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Chapter 9
It was almost noon before we ceased making plans for our return to the past. Lance was far more understanding about my desire to maintain a good relationship and reputation with my clients than Nora had been. So much so that he offered to wait for us to return to the past until I’d solved the case. When Anton entered the room and explained to him the entirety of Jason’s evil doings, he quickly changed his mind.
“You beat me to telling him,” I said with a nervous chuckle once he and Anton finished their conversation.
It was the truth. I’d intended on informing Lance of Jason’s nasty doings myself. In fact, I was just formulating my explanation as to why we needed to go back right away and I’d have Killian act in my stead where Amy Whitehouse was concerned when my cousin of old entered the room.
I don’t mind saying that I was filled with relief over being spared discussing Jason wi
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Nora and Killian sat, side-by-side on the ugly yellow sofa in the servant’s quarters as Lance, Anton, and I clustered together in the foyer at the foot of the grand staircase.“Is this enough to keep us out of the way?” Nora asked.“You should be good,” Lance said with confidence. “Although I cannot guarantee you will appreciate what you see.”“I found it fascinating the last time,” she replied.“And… how did you say it? Creepy,” he said. “This could prove to be even more creepy to you.”She turned to Killian. “Have you seen something like this before?”He nodded. “Not in a long time, but I have.”“Is it creepy?” she timidly asked.He shrugged. “I didn’t think so. It really depends on the mindset of the person.”After a moment’s thought, she took a
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Extraordinarily little had changed with Viviane Northrup since I’d faked death and escaped to the future. She was still lovely to look at, stately in action, and very much resentful of me.With the date of my return being only a few years past the date that I’d escaped back to the future, I shouldn’t have been surprised. Even though I’d been through dimensions while in servitude to Marduke and traveled back in time with Lance, my rational mind still had difficulty accepting and absorbing the concepts at times. This was one of those times.As with everything that was going on with me at that point, I accredited my inability to truly grasp what I was in the middle of to the fact that I’d traveled from one century to another without the use of a portal. This had to be the reason my body was not feeling its normal self. Traveling through portals was something that I’d grown accustomed to. I
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I was surprised at how tired I was. Rather than give my body fuel to pursue activities for the afternoon, (like hunting down my rotten brother-in-law, Jason, and wringing his neck for promising my parents to that demon lord) I felt all the more exhausted after eating the light fare. I attributed it to the fact that my body simply didn’t appreciate the way I’d transitioned from one time zone to another without the use of a portal. As with all dis-ease of the body, my remedy was to rest. So, I allowed myself the luxury of going back to sleep.Since the heavy drapes were kept drawn to keep out the afternoon sun’s burning rays, I had no idea of the time when Lance finally settled his lean, sexy form on the bed next to me and gently kissed me awake.“You have slept the day away, my love,” he cooed.Rubbing my eyes and giving a long, loud yawn, I asked, “What time is it?”“It is dinner time
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Morning came and along with it the return of my vitality. Lance had made love to me several times through the night. Each time giving me just a bit more of his shine to replace what had escaped mine.Stretching my limbs in a cat-like manner, I slowly opened my eyes to the world around me. I’d dreamed a wonderful dream of being back in the future on the hybrid mattress that I’d recently purchased. Mild disappointment swept over me when I realized that my backside was cradled in one of the hollows that time and use created in the well-worn wool stuffed mattress that Lance agreed needed to be replaced.“What I wouldn’t give for memory foam,” I mumbled as I wiped the sleep from my eyes.“What was that missus?” Jasmine asked in a sweet and polite manner.Suddenly aware of what I’d said, my eyes flew open and focused on her. She wore a bright smile and looked well rested as she settled a tray con
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The next few days were long and arduous. Matters of business on the plantation kept Lance occupied more than either of us had anticipated. Left to my own devices, I did my best to root around for information on where my nasty brother-in-law was keeping himself so that I could wring his neck and then send him back to Marduke to call off the deal that he never should have made in the first place.The days were long and hot. Were it not for the anticipation of enjoying the throes of passion with my husband at the end of them, I questioned if I’d survive my stay without going crazy. It’s funny how a world that I found so fascinating during my first visit had shifted to something that I resented and, in some ways, abhorred. I resented the clothing that I was forced to wear, the lack of modern amenities such as air conditioning and lattes, the way I had to be on top of my game at all times and not slip with my mode of speech and the f
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I shouldn’t have been surprised to discover that Jasmine had never left the plantation, but I was. I found her excitement over the concept of making a three mile trip in the barouche to be a delightful pick-me-up for the gloomy mood I’d developed.Away from prying ears and eyes, my lady’s maid proved to be amusingly animated. She had comments and curiosities about the simplest of things, such as names of trees or types of birds. We closed our eyes and listened to the sweet songs of the whippoorwill and gasped at the sight of a fox chasing a rabbit. We rooted for the rabbit, of course.I enjoyed the little ride so much that I hardly noticed the time or felt the inconvenience of the antiquated mode of travel. We’d left just after sunup to avoid the heat of the day, but, even so, I still would have suffered from heat and dust had I not been so distracted by this animated young woman. Her comfort level around me, once we were
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Even though I was tired from travel and the stress of discovering that my pseudo parents from the future were visiting my biological parents in the past, sleep eluded me. I was haunted by the way my parents and uncle reacted to Sophie’s mentioning of Elsbeth. My gut told me that there was a family secret concerning my aunt that they didn’t want me to know. What could it be?Easing my body out of bed, I lit the lantern on the small nearby table. It provided lighting for only a fraction of my surroundings. I wanted more lighting. Heaving a sigh and longing for electricity, I lowered the chandelier in the center of the room. Wrinkling my nose at the smell that the many candles that the chandelier held gave off, I took shallow breaths as I carefully lit them. My parents used a more modern paraffin candle in the public rooms, but since tallow was easier to come by and, therefore, less costly, the private family rooms were stock
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Sometime, while imagining my aunt’s life from her entries in her journal, I managed to relax my body enough to fall asleep. Unfortunately, the horsehair stuffed tapestry didn’t provide the same comfort that modern day foam would have. That, and the fact that I wasn’t in the most comfortable position, caused my body to inevitably suffer. When Jasmine gently shook me awake to present me with a tray of tea and biscuits, my shoulders were so stiff that I could barely flex them, my hips refused to release my legs to mobility, and there was a nagging in my head that was rooted at the nape of my neck and circled around to my temples.“You should have slept in your bed instead of me, mistress,” she scolded. “I am accustomed to sleeping on a floor mat. Now, look at you. You will suffer the day for the inconvenience.”“I have no qualms about sharing a bed with you,” I insisted. &ldquo
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