Courting Carolina

by Chapman, Janet

  “No, he most likely saved Alec’s life.” All the tenderness left her mother’s eyes. “I swear I wanted to kill him myself for the terror we lived through. We thought you were dead, Carolina. Or worse, that our enemies had you. Did you not care how worried we would be after receiving that fistful of hair and your ankle bracelet?”

  Jane dropped her gaze. “Yes, I cared,” she whispered. “I just didn’t…I was afraid…” She lifted her chin. “I knew once Father got hold of me again that he’d take away what little power I have and marry me to the first man he could find.” She pulled up her pant leg. “And I was right, wasn’t I? Before I even dismounted, Nicholas held me still while Father replaced my shackle.”

  “That’s not a shackle,” Rana snapped. “It’s your protection.”

  Jane dropped her pant leg with a snort. “It is until someone else comes along and cuts it off.”

  “Trust me, Caro, Zeus himself couldn’t get this one off.” Rana cupped Jane’s face, her eyes turning tender again with her smile. “How about if we form a pact, you and me, in which I will continue to ensure that you don’t have to marry a man you don’t love, and you give me your word that you will at least try to give the six warriors coming here a chance to take your breath away?”

  “Alec MacKeage already stole it—as did this century and all of its wondrous possibilities.” Jane smiled sadly, already knowing the answer to her question. “Are any of Father’s hand-chosen warriors from this time?”

  Rana rolled her eyes as she turned away and walked to a small table beside the chair, then picked up a piece of paper and started reading. “Ranging from the tenth to the fifteenth centuries, there’s a knight of the Round Table, a Bedouin, a Crusader, a Prussian prince, a Norseman, and…” She looked up, her expression turning wary. “And a highland laird named Niall MacKeage.” She lifted her hand questioningly. “I can only assume Titus must have felt that one of Duncan’s ancestors would be a good match for you.” She brightened. “Which means there may be hope for your Alec.” But then she shook her head, tossing the paper back on the table. “No, I might be able to persuade Titus to give your young man a chance, but when Maximilian heard who was hiding you, he became…Well, let’s just say your father threatened to leave him behind when they went after you if he didn’t calm down.” She shrugged. “I don’t know why Mac feels as he does about the MacKeages, considering how close he is to Duncan, but when he saw Niall’s name on the list he tried to talk Titus out of inviting him.”

  “Mac doesn’t like the MacKeages?” Jane asked on a gasp.

  Rana shook her head again. “I don’t believe he dislikes them, exactly; I think he simply doesn’t want you marrying one of them.”

  “But why?”

  “I guess that’s something you’ll have to ask him.” Her mother walked over and grasped her shoulders. “So do we have a pact? You’ll open your mind to the men coming here to court you, and in return I’ll make sure your father opens his mind to the fact that you’re a grown woman capable of knowing what you want?”

  “What I want is to live in this century, not the tenth or any one in between. And I don’t want to spend the next three weeks being polite to a bunch of ancient, full-of-themselves warriors expecting to win a quiet, demure, obedient wife who will give them a dozen baby princes and princesses.”

  Rana closed her eyes on a sigh, and Jane leaned away when her mother opened them again and actually gave her a shake. “I’m asking you to try, Caro. Because if your father sees you’re finally taking a sincere interest in marriage, I will have an easier time persuading him to let you choose your husband instead of him choosing for you.” She gestured toward the table. “If not one of these six, then we’ll let him scour the world for six more he approves of, preferably from a more recent century or even this one. And another six, if that’s what it takes.” She clasped Jane’s head to look her directly in the eyes. “But your father has to see you trying.”

  “Well, fine then,” Jane growled. “I will be the epitome of grace and demureness for these six kowtowing buffoons.”

  Rana pulled Jane to her with a laugh and gave her a fierce squeeze. “Now that’s the daughter I raised.” She turned with her arm still around Jane and started toward the hallway. “So let’s get you cleaned up and dig through my closet for something you can wear, as I believe two or three of your buffoons have already arrived, and I feel it’s imperative we begin our campaign immediately.” She stopped to run her gaze over Jane and frowned. “And I’ll see what I can do to disguise the mess you made trying to fix your hair. I swear it looks like you finished hacking it off with a knife. First thing in the morning we’ll have Olivia drive us to Turtleback Station to buy you a temporary wardrobe while I send Leviathan to get what’s left of yours at home, and we’ll find a salon and see about getting your hair styled.”

  Jane gathered her tangles in a protective fist. “I like my hair the way it is. And I didn’t finish hacking it off, Alec did. And I think he did a wonderful job.”

  Rana leaned away to gape at her—that is, until a sparkle suddenly came into her eyes. “I must say that on the few occasions I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Alec MacKeage, I never once realized there was a hairstylist hiding behind all that roguish charm,” she said with a laugh, heading them down the hallway again. “I wonder what other hidden talents your modern, breath-robbing man has.”

  “Oh, the scoundrel has all sorts of amazing talents,” Jane said, only to rush in the bathroom pulling her fleece up over her head to hide her blush when Rana gaped at her again. Sweet Athena, she had to be careful what she said! Her mother might be her greatest ally, but the poor woman would have a heart attack if she knew just how passionately her daughter had embraced the twenty-first century.

  Jane began her campaign immediately following her bath; her first order of business being her refusal to sleep under the same roof as her father. And when her mother suggested she could stay in the main lodge with Mac and Olivia and the children, Jane had simply given her a hug and headed down the wooded path—having absolutely no intention of sleeping under the same roof as her brother, either.

  Nicholas had immediately fallen into step behind her. And although the man had wisely remained silent, Jane had not, letting him know exactly what she thought of his actions today. She’d abruptly shut up, though, when she’d looked over her shoulder to see him grinning.

  Nicholas was…well, Nicholas. And dammit, she loved him. Even when they’d been kids running carefree all over Atlantis, the more she had railed at him the wider his grin had gotten. He’d grown into a man of few words who had the patience of a saint, the body of a gladiator, the mind of a scholar, and the social skills of a hermit. And that’s why when Jane had suddenly stopped in the middle of the trail and turned to see his grin grow tender, she’d thrown herself into his big strong arms and soaked his shirt with tears.

  Once finished, she’d pushed Nicholas ahead of her to knock on the door of the massive log-and-stone lodge with instructions to ask to speak to Olivia—while she had safely hidden behind a tree. Olivia had run outside and then proceeded to soak Jane’s blouse with tears as they’d hugged each other fiercely, after which her sister-in-law had insightfully offered Jane a cottage of her own before she’d even asked.

  They’d gotten into one of the cute little electric carts in front of the resort’s office, with Nicholas opting to jog to the cottage instead. “I swear those were the most words I’ve heard that man utter since he arrived,” Olivia said once they’d driven out of earshot. She reached over and squeezed Jane’s hand. “Damn, Carolina, you gave us a scare. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Mac so crazy.”

  “Me, either,” Jane said, shaking her head. “And I am truly sorry for selfishly not letting someone know I was safe.”

  Olivia patted her hand, then turned the cart onto a path that wove up through towering oaks covered in burnished leaves glistening in the setting sun. “I guess what I can’t believe is that Alec didn’t tell anyone, no
t even Duncan.”

  “He thought I was just an ordinary woman named Jane Smith.”

  Olivia glanced over at her. “Yes, I was told you claim Alec didn’t know who you were, but Mac believes he did know and simply didn’t care.” She gestured at nothing. “Mac thinks all the MacKeage men are contrary that way, and that having even one of them on the payroll is sometimes one too many.”

  Jane grabbed Olivia’s arm. “But Alec didn’t do anything wrong, Olivia. I lied to him. Oh please, you have to talk Mac out of firing him. Alec loves his work.”

  Olivia stopped the cart in front of a small log cottage sitting on a wooded knoll with an expansive view of the Bottomless Sea. “I don’t have to talk Mac out of anything, because as my dear sweet husband keeps reminding me, Nova Mare is mine. I do the hiring and firing, and Alec isn’t going anywhere until he finishes my wilderness trail.” She leaned closer and lowered her voice as Nicholas came walking up the path. “Tell me truthfully, Caro; do you look at Alec’s big broad shoulders and charming smile and suddenly feel your insides clench and your mouth go dry and your heart start pounding so hard, you think you might to pass out?”

  Jane blinked at her, even as she felt her cheeks flush with heat. “I…um…”

  Olivia got out of the cart with a laugh, dragging Jane with her. “Never mind, I don’t want to know.” She guided Jane up the stairs. “Because I don’t want your dear sweet brother drilling me for details of how you spent the last ten days.”

  “Princess.”

  Jane pulled away just as Olivia opened the cottage door, turned to Nicholas standing at the bottom of the stairs, and arched a brow. “Yes, Nikki?”

  One corner of his mouth twitched slightly. “I have to go help Titus settle in some newly arrived guests.” He gestured back down the path. “You may move about freely, but I’ll know the moment you step off the resort grounds.” That hint of amusement disappeared. “Don’t force me to come after you.”

  “Why, I wouldn’t dream of it, Nikki,” she drawled, giving a dismissive wave as she turned and walked in the cottage.

  “Princess?” Olivia repeated, peeking out the door at Nicholas’s retreating back. She looked at Jane. “He calls you princess?”

  “Only when he’s trying to get a rise out of me. And just so you know, he really hates being called Nikki—which I unwittingly discovered when I was eight.” Jane shook her head. “I didn’t work up the nerve to call him Nikki again until I was nearly twenty.”

  “That’s right; when I asked who the scary-looking guy was with Titus and Mac and Trace when they arrived this morning, Rana told me you and Nicholas had grown up on Atlantis together.” Olivia walked to the fieldstone hearth taking up most of one wall, grabbed a box of matches off the mantel, and lit the kindling already arranged in the firebox. “Aeolus’s Whisper is open from breakfast through dinner, so you’re welcome to eat there,” she continued, setting a couple of logs on the snapping fire. She replaced the screen and brushed off her hands. “Or you can raid its walk-in cooler if you want to lug stuff back here and cook your own meals.”

  “Thanks, I just might take you up on that offer,” Jane said, walking to one of the two interior doors at the back of the cottage. She peeked inside the bathroom, then shot a grimace over her shoulder as she walked into the bedroom. “I imagine I’ll have to eat at the restaurant with whichever one of my suitors has captured my attention that particular day, but I’m going to need breakfasts here to prepare myself for long days of pretending to be sincerely interested in the full-of-themselves buffoons.”

  Olivia rushed into the bedroom just as Jane hopped up on the large bed made of hand-hewn logs. “Your what?” she said on a gasp. “Those men are here to court you? But I thought they were just friends that Titus had invited to attend our grand opening.”

  Jane snorted. “My father doesn’t have any friends. There will be other guests arriving for the ball, but the men coming here this weekend are hand-chosen candidates vying to become Titus’s son-in-law.” Jane pulled the clearly nonplussed woman onto the bed and wrapped an arm around her. “It’s okay, Olivia,” she said, giving her a squeeze. “I have three weeks to figure a way out of this mess. But in the meantime, I’ve given Mother my word that I will act sincerely interested in these men while she persuades Father to stop this insanity.”

  “He can’t actually make you get married, Caro.”

  “Actually, he can.” Jane folded her hands on her lap and looked down at them. “I realize this is probably beyond the understanding of a twenty-first-century woman, but in our world, Father’s word is law. My refusal to marry someone he approves of would mean immediate banishment—without any of my powers.” She pulled in a shuddering breath. “I would no longer be able to travel through time or shape-shift or conjure even the simplest spell, and would age naturally and die an old woman in whichever century I was trapped in.”

  “For the love of God,” Olivia whispered, leaning away. “Titus wouldn’t…He couldn’t do that to you, Carolina. Your father loves you.”

  “This isn’t about love,” Jane quietly explained. “It’s about the king of the drùidhs holding on to his authority.” She shrugged. “If Titus Oceanus can’t even rule his daughter, then how can he command the respect of mankind?”

  “Mankind doesn’t know he even exists,” Olivia growled. “Nobody believes in the magic anymore.”

  Jane slid off the bed and turned to face her. “The drùidhs certainly know, as do Father’s enemies. The gods have been waiting thousands of years for Titus to falter so they can finally destroy Atlantis. Don’t you understand, Olivia? If Atlantis ever falls, so will mankind.”

  Olivia also stood up, her face flushing in anger. “Are you saying that everything sits on your shoulders? That if you don’t marry one of those men, the world as we know it will cease to exist?”

  Jane shook her head. “Not on my shoulders; on Father’s. I’m only saying that as his daughter, I have a duty to uphold his authority.”

  Olivia’s cheeks darkened even more. “I thought his authority was protecting people’s free will. So what happened to your right to choose your own damn husband, or even remain single if that’s what you want?”

  Jane captured Olivia’s fisted hands and gave them a squeeze. “But I am free to do whatever I please, as long as I don’t mind living with the consequences.”

  “But what kind of choice is that!” Olivia pulled away and ran out of the bedroom. “By your stupid gods, we’ll just see what Mac has to—”

  Jane ran into the main room and pulled her to a stop. “You are not getting involved in this, Olivia. Mac has no more say about this than I do, and I won’t have you at odds with your dear sweet husband over something none of us can control.” She shook her head. “I can be mad at Mackie for beating up Alec, but you can’t be mad at him for being caught in the middle of a fight that he and I both knew was coming. Why do you think I ran away two years ago? You and Mac were newlyweds and about to have a baby together; did you think I was going to wage my battle against my father here in Spellbound Falls and rip your new family apart?”

  “But it’s not fair,” Olivia whispered. “You deserve to marry for love just like your brother did.”

  “I love you for loving Mac, Olivia, and am truly happy for you both. But you know he was facing the same dilemma when he came here, and would right now be in a loveless marriage but for your courage to love him for who and what he is.” She smiled sadly. “I spent two years searching for what you two have, only to discover there are buffoons in every century.” Jane walked to the hearth and stared into the fire, balling her own hands into fists. “That is until ten days ago, when a handsome scoundrel saved my life and ignited in me a passion that outshines the sun.”

  “Then tell your father that you have found a man you can love.”

  Jane turned to her. “I don’t believe Alec feels the same way, Olivia.”

  “He must feel something for you, Carolina. He kept you hidden for ten days.”


  “No, he was hiding Jane Smith.”

  Olivia shook her head. “Alec might act carefree and fun-loving, but he’s a MacKeage. Trust me; he knew exactly who you were.” She canted her head. “In fact, I bet that’s precisely why he didn’t tell Duncan or anyone else about you.”

  Jane spun to face the fire again. Could that be true? Could Alec have known the dictatorial father she was hiding from was Titus Oceanus, and he’d hidden her anyway?

  “Maybe the question you should be asking,” Olivia said, walking up behind her, “is why did Alec risk everything to help you?” Olivia turned her around. “If he knew you were Carolina Oceanus, and that hiding you would bring him nothing but trouble, then why did he?”

  “He…Alec said he has nothing to offer me.”

  “Well, of course he said that. He knows you’re a princess, and he’s a—”

  “A scoundrel!” Jane blurted out, throwing her arms around her insightful sister-in-law. “An underachieving ski bum who thinks he can’t even be my boyfriend. Oh, Olivia, thank you,” she said, giving her a squeeze—only to suddenly step back, shaking her head. “He’s also maddeningly noble. If he’s made up his mind that he doesn’t—no, wait. He deceived me. All this time he’s been—”

  “No, you wait,” Olivia said on a laugh, snagging her arm when Jane started for the door. “It was your lie, Carolina; Alec was just playing along. You can’t get all huffy—”

  “Auntie Caro!”

  “Ohmigod, Henry!” Jane pulled open the door just in time to catch her nephew when he threw himself into her arms. “Henry-Henry-Henry!”

  “Oh, auntie, I missed you,” he said, hugging her fiercely. “You’ve been gone two whole years.”

  “Aunt Carolina!” Sophie shouted, running up the steps carrying a small toddler. “You’re back!”

  “Sophie.” Jane pulled away from Henry just in time to catch the little girl hurling herself out of Sophie’s arms. “Oh, you must be Ella,” she said on a laugh, catching the gurgling bundle of energy. “Sweet Athena, is there not a shy bone in your precious body, you sweet little cherub?”