Tapestries 04 - Threads of Destiny (20 page)

Marc was hers.

She shook her head to try to get that thought out of her brain. She had to go home.

There was no place for her here. A sharp pain bit into her stomach and she rubbed it absently.

“I’m sorry.” Christina’s voice was softer, her tone apologetic instead of accusatory.

“I didn’t mean to make your stomach act up.”

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“It’s not your fault. It’s been like this for a while now.” For some reason, she didn’t want Christina feeling bad. In spite of it all, she liked the other woman, who was kind by nature.

Mara spoke up. “Come along. We can stop in the kitchen. I can make you a tea that will help settle your stomach.

Trotting behind, she followed Mara down to the kitchen where she quickly steeped some herbs in hot water, creating a tea. Wooden mug in hand, Kathryn sipped the tasty brew as Mara and Christina took her on a tour of the castle and its grounds, introducing her to everyone who crossed their path.

*

Marc hurried down the stairs, strapping on his sword belt as he went. He knew that Kathryn had eaten and was long gone as he made his way down to the great hall. His conversation with Tienan and Logan had taken longer than he’d anticipated. They’d had many questions they’d wanted answered and he’d found that he had many questions of his own, not only about their lives on Earth but Kathryn’s life as well.

Both men had refused to tell him more than the basics, informing him that it was up to Kathryn to tell him the rest if she so chose. What they had told him was enough for him to know that her entire life had been a living hell.

He rubbed his sternum as he hurried across the hallway toward the kitchen. He planned to have a bite to eat and then go for a long ride. One of the servants had informed him that Kathryn, Christina and Mara were touring the grounds. As much as he wanted to be with her, he was glad she was talking with the other women and exploring his home. Maybe that would influence her decision to stay. Or maybe it wouldn’t. Only time would tell and that was quickly slipping away.

His heart ached for the child she’d been—one whose father had pushed and berated her, always letting her know that she wasn’t good enough. Tienan and Logan had known her for years but they’d known about her long before they’d met her. Seems that her father had liked to talk about her in front of others. According to both men, that had made most of the staff at work dislike her before they’d even met her.

Tienan, in his quiet, thoughtful way, had said that he’d known she’d had a kind heart from the beginning. It was obvious in the way she interacted with people.

Kathryn had only become aloof after she’d been rebuffed and ignored by her coworkers. Once she’d started working with he and Logan, she’d soaked up the positive attention they’d given her.

“They were too stupid to appreciate what a treasure they had.” Logan’s angry words still rang in Marc’s ears.

Well, he wasn’t stupid by any means and he knew what a treasure Kathryn was.

They all did. And they all agreed on one thing.

Kathryn must be kept safe at any cost.

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Striding through the kitchen, he grabbed an apple, a hunk of bread and some cheese, eating most of it as he continued on to the stables. His horse, Destiny, was waiting impatiently in his stall, stamping his hooves on the straw-covered ground. “I know you didn’t get a run yesterday.” He offered the apple to the enormous warhorse as he ran his hand down the animal’s side. “I’m going to miss you, boy.” Destiny stamped once again and shook his head but he sidled closer and took the apple from Marc’s palm.

“Going for a ride?”

Marc gave the horse a final pat before turning to face his brother. “I need to clear my head.”

“Is there anything I can do?” Jarek stood, hands on his hips, looking as strong and formidable as ever. But Marc could see the concern in his brother’s eyes.

“No. There is nothing. Kathryn will make her decision when the tapestry arrives.”

“You think she is going back to her own time.”

“Yes.” Marc grabbed a blanket and threw it over the horse’s back. “Especially after what transpired yesterday.”

“Those damn idiots,” Jarek began but he broke off and began pacing. “I sent the rest of them packing at daybreak.”

“I figured that most of them would go but I expected to be facing the Dannon brothers at least and perhaps the Hunters.”

“Abrah came to me and told me that he’d thought about what Kathryn had said and she was right. The tapestry brought the bride to wherever she was supposed to be.

Plus, the way she looked at you, it was obvious to all except maybe a few blind fools that she would have no other.”

Marc was surprised but pleased. “That is good. I didn’t want any more blood shed over this. Kathryn would never stay if that came to pass.”

“He also hinted that he wouldn’t be averse to the idea of Kathryn getting the tapestry to work its magic again.”

Marc laughed, shaking his head. That sounded like Abrah.

Jarek stopped pacing and turned on his heel to face Marc. “That is the conclusion that most of us drew. She is important and not just to us. She has skills. We all saw what she did for Tienan. The woman is a healer, plus she has untapped magical powers as well.”

“She’ll deny the magical powers.” From everything Tienan had told him, Kathryn was a woman who believed in what she could see and prove. He grabbed his saddle and tossed it onto Destiny’s back, tightening the strap around the horse’s belly.

“Denied or not, they exist. Many of the men, besides Abrah, are hoping that she can somehow make the tapestry appear again, bringing another potential bride, perhaps two.”

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“She will not stay,” Marc blurted. He finished saddling the horse and faced his brother. “And I am going with her if the tapestry will take me.” All the color drained from Jarek’s face and he swayed. “No.” Reaching out, he grabbed Marc by the shoulders and shook him. “No. I forbid it.” Marc laughed but there was no humor in it. “You cannot forbid me.” He felt no anger at his brother, knew his reaction came from a place of love. “She is my life.

Without her I am dead.”

Jarek jerked him into a rough embrace. “How will I survive without you by my side?”

“You have Christina and the children.” Marc swallowed the thick lump in his throat. “I will have nothing if I let her go.”

Jarek released him and turned away. He tipped back his head, shutting his eyes tight. Marc watched as his brother composed himself. When he turned back, there was only the slightest sheen in his eyes but his face looked older and more haggard than it had only moments before. “So be it.” Striding to another stall, he began to saddle his own horse.

“Where are you going?” Marc gathered Destiny’s bridle and led him from his stall.

“With you.” He quickly readied his mount. “If you are determined to go, I would share this one last ride with you, my brother.” Marc nodded and swiped his face against his shoulder, unashamed of his tears.

“One final ride.” Swinging up on his horse’s back, he waited until Jarek had done the same. Side by side, they rode from the stables, through the courtyard and out the castle gates.

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Kathryn meandered toward the stables, her thoughts filled with all she’d seen this morning. The sun was high in the sky and her stomach was informing her that it would soon be time for lunch. The air was clean and unlike anything she’d ever experienced back home where it was stale and sterile at best. Here the rich smell of earth and grass filled her nostrils. The only sounds she heard were of people laughing and talking as they worked and animals going about the business of living. It was incredibly peaceful and, in some ways, healing.

The castle was incredible. It was more like a mini city where Jarek was CEO and Marc the VP of operations. She snickered. That meant that Christina and Mara were the trusty executive assistants who actually ran everything, all the while letting the men think that they were in control.

They were incredibly self-sufficient here. They grew their own herbs and vegetables, as well as harvesting wild mushrooms, greens and berries. They raised cattle, pigs, sheep and goats for meat and milk, as well as for their hides. The women produced vast amounts of cloth for clothing, spinning and weaving it all in their homes.

The men were all warriors but they were also farmers. There were two blacksmiths and a barrel maker, along with several carpenters and masons. The list went on and on.

Anything that needed doing, there was someone skilled who could do it.

The blacksmith, who was actually Mara’s brother, had wanted to talk to her about her tweezers. He was trying to make something similar but slightly larger so that Mara would have a pair to use in her healing duties. She’d found herself sketching designs in the dirt for several medical instruments. A gruff man by the name of Dumphries, he had been intrigued and excited by the challenge of creating them, especially when she promised him that he could have her tweezers.

She’d met quite a few people today, including Mara’s family, which consisted of her husband, their four children and her husband’s brother. At first, everyone they’d come across had been reticent but they’d quickly warmed up to her, chatting and inviting her to view whatever they were working on or asking her into their homes. Christina and Mara were a great source of information. What those two women didn’t know about the people and workings of the castle wasn’t worth knowing.

And Mara. Kathryn was in awe of the other woman’s knowledge of plants and their medicinal properties. She’d studied botany but Mara knew things that you couldn’t find in books. She had a feeling she could talk to the older woman for years and still not learn a fraction of what the she could teach her.

Christina was skilled at spinning and weaving and had learned to cook since she’d come to Castle Garen as a bride. It was obvious that everyone there adored her. That 109

was another reason that Kathryn couldn’t stay. It would be awkward with the two of them here, wouldn’t it?

Yet, Christina had hinted more than once that it would be nice to be able to talk with another woman who understood what she’d gone through and where she’d come from. Jane visited but it wasn’t as often as either of them would like.

Kathryn had told her what had become of Earth. Christina had been shocked but not overly surprised by many of the changes. It had been easy to talk to both Mara and Christina and she’d enjoyed herself in spite of the fact that she knew she was leaving.

As beautiful as the castle was, as much as she liked the people she’d met and as much as Marc held her heart, her place wasn’t here. This was a place of magic. She was a woman of science. Plus, there was the fact that someone had to stop her father and General Caruthers in their mad bid to control the world and destroy those outside the Gate. Earth needed changes if all its people were to survive.

She’d left her companions in the kitchen and gone in search of Marc. Jarek had met her just inside the main entrance. He seemed older than he had yesterday, the lines on his face deeper. Concerned, she’d asked him if he was okay.

He’d stared at her as if trying to see inside her, to read her very thoughts and examine her soul. It hadn’t been a pleasant experience. Then he’d shaken his head and offered her a smile, telling her all was well. She didn’t believe him but she hadn’t called him on it either. He’d told her that Marc was still down at the stables and then left her standing there.

His mood had left her unsettled but she shook it off as she slipped past the stable door. It was darker in here and it took a moment for her eyes to adjust. The smells were more pungent here, more earthy. The scent of horses, leather and hay permeated the very walls of the place. It wasn’t an unpleasant smell, merely different from anything she’d ever experienced. She’d only seen horses in books until she’d come here and she longed to actually touch one.

She crept down the long aisle and found Marc in a large stall, brushing a gigantic black horse. His large sword was leaning against the wall of the stall, allowing him more freedom of movement around the animal.

Leaning against the door, she watched him, once again taken by the broad strength of his shoulders and arms and the gentleness of his touch as he groomed the animal.

The rhythmic motion of the brush was hypnotic. She could almost feel the touch as if it were her body he stroked.

Her breasts grew heavy and her nipples puckered. This was crazy. After last night, she figured she’d be sated for weeks to come. But the simple sight of Marc brushing the silky hide of his horse had all her hormones on alert. Her skin felt sensitized and the slight breeze coming in through the door ruffled her hair and made her tingle all over.

Between her thighs, she could feel the folds of her sex growing thick and damp.

A soft sigh escaped her lips and Marc whirled around to face her, sword in hand.

He’d moved so quickly, she hadn’t even seen him draw his weapon. He held the heavy 110

blade in front of her, both of them frozen in time. Then Marc cursed and sheathed his weapon, propping it back against the wall within easy reach. “I was lost in thought and did not hear you. I feared that maybe one of our guests had returned to challenge for you.”

“Is that likely?” Christina had told her that the challenge was over, that all the single men had accepted the fact that the tapestry had brought her to Castle Garen.

“No.” He turned back to the large beast and resumed grooming him. Marc seemed to be in an unusual mood. Or maybe it was a normal one. She didn’t really know him well enough to say. In spite of that fact, she could sense that he was tense and out of sorts and she felt certain that wasn’t usual for him. Not quite sure what to say or how to handle things, she decided to ignore it for now. If he wanted to tell her what was on his mind, he would.

The horse whinnied and stamped its large hooves. The long tail swished to one side and it turned its head and pinned her with dark, liquid eyes. She’d never seen anything quite like it in her life.

Kathryn sidled over closer, wanting to get a better look at the horse. Up close, it was huge. Much larger than she’d expected. She reached out her hand and then pulled it back. What if it didn’t like her? What if it decided to bite her? She eyed the animal’s rather large face and jaw. There had to be a lot of teeth in there.