Lonely is the Knight (Merriweather Sisters Time Travel Romance Book 3) (19 page)

“I would never harm you. You do know this, don’t you?”

She kissed his cheek. “I know you would not.” Should she tell him? It seemed to be the right time, and yet something held her back. So instead she said, “I think it’s just the idea of marriage. Finding myself married when I thought I would never get married.”

“Mayhap we are suited to each other. Though I think suitors would be lining up to court you.”

“I had boyfriends. There were just so many things I wanted to do. I assumed at some point in the future I would get married. I thought had all the time in the world. But as time went by, I realized I wasn’t a very good girlfriend. After the two relationship disasters, I never seemed to get it right again. I came to believe I would never marry.”

“You know my mother and father hated each other. I did not want to risk the same misery. And marriage is forever. No matter what happens, we must agree to talk to one another. To treat each other as we wish to be treated.”

“I wish my sisters could’ve been here to see me get married.” She was wife to a medieval lord. Who would’ve guessed? Charlotte wondered under what circumstances her sisters might have gotten married. Surely they must be married. Were they happy? Did they love their husbands?

After all she had been through, so many failed relationships, she was afraid of the word
love
. So she would say she cared a great deal for Henry, but she would not utter that four-letter word.

“How fair thee?” Henry sank into the chair in the solar with a weary sigh.

Charlotte passed him a platter of food and a cup of wine to drink.

“What’s happening doesn’t seem real to me. I’ve never experienced a siege before, only read about them.”

A dark bruise bloomed across his cheek. A villager practicing with a wooden sword had whacked him in the face. The man fell to the ground begging for mercy. Charlotte watched as Henry wiped the blood from his nose and helped the man up. He showed him a few more moves and sent him off to practice. She would have cried like a baby and not have been nearly as nice.

“I’ve sorted everyone out and assigned jobs. I know we have a large store of food, but do I need to be worried? How long do these things usually last?”

Henry ran his hands through his hair and rolled his shoulders.
 

“I do not know. The last messenger we sent out was killed before he cleared the woods. I will try again to send word to my brothers. They will send their armies and ’twill all be over soon.”

She could tell he was tired by the circles under his eyes. It had been four long days since the siege started. During that time he’d constantly checked on her to make sure she was okay. That she didn’t need anything and wasn’t afraid. His kind manner and the care he showed to everyone in the castle made her realize she was falling in love with him.

Would they live long enough to enjoy their marriage? Knowing they were surrounded by men who wanted to kill them was turning her into a pessimist.

Charlotte was about to ask him a question when she looked up to see him sound asleep, his chin resting on his chest. She moved the platter away so he wouldn’t knock it over and took the cup from his hands, setting it on the table.

For a while she sat and stared at this man who had been kind to her, gone out of his way to help her. Was trying his best to change his views about marriage. She didn’t know any men in the future who would have risked so much for her.

Were the men in this time so different, or was it simply a different mentality, the way things were? If it were true, Charlotte thought she would be happy here in the past. She’d come to enjoy the rhythm of the days, the people, and the lack of noise. From cars, planes, and trains, to the overwhelming amount of electronic devices. It was funny; she hadn’t noticed all the noise until there wasn’t any.

Royce strode into the room. Charlotte put a finger to her lips, rising to greet him. “Let him sleep. He was up all night.”

“My lady, that fat bastard has a trebuchet on the way. We heard the men’s voices carrying across the water.”

“Wait. Those things that throw stuff and smash walls?”

“Indeed. Though it will take time to arrive and be assembled. When Henry wakes, ask him to find me.”

“How far is the reach? With the water in between us and them, is it far enough?”

The man shook his head. “Nay. We must send a messenger out. We cannot allow Ravenskirk to fall. Lord Hallsey is a cruel man. He has a dungeon and makes good use of it. He would not hesitate to kill everyone within the walls. Slowly and for his wicked pleasure.”

Wasn’t that just a delightful thing to hear so early in the day? Charlotte softly closed the door behind her.
 

Charlotte couldn’t believe she was living through a siege. Although she guessed it could be worse. Next year, the war with Scotland would begin, and six years after that the Hundred Years War kicked off. And let’s not forget, eighteen years from now, in 1348, the Black Plague would sweep across the lands. Charlotte almost wished she didn’t know what was coming.
 

After dinner, she laid out everyone’s work for the next few days. Henry was outside with the men. They were checking the walls for weak spots. With so much happening, time passed quickly, and Charlotte felt like she was the white rabbit, constantly running late. That afternoon she was in the solar taking a few minutes for herself when Henry stumbled in.

“You look as tired as I feel.”

“Seeing you, wife, I am no longer weary. Tell me about your day.”

Charlotte filled him in on what she’d been doing, and was pleased to hear him say she’d done such a great job. Who knew organizing archeological teams and villagers would be so similar?

With a look out the window, she pursed her lips. It was time. She couldn’t put it off any longer. Who knew when they would have time together again? They had their chamber and the solar to themselves. But every other inch of the castle and its buildings were occupied with people. And someone always needed her or Henry for something. Charlotte wouldn’t wait any longer. She owed it to her husband.
 

“I have something to tell you. Something I’ve wanted to tell you since the day you rescued me but haven’t quite known how.”

Henry put down his cup and came to stand next to her. They looked out at the water and the enemy beyond. He took her hands in his.

“Whatever it is, you may tell me. You know I would do anything within my power to aid you.”

“I don’t want you to think I’ve lost my wits. I just keep thinking if someone were to tell me what I’m about to tell you, I would think they were completely crazy. And I certainly wouldn’t believe them.”

“Charlotte. Look at me.” Henry leaned forward and kissed her on the lips. “Whatever secrets you’ve been keeping, I am your husband and I will believe you.”

Somehow hearing him say it, whether he would or not, made her feel so much lighter. Charlotte made a face and took a deep breath.

“Here goes. I’m from the future. From the year 2016. Almost seven hundred years from now.”

Henry dropped her hands. He stared at her as if he were truly seeing her for the first time.

“The future? We found you washed up on the shore. ’Tis not possible.”

She’d opened her mouth to start explaining when the damn door opened with a bang.

“My lord, my lady. Make haste. A messenger has arrived. He is not long for this world.”

Hells bells. Charlotte wanted to run to the kitchens to see the messenger, but she also wanted to throw a serious tantrum like a two-year-old who’d gone two days without a nap. Just when she’d gotten her nerve up. Well, she’d waited this long, what was a few more hours?

After supper, Charlotte was half-asleep in a chair when Henry came back. Groggy, she scrubbed a hand across her face.
 

There had been so much blood, she had to leave the room. As she gagged, she was afraid she’d barf and be a distraction. Even the healer couldn’t save him. She’d patted Charlotte on the shoulder as she left the room.

“Blood takes getting used to, lady. Be of good cheer you do not find it so easy to bear.”

She’d thanked the woman and run out of the room and into her chamber, where she took deep breaths out the window to clear the smell from her nose.

“Did he survive?”

Henry shook his head. “Nay. The messenger did not survive, though he did pass on a message.”

“I don’t understand. I thought during times of war, messengers were allowed to pass?”

“And allow information to get through to the enemy? Nay, messengers are not given safe passage.” He pulled her onto his lap, his breath warm against her ear. “The message was not written down for fear it would be discovered. The man memorized it. I did not forget what you told me. You swear you are from the future?”

“I am. Though I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t believe me.”

“’Tis odd; the messenger said Lady Blackford and Lady Falconburg are sisters. Lucy and Melinda Merriweather. They have your name. These are the sisters you search for? And if ’tis true, how can you be from the future?”

Charlotte wasn’t sure she’d heard him correctly. “Did you say Lady Blackford and Lady Falconburg are my sisters? And we know where they are? But then why did they say they didn’t have a third sister? We could have already gone to Falconburg. I would have been with them before the siege even started. You wouldn’t have had to marry me.”

Henry scowled. She ignored his look and jumped up, dancing around the room. “It doesn’t matter. All that matters is I actually did it. Traveled through time and found my sisters.” As the reality of her situation sank in, Charlotte slumped. “We must end the siege. I have to see them with my own eyes.”

“’Tis been a long day. Tell me your tale from the beginning. As they come from…the future…they may not have wished to arouse suspicion by saying they had a third sister no one had ever met. Surely they will come to see for themselves it is truly you. Tell me your story, then I will tell you what I know of Lord Blackford and Lord Falconburg.”

Charlotte was too agitated to sit. Instead, she paced around the room. She explained to Henry how Lucy’s boyfriend tricked her into marriage and then tried to kill her. How Simon hired someone to kill she and Melinda.
 

“When Simon tried to murder my sister, I think that’s when she went back in time. And when Melinda went to Falconburg by mistake.” Charlotte grinned. “She couldn’t find north if you pointed her in the right direction. I know somehow she went back in time.”

“But how did they travel through time?”

“Hell if I know. The worst part? I told Melinda to get over it. That our sister was dead. I didn’t believe her. And now I know. There’s more to life than what we see with our own eyes. And time isn’t a straight line; it’s some kind of circle. Or a road with many paths.”

“Melinda saw a painting in your time of your sister Lucy?”

“It’s what sent her to England to look for answers.”

Henry looked as if he were about to faint.

“William Brandon, Lord Blackford, is married to Lucy. He is a most ferocious fighter. They have five children.” Henry cocked his head at her. “She is much older than you. William married her more than a score of years ago.”