Summer of the Moon Flower (The de Vargas Family)

by Seaton, Annie

  Something was wrong.

  Walking quietly, he edged along the base of the cliff toward the cave as small stones rolled down the cliff path ahead of the two people talking. He had only heard the hooves of one horse, so was certain there were only two.

  The voices continued to drift to him and snatches of words drifted down.

  “—row across.”

  And the reply. “— safe water?”

  Dougal reached the entrance of the cave and slipped behind the large rock on the northern side just as the sound of feet landing on the shingle carried across to him.

  “Are you sure it will get us to the island?” It was a woman’s voice

  Carefully peering around the rock, his cautious gaze locked on a man and a woman standing next to his boat.

  His mind worked furiously. If he let them take it, he would have to wait till midday anyway to get back to the island using the Astrolaberors, but he preferred to cross now. If they took his boat, he would have to wait.

  He tucked his dirk out of sight and stepped from the cave. One man and one woman were nothing to do with the Knights and he was curious as to their intent.

  “Good morning,” he called and sauntered across the sand toward them. “Are ye lost?”

  Coal-black eyes fixed on him and he recoiled at the sheer hatred on the woman’s face. Dark curls tumbled onto her shoulders and her face was pale, devoid of any color.

  The man placed his hand on her arm to hold the woman back as she began to step toward him.

  “Are you going to the island?” the man enquired. The Cornish lilt to his voice hit Dougal immediately. He now knew he looked into the face of Indigo de Vargas, Sofia’s sister.

  By all that was holy, he didn’t need this yet. Not until he had been to get Sofia.

  He stepped forward and bowed as the stare of the woman he had heard so much about, remained fixed on him. “I am Dougal, Earl of Rothmore.”

  The Sherriff of Cornwall held tightly onto his wife and looked at Dougal. “You have much to explain, sir.”

  He inclined his head. “Yes, there is much to explain. We will travel to the island together.” Dougal reached his hand out to Indigo. “Madam, it gives me great joy to be able to tell you…finally…your sister is alive and well in my castle.” He gestured to the boat. “I will row you across the firth and explain all to you.”

  Sheeting rain began to fall as Dougal rowed them the short distance to the island. Indigo sat in the middle of the small boat and her husband held his cloak over her in an attempt to protect her from the rain. Small waves splashed against the side of the boat as a brisk wind began to blow and the short journey was fraught with tension. As they followed him from the rocky beach to the courtyard, not a word was spoken. Dougal was concerned for Sofia’s sister. Despite the joy in her expression, her face was still colorless and she gripped her husband’s arm.

  Mary stood at the open door and looked at them curiously.

  “We have guests,” he said to the middle-aged housekeeper. “Can you heat some broth, please?”

  Indigo finally spoke. “We want no hospitality. Take me to my sister.” She glared up at him and took a menacing step toward him. “Immediately.”

  “We shall have to wait until midday before I can get your sister,” he replied. “She is safe where she is. Do not fear.” He inclined his head toward the kitchen and Mary left the room. “Come and sit, there is much I have to tell you.”

  * * * *

  Indigo shook her head in disbelief. “Are you sure this is not a fabrication you have invented to cover the murder of my sister?”

  Dougal had explained the disbanding of the Knights Templar and the danger to Sofia and her enterprise in Vienna. “Why can you not take me to her now? Why do I have to wait?”

  Dougal looked at her steadily and despite her mistrust, she tried to believe the words this man was saying. He appeared to be telling the truth and she desperately wanted to believe him, but until she saw Sofia with her own eyes she would not believe.

  Zane had explained how they had located Dougal through the jeweled communication device and Indigo’s heart had raced when the earl reached into his shirt and removed it from around his neck. They had partaken of the broth and moved to the end of the dining hall closer to the fire. Indigo looked around and wondered how anyone could live in such a cavernous and cold abode.

  If indeed, Sofia had spent the past three months here as the earl insisted she had, the austere surroundings and the cold would have made her stay unbearable. Indigo’s anxiety increased as the time passed. She reached out and held Zane’s wrist and looked at his chronometer. “It is ten minutes to midday. I demand you take me to my sister.”The earl looked at her for a long moment before speaking. “If all I have heard of you and your adventures is true, you will have little trouble accepting what I am about to show you.” He reached into his shirt and removed a small velvet pouch before kneeling on the cold stone floor and placing the pouch on the floor beside him. “I can go alone to get your sister or you can travel with me?’

  Indigo gasped as he removed a small brass device from the pouch and placed it gently on the flagstones. “It is an Astrolaberors. I haven’t seen one since the Great Exhibition.”

  Realization dawned slowly. She turned to the earl and glared at him.

  “Where or when…have you hidden Sofia?”

  “She is in the castle with Mary, but nineteen years past,” Dougal replied. “The device is capable of transporting three people only, so one person can accompany me to get her or we will be too many for the return journey.”

  Indigo turned to Zane. “I shall go.”

  He nodded at her and she reached her hand up to stroke her husband’s brow. “I know time travel does not bode well for your equilibrium, my dearest.”

  Indigo trusted the earl; she had seen the expression on his face when he spoke of Sofia and his concern for her. The Astrolaberors device was much more accurate than the time mechanism she used in her submarine and she had little fear of time travel, having travelled with her father and then her husband to a century in the future.

  “Come then.” She reached up and kissed her husband. “We shall return shortly. I am sure.”

  * * * *

  Dougal closed his eyes and held Indigo’s hand in his. He nodded at the Sheriff. “Make yourself comfortable before the fire. “I shall take good care of your wife and we shall return within the hour.”

  He pressed the switch on the device and it emitted a low hum; they were sucked into the vortex of time itself. No matter how many times he travelled, the wonder of it awed him and he looked down at Indigo as she let out a delighted scream. Her face was full of happiness and the anticipation of seeing her sister shone from her expression.

  The fire was burning low in the same hearth when they arrived and the day was cold and bleak. Indigo smiled up at him. “The Scottish weather is certainly predictable.”

  She looked around with interest. “How far back have we travelled? The room looks exactly the same.”

  “Nineteen years,” he replied. “I chose that time as I knew the castle was empty. My parents died when I was a lad and I had moved to Edinburgh. Mary had come to the castle from the mainland to be my housekeeper and I knew Sofia would be well cared for when I travelled with Edward of Kilmarnock.”

  He dropped Indigo’s hand. “Wait here. I will find Mary and see where Sofia is.” He smiled at Indigo; she was so very different to Sofia in coloring, size and sheer presence.

  “Mary?” He called the housekeeper as he walked toward the kitchen, but there was no answer. Unease coiled in his stomach as he stepped into the cold kitchen. The huge range was cold and there were no loaves of bread cooling on the big table in the centre of the room. Two plates of congealed food sat untouched on the smaller table. Dougal ran to the courtyard and called for Zeus.

  “What’s the matter?” He jumped as Indigo pushed past him. “What’s wrong?”

  “I’m not sure,” he replied
slowly. “Something is not right.”

  A shrill cry drifted across from the fields to the south and he ran to the gate where had stood with Edward and Sofia only yesterday. Mary ran up from the shoreline with Zeus close at her heels.

  “Oh, Dougal,” she cried before placing her hands over her face.

  “What’s the matter?” he asked urgently. “Did someone come from the mainland?”

  “No,” Mary replied, shaking her head from side to side. “The lassie has gone.”

  “Gone how? Did someone come for her?” A vision of the Knights Templar kidnapping Sofia lodged in his mind and he shook the thought away angrily. “Tell, me girl.”

  “She has taken the boat and rowed across the firth,” Mary replied, worry etched on her brow. “But I do not know when. I went to call her for the midday meal and I could not find her. I went to the shore and the boat in the cave was gone.” She burst into tears. “I could do nought as there was no other boat.”

  Relief coursed through him. It was simply a matter of following her and bringing her back—she would not have got far in the few hours since she left.

  “How will we follow her if there is no other boat?” Indigo asked.

  Dougal groaned as realization hit him. There was no other boat on the island and the Astrolaberors could not convey them in the present time. The co-ordinates had been locked into the device for the two time periods and if he changed them, they would not be able to return to the present, where Zane waited for them. He paced the courtyard trying to think of another way to follow Sofia and Indigo strode beside him pulling at his sleeve.

  He pulled his arm away angrily. “For God’s sake, woman, let me think.”

  She stood and stared at him for a moment before turning on her heel and walking toward the shore.

  Dougal watched her go as helplessness filled him. “Don’t leave my sight,” he called after her.

  One woman lost is enough.

  * * * *

  They returned alone.

  After an hour of frustration, Dougal had realized there was no way to follow Sofia and he made the decision to take Indigo back to Zane. On the morrow, he would return to search for Sofia, but would change the co-ordinates to arrive at Kilmarnock and work his way back to the coast looking for her. He just hoped and prayed she would not travel far and would stay safe.

  Surely when she realized she was in a different time, she would go back to the castle, to seek a safe haven where she knew he would return for her?

  He had promised her—two days.

  He glanced up at Indigo, tired of being the recipient of her cold glare over the dinner Mary had quickly prepared for them. Indigo dropped her knife on the wooden table and opened her mouth to speak. Zane reached over and placed his hand on her arm and she closed her mouth. He had heard enough from this woman.

  How could two sisters be so different?

  It was hard to believe she had produced the two fine young boys he had met in the Alps. Dougal stood abruptly and left them in the dining hall without a word, before making his way up to the solar where Sofia had spent the past three months.

  He was probably being unfair to Indigo but was too concerned about Sofia’s well being to give it much thought. After all, she had come here still believing her sister was dead and then the disappointment of the travel back to the castle to find Sofia missing must have been overwhelming for her. Yet, even the soft reasoning of her husband had not stilled her shrewish tongue.

  He did not need that tonight.

  He stood by the bed and closed his eyes remembering the response of Sofia in this bed only two nights ago. It seemed like a lifetime since she had lain bathed in moonlight and joyfully responded to him. For the life of him, he could not understand why she had left knowing her sojourn on the island would soon end.

  Chapter 16

  Dougal held his cloak above his head and entered the Red Lion Inn in Kilmarnock. Despite being early afternoon, it was dark and the town was deserted. Shaking the rain from his cloak, he made his way across to the innkeeper. Dougal’s purpose was twofold—as well as seeking shelter from the torrential rain, he sought information on the whereabouts of Sofia. The innkeeper pushed a tankard of ale across the wooden bench, obviously taking pity on his wet and bedraggled appearance.

  “A filthy day, sir.”

  “Aye, that it is,” replied Dougal.

  “You have missed the fair. Although just as well, it was on yesterday and not today.”

  “Fair?”

  “To celebrate the visit of the Queen and her Prince. ‘Twas a big celebration in here last evening.” The innkeeper laughed. “There are still many sore heads abed.”

  “Ah…” Dougal nodded and took a swig of his ale. “I am looking for my …er …an acquaintance of my…er…wife,” he lied. “A small woman with unusual silver hair. She would have enjoyed the fair if she had been in Kilmarnock yesterday?”

  “Aye,” the innkeeper agreed. “She did. She was visiting with Dame Molly.”

  Dougal closed his eyes as relief filled his chest. At least he knew Sofia had got safely across the firth. Thoughts of her drowning had haunted him all night.

  “Dame Molly?” he enquired. “Would she be staying with her?”

  “Perhaps.” The innkeeper turned away, seeming disinclined to volunteer any more information.

  “Ah…where would I find Dame Molly?” Dougal persisted. “It is all right. I am the Earl of Rothmore and I seek to ensure the woman’s safety.”

  The innkeeper looked at him for a long moment before answering.

  “She lives in yonder wood.” He inclined his head to the right and Dougal assumed he meant toward the wood further to the east.

  Leaving some coin on the bench to pay for the ale and show his gratitude for the information, he pushed open the door and stepped out into the cold rain. He followed the path deep into the woods, keeping under the trees to avoid the torrential rain. Wet leaves lined the path and he slipped in the soft mud. Gradually, an aroma of wood smoke and damp peat drifted across to him and he paused. A small cottage lay at the end of the path and candlelight flickered through the windows in the mid-afternoon gloom. A brawny man stood in a wood shed to the side of the small dwelling and lifted a hand in greeting.

  “A foul afternoon to be about, man,” he said. “Can I help ye?”

  “I am seeking Dame Molly,” replied Dougal.

  The man nodded. “There has been a steady stream of customers today.” He stepped out of the shed and moved across to the cottage beckoning Dougal to follow him. “For a child?” he asked.

  Dougal looked at him confused. “I am seeking a young woman who was with Dame Molly at the fair yesterday?”

  “Aye. “The man nodded. “I thought you were after the infusion of the leaves for the cough. The chestnut leaves,” he continued as Dougal looked at him, unsure what he was speaking of.”

  The man opened the door and leaned inside.

  “Molly, there is a man here asking after the young lady.”

  Dougal looked up in anticipation as relief coursed through him, but it was an elderly, stout woman who came through the door.

  “She has gone.” The woman directed her words at her husband before turning to Dougal. “I did not wish her to leave as she was ill.”

  “Where? Where has she gone?” he asked urgently.

  “She said she had to get back to the shore to wait for her man to take her home. I worry that she is delirious but she would not stay. She had some strange ideas about the Queen being dead.”

  Dougal groaned and reached into his cloak for some coin. “Thank you for taking care of her. How long ago did she leave?”

  “Mid-morning,” the woman replied. “She accepted a dose of the infusion for her cough and I dried her clothes overnight in front of the fire. She told me she fell in the firth.”

  Dougal clenched his jaw and cursed inwardly. If he had gone to the shore instead of Kilmarnock, he would have found her. He thanked the woman again and hu
rried back the way he came.

  It took him a long half hour to locate the blacksmith in Kilmarnock where he was able to procure a horse. By the time he had covered the muddy road to the shore, it was almost dark. The sky was clearing from the west and a spectacular sunset shot gold and pink hues through the sky above the firth. Dougal jumped off the horse and hit it on the rump sending it back the way they had come. If he needed to travel again, he would risk using the Astrolaberors. His heart thudded in slow painful beats and he stretched his fingers to relieve the cramps from holding the reigns. He stood at the top of the cliff and shaded his eyes from the bright light in the west as the sun dropped below the edge of the cloud. A path of golden light shimmered across the firth silhouetting his castle in the background.

  Scanning the shoreline, there was nothing to be seen and he cursed. A deserted shoreline and some lumps of kelp between the rocks. He strode along the cliff top, searching for the way down to the shore; it had obviously moved over the intervening years. Finally, a break in the gorse directed him to the path. Screaming sea birds rose in the still afternoon air as he disturbed their slumber. A sudden flash of silver from below caught his attention. A slight figured moved in the fading light and stopped beneath a rock arch near the water. Dougal paused for a moment and stared.

  It was Sofia.

  He began to run, stones slipping beneath his feet and tumbling down the cliff. Jumping down the last four feet into the sand, he regained his balance and ran across the beach to the rock arch where a small boat was secured

  The golden light framed Sofia’s head within the arch and he could not see her shadowed face until he was one step away from her. He reached out to her and she turned away, pulling the cloak around her slight shoulders. But before she turned away, he saw the coldness of her expression. A racking cough escaped her lips and she leaned on the rock for support.

  Dougal put his arm around her shoulders and she looked up at him, her eyes devoid of any recognition. He cursed himself. It was not anger on her face, it was delirium; if any harm came to her, it would be due to his actions.

  He had to get her to the warmth of the castle.