Lonely is the Knight (Merriweather Sisters Time Travel Romance Book 3) (13 page)

“’Tis late. Go to sleep.”

She kissed him on the cheek and closed her eyes. Henry almost dropped her. He heard the sound of a throat clearing, and turned.

His captain stood there, a smirk on his face. Henry scowled at Royce. He would pay the man back in the lists tomorrow. He carried Charlotte over to the bed, gently laid her down, and smoothed the hair back from her brow.

He found he wanted to kiss her, but wouldn’t dare with Royce watching.

Henry closed the door softly behind him, thinking of the angel asleep on the other side of the door.

The next several days passed in a blur. Charlotte was busy helping Henry deal with the villagers’ needs. Every day she looked in the larder and wandered through the storage room holding the wine and drink. It was her form of meditation. Seeing the food and drink made her feel like everything would be okay. After all, it wasn’t like there was a grocery store down the street if she needed something.

Charlotte was so full after lunch. She and Henry took a walk outside the castle. The open space and lack of people allowed her to reset and enjoy the day instead of worrying all the time.

“What will you do about the village, tell the king?”

“Nay, he is occupied with the sickness spreading across the lands. I will deal with Hallsey myself. He wants my land, has wanted it since before I was born. But he will not have it.” Henry squirmed, and she wondered what he wasn’t telling her.

“Why does this Lord Hallsey hate you? Did you ravish his daughter or something?” she teased him.

At the look on his face, Charlotte wanted the ground to open and swallow her up. Her embarrassment was quickly followed by anger. She knew men of this time weren’t monks, but she thought he was some kind of Prince Charming and above womanizing.

“You did, didn’t you?”

“I was at court. Young and a dolt. In truth, I did not know the lady was Lord Hallsey’s wife. She came to me, followed me about. One night I entered my chambers to find her in my bed.” He stopped, his face red.

“Afterwards, she went to her husband, told him what she had done. The man has bastards by half the serving women in his keep. He had always been jealous of my family. But after that, he hated me. Swore revenge.”

As they came to the bridge, they stopped. The water surrounding the castle was still. Charlotte could see their reflections. The landscape was green and lush, a beautiful location. The castle itself was breathtaking, built in a square with round towers at each point. She could see why someone would choose this spot to build a home.

“I can see why he would be angry, but in your defense you didn’t know who she was. She did it to spite him, not because you meant anything to her.”
 

“You wound me.”

“Your pride can take it.”

Henry blinked at her several times. Then he smiled, and it lit up his entire face. Talk about movie star looks. He held out his arm.

“I know you’ve been worried about supplies. Have you visited the wells?”

Great, another location to add to her morning rounds. Why hadn’t she thought of it before? Right, because she took fresh water for granted, though that was quickly changing.

“No. I wondered what you did for fresh water. I thought you simply dipped the bucket into the water surrounding the castle.”

Charlotte’s anger quickly dissipated. She didn’t know him before she’d arrived. Everyone had a past; she had one herself. What mattered was how Henry behaved now. She had not seen him with another woman. He hadn’t even flirted with anyone. Not that they were a couple, but if they became one…well, she would judge him on his actions, not his past deeds.

She’d watched too many relationships end up broken and smashed against the rocks because one person or the other couldn’t accept their partner’s past. She’d sworn long ago to never be like that.

“There are two freshwater wells. My sire’s father was besieged several times and swore he would never run out of water. One of his childhood friends had been besieged, and everyone inside starved and died from lack of water. That is why I have an abundance of food and why my sire did.”

He led her through the hall. They stopped to speak with several people. While it hadn’t exactly been easy living in the past, it also hadn’t been as hard as Charlotte thought it might be. All that time spent in third world countries must’ve prepared her better than she thought.

The interior of the castle was beautifully furnished with rugs and tapestries on the walls. She’d expected gray stone, but the walls were painted white, and other rooms were beautifully paneled. When she’d asked him about the decorations, Henry said it was considered very modern.

She thought whoever came up with the idea to build a castle in the middle of the water had a great idea. It would be difficult for anyone trying to attack when the owner could simply dismantle the bridge. Of course, she wondered, how did you get out once the enemy left? Did you have another bridge stored away someplace in the castle?
 

She peered into the well, feeling the cold stone ledge seep into her hands. “How deep is it?”

“No one knows. But we’ve never run dry. Not from either well.” He peered into the water beside her. Their faces reflected back at them. Something glinted at his neck and she turned to him.

As she was about to ask him about it, he got a funny look on his face.

“Did I tell you how I helped an old woman in the woods near where I found you? Some say she’s a witch. Others call her a healer. I was returning her necklace to her, but she told me I would know who it was meant for. Perchance you think I’m daft, but I believe it was meant for you.”

Henry pulled the necklace out from his tunic and over his head.

Charlotte gasped. “Melinda’s favorite necklace.”

“Your sister? I thought she was a score and six?” He dropped the necklace into her hand.

“She is. I wonder how the old woman came by the necklace? Melinda would not have easily given it away. It belonged to our Aunt Pittypat. It was the only possession Mellie had of hers.”

Henry took her hand in his. Charlotte felt the calluses on his palm as he stroked the back of her hand.

“I was powerfully drawn to it, and the woman seemed to sense it when she gave it to me. Now we know your sister is somewhere in England.”

“But neither messenger found anything. I could slap your brother for sending the messenger on to do his errands instead of sending him back here. I hate waiting.”

Henry frowned. “Lady Blackford is old enough to be your dam. And with James away and his wife unwell, we have only the word of the man the messenger spoke with. He said Lady Falconburg has only one sister. With the sickness near, we cannot risk a visit yet.”

Was it possible her sisters were being extra careful, trying not to arouse suspicion? But surely they would know if someone was asking that she must be here. Here in medieval England and looking for them. And if that were true, surely they would have come to see for themselves. It was so damned annoying to be so close and yet so very far from finding them.

He pulled her close, as if he knew her thoughts. “We will find them.” He looked down at her, ran his fingers through her hair. Charlotte wondered if he was finally going to kiss her. As Henry leaned close enough she could smell the parsley on his breath, she sucked in a breath.

“Pardon, my lord?”

Charlotte wanted to stamp her foot and scream. Talk about terrible timing. Henry seemed to feel the same, by the look on his face. But he pasted on a smile and turned to the garrison knight.

“Aye?”

“There is a dispute over the chickens. You should make haste.”

“Bloody hell.” He turned to her. “We shall resume speech at supper. Save me a dance or two?”

Heat flooded her face as she clutched the precious necklace in her hand. “All of them.”

As Henry left to deal with whatever required his attention, Charlotte thought about her life thus far. She looked down and turned the charms on the necklace over and over again. She didn’t believe in coincidence. Somehow there was a connection between the old gypsy woman and the old woman Henry met in the wood.

Magic. Reincarnation. Or something else unexplainable. To hold Melinda’s necklace in her hand made Charlotte want to jump in a car and drive. To sing at the top of her lungs. It just wasn’t the same on a horse. For one thing, the horse tended to twitch his ears to show his displeasure. Everyone’s a critic.

The necklace proved she was in the right time and place. She could quit worrying if she’d made it to the right year. It also told her Melinda wasn’t too far away. And if her sister was near, Charlotte had to trust Lucy was also here.

“All women are creatures of evil.”

“Timothy. You startled me. What were you saying?” Great. The wacko was back.

He crossed himself. “Begone, demon.” He grabbed her by the arms, shaking her.
 

Charlotte had just about enough of this deranged loser. She pushed down hard on the nerve between Timothy’s neck and shoulder, making him let go of her. She stepped back, standing next to the well.

“You need to leave. Now.”

Timothy lunged for her. She held up her hands in defense and realized her mistake as he grabbed for the necklace.

“No!”

In the struggle, the chain broke in two. He held it up, the pupils of his eyes huge. “Unicorns are signs of faeries. Everyone knows fairies are in league with the devil.”
 

Charlotte crossed her fingers behind her back. “My necklace is not evil. It was blessed by the Pope.” Technically it was blessed. Aunt Pittypat wore it when she attended mass over Easter in St. Peter’s Square, years ago. The Pope gave his blessing, so the necklace was blessed.

Timothy’s face turned a pretty shade of eggplant. And she couldn’t resist adding, “The necklace also brings good fortune. Now give it back.”

He shook the necklace at her. “These heathen charms prove you are a demon. I will take this to my bishop. You will burn.”

Timothy drew himself up, shaking his fist in the air, and all at once, as if someone had pried his fingers open, the necklace went flying.

Charlotte watched helplessly as it flew through the air. She jumped, grabbing for it, but it was too late. It went into the well. As she looked over the edge, she watched it hit the water with a splash.
 

“How could you do something so mean? It was the only thing I had left of my sister. You’re a horrible person.”

He made more signs at her and retreated. Though not before calling out, “My bishop will hear of this, witch. You will wish you had never come to Ravenskirk.”

And for the first time since she’d traveled through time, tears started to fall. Charlotte leaned over the edge of the well, staring at her reflection until the water rippled and blurred.

“My lord?” Chester stood before him. Henry re-sheathed his sword and wondered what he would have to deal with next. Pigs in his bedchamber? Children daring one another to swim in the moat?

“What’s happened?”

“I saw Timothy leaving the castle. He was muttering about witches and unicorns.” The man looked nervous, and Henry felt like he had eaten bad eels.