Last Knight: Thornton Brothers Time Travel (A Thornton Brothers Time Travel Romance Book 4)

by Cynthia Luhrs

  Charlotte had to swallow a couple times before she spoke. “She was right, though—she always used to say if you’re in doubt about a man and your feelings for him, ask him to talk about himself or explain something. It worked for her, eight times.” She put a hand to her neck, touching where the necklace had been, missed holding the charms in her palm. The necklace had belonged to Aunt Pittypat. It was a heavy gold chain with four charms. There was an emerald, a diamond, a sapphire, and one gold charm in the shape of a unicorn.

  “Your aunt sounds fascinating. I’m sorry your Aunt Mildred wasn’t kinder to all of you.” Ashley had moved over by the fire. “I never had an aunt. My parents didn’t have any siblings.”

  “We loved Aunt Mildred, even though she was annoying. The woman was set in her ways. I think sometimes when people get older and they live alone it tends to happen—a least, that’s my theory.” Charlotte looked over at Anna. “You’ve been sniffing a lot. I think you’re getting sick.”

  Anna’s nose was as red as a Christmas ball.

  “Aunt Pittypat had a tried-and-true, never-fail hot toddy recipe. A cup of hot tea with a splash of whiskey, a spoonful of honey, and squeeze of lemon.” Charlotte felt Anna’s forehead. “You feel warm. I’m going to have a cup brewed for you.”

  “You have tea? And lemons?” Ashley said. “How did you get them? I didn’t think they were in England at this time.”

  Charlotte resisted the urge to laugh. Ashley looked so excited at the thought of tea and lemons that you would’ve thought someone had given her a brand-new sports car. “James knows a guy. A sailor. And through some convoluted means, we’re able to get them, though it takes forever.”

  Elizabeth turned from the painting. “You have to keep quiet about it. We don’t want to change history somehow, in case some of the things we’re doing cause tea and lemons and other things to come into general use earlier than they are supposed to. It might have some kind of strange ripple effect.”

  Ashley made the motion of locking her lips and throwing away the key. “I’ll keep your secret. It might not be coffee, but what I wouldn’t give for a cup of tea with lemon and honey.”

  Charlotte opened the door and spoke to one of the guards. “One hot toddy for Anna and tea for the rest of us. Don’t worry; the girl I brought with me will be discreet.”

  Anna sneezed. “I hope it works. This is the first cold I’ve had since I’ve been here.”

  “It works wonders. You’ll want to drink it three or four times a day, for a couple of days, and you’ll be back to yourself in no time.” Charlotte handed her a handkerchief.

  Lucy looked out the window at the tiny flakes falling. “It’s been the coldest winter I can remember since I got here, and the most snow I’ve seen. It’s no wonder everybody’s getting a cold.” She looked at Ashley. “You’ll have to work with your household to make sure everyone washes their hands. That’s one of the most effective ways to stop the spread of germs and illness. Just tell them it’s a ritual. That seems to work better than trying to explain germs.”

  Charlotte stood next to Jennifer and Elizabeth. “I love the snow. You know I’m going to want a winter scene for Ravenskirk.” She turned to Ashley. “Make sure you shamelessly flatter both of them. They’re incredibly talented, and we all have paintings they’ve done. Soon you will too.”

  Ashley looked like she was about to cry, so Charlotte changed the subject. As she looked at her sisters, and the women who had become sisters through marriage, her heart overflowed with love. Ashley would be part of the family, she knew it.

  “I just know Aunt Pittypat would’ve loved traveling back in time. She was always up for new adventures.”

  “Couldn’t you see her on the battlements under the full moon? Wherever she is in the afterlife, I know she’s having the time of her life.” Melinda blew her nose.

  “We’re sorry for being depressing, but today would have been Aunt Pittypat’s birthday and she’s on our minds. We wanted to remember her.” Lucy let the tears flow.

  Anna hugged Lucy. “Tell us more about her.”

  As Lucy told more stories, Charlotte touched her neck again. Though her aunt had never been one for material possessions, for some reason the necklace was really important to her. She remembered when her aunt went to Italy, attending mass at Easter in St. Peter’s Square. The Pope gave his blessing, and it was said the objects that were there were also blessed. Charlotte and both of her sisters had always believed the necklace brought good fortune until it was lost.

  As they ate, they shared more stories about Aunt Pittypat. The ache unbearable, Charlotte knew she had waited long enough. “I’m going to feed the baby and then I’ll be back.”

  “I can’t believe I’m sitting here talking to other time travelers. It makes me feel like we’re all in a movie. Everything that’s happened has been so surreal. I know you’ve probably talked about it a million times, but would each of you tell me how you ended up here and how long it took all of you to feel like this was home?” Ashley crossed her fingers as they answered, hoping she’d hear something that might help her with Christian.

  Melinda groaned. “Better get comfortable, sugar. We’re going to be here the rest of the day.”

  “And night,” Jennifer added. “Wait.” She jumped up. “Don’t start yet. I’m going to get my sketchpad and capture all of us together. It will take a while, but I’ll do a watercolor for each of us. To always remember this time.”

  Elizabeth joined her. “I’ll help.”

  Anna finished her story, and then it was the Merriweather sisters’ turn. Ashley liked their maiden name. It fit them. As they talked and laughed, her throat closed. So this was what it was like to have sisters.

  The next night after dinner, they were back in the solar. A fire crackled cozily in the hearth, which, of course, was big enough for all of them to stand next to each other. There were tapestries on the walls and the floors were done in beautiful tiles. When she’d asked, she’d been told they had come from Italy. Christian wanted them after seeing them at the other castles. They would’ve cost a fortune in New York.

  Thinking of him made her feel sick. Ashley had tried to tell Christian but only ended up making things worse as he stomped out to the lists. She was thinking of enlisting the women’s help when Lucy gasped.

  “I almost forgot, which is crazy, because this is way important. Since I’ve been here in the past, I’ve asked everyone. And no one, not a single soul, knew anything about a curse.”

  Anna looked up from the yarn she was sorting for Lucy. “Do you think you made it up to help your future self?”

  “Wouldn’t I remember if it had already happened?” Lucy looked at all of them as they debated how time travel and time worked.

  Melinda held up her hands. “You guys are making my head hurt. We keep going in a circle.”

  Anna dropped the ball of yarn she’d been holding for Lucy. “That’s it. Time isn’t linear. It’s layered, like circles stacked on top of each other. When we fall through time it becomes our new present, even if we are in the past. So we wouldn’t remember, because it’s happening now.”

  Charlotte looked thoughtful as she tapped a finger to her lip. “You know, it makes sense. And it’s the best explanation I’ve heard so far.”

  “Then you have to make sure the curse is strong enough that it will be repeated as the years pass.” Ashley couldn’t imagine believing in a curse, but then again, she had traveled through time, so who knew what else might be real?

  Jennifer looked up from the easel, a smudge of charcoal on her hand. “Tell us the curse.”

  They all got comfortable in the chairs, blankets on their laps as Lucy settled back in a chair next to the fire, tucking her feet under her dress. As she did, Ashley caught sight of brightly colored crocheted socks.

  “Simon Grey was Lord Blackford, the castle was practically a ruin, and his family had owned it since the 1300s.”

  “Homicidal jerk,” Melinda added.

 
; Lucy grinned at her. “Well, that’s true, but if he hadn’t been such a whack job, I might not be here. Might not have met William.” They sat there for a moment thinking about what might or might not have happened if they hadn’t all fallen through time.

  “The curse said when the last of the Grey line betrays the last of the Brandon line by foul deeds for the second time, the curse shall be lifted, and the castle owned no more by the Grey family. William is William Brandon, Lord Blackford, and I thought Simon was crazy for thinking I was a Brandon.”

  “I’ve got chills,” Anna said. “So what was the second time?”

  Charlotte’s girl brought tea, and when she left, Lucy continued.

  “I think the second time was when Clement Grey, his ancestor, tried to kill me by drowning me in the cistern on top of Blackford. I was saved by a raven.”

  A look passed between the sisters, and Ashley made a note to ask about the raven later. She was afraid that if she asked now, they’d go off on another tangent and she’d never hear all the time-travel stories. What would be a five-minute story to a New Yorker was an hour or more to a Southerner.

  “And we know it worked,” Melinda said. “Because when I went to the castle, the people in the village said there hasn’t been a Lord Blackford since the 1500s. And they were named Brandon, not Grey. The last Lord Blackford was named Winston Brandon, and he died in 1564. The castle went to the National Trust.”

  Her hand trembled as she lifted the cup. “Winston was our dad’s name. Simon believed that if he killed me, he would be free of the financial drain of the castle and able to enjoy his money. Of course, at the time I didn’t know I was a Brandon because I was a Merriweather.”

  “The jerk sent a hitman after Melinda and I,” Charlotte said. “And when we came through, it was twenty years after Lucy.”

  “It’s true,” Lucy said. “I came through in 1307. And from all of our stories, I’m the only one who came through earlier than the rest of you.”

  Anna wiped her eye. “It’s because William was meant for you and was waiting. You came through when you needed to.”

  Ashley sipped the tea, letting it warm her from inside. “You were either brave or crazy to go through with the fake wedding.”

  “I know, right? But you know, he could be so charming, I swear that man could convince a tiger to go vegan. So I went along with it, thinking it was a way to end things on a good note. Who would’ve known the guy would drug the champagne? I still miss that sparkly blue shoe.”

  “Well, I think it’s poetic justice that he came through time with you and was smashed to death on the rocks. Dead as a doornail,” Melinda said.

  “You have to make sure you start rumors about this curse. Have your children and their children tell their descendants, and make sure it happens on the Grey side too.” Ashley took another sip of tea. “Because could you imagine if somehow the curse was forgotten and lost over time? Would Lucy suddenly disappear?”

  “I don’t think so,” Elizabeth said. “I think this is her new reality, and somehow it’s already done, so even if someone forgot it, she would find out another way or go back another way.”

  Ashley held up her cup. “I think we need to switch to wine.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Charlotte was careful not to slip on the icy patches as she made her way across the battlements. Looked like it was going to be a rough winter. Were the severe climate changes and storms continuing to worsen at home? The summers had been hotter, with terrible flooding and hurricanes, and she hoped it had gotten better, that people had woken up and made changes to leave a world for their children.

  She was staring at the ice on the trees when she heard a sound she hadn’t heard in a very long time. A raven was flying low and close. One of the guards crossed himself and prayed as the big black bird almost clipped the guy.

  The raven flew so close that she could see the iridescent feathers, and as it passed, the bird dropped something. She reached out without thinking to catch it. It was some kind of chain. When she opened her hand, a sob escaped, her vision blurred from the tears streaming down her face. How was it possible? She thought she’d never see it again.

  Aunt Pittypat’s necklace. Charlotte shielded her eyes, the chain dangling as she yelled, “Thank you, Aunt Pittypat. I love you.”

  The guard moved away, crossing himself again, but she didn’t care. She ran through the corridors to the solar, shouting for her sisters.

  Lucy opened the door, a look of alarm on her face. “What’s the matter? We heard you yelling.”

  Charlotte could hardly speak, she was crying so hard. The charms sparkled in the light as she held up the necklace. After she’d blown her nose and wiped the tears away, she was able to tell them.

  “Remember the ravens?” She looked to Melinda and Lucy. “Now I know. It had to be something to do with Aunt Pittypat. I don’t know if she’s up above watching over us, or somehow she was reincarnated as a damn raven, but one thing I know for sure: this has to be her doing. I’m so sorry I lost it in the well.” Charlotte was crying again, holding out the necklace to her sisters.

  Melinda took it and dropped it in her hand. “The raven gave it to you. It’s yours.”

  “Are you going to tell us the story?” Ashley said.

  Charlotte held the necklace up. “I had it last, so let me start.”

  After that emotional display this morning, Ashley had decided she had to tell Christian the truth if there was any hope the two of them might have a future together, and if not, at least she’d tried. She found him in the lists.

  “Would you walk with me?”

  He kissed her hand under the watchful eye of his brothers.

  “Shall we come along, Ashley? Make sure our brother is comporting himself as a knight should?” Robert called out.

  She was about to answer when Christian scowled. “The lady wishes to have speech with me. We do not want you lot loitering about.”

  He said to her, “’Tis too cold for you to be out walking. Come inside, where it is warm.”

  She followed Christian to his solar. When he closed the door, she took a deep breath to gather her courage.

  “I’m sorry for everything. I have something I need to confess.”

  The hopeful look left his face, and she knew he was probably afraid she was going to tell him she had a secret husband or was running off with a merchant, so she had to spit it out before he kicked her out.

  “Where I came from, I was always focused on getting ahead in life. And I always believed you could be whatever you wanted to be. But I was lying to everyone. I told them that I grew up wealthy, when in fact I had a terrible childhood.”

  Christian took her hand. “Are you married to another?”

  “Nay.” She shook her head.

  “The night you sang in the inn…you had much to drink and you told me of your mother. The man and woman who made you their own.”

  “I don’t remember much of the night. Why didn’t you say anything?”

  “We all have wounds that are slow to heal. We will heal old wounds together.”

  She didn’t know what to say. He’d known about her childhood all this time and didn’t care. Cold bloomed in her chest. Had she told him the other thing?

  “Wait.” She paced in front of the fire, skirts swishing as she walked. “When I ended up here in medieval England, I felt like I had gone backwards. The thought of living in a place where people were content to stay in one town their whole lives—it felt like failure. All I could think about was going back. Now I know I’m not a failure, where I lived doesn’t matter, and it’s who I’ve become that matters.” She held out her hand. He took it instantly.

  “I found something different here, something that banished the darkness. I found you, and Merrick and your family, and realized that’s all I need in life.”

  “Then make me complete. Marry me, Ashley Bennett.”

  A tear slipped down her face. She wiped it off, but another followed.


  “I want to. But I cannot.”

  “Why? Do you not care for me?” His hands had turned cold, chilling her through. “Mayhap in time, you would come to care for me?” Christian wiped her tears away with the pads of his thumbs.

  She cried out. “I care plenty. It isn’t that at all.”

  “Then what is it, my love? Together there is nothing we cannot overcome.”

  “I can’t have children,” she whispered.

  “I did not hear.”

  Ashley bit her lip. “I cannot have children.”

  Christian looked confused. “How can you know such a thing?”

  She took a deep breath. “When I was fifteen, I was in a lot of pain. My mother took me to the doctor and I had to have an operation. Surgery. They cured me, but the result was I cannot have children. And the funny thing was, I never cared. Not until I met you.”

  Her throat was raw, and she swallowed, trying to find the words.

  “I know how much you want children and a big family. So no matter how much I wish to marry you, I cannot. You have my blessing—find someone else who can give you the children that you long for.”

  As she looked into his eyes, she saw him as timeless as the castle around him. A bit worse for the wear around the edges, but standing. And she knew he would never leave her. He would always be there to catch her. That was why she had to send him away, so he could have a chance at happiness.

  Christian was silent for so long that Ashley knew she had her answer. She disentangled herself from his arms and walked to the door, her heart shattering like the icicles on the trees.

  “Stay.” He caught her up in his arms. “I have been a fool. All this time, I thought if only I had a big family I would no longer feel lonely. But I do not need to fill Winterforth with children. All I need is to be loved and to love. Tell me you love me, for that is all that matters in this world.”

  Ashley was crying so hard that Christian’s face was blurred by her tears. “Of course I love you, but what does it matter? You aren’t thinking straight, and you will resent me as the years pass when you realize you want children and I cannot give them to you. You must let me go.”