The Bride Price (35 page)

“Possibly.” Andrew shrugged.

“What if we can’t?” Sophie frowned.

“If you have to tell Clayton, Sophie, you can
trust him,” Christine said.

“Because his brother is evidence of
that?”

Christine smiled sadly. “No, because Clayton
is, and always has been, the pillar of honor.”

“Sorry, Christine,” Sophie whispered.

Jamie wrapped his arm around Sophie’s waist
and pulled her close. “Well, if you think it’s the only way,
Andrew, then send the wire.”

“Are you sure?” Sophie glanced up at him.

Jamie kissed her temple. “Yes, baby. It might
be the only way.”

Andrew nodded. “I’ll send it first thing in
the morning.”

“I’m really tired.” Sophie yawned. “Does
anyone care if I turn in?”

“Could you give us a minute, please?” Jamie
waited for Andrew and Christine to leave the room and then turned
Sophie to face him and stroked her cheek. “Are you okay?”

Sophie’s eyes filled with tears but nodded
her head. “I’m just really tired and a little overwhelmed.”

Jamie caught a tear with this thumb. “Baby,
everything’s going to be okay, I promise.”

“What if it’s not? What if you get killed, or
I get killed?”

His hand shook. “That’s not going to
happen.”

“Promise?”

Jamie kissed her and then leaned his forehead
against hers. “I promise, baby. Nothing is going to happen to
either one of us.”

Sophie allowed herself to take comfort in his
arms, albeit briefly, and then pulled away and forced herself to
climb the stairs with Christine.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

The next morning Christine knocked on her
door, and the two made their way down to breakfast. Jamie had left
before dawn, and Sophie wasn’t sure she’d see him again before
dinner. Nona sat at the table with a cup of coffee and smiled when
the girls walked in.

Shortly after they took their seats, the
butler showed Jamie in. He walked straight over to Nona and kissed
her hand, followed by a kiss on the cheek for Christine and Sophie.
He wouldn’t allow the girls to get up and prepared plates for each
of them before getting his own.

“How would you two feel about a party?” Nona
asked.

“You may want to rephrase that, Nona.”
Christine chuckled.

“Yes, of course. We are hosting an
engagement, or perhaps a better word would be, reunion, party for
the two of you on the fifteenth.”

Sophie gasped. “Are you sure, Nona? You
really don’t need to do this. The fact that you have allowed us to
stay in your home has been a huge blessing.”

“Nonsense.” Nona waved her hand dismissively.
“I always like an excuse to throw a party.”

“Thank you, Nona.” Jamie laid his fork down
and smiled.

“Do you have any requests, Sophie, before I
get started?”

“No. Thank you, Nona. Please let me know what
I can do to help.”

Nona chuckled as she left the room

Christine pushed her plate away. “Sophie, you
and I have an appointment with Madame at eleven.”

“Oh? Why?”

“She’s going to make your wedding dress.”

“What?” Sophie dropped her fork. “We’re
already married!”

Christine giggled. “Renewal of your vows,
then. Nona insisted.”

Sophie grimaced. “I’d hoped we could just
write something in a Bible and be done with it.”

“As Nona said, she likes an excuse to throw a
party.”

“Christine, I don’t think I need a wedding
gown. I’ll simply wear what I have.”

Christine tsked. “That’ll never do.” She
turned to Jamie and said, “Covered buggy, I promise.”

“I don’t know.” Jamie set his cup down.
“Could the dressmaker come here?”

“I suppose I could ask.” Christine shrugged.
“It’s highly unlikely, but I can try.”

“I would appreciate that.”

Sophie let out a groan of frustration. “I
hate this.”

“I know, baby.” Jamie leaned over and
squeezed her hand.

Christine rose to her feet. “I’ll check with
Madame and see you later.”

Sophie nodded and watched her walk out the
door. “I can’t believe all of this.”

“It’s pretty overwhelming, isn’t it?”

Sophie nodded and started to chew on her
thumbnail.

“I hate to say this, but I have to leave
you.” Jamie set his napkin on the table.

“Can I please walk you over there? I really
want to visit Samson.”

Jamie shook his head. “Not yet, Ten-Cow. I’ll
check on him.”

“This sucks,” she whispered.

Jamie stood and pulled her into his arms.
“Not for long, sweetheart.” He gave her a lingering kiss before
going their separate ways for the morning.

Sophie spent time in the library, reading and
contemplating, which is where Christine found her two hours later.
“Sophie? Madame has arrived.”

Sophie stood with a smile and followed
Christine up to her room. Sophie’s bedroom had been transformed
into a dress shop. Two assistants stood beside a mirror, a step
stool in front of the looking glass, and material was spread across
the bed. The dressmaker was an elegant woman, who was either truly
French, or did a very good impersonation. She was warm and helpful,
and when Sophie described what she wanted, Madame seemed to know
exactly what she was asking for.

* * *

Jamie had a moment of solitude and decided to
check on Sophie. He made his way back to the house and up to her
room. Knocking on the door, he let himself in before bid and found
Sophie in a robe, surrounded by mounds of fabric and ribbon.

“What are you doing here?” Sophie stepped
over the pile and rushed to greet him.

Jamie leaned down to kiss her. “I had a few
minutes and thought I’d see how you were. I also missed you.”

“Madame
Ford, I have the perfect
fabric.”

Jamie raised his head at the sound of the
French accent and nearly lost his hold on Sophie. “You!”

“
Pardonnez-moi?”

“What the hell are you doing here?” Jamie
bellowed.

“Jamie?” Sophie’s voice held concern and
confusion.

“S’il vous plait,”
Madame whispered as
she indicated to her assistants to leave them.

“What’s going on?” Sophie grasped Jamie’s
arm.

“This is the woman from the grief counseling
center who came when we couldn’t find you.”

Sophie gasped. “What?”

“What are you doing here, Bernadette?”
Jamie’s tone held warning. “
How
did you get here?”

“Perhaps you are thinking of someone
else?”

“No way, lady. You better tell me who you
are.”

“You don’t understand,” Bernadette
stuttered.

“Then I’d highly suggest you start
explaining.”

“It is
très compliqué
.”

“Why don’t we start at the beginning?” Jamie
crossed his arms and glared. “How did we get here?”

“I don’t know what you mean,” Bernadette said
evasively.

“You know exactly what I mean!” Jamie
bellowed.

“Jamie.” Sophie laid her hand on his
shoulder.

“No!” He slammed his palm against the wall
and then turned back to Bernadette. “You were the one who held my
hand and tried to convince me to let her go.
You
were the
one who said nothing about the fact she might be alive.
Nothing
! You tried to make me believe I’d never see her
again. You tried to make me believe she was lost to me
forever.”

Tears streamed down Sophie’s cheeks. “You
were in our home? Did you know what was going to happen?”

Bernadette’s hand covered her mouth.
“
Non
, I didn’t know.”

Jamie seethed. “You lying bi—!”

Sophie gasped. “Jamie. Stop.”

“No, Sophie. I lost you! She could have
stopped it,” he railed.

Bernadette shook her head. “I could not have
stopped it.”

“You could not have stopped the thing you
know nothing about?”

Bernadette shook her head “I cannot tell you
anything.”

Sophie caught Jamie’s arm and pulled him
back. Jamie forced himself to take a deep breath. “You’ve just
admitted you know something, and I’d suggest you start talking,
lady, or you may not walk out of this room alive,” Jamie
threatened.

Bernadette took a deep breath but did not
speak for several minutes. Jamie took a step forward, but
Bernadette held her hand up to stay him. “There is a time
portal.”

“And?”

Bernadette laid her hand across her ample
bosom. “A ripple in the time, space continuum.”

“You better start telling us something we
haven’t already figured out!” Jamie’s anger vibrated through his
body.

“Baby, let her speak.” Sophie squeezed his
shoulder.

“My husband and I are the facilitators of the
portal.”

“Facilitators?” Sophie whispered.

“Yes. Caretakers, if you will. We ensure that
the wrong people don’t end up where they don’t belong.”

“I don’t understand.” Sophie frowned. “Why
are
we
here?”

“It is so complicated.”

“Start explaining.” Jamie advanced on
Bernadette.

Bernadette turned to Sophie. “There is a
threat in this time that could affect the future, and you have been
chosen to counteract it.”

“Excuse me?” Jamie growled.

Sophie pushed him behind her and faced the
seamstress. “What is this threat everyone keeps talking about?”

“Pardon?”

“Someone has been trying to kill Sophie.”
Jamie scowled. “Do you know anything about that?”

Bernadette gasped. “No!”

Sophie’s hand flew to her chest. “What?”

“He has found you.”

“Who
has found me?”

Bernadette began to pace, her fingers
pressing into her temple.
“Monsieur
Cary
.”

“Why would this Cary fellow want to hurt me?”
Sophie pinched the bridge of her nose. “What did I do?”

“Madame
Ford, you know more about this
war than most, and have been chosen in order to counter the Cary
family’s influence in the south.”

Sophie held her hands up. “I don’t know
that
much!”

“You know more than he does, and he has
traveled back to further the cause of the South. You must ensure
that the North prevails.”

Sophie gasped. “How the heck am I supposed to
do that?”

“You simply need to make certain history
continues as it is written in the future.”

“Piece of cake.” Sophie snapped her fingers
and gave Jamie a worried look.

Jamie hissed. “Why Sophie? Why my wife?
Surely, there are others with far more knowledge than her, who
would be more equipped to succeed.”

“Oui
, however, he didn’t know about
Sophie. We needed someone that he would not suspect.” Bernadette
took Sophie’s hands. “Your heart was failing in the future. Being
sent back ensured you would live. We felt that you would be able to
counteract Cary’s influence and live a long, healthy life.”

“What did you plan to do about Jamie, then?
Why didn’t he come with me?”

Bernadette sighed. “He wasn’t part of the
plan, Sophie. We thought you’d fall in love with someone else and
life would continue.”

Jamie’s face heated with rage. “You thought
she’d
replace
me?” he bellowed.

Bernadette held up her hands. “I admit, we
did not take into consideration the effect her disappearance would
have on you, which is why we sent you back. I apologize for
that.”

“What about Cary?” Sophie asked.

“He was not supposed to know who you were.”
Bernadette frowned. “I don’t know how he found out. I’ll have to
investigate.”

“Can we go back?” Jamie asked.

Bernadette paused for several seconds.
“
Oui
. However, if you choose to do so, Sophie’s heart will
fail again, and you won’t be able to return.”

Jamie ran his hands through his hair. “Some
choice.”

Bernadette grimaced. “If you kill him, this
will all be over.”

Jamie scowled. “You seriously want me to
murder someone in cold blood?”

She shook her head. “
Non
, it would be
self-defense. You could even say it was part of the war.”

One of Bernadette’s assistants knocked on the
door and requested a moment with the dressmaker.

Jamie stepped forward. “We’re not finished
here, Bernadette.”

“I’ll return in a moment.”

Before Jamie could say anything further, she
moved out of the room and closed the door. Jamie rushed to open it
and found the hallway empty.

“Bernadette!” Jamie bellowed and paced the
hallway.

Sophie poked her head out the door. “Where
did she go?”

Jamie let out a litany of expletives.

“Jamie.” Her tone indicated admonishment, but
he couldn’t help but catch her slight smile.

“She’s gone.” He ran his hands through his
hair.

Sophie grabbed his arm. “Does that mean she
can just ‘poof’ her way out of places?”

Jamie shrugged and reached for her. “I don’t
know, baby. All I know is I don’t like it, and we need to figure
out what this woman is up to.”

Sophie dropped her head onto his chest.
“Well, you need to get back to the men and I need to think.”

“Ten-Cow.”

“I’m fine, Jamie. I promise. I just need to
process.” At his raised eyebrow, she reached up and stroked his
cheek. “Go. I’m fine.”

Jamie reluctantly left Sophie, and since she
was suddenly starved, she headed to the kitchen. Finding Mary elbow
deep in a large bowl of dough, Sophie wished she had a camera.

“Hi, Mary.” Mary’s tear-filled eyes met
Sophie’s gaze. Sophie rushed toward the cook. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, ma’am. You should not be here.”

“Oh, Mary. I’m not going anywhere. Tell me
what’s going on?”

Mary shook her head as she pulled the dough
out of the bowl and slapped it onto the butcher-block table.

Sophie smiled. “Well, until you’re ready to
tell me, can I help?”