She lowered her trousers, craning her neck up like a meerkat to check he wasn’t nearby. Then she took a deep breath and waited to wake up.
It didn’t happen. A minute later she was jogging to catch up with Eddard, thinking with a growing sense of certainty that this was real. She really was in the past. She looked at him closely.
Would she imagine such a person? He was so tall and handsome, he looked like a dream man. There was no doubt about it. From his bulging arms to his strongman pecs and that jawline that was to die for.
She could picture herself being swept into his arms and carried off like Scarlett O’Hara. Rhett would not be denied that night. The thought made her grimace. She didn’t think like that. She needed neither ravishing nor saving. She needed to get home.
The abbey came into view in the distance just as she rejoined Eddard and as he finally stepped onto a proper path. His pace slowed as he turned and looked at her. “You’re tired. Why did you nae tell me?”
“I’m fine.”
“Next time, tell me. I can slow.”
“Can you?”
“Come on, the gatehouse is around this side.”
She looked up at the abbey as they approached. It was in the process of being built. She had no doubt it would be glorious when it was finished. The stone was a dark gray but it was all the more stunning for it, like the church tower had been carved out of solid rock.
The nave was surrounded by wooden scaffolds, men in black cowls working away, scurrying left and right, up and down the ladders. The only sound was that of stone being chiseled.
As she looked a bell rang and at once the men descended, vanishing from sight behind the tall stone wall that shielded the monastery from the rest of the world.
She followed the edge of the wall, doing her best to keep up with Eddard. He didn’t stop until they reached a plain wooden door about a hundred yards futher on. He knocked and after a couple of seconds a panel in the door creaked open, a face peering out, eyes narrowed. “Begging for alms is permitted before Prime only. Come back tomorrow.”
“We are nae here to plead for pennies. We seek an audience with the abbot.”
The panel closed and there was the sound of a bolt being scraped back. The door swung inward a moment later. Eddard ducked to get through and she followed, stepping into a tiny alcove with room for one candle and a stone seat, little protection from the wind or the rain if it should fall.
The monk who’d let them in locked the door once more before turning to face them. “The east guesthouse is empty. You will wait there until brother James is free to see you.”
“You have our gratitude,” Eddard said, nodding slightly.
The monk turned to Jessica. “You’re a woman. Yet you wear hose and your hair is loose.” He genuflected before turning away, muttering to himself. “Protect us from Satan, oh Lord, his many temptations he bringeth to bear upon God’s children.”
“Does he think I’m some evil temptress?” she asked Eddard as they made their way across the grass to the small stone guesthouse.
“Women are not often seen within the abbey grounds. They will let you go no further than the guesthouse. See that wall next to it, that keeps this bit separate from the monks. Only the porter and the abbot get to see the public and wicked temptresses like you.”
“How do you know I’m a wicked temptress?”
“You’ve got that look about you.”
“Is that a smile? I think you might be smiling. Have I amused you? Or do you fear I might tempt you into bed as well.”
“You wouldnae make me do anything I didnae want to do. I ken how to resist temptation.”
“What if I try my seductive seduction techniques of seduction out on you? Seductively?”
“Say seduction more.”
“Don’t mock me.”
“Go on then, how would you seduce me?” he asked, pulling open the door to the guesthouse.
She shrugged. “I’m not sure but I’m sure I could think of something.”
They went inside, passing through a narrow corridor and into a sparse room with a fireplace. The wood was ready to light and Eddard pulled out a flint and steel, striking sparks and bringing the blaze to life while she took the chair by the window. Was that really her? Had she just flirted with someone?
