placed his fingers on his chin, contemplating her until he at last replied. “Why did you allow that old harpy to bind your hair so,
ma cherie
? You know how I love to see it flowing freely down your back.”

Before Katherine could answer, he set to work again, and, in no time at all, the braids around her head were unbound in a riot of tawny colored waves, much to her delight. Perhaps there was hope for her after all.

“Is that better?” he asked.

“You have no idea how much better this is,” she replied in relief with a grateful shake of her now free hair.

Laughter rumbled in his chest. “You might be surprised how much I understand, Kat.”

She felt his touch upon her shoulder, and slowly her breathing began to return to normal. Looking down, she was appalled to see the actual condition of her torn gown, now that her moment of crisis was at an end. At least the king had not as yet summoned Riorden before him; although, she wondered how much longer they were to wait for an audience. She was tired of just hanging around this castle, doing nothing, and wanted to go to her new home. Riorden had tried to assure her it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary to linger for weeks on end at the whim of King Henry II. His Majesty did everything in his own time, and waiting was all part of showing one’s fealty to one’s sovereign.

As if Murphy’s Law suddenly decided to play a spiteful prank on her, Katherine felt a sudden hush come over the room. Horrified she would be presented to the King of England with her neckline sagging around her breasts, she hastily grabbed at the ripped fabric, trying, to the best of her ability, to make it appear presentable. She was failing miserably.

The knights and ladies in the Great Hall all began to bow and curtsey, as was customary when in the presence of their monarch. Katherine could do no less as her worst nightmare came to pass. As if Karma were paying her back for some offense, she heard Riorden’s name being called. The words, reverberating throughout the chamber and in her head, sounded much like a death summons. Again, the room began to swirl around her. Only God above would be able to help her if she passed out now!