Time Travel Romances Boxed Set (25 page)

Oh, the man could feign caring for her so
well that even knowing it was a ploy did not strengthen Aurelia’s
resistance!

“
Since shortly after we
came back from town,” Aurelia admitted, feeling her cheeks heat at
her own foolishness.

He swore under his breath and peeled off his
own jacket, wrapping its welcome warmth around her and bundling her
back into his hall. Aurelia let him do so, hating how relieved she
felt to have someone so obviously capable taking charge.

Were she not aware of his dark intent, she
could have come to rely upon this man.

But that would be dangerous indeed.

*

“
Come on, princess, into
the shower, no excuses.”

What?
Marissa pressed her ear to the
door and listened shamelessly. Trust Aurelia to have foiled
Marissa’s plans! That woman’s door opened and closed, but Baird did
not come back into the hall.

Marissa heard the water come on in the
adjacent room and hated the mental image that came along with it.
She stalked back across the room and snuffed the candles with
disgust.

So that was how it was going to be. Marissa
surveyed the wilted flowers, the sorry excuse for a romantic dinner
that was all she had been able to acquire in town and grimaced.

She could have accepted defeat, packed her
bags and moved out, but Marissa was not a quitter.

Especially with stakes like this.

But the fact that Baird was already sleeping
with Aurelia demanded some hard reconsideration of the facts. Baird
might not have time to tire of Aurelia if that woman kept things
moving at this pace. They could be at the altar before Baird even
noticed that the blonde was not firing on all cylinders.

Marissa eyed her reflection assessingly, her
perfect display of decolletage, and reluctantly acknowledged that
thirty-five carefully managed years still had a hard time competing
with a nubile blond of twenty. Marissa faced the ugly reality that
her charms might not be enough to snare the big fish.

At least not in open competition. She smiled
confidently at her reflection, knowing the time for subtlety was
passed.

It was time to bring out the heavy
artillery.

*

Baird was a bit surprised by how protective
he felt of Aurelia. Like an old mother hen, he ushered her back
into her room and turned the shower on full.

“
Come on, princess, you’re
chilled to the bone.”

Baird supposed he should have been
encouraged by the fire that lit Aurelia’s eyes. “I will not disrobe
in your presence!”

Baird shoved his hands into his pockets and
backed away, the steam of the shower encouraging his imagination to
run wild. He remembered all too well the flash of her ankles
beneath the changeroom door this afternoon.

“
Don’t I get any thanks for
helping you out of that pit?” Baird tried to smile engagingly, but
Aurelia wasn’t having any of it.

“
Thank you,” she said
frostily. “Now, leave me be.”

He was batting a thousand here.

She didn’t want him anywhere near her,
obviously enough. Not being wanted was a familiar sense for Baird,
but this time, the awareness that his presence was unwelcome really
stung.

“
Fine!”

Baird left the steamy bathroom and returned
to his room, unable to completely account for his foul mood. He
paced its length and back, telling himself that what he needed was
a good night’s sleep.

After all, there were more important things
on his plate right now than the opinion of one troublesome, deluded
princess.

*

This dream came stealthily and Aurelia
welcomed the difference in its tone. This time, she well knew, she
would have some answers. The scene was a peaceful one, though
Aurelia realized that she occupied the view of another, yet
again.

He was a young man, and he walked down to
the sea towards a ship bobbing in the harbor. The ship was familiar
to Aurelia, she noted with a start, for it was the Viking ship her
sire had kept in good repair. Its high curving prow was carved with
a serpent’s head and shields hung along the rails. The men were
unfurling a great red sail that tugged in the wind as they checked
its rigging.

The sky arched blue overhead, the wind
ruffled his hair, and though the mood here was festive, the man’s
heart had only one shadow upon it.

Someone was leaving.

A good friend was going home, a friend whose
company he would miss. And they walked together to the harbor.
Aurelia glanced to the one who matched his steps to those of the
young man and her heart skipped a beat.

The fair-haired and blue-eyed man was none
other than her brother, Thord.

She felt the strength of the bond between
these two men. They were friends of the heart and this man ached
that Thord was setting sail.

Aurelia’s waking mind puzzled over these
details. Whose view could she be sharing? It must be someone of
whom she had heard, for this must have happened before Thord’s
death.

“
You must come and meet my
sister,” Thord said and Aurelia nearly wept at the familiarity of
his voice. How she had missed him! “We could be truly brothers if
you two wed, blood brothers, instead of just having fostered
together.”

Fostering. Thord had fostered with the High
King of Inverness. Aurelia remembered that all too well - and he
had returned to Dunhelm just shortly before his untimely
demise.

His talk had been full of his foster brother
Bridei, the prince and heir of Inverness. That must be whose view
Aurelia shared.

“
It is no small thing to
have trained in arms together,” Bridei replied. The calm assurance
of his voice pleased Aurelia and she recalled all too well Thord’s
certainty that they two would be a good match.

“
We are brothers in deed,
Thord, if not in blood.”

Thord smiled and gripped his shoulder. “You
are the greatest friend that ever I have had. Do not blame my
weakness if I would have your friendship closer.” He winked and
dropped his voice to a mischievous whisper. “Though Aurelia would
have a dim view of the havoc we have wreaked among women.”

They chuckled together and Aurelia knew
fleetingly that this was a reference to some old adventure they had
shared. Bridei nudged his friend. “The ale mistress is likely still
waiting for you, after last night.”

“
Oh, after spilling a
pitcher on my new tunic?” Thord rolled his eyes. “The Valkyries
themselves could not drag me back to that abode. One must wonder
whether such people have no idea of the difficulties of acquiring
fine cloth.”

“
Do you go a-viking in
Micklegarth before your return?”

Thord laughed. “Ah, the lure of
civilization! I am tempted, but my father would have my head if I
took such a delay in coming home.” His lips thinned. “There is some
trouble brewing evidently.” He frowned, then clapped his friend on
the shoulder. “You must come to Dunhelm, Bridei. And soon.”

Aurelia felt a certainty of purpose dawn in
Bridei’s heart. Here was a man who pledged to do a thing and kept
his word. “Do not fear. I will come.”

They embraced before the moored ship, then
Thord danced across the wharf. “You had best hurry!” he called, his
eyes dancing with a mischief that seemed oddly familiar. “Knowing
Aurelia, she will have gotten herself into some fix or
another.”

The affection in Thord’s voice brought tears
to Aurelia’s eyes.

“
Did I tell you that she
had taken it upon herself to handle a crossbow? A crossbow! Leave
it to Aurelia! She insisted that men must learn to take her
seriously.” Thord wagged a finger knowingly. “One of these days,
she will get herself into a muddle with no way out. She needs
someone like you, Bridei, someone of good sense who will pluck her
out of trouble!”

“
Ha! Where does it say that
I want a wife in need only of caretaking?” Bridei called laughingly
into the wind.

Thord grinned. “You need a wife who will not
bore you and - trust me! - there is never a dull moment with
Aurelia around.”

Both men laughed and Aurelia’s ears burned
with the certainty that this Bridei knew a great deal about the
trouble she had found in her days. Thord had always been too
talkative.

The seamen began throwing off the mooring
ropes and the crowd gathered on the beach shouted good wishes. No
sooner had the ship been pushed off into the sea, than the
solidly-built ale mistress pushed her way to the front of the
crowd. She scowled when she spied Thord, but that man waved merrily
to her.

“
Farewell!” he cried. “Keep
your ale off your patron’s garb!”

The woman cussed. Bridei grinned as an
unrepentant Thord lent his hand to the work of hoisting the
sail.

And Aurelia heard the admiration in his
thoughts.
Thord talked a lot, he worried too much about his
garb, but his heart was pure gold.

It was all painfully true.

Then Thord waved once more, laughed and he
was gone.

And Aurelia felt cool tears on her
cheeks.

*

The dream blurred and Baird was once again
at his first day of university. Rootless and determined to make his
way alone, he felt once more the fear of being in a new and strange
environment.

Baird should have been used to solitude by
then, but the university was so crowded that it overwhelmed him.
Everything was new, everything was different, and everyone else
seemed to know the rules already.

Unlike Baird.

No one had driven him to the residence, no
one had loaded him up with stereos and chips and old dishes and
bedding. No one had waved goodbye or even wished him well. He would
have been confused if they had. Baird had taken the Greyhound bus
to the university town, with one bag holding all his worldly
possessions.

It hadn’t taken him long to unpack.

Baird had felt more than inadequate when his
roommate arrived with a cheery support team of six and enough stuff
to bury their shared room knee-deep. They had embraced him, this
troupe of strangers, offered him snacks and startled Baird with
their noisy camaraderie.

He remembered now that he had gone early to
his Intro. Psych. class, ostensibly to give his new roommate some
privacy.

But there had been no relief at class. At
least a hundred people were already chattering in the hall, all of
whom looked as though they came from secure, happy, middle-class
households.

Baird sat straight in his chair, neither too
close to the front or the back, sure that he stuck out like a sore
thumb.

He didn’t need anyone, he reminded himself,
he didn’t to make friends here, he didn’t need to count on anybody
because everybody ultimately let him down. No one needed him, so he
wasn’t going to need any of them. Baird Beauforte was here for an
education and that was all.

But all the old anthems seemed a little thin
in that moment. Baird fidgeted in his sleep, remembering the
awkwardness of his younger self too easily and hating that his
dreaming mind chose to dwell on old defeats.

Then Julian slid into the seat beside him.
Baird looked up and felt a jolt of recognition that now he recalled
feeling at the time, although he had quickly dismissed it.

How could he have known Julian?

In those days, Julian had been less
flamboyant, though his jeans had been meticulously pressed, his
collar buttoned down, his shoes buffed. His sandy ponytail defied
anyone to call him a square.

“
Hey, I’m Julian Preston,”
he said with a smile. “Can you believe these people? I feel like I
fell into a Wonder bread commercial.”

And Baird had chuckled despite himself. They
had become friends, right then, right there, defying at least one
of Baird’s axioms about life.

Julian talked a lot, he cared too much about
his clothes, but his heart was pure gold.

*

Aurelia was pacing her room and she was mad
enough to spit sparks. The dream was a lie, a crude sham to
convince of something patently untrue.

It was Bard who had stolen her dreams. And
he was trying to manipulate her in the most appalling way! He would
have her believe that he was none other than the High King of
Inverness’ son Bridei! He would have her believe that Julian was
none other than her murdered brother Thord!

And that Bard and Thord were friends!

It was reprehensible. It was disgusting. It
was lower than low. Bard had killed Thord. What kind of a man hid
from the results of his own foul deeds?

A man who could not be trusted, regardless
of his handsome visage, regardless of his charm.

This was an obvious ploy to win her
sympathies. Bard and Julian were trying to steal her power for
themselves and twisting the truth beyond recognition in the
process.

Well, Aurelia was not anyone’s pawn! To her
mind, this was no less than a declaration of war. Her Dreaming was
sacred ground and no one - no one - had the right to meddle
there.

Even if Julian did remind Aurelia of her
brother Thord.

It was a trick! Obviously, the priest had
discerned her thinking - Bard seemed to read her thoughts, after
all! - and used that against her. Disgusting! Aurelia paced and
thought furiously, dismayed at the extent of their success thus
far.

How could she defeat Bard? How could she
thwart his foul plan when her own flesh was on his side? How could
she save her Dreaming from his foul interference.

She could kill him.

Aurelia stopped and stared at the floor, her
throat tight with the realization. Julian’s magic was powerful,
indeed, but Aurelia knew that Bard’s presence was key. Without an
upstart king, there was no need to undermine any support for
Hekod.