On the evening of the fifth day, Stefan asked if she was ready to go visit her family. It was something she had been yearning to do, but now the thought of actually being in their company, seeing the shock and the horror on their faces, made her nervous.
“They are anxious to see you,” he said. “But the decision is yours.”
She bit down on her lip. Took a deep breath. Might as well go now, she thought. She had to face them sometime. Waiting wouldn’t make it any easier. “You won’t leave me there alone?”
“No, love.”
“Do I look all right?”
His gaze moved over her. She wore a dress the same shade of blue as her eyes. A matching ribbon held her hair away from her face. “You look lovely, as always. They will not notice any difference in you, except that your skin is a little more pale, your hair thicker and more lustrous.”
“Really?”
He nodded as he slid his arm around her waist.
“How do you do it?” she asked. “How do you get where you want to go?”
“You concentrate on where you wish to go and picture your destination in your mind.”
“What if you’ve never been there before?”
He grinned at her. “That takes practice and a bit of luck. As time passes, it will get easier and require less concentration. In the beginning, it is wisest to transport to places you are familiar with. You can try your hand at it on the way back.”
The idea filled her with apprehension and excitement. Imagine, being able to wish herself to London and be there in the blink of an eye!
A moment later, they were standing on the front porch of the house where she had been born.
Bryony was trembling with excitement and apprehension as Stefan lifted the knocker. A moment later, Alistair opened the door. A broad smile lit his weathered face when he saw her.
“Miss Bryony! It is so good to see you. Come in, come in. The family is in the back parlor.”
“Thank you, Alistair.” Grabbing Stefan’s hand, she led the way through the house to the family parlor.
As soon as she stepped into the room, all conversation came to a stop. Bryony took a step back as every eye turned inher direction. Her father’s expression was grave, her mother’s apprehensive, her brother’s wary. Only Veronica seemed happy to see her. For a full minute, no one moved or spoke.
Bryony froze. Would they reject her now? Slowly, she straightened her shoulders and lifted her head. “I’m still me,” she said, hardly daring to breathe as she waited to see if they loved her enough to accept her.
Stefan remained in the doorway, ready to whisk her away if necessary.
Another few seconds ticked into eternity and then, as if an invisible barrier had been removed, her mother closed the distance between them and hugged her close. Veronica and Eli were quick to follow.
Her father was the first to speak. “You must know we have questions, Bry,” he said, somewhat apologetically. “Do you mind?”
She shook her head, her gaze darting to where Stefan waited. He gave a faint nod.
“I don’t mind,” she said.
“Let’s all sit down, shall we?” her mother suggested.
“Come sit by me,” Veronica said, tugging on Bryony’s hand.
“I have a question foryou,” Bryony said, settling on the couch. “Why aren’t you on your honeymoon?”
“We postponed the wedding,” Veronica said, with a shrug.
“None of us were in the mood to celebrate while you were…ah, not here,” her father said. “So we told everyone there had been a death in the family.” He laughed a harsh, bitter laugh. “As it turns out, it wasn’t a complete lie.”
An uncomfortable silence filled the room.
