by Lisa Kumar
“Yes, the year 2413.”
“The year 2413,” he repeated in a deadpan voice.
Maybe she shouldn’t have told him the actual year. It would seem a stretch. “You don’t believe me.”
His hands clenched and unclenched on the desk before him. “I….” His blank-faced façade broke, and he blinked. “I don’t know.”
“I’m telling the truth.” She didn’t know why it was important he believed her, but it was.
He stared at her for so long until she feared she’d crack from the strain of it all. “Against all better judgment, I halfway believe you. So far,” he added with a warning note in his voice. “I still need to hear the rest of your story, so we’ll see how I feel then.”
Relief flooded her. He didn’t believe her completely nuts, only partially so. She could live with that. “I’m a research scientist who time travels to explore mysteries that have confounded people throughout the centuries. Wealthy clients hire the company I work for and have us solve whatever mystery that has their fancy.”
He cocked his head to the side. “So your company exists on the donations given by wealthy individuals?”
“Sort of, but they’re more like payment for services rendered. We have to provide what the company promised, which is physical observation of the time and place where the historical incident occurred.”
She paused. He appeared to be deep in thought, his eyes narrowing in concentration. Hopefully, she hadn’t lost him. “Following along okay?”
He sent a frown her way. “I think so, despite your odd language. It’s like you purposefully seek to confuse me.”
She stifled a giggle. His expression was that of a disgruntled toddler. Too cute. “I promise you, I’m not trying to confuse you in any way.”
He nodded imperiously. “Fine, continue on, then.”
“Okay, where did I leave off?” She bit her lower lip, in part to remember and in larger part to release some of the nervousness his gaze stirred in her. “Oh yes. Normally, the research scientist is to stay invisible, unless my company and the person funding the trip agree otherwise. While we aren’t to reveal ourselves under normal circumstances, there are occasions that call for it. Like in my case, where the drop went wrong. I ended up in the right time but not in the right location.”
That brought her to the question of how far she was from her intended drop. By the guy’s accent, she was relatively sure she had landed in England, so that was a plus. “Where are we, by the way?”
“London. You do know this is in England?” he asked in a snarky tone of voice.
She rolled her eyes. He thought his little barb clever. Two could play at that game. “Of course. London is still around in my day.”
He smiled smugly. “Our town will remain until the end.”
“Well, during the last war, much of the city was destroyed.”
He leaned forward, and it appeared as if every muscle in his body tensed for a blow. “What?”
“Never fear, the people recovered and rebuilt.”
“I never doubted that for one second,” he said coolly.
Ha, she would’ve guessed otherwise, but she’d be kind enough not to point that out. “Anyway, my mission is to find out who stole the Ring of Claremont.”
A hint of interest sparked in his eyes. “The Ring of Claremont, you say?”
“Do you know of it?”
“Most people of any standing do.”
Amusement warred with exasperation. He certainly liked to point out his importance. Maybe she should find out with whom she was dealing.
“What is your standing and name, if you don’t mind?”
He shot her an incredulous look. “You mean to tell me you don’t know?”
Unbelievable. It had to be her misfortune to land in the lap of a pompous man. “Why should I, considering I’m from the future by hundreds of years?”
“You’ve got a point.” But his sullen tone told her while he might understand, he hated that fact.
“So who are you?”
“James Noddingdon.” He inclined his head slightly. “The Earl of Correlton at your service.”
Oooh, so she was looking at a real-life lord of the realm? Nifty. Somehow, though, she didn’t think she was as impressed as he probably thought she should be. “Pleased to meet you, Lord Correlton.”
He gave a curt nod. “Now that we’re got the pleasantries out of the way, please tell me more about your… mission.”
She shrugged. “There’s not much to it. I was to land in the Pendlebough residence”— she gestured around at the study— “which I take this is definitely not.”
His mouth quirked up at the corners. “No.”
“Didn’t think so, but it didn’t hurt to ask. Once at thePendleboughs’, and while being invisible, I was to watch the household for seven days, today included.”
His eyes widened. “Seven days? Why so long if you only need to discover the thief? Shouldn’t your reconnaissance only be confined to the time of the theft? And how do you plan to become invisible?”
“Most of the time our clients want other information, too, like who visited during the mission’s timeframe, what activities the household engaged in, and other things deemed of interest. And with the help of my invisibility transmitter”— she fondly patted the outline of the device in her reticule— “no one will see me.”
“Hmm.” He rubbed his chin and stared at the small purse lying on her lap. “How do you plan on proceeding?”
She grimaced. To tell the truth, she hadn’t gotten that far in her thoughts. “I’m not sure. I guess I could always sneak into the Pendlebough’s residence. It can’t be far, and I’d be invisible, so I shouldn’t run into any problems.” Pausing, she took a deep breath before she continued. “I need your oath you won’t tell anyone about what you saw this day.”
He gave a disbelieving laugh. “You don’t have to worry on that account. You have my word. I have no desire to be a laughingstock, or worse, viewed as mad.”
She sent him a relieved smile. “Good. This will allow me to not further inconvenience you other than having you point me in the right direction.” As she finished her sentence, her chest tightened, and her heart felt as if it had shriveled with disappointment. She shook the feeling off. This messed-up mission was doing a number on her emotions. That was all, nothing else.
Lord Correlton, his face set in resolute lines, placed his hands flat on the desk’s surface and leaned over. “You won’t be going anywhere.”
Chapter Three
Julia’s mouth worked wordlessly for several moments. “What… what did you say?” Surely, she’d heard him wrong, and he hadn’t told her what to do.
He stood from his leaning position and looked down his nose at her. “You heard quite clearly.”
Fire kindled in her chest, burning away any of the previous ache. She rose from her chair and graced him with her fiercest glower. “That was what I was afraid of. Who do you think you are, telling me what I can or can’t do?”
He stalked around the desk to loom over her. She held her ground, though it took every ounce of willpower. When had he gotten so tall? Thankfully, he made no effort to touch her, though some tiny portion of her traitorous body didn’t agree.
As he gazed at her, his eyes seemed to spit green flame. “I’m the man protecting you. I don’t care if you have all these gadgets that supposedly make you invincible. We saw how that went last time, didn’t we?”
His intensity shocked her into silence. When she didn’t answer, he lifted an arrogant brow. That broke her out of her stupor, and outright fury exploded at his arrogance. Oh, he wasn’t getting the best of her. No way.
She glared at him. “I think it has more to do with you pulling rank as an earl”— she curled her fingers in the air as she said the word earl— “than out of any true concern for me.”
“Forget my title. Right now, all I’m concerned about is an infuriating woman from the future who plans on prancing around plac
es she doesn’t know.”
Her hands clenched. Prancing? She didn’t prance. Then his other words sank in. If she didn’t know better, it almost sounded like he was worried about her safety. But he’d barely met her, so his interest couldn’t be anything more than what he’d give any person in her place. Still, some nosey part of her prodded her to ask, “Why do you care?”
He raked a hand through his hair, frustration leaking out of every breath he took. “You’re different. I’ve been searching…. Gah! How do I explain this without sounding like a lunatic?”
“Just spit it out.”
He gave her a strange look. “Such ladylike language.”
Really, what she’d said had been bad? Wow, he should hear how some women from her time talk. “Your time’s morals aren’t mine.”
“Too true.” He sighed raggedly. “What I’m attempting to say is, I felt like something— or someone— would soon enter my life and change it for good or evil. Now, I wonder if you aren’t that person.”
Julia suddenly had trouble breathing. Panic lit in her gut. Was he some sort of gorgeous nut who thought they were fated for each other? She’d been thinking about getting a boyfriend, but this was crazy.
A new concern wormed its way into her consciousness, and a chill iced her spine. He’d said she wasn’t going anywhere. His declaration added a new dimension to those words. Would he hold her prisoner until she could escape? Once her week was over, she’d be out of there. But seven days seemed like a long time to someone being held against her will. Who knew what he could do in that time?
Then her mind went to her invisibility transmitter. She could always use it to get away. In fact, being invisible now sounded really good. Her right hand flew to the reticule that hung from her left wrist, but the earl caught her hand— and the ridicule. Her blossoming hope died.
“Ah, I don’t think it would be wise to leave this on your person.” He walked back to his desk and opened a drawer, dropping her device into it. A click indicated he’d locked the drawer.
Her heart dropped to her toes, while a spark of anger and helplessness shook her. He’d taken the only means she had for a clean escape. Now she would have to play by his rules. She’d have to find out exactly what he was after— and if she were in any danger.
He came back to stand before her. Her throat refused to function properly, but she still managed to get the words out. “Are you talking about marriage?”
Surprise flashed across his face, as if he hadn’t thought that far. His words backed up her assumption. “No, nothing so drastic. We don’t even know each other.”
A wave of relief swept over her. Maybe this wouldn’t turn out as bad as she first feared. “No, we don’t. And I’m only here for a week— to complete a mission, not to find love.”
His lips firmed. “Who said anything about that detestable emotion?”
Confusion gripped her. What on earth was he talking about, then, if not love? “What are you proposing?”
“That we get to know each other, and from there, decide what to do.”
“In one week? I have a life back in 2413.”
“Do you have a husband?” he asked, his voice tight.
Should she tell the truth? This could be her way out. She bit her lip, hating to lie. “Well, no, but—”
“Then you have no one important waiting for you.” His tone was assured, and dare she say it, smug?
She bristled. “I have plenty of people waiting for me. If I stayed, I wouldn’t be allowed to travel back to see them. My parents, my friends—”
He interrupted her again. “But you named no one with which you’d spend your life.”
Put that way, no. She cast about for a good rebuttal, but her mind only drew a blank.
“Not going to answer me?” he drawled.
Finally, she grasped something she could verbally smack him with. “Women of my age don’t need a significant other to spend our lives with.” She smiled, hoping what she’d say next would shock him into forgetting her existence. “And if we do find one, we often don’t marry them.”
His eyebrows drew together. “Do you approve of and partake in this lifestyle?”
Actually, she was quite old-fashioned and considered a throwback in her day. He definitely didn’t need to know that. She shrugged nonchalantly. “I see nothing wrong with it.” Her left eye twitched as she spoke.
“Liar,” he said softly and stepped closer, closing the distance between them. She refused to look at him. If she were being cowardly, fine by her. Was it her imagination, or did the heat of him radiate toward her? Like a drowning woman, she grasped onto the prior explanation with a death grip. Her imagination— yep, that had to be it.
He settled his hands on her shoulders.
Her mind froze, zeroing in on every movement he made, every breath he took.
Leaning down, he whispered in her ear, “I know women, their mannerisms. After all, I’ve made it my business to learn every facet of their bodies.”
The sensuousness of his words wrung a gasp from her lips, but the images left in her mind made her heart darken with rage. Was this what jealousy felt like? If so, it sucked.
She knocked his hands away and stepped back a pace. “I’m not one of your doxies.”
“No, but if I have my way, you’ll be my woman.”
She frowned at him. His woman? What did that mean? His kept mistress? His wife? She had big problems with both possibilities— the first one for obvious reasons, and the second because no one was forcing her into marriage. However, the reasons didn’t matter, because in a week she’d be home. “How about if I say otherwise?”
He turned the most charming and seductive smile on her. “I don’t think you will, but if you still want to leave after a week, I’ll let you go.”
She ignored how his grin had turned her knees to jelly by telling herself to toughen up. He was another Lothario, nothing more. “Maybe you’ll want to let me go.” Especially if she acted like a brat the entire time.
“Maybe.” His lips quirked as if he found her funny, which frustrated her beyond belief. “But I doubt it.”
“After my seven days are up, you promise that you’ll let me leave without any interference?”
He inclined his head. “You have my word.”
Yeah well, she didn’t know if she should trust that. And she still had her mission to accomplish. “If you want me to fall for you, kidnapping me isn’t the best way to go about it.”
“Don’t think of it in that way. I’m merely courting you as I watch over your safety. Any lady would be flattered.” He indicated to the chair she’d vacated. “Please, have a seat.”
“I guess I’m not a lady, then” she said flatly as she sat down.
“By the end of the week, you’ll be one.”
As he strode back to his desk and the chair waiting for him, she crossed her arms over her chest. What he left unspoken was that he thought she’d be whatever he desired. Like she was a brainless moron with no will or personality of her own that he could make over. “We’ll see about that. Anyway, won’t I sully your noble linage? As far as I know, I’m as common as they come.”
“I’m not concerned. There are ways around that. Money can ease many problems.”
“Ha, the typical response of someone who’s rich.”
He gave an elegant shrug. “I make no denials in that regard.”
“And tell me how I’ll finish my mission since you took my invisibility transmitter?”
A smile of satisfaction curved his lips. “The good old-fashioned way.”
“What? Breaking in?”
He sighed with exasperation. “I’m an earl. I’m invited to every ball, rout, and party you could desire. We’ll get all the information you need for your report.”
She tapped her foot. “And how about finding out who the thief is? I can’t very well hide in the Pendlebough’s study until the ring is stolen.”
He inspected his nails. “So it’s stolen from the study?�
�
“That was the Pendlebough’s story.”
“I know Lady Pendlebough and her brother quite well.”
Julia scrunched up her face in thought. “I think I remember reading something about him. He was… the Marquis of Avingdale?”
“Was?” asked the earl.
Ouch, here was a subject she really didn’t like discussing or even thinking about. But really, there was only one logical outcome to the matter. “Back in my time, he’s long dead. So are you. So is everyone from this period.”
The gravity of her words appeared to hit him like a punch, and he flinched. “That is more unsettling than I’d like to admit.” He paused before speaking again, a frown marring his brow. “However, you knew of Avingdale but not me?”
She smiled. He sounded almost affronted. “If it makes you feel any better, I may have seen your name mentioned.” A grin spread across his face, then she added, “In a footnote at the bottom of the page.”
His triumphant expression slipped faster than a woman wearing heels on ice. “You enjoy taking me down a peg, don’t you?”
“You make it so easy.”
He took a deep breath. “Then I will have to endeavor not to make it so.”
“I don’t know. I find your arrogance kind of cute.”
“Cute?” He spit out the word like it was poison. To a man like him, it probably was.
“Could be worse. It could be annoying.”
He seemed a bit appeased. “At least I’m not that.”
She threw him a sweet smile. “I said your arrogance could be kind of cute. I never said you weren’t annoying.”
“While I would love to continue our little verbal game, I believe we were discussing your mission.”
Oh, yeah. She’d been getting a little carried away and forgotten that. Not good if she wanted to keep everything with the earl as professional as possible. Was professional even the right word since he was holding her captive? She didn’t think so but was at a loss what to call it. Right now, the best thing to do was focus on her mission. “I have to watch the Pendlebough’s household. I don’t see how I can do that full-time while I’m here.”