Time Travel Romances Boxed Set (28 page)

*

“
Are you not hungry yet?”
Aurelia demanded several hours later and Baird looked to her in
surprise. She was serious.

Again.

“
Let me guess. You are,
right?”

Aurelia nodded and watched him expectantly.
Baird sighed, admitted that they weren’t getting anywhere in a
hurry anyhow and scanned the square.

Hekod was not prepared to be found, despite
Baird’s earlier optimism. The cops knew nothing of him, no one had
seen him in either village on the island and Baird was really
beginning to worry that the old guy was dead.

But that was nothing compared to how much he
dreaded Aurelia being forced to face that. If anything, his
protective instinct towards her had only gotten stronger after the
incredible night they had shared.

He didn’t want to see her hurt for the
world.

But Baird was sure she knew the truth
already, at least on some level. But how would confronting it -
again - affect her? Not well, Baird guessed, but wasn’t sure what
to do about it.

Maybe she was right. Maybe he’d think better
with something in his stomach.

Baird noticed a tea shop, and turned his
steps in that direction. Aurelia sniffed appreciatively as they
crossed the threshold, her face lighting up at the sight of an
elderly woman sipping tea in the corner.

It was Talorc’s mother and she beamed at
Aurelia in turn. Relief washed through Baird that someone
recognized Aurelia. Maybe Ursilla would know what had happened to
Hekod. He deliberately took the table next to hers.

“
Good morning, Ursilla.”
Baird nodded at the bags clustered at the older woman’s feet. “Out
doing your shopping?”

“
Gemdelovely Gemdelee! And
Mr. Beauforte, as charming as can be.” The older lady nodded to
Baird, whose heart had leapt at the unexpected mention of That Name
again. “You’ve a sharp eye, as clear as can be, though I wonder if
you see all you can see.”

As usual, Talorc’s mother was a bit
confusing to understand. Baird was not surprised that Aurelia
settled in beside the dotty older woman with sparkling eyes.

‘
Like to like’ as his
twelfth foster father often said.

Baird ordered tea and scones from the
bustling matron running the teashop.

“
I do not understand why
all insist on calling me Gemdelovely,” Aurelia commented with a bit
of irritation.

Ursilla smiled mysteriously and stirred her
tea.

Baird leaned forward. “Yes, Ursilla, perhaps
you could help. Elizabeth said that there’s an old story about that
name. Would you happen to know it?”

“
Oh, yes
indeed!”

“
What is it?” Aurelia
asked. “Will you tell us?”

Ursilla looked from one to the other as she
sipped her tea, her pinkie lifting ever so slightly from the bone
china handle. “You do not remember the tale, as old as it might
be?”

“
I never knew it,” Aurelia
and Baird said simultaneously.

They glanced to each other as Ursilla
laughed aloud. “Is that the truth? Well, we shall see.”

She cleared her throat and set her teacup
aside, folding her hands primly on the tabletop. “It is said there
was once, beyond the sea, a Viking lord who was fine to see. His
hair was gold, he could hold his mead, he was strong with sword and
brave of deed. When he earned his ship, he put to sea, and with his
crew of loyal men, Hekod came to Orkney.”

Uh-oh. Baird flashed a glance to Aurelia who
sat stiffly on the edge of her seat. He wasn’t quite so sure that
this was a good idea anymore, but Aurelia was listening with rapt
attention.

The tea came in that moment, cups and
saucers settled on the tiny table with a clatter, followed by a
teapot in a horrible frilly cozy, a creamer and sugar. The scones
were steaming from the oven and smelled wonderful.

Aurelia, tellingly enough, didn’t even
notice the arrival of the food. Baird buttered a scone and poured
the tea.

Aurelia didn’t look away from Ursilla. “Go
on!”

Ursilla cleared her voice. “There was a king
on the isle, known far and wide in those times. He was named Erc
Destroyer and was greatly feared for his crimes. People longed to
escape from the heavy hand of their king, but that had not the
power before Hekod Viking.”

“
No sooner had Hekod Viking
arrived, his willing men all around, then the people rallied to his
side and drove Erc from their ground. The old king was angered his
people did not hold him dear, but when he drowned in escaping, the
whole of the isle erupted in a cheer.”

“
Hekod Viking was made king
by people glad of his blade, and he, grateful for their praise,
took to wife a local maid. Gemma Whitefeather was a witch and a
beauty unsurpassed, she gave Hekod a son, shortly thereafter a wee
lass. All was happy in their kingdom, they ruled over a prosperous
age, and ’twould be long years before tragedy darkened the
page.”

Aurelia’s face, Baird noted with concern,
had gone white. He urged a cup of tea towards her and a buttered
scone. She smiled thinly and took a bite, but chewed mechanically
as she watched Ursilla.

This really didn’t look like it had been
such a good idea.

But Ursilla wasn’t going to stop. “As was
told, Gemma was a witch greatly empowered, she held the grip of
many of the world’s wonders in her power. There were many of her
ilk in those days long forgotten, and the birth of the daughter
meant another had been begotten. This child was not only destined
to share her mother’s gifts, but she was uncommon beautiful, the
merest glimpse of her brought a smile to the lips.”

“
Gemma summoned three of
her cohorts to bless the new child, and they all were delighted to
share the blessings they had styled. The witches had brought
blessings one two three, but evil intruded uninvited, cackling with
glee.”

“
She was Drustic of
Sutherland, known as Drustic the Black, and she had come, she
declared, to give Hekod his own back. A cousin of Erc, Drustic
yearned for vengeance with a thirst, and she had come back to
Dunhelm to make Hekod’s burden worse. The other witches shrank
away, while Gemma sheltered her own, and Drustic gave a wicked
cackle before pronouncing her doom.”

Aurelia leaned forward, her features drawn
with tension. Baird opened his mouth to suggest that Ursilla stop
this tale, but no sound came out of his throat.

What was going on?

“
Oh, you will hear all of
this tale,” Ursilla told him with a stern glance. “Of that you may
be sure, for it is a lesson to us all of what the past can make
clear.”

Baird figured he should have gotten used to
the hair on the back of his neck standing up by now.

Ursilla lifted a finger. “Drustic summoned
the forces from the darkness she had roamed, and she bent them on
the child, so innocent and alone. Drustic pronounced that the babe
would prick her thumb - in the midst of the whorl - and a darkness
then would come. She would die from the wound, no one’s efforts
would avail, and after her demise, Hekod’s kingdom would fail.
Certain she had wrought all the wickedness she could do on that
day, Drustic lifted her bony arms, whistled to the wind and flew
away.”

“
As you might imagine, the
witches were distraught. Here was a one of their own, cursed with
evil she had not wrought. They thought very busily of what help
they could be, then focussed their aid on the witch making blessing
number three. That witch summoned her powers and focussed her will,
and she decreed that the child would not die of Drustic’s will. The
babe would but sleep, if ever she pricked her thumb, and that babe
would awaken when her true love did come.”

“
The witches were quite
pleased with all they had done, though Gemma considered matters far
from done. Though she thanked her good friends for their gifts made
in joint, that night she purged Dunhelm halls of every item with a
point.”

“
When Hekod protested all
that Gemma had seen done, she feared he would think her a fool and
make fun. She lied to her spouse and said she feared for her young,
that they might stumble in the hall and great damage could be done.
Hekod loved his wife clear to the bone, and though he thought her
worries whimsy, he ensured her desire in Dunhelm was
done.”

“
And so they passed many
years in happiness and peace, until suddenly one winter, Gemma died
in her sleep.”

“
All were dismayed at the
passing of their queen, though none more than Hekod, or his
children, young and green. It was not much later that tragedy came
to pass, and ’twas said it was because the lady’s spells could not
last. When Gemma passed from this life, ’twas said an age came to
an end, and the white-feathered eagles for which she was named were
never seen again.”

Ursilla sipped her tea and there wsn’t a
sound in the shop.

“
A messenger came boldly,
sent by Bard, a warrior true, declaring his lord as a man desiring
Hekod’s daughter to woo. Now, Hekod remembered well that Erc had
had a child name of Bard, and saw this as a chance to see settled
an old scar. His son rode out willingly to meet the dead king’s
spawn, but their trust was poorly served by the very next
dawn.”

“
On that day, the son’s
head was returned to Dunhelm - he had been murdered by Bard, though
he was son of the realm.”

Baird noted with a start that Aurelia was
weeping. The tears ran silently down her cheeks as he watched with
concern, but when Ursilla paused, it was Aurelia who silently urged
her on.

He reached out and took her hand, reassured
by her strong grip on his fingers. Baird was determined to help
Aurelia face whatever obstacles were before her.

“
Hekod was devastated by
the murder of his heir, no less by Bard’s certain intent of war.
The son of Erc was determined to have Dunhelm for his own, and he
cared little for any cost paid to win his father’s
crown.”

“
The day Bard’s ships were
sighted dawned sunny and bright, and Hekod’s forces climbed the
walls, armed with all of their might. The daughter of Gemma, both
lovely and strong, took her crossbow to do her part against this
wrong. But no sooner had the princess of Dunhelm climbed the wall,
then her arrow pricked her thumb, in the midst of the whorl. She
fell into that slumber, prophesied and foretold, Hekod crying with
pain when his daughter he did behold.”

“
They won the battle that
day, and Bard died by his own blade, though the son of Erc had a
dying breath to say. He declared he would be back, that he would
make the girl his own, and woe to any man who stood between him and
his goal.”

“
Though the fight had been
won, Hekod had paid a heavy toll. It was said he aged a decade and
suddenly looked old. Hekod sent word through every kingdom of what
had gone amiss, and promised great riches for the man who woke her
with a kiss.”

“
This man would be her true
love, Hekod knew that without fail, yet men came one after the
other, time passed and the king grew frail. Hekod stayed beside his
daughter, weeping as he died, and clearly ’twas his broken heart
that stole Hekod from her side.”

“
When the great king died,
his kingdom crumbled, and the men who had served, knew their king
and lord would see his daughter’s safety preserved. They built her
a chamber, a room whose place is lost, and they sealed her inside,
sparing no cost. And with every stone they raised and with every
hinge they cast, the time of Hekod’s happy reign slid into the
past.”

“
When the chamber was done,
men of valor wept without shame, and ’twas after it all Hekod’s
daughter earned her new name. Spawn of Gemma, yet even more lovely
than could be, she became known in Dunhelm as Gemdelovely Gemdelee.
A new prophecy was made for Gemdelovely Gemdelee; should her true
love kiss her, his bride she will be.”

Baird sat up with a start when he heard the
phrase from his dream again. Aurelia inhaled sharply, but Ursilla’s
words continued, her cadence as rhythmic as a song.

“
It is said her true love
still searches, as persistent as can be, though no one knows
exactly what happened to Gemdelovely Gemdelee. And to this day in
the Orkney whene’er a pretty lass is seen, folks say she must be
the revived Gemdelovely Gemdelee.”

Ursilla smiled at the pair of them and the
matron running the tea shop sighed with romantic contentment. “No
one can tell an old tale as well as you, Ursilla,” she
murmured.

But Aurelia was pushing to her feet.

She stumbled over the chair and Baird
reached to steady her but she evaded his grasp. Her eyes glittered
wildly, and she shook her head, her color rising in her cheeks.

“
It is not true! It cannot
be true!” Aurelia ran from the tea shop, tripping over the
threshold on her way to the street.

Baird lurched to his feet to give chase, but
Ursilla latched on to his arm with remarkable tenacity for her age.
Her eyes were bright with determination.

“
Leave her be, Mr.
Beauforte, and you will see, that there is no one stronger than
soft Gemdelovely Gemdelee.”

“
I can’t believe that.
She’s vulnerable right now!” He shook his sleeve but the old
woman’s grip was strong.

Ursilla chuckled to herself, then wagged a
playful finger at Baird. “Just because you stop believing in things
does not mean they cease to be. There’s more to you than the world
might see - look closely, Mr. Beauforte, and you will see.”