Shattered Moments (34 page)

October 2010

New York City

Valerie pulled a cap low over her eyes as she scanned the crowd of workers spilling through the revolving doors of the Manhattan high-rise.  It was 5 p.m. on a Friday afternoon, and everyone was eager to get home and begin their weekend, or stay in the city a little longer and have dinner or enjoy a few drinks with friends.  People chatted happily as they walked past Valerie and Alec; their faces alight with the knowledge that they were just starting their weekend.

Yellow taxi cabs wove in and out of traffic on Madison Avenue, horns blaring and tires
screeching as they tried to make the light.  A bus rumbled past, and a wave of people left the sidewalks on both sides, eager to cross the street before the light changed again.  The sound of conversation, mixed with the cacophony of rush-hour traffic, made Valerie feel slightly overwhelmed.  She never used to notice the noise or the crowding before, but after nearly two decades of living in the seventeenth century, Manhattan was like a sea of humanity, pulsating with a rhythm all its own and powered by an unimaginable amount of technology.  They’d come into New York several times over the past few months, but it still amazed her how busy the city was at any given time, and how many people flocked to it every single day to fill the office buildings, stores and restaurants; eager to enjoy everything the city had to offer.

They’d returned to Isaac’s house to collect their meager belongings before taking the watch and the notebook and leaving for good.  Isaac’s sons might not arrive until the following morning, but they couldn’t take the chance of being found in his house.  They’d spen
t the night in a small B&B Valerie had spotted on her walks around town and left Princeton for good in the morning.  Valerie knew that Alec was eager to go home, but she couldn’t leave without seeing her parents just one more time.  It would mean they’d have to spend the whole day in New York, but what was one more day compared to never seeing them again as long as she lived?  She prayed that her mother still came to New York on Friday afternoons to meet her father after work and have dinner together.  It was their date night, one that they kept to religiously for years and looked forward to all week.

Valerie grabbed Alec’s hand as she spotted her mother strolling down Madison Avenue
, her pace unhurried.  She stopped in front of a store window to admire the fall shoes and boots already on display, but the look on her face told Valerie that she wasn’t really seeing them.  She wore a pair of tan slacks, and a light sweater in fall colors of brown and rust that picked up the coppery highlights in her hair.  Valerie felt her heart give a squeeze as she catalogued the changes in her mother’s beloved face.  She was still an attractive woman, but the lines had grown deeper, and the mouth that had been so quick to smile had a downward cast to it, the lips pursed.  The woman who had been so vibrant and full of life was now crippled with grief, unable to bury a daughter whose body had never been found, but mourning her disappearance every single day.

Valerie stood absolutely still, her eyes glued to
her mother.  She wanted nothing more than to push her way through the crowd and hurl herself into her mother’s arms; to assure her that she was alive and well, and introduce her to Alec.  It would have been painful to tell her about the children, but she would have still wanted to share with her mother; to beam with pride over Finn, and to cry over the loss of Louisa and baby Alex.  There was so much she wanted to say, but most of all, she just wanted to tell her mother that she loved her, and that her parents were in her thoughts every single day; never forgotten, never unloved.  Valerie wished she could tell her of Louisa’s children and Kit, and of the great-grandchildren that her parents would never see. 

Alec held Valerie closer as he felt her body tense with the need to make physical contact, but she just leaned against him, taking a deep breath as her mother passed within a few feet of her
, and stopped in front of the building where her father had worked for the past twenty years.  Valerie wiped away the tears as she watched her father walk out the door and kiss her mother on the cheek, taking her hand in his as they walked away together, probably heading for one of their favorite restaurants on the Upper East Side. 

They looked
so much older than she remembered, the strain of the past few months etched into their faces, but they were still the same, still her mom and dad.  They probably continued to hope that Valerie would turn up and put an end to the nightmare, but that wasn’t to be.  By this time, she was already firmly installed at Yealm Castle, pregnant with Finn, and ready to embark on a life with his hapless father; Alec suffering quietly and waiting in the wings.

Valerie let out a shuddering breath as her parents turned a corner and disappeared from view.  She was happy to have seen them, but the pain of not being able to reveal herself to them left her emotionally drained and eager to leave.

“Was it worth it?” Alec asked, fully knowing the answer.  Valerie just nodded as the bitter tears flowed down her face and blurred her vision.

“Yes,” she whispered as she buried her face in his chest, her shoulders quaking with silent sobs. 

“Let’s go home,” Alec whispered into her hair after the crying had subsided.  “It’s time.” 

Valerie nodded, ready to go.  Alec slung their duffle bag over his shoulder and turned Valerie in the direction of Central Park.  They would find a nice place to have dinner, their last in this city and this century, and then wait till darkness to find a place to change and use the device.  The streets of Jamestown would be deserted after ten o’clock, all the inhabitants already in their beds, the shutters firmly closed against the night humors.  It would be safe then.  Somewhere at the back of her mind there was the nagging thought that the device might not work, but Valerie pushed it out of her head.  This was their one chance to get back home, and she wasn’t going to think negative thoughts.  It would work
—
it had to.

The pungent smell of decomposing leaves filled Valerie’s nostrils as she walked along Central Park’s famed Poet’s Walk.  She used to love coming here when she was a student and just walking around the park for hours, enjoying the seamless combination of country and city.  Where else could you find leafy deserted walks, statues, fountains, and numerous artists and musicians, performing for the multitudes strolling along the walkways in the hopes of being noticed, their talent appreciated and rewarded with a few dollars? 

So often she
would bring her books to the park and study for a few hours before heading uptown and meeting Louisa in front of the Metropolitan Museum where she worked as an art restorer.  It had been Louisa’s dream job, one that she worked hard to get, starting at the very bottom as a lowly assistant who prepared solutions and brushes, and working her way to restoring some of the world’s most valuable artworks.  Louisa might even still be there, working late in her studio tucked away in one of the off-limits corners of the museum.  She often stayed late into the night, unable to walk away from a challenging bit of canvas, her eyes red with fatigue, but her hands as steady as a surgeon’s.  Valerie often wondered if Louisa missed her work, but she never asked.  As the years passed, they spoke less and less of their old life in the twenty-first century; the connection to the past growing more tenuous by the day.  Their life was there now, and there was no point constantly looking back, especially since there was no one left in the future whom they pined for. 

Valerie sighed.  Seeing her parents that afternoon opened up a lot of old wounds, but it also gave her a little bit of
peace.  She’d never had the chance to say goodbye, and thoughts of her parents’ suffering tormented her for years, as it would have tortured her had they never found Finn when he disappeared several years ago.  They had been lucky enough to be reconciled with their boy, but her parents had never found closure, never made peace.  Valerie couldn’t approach them or tell them everything that she’d wanted to tell them since the day she vanished, but at least she got to see them one last time and say goodbye in her heart.  It was time to let go. 

Valerie was startled out of her reverie by Alec, who gently took her by the arm and steered her down the steps, beneath the arches, and toward Liberty Fountain.  The winged statue looked demonic in the darkness
, and the waters of the lake beyond flowed black in the autumn night, fallen leaves merely dark blotches floating on the surface.  There were still some people in the park, but they were few as it was a dangerous place to be traipsing around at night, especially on the less-lit avenues and underpasses.

“I reckon we’ve come far enough,” Alec observed as he looked past the fountain and peered into the dark lane that snaked around the left bank and climbed uphill.  It was leafy
, lined with benches, and eerily silent.  It would do.  It was unlikely they would be disturbed as they changed into their seventeenth-century garb.  Valerie unzipped the duffle bag and pulled out her chemise, bodice and skirt, stockings, shoes, and linen cap.  She’d gotten used to her summer dresses and jeans over the past few months, and God knew she’d miss underwear and bras, but the clothes still smelled of home, and she donned them happily, praying that she wouldn’t have to change back should the device fail to work. 

Alec was already wearing his breeches, linen shirt and doublet, his
calves strangely white in the darkness in his hose.  He looked like an actor preparing for a play, and Valerie just smiled at him, happy to see him looking like himself again.  She loved seeing him in jeans and T-shirts, but it wasn’t until this moment that she realized how wrong they looked on him.  This was her Alec, the Alec she knew and loved, the Alec of the past.  He hadn’t said as much, but he’d had enough of the future.  He longed to go home.  Valerie folded their modern clothes and stowed them in the duffel bag before zipping it back up and hanging it off a bench.  Maybe some homeless person would find them and have some use for them.  If not, someone would just toss them in the trash since they wouldn’t find any trace of its owners.  They’d take Isaac’s notebook though.  Fred would want to see it, and appreciate a memento from his old friend. 

Alec unstrapped the watch from his wrist and gazed at Valerie.  “Are you ready?”

She opened her mouth to reply, but her heart was hammering against her ribs, her breath coming in short, shallow puffs.  She’d been a bundle of nerves the whole day, but now she was simply terrified. 

“
Your hands are like ice,” Alec said as he took her hands in his and rubbed them gently.  “Come, there’s no point putting this off any longer.”  He let go of Valerie’s hands and set the year and coordinates on the device before taking Valerie’s hands once more and pressing the “Set” button.  She felt a momentary dizziness, and then an odd sensation that felt as if gravity became suspended and she was weightless and insignificant, falling, falling through time and space; Alec’s hand the only thing anchoring her to reality.  She must have lost consciousness, because when she came to, she was lying on the ground, Alec sitting cross-legged next to her, talking softly and asking her to wake up.  Valerie sat up slowly and looked around. 

If Central Park had been dark, this place was way darker.  There was no glimmer of lights visible through the trees or the sound of traffic filtering through the green darkness. 
No snippets of quiet conversation or bursts of laughter reached their ears.  All was silent, except for the angry meowing of a cat somewhere not too far off, and the gentle lapping of water coming from the James River.  The nearly black outline of houses was barely visible against the night sky, and several tall masts poked at the heavens, their sails furled while in port.

Alec helped Valerie to her feet and adjusted her cap before gently kissing her.  “I do believe we’re home, my dear,” he stated as he took her arm and turned in the direction of the plantation. 

“Thank God,” Valerie breathed, her heart swelling with joy. 

Virginia

October 1626

The dark clouds parted, revealing the bright oval of the moon that cast a silvery light onto the dirt road.  The wind moved through the trees, causing a shower of leaves to flutter to the ground in a silent dance that only Valerie and Alec could see and appreciate at that time of night.  Everything was eerily quiet and still.  Valerie shivered in her chemise and dress, wishing that she had her woolen cloak to keep her warm.  It’d been June when they left, but now autumn was well under way, and the wind was biting as it blew through the homespun fabric and left her skin prickled with gooseflesh.  Alec wrapped his arm around Valerie as he noticed her shivering, and she leaned against him, absorbing his comforting warmth and support.  One more bend in the road and the house would be there, bathed in the moonlight and surrounded by maple trees that would be painted in the vibrant shades of yellow and crimson with the approach of winter.

Valerie’s
heart nearly burst with happiness at the sight of Rosewood Manor.  They’d been gone for just over three months, but it felt like an eternity, and she saw the house as it might appear to a stranger.  It looked small and terribly old-fashioned compared to the homes they’d just seen in the twenty-first century, and it was hard to believe that so many people lived there all year around, several to a room, with no bathrooms or running water.  All they had was a well, and lots of candles since even the oil lamps had yet to be invented.  But it was full of the people she loved, and Valerie had never been as content as she was at that moment.  She wanted to break into a run, but Alec held her back, silently reminding her that everyone was asleep.  Well, maybe not everybody.

All the windows were dark
and shuttered, except for the parlor window, which glowed with candlelight.  Kit liked to stay up and read, or just have a peaceful drink after the household finally quieted down, and the children were in their beds.  Sometimes Charles joined him for a drink, but most days he was alone since Annabel liked Charles to retire at the same time as her.  Valerie smiled happily at the thought of seeing Kit.  She’d go wake Louisa as soon as she could, and tell her of everything that happened over the past few months, especially about seeing Mom and Dad.

Alec was already gently knocking on the door, his face breaking into a huge
grin as a surprised Kit threw open the door, letting them in.  The two men hugged, and she noted the look that passed between them.  It was a silent conversation, but it was all they needed.

“Are you all right?” Kit’s eyes asked Alec.

“We are now.  And how have things been during our absence?” Alec inquired without saying a word.

“That’s a conversation for another time, but I have much to tell you.”  Kit clapped Alec on the shoulder and poured him a brandy as Alec sank into his favorite chair and smiled at Valerie with a look of pure joy in his eyes.

“Go, wake Louisa, I know you’re dying to,” Kit suggested as he noticed her impatience. Valerie gave Kit a quick hug and raced up the stairs, desperate to see her sister.  She would go look in on the children later and bend over Tom as she kissed his smooth cheek and inhaled his childish scent, but first she had to see Lou. 

Louisa was fast asleep, her golden hair fanned around her face and her arm flung across Kit’s side.  Valerie would
’ve liked to have said that Lou looked peaceful, but there were lines of tension around her mouth, and her eyes moved quickly beneath the closed lids as if she were seeing something that made her anxious.  Maybe she was just having a bad dream, or maybe she’d been wearing herself out with worry over the past few months, desperate to know what happened to them. 

Valerie sat on the edge of the bed and took her sister’s hand in her own, whispering her name softly, so as not to startle her.  It took Louisa a moment to fully wake up as she
looked at Valerie in the darkness of the room, her mouth opening with shock before she finally understood that she wasn’t dreaming.  Louisa sat bolt upright and threw her arms around Valerie, a sob tearing from her as she drew Valerie even closer.

“I thought I lost you,” Louisa whispered urgently, “I thought I lost you for good.  I had no idea what happened to you, and I was so scared.  I thought Alec…”

“He’s all right, Lou.  We both are, but I lost the time-travel watch while Alec was in the hospital.”

“What?!”  Louisa pushed Valerie away and stared at her in horror.  “You lost it?  How did you get back?”

“I’ll tell you later.  I just can’t bear to relive all that now.  Just tell me about everything that’s been happening here.  I want to hear every minor, boring detail.  I’ve missed everyone so much.”  Valerie wiped her tears away as she reclined next to Louisa, ready to hear all the happenings of the past few months.

“I’m not so sure I want to relive all that
either,” Louisa suddenly giggled as she turned toward Valerie, her head supported by her arm.  “Oh God, Val, you wouldn’t believe everything that’s happened.  It was awful.  Kit was on trial for murder, thanks to Annabel, and one of the indentures ran off, and Jenny…”

“Murder?  Who was he meant to have killed?”
Valerie gasped in shock.  “And what did Annabel have to do with it?  And what happened to Jenny?”

“Oh, where do I begin?” Louisa said with a smile as she gazed at Valerie.  “Oh, Val, how I wished you were here. Please, don’t ever leave me again; I couldn’t bear it.”  Valerie just nodded, her head spinning with everything Louisa
mentioned and what it implied.  She assumed that Alec and Kit were having a similar conversation downstairs.

It was nearly midnight by the time Louisa finally finished her story.  Her account had been detailed, but Valerie felt
that her sister was holding something back.  She didn’t quite understand what led to the animosity between Kit and Deverell, but Lou seemed reluctant to explain, and Valerie didn’t press her for more information.  All that mattered was that Kit had been exonerated and set free.   Alec would be very upset about the situation with Charles and Annabel, but she would leave it to him to work things out with his brother.  She hoped that Annabel’s meddling wouldn’t destroy the relationship between Alec and Charles.  They didn’t always see eye to eye, but they loved each other despite their differences, and Valerie hoped that wouldn’t change.  It seems that no one had seen Charles since the trial, but Valerie was sure Alec would be paying him a visit in the coming days. 

             
“Will you talk to Alec about Jenny?” Louisa asked.

“Is it as bad as that?”  Valerie sighed.  Alec would be upset to know that his niece
had been so unhappy.  Louisa just shrugged and shook her head.

“She refuses to say anything, but I think she’s pining after that Scot
who ran off.  She hasn’t been the same since.  I know she developed a friendship with him, but I now believe it must have been something more.  She’s so hard to read, that girl,” Louisa said.  “I tried talking to her, but she just tells me everything is all right, and she’s content with the way things are.  She prays a lot, and seems to feel somewhat more at peace after, but then the melancholy returns.”

“Do you think she might be pregnant?” Valerie asked, desperately hoping that Jenny wasn’t. 
Alec would be devastated, and feel that he let his sister down once again in failing to protect her daughter from harm and shame.  He took his responsibility to Genevieve very seriously, in some way also projecting his feelings about his failure to protect their daughter onto his niece.  He could no longer help their Louisa, but he could do everything in his power to make sure Genevieve was happy and safe.

Louisa just shook her head.  “I don’t see any signs of pregnancy, and I’m fairly certain the girl is still a virgin, but who knows?  Anytime anyone mentioned Cameron Brody after he ran off, she practically jumped out of her skin.
  For the first week after he’d gone, she went around in a daze, sometimes smiling serenely and others just sobbing her heart out, but then she just sank into a depression.”

“She was probably in love with him, poor thing.  He was a good
-looking lad, I’ll give him that.”  Valerie thought of the big Scot.  She could see how he might appeal to a vulnerable young girl and hoped he hadn’t done anything to hurt Jenny.  “Any idea what happened to him?”

“No one ha
s seen him since his escape.  Kit had Mr. Worthing organized a search party, but they found no trace of him.  They searched for two days, but could hardly afford to take more time since it was just around harvest time.”  Louisa shrugged her shoulders, her expression hard to read in the darkness of the room.

“Where could he have gone?”
mused Valerie.  “There’s only one port, and to go deeper into the woods is to risk being taken prisoner by the Indians.”

“He might have walked to one of the other settlements, I suppose,” Louisa replied, “but he’d be taking a risk of being detained and sent back here.  Word does get around, so people would know he was a runaway.”

“I hope he’s all right,” Valerie whispered into the darkness.  “There was something about him that just pulled at my heartstrings.  I would hate to think that he’s lying dead out there somewhere with no one to even bury him or say a prayer for his soul.”

“You’re getting awfully sentimental in your old age,” Louisa
observed as she studied Valerie.  “I didn’t know him well, but I got the impression that he was no fool.  He must have had some plan when he took off.”

“I hope so.”