Alright, Fable thought, that was all the old woman would say. Fable didn’t need to know more. It explained why the waitress, Bernadette, who was also the old seer’s niece, had fed her when she was living on the street. Fable eyed Lizzie with caution and boldness. She had one more question.
“Where were you all my life?”
This seemed to affect the old woman, who had been like a stone before. “I was not given the gift of finding anyone. No one I know is permitted to find anyone. And even if we could do it, you wouldn’t be the person you are today.”
Fable shook her head emphatically, causing the spirals of her hair to catch the light. “No. You’re wrong. I would have been me no matter what life I led.”
“Life shapes you, Child,” Lizzie corrected. Then, “The woman who found you removed any trace of you. Even your father couldn’t find you for almost twenty years. Do you mean to punish us for it?”
Fable stepped back. “No, of course not.”
She stopped and followed Lizzie’s pale gaze over her shoulder. Fable turned to see Ben coming toward her, his gaze, curious.
“Good morning, old woman. What brings you to our door?”
“Fable’s well-being brought me,” she let him know. Her voice held firm against the mistrust in his hard gaze.
“Is your duty truly to Fable?”
Lizzie nodded. “She’s an Ashmore.”
He dipped his gaze to Fable and nodded. “I welcome your aid, then. But understand this-I love her. Nothing will stop me from loving her. Nothing will cause my heart to doubt what I know. If you try to stop us from being together, I'll stand at her side when we fight for our love.”
Lizzie bent her head and laughed. “Oh, Sir, you’re melodramatic!. I can almost hear violins–”
“Lizzie.” Fable didn’t shout. In fact, she whispered“Please.”
The old woman receded and smiled first at Ben, and then at Fable. “As you both wish. Let me just say, Your Grace, that if you let Thoren die, you will be sentencing her to a future without ever having a father–and despite what she says to the contrary, now that she has one, she might not be so forgiving with you for letting him die. Just a few words from you is all that is needed to save him and give her the life she deserves.”
“Am I to simply trust your word?” Ben asked, his voice deep and unyielding. “How will I return to her once I go?”
“You cannot return. You don’t belong here,” Lizzie told him. “But she can go to you if she wishes. I did promise that, after all.”
“And if I fail to save Captain Ashmore?”
Lizzie sighed as if she was tired of dealing with a lower life form. “If you try and fail, my promise will stand, of course.”
He was quiet while Fable breathed. Once…twice…she turned to him…three times. Then, “Of course I will do everything I can to save her father.”
“Why can’t I go with him?” Fable asked without taking her eyes off him. She didn’t want to be separated from him for a moment. “If I can join him later, then why—”
“Because your father must come here to set things right. Should he be denied even more years of finding his daughter because she cared more for her own joy than his and went back to the time he just left?”
“Okay. I get it.” Fable held up her palms. “I’ll stay for a little while and meet him, and my sister too.”
They all agreed, though somewhat hesitantly, that she would stay with her father for two weeks. Captain West, his wife, and their son would be returned to their time in the eighteenth century right after they found Dorothea West.
“How terrible a son am I for hoping we don’t find my mother today?” Ben asked Fable, leaning in close so only she could hear when they left the B&B.
“I was having that same thought,” Fable whispered back. “But she’s been lost for a long time. It’s about time she’s found.”
He smiled at her and her toes curled in her sandals. Their night together was what dreams were made of. Fable’s dreams at least. When would she be with him like that again?
“Don’t take long saving Lord Ashmore, my love,” she said, staying close to his ear. “The sooner you get him here…”
He nodded, understanding.
“Daughter,” Ben’s father stepped nearer to address her. “It would seem that you are not an orphan but the child of a nobleman. It will quiet the wagging tongues of many.”
