Time Travel Romances Boxed Set (115 page)

Additionally, Aaron was oft teased for his
soft heart - he was known to discount his prices on wedding bands
when couples could not afford them. Nay, the consensus was that
Aaron Goldsmith was a good man.

He did not cheat his customers, though many
of them knew they could have been cheated as easily as not. The
acquisition of jewelry was beyond the opportunity of most and
certainly not something one could acquire often enough to show real
skill in choosing stones or assessing the weight of a setting.

The people of Cantlecroft trusted Aaron, so
when he pledged a thing was true, they believed him.

He had sworn that he had made the full
shipment and all of Cantlecroft knew it.

It was therefore believed in Cantlecroft
that Aaron had been falsely accused and falsely convicted, that he
was innocent of the charge brought against him, and that his death
had been unjust.

The archbishop had clearly made a
mistake.

Furthermore, it was sinful to execute the
innocent, this was widely agreed in the taverns of Cantlecroft in
the weeks after Aaron’s execution. And sins, as every good
Christian knew, had a way of attracting the vengeance of God. Sin
and the killing of innocents could not be tolerated.

So, because of the journey of one gold coin,
Horace Thorogood III died before his time, as did Aaron Goldsmith
and his wife.

And even more importantly for Niall, Viviane
and all those they held dear, the murmuring in Cantlecroft
began.

*

Viviane could have just spit. Niall ran more
hot and cold than the taps that interested him so much!

She nearly growled the whole way back to the
shop and was glad when her patroness didn’t ask any questions. In
fact, Barb welcomed her with undisguised delight.

The store was uncommonly busy that morning,
precisely the opposite as Barb had predicted. The rain seemed to
have driven everyone on the island out in search of a book and a
cup of tea. Viviane took a deep breath, forced a smile and started
to work. Her usually even temper was quickly restored by visits
from a few of her regulars.

Barb must be right - Niall wasn’t nearly as
disinterested as he’d appeared to be. After all, he’d touched her
so gently this morning and been intent on giving her pleasure. And,
he had followed her - of course, he was her own Gawain!

He just had things on his mind.

Although Viviane couldn’t imagine what they
could be. What could be more important than spending time with her,
now that they were reunited again? She puzzled over it all morning,
until inspiration struck.

He was preparing to court her, of course. He
must be planning a surprise, or acquiring a token of his
affections, or doing something similar that required Viviane’s
absence. What better excuse than to send her back to work?

The very thought put Viviane’s mood back on
an even keel.

By lunchtime, she was ready to let Niall
persuade her to kiss him again. In fact, she was starting to get a
bit curious as to what he would do, or what he would bring her.
What kind of gesture would a knight like Niall make? Viviane didn’t
know and curiosity gnawed at her.

But Niall didn’t show.

By mid-afternoon, Viviane was starting to be
concerned. Niall had absolutely no tendency to miss meals. What had
happened to him?

Still Niall made no appearance. Viviane kept
glancing out the door, but there was no sign of him at all.

Just before closing at six, Viviane finally
had a moment to herself and decided to make it count. She headed
straight for the relationship section of the store, determined to
find out what to do when Niall did come back. She rummaged through
half a dozen books, and quickly found the common thread.

In matters between men and women, in
questions of love, the real issue was communication, according to
the wisdom recorded here. Because men and woman effectively spoke
different languages, these books insisted, it was critical to be
blunt.

A woman must tell her man exactly what she
wanted of him.

Viviane was quite certain she could do that.
That must have been what happened this morning - they just had a
misunderstanding, as apparently countless other couples did.
Viviane’s spirits soared. And if Niall didn’t understand what she
wanted at this point, well, she would have to be really blunt!

Fortunately she not only knew what she
wanted, but she had a really good idea of
how
to tell him,
too. What better way to communicate her expectations than to let
Niall read her book? It was a terrifying proposition, because no
one had read that book yet besides Viviane, but she knew that was
the perfect course.

After all, it was a romance and Niall - or
her version of him - played the starring role. Vastly reassured now
that her course was clear, Viviane smiled and started to put the
book back on the shelf.

“
Hey, witchy woman,” Monty
said so close beside her that Viviane jumped. “Like, what’s
happening?”

“
Oh, it’s been a really
busy day.” Viviane busied herself with putting the book away,
blushing when Monty tilted his head to read the title.

His lips had thinned with disapproval by the
time she looked up again. “So, like, where’s your
friend
?
The big guy?”

“
He had things to do today
and I was working anyhow.” Viviane smiled, hoping Monty wouldn’t
ask for more details. She would have stepped past him and returned
to the counter, but Monty moved directly into her path.

His expression was remarkably grim. “What
about last night? Did you really bring him home?”

“
Monty!” Viviane’s cheeks
were hot and she was very aware of the last few customers glancing
their way. “That’s not for you to know!”

“
Isn’t it? Jeez Louise,
Viviane, I thought we had something going!” Monty scowled at her
and shoved his hands into his pockets.

“
Something?”

“
Yeah! We had dinner
together! A lot.”

Viviane was confused. People didn’t eat with
their sworn enemies, she knew, and the sharing of meals considered
companionable. Beyond that, she had no idea what Monty meant.

“
Yes,” she acknowledged
hesitantly.

He cast out his hands. “I thought we were
like
friends
!”

Relief washed over Viviane. “Of course, we
are friends, Monty. Why would you question that?”

For the first time since his arrival, Monty
grinned. “All right! Well, then, I wanted to ask you about
something. See, it’s almost the full moon, and you might not know
this, but there’s lots of witches on the island.”

“
I haven’t seen any.”
Viviane was intrigued to hear of the witches here - having been
condemned as one, she thought it quite natural to want to know
more.

“
Yeah, well, you might be
surprised. Anyhow, they have a sabbat on the full moon, and since I
like have connections, I’ve gotten us an invitation.” He winked.
“This coming Saturday night. What do you think?”

Viviane was intrigued. “But what’s a
sabbat?”

“
It’s a celebration, kind
of a party, maybe dancing and food and drink. Some kind of Goddess
stuff involved that I don’t understand, but hey, live and learn!”
Monty’s grin widened. “Wanna go?”

Live and learn indeed. That seemed to be
Viviane’s new motto. “Oh, yes, I’d like that.”

“
Great!” Monty’s eyes
narrowed slightly. “Just
us
, okay?”

Viviane laughed, immediately seeing his
meaning. “Oh, Niall doesn’t believe in magic. I’m sure he has no
interest in joining us.”

“
Cool!” Monty leaned
closer. “How about dinner tonight?”

Viviane’s gaze strayed tellingly to the
door. She did want to be here when Niall came back, especially if
he had spent the day planning some surprise for her. “Um, no, I
don’t think so.”

Monty looked annoyed and she hastened to
make things better. Monty had been a great help to her and Viviane
didn’t want him to be angry. “But thank you for your offer…”

Monty waved her off. “A guy’s gotta make do
with what he gets, I guess,” he muttered.

“
But Monty!”

“
Forget I said anything!”
He strode out of the shop just as Mrs. Haggerty came in for her
weekly allotment of romance novels.

“
Oh, Viviane, don’t lock
the door on me yet!” Mrs. Haggerty cried. “I need my fix and I need
it tonight. Nothing like a rainy night to turn a body’s thoughts to
-” she winked boldly as she stepped into the shop. “-
you
know!”

Monty disappeared down the street, his
shoulders hunched, his hands shoved into his pockets. Viviane
couldn’t very well go after him, not since Mrs. Haggerty did come
specifically to talk to her.

Reluctantly she closed the door and smiled.
“I’ve put a few new ones aside for you, ones that I thought you
might like.”

“
Oh good!”

*

Half an hour later, Viviane waved from the
doorway as Mrs. Haggerty headed on her way, a thorough discussion
of new books having been completed. That lady left with a good
dozen more than the ones she had ordered, all those additions based
on Viviane’s recommendations. Barb was whistling as she put the
cash register through its nightly ceremony.

As Viviane locked the door, she took a good
look at the quiet road and empty sidewalks. The rain fell on the
silent street and trickled down to the harbor.

Monty was long gone and Niall was still
nowhere in sight.

Had something happened to him? Viviane
folded her arms about herself, Monty forgotten, and worried.

“
You’re wrong, you know,”
Barb said and Viviane jumped.

“
About what?”

Barb smiled wryly as she tallied the totals
for the afternoon. “About Buns of Steel.”

Viviane had no idea what her boss was
talking about.

“
Niall,” Barb clarified.
The cash register clattered away and spewed a length of tape into
her waiting hands. “He’s not going to stand by and let you go to a
sabbat with Monty alone. I’d bet my last dollar on it.”

“
Well, he’s not going to
stop me from going.” Viviane picked up a stack of books to be
reshelved and absently stuffed them back on the shelves. She looked
out the windows again and again, wondering where he was.

Barb grinned. “Then you can count on him
going with you. Party of three.” She raised her eyebrows
expressively and shook her head. “Could be more of a crowd than
Monty has in mind.”

But Viviane didn’t want to hurt Monty’s
feelings. “Well, I’ll just tell Niall not to come, as simple as
that,” she declared and hefted a stack of books from the counter,
smiling confidently for Barb. “He’s not interested in magic or
witches, anyway.”

Barb was far from persuaded. “He’s
interested in
you
, though.”

Viviane clasped the books to her chest,
savoring her boss’s conviction of that fact.

Barb didn’t look up. “If you tell him not to
come, he’ll just follow you, like a stubborn old dog - if you’ll
pardon the analogy - tracking his favorite bone.” She shrugged, her
shrewd glance falling on Viviane, her voice falling low. “Unless
he’s already got another favorite bone.”

It took Viviane only a heartbeat to
understand and then she was outraged. She dropped the books back on
the counter. “Barb! Niall isn’t like that! He said he came back for
me and that he wouldn’t leave without me. Why, he must be upstairs
already, waiting for me!”

“
Uh huh.” Barb counted
bills as though she wasn’t paying attention, but Viviane knew her
employer wasn’t convinced of Niall’s good intentions.

It was some consolation that that was only
because Barb was worried about her. Viviane knew that her employer
wasn’t nearly as hard-hearted as she liked to appear, and she
appreciated Barb’s concern.

“
You don’t have to worry
about me, Barb,” Viviane said softly. “I know that Niall is the man
for me and he knows it too.”

Barb looked up, shooting a telling glance
over her glasses as Viviane leaned on the counter. “You see, you
just don’t know how he is. He’s a man who keeps his word, a man who
honors women and keeps his promises. He’s a knight…”

“
You mean,
like
a
knight,” Barb interrupted tersely. “There aren’t any real knights
any more. Those re-enactment types or men’s fraternities don’t
count.”

“
Right!” Viviane
straightened after her slip and continued carefully. That was she
got for chattering on! “Niall’s
like
a knight, like one of
the knights in those stories, a knight who rides in to sweep a
woman off her feet.”

Barb looked wry. “And you would be the
damsel in distress?”

Viviane smiled with confidence in her role.
“Oh yes, I think so.”

The older woman shook her head and braced a
hand on the counter. “There are no men like that anymore, Viviane.”
She gestured to the wall of romance books, her expression deadly
serious. “Don’t confuse real life with fiction. I’d hate to see you
get burned.”

Viviane frowned, but Barb returned to the
task of counting money and she knew better than to interrupt.

How could she be burned when there was no
fire in her room?

And what did fire have to do with Niall?

Other than the heat he awakened with his
touch. Viviane smiled and finished shelving the books, more than
looking forward to finding him upstairs.

Of course he would be there. She knew she
could rely on Niall.

And he would have a wondrous surprise for
her, one intended to win her heart and make her his own.