I shook my head in acknowledgement. “No, of course not. Why would I?”
“Does it no bother ye that I knew ye were no a virgin?”
“No. In my own time, I don’t think it would ever be assumed that I was. Do you wish that I was?”
Adwen sat up and leaned over me, pressing his body hard against my own as he bent to kiss me, his tongue plunging deep into my mouth before he answered.
“It seems I have been surprised many a time this afternoon for while I doona mind that ye are no a virgin, I doona wish to think of another man touching ye.”
His lips touched mine once again, and I sighed into his mouth as he pressed his hard length up against my abdomen. I opened myself to him, ready to be claimed again despite the unfamiliar ache in every muscle.
As he entered me, the door to the bedchamber flew open, and the expression on Orick’s face immediately brought a lump to my throat.
All I could see was the terror and fear in his eyes as he screamed in our direction.
“The lad’s gone. Cooper. He’s vanished!”
CHAPTER 26
I knew where he was. There was only one place Cooper would have gone—only one place he would have wandered without permission.
Adwen jumped off me in an instant, dressing as quickly as he could, panic in his every movement. I scrambled to cover myself but didn’t move from the bed, addressing Orick as calmly as I could.
“He found it, didn’t he? He was right. There’s a portal here.”
Orick nodded. As I looked at him, I thought he might cry. He was worried–terrified that Cooper had fallen prey to some horrid fate. Before I could speak up to comfort him, Adwen threw my robe onto the bed, shouting at Orick to step outside.
“Get out and let her dress, Orick. We will join ye promptly.”
Orick stepped outside right away. Once the door was closed, I stood from the bed and shrugged into the robe.
“How did ye know about the portal, lass? We dinna tell anyone. I dinna believe it possible when Cooper first mentioned it, but Orick found it after the snow. We should have told ye but I could see Cooper’s curiosity, and I know too well the trouble curious lads can get into. He must have found it, Jane. I knew it possible that he would, though he swore to me he wouldna go through it. Doona worry. We’ll get him back.”
“I know. I’m not worried.”
He continued on as if he’d not heard me. I realized then, listening to Adwen ramble incessantly while Orick paced the hallway loudly enough that I could hear him through the door, that I was far more equipped to handle this situation than these seventeenth century Highlanders. And I hated it.
I hated knowing that neither man, despite their numerous travels, was prepared for what they would see and experience. They wouldn’t allow me to travel through alone, and they weren’t likely to leave the other behind. It would be a group affair.
Their worry was understandable, but I didn’t share the sentiment. I knew that the incessantly nosy witch, Morna, wouldn’t let anything happen to my nephew. No matter how much I disliked her, I was certain of that—she’d saved his life more than once. Cooper would be fine—until I got to him, at least. Once I did, his impression of his fun-loving aunt was in serious danger of being altered forever.
* * *
After running to my own room to put on some real clothes, Adwen and I followed Orick to the outside stairwell. I don’t know what I’d expected, but I found the magical staircase to be far less impressive than I’d imagined it to be.
Morna liked flashy, painful, ridiculously nonsensical forms of time travel—like throwing a rock into a pond. This was far too simple—clearly, not her work.
I stared down into it with both men at my side.
“Is it still…active?”
“Aye.” Orick nodded, walking down the steps until he stood only two steps from the wall where the stairway ended. “From here ye can see the wall ripple if ye look closely. I’m so sorry, lass. I dinna know he knew of it. ’Tis difficult to find. I canna imagine how he managed to pull the door open, but he must have done so while I was counting for him to hide. When I opened my eyes, he stood at the stop of the stairwell, waiting for me to watch him run. He wanted me to see him pass through. Then he just ran down these steps and…” Orick paused and took the remaining two steps toward the stone wall. The moment his foot touched the last step, his shoulder bumped into the wall and he disappeared.
I let out a strangled gasp of surprise as Orick vanished, and I reached out an arm to keep Adwen from taking off at a full-sprint to follow him.
“Christ, Jane, do ye think he meant to do that?”
I shook my head. “No. I’d say not. Poor Orick. Adwen,” I pulled on his arm so that he faced me. “Is there any way you’ll let me go through alone to bring them back? Cooper is fine. Orick will be fine as well…with time. There’s really no need, and it’s not always easy—the shock of it all.”
He shook his head, taking my hand as he led me away from the stairwell and toward the castle. Seeing that I seemed to be relatively calm seemed to have slowed his panic. For that, at least, I was grateful.
“Ye are mad if ye think I’m staying here, Jane.”
I knew he wouldn’t agree, but I didn’t feel it right to at least not offer him the opportunity to sit out. Cooper was under my care. Neither Orick nor Adwen were responsible for him.
We walked quickly. I knew he had every intention of returning to the stairwell as fast as possible.
“We canna tell them the truth, lass.”
“Of course not.” I couldn’t stand that even two more people knew of this time-hopping mess. The last thing I wanted to do was include anyone else. “You go talk to your brother and tell him to watch over things. I’ll go talk to Isobel. We have to go to the village. We will be gone a few days at the most—that’s all that we will tell them. Best not to say anything else.”
* * *
I sat next to Isobel and racked my brain for a more believable version of my story. I could tell by her expression, she knew I was lying.
“What’s happened, Jane? I may be ill but no daft. Orick might have been able to make the trip from the village with the help of a pack of dogs, but I can see by looking out the window that ’tis still impassable.”
“It’s not though. Adwen found a way through. He has to deal with something in the village.”
She stood, visibly upset with me for excluding her from the truth. “No, he dinna. When would either have had the opportunity, Jane? I heard the two of ye getting verra acquainted with one another only moments ago, and Cooper has had Orick running about the castle all day. I doona wish to be lied to.”
Her chest started to rise and fall rapidly, and I moved to her side to grip her arms as she started to cough; a deep, painful hack that had been so wonderfully absent for several days. She took a deep breath to inhale, and I heard her choke and gargle as something climbed in her throat. She coughed again, and blood spewed out onto the stones.
Even at her weakest, I’d never seen her cough up blood. By the tears that sprung up in the corner of Isobel’s eyes, I knew it startled her as well. It confirmed my worst fears—that the short respite was just a prelude to a rapid decline.
I moved her to a seat and sat helplessly beside her, watching her shake and struggle to breathe. It broke something inside me to see her in such pain. In that moment, I realized Cooper was right—I would do anything to keep Isobel alive—even resort to magic.
CHAPTER 27
I stayed by Isobel’s side until she drifted into a restless sleep. Once the blood came, she didn’t have the energy to dispute my explanation any further. I held her hand at her bedside. Once her eyes closed, I bent to whisper in her ear.
“I’m sorry I lied to you. You’re right. We’re not going to the village. We are going somewhere to get you help.” Gently, I pulled my fingers from her hand and kissed her brow before standing.
When I turned to leave, Adwen stood in the doorway.
> “Jane, I’m glad to find ye. I thought ye’d gone ahead of me, lass.”
I grabbed his hand and leaned into his chest for comfort. “No. I wouldn’t do that, not without telling you. I’m sorry it took me so long. Cooper and Orick will be none too pleased. Are you ready?”
“Aye. What’s happened? Ye’ve tears in yer eyes.”
“She started coughing up blood. We have to help her, Adwen. If we can—it’s possible we can find help.”
“Then, we shall.” He kissed the top of my head as we stepped out into the cold evening air. The sun had started to set by the time we stepped outside. “Callum knows. I couldna lie to him. He, like Orick and myself, already knew of yer own travels through time. He will watch over Isobel and Gregor while we are away.”
“Okay, I doubt Gregor will even notice our absence. Once he sees the turn that Isobel has taken, he’ll never leave her side.
It was a short walk to the staircase. As we neared it, I could sense Adwen’s apprehension.
“Are you frightened?”
He laughed and surprised me by taking a seat on the first step of the stairwell.
“No. I canna wait to see where ’tis ye come from.”
“You won’t be seeing where I come from—that would be New York City. God, how I miss it. Of all the things I left behind, I begrudge that damned witch the loss of my beloved city the most. I didn’t get to say goodbye to my home.”
I took a seat next to him and smiled as he took my hand, gently tracing the lines of my palm with his thumb.
“I thought you lived here at Cagair Castle.”
“Cagair Castle was only my home for a matter of months, and I never had any intention of staying here forever. I joined Kathleen in her efforts to restore the place and planned to spend half of my time in New York and half of my time here so I could be closer to Grace and Cooper. Things didn’t turn out that way.”
“Aye, but at least ye get to see the wee lad even more now.”
“Yes,” I nodded, unable to find anything upsetting about that, “that’s true. I am so grateful for that.”
Adwen gestured down the stairs to the portal. “I know we need to go soon, but allow me to ask ye something first. Why did ye come for me, Jane? I heard yer speech when ye said ye dinna think I’d want ye past this eve. Is that what ye want from me? Did ye come to me just out of need?”
I squeezed his hand to reassure him, surprised that he thought me, or any woman for that matter, capable of approaching sex in such an emotionless way. “No. I told you. I do want more, but are you capable of giving it?”
He didn’t answer right away, and I appreciated his reflection. It showed a genuine desire to answer me truthfully. I’d held many different opinions of Adwen over the short amount of time I’d known him, but even when I thought the worst of him, I never believed him to be a dishonest man.
“I doona know, Jane. If ‘more’ means a vow, I could give ye that and keep it until the day I die. I could vow to never stray nor mistreat ye, to protect and care for ye along with any children that we might bear.”
I swallowed hard, a sharp pain of regret and guilt shooting through my abdomen at his mention of children. I’d not yet told him—I’d never thought to. I’d never been close enough, never allowed myself to get close enough to any man for it to be of any real concern. While I knew we weren’t there yet, Adwen’s mere suggestion told me what he felt for me and I for him was different than anything I’d experienced before. Adwen continued to speak, and I pushed the painful thought away.
“I could vow all those things, Jane, but I willna do so until I know that I can vow to give ye all of my heart, as well. And I doona know if I’ve room in me heart to give ye or any other. My heart has always been too filled with selfishness, arrogance, and pride to allow room for another. If any lass has the power to rid those things from me heart, ’tis ye, for since I’ve met ye, I’ve an awful yet pleasing ache in me chest. I canna know if I’m a man worthy of yer love or if I even know the meaning of the word, but I’d like to try, Jane. Allow me that, at least.”
I stood, pulling on his hand so that he would join me. “Adwen, that’s all that either of us can ask of the other—an opportunity for each of us to see if we can become the best version of ourselves with the help of the other. Now, kiss me, and let’s go join Cooper and Orick. They’ve waited long enough.”
He smiled and bent to touch his lips to mine. His kiss was gentle, his gaze kind as I looked into his eyes. Adwen thought himself a man incapable of caring for those around him, but everything he did told a different story. His care for Isobel, his worry over Cooper, and his loyalty toward Orick—they all negated the thing he feared most about himself.
Adwen’s heart was filled with love. Perhaps, all he needed was someone to reciprocate his love for him to remember what it truly was. I’d never say it, not so soon, not out loud, but as we marched toward the portal, hand in hand, my last conscious thought was that I was halfway there myself.
CHAPTER 28
Cagair Castle – Present Day
I decided immediately after regaining consciousness in the twenty-first century that I was a much bigger fan of whatever witch or magical being created this portal than I was of Morna.
It was all rather painless, with no sign of the vomit-inducing headache that plagued me the first time I travelled through.
I could see nothing in the black stairwell, but Orick’s voice reached me first in the darkness.
“Where in the name of every holy saint have the two of ye been?”
Cooper gave me no chance to answer him, squeezing the air out of me as his arms wrapped around my waist before grabbing onto my hand as he helped me feel my way up the stairwell. Adwen stumbled along behind me as Cooper spoke.
“Orick’s been pretty grumpy—only because he’s just so excited to see everything that he can’t stand it.”
Orick grumbled near the top of the stairs, cracking the doorway open so that moonlight flooded the stairs. “I am no that excitable, lad.”
“Don’t lie. You’ve been worse than me on Christmas morning—peeking your head out of the doorway every chance you get. You were worried at first, but as soon as you saw I was okay, you were ready to get out of here and start exploring.”
“I’ve been peeking, lad, to make certain we could get out of here without being seen once yer aunt and Adwen arrived.”
“Okay.” Cooper laughed, disbelieving. “Whatever you say, Orick.”
I walked to the top step and stood next to Orick, looking outside through the crack. “And…can we walk out unnoticed?”
“Aye, I believe so. No one has passed by since I arrived.”
“Great.” Cooper had followed me up the stairs, and I reached for his hand as I pushed the doorway completely open. “Coop, you and I are going to go have a little chat.”
He attempted to squirm away from me, seemingly astonished.
“But, Aunt Jane, we’ve got to get away from here first. You know we have to go to Morna’s, and it is hours from here.”
I didn’t answer him right away, instead turning toward Adwen and Orick who were just venturing outside.
“Will you two stay right out here and don’t go poking around just yet? None of us need to be seen. We all look ridiculous in these clothes, but Cooper and I at least know enough about society in this time to talk our way out of it if we are seen. You two would just make a mess of it. We will be back in a minute.”
They both nodded, and I walked with Cooper to the other side of the castle. Except for the lack of snow, it was hard to tell we’d even changed time periods.
“Coop, I am well aware of the fact we have to go to Morna’s. I’m not pleased about it at all. And frankly, I don’t care how late it is or what time we get there. I’ll take some pleasure out of waking the old bag up in the middle of the night.”
“You won’t wake her up, Aunt Jane. She’ll know we are coming.”
I glared at him, and he quickly stopped speakin
g. He was probably right about that, but he knew that wasn’t the point of the conversation.
“I am so glad that you are okay, but I have never been so angry with you. Do you understand why?”
“Yes, but…”
“Nope.” I held up a hand to stop him. “No buts. I understand why you did what you did, but that does not make it okay, Cooper. You’re the most grown child I know, but you are still a child. That means that you do not get to make the decisions, and you have to listen to what the people in charge of you say. What if something had happened to you, Cooper? Your mother would never forgive me. She left you in my care. I am responsible for you. Don’t ever do anything like this ever again.”
By the time I finished, he was looking down at his feet. He cared very much about others and had always been incredibly conscious of how he made others feel.
“I’m sorry, Aunt Jane. I didn’t mean to scare you or be bad. I just wanted to help Isobel. We’re going to, right? Now that we’re here…you’re not going to make us leave without helping her, are you?”
After everything that had happened, I was embarrassed that it had taken Isobel coughing up blood in front of me for me to see reason. I reached for Cooper, pulling him into my lap to squeeze him close.
“Yes, Coop. We’re going to try, although I don’t know what Morna will be able to do about it. I don’t have very much faith in the lunatic.” My blood pressure rose just thinking about her.
“What’s a lunatic?”
“A crazy person. I know you like her, but I’m really not excited about seeing her.”
Cooper scooted off my lap and stood, holding a hand to help pull me up. “She’s not crazy, Aunt Jane. You just haven’t gotten the chance to know her. She’s a really swell gal.”
Love Beyond Compare (Book 5 of Morna’s Legacy Series) Page 15
