“Your driver will be in the kitchen,” his mother told him. “It’s too cold and damp to wait outside, and I instructed our staff to invite him in for refreshments while we visited.”
A different maid appeared, carrying their things. “I let the coachman know you’re ready to depart, sir. He’ll be waiting for you by the carriage, and we took the liberty of putting a hot brick inside for you.”
“Thank you,” he said as he helped Meredith into her coat. “We’ll see you tomorrow night, then.”
Once he and Meredith were on their way home, he couldn’t help thinking about how different things would’ve been had he received his mother’s first letter announcing her marriage. Knowing she and his siblings were well off would’ve changed everything. His vow would have lost its grip. Daniel frowned. “Meredith, does it seem …” He took a moment to organize his thoughts.
“I know what you’re thinking, because I’m wondering the same thing. If you’d received the news of your mother’s marriage, you wouldn’t have been obsessed with making things right for your family.”
“Aye, and I wouldn’t have had any reason to haunt Garretsville. It’s likely I wouldn’t have lingered after being murdered. Charles didn’t.”
“If you hadn’t lingered, we never would have met,” she concluded, her expression pensive.
Their gazes met and held. “Does it seem as unlikely to you as it does to me that both letters went astray?” he asked, drawing her close to his side and keeping an arm around her shoulders. “Do you believe such a coincidence is even possible? More puzzling, if not a coincidence, then what force could have orchestrated our meeting the way we did, with me a ghost and you a ghost whisperer?”
“I don’t know.” She rested her head on his shoulder. “I don’t think we’ll ever know. Does it really matter?”
“Hmm.” He absently ran his hand up and down her arm, while trying like hell to make sense of it all. For more than a century and a half he’d existed as a wraith, trapped in Garretsville with no way to move on. Why? So he could meet a twenty-first-century woman destined to become his wife? Preposterous. Perhaps he and Meredith were part of an elaborate scheme to put an end to the outlaws preying on prospectors. Also unlikely. Still …
“What’s important is that we’re together now, and come spring the two of us will become three.” Meredith snuggled closer. “We’re going to be parents.”
Nodding slowly, it took a few seconds for that last bit to penetrate. “What?” He twisted around in his seat to stare at her. “You’re … we’re …” He slapped his forehead. “That’s why you’ve been so tired and feeling poorly lately. How could I be so thickheaded not to have figured it out?” How had he not noticed she’d missed her courses?
She laughed. “Beats me.”
“And here I thought I couldn’t be any happier than I already am.” He wrapped his arms around her and dropped a kiss on her forehead. “I hope I’ll be as good a father to our children as mine was to me.”
“I have no doubts.” She rested her palm against his chest and closed her eyes. Before long, her breathing slowed, and she’d fallen asleep.
Today he’d seen for himself that his mother, brother and sister were well situated, and a great weight had lifted from his shoulders. And now he’d learned the happy news. I’m going to be a father! His eyes stung as he held his wife—the center of his world—in his arms. “I’m a lucky man,” he murmured, dipping his head to kiss his sleeping wife’s forehead. “A very lucky man indeed.
Meredith sensed something in the atmosphere the second they entered their townhouse. She’d become very sensitive to smells lately, and something odd hung in the air. Her pulse raced as she and Daniel took off their coats. Adding to her alarm was the fact that their maid didn’t come to the foyer to take their things.
“We’ll have to set up our nursery and hire a nursemaid,” Daniel said. “Where is Alice?”
“In the kitchen perhaps.” She raised her head and sniffed, recognizing the familiar scent of impending rain. “Oh.”
“What is it, love?” He took her things from her and made his way to the coat closet.
“Don’t you smell that?” She peeked into the front receiving parlor, relieved to find the room empty.
He drew in a long breath as he returned to her. “Aye, what is it?”
“Ionized oxygen. You don’t remember? The same scent filled Keoghan’s Saloon the day Alpin gave me the diamonds?”
“Ghosts don’t have a sense of smell, love. So, no, I don’t remember.” Daniel tensed and drew her behind him. “You cannot take her from me,” he called out.
The door to their study down the hall opened, and Alpin stepped out, dressed as a nineteenth-century gentleman. “If I wished to take your wife from you, mortal, you could not stop me. However, I do not.” He turned his pale-blue gaze her way. “Unless she wishes to return to her family, this is merely a social call.” He arched a brow. “Do you want to go home, Meredith? I can give you another diamond if you do.”
Now she had a choice? Her heart stuttered. Her breath caught in her throat as the injustice done to her by that little twit Oliver came rushing back. She knew what she wanted, and anger fueled her courage. “What I want is the best of both worlds. I want to stay here with my husband and make a life with him and our child, and I …” Her voice broke. “I need to see my family now and then.”
She stepped out from behind Daniel. “I know you and Boann can’t meddle. You made that clear when we met in Garretsville. I don’t want any more magically infused diamonds, either. They’re a one use proposition. So, why are you here?”
“Oh, just checking in so I can assure your family you are well. I am not forbidden to step through time now and again.”
She shook her head. “You wouldn’t have had to be here physically to know I’m well. Your presence can only mean one thing.” Meredith lifted her chin. “You know a way to get around the fae council’s notice.” Her heart in her throat, she stared him down. “Am I right?”
“Not entirely. However, I like the way you think, and I so enjoy finding ways to circumvent the council.” Alpin’s smile grew as he studied her. “Perhaps if we put our heads together, we can come up with a way you might have the best of both worlds without drawing undue notice.”
“Wait,” Daniel said. “What have you done with our household staff? They would know we have a guest.”
“Your cook and maid are napping comfortably in the servants’ lounge below. They’ll be none the worse for their unintended break.”
“Your appearance gave me quite a start. If you don’t mind, I’d like to sit for our conversation. A dram of something bracing wouldn’t go amiss, either,” Daniel muttered. “Shall we adjourn to the study?”
“An excellent idea.” Alpin retreated into the room he’d come from.
Meredith entered, followed by Daniel. Her husband stirred the fire to life with a poker and added a few logs before crossing the room to the sideboard where the decanters were kept. He poured whiskey shots into tumblers.
“None for me, Dan,” she said before he could pour the third glass.
“Shall I fetch you some tea, love?”
“No. I’m fine.” She drew in a long breath and gathered her thoughts. “Alpin, when you gave me the diamonds and we talked about time travel, you said sometimes portals are left open indefinitely. Am I correct?”
“Aye.”
“How are Brían’s clan members getting from their hidden valleys to the farm? Are they using a portal, or are they walking out through the weakening barrier?”
“They cannot walk through the barrier. We have created a portal for them.”
“Is it … I mean, are those types of portals like subway tunnels that only go from point A to point B?” she asked.
“I have no idea what subways are, but passages through time and space can’t be only from one point to another, Meredith,” Daniel said as he sat in the chair behind the desk. “Otherwise you wouldn’t have
had to concentrate specifically on the date and place you landed when you came to Garretsville. We wouldn’t have had to worry about your ending up in another place or time. Aye?” Daniel said, flashing a questioning glance toward Alpin.
“You are correct. No matter how or where the passage is initiated, we cannot alter their nature.” Alpin nodded.
“So, they’re like a doorway to anywhere in space and time?” Meredith frowned. “What prevents the clan members from going astray when they enter?”
The fae man sat slouched in the chair, with one leg crossed over the other. He propped his elbows on the arms of the chair and steepled his fingers. Alpin appeared to be amused by their conversation.
“It’s always fascinating to watch humans puzzle these things through. The clan members do not go astray because Boann or I accompany them. We’re the ones who set the course, and we’d prefer that they not know they could go anywhere in time they wish. Let’s keep that our little secret.”
“Sure.” Excitement surged as the possibilities spun through her mind. “Is the portal the clan uses open all the time?”
Alpin shrugged. “As it happens, it is.”
“That door through time exists in the twenty-first century, love,” Daniel said. “We’re in the nineteenth.”
“Time isn’t linear. It doesn’t start at one point and stop at another. We’ve already established that.” Meredith glanced at Alpin. He seemed to be enjoying this immensely, and she wondered if letting them work it out somehow meant he wasn’t actually meddling. “Am I correct? Does the portal exist in this era as well as in the future?”
“It does.” He tapped his two pointer fingers together and canted his head as if in thought. “The tricky part is not drawing attention to the fact that anyone other than the Baiscne clan, myself, or Boann are using that particular passageway. It’s meant for the occasional transfer of no more than four individuals every several years. If you used the portal often, it would not only put your brother-in-law’s clan at risk, but also myself and Boann.”
Her heart dropped. Was he implying they only had a once in a lifetime visit to assure her family she was truly happy? “I understand.”
“There are tales … tales that have been told throughout our history,” Daniel began. “Stories about folks who disappear, only to return decades later, looking like they haven’t aged a day. We’ve always known the fae had something to do with the disappearances, and now I understand. Occasionally people stumble into an open portal, and that accounts for how they vanished. If so, the fae council has to be aware that such accidents occur.”
“Indeed.” Alpin shifted in his chair. “If, on the rare occasion, a couple should stumble into our particular portal, the council wouldn’t take much notice. Nor would they be likely to care.”
Meredith straightened. “Where might we find this doorway through time?”
“Here’s the interesting bit, and I swear Boann and I had nothing to do with what I’m about to tell you.” Alpin straightened and reached into the pocket of his suitcoat. He pulled out a folded piece of paper.
“It so happens an old woman has recently lost her good husband. She is now the sole owner of a farm with an impressive view of the ocean. The land lies at the northern border of County Wicklow.” He cast a pointed look at her and then at Daniel. “She’s eager to sell, so she can join her daughter’s household and dandle her grandchildren on her knees.” He handed the paper to Daniel. “This is her name and the location of the farm.”
“No, it’s not possible!” A burst of adrenaline hit her bloodstream, sending her heart racing. “You don’t mean—”
“Oh, but I do. It’s the very farm where your sister and her husband have their inn—the inn you and Daniel shall build as your home. The portal will be in your own backyard.”
“Who the bloody hell is behind all of these impossible coincidences?” Daniel blurted. “First the lost letters, and now this?” He raked his fingers through his hair. “I don’t believe … it’s too damned impossible … far too disconcerting.”
He shot up from his chair, jammed the paper into a pocket and stomped out of the room. “I’m going for a walk, Meredith,” he called from the hall closet. “I need to clear my head.”
His striding steps and the slam of the front door filled the study. “He’s right, and I don’t blame him for feeling a little spooked,” she said.
Meredith explained about Daniel’s vow to his mother and the lost letters that would’ve altered everything. “Is it possible someone is orchestrating all of this? One of the Tuatha dé Danann perhaps? Daniel believes he might have a trace of fae blood. His granny had the sight, and so does he to a lesser degree. We know my family carries fae DNA. Might one of our fae relatives be pulling strings?”
Alpin grunted. “Not likely. It has been more than one of your millennia since any of us have bothered to involve ourselves in such involved machinations. Besides, it’s against our laws. A complicated web like the one you speak of would lead the council straight to the spinner.”
He rose from his chair. “Sometimes things like this are no more than a quirk of fate.” He started toward the door. “I suggest you not wait overlong to see about purchasing your farm. It’s a prime piece of property. I shall return to you once the land is yours to show you where the portal is located.”
“Thank you, Alpin.”
“For what?” He stopped at the door to glance back at her. “Truly, I’ve done nothing. Don’t you agree?”
She opened her mouth to argue, but he was right. All he’d done was provide information and guide their thoughts to the correct conclusion. “Say hello to my family for me, and tell them we’ll visit as soon as we can.”
“I will. Shall I tell them about your daughter?”
A girl! They were going to have a daughter. She swallowed hard and nodded, resting her hand over the barely discernible baby bump. “Yes, thank you.” She started to rise.
“Don’t get up. I’ll see myself out.” He winked. “And I’ll not be using the front door.”
“I need to go wake our cook and our maid. Daniel will be hungry when he returns.”
Alpin nodded, and walked away. She gave him a minute or two to disappear. Smiling, she gathered the two empty whiskey tumblers and made her way to the servants’ stairs at the rear of the townhouse.
After their cook and maid had gotten past their embarrassment at being caught napping on the job, Meredith climbed the two flights of stairs to their master bedroom. With everything that had happened today, she needed a nap.
She too harbored suspicions that something besides a quirk of fate had steered their lives. Only, she didn’t really care who or what had brought them together. Smiling, she undressed to her undergarments and slipped into bed, falling asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.
Meredith woke to the sound of someone rustling around the room. Stretching, she luxuriated in the comfort and warmth of the bed as Daniel lit their lamps. The room’s radiator made noises as if just coming back life. Her husband must have added coal to the hot water boiler in the cellar before coming to their bedroom.
“How long have I been sleeping?” she asked, looking toward the window, surprised to find it was already dark.
“If you went to bed shortly after I left, then you’ve been sleeping for three hours.”
“Have you been gone all that time? That must’ve been some walk.” She sat up and swung her legs out of bed, pausing for a moment to be sure she wouldn’t be hit with a wave of nausea.
“Aye. I stopped at our bank, and then I visited the land agent.” He sat down beside her and reached for her hand. As he often did, he played with the diamond he’d had cut and set for her while they were in New York. “We’re buying Widow Devine’s farm in County Wicklow.”
She had to swallow a few times before she could speak past the tightness of her throat. Soon she’d be able to visit her family. “That’s wonderful. I’ve been there, and I can tell you the home we’ll bui
ld is wonderful, and our farm sits among gently rolling hills with a lovely view of the ocean.”
“My only concern is the distance from Dublin and the port,” he said. “Charles and I had planned on making the city the center of our enterprise.”
“Wicklow has a port too, you know. Besides, by 1856, trains will be running from Dublin southward along the eastern coast and back. We’ll only be twenty-six miles from Dublin, Dan. By train that will take no time at all. We can commute, or we can keep a small flat in town so we have a place to stay when we need to.”
His eyes widened. “You know this for a fact?”
She nodded. “I read about the history of the railways in Ireland while visiting my older sister in County Waterford. I love reading about history.” She frowned. “Only now it’s future information.”
He helped her up and drew her into his arms. “You’re amazing, and I love you.” He sighed and gently rocked her back and forth. “Meredith, I’m not so sure I believe this has all been a coincidence. The more I think about our lives and how this has all come to be, the more convinced I am that we have a faerie godmother or godfather.”
Meredith slid her arms around his waist. “Could be. Here’s another thought. If you and I both carry fae DNA, our children are likely to be gifted.”
“That’s grand, lass. Their lives will never be dull.”
Meredith’s stomach rumbled, and she stepped out of the hug. “I’m starving,” she said, a little bit surprised. Perhaps the constant nausea would soon be in the past. “I slept through lunch.”
“I’m hungry as well, and l did smell something delicious coming from the kitchen when I stoked the furnace.” Her husband began gathering her clothing. “Come, let’s go see about dinner, and then we can write Charles a letter and apprise him of our new address. I’m sure the farmhouse will do for us while our home is being built, and we also have this townhouse for a full year.”
Summoned in Time: A magical, ghostly, time travel romance... (The MacCarthy Sisters Book 3) Page 27