Time Travel Romances Boxed Set (135 page)

“
You did wed
twice..”

“
Aye, and had five children
as a result. How many men do you believe would willingly take on
such a number of babes that were not his own?” Majella held up an
impatient hand. “You have not to answer that, for I know the
answer.
None
! Not a one and ’twas not for a lack of trying
on my part! I am not even plain!” she cried. “but it mattered not.
Any man who professed his interest changed his thinking when he saw
my babes.” She flicked a glance Niall’s way and her voice softened.
“And what was I to do? Abandon my own blood?”

Niall slipped her hand from the crook of his
arm, capturing it within the warmth of his own. “Nay, Majella, but
you had my aid.”

“
Oh, Niall, ’twas good of
you and I knew it well, just as I knew it could not last. However
fond you are of my children, they are not your children. And you
can be certain that even if you felt an obligation, many a wife
would not have looked kindly upon your support of me.”

She reached up and patted his cheek. “’Twas
only a matter of time before you had babes of your own and a man’s
coin can only stretch so far. Nay, I did what I had need of doing.
For my babes.” She lifted her chin proudly and Niall felt a surge
of admiration for her resolve.

He had under-estimated Majella, for she was
indeed driven by a kind of practicality. ’Twas unexpected and
noble, though still he was not enamored of her means. The children
could learn that a family should be thus, that a woman should whore
to feed her babes, that a father need not take responsibility for
the planting of his seed. ’Twas a dangerous example that could
color their own futures.

“
But Majella…”

“
Oh, but
naught
! Do
not lecture me upon right and wrong in this moment, Niall of
Malloy, after the day we have had.” Majella granted him a scathing
glance. “’Tis true enough that these deeds won me three more babes
and I know it well enough, but all of them ate well and slept in
warm beds at night. A man tends to be indulgent of his mistress, as
he would not be of a wife.”

“
We had fine suppers at
Ledworth,” Matthew contributed and Niall was horrified that at
least he understood much of what his mother did.

Zounds, would Matthew grow up believing that
what Majella had done was
right
?

“
Look at this babe, Niall,”
Majella urged, running a gentle finger along the cheek of her
brood’s newest member. “Have you ever seen such innocence? Such
sweetness? When I look at my children, it matters little from
whence they have come. They are here, they are my joy -” her voice
hardened “- and I will do anything to ensure their welfare.” She
looked up at Niall, her eyes glittering with determination.
“
Anything
.”

And Niall realized that he and his sister
shared this resolve. He recognized the power of the love that drove
her, for he had also felt its bite. Indeed, he would have done
anything to see Viviane safe, he had nigh done as much. He had
shredded his own hopes to see her granted her own. He would not
have regretted his own death, if it had seen her free.

Perhaps he and Majella had more in common
than he had oft believed.

“
Ledworth, then,” he
conceded, giving her fingers a squeeze. “As Matthew so heartily
recommends the fare.”

They trudged in silence, each lost in their
thoughts. Niall wondered whether he could find employ as a man at
arms in Ledworth, or if he should wait and offer his services to
whoever assumed suzerainty of Cantlecroft. Behind them, Monty
muttered to himself, his soft swearing periodically interjected
with the word ‘impossible’.

“
You are dying to know, I
am certain,” Majella finally said and Niall thought it rude to
confess his lack of comprehension. “And I suppose you should know
sooner rather than later.” She smiled up at Niall, then dropped her
voice to a whisper. “This friend in Ledworth is this one’s father.
I suspect he would like to see the babe.”

“
But not take
responsibility for it?” Niall asked stiffly.

Majella laughed aloud. “Oh, his wife would
not care for that!”

And Niall was shocked to silence. He stared
at the child who bore his own name and could not think of a thing
to say.

Except maybe one.

“
And the others?” he asked
softly.

Majella sighed. “Timothy is his fruit as
well,” she admitted, referring to the three-year-old tottering
ahead of them. “’Tis how I can so readily guess his response. He
will want to see the child, he will grant me some coin and a kiss.”
Majella’s smile faded. “Then he will return to his wife and the
four babes of that match, who know him as their father in truth. I
shall be expected to leave quietly, so that his wife is not
disturbed by these hints of his indiscretions.”

“
To another
friend.”

Majella lifted her chin. “Aye.”

Her ensuing silence was telling and Niall
knew that she was not so pleased with her situation as she would
have him believe.

Before he could say anything, Monty stepped
up beside Majella. He scooped up Timothy when the boy stumbled and
the child nestled against his shoulder with a sigh. Monty held the
next eldest Elizabeth by the hand. The other children trailed
behind him sleepily, except Matthew who was yet fast by Niall’s
side.

Listening, no doubt.

“
Hey, babe, you have like
sold yourself way short of the measure,” that man said, much to
brother and sister’s surprise.

“
What do you know of it?”
Majella demanded. “A man has no obligation to care for his
children, he has no need to even look upon their faces when they
come into the world.”

Monty’s lips thinned. “Any man with a soul
would be happy enough just to look at your face for the rest of his
life.”

“
Oh!” Majella blushed, then
glanced sidelong at Monty. “Oh!” Monty trudged along without
looking at her, as though he was embarrassed by his own comment. “I
have yet to thank you for your aid.”

“
Hey, it was nothing. You
like did all the tough stuff.” He winked at her, his smile tired.
“Came through like a trooper.”

“
Oh.” Majella’s cheeks
stayed stubbornly pink, but Niall was not interested in their
mutual admiration. He wanted all the truth laid bare now that
opportunity presented itself.

“
And Elizabeth?” he asked
gently.

Majella bit her lip, her fingers tightening
on his as Monty was evidently forgotten. “Oh, Niall, I lied to you
and I am sorry.”

But Niall had already suspected as much and
had for a long time. He smiled at his sister. “That Elizabeth was
born overly late of your second husband’s seed?”

Majella blinked. “Oh, that as well! I have
lied to you
twice
then. Will you forgive me?”

Now Niall was surprised. “Tell me first of
the lie.”

Majella averted her gaze and her voice
dropped low. “Remember when you asked me when I had joined the
archbishop in his chamber?”

A cold hand clenched around Niall’s heart.
“Aye.”

“
Well, ’twas not recently.
’Tis true that I knew Richard afore, some years ago.”

“
Nay, Majella. Not
Elizabeth.”

’
Twas indicative of that
child’s exhaustion that she did not even glance up at her name.
Monty, Niall noted with approval, eased Elizabeth slightly further
away from her mother that there might be no danger of her
overhearing what was said.

The two men’s gazes held for a significant
moment and Niall saw a new seriousness in the man he assumed to
never be serious.

Perhaps ’twould serve Majella well to know a
man with midwifery skills.

“
Aye, Niall, ’tis not a
pretty tale. Richard came to the funeral, indeed he read the mass,
and he was such an elegant man. He was so very charming to
me.”

“
I recall his presence,”
Niall acknowledged, though at the time, he had assumed grieving
Majella unaware of such details.

Majella heaved a sigh. “Truly I had never
seen a man so finely wrought and he was such endearing company. And
you know, that match was not a good one. ’Twas difficult to mourn
its passing. And Richard was so marvelous. He visited me numerous
times…”

“
Spare me the detail,”
Niall interjected.

“
Well, there
was
a
child, you might as well know it all. From the marriage. I was
carrying it at the funeral. But I lost it and was so upset. A babe
lost! ’Twas devastating - yet Richard came and was so
compassionate, and well, I suppose ’twas not within me to refuse a
little affection when so much had gone so recently
awry…”

“
And then you conceived
again.”

Majella bit her lip and nodded. “I could not
see the harm in insisting ’twas the same child come late. Indeed,
’twas how I preferred to think of it.”

And no doubt how the archbishop preferred to
think of it, knowing now his distaste for bastards. Niall could not
help but look back at the girl.

Elizabeth was the archbishop’s child.

She was Viviane’s half-sister, which was a
most curious thought.

Niall halted suddenly and seized Majella’s
elbow. “Did he ever grant the child a gift?”

Majella looked flustered as the babe in
Niall’s arms began to stir at his abrupt move. “Well, he did, but
’twas no large thing and certainly not appropriate for a small
child…”

“
A pendant. He gave her a
pendant.” Niall’s voice rose in his excitement. “’Tis mounted with
a moonstone.”

Majella stared up at him, her confusion
clear. “How could you know that?” she demanded and his heart began
to pound. If Viviane could not come to him, then Niall would go to
her! It could be done! “Niall, what is this about? You look most
fevered, which is not like you in the least.”

“
Did he or did he not give
the child a pendant?”

“
You sound as Richard did,”
Majella said crossly. “He insisted on knowing what had happened to
that cursed stone and I lied to him, for I did not like the look in
his eyes. And I did not like how he looked at Elizabeth. But how
could you know of her pendant? The child has not even seen it
herself…”

“
Where is it, Majella?
Where is the stone?”

She huffed and glared at him as the baby
fussed, then plucked the child out of his arms. “I left it at our
lodgings when we came to wish you well. ’Tis in the care of the
keeper…”

“
Do you trust this man
fully?”

Majella smiled ruefully, then cooed for the
baby. “As much as any. What ails you so? Why is this of such
import?”

“
We must retrieve it,
Majella.”

“
We cannot. ’Tis too far.
And indeed, it belongs to Elizabeth,” Majella insisted with a
stubborn heft of her chin. “’Tis hers by right and it shall remain
hers for as long as I have anything to say of the
matter.”

Niall halted and pulled his sister around to
face him, letting her see his determination. “Zounds, Majella, it
cannot be too far! I shall carry each and every one of you upon my
shoulders, if needs demand it. We must retrieve the pendant with
all haste!”

“
This is of great import to
you.”

“’
Tis
all
to me,”
Niall acknowledged. “But you speak aright in that it belongs to
Elizabeth. Truth be told, this pendant could win her much, far more
than her father ever believed when he granted it.” Niall smiled
encouragement when his sister looked astonished. “Let me tell you a
tale, Majella, and at the end, you shall make the choice of what is
to be done.” He squeezed her shoulders once. “I swear it to
you.”

*

The third rejection letter was the last
straw.

Viviane opened the package from New York
with shaking fingers, hoping that it held better news than the last
two had, then sighed with disappointment.

Maybe she wasn’t a good writer, after all.
In fact, these publishers had taken three pages to enumerate all
the things they disliked about her tale. Viviane shoved the letter
back into the envelope with the dog-eared manuscript and left the
store, feeling Barb’s sympathetic gaze follow her. Viviane was glad
Barb didn’t say anything because she probably would have just
started to cry.

In the end, it didn’t seem that she was such
a lucky person after all.

Maybe she just couldn’t believe in her
father’s good will any more, not after having met the nasty person
in question. Maybe the moonstone had been her good luck talisman,
despite her father’s malice, and losing it had ended Viviane’s
marathon streak of good fortune. Maybe it was really about attitude
- as so many books insisted - but Viviane couldn’t summon the
energy to care.

It had been six weeks since her return and
she missed Niall every bit as much as that first day. Maybe more.
It certainly wasn’t getting any easier to be without him, despite
what some of the books in Barb’s shop insisted.

It was being without Niall, without her one
true love, that ate away at her and Viviane knew it.

Just as she knew there wasn’t anything she
could do about it.

She didn’t have to like it.

Viviane lay awake at night, wondering
whether Niall had even survived that night and hating that she
would never know. His armor taunted her from the floor where he had
left it, tormenting her with the fact that its presence
here
could have been responsible for his death
there
.