Chapter 4

I thought of Duncan. I was actually going to meet him... or the him he was... is... The situation was complicated, even for me.

Duncan. I wondered what he was doing in the future. Was he searching for me? Had he even noticed I was gone? One of the things I learned from Isabelle was that there is no such thing as linear time. Man fabricated it to support the reality he chose to experience when he was placed on the planet. Many creatures other than men -such as vampires- are aware of this to some extent and can, in many ways, bend time. This meant that, if a person knew the way to break the barriers that split the illusion of time into linear sectors, it was possible to go back and forth with only a matter of seconds being realized by those you left behind. Therefore, even though my reality was experiencing weeks of my absence from the twenty first century, those I left behind only experienced a few minutes of time; a day or two at the most. If my calculations were correct, I would be in the future with a human Duncan at my side before anyone noticed I’d left.

I’d questioned both Isabelle and Duncan on why, if a vampire was able to manipulate time, Duncan simply didn't return and change the outcome of his encounter with the vampire that attacked him. Or, better yet, change his day so the encounter never occurred.

“Because, my dear Jane,” Isabelle patiently replied, “Duncan is not magical and that is the time in which he was born. If he returned, he would have no knowledge of what is to occur in the future. He would simply fall into life and play it out all over again.”

“Is that why you can’t return with me?” I asked.

“Not exactly,” she replied, “That is also my era. I was actually born but a few years prior to Duncan's encounter with the vampire. Unfortunately, my magic would disappear if I returned fully back to my true time of birth. I would retain the knowledge and wisdom, but not the ability. Duncan was a vampire for several decades before I reached magical maturity. This is also why my cells wouldn’t be able to retain the magic that keeps me alive. I didn’t even know what magic was then.”

“What about me? I wasn’t even born then. What happens to my magic if I go back in time?” I asked with concern. I’d only just started to tap into the edges of what I knew I was capable of doing with magic. I had no desire to have those skills stripped from me.

“Nothing will happen to you because it was not your time of birth,” she explained. “If I chose to go back to Roman times, I would be fine because it was not my time of birth. It must be your time of birth in the body you presently occupy for this to occur. Otherwise, you will remain the same. This...today... is your true era. Because of this, you will retain the knowledge of all time recorded up until this moment. You are the only one who can return to assist our dear Duncan... The only one.”

“If this is true, then I don't understand why there would be a risk for me to go back,” I stated.

“The risk is that you could get stuck, my love,” Duncan said. “What would happen if you were not successful in meeting me and swaying my future? What if your journey drew too heavily on Isabelle’s magic and she perished? What if I was still turned vampire after all your efforts and something happened to prevent you reaching the portal in time to return to me? These are all possibilities and risks I am not willing to take.”

“Okay. For argument's sake,” I said, firmly, as I looked directly at Isabelle, “let's say I didn't pull on your magic and you lived,” then, I turned to Duncan and continued, “and I succeed in preventing you from becoming a vampire, but I didn’t make it to the portal on time and got stuck.” I looked back at Isabelle, “Couldn’t you just work your magic and keep me alive?”

Isabelle shook her head slowly.

“If it were only so easy, my child. Sadly, I could not,” she said, softly.

“Why?” I demanded.

“I cannot keep someone alive who is yet to be born for an extended period of time,” she sighed, “You will be on borrowed time provided by magic when you enter the past. If you do not make it to the portal when it is time, you will cease to exist shortly thereafter. Everything I have learned tells me such.”

“There’s no way for me to stay alive?” I asked with concern. I wanted to help Duncan with all my heart, but the information being shared with me was chipping at my confidence.

“You could become a vampire,” Duncan said with a sarcastic chuckle.

Although I barely comprehended the complexity of it all, and my confidence was waivered just a smidgeon, I was still determined to give it a try. I had to try; for Duncan’s sake, if not my own. His sadness could be overwhelming for an empath.

My musings were brought to an abrupt halt at the sound of trotting horses on the inn’s cobblestone drive. I dropped the sheet I’d been washing back into the water and rushed to the side of the building to get a look at the new arrivals.

I saw eight horses. All were average size and various shades of brown, except for one. It not only stood out from the rest with its muscular mass and its dapple grey coloring, but its saddle and bridle indicated its rider was of position and power.

Duncan!

I looked at the man astride the majestic beast and my heart fell to my knees in disappointment. It was not my Duncan. That man leading this small group of men was definitely related to Duncan, but much older. If memory served me, the wheat colored locks, high ruddy cheekbones, and broad shoulders of the man I was looking at was Duncan’s father. He truly did resemble the small portrait Duncan showed me during one of our intense conversations where we exposed our most secret selves to each other.

Just as I leaned with my cheek against the cold stone building and fought the mounting disappointment while my mind raced to figure out what I’d do next, he spotted me. Out of all the servants and hustle and bustle that was happening, he somehow singled me out of the crowd and locked eyes with me.

My heart threatened to pound its imprint in my throat as waves of energy permeated the air from him to me. I dug into the recesses of my memory, but I couldn’t recall Duncan ever mentioning his father being supernatural or gifted. Clearly, he was something other than your ordinary human being. What was even clearer was the fact that he realized I was as well.

This was a disaster.

I raced to the back of the inn and didn’t stop until I’d reached the milk house. Planting myself inside the recesses of its dark, cool walls, I molded my body with the rough stone while I caught my breath and tried to think. What if he mentioned me to Mildred?

I regretted assuming that Duncan’s life was a normal one prior to his vampire encounter. Obviously, I was wrong. I longed to be able to sit down with my vampire lover and ask him just exactly what type of dysfunctional upbringing he experienced, but, of course, that wasn’t going to happen. I would have to work through this on my own.

I needed to observe Lord Colliers a little more closely before I could work out my next plan of action. This meant keeping out of his sight while he was in residence.

That was not such an easy thing to accomplish. It seemed at every turn there was a chore for me to do that caused me to be in the vicinity of the Earl of Winterspring. I started to wonder if he planned it that way in an effort to get me alone. Why he didn’t just ask for me to be sent to him, I didn’t know. A man of that stature surely could have done so without question. I was just glad he didn’t. Perhaps it was the cloaking spell I’d attempted out of sheer desperation. It hadn’t hidden me from him like I’d hoped, but it at least kept him at bay to some degree.

I managed to tuck myself away in my favorite observation spot so I could observe the earl and his guests at dinner. If I hadn’t had that experience with him upon his arrival I would have never guessed the man wasn’t a normal earl dining with his guests.

I was almost noticed by him when Sally unexpectedly slid in behind me and startled me by whispering harshly in my ear that Mildred was looking for me. I covered my mouth in dismay at my sloppiness while I plastered my body as far into the shadows as I could to avoid his inquisitive stare. His eyes were the same striking sea foam blue as Duncan’s, but there was something different about them. Even though Duncan had lived for hundreds of years and seen who knows what during that time frame, his father possessed the eyes that showed they’d seen more than one should ever see in a life time. There was also another major difference between the eyes of father and son. Duncan’s eyes were kind, with a hint of sadness tucked in; while the earl’s eyes portrayed a mistrust and hardness. From the way his guest swooned and interacted with him, I’m not sure they detected that trait in him, but I sure did. I was hard pressed to stay put and not flee as he looked in my direction. Fortunately, wisdom overcame urge and I was able to stay statue-like in the shadows and avoid his visual detection; even if he inherently knew that I was there.

When I was sure the earl’s attention was called elsewhere, I slithered out of my hiding place and sought out Mildred. It was abnormal to be needed at this time of the day, but, since the earl’s arrival, nothing had been normal. I caught up with Mildred at the stable. She was in the middle of scolding the stable boy about wasting precious hay for bedding. I stood back and waited while she directed him in a more economical method before I cleared my throat to make my presence known.

Mildred turned to me and scowled.

“Where have ya been, gal?” she asked briskly. “Do ya think I have all day to lag around waiting on your precious person to see fit to grace me?”

“Mum, you search for me?” I timidly replied.

I was still wary and uncomfortable about speaking to and interacting with these people. The least little slip up could change the outcome of my mission. The less I spoke, the better.

Mildred looked me up and down before puffing an enormous amount of wind past her thin lips.

“Your presence has been requested by himself,” she said with a pout. “Ya have made an impression; although ‘tis jargogle how ya managed; what with all the chores ya are supposed to be keeping up with!”

“Truly, I know not,” I replied with horror.

This was a disaster! How was I supposed to present myself to the earl as a member of gentry if I was to play servant girl to him at the inn? Mildred stared at me with piercing eyes so long and hard that I was tempted to run away and not look back. If I could get somewhere safe and lay low for a bit, I’d be able to contrive some type of strategy. Clearly this one wasn’t working.

“I ne’r took ya for the kind of miss to be giving away your favors,” Mildred sarcastically drawled.

“I… I… no,” I gasped in horror, “no, I ne’r!”

“Well, if ya ain’t giving away any favors, and ya have been doing chores, such as ya tell me, then what is the reason? Why does his lordship call for ya?” Mildred demanded as she rested her hands on her broad hips.

“I know not,” I replied quickly. I tried to think. “We exchanged looks when first he arrived,” I said -more to myself than to Mildred.

“They were some looks!” she exclaimed.

I shrugged my shoulders in reply. What was there to say? It was times like this that I really missed the twenty-first century. Getting used to the way they did things proved more daunting that I’d expected or been prepared for.

First and foremost, the hygiene was atrocious. I’d gained a new respect for cologne.

Not only were the clothes hot, scratchy, and cumbersome, but they made my five foot-four inch, one hundred and ten-pound body look short and fat! Food was yet another anomaly. The stuff they tossed my way was bland, tough, and just plain unappealing. If the type of treatment I got was what a noble orphan from a foreign country received, I was just grateful I hadn’t posed as a peasant girl in need of a livelihood.

“I know not the reason he summons and I desire not to know,” I said stiffly. “I await word from my family to soon be homeward bound. I cannot imagine why this ludibrious situation is placed on me while I toil for my keep in anticipation.”

I knew I was treading on tender ground, but I wanted to get the focus off the earl and this was the only way I could think of doing it at the time. I braced myself for her reaction.

“Ludibrious ya say? Well, well, excuse me your majesty for inconveniencing your ungrateful ass. I was remiss in misplacing the silver plate the world placed before ya on,” Mildred practically hissed. “I could have just let ya sit on the roadside waiting for this high flouting family that is taking its sweet happy time in rescuing your pampered ass.”

“They take longer than expected,” I said with a sigh, while ignoring her crass remarks. “Uncle travels and perhaps ‘tis harder to track him down than I anticipated.”

I hoped my lie sounded plausible. I knew I was really pushing things by staying. It was time to move on to phase two of my mission. The problem was that I still hadn’t come up with a plan for phase two. I needed time alone to think.