Always and Forever (9 page)

"That felt so good."

Thaddeus was just watching her, his breathing labored, his brow soaked. "You're quite good at that. And you're right, it felt good."

"Every day, four miles. I've been doing it since I was a kid."

He couldn't help a look at her figure as her clothes were plastered to her skin before he whispered, "You can tell."

Quinn looked up at him but there was no heat to his words just an observation. She grinned.

"Can we swim in the river?" Quinn asked.

"Yes. You swim too?"

She grinned before she added, "Like a fish."

Thaddeus returned the grin before he said, "I'll be right back."

Quinn watched as he disappeared into castle and turned to soak up the beauty of the landscape. Her moment of solitude ended when Thaddeus rejoined her with blankets and a basket.

"Breakfast?" she asked.

"Yes. Cook threw a few things together for us."

"A man after my own heart," she gushed. "Shall we?"

Every morning after, Quinn went for a run. If Sara wondered why she had men's clothes and why they were always soaked, she didn't say. The running was a bit of home and a little piece of normal that Quinn savored; that first hour in the morning where it seemed she had the whole world to herself.

Things changed on the third morning though. Incredibly, her activity was discovered by none other than Lord Scarcliff. When she reached her turning around point in the woods, she noticed movement within the trees seconds before Lord Scarcliff emerged. Quinn wanted to keep on running but knew she couldn't escape that easily so she was forced to stop as she approached him. He was looking at her oddly but said nothing.

"Good morning," she offered brightly.

His voice sounded almost pained when he replied, "Good Morning. Please don't stop on my account."

Quinn nodded before she turned and started back, then finished with a refreshing dip in the river.

The following morning when she came outside to warm up, Quinn was surprised to find Lord Scarcliff there under the oak tree, dressed as she was, waiting for her. It was in unspoken agreement that he started warming up with her. They ran in silence and when they were done, he returned to the castle while she made her way to the river. Quinn wasn't sure why he joined her that first morning but every morning after, he was always there waiting.

One night, just over a week after Quinn arrived in the 18th century, she met Katherine's brother, Viscount Edwyn Danvers. She froze when she walked into Lord Scarcliff's solar because the Viscount could pass for Derek Blake's twin.

"Quinn?" Thaddeus whispered in her ear as she robotically put one foot in front of another. "You will have to share whatever just passed through that lovely mind of yours." And then he turned his attention to the Viscount.

"May I introduce you, Viscount Danvers, to Miss Quinn Shaughnessy."

The Viscount looked Quinn over from head to toe and when he smiled it never touched his eyes. He reached for her hand to brush his lips across her knuckles and even through the gloves, her skin crawled. He held her hand a moment longer than was polite and when he did release it, she was tempted to wipe it on the skirt of her dress.

"Charmed." His voice even sounded like Derek's. An idea started to form in her head, an answer to why she was here, but her thought was lost when Thaddeus nudged her from her rudeness.

"It's a pleasure," she replied reluctantly.

Lady Danvers immediately appeared at her son's side, slipped her arm through his and led him away. Quinn watched as they walked across the room and the most bizarre thought popped into her head again. It was crazy and yet it made an awful lot of sense.

She was again pulled from her thoughts but this time it was from the heat of Archer's stare. His staring was unnerving and becoming more common. He rarely spoke to her but he watched her -- and not with disapproval but with interest as if he was trying to figure her out. There was no mention of their shared exercise -- and conversation between them during it was nonexistent. So when he approached Quinn and her name came from his lips, the first time he'd ever started a conversation with her, she knew she was looking at him as if he had sprouted another head.

"Miss Shaughnessy. I owe you my gratitude regarding my son's nurse. She was," he took a moment as if the next words were difficult to say and his expression was positively lethal, "...beating him and has been dismissed without references."

"How is Nickie?" Quinn implored.

His eyebrow rose at the use of the nickname but other than that he offered no objection to the use of it.

"He is well and has been asking about you."

"I imagine you haven't yet replaced his nurse."

"Not presently."

"I'd be happy to act as his companion until another can be found."

His expression was one of disbelief. "Why?"

"Because contrary to the opinions in this room," she shared, "I adore children and think we have just as much to learn from them as they from us."

His eyes grew a bit softer at that comment. Quinn felt a temptation to step closer and really look at them to see if she imagined the touch of warmth she saw burning there but she managed to control her impulse.

"I couldn't ask you to do that," he nearly blushed.

"You didn't ask, I volunteered. He will have to spend his time with someone until you find him a nurse and mostly everyone under this roof has daily chores to see to so he'd only be underfoot," she replied. "Those who don't have any pressing responsibilities have made their feelings very clear regarding children. I would truly enjoy his company."

"Very well. I'll inform Mrs. Hamston that you will be acting as his nurse until I can arrange for a new one." He bowed his head and started to leave but stopped and whispered, "Thank you."

At dinner the discussion was fairly benign but after Lady Danvers and Katherine excused themselves, complaining of headaches, the gentlemen -- with the new addition of the Viscount -- stayed in the dining room so as to not exclude Quinn. Soon the conversation turned to business and investments which was just what Quinn hoped would happen.

Thaddeus was mentioning Thomas Newcomen and the work he was doing. Quinn knew that in the next few years Thomas Newcomen would be the first to harness the power of steam to use in mechanical work: namely, he would create the first practical steam engine to pump water. His invention would later take off across the country, particularly in the coal mining industry. As far as investments went, this one was a winner. Quinn was happy to hear that both Thaddeus and Archer were investors in Newcomen's work but the Viscount was not.

"We can't just sit back and be idle, Edwyn," Archer admonished. "We need to take a more active role in our estates and finances. Simply marrying for money isn't going to keep our estates solvent generations from now. Our legacies should be something more tangible and not just the results of advantageous marriages."

Quinn was so shocked to hear such modern thinking coming from Archer that she simply stared at him in wonder.

"In the five years I've know you, your attitude has always been very odd, Arch, but I for one like the concept of marrying for money. It makes it all very simple. Not that I'm in the market for a wife, but if I was she'd be the richest one I could find." It looked like he was going to say more but the look on Archer's face dissuaded him. This was clearly not a conversation for mixed company in the 18th century. The Viscount unconsciously looked over at Quinn before he offered, "As far as our estates, that's why we have tenants to work our land and provide revenue."

Quinn didn't miss the look of disgust that passed over Archer's face before he quietly added, "Yes, well, some of us take a far larger cut from our tenants than others."

"Absolutely, they're lucky they have the land to work. We are entitled to take what we want."

"They're paying you for the use of that land," Thaddeus interjected but Edwyn ignored him and turned to Quinn.

"What do
you
think, Miss Shaughnessy?"

She was rendered speechless for a minute because looking at the Viscount she saw Derek looking back. Her mind was a bit scrambled as it tried to reconcile where her thoughts were taking her. She knew she needed to give an answer and found that she was thankful that not much was expected of ladies in this time because forming a real answer was beyond her.

"It's quite taxing just getting myself put together each morning. I couldn't possibly be asked to do anything more,"
she said in her most shrinking violet voice.

The Viscount bought that answer with a lascivious grin but Archer and Thaddeus both stared at her curiously.

"I've got my sights set on a lovely pair of grays," The Viscount offered which thankfully steered the conversation away from her but as Quinn listened her thoughts were elsewhere. Was it possible? The Viscount's careless and cavalier attitude certainly suggested someone who thought very little about his current situation and, if she was right, would also explain Derek's impossible luck in finding rare treasures. He wasn't finding anything but stealing and hiding away only to dig up these treasures again in the future. She couldn't believe she was even entertaining such a ludicrous thought but not only was she, she was determined to learn how he was traveling through time since it was knowledge she herself was going to need in order to return home.

Later that evening after everyone had retired to bed, Quinn found herself heading towards the kitchen in the hopes of finding something to drink. As she passed by Archer's solar, she heard voices but when she heard her name she stopped to listen.

"Who is she, Thad?" Archer questioned.

"I don't really know."

"So why did you bring her here if you know nothing about her?"

Thaddeus remembered the day Quinn appeared before him -- he knew he'd never forget it -- but what struck him more than the manner in which she appeared was the look of loss and confusion he had seen on her face when she looked up at him. Whatever happened to her, however she had found her way to their part of the world, she was lost, alone and scared. He couldn't turn his back on her.

"She was lost and petrified, Arch. You would have done exactly as I, had it been you who stumbled upon her."

"Stumbled?"

"She was wandering the woods," Thaddeus lied.

Archer moved around his desk to refill his brandy. "She's different, even her name is unusual."

"You don't like her?" Thaddeus asked. Outside the door, Quinn stepped closer to hear Archer's answer.

Like her? Archer almost laughed out loud at that question. Just remembering the first time he saw her had his pulse racing. He almost fell to his knees when she had turned to him. He knew he had been exceedingly rude to her that day but it was either that or succumb to the strongest and most primitive urge to throw her over his shoulder and lock her away with him so he could claim her, over and over again. Never had he ever experienced such a visceral reaction to another person and he feared getting too close and losing himself to the demands of his body. After mastering being in her company without jumping her like a rutting stag, he discovered the remarkable young woman who lay beneath. She spoke her mind, gave her opinions very decidedly, and honestly, the night she protected his son from his nurse he thought her the most magnificent creature he had ever beheld. Like her? He was halfway in the love with the woman and he didn't know a damn thing about her.

"I like her well enough but I would like to know who she is," he covered. "Why hasn't anyone come looking for her? Why has she not made any attempts to get home?"

Thaddeus, remembering how she just
appeared
, offered rather cryptically, "I believe she is very far from home."

"Well, far or not, we need to get her to tell us who her people are so we can attempt to get word to them."

"I will ask her tomorrow," Thaddeus offered.

Archer looked up at his best friend. "She's going to act as Nickie's nurse until I can replace Jenkins. I know I don't know very much about Quinn but my gut tells me he'll be completely safe with her."

"She fell from a tree saving him, Arch."

"I know. Mr. Tilward wouldn't tell me anything until I pressured him and even then he was still rather reluctant. But he did say that Nickie was free falling from a distance that probably would have broken his neck."

"Her entire left side is one big bruise. Mrs. Hamston feels the need to tell me this over and over again," Thaddeus offered.

Archer looked pained. "Yes, Tilward said much the same. She risked her life for a child she doesn't know."

"Like you said, Arch, she's different. And though we know very little about her, I do believe she is genuinely a good person."

"So why haven't you made your interest in her known?"

"My feelings for her are more like that of a brother. I don't have those heated feelings that I've seen emanating from you from time to time." Thaddeus laughed at Archer's look. "I've known you a really long time, Arch, and I have never seen you look at a woman they way you do Quinn. And that includes your wife and Katherine."