Love Lost in Time (Victorian Time-Travel) (6 page)

Through the shadows, she noticed a smile tugging on the corners of his mouth, and as he started talking, his voice relaxed her, slowly removing her worries.

“December 20
th
, 1848, was a lovely winter day; the day my brother married Lady Agnes.”

Andrew spoke like a true gentleman of the realm, like nobility ran through his blood, as if he had really been there. The tone of his voice hypnotized her
and put her back in time.

He described the room and what everyone wore. Halle couldn’t believe how detailed he was. Men were usually not that way. When he talked of his family, emotion clogged his throat, and she could feel how much he loved them. Most of all, he described the wedding perfectly—just as it had been back in those days, which were different than
the ceremonies now.

When he stopped, she wanted to hear more. It didn’t matter about what. His voice was so soothing. “Tell me, Andrew, what kind of meal was served?”

He took her hand and pulled her back to the bed where they both sat on the edge, facing each other. She stared into his dark eyes, not caring that he remained in the shadows. It was easier to believe he was twenty-nine years old this way.

When he mentioned rosemary shortcake and cucumber sandwiches, Halle’s heart soared. Men of her day didn’t know facts like this. Doubts of his story flew from her mind, and she couldn’t help but think of him as Lord
Andrew.

“Now I want you to tell me what kind of flowers your mother…um, the
duchess likes and their meanings.”

Chuckling, he rubbed her fingers. “These are easy questions, Halle. But if you insist.” He cleared his throat. “Yellow roses mean friendship and joy. Their bright sunny color gives one the feeling of happiness. White roses symbolize purity and innocence. Purple roses symbolize enchantment. Orange roses express desire and passion.” His voice deepened as he squeezed her hands. “And red roses have always been the symbol of love and romance. If one presents you with a red rose, it means they love you.”

“Wow.” Really, Halle couldn’t think of anything more to say at the moment. His knowledge truly impressed her. Guys of her time would definitely not know this.

“My mother,” he continued, “had a lovely flower garden. It was her pride and joy. When she was a little girl, her mother had a beautiful flower garden, but she and her family couldn’t afford to live there so they were kicked out and she lived with relatives. When she married my father, she decided then and there that she would always have a beautiful flower garden.” He was qui
et for a few moments before adding softly, “I don’t know why I told you that. My mother would not have wanted anyone to know that about her past.”

“Thank you for telling me anyway. What was her favorite flower?”

“She liked purple roses.”

“Why?”

“That was her favorite color.”

“That’s m
y favorite color, too,” she said softly. “Andrew? What is
your
favorite flower?”

A deep chuckle rumbled through his chest. “I must admit, I’m particular to the purple rose too, but not because it’s my favorite color…but because it’s my mother’s favorite flower.”

Her heart warmed from his confession. Not many men would say that.

Once again, the room grew silent. She didn’t know what
else to ask him. Still, it was hard for her to believe in time-travel, yet he was Lord Andrew in every way. She knew it with every fiber of her being. This incredible man
was
from the Victoria era. He continued stroking her arm. She didn’t flinch or pull away.

“What was it like back then?”

He chuckled. “I’m not quite sure I understand your question.”

“That’s okay, I’m not quite sure I know what to ask.”

“The people were far different back in 1848 than they are now, but problems were still the same. Every family had issues with their children. Every family had people who coveted their titles and lands. And most families had some kind of tragedy happen to them in their lifetime.”

Silence stretched between them for a few more moments before she asked in hushed tones, “One more thing. Tell me, my lord, what kind of life did you lead? Were you a rogue like rumors labeled you? Or were you the gentleman who I’ve come to know?”

Using his other hand, his fingers stroked her cheek. She struggled not to cuddle her face against his touch, but no matter her efforts, she leaned against his palm, not taking her focus from his shadowed eyes.

“Make no mistake, Halle, I was a rogue in my time. I was quite fond of charming women, and I had no wish to ma
rry. I did have a mistress—Lucy Dinsmore—and although I tried to keep her a secret, she had a loose tongue and told everyone that I would marry her. Needless to say, I ended our relationship quickly after that. I didn’t want to do anything to embarrass my family.”

“Then you made a wise choice by getting her out of your life.”

“You know, the night of my brother’s wedding, my father suggested it was time for me to start looking for a wife. I informed him that I was not interested.”

She chuckled. “That does sound like what a rogue would say.”

His thumb trailed to her bottom lip. “However, I want to think that if I had met someone like you, my thoughts would have changed.”

“Really? I’m not the type of woman you would have seduced and wanted to be your mistress?”

He leaned closer, which made her heartbeat take on a faster rhythm. Why was he pulling her into the fantasy she’d been thinking about lately?

“I would have most definitely wanted to charm you, my
sweet, but you are far different from the other women of my time. I didn’t meet very many who had a mind of their own. I didn’t know very many who spoke their thoughts as you do. Not many women were as selfless as you are.” He drew even closer until his lips hovered above hers. “I have never met any woman whose emotions shine from their eyes like yours do. Halle Chapman, you are beautiful inside and out, and somehow you have bewitched me.” He swallowed hard. “The problem is I don’t mind it at all.”

Oh, dear!
She was sunk. She couldn’t pull away now even if she wanted. He was the enchanter, not her, because she wanted him to kiss her more than ever. Closing the space between them, she leaned forward and placed her mouth over his. Her sigh blended with his, and he cupped the back of her head to hold her in place. Just as his lips began their seductive caress, the chirp from her cell phone caused her to jerk away.

“What the devil was that?” he exclaimed, breathless.

“My cell phone.” Blindly, she moved her hand over the bed stand, searching for it since the room was still dimmed, and because his kiss had put her mind in a fog. When she found it, she touched the screen before pressing it to her ear. “Hullo.”

“Hal, did I wake you? I’m sorry, but I didn’t think you’d be
in bed so soon.”

She groaned and glanced at the digital clock by the lamp. “Samantha, it’s nearly one in the morning.” She rubbed her forehead, feeling an ache beginning. How she wanted to tell her friend go
od-bye and return to kissing Andrew.

The bed shifted, and she swung to face him as he stood. He brushed his fingers against her cheek
and kissed her forehead, before stepping quietly out of the room. Her heart cried for him to come back, yet she knew his leaving was the best thing. She couldn’t become involved with him—whether he was twenty-nine or not. Especially not if he came from 1848.

“Samantha, I’m tired and I have a terrible headache. I’ll talk to you
in the morning, all right?”

“Are you okay? You’ve not been yourself since we found you outside in the rainstorm earlier, and I’m worried about you. Have you discovered anymore about your father? Is that why you’ve been so quiet?”

“I’m okay, and no, I haven’t found out anything about my father. In fact, my mind hasn’t been on him lately. I suppose I should start asking more questions of the staff here before we have to leave.” She stared at the door, knowing why her mind hadn’t been on her father. Andrew had walked out the door taking her mind—and her heart—with him.

“I hope you’re not getting sick.”

She sighed. “I’m not.”

“I worry about you.”

Halle smiled. “No need to. I’ll be fine.”

“Okay, go to sleep. I’ll talk to you in the morning.”

She chuckled. “Good night.”

“Sweet dreams.”

As Halle hung up the phone, she knew her dreams would definitely be sweet—confused as all get-out, but sweet.

Chapter Five

The next morning, Halle sat on her bed with all the letters her father had sent her this past year spread out on the patch-work quilt. She read back through the last letter he’d mailed. He’d been working right here at Buckland Manor. By the way he talked, he had been well-liked by his co-workers and even his boss. So why had the few people she talked to not known him—or even heard about him?

His disappearance was a great mystery to her. There was no indication of foul play, either. He’d never once mentioned having a woman friend or wanting to get married. And he’d given no hint to anything that might have made him want to leave Buckland Manor.

When her father’s letters had stopped coming, she called the manor only to be told there was no such person. Will Chapman just did not exist. That’s one of the main reasons she booked this trip. Of course being here was exciting in itself since she loved history. Still, she wanted to find her father. She wanted to ask him why he hadn’t stayed married to her mother…and why he never wanted to see Halle.

One of his letters mentioned his great, great,
great, grandfather who was born and raised in England. Ronald Chapman had quite the reputation. In her father’s letter, he told about Chapman being a thief—and was even arrested a few times before he married and sired a son. His family and friends labeled the man
Ruthless Ron.
Apparently, Ronald had become a man who couldn’t be trusted and he could never stay in one place for very long.

She scratched her neck. Did bad genes run in the family and that’s why her father hadn’t been able to stay in one place?

Yet, reading back through his letters now, she received the impression he had loved her mother all this time. Not once did he speak poorly of her, especially when Halle had told him about her mother’s drunkenness. Her father must have a kind heart. Still, it did not explain why he left them when she was just a toddler.

Halle picked up another one of his letters and glimpsed through it. Nothing—no hints to his whereabouts.

Another letter caught her eye, and she lifted it to examine the contents. In this letter, he described the yard, the beautiful landscape from the large tree to the last rose bush. Right away, her mind drifted to Andrew. She quirked her lips into a smile. Why did she feel lighthearted every time she thought of him? Nonetheless, she must put him out of her mind and concentrate on finding her father.

If only she knew what he
r parent looked like. One time, in her mother’s drunken muttering, she’d told Halle she resembled her father a lot. Growing up, Halle wanted to believe her father had big green eyes and light brown curly hair with a touch of gold. And, if he was anything like her, he was an adventurer and he loved learning about the past.

Halle sighed, and pushed off the bed. Before leaving her room, she checked her appearance in the mirror to see if she needed to fluff her hair again—or had any food stuck in her teeth since she’d been nibbling on strawberries this morning.

Satisfied, she left her room and walked down to the main floor lobby. A few more people were checking in, and good ole Nigel was there helping. A few times he seemed bewildered at something the guests said, but then quickly became his arrogant self and stuck his nose in the air.

What an idiot. She’d already asked him if he knew Will Chapman, and he rudely told her no
, then acted as if he had other important things to do. How she loathed men like him.

She walked to the dining area to see if her friends were there, but they weren’t. There was no reason to sit at one of the fancy round tables by herself, so she turned to leave. But an idea struck her, making her pause. No matter where a person worked in this place, or what his job duty, he would have to eat. In that case, one of the cooks would surely remember Will Chapman.

Quickly, she left the dining area and headed down the hall toward the kitchen. A few signs were posted stating:
Buckland Manor staff only
, but Halle ignored them, sneaking peeks over her shoulder to make sure none of the staff noticed or tried to stop her.

She reached the kitchen and peered through the small glass window on the door. Three women wearing matching white aprons and hairnets stood by the counter, busily washing dishes and cleaning up the breakfast mess as they chatted with each other. Halle thought they
appeared
friendly, so she prayed they really were.

Taking a deep breath, she pushed open the door and stepped just far enough into the room to be noticed. All three of the older women stared at her with wide eyes.

“Excuse me for interrupting,” Halle began, “but I need to ask all of you a question.”

“But Miss,” one of the ladies said, “you’re not supposed to be in here.”

“I know, and I’m sorry for trespassing, but it’s an urgent matter.”

The lady with the rounder body stepped away from the sink, drying her hands with a small towel. “Is something wrong with the food?”

“Oh, nothing like that.” Halle smiled politely. “I just need to know if you have worked with my father. He worked at the manor for about a year, and suddenly up and left a month ago. Nobody knows where he is.”

“What’s his name?” The shorter woman asked.

“Will Chapman.”

The three women exchanged blank glances, and then looked back at Halle before shaking their head
s. Despair washed through her once again. This was the same result she’d gotten so far. She heaved a deep breath, ready to give up and leave, then another thought struck her. “If the name doesn’t sound familiar to you, perhaps you have worked with a man who has hair color the same as mine and big green eyes?”

This time when the women exchanged glances, a spark of recognition lit their expressions. The woman who had yet to speak, moved to stand before Halle, her gaze combing over Halle in an unsettling way.

“I wouldn’t have thought it, but you do look a lot like Bill Stratford.”

The larger servant shuffled closer. “Myrtle, she really does, doesn’t she?”

The third lady joined her friends. They gawked at Halle as if she was on display for auction. She folded her arms. “So how long did this man work here?”

“Oh, a good year, I’m sure.”

“At least.” Myrtle nodded. “And he was the nicest man.”

“Such a charm
er, that one.” The short woman blushed. “He flirted a lot with that hoity-toity Miss Fridal.”

“In fact
, Nellie, did you hear that Miss Fridal found herself in the motherly way not long after Bill left?”

The other women gasped. Halle rolled her eyes. Even if this was her father, it wasn’t like he was still married to her mother. Halle was sure he had his own life by now.

“But I didn’t know he was married, or had a child for that matter,” Nellie said.

“My parents split when I was very little,” Halle said. “I have never met him. I thought I’d get to meet him during my stay here, but
he’s nowhere to be found now.” If Will Chapman was using a different name while he worked here, that would explain why nobody knew who he was. Yet, why would he use another name?

Once again, the three ladies passed glances amongst themselves. Myrtle scratched her head and held a faraway expression as if she was deep in thought.

“Actually,” the shorter woman said. “I recall him saying something about returning home.”

“Oh, yes. I remember now!” Myrtle cheered. “He did say he would be leaving.”

“Did he say where?” Halle probed.

Myrtle shook her head and frowned, then the other two followed suit.

“Well, if this Bill Stratford was my father, I wonder why he changed his name,” Halle whispered aloud.

“I wish we could help you, dearie. But Bill just up and left without even telling us good-bye.” The larger woman said with a wistful sigh.

“How long ago did he leave?” Halle wondered.

“About a month.”

Halle forced herself to smile. “Thank you for talking to me, anyway. At least you three knew a man who had worked here for a year, even if he had a different name.”

Feeling despondent, her shoulders drooped as she walked out of the kitchen
; her mind whirling in confusion. Could this Bill really have been her father? Will was short for William, but then Bill was also a shortened name for William. So where did Stratford come from?

With a sinking heart, she didn’t think she would find him now. Although the trip here hadn’t been wasted, she had still hoped to kill two birds with one stone, so-to-speak.

Perhaps she wasn’t supposed to find her father at all. Maybe if she knew the reasons he left her and her mother all those years ago, she would hate him for sure.

Not watching where she was going, she turned the corner, and ran into someone. Unbalanced, she tilted, but two strong arms grasped her arms to keep her from falling.

“Thank you—” Her thoughts stopped in her head and she gazed upon the familiar face. She smiled. “Andrew.”

“Good heavens, Halle. What are you doing back in this area? Did you not see the signs?” He pointed up the hallway.

“Yes, I saw them, but I ignored them.”

“Why?”

“Because I needed to ask more people about my father.”

“And… Did you get some answers?”

She frowned. “Yes and no. The cooks didn’t know a man named Will Chapman, but they said there had been a man who’d worked here for about a year who resembled me. His name was Bill Stratford.”

“Do you think Mr. Stratford is your father?”

“I wish I knew.” She sighed heavily. “Without knowing exactly what he looks like, it’s hard to know for sure.”

A tender smile graced his face as he stroked her cheek. “Why don’t you allow me to ask some questions for you? I’m quite certain I will gather more information because I work here.”

“Andrew, you are brilliant.”

He winked. “All right then. I will catch up to you later in the day and let you know what I have discovered.”

Halle grasped his hands and squeezed. “Thank you, Andrew. You don’t know how much that means to me.”

As she walked away, her heart felt lighter, and hope was in sight. Of course, she wondered if she felt this way because Andrew was helping her. Once again, thinking of that man made her smile.

* * * *

Andrew was kept
busy all afternoon, but that helped when asking his co-workers questions about Halle’s father. Nobody had heard of Will Chapman, yet there were a lot who knew Bill Stratford. Andrew couldn’t wait to find Halle and tell her what he had discovered.

But when he went to her room, she was gone. Andrew hurried to the main floor to see if she was there, but she wasn’t. He glanced over at the front desk. Nigel had been watching him and quickly lowered his gaze to the papers in front of him. Scratching his head, Andrew didn’t know why Nigel acted this way around him. Every time he’d tried to speak with the man, Nigel had always acted as if he were too good and turned away.

Nevertheless, Andrew needed some answers, and the word around the manor was that Nigel knew
everything.
Andrew took long strides to the front desk. As always, Nigel tried to pretend he wasn’t there.

“Nigel, have you seen Miss Chapman and her friends this morning?”

“Who?” Nigel asked in a gruff voice and turned his face toward the wall as if studying the announcement flyers hanging on the cork-board.

“You know Miss Chapman. She and her friend
s are from America.”

“Oh
her.
Not too long ago, I saw them leave in a cab. I believe I heard them talking about going into town.”

“
I thank you for the information, Nigel.”

Disheartened, Andrew kept busy, trying not to think of Halle. That woman had captured his heart in such a short time. Never had anything like this happened to him. He wondered if it had something to do with knowing how short life was—especially his at the moment. He didn’t know when he’d die, and he really didn’t want to die without knowing love. He wasn’t certain if he truly loved Halle, but she had definitely grabbed hold of his heart in some strange way.

He walked back outside and sat on the steel bench underneath his favorite tree. As always, being here made him feel closer to his family. Nothing made sense as to why he was brought here in this century, and he was tired of trying to figure it out.

Closing his eyes, he thought of his family. How he missed them. Yes, he even missed Edward. Andrew missed the relaxed life they had lived back in those days. In this century, everything was rushed. Nobody took time out for themselves. What an insane, busy world.

If Halle had lived in his century, would he have noticed her? Would he have found her lovely? Andrew wanted to believe he would have. She was a very beautiful woman. Very intelligent. And she had a fun personality. But back in his day, he didn’t find that kind of woman interesting. Instead, he had wanted them beautiful, yes, but very mild-mannered. And definitely the woman needed to easily fall at his feet when he charmed her.

A noise from the circular drive pulled Andrew from his thoughts. A cab pulled up in front of the manor and stopped. When the
driver opened the door and Halle exited, his heart knocked against his ribs in an unhealthy beat. Her friends also climbed out with arms full of shopping bags.