Always and Forever Page 4

  "That piece was just created, commissioned by me, a few years ago and it's a one of a kind. It isn't possible for you to have seen it before. Perhaps you shouldn't pretend knowledge on things you know nothing about."

  Quinn was livid. Not only could she tell them all about Rouen but every other manufacturer of soft-paste porcelain of the time. She could also educate them on hard-paste porcelain which wouldn't be discovered for another seventy-odd years and would become known as Limoges -- some of the most sought after porcelains ever. Instead of flaying a layer of skin off the arrogant Archer, Quinn bit her tongue and lowered her head, but inside she was seething.

  Katherine eyed Quinn from across the table as she battled to control her fury because despite Archer's abruptness with the other woman, Katherine didn't miss the looks he was giving her. He was hers and she didn't like to share so Quinn was going to have to leave, either on her own or with a bit of help, and she knew just how to do it because she had done it before.

  Katherine suspected Quinn was smart enough to catch the insult when she directed her question to Thaddeus. "Other than her active imagination, what does your friend do?"

  Quinn's head snapped up at that because what a rather odd, and eerily modern, question to ask considering women of this day did very little beyond embroidery and child bearing. It was the arrogant look on Katherine's face that had Quinn speaking without thinking. "You can ask me directly. I've been speaking for myself for the last few years now."

  Katherine ignored Quinn and looked pointedly at Thaddeus awaiting an answer. Before Thaddeus could respond though, Quinn feigned concern as she looked right into Thaddeus' blue gaze.

  "I didn't realize that Miss Danvers was hard of hearing. Oh, I am so sorry." She then looked directly at Katherine.

  "I'll be sure to speak louder and use smaller words to make sure you understand."

  Outrage turned Katherine's face pink.

  "That's a nice color on you. It takes away that pale, pasty look you were sporting earlier."

  "How dare you," Katherine hissed through perfect white teeth and Quinn couldn't help but think she looked an awful lot like a snake at that moment.

  Archer's loud harsh words were like a slap in Quinn's face. "That is quite enough, Miss Shaughnessy," he bellowed.

  Quinn couldn't help the glare that she leveled on him. He could sit by silently while his bitch of a lady condescended to her but heaven forbid Quinn should speak up for herself and give a little of it back. Oh no, instead she was treated as the recalcitrant child. She knew her fury was easily read on her face; she was never able to keep her feelings a secret. A flash of some emotion crossed over his face, no doubt in response to the fury that was radiating off of her but before she could identify it, he lowered his lashes.

  Bastard.

  "There's nothing wrong with Miss Danvers' hearing," Thaddeus offered as a way to defuse the situation. But Quinn, who was now firmly in temper and, since she was already being treated like a naughty child, leaned back in her chair and sneered at Katherine from across the table before she bit out her next words.

  "Oh, so it isn't a physical defect that she suffers, just an abominable lack of social grace." Quinn's attention never left Katherine's so she saw the hatred that swept across Katherine's face. Suddenly a foot nailed her in the shin.

  "Oww." Quinn closed her eyes a moment at the pain shooting up her leg. "I thought you couldn't kick a lady? I'm going to be limping for a week." She looked over at Thaddeus only to find that he was barely controlling his laughter.

  "Don't you dare," she threatened, "I'm a train wreck and you're going to laugh now?"

  Quinn glared at him as his suppressed laughter caused him to turn from pink to bright red.

  Archer was saying something which had Quinn unconsciously rolling her eyes and that was all it took for Thaddeus to lose it completely. She knew it would only be minutes before she started laughing, too, so she stood.

  "I could use some air. Thaddeus?"

  As Thaddeus stood he almost doubled over from his uncontrolled merriment. Quinn moved quickly around the table and grabbed his arm just as her mouth started to twitch.

  "Excuse us."

  She just managed to pull him from the room before she erupted into a fit of, not feminine giggles but roaring, raucous laughter.

  Thaddeus had tears running down his cheeks but he managed to say through his mirth, "You weren't jesting."

  She wiped at her tears before she replied, "Nope."

  Later in the evening, Quinn was walking through the gardens while she attempted to get some control over herself because she was freaking out a bit. She shouldn't be here and she was more than likely just dreaming but if she wasn't, how was she supposed to get home? Dinner had been a disaster, between Archer and his demonic girlfriend and Thaddeus and her laughter fit, she wasn't going to survive too many more dinners like that.

  When she heard the sound of voices, she ducked into a patch of trees moments before Archer and Katherine appeared. Katherine's arms were laced through Archer's arm but it was the looks on their faces that gave her pause. For as cold as Katherine was to Quinn, she could see that Katherine felt a genuine affection for Archer. She reminded Quinn of a love-sick teenager looking up at her idol. Archer, despite the intimacy of their stroll, looked angry, even disgusted, yet Katherine didn't even seem to notice. There was definitely a very strange dynamic between the two but hopefully she wouldn't be in this fantasy land long enough for it to matter. She dismissed them and snuck back to the castle.

  In the morning, Quinn woke, sat up, looked around the room and groaned. She was still in the 18th century. She felt her heart beating erratically in her chest as panic filled her. What if she wasn't dreaming, what if this was somehow real and she was truly in the past? The idea was just so far out there that Quinn wasn't ready to think too hard on it. Instead she decided since she was here, dream or not, she might as well get her fill of history in the making. She dressed quickly so she could spend the early morning studying the castle unobserved.

  She marveled over the contents of the great hall, kitchen, several guest rooms and the music room. She wanted to go into Archer's solar but knew if he walked in on her he would probably accuse her of stealing and lop off her head. Yet for as much of an ass as he was, she couldn't deny that she was wildly attracted to the man.

  After spending most of the morning -- and a good portion of the afternoon -- inside the castle, Quinn walked outside to get a better look at how the construction of the castle was done in the 1700s. It was extraordinary, she was actually here witnessing the place being built, of course, this probably was all just in her mind even though she never thought she had that great of an imagination. What she wouldn't give to have her digital camera or even her phone in this dream.

  The men seemed to be taking a break, she didn't see Thaddeus or Archer, but there was one young man who was working a pulley and when Quinn looked up she noticed several rather large rocks in a net. She wondered what they were for and watched, with interest, manual labor in the truest sense of the word.

  She moved down to the river bank loving the way the sun reflected off the water to make it glisten. She didn't know how long she stood there but when she felt a warmth burn down her spine, she turned to see Archer standing a bit of a distance from her but looking in her direction. He was looking at her. There was an odd look on his face, one that looked remarkably like longing, but of course that couldn't be because he was not a fan of hers at all. He seemed rooted there for a few minutes, completely unrepentant, to be staring at her and then, quite suddenly, he turned and walked off. She watched him go, felt an emotion she wasn't ready to examine too closely, then turned and started walking along the river's edge.

  Before long she headed back up to the castle, keeping a safe distance from the construction site and that was when she heard the sound. It was very faint but it sent a chill through her. Quinn raced around the wall to the source of the noise. It took a minute for her brain to catc
h up to what her eyes were seeing and then she felt the bile rise up in her throat. A young man, the same one she had watched earlier, was pinned under a pile of rocks. She noticed the frayed rope and pulley and immediately realized what happened. It was instinct that had her reaching for her cell phone but then she remembered where, or more to the point, when she was as her hand dropped to her side and she hurried over to him. She dropped to her knees, pulled her cloak off and pillowed it under his head.

  "I'll go get help."

  "No," his voice was barely audible.

  Quinn wanted to protest but she knew he wasn't going to make it. In the future he would have had a chance but not in this time. The only help she could offer was to stay with him until he died. She never felt more helpless in her life.

  "Is your family close?"

  "No, I haven't any. My pa died the winter last. It's just me."

  "Please let me get someone, maybe we can help you."

  "'Tis too late. I don't feel anything now."

  "What can I do?"

  "Oh, Lady, just being with me is enough."

  Quinn stroked his forehead as she held his hand.

  "Do you believe in heaven?" he asked.

  "Yes. I believe that when we leave this world all those we lost are waiting for us."

  "Pa. It will be good to see him again."

  His breathing grew shallow, like that of a death rattle, and then his eyes widened in surprise as he looked at something that Quinn could not see. A moment later, he was gone. She watched as his soul left his body; saw as his eyes that moments ago were lit with life, dulled in death. Her tears fell in earnest then as she reached down to close his lids. She didn't hear the footfalls until someone came to kneel at her side and when she looked up she saw it was Thaddeus.

  "Oh my God," he gasped.

  "He wouldn't let me get help. He just wanted me to stay with him," Quinn offered softly. "He was just a boy."

  Thaddeus put his arm around her shoulders, felt her body shaking in shock, and then noticed the blood on her hands and gown. He started to rise when he heard Archer calling his name.

  "Over here, Arch."

  Quinn wouldn't move though which had Thaddeus offering softly, "He's gone."

  "I know but he shouldn't be left alone," she wept.

  She didn't see as Archer hunched down next to her because her back was to him and her attention completely on Thaddeus.

  "He wasn't alone, Quinn, you were with him," Thaddeus whispered.

  "Yes, but he died. He was too young to die and he doesn't have family. What will happen to him?"

  When the answer came, it was from behind her and when she turned her head, she saw Archer.

  "I'll make sure he is laid to rest and if there is any one left behind that they are provided for."

  Quinn held Archer's gaze before she nodded her head and then let Thaddeus pull her to her feet and escort her back to the castle.

  Later in the day, everyone was gathered in the great hall for a drink before dinner but Quinn couldn't seem to get the vision of the boy out of her head. She realized in this time accidents happened often and due to the lack of modern technology and medicine, people died. But watching someone die was not easy. She was pulled from her melancholy thoughts when she heard Katherine callously talking about the accident.

  "There are always deaths when building a home such as this. I just hope this inconvenience doesn't cause too much of a delay."

  Disgust filled Quinn as she watched Katherine and Archer. They were sitting together but his back was to her so she had no idea how he had reacted to Katherine's hateful words. She suddenly had no desire to be in either of their company and so she stood.

  "I've a headache. I'm going to retire for the evening."

  Thaddeus started towards her but she stopped him with a raised hand and a smile.

  "I'll be fine," she promised. "See you in the morning."

  And without waiting for a reply she swept from the room and started up the stairs only to be stopped by a booming voice calling her name.

  "Miss Shaughnessy." Archer called from the base of the staircase.

  Quinn was so enraged by Katherine's heartless words that she didn't let Archer speak, but took a few steps down so she could address him eye to eye.

  "I watched a young man die today, a boy who lost his life so that you can live in splendor. His blood on your stones may be an inconvenience to you and your lady friend but I'll be damned if I'll dishonor his memory by breaking bread with people so callous and cold as to be only concerned with how his death delays the completion of this."

  She saw the flash of anger before he bit out, "And that is what you believe?"

  "It's what your lady came right out and said and since you have linked yourself to her, it is a reasonable assumption that you share her opinions. Especially when you made no point to contradict her. If you don't share her views then I think, Lord Scarcliff, you may want to pick your friends better." And with that she dismissed him, turned, and fled up the stairs.

  The following morning when Quinn once again woke in the 18th century, she conceded to herself that she was not dreaming. She was disappointed in the reality of Whispering Winds, namely that the head of the household wasn't what she had always pictured. She had romanticized the castle and all who lived here with its knight in shining armor and fair maiden, but to find the situation so vastly different was a let-down. On a more practical note, she needed to figure out what was happening to her, why she was sent here and how she was supposed to get home? She knew she would -- she had to -- but while she sought those answers she was going to try to learn as much as she could about this magical place.

  There was still a mystery here, one that caused this beautiful castle to become a ghost town in the future, and solving that puzzle was just too much of a lure.

  Sara entered with a tray of hot chocolate and thickly-sliced toast which Quinn devoured and then the tedious task of dressing ensued. An hour later, after much squeezing and pinching, Quinn was stepping out into the bright outdoors.

  Thaddeus was working with Archer today and it was suggested to her that she join Katherine in the library. Right, like that was going to happen. She would rather face down an entire ship of pirates then spend any time voluntarily in that woman's presence. Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty could have been fashioned after Katherine, exquisite and evil to the core.

  Instead, Quinn decided to visit the gardens and was delighted to see that there was a kitchen garden almost exactly where Quinn had envisioned one and it was filled with beautiful hardy plants and not a single weed. Mrs. Hamston ran a tight ship.

  As she admired the meticulous garden, the sound of banging drew Quinn's attention and the image that filled her vision had her stopping and staring. Archer and Thaddeus were working with laborers to lift heavy stones into place. After yesterday's tragedy, this brought an uncontrollable wave of fear to her heart but she forced herself to get past it. This was how it was done, she assured herself, and after the accident everyone was sure to be more careful.

  She studied Archer and Thaddeus who were dressed much like the other workers with white shirts unbuttoned at the collar and rolled at the sleeves, long-legged breeches, boots and their long hair pulled back from their faces -- but there was no denying the elegance and sophistication that they wore like a second skin.

  She watched as they managed to lift a stone that had to weigh upwards a few hundred pounds into its place on the wall. She wondered how they would react if they saw the modern machines used in the future to build and what those machines would create.

  Her gaze lingered a moment or two longer on Archer, his form clearly visible under the clothes that were sticking to his heated skin. He was gorgeous -- arrogant, autocratic and rude -- but gorgeous. On a sigh, she turned and started walking along the river's edge.

  It felt very strange walking the same landscape she had three hundred years in the future. It was crazy to even consider the possibility that she had gon
e back in time. It was more probable that she was dreaming -- a very elaborate dream about the place that had consumed her thoughts for so long. What she had trouble reconciling was how did she find the castle that first day seven years before and why the feeling of nostalgia that swept over her causing her to stop so suddenly? She had seen Archer's ghost by the river's edge that day but how did she know what he would look like when she hadn't met him until she found herself in the past?

  Quinn pulled her thoughts from that vexing conundrum as she continued to walk along the river bank; the sound of the water babbling over the rock bed was so peaceful. Lost in her thoughts, she had walked well beyond the castle and before her the landscape spread out endlessly.

  Seeing the vast untouched land she could easily understand the early explorers need to discover what would happen if you ventured out too far into the unknown frontier. Would you eventually step off the edge of the Earth? And what was out there in that vast, beautiful landscape? It was tempting to keep walking and do a bit of exploring herself but she decided it would be more prudent to start back.

  She hadn't gotten very far when she saw a massive black horse approaching. Atop it was the Lord and, if his blazing green eyes were any indication, he was pissed. He pulled the horse to a stop just before her and he looked down his aristocratic nose at her.

  "Have you no concern for anyone but yourself?" he demanded.

  "Excuse me?" Quinn responded ready to again battle this beautiful man.

  "The entire household has spent the past hour looking for you," he roared. "You've been gone for almost four hours."

  Oops. "I didn't realize I've been gone that long. I certainly didn't mean to worry anyone nor did I want anyone to take time from their busy schedules to look for me."

  "I wonder if you gave any thought to anyone at all."

  Quinn glared at him as her temper flared. "It must be nice to be so decided in your thinking to believe you know a person after so short an acquaintance."

  He tilted his head and studied her for a moment before he noted, "I speak what I see."