It also didn’t help that Susan Garnett, Emma’s eldest daughter, solemnly handed a note over to Danica before she went to take her seat. “Mamma told me to give this to you, Miss Prewitt,” she said with some pride. Clearly, she felt honored to be burdened with a task as momentous as acting as a courier for her mother.
“Thank you, Susan,” Danica replied, then went to her desk and put the note in her drawer, to be read while the children were at lunch recess. Unfortunately, it was the only note in there; she’d checked when she first came in this morning, just to make sure Robert hadn’t attempted to contact her that way, but the drawer was empty of anything except the usual assortment of pen nibs, blotting papers, and unsharpened pencils.
The morning passed more or less without incident, although Danica did have an instant of utter brain fade during the geography lesson when she couldn’t remember the capital of New York. However, since little Annabelle Wilcox gleefully supplied it, beaming that she’d remembered such an important fact, all was not lost. Even so, Danica was very relieved by the time lunch rolled around and she could get a few minutes to herself. Although she didn’t find herself that eager to read Emma Garnett’s note, she knew she had to out of courtesy, if nothing else.
Danica poured some water into her cup from the dipper and pail that sat in one corner of the room, then unfolded the note. Emma’s handwriting was clean and precise, if not as spikily perfect as the copperplate handwriting Danica had seen in the books on Victorian life and customs she’d studied to prepare herself for this journey into the past.
Dear Miss Prewitt,
I must apologize for my brother’s behavior. I fear he suffered a setback in the family business the day before, one he found particularly provoking. However, that does not excuse his outburst.
I do hope that one scene wasn’t enough to dissuade you from coming for dinner on Wednesday evening. If you’re amenable, please tell Susan that your answer is yes. She does enjoy being our little messenger. We would expect you a little after six o’clock once again.
Very truly yours,
Emma Garnett
So much for the hope that Emma had forgotten all about her invitation to have Danica return for dinner. She allowed herself a sigh as she folded the note and put it back in her desk drawer. Maybe she could find some way to lie and say that she had too many papers to grade, but since she hadn’t assigned any compositions that would be due in the specified time frame, the lie would be easy enough to discover. And then Emma would start to wonder why the schoolteacher had felt the need to lie about such a thing….
No, better to go and be as circumspect as possible. Jeremiah would probably offer to walk her home again, but since Danica really hadn’t given him any encouragement, maybe he would hold off on making any gestures like that awkward kiss on her hand. Well, she could hope, anyway.
She had just enough time to eat her own lunch of cold chicken and an apple before it was time to go out and call the children back into the classroom. They all trooped dutifully in. As Susan Garnett passed Danica’s desk, she gestured for the little girl to come toward her. Looking slightly puzzled, Susan did as requested, then looked up at Danica with big dark eyes.
“Please tell your mother that I would be delighted to come over on Wednesday evening,” Danica said, and Susan smiled at once.
“Oh, thank you, Miss Prewitt! She’ll be so pleased.” Then the little girl’s face fell as she sighed. “I just wish the party wasn’t only for grownups.”
“I can understand that, Susan, but there isn’t quite room enough at your mother’s table for everyone, is there?”
The little girl appeared to consider Danica’s reply, then nodded reluctantly. “I suppose so. But Mamma makes all the best things for when company comes over, and there’s never anything left for me or my brothers to try.”
Susan sounded so plaintive that Danica had to quickly smother a smile. Some things clearly hadn’t changed too much in the last hundred years or so; she remembered all too well the bacon-wrapped dates her mother used to make for cocktail parties, and how she and Mason used to plot to swoop down and steal a few before anyone noticed.
“I’ll try not to eat too much, so maybe there will be something left over,” she promised the little girl, and Susan smiled and headed back to her seat.
After all, Danica thought as she went to get her list of that week’s spelling words so she could write them on the board, trying to avoid your uncle’s attention all night will probably kill my appetite anyway.
* * *
If the town was still buzzing with gossip over Samuel Wilcox’s confrontation with Robert Rowe, Danica didn’t hear anything of it. Although she lingered at the school longer than was strictly necessary in the hope that Robert would make a return visit to see her, he didn’t appear, and she didn’t have any plausible errands at Brannen’s store so she could hear what people were saying for herself. Likewise, Clara and Mrs. Wilson were uncharacteristically subdued at dinner that evening, possibly because of their spat the night before.
All Danica could do was tell herself that if something truly terrible had happened, they would have heard of it, even at Mrs. Wilson’s boarding house. Flagstaff was too small for word not to get around quickly.
Despite that, Danica resolved to do something to reach out to Robert that day, even if it meant being so forward as to send a note to him at his hotel. As it turned out, there was no need for that, because when she opened her desk drawer that morning at school, she found a folded piece of cream paper there, one she didn’t remember tucking under the spare pen nibs.
Robert’s bold handwriting leaped out at her immediately.
Dearest, I know you must be fretting. I wanted to leave you a note yesterday, but I saw one of the Wilcox brothers — Edmund, I think it was — walking a little too close to the schoolyard, and so I thought discretion was the better plan. Believe me when I tell you that everything is going well, although I’m certain they’re plotting something. Once again I had that twinge which told me they were using their powers, although I can’t say for certain precisely how.
Today promises to be fine, so come and meet me in the aspen grove after school if you can.
I’ll count the hours until I can hold you again.
—R
Closing her eyes, Danica held the note to her chest and remembered once again the way his mouth had felt against hers. Three days since they’d last spoken, kissed, been lost in one another’s embrace. It felt more like three weeks.
The clamor of the children outside in the schoolyard made her hastily fold the note and put it in her desk. They knew better than to snoop into anything she had out on her desk — or at least Danica was fairly certain they did — but better to be safe.
She would go up to see him in the aspen grove, no matter what happened. His comment about one of the Wilcoxes passing by the property worried her somewhat, but perhaps the brother in question had only been on his way to the store or the barber or something completely innocuous like that. True, the school was somewhat out of the way if you were headed to either of those destinations. On the other hand, after the rainstorm on Sunday, the weather had turned beautiful, cool but bright, and it was entirely possible that whoever Robert had spotted was taking a roundabout route in order to enjoy the weather.
However, she was glad of his warning. It wouldn’t deter her from going to see him — the proverbial herd of wild elephants couldn’t keep her away — but she would be careful.
And then she had to put those thoughts aside, because the children were crowding into the classroom. The day would feel longer than ever, but she would get through it. She’d have to, so she could see Robert again.
* * *
Once her students had been gone for a good forty minutes, time measured out in the slow ticking of the clock on the schoolroom’s back wall, Danica decided it was safe to leave. She went over the classroom floor with the broom, taking her time, and then made sure to give her surroundings a good visual
sweep as she went out to empty the dustpan before determining that no one seemed to be around. Mrs. Marshall and her two boys had left at least a quarter-hour earlier.
The coast was clear.
Danica wrapped her shawl around her shoulders, then slipped out the back door and locked it. After glancing around one last time, just to be safe, she hurried along the path that joined the one which led up to Thorpe Hill. A minute or so later, she was safely among the pine trees, and far less likely to be spotted by anyone passing by on Park Street.
As Robert had promised, the day was holding fine, the sky a bright, clear sapphire shade without a single cloud to mar its vast blue expanse. Despite that, the temperature was chilly enough, a brisk wind seeming to cut right through her layers of clothing. Maybe she should have worn her new green wool gown, even though she’d been saving that for dinner with the Wilcoxes the following evening.
Never mind, she thought. You’ll soon have Robert to warm you up.
Not that she’d really needed a reason to spur her on, but her strides lengthened after that thought occurred to her, although she could only walk so quickly because of her dragging skirts. After two weeks of wearing these getups, she was more or less used to them, but hiking-friendly they were not. At least the path really wasn’t that steep, and now that the frost had begun in earnest, the brush had begun to die back enough that it wasn’t quite so in the way.
Aspen leaves fell in a flurry of gold on the autumn wind. Standing in the center of them was Robert, his head lifted to the sky. Seeing him like that made Danica’s heart beat a little faster — but not in the way she’d expected. Something about the image of him surrounded by all those falling leaves once again brought home to her how little time they probably had left.
Be brave, she told herself. You can do this.
There was really no way to sneak up on somebody while wearing a bustle dress. Dry leaves rustled under her trailing skirts, and Robert turned around immediately. His teeth flashed in the bright sunlight as he saw her, and then he was hurrying forward, arms outstretched.
Whatever words she’d planned to say abandoned her as he pulled her against him and devoured her mouth with his, kissing her as though they’d been separated for months. Danica surrendered to him willingly, because kissing him was so much easier than talking. She welcomed the rush of heat through her body, the all-consuming need that seemed to take over whenever they were together like this. Maybe it was partly that she was denied his presence so often, that they had to steal these moments together rather than be out in the open the way she so desperately wanted to be. Whatever the reason, she knew she’d never reacted this way to anyone else.
In that moment, she was almost jealous of Clara and her Elias, just because no one gave them the side-eye when they walked down the street together. In fact, everyone seemed to view their engagement as practically settled already. But because of Jeremiah Wilcox’s interest in her, Danica knew she couldn’t be open about her relationship with Robert. Tempers were already strained enough; she wouldn’t be the match to set that particular heap of dry kindling alight.
Besides, once she told Robert the truth, he’d understand why she’d become increasingly anxious about his interactions with the Wilcox brothers. And he’d understand why his “mission” would need to be abandoned — they might be experimenting with their powers, but the Wilcoxes weren’t about to risk being banished from their new home here in Flagstaff. Danica and Robert could slip quietly away, and soon enough wouldn’t even be a footnote to history.
Slip away to where, she still didn’t know. He wanted her to go back to New England with him when this was all done, but could she? More importantly, was her gift strong enough to keep her permanently anchored here in the past? For all she knew, she’d already been straining her strange temporal talent to its utter limits.
Maybe the real question was, to when would they slip away?
Robert lifted his mouth from hers, then took a step backward. “Eliza, is everything well with you?”
Immediately, she summoned a smile. “Of course. That is, I feel much better now that I’m with you. But this situation with the Wilcoxes — ”
“My dear, there’s nothing to worry about. I set them back a bit, that’s all. The important thing is to see how they’ll react. I’ll wager that Jeremiah is none too pleased with his brother’s outburst, for it only brought attention on them that he didn’t want. So I can’t imagine that any of them will do anything conspicuous, at least for a little while.”
“You sound very sure of yourself.”
He reached out to push a stray strand of hair, loosened by the wind, away from her face. His fingers felt so warm, so strong, that she wanted to rub up against them like a cat. Smiling, he said, “I wouldn’t presume to say that I’m sure of myself. Rather that I know Jeremiah Wilcox doesn’t want to do anything to upset the position he’s gained for himself and his family in this town.”
“If that’s the case, then you might as well stop there,” Danica told him. “For your whole point in being in Flagstaff was to make sure there was no chance of anything happening here like what you described in Connecticut. As far as I can tell, the Wilcoxes are acting like model citizens. So why not leave it be, and just go back and report that there’s no chance of them exposing the rest of us?”
For a few seconds he was silent, watching her carefully. His eyes might have been captured from the sky itself, their clear blue shades almost identical. When he spoke, his tone was gentle, as if he knew how much the situation distressed her, even though she hadn’t said anything so far to make him change his mind. “Because they are using their magic somehow. To what purpose, I haven’t yet been able to ascertain. Perhaps they’re only weaving spells of good fortune so that the setback they suffered because of losing out on that land deal will be reversed quickly. I can’t tell for sure.”
“If that’s all they’re doing,” Danica said, “then again, I don’t see why you need to stay. They already have a history of being lucky, so no one is going to think it that out of the ordinary if they snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, so to speak.” Even as she made the argument, though, she experienced the sinking feeling that whatever protests she put forward might not be enough. Robert had been given his mission, and he would see it through, no matter what.
Once upon a time she might have been more admiring of such dedication to the needs of his clan, but she knew what was at stake.
“Robert,” she began, wondering how on earth she could even begin this conversation. Just so you know, I’m actually a Wilcox. And by the way, I’m also from the future didn’t sound quite right. But she had a feeling that no matter how she phrased her revelation, she stood a very good chance of Robert thinking she’d completely lost her mind. Since he hadn’t interrupted her, was clearly waiting to see what she was about to say, she took a breath and went on, “There’s something I need to tell you — the reason why it’s so important that you don’t stay here. That we don’t stay here,” she added quickly as he began to frown.
“What is it, Eliza? I can tell it’s upsetting you, whatever it is.”
Start at the beginning. “Well, the first thing is, I’m not — ”
A crunch of dead leaves stopped her. She looked over her shoulder, startled, even as she told herself that the sound must have been a deer, or maybe a rabbit or squirrel. Cold flooded over her as she realized this little sanctuary she and Robert had created for themselves was no sanctuary at all.
Because standing at the edge of the little grove was Edmund Wilcox.
17
He stared at her and Robert, eyes narrowed. Belatedly, she realized that Edmund must have been out hunting; a shotgun was propped up against one shoulder, and he had several quail strung over the other.
For the longest moment, no one said anything. Danica’s brain babbled at her, Well, it could have been worse — at least it’s Edmund, and not Jeremiah or Samuel. Even so, she knew this was bad. Very bad.
Robert was the first to speak. Tone casual, he said, “Afternoon, Mr. Wilcox.”
“Mr. Rowe.” Edmund’s dark gaze moved from the other warlock to Danica, appraising her.
In that moment she was unutterably relieved that the younger Wilcox brother had come across her and Robert while they were only talking. Or had he seen that kiss they’d shared? No, he couldn’t have. There were too many dead leaves underfoot to really sneak up on anyone around here, unless you were a ninja or something. As far as she knew, Edmund Wilcox was certainly not a ninja.
Then he said, “Emma thought we should have quail for supper tomorrow evening. Do you like quail, Miss Prewitt?”
Danica had never eaten quail in her life, but she managed to stammer, “Well, um, yes, I do.”
He nodded, eyes still wearing that squint. Normally, she would have said he seemed to be fairly easygoing and quiet, but right then the narrow-eyed look he wore would have been worthy of Clint Eastwood. Ignoring Robert, he continued, “It can be dangerous, walking up here alone. Best that I escort you back to Mrs. Wilson’s place.”
Great. What the hell was she supposed to do now? She risked the smallest of glances at Robert, and his mouth tightened. Then, inconceivably, he gave a tiny nod. He wanted her to go with Edmund.
Well, no, he didn’t really want that. But he also didn’t want to risk a confrontation. Right now, Edmund was playing it cool, for whatever reason, but if Danica was to decline his offer, he would probably press the issue…and things could get pretty ugly from there.
Inwardly, she flared with anger, wishing she could tell Edmund that where she went and who she was with was certainly none of his business. However, she had a pretty good idea that the real Eliza Prewitt would never have done such a thing, so Danica swallowed her rage as best she could and said evenly, “Why, thank you, Mr. Wilcox. That’s very obliging of you.” Then she did look over at Robert as guilelessly as she could. Nothing about any of this was normal, but she had to act as if the two of them had merely been having a casual chat in the woods. She certainly couldn’t appear upset about leaving him before she even had a chance to tell him the secret she’d been concealing for too long.
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