I smirk at that and spin my mug. “Maybe so but he’s ours to deal with so give him another fifty years or so and if he’s still like this we’ll all knock some sense back into him.” I set my elbows on the table and rub my hands over my face before looking at them again. “You can’t…you just can’t. He’s right, she’s gone and you two bringing her up makes the whole thing start over again. Leave it be.”
Finn shakes his head. “Aye, I’d agree with you except right fucking here, right here I’m feeling a touch of fear and a whole lot of sadness and it’s just getting stronger so you tell me what that means because I dinnae have a clue,” he says while rubbing at his breastbone.
The door to the tavern opens again and within seconds Cade and Finn are on their feet as the air blows in. Cade’s eyes have the worst thing I’ve ever seen in them and when I switch to Finn I see the same damn thing. It’s hope. Their eyes are filled with hope and then they’re around the table and out the door. I squeeze my eyes shut and go back to rubbing my face as a deep weariness fills me. It will take me years to pull them back from this when they realize she’s not here.
Luca slams the bottle and glasses down on the table and drops into his chair.
“Where are they off to? Going to chase their tails to kill time?” He asks in a nasty tone.
I don’t even bother replying. I just lift a hand from my face, make a fist, and plow it into his jaw, sending him crashing to the floor.
Eden
Istand at the edge of the track, lost and not knowing what to do as the couple plods away in the wagon. How could this happen? How could the mirror not just send me so far away from my men but also so far in their future? They could be anywhere now. They might not even be in France. I told them what was coming in that country. What if they chose to move somewhere else? How will I ever find them and what do I do now? 1775! Why send me here, now? This is so bad…so bad! This is the year of the American Revolution. This is the true start of how my country was founded and it’s an incredibly dangerous time. I need to get out of here but short of shooting myself so I can travel back to my own time, I have no idea what to do.
I turn in the direction the couple said Portsmouth was in and slowly start walking. What else am I going to do? Ten miles. I can walk ten miles. After twenty minutes the heavy bag and the strain of carrying it let me know it’s going to be a painful ten miles. I’m considering switching my soft shoes for the heavier leather boots when the sound of horses galloping towards me from behind has me stumbling off the dirt track and into the high grass that grows beside it. My heart starts racing when I see at least twenty men and horses rushing towards me. Men all in red.
My eyes are huge as the first few ride past, barely sparing me a glance but then a rider pulls up to stop, causing my mouth to grow dry. He’s young, maybe early twenties, with a smooth face and concerned blue eyes.
“Miss, are you in need of assistance? It very dangerous for a woman alone to travel these roads in these times.”
My brain spins through all the ways to try and play this and then I decide to just play to the era and channel Scarlett O’Hara even if she doesn’t show up for another hundred years or so.
“Why, yes I do!” I gush. “My horse threw me and ran away leaving me all alone out here. I’ve been slowly making my way to Portsmouth ever since. I’m so afraid I will be caught out in this desolate area after dark and be at the mercy of wild animals and dastardly scoundrels. I was beginning to feel faint at the notion!”
I have to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing and rolling my eyes when I see his chest puff up and hero status start to shine from his eyes.
“Never fear, Miss. It would be my honor to escort a lady such as yourself safely to Portsmouth. If you’d be so kind as to wait for a moment, I will have a mount brought forward for you.”
I bat my lashes and gush, “Sir! You are too kind.” I have to duck my head so he won’t see the amusement in my eyes as a deep red blush climbs to his cheeks at my silly, flirty tone. He wheels his mount around and calls out to one of the other men to bring a spare mount over and then slides down to stand before me.
“Alistair Lancaster, at your service, Miss.”
I offer my hand. “Miss Eden Kelly. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”
“May I take your bag? I will secure it to the mount for you.”
I pass it over to him and try not to groan as the weight is released from my shoulder and follow him over to the horse that’s being held by an even younger man in the red coat made famous by the British. Technically, these men are my enemy, multiple generations removed but right now I’m stranded in a time where being a woman alone is hazardous so I’ll happily flirt my way to some measure of safety. Once he’s secured my bag to the back of the horse he moves back to me and lowers himself to one knee.
“A leg up, miss.” He offers, patting his knee expectantly. I look from his knee to the saddle nervously while biting my lip. I have to ride this horse side-saddle and I can just picture myself making a complete fool of myself trying to get up on it and then flying off the minute the horse picks up speed. Alistair gets back to his feet and gives me an understanding look.
“Forgive me, you must still be shaken from your horse throwing you. Would it be too forward of me to offer you a seat with me on my mount? For your safety, of course.”
Uh, hell yeah! This guy clearly knows his way around a horse so saddle me up.
“Oh, thank you so much! I would greatly appreciate that. I fear my nerves would affect this mount and I would end up thrown again. I have a strict rule about only being thrown from a horse once per day. It would be most kind of you to save me from breaking it.” I say with a hint of tease in my tone.
He takes my hand and brings it to his lips, brushing them across my knuckles, and says in the most serious tone, “It would be my greatest honor to have you ride tandem with me, Miss Kelly.”
Oh crap! That sounded almost like he was pledging his hand in marriage to me. Who knew a little flirting in the seventeen hundreds could make a guy fall over his feet for you? His youth disguises his strength as the next thing I know he’s lifting me around the waist to sit me up on his saddle and is launching up to settle in behind me before kicking the horse into motion. I try and stay sitting straight up but the horses’ movements have me falling back against his chest and his arm comes around my waist to anchor me in place. I hear him breathe in next to my hair and it reminds me way too much of how Finn and Sebastian did the same damn thing the first time I rode with them. Double crap!
“May I inquire where your people are from, Miss Kelly?”
I wrack my brain on what to tell him and then just go with a half-lie, half-truth.
“I’m alone in the world, I’m afraid. But I have distant relations in Portsmouth that I will be staying with for the duration.” I quickly change the subject so he can’t ask any more questions that I can’t answer. “And you? Have you been in the colonies long? It must be hard to be so far from home and your family.”
He drones on about serving King and country and names places in England that I don’t know. While he goes on about country seats, I stop listening and start thinking about my next move on how to find my men. The only thing I have to go on is Sebastian’s title and that they lived an hour by horseback from the palace. This is such a mess. The only thing I can think to do is find a ship to take me to France and go from there but if the British are blockading the coast, the chances of me ending up on the bottom of the ocean are fairly high. I’m going to have to find some kind of lodging for the time being as I figure this out. I’m afraid of what might happen to me and I’m devastated that I might not be able to find Bas, Luca, Finn, and Cade.
