He didn’t knowwhathe’d been expecting… She’d sobbed in his arms after telling him about her vision. He believed her. He believed her down to his soul. He also believed that something unexplainable had brought them together. Perhaps it was fate. He was an archeologist, a man of science. But archeology was also about unraveling mysteries and discovering how people lived and died centuries ago—and, yes, how they loved. But this? This was utterly unfathomable.
“I know it is unexpected, unbelievable, unfathomable,” she said.
“You just echoed my own thoughts on your revelation. How is it possible for a human being to travel through time? I have spent my life studying the past, but I also read about the brilliant minds taking science to new realms. And I have never read about this.”
“Jack, I understand how you’re feeling. I felt the same way before it happened. But it is the truth. And I will prove it.”
*
Gabriella reached forJack’s hand and held it tight. Surprise flickered briefly in his eyes at her public gesture in front of Iris and the others, but she wanted him to feel comfortable and to show him that, no matter what, she cared about him. She took it as a good sign that he didn’t pull away.
“Jack, we all realize how incomprehensible this must be for you,” Emily began. “But I want you to know that every one of us has stood in your shoes. Not one of us believed time travel was possible. Please hear us out with an open mind, and you will understand why this has happened. And what your role is in this unbelievable story. If you would please save your questions until we’ve had our say, I think it will be easier for all of us.”
Gaby squeezed his hand encouragingly. “I promise you, once you have heard everyone out, you will completely understand what is at stake. Trust me.” She held his gaze, imbuing hers with as much warmth as she could muster.
“Trusting you is my first inclination, and it seems I have no choice but to follow your lead.”
Gaby smiled at Jack and then nodded for Iris to begin.
In her lilting French accent, Iris started the story with the horrific moment when the Nazi time traveler killed her parents and fired a pistol aimed straight for her heart. She told Jack about being transported to the Mercato Vecchio in Renaissance Florence and meeting the artist Marco Allegretto. She admitted that love blossomed between them from the first moment they set eyes on each other.
“Seeing my parents murdered in front of my very eyes was the most painful thing I had to endure, but finding love with Marco and then being torn from his arms was unbearable.” Iris wiped an errant tear from her eye. “Marco is my true love, my very soul, but if the contessa succeeds, we will be torn apart forever. The Contessa di Farnese is a destroyer of life and love, and she will wreak havoc on the world if she gets her hands on the painting in your custody, Lord Langsford. To stop her from her evil quest, the painting must be returned to Marco.”
“As you are aware, Jack, Stefano procured the second painting inThe Three Stages of Loveseries,Il Divano,for me,” Constance added. “I had no idea that the painting I owned was a mirrored version of the painting and a time-travel portal.”
Constance explained her part in this remarkable story, and Gabriella was a little in awe of her. The American heiress was intelligent, intuitive, kind—a gracious lady who’d opened her heart and her mind to believing the unbelievable. She was truly a woman ahead of her time. If they were living in the modern day, Gaby had no doubt that Constance could have run for president of the United States.She would have had my vote!
“I had no qualms about letting that painting go,” Constance continued. “I did it to help my dear friend Iris, whom I adore. Iris vanished with the painting through the portal.” She chuckled. “I was left with an empty frame, but not for a minute do I regret my decision. An evil serial killer was brought to justice.”
Gabriella noted all the nods of agreement as Constance spoke.
“But Iris’s reunion with Marco was only temporary, because the third painting was still out there. And the contessa was still plotting. That is why our lovely Gabriella was brought here.”
Constance smiled, and Gaby felt her face heat with a blush as everyone in the room echoed her sentiment. She was too nervous to look at Jack’s face, but her heart soared when she felt his hand give hers a gentle squeeze.
“That is also why I enlisted Stefano’s assistance in finding the third painting,” Constance continued. “Not because I wanted to acquire it for my collection, but because I wanted it for Iris. You can see how thrilled we all are that the painting is in your possession. It is the third and final time-travel portal. Jack, it is within your power to end the contessa’s treachery and help Iris reunite with Marco once and for all.”
Gabriella chanced a glance at Jack and could see he was still processing what Iris and Constance had told him.
“Colin, I see you nodding in agreement,” Jack finally said. “But are you satisfied with the truth of all of this? How can a sensible man like you put your faith in what seems to be a fairy tale?”
“I was every bit as skeptical as you, old chap,” Colin replied. “Had I not witnessed it myself, it would have been hard to swallow. Both Xavier and I are investigators of brutal crimes in our respective cities. We are men of facts. We believe in the science of forensics.” He nodded at Xavier.
“But with each murder case we investigate, we also seek to understand the darkness that lies in the criminal mind,” Xavier added. “We know there are mysteries that are unexplainable. Things that both Colin and I have witnessed that areformidable.” He reached for his wife’s hand and kissed it. “And there are mysteries that I am truly thankful for.”
“I second that,” Colin said, grinning at Emily. “I met the love of my life thanks to time travel, as did Xavier. I think I speak for both of us when I say we are grateful to Marco Allegretto and to Iris. We are committed to helping them and will do whatever it takes to reunite them.”
“But are you not both concerned that both Emily and Jenee might be transported back to the time they came from?” Jack asked. “As Iris was wrenched numerous times from Marco’s arms.”
“No, we are not,” answered Xavier. “We believe that these four remarkable women are connected by something we cannot fathom, and once the final portal is closed, it will enable all of us to live our lives as normally as anyone else.”
“I must explain,” Iris interrupted. “Emily, Jenee, and Gabriella were each transported through a different painting portal. Emily and Jenee both made a choice to remain here in the past. They knew that when I returned the portal paintings to Marco, their chances of returning to the future would end. If we are successful, and I leave with the last painting, Marco will destroy them all, and the portals will close forever. I will be reunited with the man I love and live out the remainder of my days with him. If Gabriella wishes to return to her life in the future, she must leave with me. It is her choice, and one she must not take lightly.”
Gaby saw the shock flash in Jack’s eyes at this realization that she could go home if she chose. He turned to look at her, and oh, how she wanted to tell him right then that she didn’t want to leave. That she would stay for him.
But she couldn’t. Not in front of everyone. There were so many things she still had to say. So many questions she still had to ask.
“It would mean you would have to give up the painting, Jack,” she said softly to him. “You wouldn’t be able to sell it.”
