The Baron Finds Happiness (Fairy Tales Across Time Book 3)
Page 17
Both Clara and Janie stared at Hickstrom with open mouths. Hickstrom had spoken without her usual glib manner.
“Do you know where can we find the book, Hickstrom?” Clara asked.
“You are most fortunate, my dear, as I happen to have a copy with me,” Hickstrom said, smiling broadly. From the folds of her filmy pink dress, she produced the massive volume of fairy tales.
“Oh, no, you did not just pull that book out of your pockets!” Janie exclaimed.
“Thank goodness!” Clara cried out.
She rose and hurried to sit next to Hickstrom, taking the book from her hands. “What do I do? Do I read the same story?”
“Yes, I think that will do nicely, dear.”
Clara opened up the book, leafing through until she found The Baron Finds Happiness.
She turned to Hickstrom.
“Tell me the truth. Did you make him a baron?”
Hickstrom merely smiled before turning her attention to Janie.
“If you wish to accompany Clara, Janie, you must hold fast to your friend.”
“Oh, so I don’t have to read a fairy tale about some lovelorn aristocrat?”
“I have not yet chosen you as a project.”
“You said yet,” Janie said. “Don’t think I didn’t catch that.”
“Did I? Perhaps I misspoke.”
Janie’s chest heaved as she took in a deep breath. She looked at Clara. “Okay, I’m thinking about it, but Hickstrom has to promise me that I can come back if I don’t like it. I don’t think I want to stay forever, but I’ll admit I’m curious!”
“Oh, Janie! Come! It’ll be great!”
“Okay, what do I need to do?”
“Simply take hold of Clara’s arm. If you wish to read along, you may.”
Janie shook her head. “No, I’m not going to read aloud. That’s how you sent Clara back in time, right?”
“It must be as you wish, dear.”
Janie moved to sit beside Clara and took her arm. “I hope I know what I’m doing!”
“I hope I know what I’m doing,” Clara said. “I hope he’s waiting for me.”
She started to read aloud. “‘The Baron Finds Happiness. Roger Phelps, estate agent at Alvord Castle, closed the door of his small gatekeeper’s lodge behind him. On the verge of setting out down the lane toward the castle, a rare ray of sunshine caught his eye, and he looked up.’”
Clara looked up at Hickstrom. “Nothing’s happening!”
“Read on, dear. Read on.”
“You can do this, Clara,” Janie said encouragingly.
Clara nodded and started to read again. “‘Sunlight sparkled through the oak trees, and he closed his eyes, allowing the warmth to caress his face. The gentle caress of a female?’”
Clara paused. “Hickstrom, is it too late? Have I lost him?”
“Patience, my dear. Read on,” she said.
“Have faith, Clara,” Janie said.
Clara swallowed the lump in her throat and tried to read, but she could barely eke out a strained whisper. “‘The sensation, so foreign to him, took his breath away for a moment, and he forced himself to draw in air.’”
Janie joined her and read the final sentences aloud. “‘He touched his clean-shaven face with one hand. The skin was indeed warm though he had been chilled only moments before.’”
Clara’s eyes drooped, and she felt herself falling.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Clara opened her eyes to see the material of a familiar brocade sofa next to her right cheek. She pushed herself upright, noting with relief that Janie lay opposite her on the sofa.
“Janie!” she called out, nudging her feet. “We’re here!”
Janie opened her eyes and stared at Clara. Then she turned her head to look at the drawing room. Startled, she too rose to a sitting position.
“Where are we?” she asked.
“Alvord Castle, in the drawing room.” Clara’s heart raced. She jumped up and ran for the door. Pulling it open, she ran into the foyer and called out to the footman.
“Can you go get Lady Mary? Tell her Clara is back. Is Lord Rowe in the castle?”
“Yes, miss! No, miss, not yet today.”
The footman ran up the stairs, and Clara returned to the drawing room. Janie was on her feet and studying the furnishings.
“I can’t believe it,” she said.
“I know! Isn’t it great? I’ll admit I didn’t think so at first.”
“It’s just like a Jane Austen novel.”
“You would know better than I.”
Clara kept an eye on the open door. In the distance, she heard a door close and heard a female voice. Mary! She hoped Mary would forgive her for vanishing as she had without even a thank-you, without saying goodbye. Hickstrom hadn’t sent her back unwillingly, and Mary probably knew that.
She heard more voices now, male voices, and another door. Clara suspected St. John was coming down as well. Still intimidated by him, she didn’t look forward to the encounter. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Janie touching the gold drapes, running her fingers along their length. She seemed not so much taken aback as fascinated by her arrival in the nineteenth century. She was handling the transition much better than Clara had.
“She has returned?” a familiar male voice asked.
“Yes, sir,” the footman replied. “She inquired after you.”
“Me? Are you quite certain?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Is she in the drawing room?”
“Yes, sir. I believe she brought a guest with her.”
“A guest?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Is Lord Carswell with her?”
“No, sir. It is a young lady. I saw her through the open doorway.”
Clara moved closer to the door and hid behind it. Janie seemed not to hear the conversation in the foyer, continuing her inspection of the room.
“Thank you. I will see myself into the drawing room.”
Clara’s heart pounded in her chest and her ears. The door opened wide, and Roger stepped in. He stopped short, staring at Janie, who turned to look at him.
“Well, hello!” she said. “Clara, what are you doing hiding back there?”
Roger spun around and saw Clara behind the door. His eyes glowed from some strong emotion, but he merely bowed.
“Miss Bell,” he said in a husky voice. “You have returned to us.”
Clara wanted to run into his arms, but she didn’t know if she would be welcome.
“Please introduce me to your friend. This must be Miss Janie? I remember you spoke of her.”
Everything seemed so anticlimactic. Clara stepped out from behind the door, self-consciously in her modern clothing, and she moved to Janie’s side, taking her arm. “This is my friend Janie Ferguson. Hickstrom let her come with me. She’s going to stay awhile.”
Roger bowed in Janie’s direction, and Janie stared at him with a wide smile.
“Oh, how nice!” she said. “I won’t try a curtsey just yet, if you don’t mind. I assume you know I’m from the future?”
“I do, Miss Ferguson.”
“Janie, please.”
Roger inclined his head.
“So you’re the estate agent turned baron, is that right?”
Roger glanced at Clara before turning back to Janie. “If Miss Bell described me thus, then she described me accurately. I must admit to being pleased she told you of me at all.”
“Of course I told her about you!” Clara said.
Roger stiffened, and he turned an inquiring look on Clara. “But wait! You did not bring Janie here...” He stopped short.
“For what?” Janie asked.
“I should not have spoken. Please forget my words.”
“What were you going to say, Roger?” Clara asked. “Oh, no! I know. You think I brought Janie back here for you...because I said she would enjoy it here.”
Roger clasped his hands behind his back and looked down at
the carpet.
Janie laughed.
“Oh, no! That’s definitely not why I’m here. Poor guy! Are you thinking Clara is trying to match you with someone? Nope! All I’ve heard about since she’s been back is you. She’s in love with you. I only hope you love her back!”
Clara gasped and jerked Janie’s arm.
Roger looked up, searching Clara’s face. She looked away, unable to meet his gaze.
“Is this true?” he asked.
“Well, of course it’s true!” Mary said, sliding though the door, St. John following. She hurried up to Clara and hugged her before facing Roger.
“We’ve been telling you, Roger!” She turned back to Clara. “I’m so glad you’re back, and I forgive you for taking off like that! Is this Janie?” Mary reached to hug Janie.
“Yes,” Clara said. “This is my friend Janie Ferguson. Janie, this is Lord and Lady St. John, better known as St. John and Mary.”
“Pleased to meet you,” Janie said. “You’re just in time. I think Clara and Roger were sort of declaring their love for each other.”
“Yes, I think we are just in time,” Mary said. “I guess we could give them a moment. Would you like some breakfast, Janie, nineteenth-century style?”
“Sure!”
“It seems that we will leave you two to sort out your affairs,” St. John said. He bowed and left the room after Mary and Janie.
Clara’s cheeks burned, but she lifted her head to face Roger.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m sorry I left.”
“It is I who must apologize. St. John did urge me to declare myself, to tell you of my affections, my love, but I could not find the courage.”
Clara locked her hands behind her back. “Would it have taken courage? Was it so hard to tell me?”
“I thought you might continue to rebuff me.”
“Rebuff you? I rebuffed you?”
“You did not act alone. I spurned you as well, even your kind gesture to potentially save me from a marriage to Miss Whitehead.”
Clara swallowed hard. “I didn’t want you to marry Penelope. I didn’t want you to marry anyone but me.”
There! She had said it.
Roger took a step forward. “Can this be true? Do you truly wish to marry me? Will you stay with me?”
Clara forced herself to walk toward him on shaky legs.
“I truly wish to marry you, and I will stay with you. I just want you to be happy.”
Roger closed the gap between them and pulled her into his arms. Clara had wondered how his embrace might feel, and it was everything she had dreamed of. She nestled against him, pressing her ear to his pounding heart. She lifted her head and caressed his face. He turned toward her and kissed the palm of her hand.
“You are my happiness, Clara. You alone are my happiness.”
****
Hickstrom, satisfied that one of her more difficult projects was well on its way to success, helped herself to another chocolate chip cookie and contemplated her next case.
Books by Bess McBride
Time Travel Romance
The Earl Finds a Bride
(Book One of the Fairy Tales Across Time series)
The Viscount Finds Love
(Book Two of the Fairy Tales Across Time series)
The Baron Finds Happiness
(Book Three of the Fairy Tales Across Time series)
A Ship Through Time
The Highlander’s Stronghold
(Book One of the Searching for a Highlander series)
The Highlander’s Keep
(Book Two of the Searching for a Highlander series)
The Highlander’s Home
(Book Three of the Searching for a Highlander series)
My Laird’s Castle
(Book One of the My Laird’s Castle series)
My Laird’s Love
(Book Two of the My Laird’s Castle series)
My Laird’s Heart
(Book Three of the My Laird’s Castle series)
Caving in to You
(Book One of the Love in the Old West series)
A Home in Your Heart
(Book Two of the Love in the Old West series)
Forever Beside You in Time
Moonlight Wishes in Time
(Book One of the Moonlight Wishes in Time series)
Under an English Moon
(Book Two of the Moonlight Wishes in Time series)
Following You Through Time
(Book Three of the Moonlight Wishes in Time series)
A Train Through Time
(Book One of the Train Through Time series)
Together Forever Across Time
(Book Two of the Train Through Time series)
A Smile in Time
(Book Three of the Train Through Time series)
Finding You in Time
(Book Four of the Train Through Time series)
A Fall in Time
(Book Five of the Train Through Time series)
A Summer in Time
(Book Six of the Train Through Time series)
Train Through Time Series Boxed Set
(Books 1–3)
Across the Winds of Time
A Wedding Across the Winds of Time
(Novella)
Love of My Heart
Historical Romance
Anna and the Conductor
The Earl’s Beloved Match
(Novella)
The Dishonest Duke
Short cozy mystery stories by Minnie Crockwell
Will Travel for Trouble series
Trouble at Happy Trails (Book 1)
Trouble at Sunny Lake (Book 2)
Trouble at Glacier (Book 3)
Trouble at Hungry Horse (Book 4)
Trouble at Snake and Clearwater (Book 5)
Trouble in Florence (Book 6)
Trouble in Tombstone Town (Book 7)
Trouble in Cochise Stronghold (Book 8)
Trouble in Orange Beach (Book 9)
Trouble at Pelican Penthouse (Book 10)
Trouble at Island Castle (Book 11)
Trouble at Yellowstone (Book 12)
Will Travel for Trouble Series (Books 1–3)
Will Travel for Trouble Series (Books 4–6)
Will Travel for Trouble Series (Books 7–9)