On the other days she had exercise classes with the girls, along with embroidery and archery. She wanted to do more, but she’d been terribly sick and could barely get out of bed…in the morning.

  If the first month of her pregnancy was any indication of how things were going to be, she was in very big trouble. The worst part of it all was that Nicholas was ecstatic while she was miserable. Thankfully, just when it began to get on her nerves, the sickness subsided.

  Kes was too busy being swept away by her friends to notice Mr. Simeon pop into the crowd. He found Nicholas first and then her and pulled them both away.

  “They found Elia,” he told them. “After more tweaks to the brooch, Sir Gawaine was finally able to find her and get her to Manhattan, twenty nineteen.”

  Kes threw her hands to her mouth and rested against Nicholas when he put his arm around her. “What good news! After losing her for so long, it’s quite a relief!”

  “Have you spoken to her?” Nicholas asked. “Is she well?”

  “Yes. I spoke with her,” Mr. Simeon told him. “She is as well as can be expected after surviving in ten eighty-seven for the last month.”

  Nicholas groaned. Kes gasped. “Ten eighty-seven!” Kes couldn’t imagine the shock of going from the eleventh century to the twenty-first. “Oh, poor Elia.” Kes cried.

  “She’s a strong woman,” Mr. Simeon reminded them both. “She told me she met an ancestor of hers called Matilda of Normandy.” His eyes danced with awe. “Ever hear of her?”

  Kes’ mouth fell open. “William’s wife?”

  He nodded and then threw up his hands. “I don’t think the brooch is that broken after all. Where it takes people is no coincidence.”

  Nicholas only cared that Elia was well and being taken care of. “Sell anything you must to get her coin.”

  Mr. Simeon nodded. “She needs clothes—”

  “Whatever she needs.”

  “You will give her our letter?” Kes asked, putting her hand on his arm.

  “Yes, my dear, I will take her your letter. Now remember, there is no guarantee it will be allowed through. I will only know once I get there.”

  “I understand.” She smiled at him, so thankful for him. Through him she hoped she could stay in contact with Elia and with her father.

  “I helped her find your father’s apartment building. Mr. Lancaster is in Egypt for the next month according to his doorman, Carlo. Elia gave him the code and he let her in.” He cast them a furtive smile. “She claimed to be his girlfriend.”

  Kes closed her eyes, thanking God it had worked and their dearest friend had a place to live at least for the next month. Egypt. It was his favorite place to go. She knew he was there mourning her. Soon, Dad. Soon, I’ll be talking to you again.

  King Henry called to them to follow him to the head table.

  He’d arrived a week ago, understandably more eager to see Lizzie than he was to see them. Elizabeth had been staying with them through the harvest for all the festivals. She stayed in Richard’s old house and redecorated it as her own.

  They turned to head for the table and Mr. Simeon whispered, “You look lovely in that dress.”

  She smiled up at him as they walked. “What did you ever give Queen Berengaria in exchange for it?”

  He clasped his hands behind his back and grinned. “A snow globe.”

  She stopped and blinked at him. “You gave the queen a snow globe for this dress?”

  “I most certainly did. I left it on the table by her bed and watched in secret when she picked it up. She shook it. Snow and glitter dazzled her eyes as it fell all around a tiny hamlet. She held it in her hands all night long, Kes. Think of how magical it must have appeared to her fourteenth century eyes.”

  “Yes, I suppose you’re right,” Kes let him know with a pat on his arm.

  “Can you stay for the celebration?” she asked the time traveler. But he couldn’t stay anyplace too long. It was part of the curse.

  “I heard the brooch was sent out again. And back to the twenty-first century, no less. To a New York City detective, whom if I hear correctly—and I usually do—is at his wits’ end with life and uses whiskey to get through his day. I want to follow him and see where it leads him.”

  “Oh,” Kes gasped a little. “Will you come and tell me about it?”

  “Of course.” He grinned at her. “If your husband doesn’t mind.”

  When they reached the table, he excused himself and disappeared into the crowd. Kes reached for Nicholas’ hand and sat at the head of the table. She looked out at all her friends enjoying the celebration. She was glad she didn’t go back to the future, glad she wasn’t lost for a month somewhere in time and sorry that her friend had gone through it. She was glad she was having Nicholas’ baby, even if there wasn’t much for the pain. She would endure it and give him children.

  She had no idea why the brooch sent her here or if it was just a mistake, but she didn’t believe that it was. Nicholas was too perfect.

  He leaned in to speak close to her ear. “How do you feel, my love?”

  “Fine,” she told him with a smile.

  A baby. She wished her father were here to see it, but she would write to him and tell him all about it. She wished Elia were here to see and to be with her but, hopefully, she would be with her father in the future and finally get to live her own life. Kes would write to her, too. The less people who knew of this the better, so she had to let Kim and Jack, Lilith and Constantine go.

  She wiped a tear from her cheek and let Nicholas put her other hand in his while he spoke to the king.

  Oh, what she gained. Did he sense her sadness without even looking at her? When he wasn’t smiling, he was menacing to behold. But, as so many of the people of Scarborough, especially his men, had told her, because of her, he smiled often. Could she truly make a man so happy? She had done nothing differently than she would have in the twenty-first century, except react to his kindness, thoughtfulness, and valor. Traits she couldn’t find all in one man, at least not the ones she and her friends had dated.

  And then by some act of God, or crazy twist of fate, she was sent back here. To him. She loved Nicholas, therefore it was easy to make him happy.

  She waved at Claire and Hilde as they made their way to the table.

  “Did you see all the food that has been prepared?” Claire asked and then gasped at her own question. “Cook is dumbfounded! There is pheasant and, oh, all sorts of fowl! Tarts and puddings and pastries—”

  “This will all go straight to my hips,” Hilde cried out and patted them.

  “We will work it off in class tomorrow,” Kes told her. “Enjoy today. When we will eat like this again?”

  “And we did not have to lift a finger!” Caitlyn reminded her.

  “All thanks to Kes!” Claire exclaimed.

  “Aye! Thank you, Kes,” the other girls added.

  None of them knew she came from a time when people who did what they did were paid wages and had rights just like anyone else. Kes didn’t consider Claire or Cook or any of them as lower than she. She didn’t care that the king and future queen sat to her right and the castle’s head laundress and a handmaiden sat to her left. It was her and Nicholas’ celebration and everyone was where she wanted them.

  His hand disappeared under the table. He rested it on her thigh. It seemed that touching her drew his attention away from King Henry and onto her. His lashes shadowed his deep silver eyes as his gaze rose to hers.

  “I do not know how much longer I can stand to be away from you,” he leaned in and said against her cheekbone.

  She knew he meant something more intimate with her. She loved that his desire for her was insatiable. She loved that she drove him mad. He drove her just as mad.

  She turned her lips toward his ear. “I can’t wait to be in bed with you.”

  “With me pulling on your hair and playing with you in my mouth,” he added on a low growl as he went for her neck.

  Her thoughts were assaulted with images of them sweaty and coiled in each other’s arms.

  She remembered where she was and opened her eyes. She coughed into her hand and looked at him—too embarrassed to look at anyone else.

  He was no help, smiling at her, liking her reaction to him.

  She wanted to pinch him, but any kind of contact could spark their passion.

  This was no mistake. This was perfect.

  “Scarborough,” said the king. “You barely heard me!”

  “Forgive me, Sire. What were you saying?”

  Henry laughed. Kes knew Henry understood what they were going through. The king could barely keep his eyes off Lizzie. History showed that he was a devoted husband and one of the few kings who never had a mistress.

  “I’m going to repeal the Titulus Regius that declares Edward’s marriage to Elizabeth Woodville invalid and thereby legitimize my wife.”

  Nicholas didn’t smile. “What if the princes are found? They will be legitimized as well. Are you willing to give up the throne?”

  Henry laughed and clapped him on the back. “We will worry about that if the time ever comes. Oui?”

  Nicholas stiffened and turned to look at her. His gaze said everything. He was going to worry about it now.

  She knew what his concerns were. There were a handful of historians willing to come out and say that Henry wouldn’t have taken the chance of legitimizing the heirs if he wasn’t sure the boys were gone. And there was only one way to be sure.

  She sighed. Ah, well, nothing perfect lasted forever. She smiled to herself. That wasn’t true. Love was perfect and it lasted forever. It echoed through time and called to hearts that were lost.

  Was one of those hearts Arthur Pendragon’s? And how many others would it bring together before it found its owner?

  She might not ever know. It didn’t matter. She had a husband to see to and a king to watch more closely.

  “Come, my darling,” she cooed on their way to the castle when the celebration was over. She held his strong arm and slipped her free hand to his temple and down his jaw. “Let me see to you.” She leaned up to kiss his neck.

  He smiled into her hand, forgetting everything else as she ran her palm over his mouth, and then picked her up and carried her to their room.

  “Do not worry, love,” he said. “I do not plan to live in the past with the princes…or the future, but in the present. With you. Here and now. And not waste a single day.”

  She stared into his eyes and smiled as he shut the door to their chambers and bolted it.

  October 13, 2019

  Dear Daddy,

  I know how this is going to sound, but it’s me, Kes. I’m not dead and I wasn’t kidnapped. I was transported back in time to the fifteenth century. I don’t know why really, except it has something to do with a brooch belonging to Arthur Pendragon. A brooch that brings us to our true love. I will let Elia tell you about Nicholas, my husband, since she raised him and knows him best. Hear what she has to say, Daddy. I think she has a little crush on you.

  There is so much I want to tell you. I don’t know where to start. The Round Table knights are real. So is King Arthur. We supposedly have Pendridge, or Pendragon blood. I know how farfetched this all sounds, believe me. But it’s all true. I met Sir Gawaine and Lucan! And oh, Dad, Mr. Simeon is a time traveler. He trades with a merchant here and fills his house with ancient artifacts. The things I’ve seen and catalogued!

  Of course I miss you terribly. There isn’t a day that goes by when you are not on my mind. That’s why I sent you Elia. She’s wonderful. I think you’re going to love her.

  I wish you could be here with us as we welcome…

  Charles Arthur Lancaster finished reading the letter from his daughter. So, this all had to do with the brooch and his daughter finding true love. He could see her if he wanted to. After all, it was his spell, his brooch, but he’d have to give up his position, his freedom. Maybe one day.

  Not yet. He looked over his glasses at the woman from the fifteenth century sitting in his library. Elia she said her name was.

  “So Elia, tell me about my son-in-law. Does he practice courtly ways?”

  End

  About the Author

  Paula Quinn is a New York Times bestselling author and a sappy romantic moved by music, beautiful words, and the sight of a really nice pen. She lives in New York with her three beautiful children, six over-protective chihuahuas, and three adorable parrots. She loves to read romance and science fiction and has been writing since she was eleven. She’s a faithful believer in God and thanks Him daily for all the blessings in her life. She loves all things medieval, but it is her love for Scotland that pulls at her heartstrings.

  To date, four of her books have garnered Starred reviews from Publishers Weekly. She has been nominated as Historical Storyteller of the Year by RT Book Reviews, and all the books in her MacGregor and Children of the Mist series have received Top Picks from RT Book Reviews. Her work has also been honored as Amazons Best of the Year in Romance, and in 2008 she won the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence for Historical Romance.

  Website:

  pa0854.wixsite.com/paulaquinn

 

 

  Quinn, Paula, Echo of Roses

 

 

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