“Absolutely.” Kaitlyn squeezed his hand, then leaned up on tiptoes and kissed his cheek. The closest they could come for now until they could find a more private location. The sweet torture would kill him. She stepped back and let go of his hands. Cyrus reached for the horse’s reigns to keep his hands from wandering where they shouldn’t. “Would you like to come in for breakfast?” She chuckled. “It’s probably closer to lunch.”
Cyrus shook his head. “I don’t know if I could keep up the secret if I’m with you. And with Sir Hughes gone for the morning, I doubt it would be looked upon with approval. Do you think I could return tonight? I believe he said he’d be back.”
Kaitlyn nodded. “I think that would be fine. And we can let him know. I can’t keep secrets from my betrothed that I have just accepted another man’s hand.” Kaitlyn tried not to giggle, but he could see how much effort she put into it.
It was torture to leave her when all he wanted to do was convince her to get on the horse with him. He wanted her to head with him to Aunt Nellie’s and spend the next week together until they could travel back to their own world, where they could make plans for an actual wedding.
Chapter Twenty-six
Kaitlyn smiled up at Sir Hughes when he entered the parlor later that evening. “How was your trip into town? Did you accomplish all you hoped to?”
Jack nodded. “Yes, thank you. I hope there will be no issues.” He moved closer to her chair and sat on the one near her looking at Amelia, who smiled and kept working on her stitching. “I saw Mr. Manning before I left. Did you have a good visit?”
Kaitlyn nodded. She glanced at Amelia and leaned a little closer to Jack. “He had some concerns about the state of our relationship.”
Jack nodded as if he understood her hint. “And did you ease his mind on the matter?”
Kaitlyn nodded. “I did. He is interested in coming back to visit again. He may even arrive in time for supper. Would you be all right with that?”
Jack nodded. “I would be honored to have him join us.”
Kaitlyn looked again at Amelia. When she was sure the girl wouldn’t be able to hear them, she spoke. “He asked me a question. Very much the same as what I asked you, except it is in earnest. I want you to be completely aware of how things stand.”
Her heart pounded in her chest. She really didn’t belong to him. She could leave without his say so, but she still worried about hurting him and wanted to be sure that he approved.
Jack’s face remained impassive. She couldn’t read much inside his eyes, but after long moments he eventually nodded. “That is good news. Is it what you want?”
Kaitlyn studied him for a moment. He continued in a whisper before she could voice her thoughts. “I have begun to think of all the good you and I could do together.” He looked over at his cousin, who remained quietly engaged in her stitching. “Amelia is peaceful and safe here. We could provide for her, and I’m sure her father will have no qualms about leaving her in my care. I don’t want her to be sent to another relative. She’s had too much upheaval in her short life.”
Kaitlyn looked at the sweet girl. Though she would love to keep her close in her life, she knew it just wasn’t possible. She turned back to Jack. “Sir Hughes, you are a fine man with so much to offer, but I think we both know we aren’t truly meant for each other.”
“But we could be. There are so many happy marriages that grow out of a different beginning.”
“I know,” Kaitlyn said. “But where I come from, marriage is always for love. Although I didn’t know it when I arrived here, the more time I have spent with Cyrus, and the more I think about our past lives, I know he and I are meant to be. I can’t explain it more. I wish I could make you understand, but I really can’t make this a true marriage between us.”
Jack nodded. “I do understand. For all my life, I’ve been told I must find a bride and make sure my home and estate and people are cared for. That it is a duty and that I shouldn’t expect a loving relationship with a wife. My parents were kind to each other. I think in their own way, they did love each other, but I want more than that. I want a woman whose eyes light up when she sees me. Whose smiles warm my heart and makes me believe I could never live without her.”
Kaitlyn patted his hand. “And we both know that isn’t me. I do like you, but you deserve the joy of what can really come from a love match.”
“Though I agree,” Jack said, “so much of me wishes it would have been with you. I’ve met many of the heiresses who’ve arrived at Aunt Nellie’s. They all seem so strange at first, but with you, something felt right. You fit where so many of the others couldn’t.”
Kaitlyn smiled and he studied her for a moment. “Aunt Nellie has tried to introduce me to all of them, as if she wishes I could convince one to marry me and stay close to her. Until you, none caught my interest in more than just an appreciation for their beauty.”
“You know,” Kaitlyn said, “most women do like to know they are beautiful, but there is so much more than that. We want to be understood, to be thought of as a person and not a piece of property, to know there is more to us than the size of our dowry that interests a man. If you do ever meet more of the visitors Aunt Nellie has at her home from time to time, think of them as a person first. See the beauty inside her more than the outward. And when you see her as a person and not a duty, that is when you will find true love.”
Jack nodded and kissed the back of her hand. From toward the front of the house, they heard a knock at the door and Kaitlyn’s heart fluttered. Jack chuckled. “Well, shall we see if it’s the man who has stolen you right from under my nose?”
The smile that blossomed across her face made him laugh out loud. Before they could leave the parlor, the butler knocked and announced, “A Mr. Cyrus Manning to see you, sir.”
When Cyrus entered the room, his eyes went straight to hers. He then glanced at Jack as if worried about the reception he’d receive.
“Welcome to my home, Mr. Manning. Kaitlyn told me you’d be joining us for dinner. I’m pleased you’ve come.” Jack turned to Amelia. “Will you go check with cook and see how soon it will be served? And ask them to add another setting?”
Amelia nodded and left the room quickly to fulfill her errand. Jack took a step to Cyrus and shook his hand. “I can only allow this if I know exactly where you stand.”
Cyrus looked at Kaitlyn with wide and hopeful eyes. “She is my life.”
“And you can care for her, and will treat her like the amazing woman she is?”
“I will.”
Kaitlyn’s heart felt warmth flood it. Though Jack didn’t love her, he was doing everything in his power to make sure she was cared for. He did see women as more than property. She hoped beyond all hope that he would find the woman who was right for him. The kind of love she felt with Cyrus, who stood in front of them professing that very emotion.
“And you love her?” Jack asked, pressing for more.
“I do.”
She didn’t know how long it would be before she would hear those words from him at their own wedding, but when he said them, she took a step forward and embraced him.
“I love you, Kaitlyn. I think I always have.”
“I love you,” Kaitlyn said, leaning her forehead against his chin. From the side, she heard Jack stepping away and moving toward the door.
“Don’t be too long,” Jack said as he left the parlor. “And keep it chaste.”
Cyrus’s rumbling laugh deep in his chest sent shivers through her. “I can’t promise,” he whispered as he lifted her chin to look at him. “But I’ll try.”
His lips against hers were feather light at first, as if he wasn’t sure what she would think. She leaned against him as Cyrus’s arms tightened their hold. His kisses teased her, exploring her lips, tasting her, nibbling at the bottom lip, moving to her cheeks and then the corner of her mouth before kissing her lips again.
A single knock at the door made him pull back, and Kaitlyn missed him mor
e than she had when he’d first left for Bath.
“How are we going to manage this secret and keep your other secret for another week?” Cyrus asked as he put a couple of feet between them.
Kaitlyn shook her head as she moved toward the door slowly. “I don’t know. I guess we’ll have to practice being sneaky and prim and proper. But honestly, I kinda think that’s why they have all these long rambling gardens with lots of trees and bushes and secret places. We’ll just have to make use of some of them.”
Cyrus caught up to her and grabbed her once more, turning her around and kissing her to the point she didn’t know if she’d be able to stand on her own, let alone walk over to the door.
“Sorry,” Cyrus said. A grin split his face. “Except really I’m not. I wish we didn’t have to go out and face your fiancé, no matter how cool he is about this whole thing.”
Kaitlyn sighed. “No kidding. Maybe after dinner, we could manage to get a few minutes alone again. Then tomorrow we’ll have to head back to Nellie’s. We can go find Jem and make sure he won’t be mad about my second proposal in a week.”
“Except this one is for real. Please, please say this is real and you won’t change your mind.”
“Cyrus,” Kaitlyn said. “You are the one I want. I knew it as a teen when you came to visit and hang out with Jem all the time. I pushed it away, thinking it wouldn’t ever work because you only thought of me as a little sister. The more time we’ve spent together during this trip to England … both Englands,” she added, “the more I know you really are mine.”
Chapter Twenty-seven
The last few days until the full moon went by in a whirl. Jem and Reese were inseparable. Kaitlyn spent time with Jack, Amelia, and of course Cyrus. It was hilarious to see Jack try to help them sneak away into the garden pathways to find a few private moments together without Amelia or anyone else getting wind of the truth.
The excitement of the last week rivaled that of the first and there were more parties, picnics, horse riding, shooting competitions, lawn games, and dinners to enjoy.
Finally, the night of the full moon arrived. Kaitlyn found herself sad to leave, though overjoyed at the idea she’d be returning to her own world and time. She would be able to move on with her life and choose her own actions without getting the approval of a brother or fiancé or someone else who was supposed to protect her.
Kaitlyn looked at Cyrus. She knew he would never make decisions for her. He loved and trusted her and that made her more willing to share her thoughts and plans with him. To counsel with him and make decisions together.
***
Cyrus held Kaitlyn tight against him as Aunt Nellie pushed the magic she’d gathered into the painting to send them back home. The others around them seemed just as nervous as he felt. Except for Kaitlyn. She was solid. And the fact that she had agreed to be his and keep him to herself for the rest of their lives gave him more internal flutterings than all the magic swirling around them.
He closed his eyes, not wanting a repeat of the nausea he felt when they’d traveled to the past the first time. When he opened his eyes and found himself in the same room they’d just left, except one-hundred and sixty some odd years back into the future, he felt fine.
Kaitlyn squeezed him closer. “We made it.”
He felt her movement as she lifted her head and he followed her gaze. The electrical lighting above them was a sure testament that they had made it back.
Cyrus turned to look at the others in the room, just to make sure they had all made it back with them. The whole experience of thinking Cora didn’t travel with them for a few hours had freaked everyone out, but she was there looking a little woozy. Jem had his arm around Reese like the two of them were holding each other up.
Cyrus squeezed Kaitlyn against him once more, happy she was there and more than a little pleased she hadn’t let go of him yet. He didn’t know how long he held her before Nellie made her way over to the two of them.
“I’m so happy to see the two of you finally sorted things out. When you first arrived here, I did wonder.”
“But didn’t you know?” Kaitlyn asked.
Nellie smiled and winked at them. “You never really do know until you see it in the present. I knew you had found each other back then, but until I could see the results of it today on your fuzzy time line, it was all still up in the air.”
“Can you tell us what happened after we left?” Kaitlyn asked. “Did you give Jack the information about me not coming back?”
“Don’t let anything like that worry you. Jack is completely taken care of and you can move on with your life knowing you did everything right for him.”
Cyrus felt Kaitlyn’s body relax against his. A brief moment of jealousy that she felt so much for the baronet was immediately replaced with love for the woman who had done so much to help someone like him.
He bent down to whisper in her ear. Kaitlyn lifted her face to him, her eyes wide. A joyous smile blossoming across her face.
“Are you serious?” Kaitlyn asked.
Cyrus nodded. “If you want to. I can’t think of a better place.”
Kaitlyn turned to Nellie, keeping her hand around his waist. “Aunt Nellie,” she said. “We were wondering if you ever host any weddings here?”
Aunt Nellie’s eyes twinkled, and she rubbed her hands together like a little kid. “Absolutely. Just tell me the date, and we’ll help you make it a day you’ll never forget.”
“Just as long as it isn’t on a full moon,” Cyrus said. “I don’t care.”
Want to see what Jem, Reese, and Cora were up to while Kaitlyn and Cyrus were figuring themselves out?
Check out the other books in this series.
Against the Magic By Donna K. Weaver
Reese Hamilton has big plans to help make the world a better place and a new job lined up to help her do it. Before starting work, she heads to England for a Regency immersive experience. She doesn’t expect her best friend to invite her heart-destroying brother to join them, and two years hasn't been long enough for Reese to forget him. Then fae magic rips them back to 1850. It’s a time when women have few rights. It’s also a time when a determined woman could make a difference, with the right man at her side. Reese finds she must make a choice between two men and two times.
Jem Taylor messed up big when he walked away from Reese to pursue his dream job. He hasn’t been able to forget her and jumps at his sister’s invitation. Suddenly hurtled into Victorian England, he has the chance to woo Reese again. But to do it, he’ll have to fight the magic that brought her to that time—and an Earl with the means to keep her there.
P.S. I Love You By Jo Noelle
Cora Rey wanted a fresh start in life, but being thrown back in time to 1850 isn’t how she expected to do that. She discovers that Victorian England isn't the pleasant social whirl Jane Austen led her to believe, but when in Rome—or in this case Twickenham . . . She’s determined to have the vacation of a lifetime, especially in the company of a certain duke.
Simon Tuttle never expected to become the duke of Hertfordshire, never wanted it, but now he is, and eligible women seeking a title consider him the next trophy to be taken in the marriage mart. A union of convenience is the most he hopes for due to the shame-filled secret he bears—until he meets Cora. Now, he imagines that a love match could be possible after all. Hiding his secret from society has been easy—hiding it from Cora proves impossible. Can Cora love a man like him despite learning the truth?
Dear Reader,
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bsp; Laura D. Bastian
Other books by Laura D. Bastian
Young Adult Speculative Romance:
Eye On Orion
Beyond Orion
Heart of Orion
Romance:
Sink Or Swim
The Way it Should Be
Never Trust the Rain
Echoes of Summer
Winter’s Kiss
Autumn’s Embrace (coming soon)
Middle Grade Fantasy
Guardians of the Gate
Fantasy under L. K. Bastian
Burden of Blood
Daimon High Series
Claire
Denise
Kegan
Emily
Kat
It was such a fun experience working with Donna, Canda, and Deanna on this. And Jaclyn was just as important in the dreaming up of this whole world. I want to thank all the other authors of Regency and Victorian romance. And Jane Austen, you are a genius and I do wish I could have known you. It is so fun to disappear into that world for a time but I must say I’m so glad I live in the time I live in. I hope you enjoy this story.
Laura D. Bastian loves to write contemporary and sweet romance while L.K. Bastian writes in the fantasy and urban fantasy genres.
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