A Leap of Faith (The Hands of Time: Book 2) (20 page)

Alec slowly walked back to the house, not wanting to face Amelia.  He doubted that the girl would escape the noose.  He knew Valerie felt sympathy for her, but he wasn’t sure that he did.   Murder was murder.  Would he have been justified in killing Charles for accusing him of the crime?  Of course not.  A human being had the power to control their actions, and Amelia had killed the girl, no matter what her reasons were.  Alec sighed as he approached the house.  He truly wished that Amelia had just run away while he was in the stables with Valerie.  He wouldn’t search for her, just let her disappear.  She wouldn’t be able to go to Jamestown or any settlement close by.  The harsh conditions of the wilderness would be punishment enough.  If she found a new life for herself someplace else, then so be it. 

Alec climbed the stairs to the
attic and approached the door.  He stood on the landing and listened for a moment before inserting the key into the lock.  It was too quiet.  Amelia wasn’t crying, so she probably didn’t feel much remorse.  The sight that greeted Alec was one that nearly made him sick.  Amelia was hanging from the beam, her body slowly turning on its own accord.  She had used a sheet to make a rope, and must have stood on the bed to tie it to the only sturdy piece of wood in the attic bedroom.  Amelia’s eyes were bugging out of her head, her tongue protruding from her mouth, already swollen and nearly black. 

Alec felt for a pulse,
knowing full well there wouldn’t be any.  She was gone.  He pulled a dagger out of his boot, and sawed through the twisted fabric until he cut the body down.  He laid Amelia on her bed, and sat down next to the body, covering his face with his hands.  Another death in such a short time.  He couldn’t help but feel sorry for the foolish girl.  She had been so young.  He would have to tell Valerie and the children, and he dreaded the task.

Valerie kissed the children goodbye for the tenth time, and allowed Alec to assist her into the trap.  Their luggage was already stowed in the back, and it was time to go.  The first rays of the sun were just visible in the morning sky, the rosy light painting the house in a warm glow.  Mist was still gathered in the valleys and between the trees, but the sun would soon burn it away and envelope everything in the muggy heat of August.  The
Misty Dawn
, appropriately named for mornings just like this, would be leaving on the morning tide.  Valerie waved to Louisa and blew a kiss to Finn, who was sitting on the veranda, his leg propped on a stool.  She was secretly glad that he was still wearing the cast, since being housebound would keep him out of trouble until they returned in four to six weeks. 

Valerie had to admit that she was excited at the prospect of getting away for a while.  She
’d probably be bored aboard the ship, but the idea of being on the open sea on the way to a tropical place was enticing.  Valerie suspected that Alec was also eager to get away.  Charles had approached him and apologized profusely, but the peace between the brothers was fragile, both of them still tense and awkward with each other.  Charles was planning to take a trip of his own after they returned, possibly to England.  He wanted to see his ancestral home and visit London, which he’d heard so much about.  He talked of going to France as well, but time would tell. 

Valerie felt a twinge of
excitement as the masts of the ships in the harbor finally came into view.  There weren’t that many vessels, but they were imposing with their furled sails, and thick chains, stretching into the murky water and anchoring them in place.  Several sailors came down from the
Misty Dawn
to take their luggage, but there was still time before the tide.   It was fully light now, the sun already warm on their faces.  Alec suggested going into a dockside tavern for a tankard of ale, and Valerie agreed.  She wasn’t thirsty, but she didn’t want to be in the way as the crew prepared to set sail in an hour.  She might get a cup of cider. 

There was no one in the tavern at such an early hour.  Most sailors breakfasted aboard their vessels, or were still dead to the world somewhere, sleeping off the drink consumed the night before. 
Alec finished his ale and glanced out of the window to check the position of the sun.  It was about eight o’clock.  Time to go aboard.  Alec threw a few coins on the scarred, wooden table as rose to leave. 

The docks were getting busy, the fishy smell growing stronger as the sun warmed the refuse floating in the water.  It was already warm and humid
, leaving Valerie wonder how Alec didn’t boil alive in his leather doublet, but his mind was already on the voyage, as he absentmindedly took Valerie’s arm and guided her toward the waiting ship.  They walked along the quay toward the
Misty Dawn
, passing the
Gloriana
which had come into port the night before.  The barkeep had mentioned that it had been attacked by pirates, but Valerie hadn’t been paying attention.  She looked up at the hull of the ship, rising above her head.  The creaking of sails and the scream of seagulls filled the air, making her suddenly happy. 

Valerie took one last look around before walking up the ramp to the great ship.  She noticed a tall man and a woman descending the ramp from the
Gloriana
and her heart gave a painful squeeze.  Something about the woman reminded her of Louisa, but of course that was ridiculous.  She took Alec’s arm and headed up the ramp, eager to get going.  Valerie wasn’t sure what made her stop and look again.  It was some gut instinct that understood something before her brain did.  She looked at the woman one more time, taking in the dark blond hair, just visible underneath her cap, and the trim figure in the brown dress.  There was something apprehensive in the woman’s walk as the man steered her toward the tavern.  The woman suddenly looked up, as if she felt Valerie’s gaze on her.  Their eyes met across space and time and held each other’s gaze for a moment, before Valerie’s brain finally accepted what her heart was screaming so loudly.  A great sob tore from her, and then she was running, screaming and crying, hurling herself at her sister, who was running toward the ship; her skirts raised above her ankles to avoid tripping. 

They were both crying
and clinging to each other for fear that the other would disappear, and it would all have been an illusion.  Valerie was dimly aware of Alec behind her, but she had no time to explain, couldn’t break away.  Louisa was squeezing the life out of her, soaking her face with her tears.  Neither one said a word, but it was all right there in their eyes.  Valerie held Louisa away from herself, still unable to believe that her sister was there. 

“Lou,” she whispered.  “Oh, Lou.  I thought I’d never see you again.” 

“I’m here, Val.  I am really here.  I’ve found you and I will never let you go again.  Never.”  Louisa suddenly looked at Valerie in shock.  “Were you leaving?”

“Not anymore.”  She turned to Alec, but he just smiled at her. 

“I take it you are my sister-in-law.  I am Alexander Whitfield.  It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance at last.  You must have traveled an awfully long way to get here.” 

Louisa saw something in his eyes, but wasn’t sure how much he knew
, and just nodded happily.  She could see why Valerie looked so happy in the portrait.  The man was, in a word, “HOT”.  She suddenly remembered Kit, who stood off to the side, patiently waiting. 

“Val, this is my husband, Captain Christopher Sheridan.”  Louisa saw Alec look up in surprise.

“Any relation to Lord Robert Sheridan?”

“He was my father,” answered Kit shyly.  Valerie gave Louisa an amused look. 

“Five minutes in the seventeenth century, and not only does she snag a husband, but a lord to boot.  Well done, big sister.  Well done,” she whispered into Louisa’s ear.  Louisa looked at Valerie.  She had vanished when she was twenty-six and had been here for fifteen years, so she was now forty-one to Louisa’s twenty-nine. 

“Who is the big sister now?” she asked bemused.  They burst into hysterical laughter that left the men watching them in mutual confusion.   

“Alec, you go on without me.  I have to stay here with Louisa.  I hope you’re not angry.”  Valerie threw him a winsome smile.  Louisa had a feeling that Alec was very rarely angry with her sister. 

“I can go another time.  I will just have them take the luggage off the ship.  I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”  He turned away, leaving the sisters to stare at each other, still unable to grasp that they were truly together at last.

“That was by far the absolute stupidest thing you’ve ever done in your life, but I am so happy you did it,” said Valerie, slightly slurring her words with too much brandy.  The sisters sat curled together on a sofa in the sitting room, their faces illuminated by the glow of the candles.  “Here is to the memory of Mom and Dad,” proclaimed Valerie, raising her glass of brandy.

“Technically, they haven’t been born yet,” mused Louisa as she took a sip of her own drink, “but here is to them.  I only wish they knew that we
’d been reunited.  Think of how happy they would have been.”

“Especially if they knew it was in
seventeenth century Virginia,” snorted Valerie, hiccupping.  “So, tell me about Kit.  How long have you been married?”

“Two and a half days,” mumbled Louisa.  She was getting a little drunk herself. 

“Seriously, Lou, do you love him?”  Louisa stared off into space for a long moment before replying.

“Yes.  Yes, I love him.  I wasn’t sure at first.  I always thought that you had to know someone for ages to truly love them, but it’s not like that, is it?  I
’d been with Doug for nearly a decade and I loved him, I really did, but this is different.  These men are different.  He made me feel as if I was the only woman in the world for him.  You know how guys are in the future.  They’re always thinking that something better will come along, and want to keep their options open.  I never felt that way with Kit.  It was as if no other woman would do, and suddenly I felt as if no other man would do for me.”

Valerie nodded.  “It’s funny, but that’s just how I felt.  When Finlay asked me to marry him, I thought that he couldn’t possibly be serious.  We barely knew each other, but he was dead sure.  Once he made up his mind
; that was it.  It was the same with Alec.  There was never any question that we would be together after Finlay died.  It was just a matter of time.”

“It’s strange the way you talk about them,” Louisa said, getting more comfortable.  “It’s as if you loved them both all along.” 

“I did.  I knew that they were two separate people, but in my heart they were like extensions of each other, just two separate halves.  I never really felt guilty about loving Alec after Finn.  It’s what Finn would have wanted, and there was no one else to whom he would have entrusted his wife and child.  Alec wasn’t just fulfilling his promise by marrying me.  He loved me all along.  I knew it the whole time, and I sometimes wonder what would have happened had Finlay lived?”  Valerie put down her glass and stared into the flames of the candle.

“What do you mean, Val?”

“I mean that we couldn’t have gone on all living together without incident.  It was like sitting on a powder keg.  Someone would have had to leave in order to avoid an explosion.  But what about you?  Will you be going back to England when we’ve only just been reunited?”  Valerie looked devastated at the thought, and Louisa reached for her hand.

“We hadn’t really talked about it much since we didn’t know if we’d find you or not, but Kit’s home is in England.  I won’t leave you though, not yet.  I want to stay with you until I can’t stand looking at you any longer,” she said with a smile. “And that will take forever.”

“In that case, I hope that Christopher Sheridan is a very patient man.” 

“Val, how did you feel when you found yourself in the past?” Louisa asked.

“Bewildered, terrified, but most of all alone.  I went up to the castle, not knowing what else to do, and met Alec.  He offered me protection and a home.  At first, I still thought I might be able to get back somehow, but I quickly realized that there was no way back.  I had to adjust.  Life goes on.”

“Oh, God.  Remember that
“Beatles” song?  Mom and Dad kept singing it on the way to the Grand Canyon, and we kept asking them to stop because we wanted to listen to “our” music.  What I wouldn’t give to hear them sing it one more time.”  Louisa began to sing softly.

Desmond has his barrow in the market place
Molly is the singer in a band
Desmond says to Molly "Girl, I like your face"
And Molly says this as she takes him by the hand
Ob-la-di, ob-la-da, life goes on, brah!
Lala how the life goes on
Ob-la-di, ob-la-da, life goes on, brah!
Lala how the life goes on.
Desmond takes a trolley to the jewelry store
Buys a twenty carat golden ring
Takes it back to Molly waiting at the door
And as he gives it to her she begins to sing
Ob-la-di, ob-la-da, life goes on, brah!
Lala how the life goes on
Ob-la-di, ob-la-da, life goes on, brah!
Lala how the life goes on.

Valerie joined in, their voices rising in unison.
  They must have gotten pretty loud, because Kit materialized in the doorway, looking slightly alarmed. 

“What kind of song is that?” he asked, advancing into the room.

“The kind happy sisters sing when in their cups,” quipped Alec as he put his hand on Kit’s shoulder and led him out, giving Valerie a meaningful look, which made them dissolve in hysterical laughter.

“He doesn’t know, does he?”
Valerie asked.

“No.  Do you think I should tell him?”  Louisa had pondered this question for some time, but decided to hold off. 

“Probably not at the same time as telling him you want to stay here and not go back to England with him.  It might be just a bit much for him all at once.”

“How did Alec react when you told him?” Valerie had told Louisa that Alec knew all about her past. 

“Surprisingly well.  His grandmother had come from the future, and filled his head with visions of cars and airplanes.”

“Oh my God!” exclaimed Louisa.  “Was his grandmother Erzebet?  I read about her online.” 

Valerie nodded.  “One and the same.  Shall we go to bed?  I’m quite drunk.  You know, this is the first time I’ve been truly happy since losing the baby.  I still can’t believe you are really here.”

“Get used to it. Now point me in the direction of my bed.  I
’m exhausted.”  Louisa yawned and followed Valerie upstairs.

“The
‘Honeymoon Suite’ is through there.  I can’t offer you a hot shower, but you can have a bath if you like.  Breakfast is at eight.  Starbucks coffee served with freshly baked bagels with cream cheese and smoked salmon, followed by freshly squeezed orange juice.  NOT!!!”  Valerie was still giggling as she went into her own room.