The Girl Who Stepped Into The Past

by Sophie Barnes

  By the time they stood up from the table, James felt as though all was right with the world. He would talk to Jane, make a proper proposal, and insist that after what happened between them last night, she would have to accept him as her husband and damn whoever failed to agree.

  After searching for her, however, and failing to find her, he decided the best course of action might simply be to go to his study and ring the bell. But unfortunately, it was Margaret who arrived. “My lord?” She waited for him to issue instructions.

  “Do you know where Miss Edwards might be?” Realizing there was nothing Jane would be able to do on a professional level that Margaret could not, he added, “There is a matter I need to discuss with her.”

  “I believe she is cleaning out one of the supply closets at the moment. I’ll send her up right away.”

  She moved to leave but James quickly stopped her. “You told me earlier that you were upstairs in my sister’s bedroom, the evening she died.”

  “Yes, my lord.” Her expression dimmed. “I was putting away some mending of hers at the time. As I told Jane, I heard the scream, but it wasn’t her ladyship. It was someone else.”

  James nodded. He and Jane had discussed this possibility before. “Did you look out of the window by any chance?”

  “I did, but I saw nothing. That side of the terrace was hidden from view. By the time I got downstairs, I saw you and Mr. Snypes hurrying through the hallway with Hendricks on your heels. The rest…” She seemed to struggle now with the words. “I was devastated when I discovered what had happened. Her ladyship was such a lovely woman.”

  It was what the entire staff had told him, yet someone must have disagreed enough for murder to be a viable option, whatever the motive. “Can you think of anyone – any man – who might have had cause to harm her?”

  Margaret shook her head. “No. It seems absurd to suppose anyone here might be capable of such a thing.”

  “Yet someone was, so if there is anything you can tell me, even the tiniest detail, I would be immeasurably grateful.”

  “I am sorry, my lord, but I—” She bit her lip and James froze, aware she’d thought of something she hadn’t yet told him. “I’m sure it’s nothing, but there was a rumor going around that Mr. Snypes was madly in love with her.”

  James felt his stomach roll over. “Snypes?”

  Margaret’s eyes went wide. “You must forgive me, my lord, it’s not in my nature to spread gossip, especially not when I don’t know if it’s true. Please don’t tell him I said anything. I—”

  “So my sister never mentioned it to you? She never gave you any reason to believe that she and Snypes were romantically involved?”

  “Heavens no! She was a lady and set on marrying Harrington.”

  Except she hadn’t loved Harrington. She’d loved Mr. Thompson. Who was to say her affection for him had not shifted to Snypes after Thompson’s departure? Expelling a sigh, James dismissed Margaret and leaned back in his chair. It was becoming clear to him that he had not known his sister very well, a thought that made him feel increasingly depressed, for he’d always thought of her as his confidant. The sentiment obviously hadn’t been mutual.

  A knock on the door a few minutes later heralded Jane’s arrival. She entered slowly and hesitated when he asked her to close the door.

  “What we need to discuss must remain private,” he explained. “We cannot afford being overheard.”

  She nodded dimly and did as he bade, then accepted the proffered seat. “It is just that I fear what people might think.” When he raised an eyebrow, she said, “Rockwell knows you were in my bedchamber last night. He confronted me about it.”

  James’s every muscle grew taut. “Did he threaten to expose you?”

  “It is worse than that,” Jane said. “He suggested I hop into bed with him after you’re done with me.”

  “Christ!” Clenching his fists, James rose to his feet and crossed to the window. The urge to punch something, preferably Rockwell, was fierce. It prompted his muscles to bunch and his posture to stiffen while blood pumped rapidly through his veins. “I will have a word with him.” He’d call him out, if necessary. Pistols at dawn.

  That instinctive thought set him back on his heels. He was by nature a rational man. He’d never allowed emotion to cloud his judgment. And yet, where Jane was concerned, the thought of her with another man, the very idea that Rockwell had so boldly propositioned her, made him want to spit nails.

  Disturbed by his lack of control, he inhaled deeply, determined to regain some measure of composure. He turned to face her. “How would he even know you and I…” Words failed him when he noted just how distressed she looked. Hell, the whole situation embarrassed him as well. Because it was not something he’d wanted to share with anyone. It was a private matter between himself and Jane.

  “He says he saw you enter my room,” she explained.

  James frowned. Feeling a need for fortification in the wake of such an unexpected piece of information, he reached for a nearby decanter and filled a glass. “Brandy?” She shook her head so he sipped the spicy drink himself. “The question then, is what he was doing in the servant’s quarters last night.”

  Jane gave him a frank look – the sort that suggested she was about to be brutally honest with him. “He was probably looking to do the same as you.”

  Every cell in James’s body revolted against such a blunt description of what had passed between them in the privacy of her small bedroom. “No. I dare say he was not looking for the same thing at all, Jane.”

  Her cheeks flamed. “I was not trying to compare your motives to his.”

  She bit her lip, drawing his gaze to that part of her face and making him long to feel her kisses again. “I should hope not,” he muttered, “because Rockwell has never bothered to pretend he does not pursue bed sport at every given opportunity or that he has no interest in love or marriage, while I…I would appreciate an emotional attachment, Jane. Indeed, I felt one with you last night and…” He set his glass aside and crossed the floor to where she was sitting.

  Reaching for her hand, he held it lightly between his own, loving the feel of her delicate fingers. “These calluses are new,” he muttered, smoothing his thumb over every tip.

  “An unavoidable hazard of having to work with your hands,” Jane said.

  She smiled up at him, but in this instance, the humor in her eyes did not compel him to share that smile. Instead, he lowered himself to one knee and brought her knuckles to his lips. While holding her gaze, he kissed each one in turn, thrilled by the way her lips parted in response. Briefly, he closed his eyes and sought strength from within before looking back up and stating his intentions.

  “You are everything I have been looking for all of my life, Jane. Your honesty, your support, your kindness and loyalty compel me to ask if you will do me the greatest honor in becoming my wife.” When she opened her mouth to speak, he cut her off by adding, “I know you are not from here. I know you wish to go home. But what if you never get the chance to do so? Would you live out your life here alone then, denying us both the happiness I know we can have together”

  She kept quiet a moment and when she spoke, it wasn’t to give him an answer, but rather to offer some information. “Your mother has warned me to stay away from you, James. She says she can make me leave if I do not do so.”

  Of course he should have considered how his mother might respond after he’d told her of his intentions to seek a future with Jane by his side. He winced at his own foolhardy negligence in preventing her from confronting Jane. “She would suffer my wrath for all of eternity if she were to try such a thing. Her only hope was to scare you, but it would seem she underestimated you, for you are not so easily scared. Are you Jane?”

  “I am afraid of having to remain here forever. I cannot deny it.”

  “Even if staying here means you and I can be together?”

  When she nodded, it felt like a blow to his gut. He should not have bee
n surprised or upset by her response, but damn it all the same, he was. Tightening his hold on her hand, he decided that perhaps, if he was to have her, he would have to be the one who sacrificed everything. “What if I come with you then?”

  Her expression turned from mournful to incredulous. “You would do that for me?”

  In that instant, he knew he would sell his very soul to the devil if he had to. It defied all explanation, all common sense and logical reasoning. Which could only mean one thing. He was in love.

  The knowledge struck him completely unawares, pushing him entirely off balance. “Yes.” Not just in love, he acknowledge while gazing up into her hazel eyes where greens and browns came together in a mesmerizing combination, but utterly, madly and beyond saving, in love.

  Wonder filled her gaze. “You are the most amazing man I have ever known,” she told him plainly. “But what of your earldom? You cannot mean to sacrifice its future for me, a woman you’ve known for such a short period of time.”

  “There is a distant cousin who can inherit. I grant you it is not ideal, but it would be a viable solution. And perhaps this travelling through time thing can happen more than once? Who is to say we cannot travel back and forth on occasion once we figure out precisely how it is done?”

  “I don’t know,” she confessed. “I never thought of that as a possibility.”

  “Well, it might not be, but then again, it could be. For me, however, the most important thing is for us to stay together.” Reaching up, he cupped her cheek with his hand and gently brushed her smooth skin with his thumb. “Losing you forever is too unbearable a thought. So if you cannot stay, let me come with you.”

  She stared back at him for a long moment, pain brightening her eyes until they glistened. “I cannot do so, James.” His heart sank. “Not when you have no idea what you are getting yourself into – what you will face.”

  He tried to smile even as he felt her slipping away. “Did Columbus know what he was getting himself into when he chose to sail across the Atlantic? Did he know what he would face? Or what of these men you have told me about, the ones who have been to the moon?” Brushing aside a tear as it spilled onto her cheek, he told her simply, “Life is filled with uncertainty, Jane, but there is one thing I do know for sure. You are the woman I want to share my future with, even if that means sailing across the ocean of time.”

  Chapter 10

  It was a beautiful speech, the most heartfelt declaration of affection she’d ever heard, even if I love you had not been spoken. But it had been implied and the words, infused with need and desperation, had been directed at her, as if she’d stepped onto the pages of a Regency romance novel to be charmed by her very own gentleman suitor.

  And she had been charmed. So much so she’d shed a few tears in the process. This was what it ought to be like when a man declared his feelings for you. When Geoffrey had proposed, he’d casually said it while washing the dishes one evening after dinner and in the same tone as when he spoke of current events or a movie he’d like to see. There had been no wish, no yearning or magic. It had just been the next logical step in their relationship, and she’d gone along with it because that was what women did at her age when they’d been dating a guy for a couple of years.

  With James it was entirely different. For one thing, he’d needed less than a week to determine she was the one. And while she suspected he might be the one for her too, she wasn’t sure if she felt as strongly for him as he did for her. In fact, she knew she didn’t. How could she, when she was unwilling to make the same sacrifice as he? And she at least knew what she would face if she stayed here, while he would travel into the unknown if he came with her.

  “How can you be so sure I’m worth it?” she asked.

  The corners of his eyes creased a little as he smiled, and then he placed one hand over his heart. “Because I feel it here.”

  She nodded, pretending she understood, even though she feared she didn’t. Everything about this whole situation terrified her. Then again, as he’d said, whether or not she would ever be able to leave this time remained to be seen. If she had to stay, what better life could she hope for than one with him by her side? And if she wanted to have a relationship with him without being his mistress, or just a maid he occasionally slept with, then marriage was the only possible option.

  So she drew a deep breath and quietly nodded, her mind made up. “In that case yes, James. My answer is yes. I will marry you if you are willing to endure the scandal.”

  His response was immediate. Without hesitation he pulled her out of the chair and down to the floor so he could kiss her as thoroughly as Rhett Butler had kissed his Scarlett in Gone with the Wind. They hadn’t lived happily ever after, but Jane refused to think about that as she wrapped her arms around James’s neck and returned his kiss with equal fervor.

  Perhaps this could work. Perhaps they could build a life together and have the happily ever after she’d always dreamed of. And yet uncertainty remained, lodged at the back of her mind and preventing her from surrendering herself completely.

  “Regarding your friend,” she said a while later, deliberately burying the guilt she felt beneath the continued need to find the man responsible for Tatiana’s and Betsy’s murders. “I suspect I know who he was visiting last night.”

  James helped her to her feet. “Margaret?”

  “I believe so. Yes.”

  James nodded. “I should have known inviting him here would lead to this. The man cannot go two days without tupping a woman.”

  A thought occurred to Jane, one she knew she had to voice even though it would likely cause offense. “You don’t suppose he tried to…you know…with your sister, do you?”

  “God no! Rockwell may be a scoundrel, but his friends’ female relations have always been off limits. Not to mention he would never consider an innocent lady because of the repercussions there would be if he got caught.”

  “I was thinking that if he did try something and she refused him, threatened to tell you about it even, it might have enraged him enough for him to accidentally—”

  “Stop.” He gave a disapproving frown. “One does not accidentally slit another person’s throat, Jane.”

  “No,” she conceded. “I don’t suppose one does.”

  “Look, I realize your experience with Rockwell has not been then best, and I can assure you he will apologize to you for that before the day is done, but to think he had anything to do with Tatiana’s death is madness.” He pushed his fingers through his hair. “I have known Rockwell all my life, longer than Harrington. Our parents were friends, their town houses in London a stone’s throw from each other, so our nannies would often arrange for us to play.”

  “Then we’ll have to consider other options.” In a way she was thankful to have ruled out Harrington and Rockwell, because she knew how difficult it would be for James to deal with if it had been one of them. Discovering it was a trusted servant would be no simple thing either, but it would be easier, she suspected. “Mr. Snypes demands a second glance, if you ask me.”

  James knit his brow. “Snypes has been in my employ for years. I would trust that man with my life, Jane.”

  “Would you?” She knew she was about to burst this illusion, but so be it. “Perhaps he told me the truth then, when I found him riffling through books in the library. He said he was looking for something on your behalf.”

  There was a pause, and then James quietly said, “No. I never asked him to do such a thing.”

  “Well, he appeared quite frantic about it, manic even, as if his life depended on finding whatever he sought.”

  “Then I shall have to speak with him as well. Find out the truth.” James sank into his chair with a look of exhaustion. A knock at the door swiftly followed, provoking a sigh from James before he called for whoever it was to enter.

  Hendricks stepped in. “My lord, Lady Rockwell and her daughter have arrived, as has Mr. Thompson. Shall I show them into the parlor for some refreshment a
nd tell them you will be with them shortly?”

  “Yes.” James stood as if rejuvenated by this bit of news. “By all means, Hendricks. Thank you.”

  The butler departed without closing the door behind him. Jane turned to James, unable to hide her surprise. “Tatiana’s tutor is here?”

  “I sent for him immediately after you made me aware of the note he wrote to her. If the two were as deeply involved as I suspect they may have been, Mr. Thompson might help shed some light on my sister’s most private thoughts. Because she obviously failed to share them with me.”

  Sympathizing, Jane stepped forward, intending to hug him, then recalled the open door and the fact that hugs weren’t really a thing in 1818. Especially not between an employer and his employee. So she let her hands fall to her sides again.

  “Then you must go and greet your guests,” she said. “In the meantime, I shall have a word with Margaret and see if our suspicions about her and Rockwell are true before you confront him.”

  “Jane…” He paused as if trying to find the right words. With a hasty glance at the doorway, he lowered his voice to a whisper. “Now that you and I are affianced, it seems improper for you to continue with your duties. I ought to speak with Mrs. Fontaine and have you relieved so you can return to a finer bedchamber, dress more appropriately, and allow me the opportunity to romance you as you deserve.”

  She blushed, quite liking the idea of him romancing her. “Thank you, but until your sister’s murder has been solved, it might be best if we keep our engagement a secret.” His glower conveyed what he thought of that idea. “It allows me to ferret out information from the servants that they wouldn’t otherwise confide in me if I was suddenly raised above them.”