Time Travel Romances Boxed Set (41 page)

“
She is worried about
you.”

Talorc looked to Aurelia, his somber glance
speaking volumes. His concession was gruff. “She is a good-hearted
woman, Elizabeth is.”

“
Is that what your heart
says?”

Talorc snorted. “You have a measure of my
mother’s insight, that much is for certain.” He squared his
shoulders and looked towards an obviously anxious Elizabeth. “What
do you think she has been cooking all this day?”

Aurelia smiled. “Whatever is your favorite
dish.”

He stared at her for a long moment, then
shrugged again. “You have caught me in a rare mood this day, that
much is for certain. And there is no need to hurt a good woman’s
feelings over foolishness.” He cleared his throat. “But, before we
go and eat whatever it is Elizabeth has been busying herself with
making, there’s one thing I would say to you, Miss Aurelia.”

Talorc fidgeted, awkward with such
confessions, and Aurelia simply waited.

“
I have never had a child,
and at this point, I sorely doubt that I ever will. But there is a
spark in you, Miss Aurelia, that warms an old man’s heart. If ever
I were to have a daughter, I would be proud beyond all if she had
the good fortune to be like you.”

They stared at each other for a long moment
as the sea crashed far below their feet.

Aurelia finally managed to coax the words
past the lump in her throat. “You remind me most vividly of my own
sire,” she admitted softly.

“
Is that the truth of it?
Well, then I was not such a fool to say such a thing.” Talorc
jammed his old felt hat on his head and waved to Elizabeth. “Are
you coming along to eat?”

“
No. Not just
now.”

Aurelia watched as Talorc strode back
towards the hall, a definite bounce in his step. “Elizabeth, you’ve
not been cooking all the day long just for the two of us, have you?
By the saints above, woman, how many people are you thinking you’ll
be feeding in this place?”

Elizabeth laughed, then her scolding tones
carried to Aurelia’s ears though her words were not clear. Aurelia
knew that she did not imagine the other woman’s relief.

And what of her own? Aurelia turned to pace
the length of the cliff face. Baird’s dreams had been right, though
it was no consolation to think of that now. The tangle of their
fates compelled them all to return to Dunhelm, to try and fix a
muddle gone sorely amiss.

This time, things had changed. Aurelia had
been awakened but Baird was gone, no longer her lover true. He was
lost to her, as surely as he had been each time he died within the
walls of the ritual well.

Men seldom wed their whores.
Gemma’s
voice rang in her ears and Aurelia hated that she had made such an
old mistake.

Had she truly been no more than that to
Baird?

*

Julian slipped into the tiny church wearing
a suit with too much of a hint of burgundy to be truly called
black. His white shirt was crisp and his golden tie remarkably
sedate in what was obviously a concession to the occasion.

When the funeral service was over and
Ursilla had been walked to the cemetery, Julian fell into step
beside Aurelia. “Nothing more fun than a funeral,” he muttered.

Aurelia glanced pointedly to him but kept up
her brisk pace. “I was surprised to see you here. Did you know
Ursilla?”

Julian shook his head. “Corporate presence.
Boss’s request.” He met Aurelia’s gaze with a glance so knowing
that she had to look away. “Got to wonder why the man isn’t here to
do such things himself.”

Aurelia stared at the ground.

Julian’s tone was idle. “You wouldn’t happen
to know anything about his sudden departure, would you?”

Aurelia’s cheeks flamed and Julian
pounced.

“
Aha! I should have known.
You two had a tiff, and I was left holding the bag in this
godforsaken place!” He positively bounced alongside Aurelia,
showing an annoying contentment at solving the puzzle. “So, what
you fight about? Anything meaty?”

Thord had done that all the time. As
endearing as her brother had been, he showed an irritating tendency
to ignore any hurt that was not his own. Of all the things she had
tried to change…

Aurelia turned and stared at Julian in
sudden understanding. Julian was Thord. She had been so busy
dismissing her earlier conclusion that Baird had been trying to
affect her dreaming that she had forgotten all about Baird’s dream
comparing the two.

And now it seemed so painfully obvious.
Julian was Thord, drawn to the site of his own murder to see this
matter set to rest. Aurelia’s heart swelled in sudden understanding
of why Julian found Scotland so offensive.

It had nothing to do with the weather or the
food.

She could trust Julian with the very secrets
of her heart. The fact that he had come back again was yet another
testament of the old link between the two of them.

And he was friends with Baird, which meant
he might be able to answer something that had been bothering
Aurelia.

“
What does it mean to be a
Jessica?” she asked.

Julian winced. “He called you that?”

“
Yes, but I do not
understand.”

“
Oh, but I do. That
explains everything. No wonder he took off like a bat out of hell.”
Julian clucked his teeth and walked ahead, pausing to glance back
at Aurelia. “So, what? You want his money?”

Aurelia stiffened. “I care nothing for hard
coin.”

“
What is it, then? The
fancy lifestyle? Lavish accomodations? You want him to introduce
you to fatter fish?”

Aurelia treated Julian to her most scathing
glance. “Baird and I ware destined to be together.”

“
Uh-huh.” Julian’s
skepticism was tangible.

“
It is true!”

“
Whatever.” Julian made a
face. “So, what did you do to him? Why did he compare you to
Jessica?”

Aurelia shrugged. “I do not know.”

Julian studied her for a long moment, then
nodded to himself. “You know, maybe I should tell you about this
Jessica bitch. She kind of spoiled Baird for anyone else, if you
know what I mean.”

“
No, I do not
understand.”

“
Well, Jessica was a piece
of work, probably still is.” Julian shoved his hands into his
pockets and started to walk, Aurelia fast on his heels. “Gorgeous
woman, all curves and auburn hair and come-hither glances. She laid
one of those on Baird once she decided he was a man with a future.”
Julian shook his head. “You know, anyone else might have seen right
through her, but Baird…well, Baird had been alone so long that he
fell for her like a ton of bricks.”

Aurelia’s mouth went dry. “He loves this
woman?”

“
He thought he did.” Julian
fired a bright glance Aurelia’s way. “It wasn’t as though he’d had
a lot of experience in all that.”

She nodded, aching for the loneliness Baird
had known. “He told me of his fostering.”

Julian ran a hand over his bald pate. “Well,
yeah, he hasn’t had it easy, that’s for sure. And Jessica was good,
you know. The Manipulation Queen. She knew when to push and when to
leave it alone. It wasn’t long before Baird was completely in her
pocket.” Julain stuck out his tongue. “It was really a drag,
because everyone else could see that she was playing him for a
fool, but our noble Baird wouldn’t listen to a word against his
lady.”

Aurelia’s heart clenched. Did Baird still
love this woman? Had Aurelia inadvertently reminded him of this
lost love?

Julian scuffed his toe. “Problem was,
Jessica was no lady.”

“
What happened?”

To Aurelia’s surprise, Julian looked
sheepish. “Well, he wouldn’t listen. I didn’t want him to get hurt
- you know, that’s what friends are for.”

Had they been discussing anything else, the
lawyer’s defensive manner would have made Aurelia smile. As a
child, she had always admired the way Thord would squirm when
caught in an awkward situation.

“
What did you do?” she
demanded with no small trace of sisterly affection.

Julian colored. “Well, I set her up. She
deserved it!”

“
How?”

“
I, uh, happened to come by
some information about a little liaison Jessica was planning.
Purely by coincidence, Baird was heading home early from some
overseas meeting -”

“
Coincidence?”

“
Well, maybe I helped speed
things up a bit. He’s my friend!” Julian hurried on as though he
did not want another interruption. “And so, I suggested that
instead of calling ahead, he should just surprise Jessica. After
all, didn’t he have a key to her place?”

Aurelia gasped. “He walked in on them?”

“
Flagrante delicto
,”
Julian confirmed with gusto. “Worst thing was, she had hopped into
the sack with some business associate of Baird’s, a highflying type
that Baird had introduced Jessica to. What a slap in the face! It
must have been some kind of show.” He whistled through his teeth.
“I wish I could have been there.”

Aurelia knew her eyes were wide. “Did he
spurn this woman for her faithlessness?”

Julian grimaced. “You know, I’m not sure he
would have. Baird was really smitten, maybe he would have been able
to forgive and forget or take it as a one-off, but Jessica made a
big mistake that night.”

“
What did she
do?”

“
She laughed at him.”
Julian’s gaze was sober. “She told him flat out that she had used
him to meet wealthier men, that Baird was taking too long to make
his millions. This guy she was with was busy setting her up in
style as his mistress -”

Aurelia was incredulous. “He was not going
to wed her?”

Julian’s tone was dry. “He already was
married.”

“
Such a man is no better
than vermin!”

“
I tell you, they were two
of a kind.” He cleared his throat. “Then she invited Baird to visit
her penthouse, just to play.”

Aurelia could well understand how hurt Baird
would be by this betrayal. He would have put everything into the
first loving relationship of his days, and to find himself used and
decieved would burn deeply.

She was astonished that he had come to trust
her the way he had. It could not have been easy for him to grant
his heart to Aurelia - if only she had known more of Jessica
before! Never would she had admitted to summoning the Dreaming - or
at least, she would have made her role in the generation of those
dreams more clear.

But now, Aurelia did not know whether she
would ever have the chance to explain.

Julian walked more quickly. “Well, she
showed her true colors there and Baird was out of there. And funny
thing, Beauforte Resorts doesn’t buy linens from Carson Quality
Supply any more.”

They walked in silence for a long moment,
but Aurelia had to ask. “Baird still loves this woman, despite her
faithlessness?”

“
No! He’s not an idiot, you
know.” Julian shrugged. “He just thinks women in general are
manipulative and self-serving. He’s steered a pretty wide path of
romance since Jessica.”

“
But to deny your own
happiness because of one foul person is not idiocy?” Aurelia asked
impatiently.

Julian stopped, then jingled the change in
his pockets and surveyed Aurelia. “Not learning from your mistakes
is. I’ve got to wonder why he turned and ran all of a sudden. It’s
not like Baird to leave something half done.” He leaned closer.
“Were you manipulating him, Aurelia?”

Trust Thord to make her face an awkward
truth.

She swallowed carefully. “I fear he saw it
as such,” Aurelia admitted softly. “I only used the power of my
dreams to show him the truth of our shared destiny.” She felt her
tears rise but fought against them valiantly. “And now I have sent
him away forever. I wish - I wish that I could have the opportunity
to explain the truth to him.”

Julian’s stern expression eased as he stared
at her, obviously seeing her discomfort. He reached out and patted
Aurelia on the shoulder, urging her to continue walking towards the
resort.

“
I never thought you were
cut from the same cloth as Jessica,” he admitted with an
encouraging smile. “I’m going back to the States this afternoon -
let me see what I can do.”

“
I would greatly appreciate
the chance to talk to Baird again.”

“
Well, I’ll try, but he can
be pretty stubborn.” Julian forced a smile and pointedly changed
the subject. “You know, Aurelia, I’ve had a good feeling about you
for a while. I know you’re really stuck on this eighth century
thing, but is there any chance we met somewhere before? Maybe you
were friends with my sister or something?”

Aurelia slanted a smile at the lawyer.
“Maybe I knew you in the eighth century.”

Julian looked momentarily startled, then met
her glance and grinned back. “Yeah, could be. I mean, why not?”

*

Aurelia prowled the perimeter of Dunhelm
restlessly, fed up with her own company. Two months of missing
Baird was enough to make her dread a lifetime alone.

As she had been alone for countless
centuries. On this day, it was threatening rain and the air was
damp. The shadowed steps of the ritual well beckoned to her, the
weather reminding Aurelia all too clearly of the day she had first
met Baird.

Aurelia heard Darian murmuring cheerfully to
himself as she descended and thought his company might be good
tonic.

For twelve hundred years Aurelia had
slumbered in this ritual well, she marvelled as she descended the
stairs, and ran her fingers along the fitted stone walls. And yet
she had never yet returned here since the day that Baird awakened
her. She paused in front of a carved stone slab, remembering when
many such stones dotted the landscape.