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“I have an older brother and sister,” she said. “Both married and living their own lives. My parents still live in York.” She paused, the ramifications of her new situation settling on her with even greater weight than Lord Bancroft’s cloak. Would she ever see any of her family members again? Battling an unexpected surge of emotion, she cleared her throat. “They . . . uh . . . They . . .”

“If you wish to return to York, that can be arranged,” he said.

“Thank you, but they won’t be there.”

He frowned. “Forgive me. With the prevalence of the plague in London, I assumed they would be in residence in York. Are they visiting friends or relatives elsewhere?”

“No.” Isla took a deep breath. There was no easy way to explain this. “They won’t live there for over four hundred years.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“I honestly don’t know if there’s anything you can do to help me, but if you’re willing to suspend disbelief for a few minutes, I’ll tell you exactly where I came from.”

Lord Bancroft’s frown deepened. “‘Suspend disbelief’ is not an expression I am familiar with.”

“Sorry.” Isla rallied her thoughts. Perhaps her unusual expressions were something she could use to her advantage. “I’m afraid my speech is probably full of unfamiliar words and expressions.”

He acknowledged her comment with an inclination of his head and a slight smile. “I have been trying to ascertain the origin of your unusual vocabulary. Have you spent time in Wales?”

Isla shook her head. Under normal circumstances, she would have laughed. At the moment, however, she was too stressed to even smile. If Lord Bancroft didn’t believe her, she would be in even more trouble than she was now. “I’m simply asking you to listen to what I tell you with an open mind,” she said.

“Of course.”

That was easier said than done. As was uttering the words she needed to say.

“I’m from the future.” The sentence tumbled out, and Isla hurried to continue. “I know it sounds crazy, and I have no idea how it happened, but it’s true. I promise.”

“You are from the future,” Lord Bancroft repeated. His voice showed no hint of emotion, but she caught the twitch in his jaw.

“Yes. One minute, I was in a changing room in a costume shop in Westminster in 2025, and the next minute, I was caught in a storm on the Maidstones’ front lawn in 1605.” She gestured toward the woodshed. “I know it sounds mad. I walked out into a completely different world. Well, not a different world, exactly, but a completely different time.”

Lord Bancroft’s jaw remained tense. “And you expect me to believe this?”

Tears pricked Isla’s eyes. “No. I don’t. It’s too far-fetched. But it’s all I’ve got because believable or not, it’s the truth.” She clasped her hands together tightly and willed the tears to stay at bay. “I don’t know what to do. The only people I know are you and Lord and Lady Maidstone. All I have are the clothes I’m wearing.”

“I beg to differ,” he said. “The shoes and cloak do not belong to you.”

“You’re right.” She slid the cloak off her shoulders and offered it to him.

“Put it back on,” he said gruffly. “It’s far too cold out here to be without one.”

“But it’s yours, and now you’re without one.” She didn’t understand him. One minute, he was calling her on the carpet, and the next minute, he was being chivalrous.

“My jacket is warmer than your gown,” he said. “And no matter how ludicrous your tale, I am not so inconsiderate that I would walk away from you with the cloak.”

Isla’s heart sank. “Are you going to walk away, then?”

“If I had a modicum of sense, I would be halfway to the front door by now.”

“Yes.” She looked down at the cloak in her hands, and a tear escaped. “You would.”

There was a moment of silence, and then with a frustrated grunt, he took the fabric from her and draped it across her shoulders again. “There is a bench on the other side of the grove of trees,” he said. “I shall give you five minutes of this so-called suspended disbelief, and then I shall decide what is to be done.”

With you. The additional words went unsaid but hung in the damp air between them. Isla drew the cloak more closely around herself. He had offered her more than she’d dared hope for. For now, it was enough.

Chapter 5

Miss Isla Crawford was of an unsound mind. It was the only logical reason for her outlandish claims. A world filled with carriages that ran without horses, hot and cold water accessed from within the house, and contraptions that allowed people to fly. Such things were beyond anything Simon had ever imagined. Beyond anything the foremost authorities in any scientific field had likely ever imagined. It was completely preposterous. And yet Miss Crawford spoke of the contrivances with such earnestness and detailed description, he found himself envisioning these miraculous devices and advancements.