Knight Errant: A Highland Passage Novel (16 page)
Read Knight Errant: A Highland Passage Novel Online
Authors: J.L. Jarvis
Robert thought back on everything they had been through together. Along with nearly every word she had said when they first met, Robert recalled a road she had mentioned. At the time, she had believed she was still near her home on Farmers Mills Road. He wouldn’t write the road name in case others saw it and eventually pieced things together, but he was sure she would figure it out from the initials. Because it was part of her life before meeting him, she would also know to go back to her time, where he would find her. So inside the scroll, he scratched FMR.
His plans were made but he was unable to sleep, so he went up to the castle tower for some peace before the next leg of his journey. High above the vast stretches of water and land, he felt removed from his troubles. He dwelled upon how he loved her and further imagined their future together. It had all seemed so impossible in the beginning. They both had their own lives that were so very different—too different to meet one another halfway. He had fought against falling in love with her, even though by the time he was fighting it, he had already fallen. She fell later but put up even more resistance. But love would not be denied. He still didn’t know how or when their lives would come together again, but he knew that—if he ever found her—they would. There was no other way he could live.
Robert headed down to his crude camp by the water. Tired but restless, he lay down while the gulls mewed him to sleep. He sat halfway up when a strange sound punctuated the chorus of gulls. They almost sounded human. He lay back down, attributing his reaction to too much time alone.
He was drifting to sleep when he heard it again.
“You’re a fool,” he said to himself, but he got up and walked toward where the groaning had come from.
The quarter moon shed little light by the shadowy wall of the cliff. He approached a large shape in his path, which turned out to be a large piece of driftwood with a smooth silvery trunk and gnarled branches. He gave it a swift kick for good measure and chastised himself all the way back to camp. He was about to settle back down when, behind him, he heard the faint crunch of footsteps on the stone-covered ground. He pivoted toward the shadowy figure. Whoever was after him ran away, but Robert caught up and tackled his would-be attacker by the waist, throwing both to the ground.
“Och, you’re just a wee thing—in skirts,” he said. “Lass, what do you think you’re doing?”
She took in a sharp breath. “I was looking for you.”
Robert loosened his hold. It was too dark to see, but he knew her voice too well. “Violet.”
She flung her arms about him and held on to him. She said his name while she touched his lips and face and combed her fingers into his hair.
Robert’s arms tensed, and he started to pull himself up. “The abbot—did he follow you?”
“No, he’s dead. I didn’t mean to—”
“Then you’re safe.” He pulled her back into his arms. “Promise me—”
“Yes.”
He smiled. “You dinnae ken what I was going to say.”
“I promise I’ll never leave you—unless you want me to. But really, at this point, you’ve pretty much made a commitment. I know guys don’t like that word, but after all we’ve been through, you owe me.”
“Shh…” Robert held her face and put his mouth over hers in a kiss meant to make her forget—about words, about the abbot, and everything else, except what he was determined to say. “Marry me.”
Total silence.
Robert frowned and pulled away. Still no answer. “Lass, have you nothing to say?”
“Was that a question? ’Cause it sounded more like an order.”
Frustrated, if not fully annoyed, Robert started to speak, but something in her tone stopped him. He touched her cheeks, wet with tears.
She said, “Either way, yes.”
They spent the night taking time, for they had all the time in the world, exploring one another with each touch and desire. Time would wait for them while they took each another with a passion that bound them together. After, they made plans and discarded them, laughing and sure that no matter what time held in store for the future, they would travel through it together.
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Knight Errant
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AUTHOR’S NOTE
Thanks to:
The Retreat, a group of writers who are always there when I need advice, support, laughter, and friendship;
Cover Designer Ravven
, whose artwork inspired this story;
Narrator Jeff Leslie
, for sharing his knowledge of Kinnoull Hill and all things Perth-related; and
Author Jacques Antoine
, who shared his martial arts knowledge and suggested using Fujian White Crane Kung Fu.
Research Notes:
There is an actual scroll housed in a Kirkwall, UK Masonic Lodge. Currently available research does not point toward it containing a map of secret Templar time travel portals. However, no one seems precisely sure what all of those markings mean.
Jesuit missionaries first arrived in Japan in 1543. By that time, knowledge of Fujian White Crane Kung Fu, introduced by Chinese immigrants to Japan in 1392, would have made its way through Japan and thus been available to Jesuit missionaries by the time our fictional Father Abbot and his men were there. They may well have returned home with some martial arts knowledge.
Historically, there seem to have been a number of spellings for the following. In the interest of avoiding confusion, the currently accepted spellings are used in this book: the earldom, the chapel, and the castle are spelled Rosslyn, and the village is spelled Roslin.
Time travel presents interesting paradoxes which, while relevant, are beyond the scope of this novel. This recent editorial from webzine
GeekSnack
highlights some of the issues and explanations I considered while writing
Knight Errant
and
Highland Soldiers
.
Moth, Jason, “Physics 101: Understanding time travel and why we shouldn’t dismiss the possibility,” GeekSnack, April 20, 2015.
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