Tristan's Loins (19 page)

Selene hung up and thought about what Maggie
said. Tristan's status wouldn't be questioned if they got married,
but they had only known each other four days. It was a little soon
to consider it, but the idea pulled at her.

Tristan wouldn't have to worry if he got a
Green Card and married a US citizen. She frowned, wondering how he
would feel about it. He had known Rhiannon five minutes before he
tossed her over his shoulder, so she doubted after four days of
being her lover, he would have any qualms.

They could talk about it when Maggie tracked
Reggie down. She got up off the edge of her bed and went into the
living room. Tristan was now lying down with Daisy spooned against
him, sleeping. She clicked off the TV and looked down at him
fondly. Just the thought of this man as her husband did not bother
her at all.

Selene went to her computer and decided to
check her email. She hit a button and the screen popped up. The
shutters were open and she could see movement in the room. She
moved quickly off to the side, fearful whoever was in Tristan's
room would see her. She turned up the volume.

"Where is he, Merta?" a female voice asked in
annoyance. "Lord de Montfort did not just disappear from his room!
His horse is also still in the stables."

"I don't know, my lady," the maid replied
worriedly. "I came in to clean the room and he was gone."

Selene peaked around the corner and her eyes
widened to see the beautiful redheaded lady standing at the window,
a solemn expression on her perfect features.

"He has to be found." Lady Rhiannon looked
fearful. "His uncle rides for de Vigny lands. Our benefactor tells
me the other Lord de Montfort also wishes a marriage with me."

"Why don't we not leave, my lady? We know
where the younger Lord de Montfort is going. Surely we can sneak
away when Lord de Vigny is into his cups," the maid whispered and
sounded scared. "We have to get you away from here!"

"I know where he is heading, but I do not
know where Tristan is now," Rhiannon said in disgust, her pretty
face filled with anger. "For a man determined to wed me, his
fleeing and abandoning us here doesn't sound like him at all."

Selene saw the emotions pass over her
heroine's face and tensed, seeing the fleeting softness in her
violet eyes before she turned from the window and stalked back into
the room. Her flowing deep burgundy skirts trailed the floor and
she paced. Her long red hair hung in beauteous waves down her back.
Selene could not believe she was looking at Rhiannon. She also
could see the girl was hardly immune to Tristan. What woman would
not be enthralled with such a man? Rhiannon just managed to hide
her attraction better than most. She had convinced Tristan of her
hatred. Now she sought him out in his rooms, concerned
obviously.

"Can we not go home now, my lady?" the maid
asked, sounding worried.

"The title goes to my cousin Edward now. We
do not dare." Rhiannon looked tense. "He would only sell me, as
Father intended to. No, we will find my errant bridegroom. He has
gotten us into this, and he will get us out! I’m not going to
become his uncle's unwilling bride now too!"

Both women left Tristan's room and Selene
turned down the sunshine and volume, worried the other characters
would come looking for Tristan. He had vanished it appeared.
Rhiannon was on her own on her way to Raven's Keep and Stephen was
riding for deVigny lands. The old friend of Tristan's father had
not been trustworthy. What was going on? Why were the book
characters carrying on without the hero in the book?

Selene thought the book had been paused in
Tristan's absence. It was in play without him. She looked over at
Tristan and wondered if she should tell him Rhiannon worried over
his disappearance. The girl could not have known anyone was
watching when she let that look of longing in her face slip. But
knowing what Tristan said about women of that time period, it was
obvious letting Tristan know she found him desirable was not an
option for a well-bred lady.

She got a shower and made ready for bed. She
roused Tristan and he joined her in bed, his big arm dragging her
close to his chest while he slept. Selene could never recall ever
feeling so safe and secure. Her last thought before she closed her
eyes was that she hoped he would be there when she woke.

Selene brought up the plastic bins from her
storage closet and started packing while Tristan worked diligently
on the easy chapter books she bought for him. She smiled while he
read to her of Dick and Jane and Spot, touched as he mastered each
and every one. By day's end she had done the impossible and packed
up her apartment, called and put in a disconnect on all her
utilities, and informed the complex she was not renewing her
lease.

Tristan helped her load the bins onto a
moving truck the next day and she put her belongings into a rented
storage unit. He did not seem to mind living out of a duffel bag
while they waited to leave for Grosse Pointe.

Selene decided the desktop computer would go
to Tawas with them so she could monitor the other characters in her
book, disturbed they had all awoken now. She did not tell Tristan
his uncle was after Rhiannon or that de Vigny turned traitor. In
her heart, she knew telling him would precipitate his leaving to
return. Guilt ate at her to know Rhiannon was on the run from
Stephen now, and Tristan was not there to aid her. She could only
hope she had given the girl enough common sense to hide from him.
Surely, Rhiannon would be safe once she reached Raven's Keep?
Stephen would not dare trespass on Tristan's lands. But then, none
of them were doing what they were supposed to now. Her book had a
mind of its own now, and she wondered at it. Whatever power had
enabled Tristan to crossover had brought the other characters to
life as well.

Finally, they were packing the car Friday
morning to leave. She took one last look at her bare apartment, sad
that she had never felt it was home and locked up. She dropped the
keys at the office and put in a forward to Tawas with her mail.

Before they got on the road, she heard from
Maggie. Tristan was walking Daisy across the street. She was
anxious to find out what her friend learned.

"Reggie can get the birth certificate, but he
said it's gonna cost three grand, Selene," her friend said sourly.
"I tried to get you a deal, but he said because it's a foreign
birth certificate, it's gonna cost more."

"No, that's fine; I'll leave the money with
you before I go. He needs it. How soon can he get it?"

"Reggie said he can have it by the end of
next week."

"Alright, you can just mail it to me at my
folks house, you got the address," Selene replied, relieved.

"Selene, who is this guy? You’re going to an
awful lot of trouble to help him," Maggie asked and sounded
surprised.

"He's very special to me, Maggie," was all
Selene said her eyes glued to the tall, golden God who walked back
to the car with her dog.

"When do we get to meet this guy?"

"I don't know how long we will be at my
parent's place, but how about you and Darcy and the kids come up to
the cottage for the Fourth of July?" Selene suggested.

"This guy must be special if you’re taking
him home with you."

"Yes, he is very important to me. Maggie,
don't tell anyone about him. I haven't even told Darcy about him
yet."

"No problem, consider I don't know anything,
but what about Coach Gifford, Selene?" she asked. "He's awfully
sweet on you. Why don't you at least cut the guy loose?"

"Axel and I are just friends, Maggie. I told
you that. I can't help it if Axel reads more here than there
is."

"Selene, you liked him until English came
into the picture, what gives?" Maggie demanded. "You take off with
a guy you barely know and take months off of work, and expect me
not to worry? This isn't like you, Selene. This is something I
would do, but not you."

"I know I'm not acting myself, Maggie," she
said quietly and walked away from the car to finish the
conversation. "Just trust me; I know what I'm doing."

"Alright, leave the check in my mailbox and
I'll get the guy's papers. I'll mail it to you as soon as Reggie
has it."

"Thank you Maggie, I owe you one."

"No, this is payback, Selene. You don't owe
me anything. Just take care of yourself and let me know how you’re
doing."

She hung up with Maggie feeling more
confident about Tristan's future. The fact he had a birth
certificate on the way would mean the only thing she could do was
marry him in order to process him for a Green Card. She would wait
on that. Asking a guy to get married was not something she was
comfortable with. Tristan had to realize unless they got married,
he had no means of getting legalized here.

Selene was quiet during the trip to Grosse
Pointe. She had grown up in the affluent district all her life. She
watched Tristan out of the corner of her eye as she turned down
familiar roads that took her to her family's home.

When she finally turned down a private drive
and the house finally came into view, she saw his eyes widen. The
sight of the sprawling estate never failed to generate a whistle
when she brought friends here in the past. The thirty-eight room
house was modest by medieval standards, but she could see Tristan's
reaction. He looked at her in surprise. She cringed slightly at his
look. Her parent's estate must have told him she came from money.
Jim had always tried to impress her father, thinking one day all
this would be theirs.

"You’re an heiress?" he asked stiffly, his
blue eyes accusing.

"Not like you think! Yes, my parents are
wealthy, but I live on my own, Tristan. I don't live off of them,"
she said defensively.

"You might have told me you had wealth,
Selene," he said sourly. "I worried about money and you have all of
this. How you must have laughed at me in the grocery store."

"Tristan, their money is their own. They do
not support me. That is my choice," she argued defensively. "I
wanted to have my own life, my own money."

"But you have all of this," he gestured with
his hand in confusion. "Why would you want to live in your little
place when you have all of this?"

"Because that's not how I roll, pal!" Selene
snapped angrily and counted to ten. "Some people might live off
their family, but not this girl. I should not have to explain
myself to you, Tristan."

"No, it is just a surprise," he said and
shook his head. "I do not understand this independence of yours,
Selene. It is new to me."

"Trust me, I could be living high on the hog
if I wanted, and sit at the country club every night, but I wanted
something of my own," she explained. "Jim said the same thing. I
think he expected my father to give him the money to start his
practice years ago, and that is why he pushed the marriage. All my
life I have had to wonder whether people were in my life because
they wanted to be, or because of all this. Don't you start getting
crazy on me?"

"I’m just finding more to admire about you
every day, Selene," he said and brought her hand to his lips. "I’m
proud of you wanting to be your own woman. It is admirable, even
for this century."

"Yes, well, I don't see me sitting in a
country club for the rest of my life, Tristan. That's why I left
here for Grand Blanc. There, I'm just Selene Weston, schoolteacher.
Here I’m Bryce Campbell's daughter."

He measured her words and seemed pleased with
her meaning. His blue eyes filled with warmth as he looked at her.
"I’m proud of the life you have made."

Selene reviled in Tristan's glowing stare,
knowing it was a lot for him to admit, coming from the twelfth
century. His chauvinism aside, his instincts as a gentleman
recoiled daily to see her performing tasks in his opinion were
reserved for servants.

Selene pulled into a circular driveway and
drove down into the garage, a massive building that housed six
cars. She used the clicker above her visor to open the garage.
Tristan looked impressed as she pulled inside.

She got out and popped the trunk to get their
things. It was then her father joined them in the garage. Seeing
how her father had aged the last eight months since she had last
seen him made her tense. Bryce Campbell was of medium build, had
iron-grey hair and a questioning look in his eyes as he saw her
companion. Selene introduced Tristan and was pleased her Dad seemed
impressed with his firm handshake and unwavering gaze.

"Your Mom is having a bad day today, Selene,"
he explained and looked haggard. "She waited as long as she could,
but I finally had to get her pain medication for her."

Selene looked upset to know her Mother had
refused it in wait for her daughter, feeling guilty to know how
long she stayed away. She nodded and Tristan got their bags,
following her and her Dad through the garage into the house.
Tristan's jaw dropped along the way, seeing the wealth of her
family.

Selene led him up the stairs and he looked
about her former room in interest when they entered. Everything she
had amassed in her childhood was still there. He picked up picture
frames of her with her friends, cheerleading photos, swim team, and
seemed impressed. He chuckled to see her bed, covered with stuffed
animals. Daisy whined when he picked up a stuffed bear, already
staking her claim to the stuffed toys on the bed.

"Tristan, I'm going to see about lunch and
talk to my Dad," she said softly. "I'll be back in a few
minutes."

"I’m fine, Selene. I’ll take the dog for a
walk. Go spend time with your Father."

Selene was grateful she did not have to hold
Tristan's hand right now. Seeing her Father's bleak expression
reminded her of how little time Jessica Campbell had left.