Chapter 30
M
ary stood in the middle of a field near Artane and stared at the air that shimmered in front of her. She had seen a great many things over the course of her life—more particularly in the past se’nnight of it—but she had never seen anything like what she found in front of her.
A time gate just where James MacLeod’s map said it would find itself.
She hadn’t found her uncle Nicholas’s map—well, she had, but not all of it. She’d been looking through things in her mother’s solar and stumbled upon the book Zachary had told her of, the one that contained the history of her family. It had been interesting, truly, but not what she’d been looking for. She had started to turn away only to see something out of the corner of her eye.
Part of a sheaf of parchment that had seemingly been tucked under that very heavy book of history.
She had lifted the book and found a fragment of the map she had seen before at Wyckham. It had been brittle with age and very faded, but still eminently useful. It had taken a bit of study, but she’d finally decided upon the spot she thought it indicated. She had made a production of going to her rest the night before, forced herself to sleep for a bit, then risen well before dawn and slipped out of the keep. She had narrowly avoided an encounter with that insufferable oaf Franbury, then hurried on her way to what she had determined was the proper locale.
Obviously she had reached it, if the magic that hung in the air before her was any indication.
She watched now in astonishment as things began to take shape on the spot before her. She first saw the outline of horses, then a man standing between them, holding their reins. Merciful saints above, ’twas Zachary.
She started forward but he shook his head sharply.
“Don’t,” he called, his voice faint even in the stillness of the morning. “I’ll come to you.”
She started to compliment him on his good sense when she realized that he wasn’t all she could see. She looked over his shoulder and felt her mouth fall open.
Her father stood there. Her uncle Jake stood to his right and her cousins stood in a group behind her uncle. She would have thought them nothing more than shadows from her dreams, but she could see all too clearly the looks of astonishment they wore. She imagined her expression matched theirs perfectly.
And then she couldn’t see any of them very well for the tears that sprang suddenly to her eyes.
She dragged her sleeve across her burning eyes and wished that was all that vexed her. There was a buzzing sound as well, something that rent the air and throbbed in her ears. She looked up in time to see some horrible bird of prey that approached relentlessly. She would have screamed, but she was too distracted by the sound of her horses doing the same.
The bird flew over her and continued on its way whilst her horses bolted, jerking Zachary off his feet. He lost the reins, but that wasn’t what terrified her so. He began to fade, as if he’d been a specter who had appeared only long enough to show her what she stood to lose. She leapt forward just as a flurry of cousins also threw themselves into the shimmering bit of air in front of her. Zachary was hauled to his feet and shoved forward.
Mary stopped and looked over Zachary’s head. Her father was still standing there, doing his best no doubt to mask an expression of grief she wouldn’t have wanted to see. He lifted his hand in farewell.
Then he disappeared.
She had no time to think on that, for Zachary lost his footing and slammed into her with all his weight and bore her back to the ground. Predictably, she lost her breath.
He heaved himself up onto his hands and knees, then crawled to one side and pulled her up and into his arms. He wrapped his arms around her so tightly, he stole what little air she managed to suck in.
“Are you hurt?” he demanded.
She attempted speech, but all she could manage was a squeak.
He laughed a little and eased his hold on her. “I’m so sorry,” he said, sounding a little winded himself. “I seem to do this to you more often than I should.”
She threw her arms around his neck and clung to him with all her strength. “Fool.”
“I see I didn’t wind you completely.”
“I’ve enough breath for calling you a dozen names,” she wheezed.
“Call me anything you care to,” he said, “just stay close enough to do so.”
She pressed her face against his hair and suppressed the urge to burst into tears for any number of reasons, beginning with having seen her father not twenty paces from her and ending with realizing how close she had come to watching Zachary disappear. He could have gone missing in any number of centuries and the saints only knew if he would have found his way out. She wondered if the cousin who had aided him would suffer that fate.
She sincerely hoped not.
“I love you,” she managed when she’d caught most of her breath. “Even if you did just attempt to crush me.”
He pulled back far enough to smile at her. “I love you and I apologize.” He took her face in his hands, then hesitated. “Do I dare kiss you, or are you liable to blacken my other eye?”
She pursed her lips, then leaned forward and kissed him. “Ignore my brother. I do most of the time.”
He smoothed her hair out of her eyes. “I’m sorry I didn’t find a better way to tell you about him. I honestly didn’t have a clue who he was until the day I drove down from Scotland.”
“Nay,” she said, shaking her head, “you could have done nothing differently. I’m sorry I didn’t save you his tender ministrations and that it took so long for my temper to cool. I did threaten him when he tried to stop me from calling you, but by the time I managed to have my mobile back from him, you didn’t answer.” She paused. “We feared the worst until we arrived and realized why you’d done what you had.”
“I had no choice,” he said quietly. “Franbury would have made our lives hell otherwise. I’m not certain that he still won’t try, but he’ll find it more difficult now.” He paused, then looked at her carefully. “It was your father’s idea to send along your horses, if you’re curious. As a wedding gift.”
She reached up and brushed his hair out of his eyes, then smiled. “Do you come along with them?”
He chewed on his words for a moment or two. “Would you be interested if I did?”
“Is that a proposal?”
He took her face in his hands, then very carefully leaned forward and kissed her. “No. Not until I clean up a bit and have a nap so I can do something more original than fall to my knees and beg you to be mine.”
“I would settle for that.”
He smiled, a sweet smile that left her smiling in return. “I would at least like to fall there with some grace. Let’s go find your horses, then I’ll look for an appropriate place to kneel.” He pushed himself to his feet, then reached down to pull her to hers. “Do we run after them, or try to find help?”
“Neither.” She whistled, heard answering whinnies, then whistled again. Within minutes, both Bella and Rex were trotting toward her. She caught Rex and left Zachary to snatch up Bella’s reins. She looked at him around Rex’s nose.
“Thank you.”
“Your father loves you deeply,” he said softly.
She had to take a deep breath, but she managed a smile. “I think he saw me.”
“I imagine he did. It will ease his heart to know for himself that you’re well and whole.” He reached for her hand. “Let’s go settle your horses, then we’ll settle ourselves and I’ll tell you about the conversations I had last night.”
She nodded and made her way with him through a village that was certainly less horse friendly than it had been in her father’s day, but not completely past managing.
In time, she walked with Zachary up the strangely covered road that led to the outer gates of the castle. And who should be coming out those gates but her brother, dressed in jeans and carrying his sheathed sword propped up against his shoulder. He stopped and leaned against the wall to wait for them.
Mary frowned at him once she was sure she was close enough that he could see her expression clearly.
“Go put your sword away,” she said loudly. “You’ve no need of it.”
“You haven’t seen what lies in wait for that lad who wants to date you.” He looked at Zachary. “You don’t mind if I stay to watch, do you?”
Zachary sighed deeply. “Will I enjoy the next hour as much as you will?”
“You might, if you could see out of that black eye you’re sporting. Where’d you get it?”
“Kendrick,” Mary warned.
Kendrick only laughed a bit. “We’ll discuss those particulars later. Do my own perfectly functioning eyes deceive me, or is that Rex you have there?”
“It is, but don’t plan on riding him anytime soon,” she said. “It won’t go any better for you than it did the last time.”
Kendrick laughed briefly. “I’d forgotten that.” He looked at Zachary. “Life is very strange.”
Mary supposed there was no use in commenting on that. She concentrated instead on James MacLeod and Robert Cameron, who were walking out of the gates. They shook hands with Kendrick, heaped what they obviously considered an appropriate amount of brotherly teasing upon Zachary’s head, then they turned to admire her horseflesh. Jamie smiled.
“We’ll take your spectacular horses for you, lady, if you will. I fear ’twas our flying over them this morning that caused them to bolt.”
Mary was tempted to ask for details, but perhaps there would be time enough for that later. She handed Rex off to Cameron, then watched Jamie wait for Zachary to remove a sword from Bella’s saddle before he led her off as well.
Kendrick looked with interest at Zachary’s blade. “Where did you come by that?”
“Your father had it made for me. Jackson helped a bit, though I understand his only concern was that it be sharp enough that I might possibly fall on it by mistake and die.”
“That sounds like Jack,” Kendrick said without hesitation. “Am I to understand he wasn’t too fond of you?”
“I don’t think he liked the fact that I love your sister.”
“His good sense was legendary.”
“Kendrick,” Mary said in exasperation, “stop it.”
“Jackson would want me to carry on in his stead,” Kendrick said solemnly. He looked at Zachary. “I will, however, leave off long enough for you to see to that piece of mischief being combined at the ticket window. Mary, take his sword. He won’t need it.”
Zachary handed her his sword, then smiled briefly. “I’ll return.”
“I know,” she said quietly.
He shot Kendrick a look, then bent his head and kissed her quickly on the cheek. “I won’t tell you what to do, but I think it might be wise to stay out of Franbury’s sights if you can.”
She nodded, and watched him walk away unsteadily. She doubted that he’d slept much the night before if he’d been with her family.
She turned to her brother. “I’ll expect you to protect him if need be.”
“He’ll manage—”
“Aye, with you there to help him, he will.” She took him by the arm and pulled him along with her. “Let’s be off.”
She walked up the path from the outer gates, suppressing a shiver as she did so. ’Twas difficult to believe that a month earlier, she had been walking through those gates knowing that her future—or her doom, rather—lay with Geoffrey of Styrr. She wouldn’t have dreamed that she might have something else, or be walking up those gates in a time so far removed from her own.
She stopped just behind Zachary, who had jerked back suddenly to avoid being struck by a manuscript that had been flung out of the guard chamber to her left. It was followed rapidly by another and another until there was quite a pile of them lying at Zachary’s feet.
He bent and picked up one of the manuscripts. Mary could see ’twas one of the guidebooks. Zachary’s hands trembled as he held it, though she supposed that was from weariness, not from any weakness on his part. He looked over his shoulder at her.
“Want to look with me?”
“Nay, I’ll look for you.” She moved to stand at his side, then took the book from him.
She turned the pages until she reached the drawings he had made of her father’s kennels. She looked closely, but she couldn’t see his name written there as she’d seen it the night before. Zachary put his arm around her shoulders only to have Kendrick flick it off. Mary glared at her brother and pulled Zachary’s arm back around her. She held the book up for him.
“I daresay the photograph has changed, but I cannot read the English. What does it say?”
“It says,” he began with a smile, “that this is an example of how advanced society was at Artane in the Middle Ages. The buildings were quite obviously superior to anything found anywhere else in England at the time.”
“Someone is flattering my father,” she said.
“I imagine someone is.”
Mary turned the page and saw herself there. She looked up at Zachary.
“And this?”
He tightened his arm around her shoulders briefly. “I couldn’t bring myself to ask your father to destroy that, and I imagine he wouldn’t have done so anyway. Though I suppose if he had given his word, he would have.”
“He was a man of his word,” Kendrick agreed, “no matter the personal cost.”
Mary watched her love look at her brother briefly. “I imagine we have a few interesting things to discuss at some point, my lord.”
“If I leave you alive to do so,” Kendrick said with a yawn.
Zachary sighed lightly, then looked at Mary again. “I think Franbury might think you resemble the woman in that sketch, but he’ll have no signature now to connect either you or me to the past. We’ll be safe enough. But I’m not sure Gideon’s gatekeeper will be if I don’t rescue her. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll go make certain of it.”
Mary waved him on to his business. He walked over to the guard chamber to no doubt try to stem the tide of books rushing out onto the cobblestones. He was soon joined by Gideon, who protested loudly the destruction of his father’s property.
“This should be interesting,” Kendrick murmured.
She looked up at her brother. “Just so you know: if he hadn’t returned, I would have gone after him.”
He pursed his lips and refrained from comment.
“And if you hurt him today, I will repay you for it.”
“You might try.”
She pointed up the way. “Remember who I now have in the stables and how badly it pained you the last time he pitched you onto your sorry arse. He’ll do that again, then he’ll trample you because I’ll tell him to.”
Kendrick shifted uncomfortably. “Very well, I’ll leave something of your love. And I’ll do you the favor of telling you what that fool Franbury is now shouting, though I imagine you can guess well enough without my aid.”
He had that aright. Franbury came rushing out of the guard chamber suddenly, his hands wrapped around his head to protect it, bellowing things she was sure were curses.
The granny who apparently kept watch over her domain was clouting him with some sort of heavy purse. Mary watched in astonishment as she then plucked a long stick out of that purse and brandished it.
“A Future weapon?” she whispered to her brother.
“Knitting needle. She’s obviously been pushed a bit too far.” He smiled for a bit longer, then his smile faded. He ceased with any pretense of not caring about the outcome of what was transpiring in front of them.
She had no less interest in it. Franbury had managed to escape the granny with her needle and had now turned on Zachary, shouting until his face was a most unattractive shade of red. Zachary only stood there with his arms folded over his chest, apparently waiting for Franbury to shout himself out. The whole scene reminded her sharply of that morning with Styrr in her father’s courtyard.
Kendrick looked back over his shoulder suddenly, then snorted.
“Cameras. Unsurprising.”
“What?” She looked behind her to find a man standing there with a black box of sorts on his shoulder.
“’Tis a video camera. It captures what you see in front of you, then replays it for later consumption. Truly one of modern man’s most marvelous inventions. I can’t imagine our good viscount is going to be pleased at having his antics so captured, though.”
Indeed Franbury was not. He realized he was being watched and shouted at the man now standing next to her to cease with what he was doing. Once the man lowered his box, Franbury swung at Zachary. Zachary only ducked and left the viscount stumbling from having overbalanced himself. Franbury straightened and spat out a slew of things Mary was certain weren’t complimentary.
He then turned on Gideon, whose expression would have caused a lesser man—or a more intelligent one, perhaps—to take a step backward.
“My nephew,” Kendrick said proudly, elbowing her in the ribs. “I taught him that look.”
“I imagine you did.”
Franbury and Gideon spoke for several minutes, though she supposed it couldn’t have been called a conversation. Franbury shouted and Gideon simply stood there, now wearing a look of utter contempt.
“Franbury’s convinced Gideon has changed the guidebooks,” Kendrick said with a smirk. “He can’t quite remember what it was about them that intrigued him so before, but he knows there was something important because he’s brought a bloody cameraman to document it. He’s certain we’re hiding something inside the keep.”
“Gideon won’t allow him inside, will he?”
Kendrick shrugged casually. “If he thinks it will occupy Franbury’s time well, I suppose he might. I understand that there are several keeps scattered throughout England which boast paranormal elements that a man such as Michael Smythe-Gordon might find interesting. Not that I would know anything about that, of course.”
Mary smiled before she could stop herself. “I daresay you have quite a few things going on at Seakirk, as it has always been a dodgy place. But Artane?”
“One never knows. We’ll have to see what turns up in the next hour or so. Don’t go throw yourself at that lad over there in the meantime, though, until I’ve finished with him.”
She handed him his sword instead of clouting him over the head with it because she was her father’s daughter and she knew the value of steel. And she would most certainly throw herself at her love—but perhaps later, when he wouldn’t yawn his way through it. She watched him talking to Gideon, then looked up at her brother, who resembled her father so much it was startling, and felt her heart ache a bit. She sighed and slipped her arm through his.
“I saw Father this morning,” she said quietly.
His look of shock was almost rewarding enough to ease her slightly.
“You jest,” he said faintly.
She shook her head slowly. “Zachary was in the middle of that doorway through time and Father was on the other side.” She paused. “I wish he could have seen you, to know you are well and happy.”
Kendrick took a deep breath. “He knows.”
“How?” she asked in surprise.
“Jake told him.”
“Jake?” she echoed. “Our uncle Jake? And how would he know to do that?”
“Because I told him to when I saw him a pair of years ago here in the Future.”
She leaned heavily on him. “I need a nap.”
“Not with that lad over there you don’t.”
“Kendrick, leave him be. He’s had enough for one day.”
“Not if he wants you, he hasn’t.”
She started to remind her brother of the equine danger he would face if he pushed her too far, but he took a figurative step backward before she could.
“Very well,” he conceded. “I’ll allow him a brief rest.”
“I’ll oversee his taking of it myself.”
“Mary!”
She walked away, smiling, because she couldn’t keep herself from it. Her love and her brother in the same century. It was truly so much more than she’d dared hope for and so much more than she deserved.
Zachary was standing on the path in front of her, listening to Gideon with half an ear, but watching her. She thought of all the times she had watched him in her father’s time, wishing that things would be different and she might have him in truth.
Zachary turned, leaving Gideon standing there, still talking. He met her halfway, then opened his arms.
She walked into his embrace, put her arms around him, and closed her eyes. She wished, briefly, that she’d known about her aunt Jennifer—or apparently her uncle Jake, for that matter—so she might have asked them how they had made such wonderful lives in times not their own, then she decided they had likely known what she had discovered.
Someone to love made all the difference.