“You’re an excellent dancer!”
“Thank you. You’re quite proficient yourself.”
“I learned the waltz at a Regency retreat years ago, and I’ve practiced a bit now and then.”
“And your instructors helped, undoubtedly.”
“My instructors.”
He led her around the room in such an expert manner she thought that perhaps he’d had dancing lessons and instructors himself.
“I was at Whites the other day, and they are placing bets on when the biddies at Almack’s will allow the waltz in their hallowed walls.”
“Almack’s?” She half laughed, but he seemed authentic, sincere. She half felt like she was talking with an actor from a Regency enactment experience.
“But I think they’ll allow anyone as soon as tomorrow if a duchess or other titled lady will begin.”
She nodded. “Undoubtedly.” Was she to play along with his charade? “And just where are you from?”
“I have an estate near Hertfordshire, but I spend more of my time in London off Grosvenor square.”
“Hertfordshire, really?” She laughed. Could he not think of any locale more unique than the one where the Bennet family lived in Pride and Prejudice?
But he tipped his head and his mouth moved in a disapproving frown. “Have you a dislike for Hertfordshire?”
“Oh no, certainly not. I myself am from the lake country, Derbyshire to be exact, perhaps you’ve heard of it?”
“Naturally. I travel there often.”
She stared at him, trying to make him break character, but he continued to move about the room, the perfect gentlemen, likely thinking her more and more odd the longer they talked. But she was not the odd one. He was most certainly living and acting as though he were in the Regency time period. Perhaps just to add authenticity to his costume.
“I see we’ve dispensed with the masks.” She smiled.
“As so many others have as well. I find them tedious.”
“I agree. It’s so much more difficult to see as well, and I like to be acquainted with my dance partner.”
“I do apologize for our lack of introduction, but Aunt Nellie assured me it is the manner in which they do things here.” He stood taller. “I am Sir Jacob.”
“And I am Lady Eva.” She played along.
“The pleasure is mine.”
“Is Aunt Nellie your aunt?”
He eyed her again. “Certainly not.”
“Then why address her so?”
Confusion clouded his expression, and he didn’t seem to know how to answer. So she spared him the trouble. “I find her charming, but I couldn’t get a clear answer from her about her name.”
He nodded. “Just so. And things are dashed strange in this time period. I’ve felt better since drinking her tea, but the lights. Look at them.”
Eva lifted her head up to see a glittering, magnificent chandelier and didn’t quite know how to respond. “Hmm.” Then she remembered her own fascination. “Yes. I do know what you mean. Were you by any chance upstairs in the portrait gallery?”
“Of course.”
The dance ended and he escorted her back to the side of the floor when another gentleman asked her to dance. Her mind was still spinning from the last, but she curtseyed and said she would.
He talked in the same old-fashioned British manner as Lord Hereford and Sir Jacob. So she tried something different. “What happened last summer?”
“Last summer?” He frowned in confusion.
“Yes.” She fumbled around in her thoughts. “In the house of Lords, how did they adjourn?”
“Oh, it was a difficult session. Everyone was still up in arms about Napoleon. He’s on that dratted island you know, and there are some who think he should be executed.” He pressed his lips together. “Beg your pardon for my abrupt manner of speaking.”
“No, that’s quite alright. Tell me, do you belong to Whites, Brooks, or Boodles?”
“Oh, Whites certainly. You wouldn’t ever find me near that Whig establishment.”
Interesting. Could it be a whole room full of men Aunt Nellie had hired to act as though they lived in the Regency time period?
“You’re the first woman I’ve danced with tonight who’s talked sense. Aunt Nellie told me most people wouldn’t understand where I’m from, that I’d have to learn the new way of things, but I understand you just perfectly.”
Pieces of information were coming together in a manner that fit, but they still puzzled her. “So, are you visiting for a time?”
“Time.” He eyes turned wistful. “Apt way of expressing the process.”
How frustrating to be on the cusp of understanding and yet not quite grasp something that felt important.
The dance ended and Anna approached. Eva thanked her partner and ran the remaining few steps to her friend. “What is wrong with everyone?”
“Wrong?” She turned to watch the man leave her side. Then she smiled. “Ah, you got a Regency one, didn’t you?”
“Two, three even.” She pulled her to the side of the room. “And what do you mean, a Regency one?”
“Well they’re from all over. I dance with a few from the forties, the seventies even. That was an experience. I think he might have been high. But I most prefer the Regency men. They’re so deliciously proper. It’s fun to mess with their sensibilities.”
Eva just shook her head over and over again, unsure what to say.
“You’re driving me crazy. Stop shaking your head.”
“But you can’t be serious.”
“I am perfectly serious. You should know. You went through your portrait today.” She tapped her finger on her chin. “Though most don’t return the same day. Did you arrange it that way? How long were you gone?”
“You are making no sense. At all.”
“Let’s go sit somewhere quiet.” She led her down the hall, around a corner and into a library. The room was comforting, the smell of books, old books, washed over Eva and she felt a bit calmer. Nothing made sense, but at least there were still books in the world.
“Let’s sit.” Anna reached for her hand as they sat, then let it go. She shifted her weight.
“I saw your picture.”
“Oh, you did?” Her smile warmed. “With all the Lichfield sisters.”
“Bethany was there, too.”
“Oh she was. You are so correct.”
“And my portrait was there.”
“Yes, naturally, or how else could you have jumped in time?”
“Jumped…in time?”
Anna searched her face in annoying amusement. “You must not have gone too far down the stairs.”
“No, but the chandelier was different—candles. The people were all dressed Regency costume instead of just a few. And it was cold.”
Anna shivered “That’s what I remember most. It’s always cold. And drafty.”
“So, are you saying I stepped back in time?”
“You certainly did. Now tell me. Did you meet anyone?”
“Yes.” Her face heated and the smile she tried to stifle in this confusing and serious conversation would not be stopped.
“Oh, you did! Spill. Tell me all about him.”
“His name is Lord Hereford.”
Her small gasp made Eva search her face.
“Do you know him?”
“No, I don’t think so. Perhaps.” She waved her hand around. “Continue.”
“So, he was standing there in the portrait room after I almost passed out.”
Anna smiled. “And?”
“And we talked. He was lovely. We hid in an alcove, like they do in all the books, and I’ve been missing him ever since.”
A look of triumph filled Anna’s face so much that Eva immediately leaned away in hesitation.
Unphased, Anna reached for her hands. “How much do you want to see him?”
“What do you mean?”
“What would you do if I told you there was a way to go back in tim
e to see him? And it wasn’t permanent. You could return at any full moon.”
“Full moon, what? Now I know this is hokey.”
“You saw the evidence. I’m just telling you what you saw.”
Eva thought it through. “And you’re saying if I touch my painting again, I’ll go back in time and I can find him in the time where he lives?”
She bit her lip. “Usually.”
“What do you mean, usually? It seems a bit of a risk if you can’t guarantee when you come back.”
“Aunt Nellie’s almost always got it right. And she can fix whatever mess we all get up in.”
“So you’ve done this?”
“I have. Often. Lately not as much because it gives me the worst headache…and I have Trent here.” She smiled. “But it’s perfectly lovely. You can go and stay in a time for as long as you like and come back as though you never left.”
Eva leaned back on the sofa, her world reeling. She closed her eyes. “You’re telling me this is for real?”
“Most certainly.” A voice she might have recognized responded.
Eva opened one eye and then sat up when she saw Aunt Nellie. “I met a man. In the portrait gallery. Is Lord Hereford from a different time?”
“Yes.”
“Can you send me to that time?”
“Probably. I rarely get it wrong by too many years.”
Eva didn’t think that was too encouraging. But she was intrigued. What could it hurt to try? She’d already had some kind of an experience she didn’t feel qualified to explain. So how could it harm anyone were she to have another? “I’d like to try it, if I might?”
“I thought you’d say so.” Aunt Nellie moved around the other side of her desk and lifted the portrait.
“There it is!”
“Yes.”
“It’s an incredible likeness.”
“Thank you. I do take pride in these. A small masterpiece of its kind, really. Serves a purpose but might as well have beauty with the function. Now, if you could come forward. I’ll need you to make contact with the portrait again.”
“Ok.” She looked back over her shoulder at Anna, only half believing what was about to happen. She reached her finger out and ran it along the blue of her dress then turned to wave goodbye to Anna as the world swirled around her.
6
Oliver felt a bit ridiculous, traveling out to Twickenham again to be there on the full moon so that he might see a mysterious lady he’d met for only a few minutes. But the ridiculousness of the situation could not cloud or dim the intensity of his heart pounding or the urgency he wished to infuse in his team of horses.
He’d danced and flirted, albeit weakly, with any number of women since meeting Lady Eva, but none provided any additional sparks of interest on his part. None filled him with longing to see them again, not like the intensity of his hope to see Lady Eva. Could he explain his feelings? Not in the slightest. Could he understand the mystery around this journey to see her again? Not any more than his feelings. And yet, here he was, journeying through the later hours of the afternoon, hoping to view the moment the full moon made its appearance.
He would have departed sooner, but his mother, unaccountably suspicious of his activities, delayed him with any number of requests. Then the roads were unseasonably wet. And his coachman insisted on more stops than usual for the horses. He suspected him to be in cahoots with his mother. But at last, they had almost arrived, and he found himself fidgeting.
His mother’s voice in his head harped, “Earls do not fidget.” And hence he’d not fidgeted since he was but a strapping lad. Yet here he was, looking desperately for an outlet for his pent-up energy.
The sky seemed to open up, pouring all of its moisture upon them all at once. He heard the coachmen. “Easy girls.” The carriage dipped and wobbled for a moment, then continued onward. The sun was a warm glow in the sky, shooting in streams of purple and orange and yellow up ahead, but here, only dark clouds filled the sky above, blocking out the stars. What an interesting juxtaposition. But he was grateful because it gave them light to see.
He peeked outside the carriage window the barest amount, wondering if the rain continued on to Twickenham, when he saw two figures huddling at the side of the road.
“Stop the carriage!”
He tapped on the roof at the same time his good driver shouted, “Whoa.”
They stopped and he jumped outside. The women looked wet through and freezing cold, dressed in finery. He waved to them and hurried to their side.
“Lady Anna! Upon my word.” He hadn’t see, the duke’s dear friend in years, thought she’d moved to America or the like. “And Lady Eva!” His steps nearly froze to the mud at their feet. She’d come. And she was here, standing at the side of the road. “Oh, please, come inside.” He moved quickly, his hand behind them, guiding them up and into his carriage. When they were all situated, his driver continued.
He pulled out blankets from under his seat and enjoyed the wide grateful expressions he received in response. The moment felt important, heavy with possibilities. But he found himself without many words. “You’ve come.” He smiled.
She nodded, exchanging glances with Lady Anna.
“Lady Anna. It is delightful to see you again. The duke and his wife will be most pleased. I have reason to believe them to be attending this party as well.”
“Th-thank you, my lord.” Her words came out stilted, but she was likely cold.
He watched them, still uncertain Lady Eva was not an apparition. Then he realized his duties. “And where can I take you? Surely not to the ball?”
Anna frowned. “I’m afraid you are correct. Perhaps we will return to my, er, the estate and talk things through?” She seemed to settle in more comfortably, but Lady Eva had yet to speak a word.
“We were on our way to Twickenham, decided to walk, but it took us longer than I remembered and then the rain… Thank you for coming to our aid.”
He nodded. “My pleasure, as you are the very two I had hoped to see at Twickenham, my purpose in coming has been met.” He tried to meet Lady Eva’s gaze, but her eyes found the fabric on her blanket most interesting, apparently.
They approached the estate as the sun finally dipped below the horizon. The deluge had let up to a slow drizzle but still plenty of moisture to douse a person fell from the sky. As they gathered their things and were about to leave the blankets on his bench, he reached out in a moment of desperation. “Allow me to escort you in?”
“Certainly.” Lady Anna nodded.
“And please, use these blankets as cover.”
A footman came forward with an umbrella. The ladies stepped out under the cover and another man waited for Oliver. He nodded and they rushed into the house.
The women hurried up the stairs, leaving Oliver alone and feeling a bit forlorn until a cheery woman with bright eyes approached. “You are Lord Hereford?”
He dipped his head. “I am.”
“I’m Mrs. Hartworth, the housekeeper. May I offer you a place by the fire and a warm cup of tea and perhaps some soup?”
“Oh that would be most appreciated. Thank you.”
“Wonderful. If you would follow me, please, my lord?”
She led him away from the entryway into a front room off the side. It was decorated simply, but clean and in good repair. She pointed to the armchairs next to a roaring blaze. “That should do nicely, I would think.”
“Oh yes, perfect.”
“Lady Anna did say she and the Lady Eva will be down shortly.”
Hope flared in his heart. “Even more excellent.”
She smiled and her expression warmed him further. Then she curtseyed and left the room.
Soon he was sipping soup, eating bread and cheeses and waiting in the most pleasing fashion for Lady Eva. But there had been no happy surprise in her expression. Perhaps all the energy between them had been imagined or only felt in his own heart? He didn’t know, but he wanted to stay until he found out.
Eva was trying really hard not to freak out. Her breathing kept picking up to almost hyperventilation and her heart pounded one minute and then slowed to a flutter another. “What is wrong with me?”
“I don’t know. Usually Aunt Nellie’s tea does the trick. But you are panicking.”
“Y-Yes. I guess I am. I don’t mean to be.” She shook. “But I’m also freezing, and from what I remember, this place has no hot running water.”
Anna shook her head. “I can’t believe I followed you here, without a single Advil or tampon or even a bar of soap.”
“You can bring stuff when you come?” She began patting her person, looking for the journal. And then sighed in relief as she pulled it out of an inner hidden pocket, one of the features she most appreciated in her costume.
“Yes.” Her eyes flickered to Eva’s. “I guess that might have been helpful information.”
“Uh, yeah. Like right now I could use one of my mom’s Valiums.”
“Not a good idea. You have your man right downstairs. We’ve got to get you feeling better and looking spectacular. In a Regency dress.”
That made Eva laugh, and for that, she was grateful. It warmed her a bit more and relaxed some of the tension. “Too bad I don’t have that hot little number you wore the other night.”
“The blue sequin? Uh, yeah, no. Our duke would run, probably thinking you’re trying to entrap him and the whole ton would be in a scandal.”
“Wow, that bad?”
She nodded. “You need to remember the rules of Regency propriety at all times while you are here. They govern everything. Manners make or break a person in this world. And they determine people’s impression. If you are good mannered, you are considered moral.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“In a way, to us it’s ridiculous, but to them it means good breeding and therefore, well taught and well behaved.”
“I guess I can see that. I’ll try. I might need a refresher course.”
“I’ll be at your side.” She pressed fingers into her temple. “I can’t believe I’m here. I hope you are feeling the love, girl. It’s been years since I time jumped.”
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