Michael quirked his brow at her then shook his head slightly and escorted Colin and William out of the house, giving them instructions on the kinds of men he was looking for. Something was up with Charlotte and Gerald. He was going to find out.
Left alone in the courtyard after the two men left, he thought about starting over here. Starting fresh, with no past. No ghosts.
“Greetings, Detective,” Roldan Simeon’s voice broke through his thoughts and made him jump. “I do hope you’re not angry with me for staying away for so long. Apparently, taking Napoleon’s hat nearly started a war with one of his allies. Seems he likes his hats. I had to return it back to the exact moment I took it.”
Michael would like to grab him and put him in a cell, but he wasn’t a criminal…at least, not in this century. “Tell me more about it later. Just don’t run away around Lady Charlotte. She thinks I’m crazy.”
“Good.”
“No. That’s not good. I don’t want her to think that.”
“Ah, right, because she’s your true love,” Simeon reminded him with a melody in his voice and a grin curling his lips beneath his mustache.
“No, it’s not that,” Michael said, trying to make light of it. “I have a reputation to uphold if I’m to be taken seriously here. And by the way, what are my chances of staying?”
Simeon walked beside him when he picked up his steps. “True. True. You are an officer of the law. As for staying, Kestrel stayed, so I would assume it’s up to you whether you want to go back or not.”
“But you don’t know for sure?”
“No, I don’t,” Simeon told him. “You and Kestrel are the first to receive the brooch. I don’t know if there will be any more. I only know what I know about you both.”
“Come inside. Meet Charlotte and tell me what you know about all this.”
They reached the door as it opened. Charlotte stepped out and smiled. She looked at the man standing beside Michael. Simeon hadn’t disappeared. Michael breathed a sigh of relief.
“Lady Charlotte,” Michael said. “May I introduce Mr. Roldan Simeon, a time traveler.”
Chapter Seventeen
They sat inthe great hall. Her, Michael, and his friend. Michael had sent the others off to run some errands, so they were alone in the keep. Charlotte had lit more candles, though there was still enough sunlight coming through the windows to see.
Michael had quietly asked her if Gerald was able to help her and how she knew him. He hadn’t asked how she knew the other men. She had to be more careful!
So far, she did not know what to think of Mr. Simeon. He was handsome, a man of more years with long, black hair tied at the back and a long mustache and beard. His smile was distracting and contagious, but there was nothing extraordinary about him.
“I don’t know if I want the men to know what you’re about to discover, Charlotte,” Michael said somberly now from his seat beside her.
She nodded, not knowing what else to say and watched him motion to Mr. Simeon. “He can prove that I come from the future.”
“No,” Mr. Simeon corrected, “I can prove that time travel is possible.”
How was Michael ever going to face the truth with a man like Roldan Simeon feeding him lies? “How can you prove that, Mr. Simeon?” she asked with a practiced smile. “Time travel is im—”
He disappeared before her eyes.
“—possible,” came the rest in a whisper.
How? She looked at Michael. “What is going on?” She squeaked like a wounded animal when Mr. Simeon appeared again in his chair.
“He just did it, Charlotte.”
“Did what?” she asked. Did her teeth just chatter?
“I went to the past,” said Mr. Simeon softly. His large, dark eyes grew larger, rounder when he looked at her. “Toyourpast. To prove that I can travel.”
She opened her mouth to speak but what could she possibly say? He had just disappeared. “And?” she finally managed. Did she want to know?
“You were unwanted,” he told her with mercy in his eyes.
