Hearts Across Time (The Knights of Berwyck: A Quest Through Time Novel ~ Books 1 & 2) (20 page)

Katherine listened to Brie’s words in amazement. A look of astonishment splashed across everyone’s face, showing her they all wondered why no one had thought of the idea before.

Gavin leaned over and quickly kissed Brianna’s lips. “You are brilliant, my lady.”

“Well, it really doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure it out, you know,” she declared with a smile.”

“What is this ‘rocket’ you speak of?’ he asked puzzled.

“I’ll tell you about that, and more, later,” she whispered, reaching up and touching his cheek.

Everyone began speaking at once until the chamber was a mass of confusing conversations that, once again, grew in volume. Those from the twelfth century began asking those from the twenty-first how exactly they had been thrown back in time. They wanted details in order to, hopefully, ensure such a miracle could be repeated, or perhaps reversed.

“You just ran down the passageway and stairs holding hands?” Patrick asked in awe.

Katherine nodded. “Riorden had just left his chamber, and I made to follow him,” she began. “He looked so real that day. I still can feel the despair of my hand going through him, since he was just a ghost to my eyes. We were so close to each other, and yet more than eight hundred years kept us apart,” she whispered, with a tear in her eye.

Riorden gently wiped away the moisture from her cheek. “I had gone to the chapel to pray for her soul. God heard my prayers and answered them in a way that will forever humble us,” he said, in reverence.

“Remarkable,” Dristan muttered and walked over to his desk where the women’s future gear was displayed for his pleasure. “You will stay with him, Katherine?”

All eyes turned and waited for her answer. “Yes, my Lord Dristan, for you see, I love him.”

“You would give all these modern wonders up just for him?” Aiden questioned as he came to stand next to his brother-in-law, gazing at the marvels before him.

“They’re but things, Aiden, and sometimes, something so material is nothing compared to what matters the most in your heart,” Katherine proclaimed, and her lips were brushed with Riorden’s warm ones. Her heart flipped while she stared into his eyes. “I will never leave you,” she whispered.

“And what of you, Lady Brianna,” Dristan asked, already knowing the answer. “Will you also stay, and make your home here in the past?”

“In the past or the present, I suppose time is irrelevant, and it’s all a matter of how we now perceive things, isn’t it? Besides, we’ve already talked about it, Gavin and I,” she answered simply as she took his hand. “I’m staying, too.”

Dristan clapped his hands. “Then a double wedding it shall be.”

Katherine looked at him in surprise. “Excuse me, my lord?”

Dristan strode across the floor, clapped his hand down on Riorden’s shoulder, and then took her arm, ushering her over to the table. “You have my protection, but I fear you must wed, and soon, afore I do my friend there some injury he cannot recover from for taking liberties with my ward. The same holds true for Brianna.”

“I see,” Katherine answered quietly.

“You have objections that I rush things afore you leave so I may ensure you are settled?”

“Of course not, my lord.”

“Good. Lynet has agreed to work on your gowns, since Amiria is not so nimble with needle and thread,” Dristan replied with a laugh at his wife’s furious expression. He held up his hands, as if holding off her anger. “Well, ’tis true is it not?”

“Where is my sword?” Amiria threatened.

“Later, my love,” Dristan ordered. He went back to his desk and lifted a pen to make markings on a piece of spiral note paper. “You realize, all this must be destroyed, so no one would ever come across something so damaging.”

Katherine nodded and picked up her cellphone, feeling technology slipping easily through her fingers. No more driving her car, no more Saturday white chocolate mocha coffee, no more laptop to write her latest story, no more indoor plumbing.

“Lady Katherine…” Dristan prodded with a knowing smile.

“Huh?” She looked at him in puzzlement, since she had become lost in thought.

“I asked if ’twould be worth it.”

Katherine immediately sought Riorden, and the same intense look passed between them that spoke more than any answer she could have given. Riorden came and took her hand, bringing it to his lips as if he had read her mind. She returned her attention back to the group and began to explain the modern wonders of the twenty-first century to those souls from the past who gathered around her.

At one point, she felt Riorden’s hand upon the small of her back, and she looked at her devilishly handsome knight again from the corner of her sparkling, love filled eyes. Smiling, she knew without any doubt in her mind that Riorden would ensure she never regretted her decision to stay with him. She would gladly make any sacrifice, so long as she could remain forever by his side.

Yes
, she thought.
He is, indeed, worth it.

A
warm breeze
blew in from the ocean, leaving a salty tang on the lips of the four women who sat on the sandy beach. Each lady was lost in her own troubled thoughts while they all held hands, savoring the feel of a sisterly bond that even time could not destroy. Although the sun was relatively warm, and Patrick’s laughter rang out while he romped into the waves crashing onto the shore, the women remained somber and silent. It was a testament to the overwhelming feeling of sadness they knew was inevitable with their impending parting.

“Are you sure, Katie?” Juliana said in her softest voice that squeaked with unshed tears.

“I’m sure.”

“But what if you change your mind?” Emily prompted, hope ringing in her voice that Katherine would come back with them.

“I won’t. My place is now here with Riorden,” Katherine stated with conviction.

“How will we know that you are, or were, happy?” Juliana asked.

Katherine finally turned her gaze from the ocean and looked upon her friends as tears fell down her cheeks. “You’ll know,” she said with the faintest hint of an elusive smile. “Somehow, I’ll find a way to let you both know that Brie and I never regretted the choice we made.”

Katherine wiped her face with the back of her sleeve and sighed heavily. One would have thought she’d be ecstatic, knowing by tomorrow she’d be married to Riorden. Inside, she was of course, but the thought of losing two of her closest friends certainly put a damper on the festivities.

“Do you really think it will work again, Katie? Are you sure they’ll make it back to our future?” Brianna asked hesitantly.

Katherine closed her eyes and felt a peace settle around her heart. “They’ll make it.”

“How can you be so confident?” Emily demanded bitterly.

Katherine shrugged her shoulders, for how could she truly explain it. “I just am.”

“Damn it, Katie! You’re just full of short little answers today, aren’t you?” Emily snapped. “I certainly hope you’re right. I’d hate to get thrown back into a worse time period than the one we’re in right now. You have no idea what I wouldn’t give for a hot shower.”

Juliana reached over and gave Emily a hug. “Calm down, Em. Everything will be alright, and we’ll have Danior and Tiernan with us. How difficult can it be to give time a little nudge?”

“You’re kidding, right? Going back to Bamburgh to try to slip forward into time, taking two medieval knights with us, is like asking karma to come and kick us in our asses,” Emily retorted in a shout. “It’s that whole damn fabric-of-time thing I always warn us about. We’re changing history, for God sake! Does no one ever listen to me?”

“You need to chillax and enjoy the day, Em,” Brianna said, trying to defuse Emily’s anger. “Just think about all the firsthand knowledge you’ll have when you get back to pour into your latest novel.”

“Ugh! Easy for you to say, Brie. You’re not the one traveling through time again.”

Katherine shielded her eyes from the sun and saw Tiernan and Danior hacking away at each other as they practiced their sword technique. “Tiernan,” she called out loudly, watching in satisfaction when he sheathed his weapon and came to stand before them.

“Aye, Lady Katherine?” Tiernan inquired. His sleeves were rolled up, displaying the strength of his arms, and he had a grin plastered on his face, showing how much he had been enjoying his training.

“Emily is freaking out and−”

“What?” he asked with furrowed brows.

“She’s nervous,” Katherine clarified. “Would you do me a favor?”

“Anything, milady.”

“Go take my friend down the strand a ways and kiss her senseless. If she tries to give you any more grief, then kiss her again until she forgets what had her so upset,” Katherine said, trying to hide her laugh.

“With pleasure, Lady Katherine,” Tiernan said. He grasped Emily firmly in hand and towed her down the beach. They couldn’t hear Emily’s words, but they could tell they were obviously heated when her balled fist rose up and she began shaking it towards them. True to his promise, they watched in amusement as Tiernan grabbed Emily and kissed her. It placated her only a moment before she continued her tirade. He repeated the gesture. She looked as if she may have calmed slightly, but then threw up her hands. This time, Tiernan took her completely into his arms and began kissing her once more. Apparently, the third time was the charm, for the women saw Tiernan finally had their friend speechless.

Katherine returned her attention to the sea and felt the calming effect that always came over her whenever she watched its waves crash into the shoreline. Without taking her gaze from the ocean, she at last spoke to Brianna. “So, my dear little sister, are you sure you wish to postpone your own wedding and not get married tomorrow, as well?”

Brianna smiled brightly. “Tomorrow should be your special day, Katie. If it wasn’t for you and Riorden seeing each other as ghosts, then none of this would have been possible. Besides, Gavin wishes to be married in Warkworth’s chapel. Since he’s not Lord Dristan’s vassal, the lord really has no say on where we should marry.”

“That couldn’t have gone over well with the Devil’s Dragon,” Juliana replied, with a slight shudder. “Have you seen that man fight?”

Brianna shrugged. “Gavin assured him that nothing of an…umm…intimate nature would happen between us until we were wed. He made Gavin prove his worth out in the lists.” She gave a short laugh. “I think Gavin is still hurting in places he didn’t even know existed, since he told me he had never trained as hard as he did that afternoon.”

“I guess that’s settled, then,” Katherine declared and saw the eagerness on her friends’ faces. She laughed for the first time that day. “Oh go on, you two. Obviously my sparkling conversation is not quite up to par today, and I can see where you’d rather be.”

Juliana leaned over and kissed Katherine’s cheek, and the two women practically flew in the direction of their men. They took them by the arm and headed in different directions on the beach.

Katherine had a sense of
déjà vu
as she now sat there alone on the sand with her toes peeking out between the small white and tan granules beneath her feet. The past week had been hectic with fittings for her wedding dress, but more important was the need for speed. Riorden had been summoned back to Bamburgh at the request of an angry king, demanding why he wasn’t at Warkworth. Their journey may have fit in with the long range plans of getting everyone back to Bamburgh, but it would have been nice to be able to enjoy this time while at Berwyck before they wed.

She looked up from ruminating about her concerns for the future, and this time, she knew she wasn’t dreaming as her own knight came to stand before her with Dristan at his side.

“May we have speech with you, Katherine, and invade your musings?” inquired Dristan politely.

“Is it okay if we walk?” she asked.

Riorden held out his arm and she gladly took it, along with Dristan’s, and the three of them causally strolled for several minutes. Katherine halted her steps and suddenly turned to look back in the direction of Berwyck Castle.

To say the castle was an impressive sight would be as if saying the Grand Canyon was nothing but a large hole in the ground. It sat high above on the mountaintop with the forest just far enough away that there would never be any question of an army invading Dristan’s domain unseen. The curtain wall reached down to the seashore, but only a fool would try to navigate the rocky cliff it was perched upon.

Katherine closed her eyes, and a modern day image loomed before her eyes of the devastation awaiting, not only Berwyck, but Warkworth, as well.

Tears flooded her eyes as she turned back toward the two men. “It seems as though I do a lot of crying these days.”

“What has upset you so, Katherine?” Riorden asked as he took her into his arms. She pulled away and pointed to the castle grounds.

“You must protect it, Dristan, with every fiber of your being. That goes for you, too, Riorden, where Warkworth is concerned,” she said in a quivering voice.

Riorden leaned down and placed a kiss on her lips. “How did you know we were going to ask about Berwyck?”

Katherine gave a short little laugh. “That’s a good question. I just had this feeling that, eventually, you would want to know what happens to your land in my day.”

Dristan gazed at her as though she had lost her mind, or at least a small part of it, since it seemed as if she was predicting the future. In a way she was, truth be told.

“Berwyck is strongly enforced, Katherine, and made of stone. I have ensured every precaution has been taken in re-enforcing its foundations,” Dristan interjected as he crossed his arms on his chest while he tried to appear as if the conversation was an easy one for him.

“Yes, I know, but−”

Riorden interrupted her. “Warkworth is just as strong, my love, and its walls will keep you well protected. True, ’tis not as large an estate as Berwyck, but ’twill meet our needs. If you desire to live elsewhere, I have a number of other holdings in England or France you may prefer.”

“Riorden, it’s not that,” she said, her voice shaking.

“Then what is it?” he asked.

Katherine took both of them by their hands and looked upon their handsome faces. Here were two similar men who were the embodiment of all knightly virtues and would do anything within their means to protect their families. Any woman would most likely sell her soul in order to have someone of such conviction in her life. The fact that one had fallen in love with her was still a miracle in her eyes, and she was still trying to come to grips with the whole time travel concept. But how could she tell them of the destruction to come?

She took a deep breath. “Emily would say I’m messing with history. Perhaps I am, but I don’t care. You have to know Dristan that, in my point in time, there is nothing left of Berwyck but a shell of the outer curtain wall. Everything is gone, right down to the very rocks of the keep’s foundation,” she said with a catch in her voice. “The place was completely ransacked for its stones over the years, in order to complete other foundations in the area.”

She watched all color drain from his face and turned her attention to Riorden. “The same almost holds true for Warkworth. The keep was barely habitable when I saw it, and the rest had fallen into utter disrepair. You can’t even begin to imagine how many millions of dollars or coin are necessary for the upkeep of medieval castles, especially those that haven’t fallen under the protection of some historical society.”

“I cannot believe it,” Riorden said quietly. “All of it gone?”

Katherine nodded. “When my friends and I were traveling, we stopped at both locations. I felt a sadness overcome me at Berwyck I didn’t comprehend. Although now I know, it had been your home. But Warkworth was to be mine in another place in time. It all makes sense now, and I can understand why I suddenly fell to the ground, when I saw the castle ruins. I could barely manage to make it back to the car.

“Maybe in some crazy distorted way and in the bigger scheme of things, I had already lived my life there with you. I assume it’s why I had such a strong reaction upon seeing a place I had thought I’d never seen before. I am sure, Riorden, we had filled the hall with our children, watched them grow, from year to year, and loved each other for all of our days. I am just as certain, Dristan, that you and your beautiful lady did the same.”

“Katherine, I−” Riorden interrupted while he raked his fingers through his hair.

She held up her hand. “Please. Let me finish this while I can. Neither of you can stop the hands of time that will claim the land, nor can you halt the centuries of war that will plague and ravage England. You may fight with swords and be masterful in your technique, but there are machines and equipment that are coming in the future that are horrifyingly effective in destroying all in their path. This may not happen within our lifetime, but it will come generations from now.”

“We will teach our children to fight,” Dristan said with his hand on the hilt of his sword.

Katherine looked upon them both with a grim expression. “A sword in your hand, no matter how well-trained you are, will not keep you, or them, alive, when the cannons and bombs explode and annihilate our homes. We must somehow prepare, not only ourselves, but our children, so in future generations from now, our people can look back and know we did all within our power to ensure our line and family heritage continued.”

“’Tis much to take in, Kat,” Riorden exclaimed, once more taking her hand and placing it in the crook of his elbow as they continued their walk.

“Yes, I know. Funny how time has a way of twisting people to its whim,” Katherine said, in a hushed tone, and continued when she saw Riorden’s questioning look. “It seems, I’ve become my own ancestor.”

He looked startled as this realization struck him as somehow ironic, and yet Katherine could only manage a weak smile.

“You have given me much to think on, Katherine, and for this I am most grateful,” Dristan proclaimed.

“Emily could most likely provide further details, my lord. She’s a history buff, and we should pick her brain−”

“What!” Riorden and Dristan bellowed. The horror on their faces reminded her of movies with people running for their lives while in the middle of a zombie invasion as the creatures foraged for food.

Katherine laughed. “Not physically, guys! It means to ask her our questions. We should talk with her before we leave for Bamburgh.”

Riorden halted, planted his feet apart, and crossed his arms on his chest. “You will remain here with Dristan, so I know you are safe.”

“No,” she said firmly.

“Aye, you shall,” he exclaimed, just as sternly.

It was now Dristan’s turn to laugh out loud. “A true battle of wills. This should prove most interesting.”

Katherine threw him a look that must have reminded him of one his wife had given him on numerous occasions, since he continued to bellow at her expense.

“This is no battle of wills, my Lord Dristan, for I won’t be left behind,” Katherine said, placing her hands on her hips. “Furthermore, there is no way in hell I’m going to stay here without ensuring my friends have returned to their own time period. I’m going, and that’s it.”