by Cathy Peper
“You seem to blend in effortlessly.”
“I’ve been here four years, but it was difficult at first.” She glanced at him and then returned her attention to the road. “I can make the transition easier for you.”
“I would really appreciate that.”
“However, I need to know some things.”
Bryce shifted position, wincing at the twinge in his side. He couldn’t escape the upcoming interrogation. “I will answer as best I can.” Meaning whatever cast him in the best light.
Ari drove for a few minutes without speaking. When she finally spoke, her tone was bleak. “Why did you abandon me? When I lay with you, you told me you loved me and would come back and marry me. Was it all a pack of lies just to get me to sleep with you?”
Expecting questions about Tori and the necklace, Ari’s accusations shocked him. But at least he could answer honestly. He turned towards her, ignoring the pain in his side. “I never abandoned you, Ari. I returned as soon as I could. You might be used to the speed of travel today, but surely you recall that in the nineteenth century, it takes a long time to travel to the East Coast and back.”
Ari’s hands gripped the wheel as if she blamed it for the troubles in their past. “That’s what I told Sebastien. I believed in you then and never doubted you would return for me. But in the intervening years, I’ve seen how men lie and manipulate women to get what they want.”
“Perhaps in this time,” Bryce said. With the exception of the would-be rapists, most of the people he had met in the twenty-first century appeared to be honorable, but appearances could be deceiving.
“In all times! Did Tori ever tell you her father abandoned her when she was a child? Her situation reminded me of all the trappers who had a family in St. Louis and an Indian family out West.”
“I came back for you and your stepmother told me how your brother forced you to live aboard the Fury and make the arduous journey to New Orleans even though you were expecting my child.”
“She what?” The car swerved slightly into the other lane as Ari gaped at him. “That miserable witch!”
Bryce’s stomach flipped. “Watch where you’re going.”
Ari eased the car off the road and onto the shoulder. “My stepmother told you Sebastien forced me onto the Fury?”
Bryce nodded, jaw tightening at the mention of Sebastien.
“She lied to you. Sebastien took me on his boat, but only because I had nowhere else to go. To her credit, Martha didn’t kick me out when she discovered I was pregnant, but she made it clear I would no longer be able to stay in her house after the baby was born. Sebastien was furious, but Father left the house to her. He cut off the allowance he’d been paying her, but Martha held firm. She would not allow a woman of loose morals to live in her house.”
Bryce’s stomach churned. Why hadn’t he left Ari with any money? He had known it might take months to travel to Virginia, disentangle himself from a previous engagement, and then make his way back to St. Louis. It had never occurred to him that she would get pregnant; they had only lain together a couple of times, but once he claimed her as his own, he should not have left her dependent on others. “I’m sorry. I never faltered in my goal to return for you, but I should have assured your safety.”
“If you had married me before you left like I begged you to, Martha would not have evicted me.”
“We went through this back then. I couldn’t marry you while still engaged to another woman. I had to break things off with her first.”
“You had an understanding, not a legally binding contract.”
“I did what I thought was right,” Bryce muttered. Perhaps he should have married Ari before returning home. He respected Olivia, but he loved Ari. His father and Olivia’s had made the match without consulting their children. He would have gone through with the marriage if he’d never met Ari, but his heart had not been involved and neither had Olivia’s.
All this time, however, he had blamed Sebastien for Ari’s death. He had channeled all his grief, along with his acumen and financial assets, into getting his revenge against the other man. He had even named his keelboat the Revenge to never lose sight of his goal. He’d bought the boat and built up his own shipping business solely so he could ruin Sebastien. He’d even considered killing his nemesis, although he wasn’t sure he would ever have gone so far. Beating Sebastien at his own game seemed the sweeter revenge since Sebastien had put his desire for profit ahead of his own sister’s well-being.
Of course, Sebastien still should never have taken his pregnant sister on the river. He should have paid for a place for her to stay and medical care. He still held a share of the blame, but not the bulk. The bulk fell upon Martha, and although he hated to admit it, Bryce himself.
“I don’t suppose it matters now. It’s all in the past. Way in the past.” She shot Bryce a shaky grin.
“I can scarce believe we are only two hundred years in the future. The marvels I have seen in just the short time I’ve been here…it truly is baffling.”
“Technology continues to evolve at a faster rate with every passing year.”
“Technology.” His tongue tasted the unfamiliar word.
“All the gadgets we have now. You’ve seen some of them: cars, computers, cell phones. The car isn’t actually all that new, but I included it because I remember how disorienting it was to move at such high speeds when I first arrived.”
“Lights that glow not from fire, but from an invisible source of energy.”
“Electricity,” Ari supplied.
Bryce pounced on that. “Electricity powers the stone.”
“It does?” Ari asked. “I never discovered how to work it.”
“Victoria told me, but in the nineteenth century, about the only source for electricity is lightning. If you have another source here, we might be able to use the stone at will.”
Ari frowned. “An interesting idea, but I’m not sure people are meant to leap through time. As far as anyone knows in this era, time travel isn’t possible, but there have been books written about it. There are dangers associated with it. Even small, seemingly insignificant, actions can screw up the timeline and change the future.”
Bryce wasn’t as interested in philosophical debate as he was in practical applications, but he had more than enough to absorb already. “That’s something we can worry about later. I’m just grateful the stone brought us back together again. It’s given us a second chance.”
“I guess it has,” Ari said and although her expression was wary, it seemed to hold a tinge of hope.
“I won’t make the same mistakes. I’m sorry that you had to go through the shame of pregnancy as an unwed mother, sorry you had to lose the child all on your own.”
The silence stretched on for so long that Bryce began to wish he hadn’t brought the subject up again. Ari seemed to have forgiven him, but she could always change her mind.
“There’s something else I need to tell you.”
Bryce’s muscles tightened. It had been five years. He’d been with various women during that time, although none of the relationships had been serious. Was Ari about to confess that she was involved with another man? Had their second chance come too late after all?
“I didn’t lose the baby. Modern medicine saved us both. You’re a father, Bryce.”
Chapter 5
By the time she pulled in front of her house in Ste. Genevieve, Anne was exhausted. Despite her own experiences and the evidence of her own eyes, part of her had not believed that Bryce could really be in the present. She’d planned to satisfy her curiosity and go on with her day to day life. A life she enjoyed and valued, but a life, that if she was honest with herself, did not truly fulfill her. Fulfill her? Good heavens, when had she become so modern? Most people in the nineteenth century were just trying to get by, put food on the table and keep their families safe. Only the wealthy had the luxury of worrying about being fulfilled.
Aggravated with herself, she got out of the c
ar and walked over to the passenger side to help Bryce. He was still fiddling with his seatbelt, so she opened his door, leaned in and released it. She took his bag and then held out her arm for him to grab.
“I’m not an invalid.”
Anne dropped her hand and stepped back. Fine, he could do it himself. She kept her face expressionless as he exited the car and followed her up the walk to the door. He moved stiffly but made no complaint. Anne unlocked the door and they entered the house. What would Bryce think of her home? It was adequate for her and Hannah’s needs and she had decorated it with antiques wherever possible, homesick for her past.
“You live here all alone?”
“Of course not. Hannah lives with me. I left her with a sitter. Let’s just get you settled and then I’ll go get her.”
“What will you tell her about me?” His skin looked tightly drawn against his features, whether from the shock of learning he had a daughter or the strain of the long drive on his healing body.
“For now, all she needs to know is that you’re a friend staying over.”
“And later?”
“We will see. She’s only four. She has asked about her father a time or two, but has always been easily diverted.” Bryce didn’t look particularly happy but made no protest.
“I don’t have a guest room, so you’ll have to use the couch.” Anne busied herself fetching a pillow and pile of blankets from the linen closet. “Were you introduced to TV at the hospital?”
“Yes. Surprised that I hadn’t turned it on myself, Abbie turned it on for me. You can imagine my astonishment to see plays being performed in the little box.”
Anne laughed. “You do know the actors aren’t actually in there, right? The plays are filmed.” She paused, pillow in hand and shook her head. “There just isn’t a way to explain it. I don’t understand how it works, but cameras capture the light and sound and then it can be replayed as many times as you want. Networks broadcast the shows and receptors in the TV pick it up.”
“Many of the plays I saw were vastly silly.”
Anne set the pillow on the couch. “There’s a lot of bad TV out there, but there are also some very good shows. I’ll introduce you to some, but for now, would you like me to turn it on, or would you rather rest? I also have some books, but I’m not sure if we share the same taste.”
“TV will be fine.”
Anne grabbed the remote control and selected a news channel. “Maybe you should catch up on what’s happening in the world now. Of course, it might be too overwhelming.” She showed him how to work the remote. “Until Hannah is asleep, we usually watch the Disney Channel. It’s a TV station made just for kids.”
She left Bryce playing with the buttons on the remote, eagerly taking to channel surfing like he’d done it all his life. Must be wired in the Y chromosome. She walked down to her sitter’s house, paid and thanked the woman, and took Hannah’s hand for the short walk back to their house.
“Mommy, you were gone all day,” Hannah whined.
“I went to visit a friend. He will be staying with us for a while.”
“Like Aunt Tori?”
“Yes, like Aunt Tori.” Hannah had never questioned Tori’s disappearance. At the time, Anne had been simply relieved she didn’t have to lie to her daughter or worry her about the possibility of abduction. Now she wondered if Hannah merely thought Tori had gone back home or if she had picked up on the stress of the adults around her. The police had never questioned Hannah since she was so young.
“Will Aunt Tori be coming back?”
“I don’t think so, sweetheart. Aunt Tori moved far away and although she misses us, it would be hard for her to visit.”
“Mrs. Ellis fixed me a snack, but I’m hungry. When will we eat dinner?”
Anne sighed. With the excitement of the day, she had forgotten all about dinner. She wasn’t hungry, but Hannah was and Bryce might be too. “I’ll have to see what we have.” She usually liked to prepare mostly homemade meals, but today she would have to rely on something from the freezer or a can. She just didn’t have the energy to cook.
Anne removed Hannah’s coat and her own. As she hung them in the closet, she heard Hannah ordering Bryce to put on the Disney Channel. She walked to the living room and perched in the doorway, leaning against the frame. Hannah accepted Bryce without question, but there didn’t seem to be any magic sense of connection, no inkling that this man was her father.
“I’m watching the news.”
“No news. Disney. Or Nick.”
Bryce stared down at the little girl who had her mother’s dark hair, but her father’s blue eyes and cleft chin. “Children don’t tell adults what to do.”
It was Hannah’s turn to look astonished. Although Anne tended to be stricter than many of the other parents she had met at daycare, Hannah was used to being the queen of the remote control. “Mom,” she called. “The man won’t turn on the Disney Channel.”
Anne stepped into the room and took the remote from Bryce. “Disney now. News later.” Bryce had better get used to it. This was her house. Hers and Hannah’s. Bryce would adjust or find somewhere else to go.
* * *
Williamsburg, Virginia, 1811
Gordon Poole sat at his inlaid mahogany desk and stared at the man he had hired to find his son. “Took you long enough.”
The man didn’t break eye contact and Gordon detected a slight curl of his lips as if he suppressed a smile. “The West is a big place, sir. Finding someone who doesn’t want to be found is a challenge.”
“You are certain this ‘Bob Rivers’ is my son?” Gordon said the name distastefully. It sounded common in his mouth, unworthy of a Poole.
“He looks like the portrait you gave me, although a bit older now, and he began plying the river trade not long after Bryce disappeared.”
Gordon lifted his pipe from the corner of his desk and carefully stuffed it with tobacco. “Care to join me? I’ve another pipe hereabouts or you could roll a cigarette.”
“Don’t mind if I do, but no need to trouble yourself for a pipe. I came prepared.” The man reached into his coat pocket and pulled out his own pipe.
Gordon passed him the elaborately carved cherry box which held his personal stash. As the detective filled his pipe, Gordon wandered over to the fireplace, selected a spill from the vase on the mantel and used it to light his pipe, passing it to his guest when he was finished.
The man drew deep and a blissful expression crossed his face. “Delightful blend. Much better than what passes for tobacco out West.”
“Grown on my own land and mixed to my specifications.”
“Worth all the effort.”
Pleased by the man’s flattery and his results, Gordon offered him a drink. “You came to me highly recommended and I’m glad you didn’t disappoint,” he said as he poured them each a brandy. The detective, who went by the name of Frost, had not been the first Gordon had sent to the interior. The others had failed to find Bryce and curiously, their careers had gone missing soon after. “So, Bryce has purchased a keelboat and now trades along the Mississippi River under the name of Bob Rivers.”
Frost nodded. “Done rather well for himself, too.”
Gordon found himself unexpectedly pleased, although he was still angry Bryce had run off in the first place. Still, it was good to know the boy had inherited some of his business savvy.
“Made a few enemies in the process. Many of the keelboat operators do. It’s a tough life and the men acquire a reputation.”
No surprise there. Came with the territory. “I appreciate your hard work.” He pulled open his desk drawer and unlocked his money box. He tossed a small pouch to the detective and counted out a few more coins. “Take this as a bonus.”
Frost smiled openly this time and pocketed both sets of coins. “Have you any more work for me?”
“Not at this time, but I’ll keep you in mind.”
Frost tossed back the last of his brandy. “Been a pleasure doing busin
ess with you, Mr. Poole.” He pushed himself out of his chair and sauntered out of the room, still puffing on his pipe.
Gordon waited until the detective left before calling his secretary into the office.
“You wished to see me?” Fletcher Tailor asked. He was a tall, thin man with spectacles perched precariously on his nose.
“I need to travel to the Mississippi. Make the arrangements.”
Fletcher’s eyes blinked owlishly behind his lenses, but he had been with Gordon too long to question his orders. “Where on the Mississippi?”
Gordon considered. There was no way to know where the Revenge, Bryce’s boat, might be, but if it made regular trips between St. Louis and New Orleans, he was bound to find it eventually. “By sea to New Orleans and then up the river.”
Fletcher nodded but continued to hover in the doorway.
“Are you unclear about your instructions?”
“No, sir, but the Mississippi is wild and untamed. Standards will not be what you are accustomed to.”
Gordon laughed. Didn’t Fletcher think he could handle a few inconveniences? “I will cope.”
“I’ll get right on it, then.” Fletcher bobbed his head like a pigeon and vanished from sight.
Gordon replaced the key to his cash box in its hidden compartment. Only one other person knew where he kept the key and the box had only been robbed once—the day his son had rebelled against parental control, fled his arranged marriage, and made a new life for himself on the frontier. It was time to go out and see for himself what the boy was up to and, perhaps, rein him back in. He wondered if Bryce had married the chit he’d been so hot for he’d been willing to defy his father and renounce his inheritance. Frost hadn’t mentioned a wife.
Gordon shrugged. It mattered not. Wives were a necessary evil and he needed to tell his own wife that he would be taking an extended trip, not that she would care. She would probably enjoy a break from his presence. Would she be curious to learn what had happened to Bryce? Did she resent him for skipping out on their engagement? After all, if Bryce had honored his commitments, Olivia would not have been forced to marry a man old enough to be her father. It would be an interesting talk.
