by Annie Seaton
She must understand.
Over the months she had been in the castle, his admiration had grown for this woman. Slight of stature, but strong in spirit.
He smiled and reached up to touch the black jewel at his breast.
She would understand.
His fingers touched the jewel and with his free hand he pulled on the reins. The horse whinnied in protest at the sudden jerk. Dougal slid to the ground and pulled the black stone from the pouch slung around his neck. It was burning hot...and making a sound. Curiously, he turned it over and around and narrowed his eyes as he noticed a small hand on the back of the stone moving from side to side. He hadn’t noticed it before. Shaking it from side to side, the hand continued to move and the humming sound became louder.
It was not a necklace; it was some sort of device. He had removed it from Sofia’s neck when she first slept in his castle, before she awoke from the effects of the Astrolaberors travel. The stone vibrated in his hand and he looked at it for a long moment, before remounting and heading for the coast road.
Another question for Sofia...
Chapter 15
Indigo de Vargas y Irausquínno and her husband the Sherriff of Cornwall stepped from the dirigible in a field just south of Carlisle. Indigo had wanted to ignore the Scottish regulations which prohibited the flying of the steam-powered airships across the border however had listened to the calm words of her husband and they now awaited the arrival of the carriage that would deliver them to Kilmarnock. ‘T is best if we draw no attention to ourselves until we arrive at the castle of the Earl of Rothmore.”
Indigo looked at her husband with affection as he spoke. Always the calm and considered partner in their joint decision making, he had rescued her from many a scrape since their marriage ten years before. Now in his position as Sheriff of Cornwall, he was privy to information from the parliament and had recently received word of some nefarious activities in Kilmarnock related to the Earl of Rothmore. They had decided it was time to travel north from Cornwall.
Indigo blinked away the tears threatening to fall. It was three months since Sofia’s death in the Alps and the grief was permanently lodged in her chest. She had fought to hide her despair for the sake of the four boys and Mr. Grimoult who blamed himself for the tragic death of Sofia.
Jory and Jago were still quiet but were beginning to lose a little of the raw grief they had carried when they returned from the Alps. As much as she had wanted to travel immediately to Scotland and confront the Earl of Rothmore on his isolated island, Zane had convinced her she was needed by their boys.
Also Sofia’s assistants from Vienna, Johann and Genevieve had arrived unannounced at their manor two weeks ago unaware of Sofia’s death. They explained Sofia had sent them on a quest to investigate the strange happenings in Vienna and had been inconsolable when Zane had told them of her death and the fire in the laboratory in Vienna.
The information Johann and Genevieve had gathered and the intelligence that had come to Zane in his position as Sheriff continued to point to Scotland and the town of Kilmarnock.
“We will draw no attention to ourselves until I meet this man.” Indigo said as they waited for the carriage in the early morning chill. “I will kill him with my bare hands.”
A brisk wind blew across the bare fields and a smell of snow drifted down from the hills.
“Slow and easy, my dear.” Zane reached over and tucked her coat high around her neck. “We will talk to the earl before we make any decisions. I don’t like the feel of this whole investigation. Duke Lorca is involved and you know he cannot be trusted. It does not sit comfortably with me”
“Better than most,” she said with a cynical laugh. “But, Zane, I will see this man pay for the murder of my sister.”
“Yes, my dear. When we establish he is involved in her death. Too much information has just appeared without explanation. I remain to be convinced of his responsibility.”
“He pushed her over the Alps.” Indigo’s voice rose and Zane put his finger over her lips as heads turned. There were other passengers waiting for the carriage which would go onto Edinburgh after Kilmarnock.
“Come.” He took her hand and led her away from the small group. “Now that we are closer to Scotland, we shall try the device one more time.”
When news had first reached them of Sofia’s demise, Indigo had refused to believe her sister was dead. At all hours of the day and night for the first month, she had tried to raise her through the communication device Zane had given Sofia to wear around her neck.
A slim hope was lodged deep in her heart, but she knew if Sofia was alive she would have contacted her long before this.
“Very well.” She sighed. “We may as well fill in the time we must spend waiting for this...this archaic transport.”
They turned their back to the group and Zane pulled back the frilled white cuff of his sleeve and opened the top of the chronometer on his wrist. He flicked one of the small cogs on the edge and a faint humming began. A smile spread across his face as Indigo stared up at him.
“We have located the device, my dear.”
“Where...how far... can you raise her?” The excitement built in Indigo’s chest and her words ran into each other. She grabbed Zane’s arm and dropped her gaze to the device which was hummed as the cogs spun furiously.
“I can plot the co-ordinates if you give me one moment.” He shook her hand off his arm impatiently. “Keep calm and do not raise your hopes. It may be that whoever took her life removed the device and has it on their person.” He frowned as he tapped away with one finger on the side of the device.” Although it is strange that we did not pick up the signal before. The only way the signal may be obscured if it is in the proximity of a time slip device.”
Zane tapped away for a few more minutes and Indigo paced the road, the stony ground crunching beneath her feet. Finally he beckoned her across.
“Approximately fifty-five degrees north and five degrees west,” he said the satisfaction evident in his voice. Indigo looked up at him at him and for the first time in three months she could see Zane had allowed a glimmer of hope into his thoughts. “The device is close by to us. By my calculations—and I sent a message to Mr. Grimoult and he has confirmed it on your analytical engine— the device is currently moving west past Dundonald Castle.”
“And where is Dundonald Castle?” she asked impatiently.
“It is situated on a hill overlooking the village of Dundonald, between Kilmarnock and Troon not far from here.” Zane looked at her. “It is heading at a slow rate directly for the Isle of Rothmore.”
“We are soon to have answers.” Indigo dared not let hope enter her mind again. She could not stand to be disappointed and she steeled her resolve as the clatter of horse’s hooves approached.
“Come. The carriage is here.”
DOUGAL DECIDED TO CROSS to the island before using the Astrolaberors to return to the time where Sofia waited. The co-ordinates were set for midday and there was two hours to wait, so he tethered the horse in its enclosure and made his way down to the shoreline and entered the small cave where his boat was hidden.
As he pulled it onto the shingle, the drumming of hoof beats from the road above the cliff top reached him and he secured the boat behind a rock arch. Stepping into the shadows at the base of the cliff, he waited for the horse to reach the top of the cliff.
Perhaps Edward had more news about the disappearance of the Council to Edinburgh, but he doubted it. It was most unusual for anyone to come to this part of the coast unless they had reason to visit his castle.
Voices drifted down to him.
“A boat—there is a boat on the sand,” a deep voice called out.”Look down beneath that arch.” There was a softer reply which sounded like a younger man’s voice but the wind carried the words away.
Dougal pressed his back into the cliff and removed the dirk from his waistband as a premonition of doom enveloped him.
Something was wrong.
The voices continued to drift to him and snatches of words drifted down.
“—row across.”
And the reply. “— safe water?”
Dougal reached the entrance of the cave and slipped behind the large rock on the northern side just as the sound of feet landing on the shingle carried across to him.
“Are you sure it will get us to the island?” It was a woman’s voice
Carefully peering around the rock, his cautious gaze locked on a man and a woman standing next to his boat.
His mind worked furiously. If he let them take it, he would have to wait till midday anyway to get back to the island using the Astrolaberors, but he preferred to cross now. If they took his boat, he would have to wait.
He tucked his dirk out of sight and stepped from the cave. One man and one woman were nothing to do with the Knights and he was curious as to their intent.
“Good morning,” he called and sauntered across the sand toward them. “Are ye lost?”
Coal-black eyes fixed on him and he recoiled at the sheer hatred on the woman’s face. Dark curls tumbled onto her shoulders and her face was pale, devoid of any color.
The man placed his hand on her arm to hold the woman back as she began to step toward him.
“Are you going to the island?” the man enquired. The Cornish lilt to his voice hit Dougal immediately. He now knew he looked into the face of Indigo de Vargas, Sofia’s sister.
By all that was holy, he didn’t need this yet. Not until he had been to get Sofia.
He stepped forward and bowed as the the stare of the woman he had heard so much about, remained fixed on him. “I am Dougal, Earl of Rothmore.”
The Sherriff of Cornwall held tightly onto his wife and looked at Dougal. “You have much to explain, sir.”
He inclined his head. “Yes, there is much to explain. We will travel to the island together.” Dougal reached his hand out to Indigo. “Madam, it gives me great joy to be able to tell you...finally...your sister is alive and well in my castle.” He gestured to the boat. “I will row you across the firth and explain all to you.”
Sheeting rain began to fall as Dougal rowed them the short distance to the island. Indigo sat in the middle of the small boat and her husband held his cloak over her in an attempt to protect her from the rain. Small waves splashed against the side of the boat as a brisk wind began to blow and the short journey was fraught with tension. As they followed him from the rocky beach to the courtyard, not a word was spoken. Dougal was concerned for Sofia’s sister. Despite the joy in her expression, her face was still colorless and she gripped her husband’s arm.
Mary stood at the open door and looked at them curiously.
“We have guests,” he said to the middle-aged housekeeper. “Can you heat some broth, please?”
Indigo finally spoke. “We want no hospitality. Take me to my sister.” She glared up at him and took a menacing step toward him. “Immediately.”
“We shall have to wait until midday before I can get your sister,” he replied. “She is safe where she is. Do not fear.” He inclined his head toward the kitchen and Mary left the room. “Come and sit, there is much I have to tell you.”
INDIGO SHOOK HER HEAD in disbelief. “Are you sure this is not a fabrication you have invented to cover the murder of my sister?”
Dougal had explained the disbanding of the Knights Templar and the danger to Sofia and her enterprise in Vienna. “Why can you not take me to her now? Why do I have to wait?”
Dougal looked at her steadily and despite her mistrust, she tried to believe the words this man was saying. He appeared to be telling the truth and she desperately wanted to believe him, but until she saw Sofia with her own eyes she would not believe.
Zane had explained how they had located Dougal through the jeweled communication device and Indigo’s heart had raced when the earl reached into his shirt and removed it from around his neck. They had partaken of the broth and moved to the end of the dining hall closer to the fire. Indigo looked around and wondered how anyone could live in such a cavernous and cold abode.
If indeed, Sofia had spent the past three months here as the earl insisted she had, the austere surroundings and the cold would have made her stay unbearable. Indigo’s anxiety increased as the time passed. She reached out and held Zane’s wrist and looked at his chronometer. “It is ten minutes to midday. I demand you take me to my sister.”The earl looked at her for a long moment before speaking. “If all I have heard of you and your adventures is true, you will have little trouble accepting what I am about to show you.” He reached into his shirt and removed a small velvet pouch before kneeling on the cold stone floor and placing the pouch on the floor beside him. “I can go alone to get your sister or you can travel with me?’
Indigo gasped as he removed a small brass device from the pouch and placed it gently on the flagstones. “It is an Astrolaberors. I haven’t seen one since the Great Exhibition.”
Realization dawned slowly. She turned to the earl and glared at him.
“Where or when...have you hidden Sofia?”
“She is in the castle with Mary, but nineteen years past,” Dougal replied. “The device is capable of transporting three people only, so one person can accompany me to get her or we will be too many for the return journey.”
Indigo turned to Zane. “I shall go.”
He nodded at her and she reached her hand up to stroke her husband’s brow. “I know time travel does not bode well for your equilibrium, my dearest.”
Indigo trusted the earl; she had seen the expression on his face when he spoke of Sofia and his concern for her. The Astrolaberors device was much more accurate than the time mechanism she used in her submarine and she had little fear of time travel, having travelled with her father and then her husband to a century in the future.
“Come then.” She reached up and kissed her husband. “We shall return shortly. I am sure.”
DOUGAL CLOSED HIS EYES and held Indigo’s hand in his. He nodded at the Sheriff. “Make yourself comfortable before the fire. “I shall take good care of your wife and we shall return within the hour.”
He pressed the switch on the device and it emitted a low hum; they were sucked into the vortex of time itself. No matter how many times he travelled, the wonder of it awed him and he looked down at Indigo as she let out a delighted scream. Her face was full of happiness and the anticipation of seeing her sister shone from her expression.
The fire was burning low in the same hearth when they arrived and the day was cold and bleak. Indigo smiled up at him. “The Scottish weather is certainly predictable.”
She looked around with interest. “How far back have we travelled? The room looks exactly the same.”
“Nineteen years,” he replied. “I chose that time as I knew the castle was empty. My parents died when I was a lad and I had moved to Edinburgh. Mary had come to the castle from the mainland to be my housekeeper and I knew Sofia would be well cared for when I travelled with Edward of Kilmarnock.”
He dropped Indigo’s hand. “Wait here. I will find Mary and see where Sofia is.” He smiled at Indigo; she was so very different to Sofia in coloring, size and sheer presence.
“Mary?” He called the housekeeper as he walked toward the kitchen, but there was no answer. Unease coiled in his stomach as he stepped into the cold kitchen. The huge range was cold and there were no loaves of bread cooling on the big table in the centre of the room. Two plates of congealed food sat untouched on the smaller table. Dougal ran to the courtyard and called for Zeus.
“What’s the matter?” He jumped as Indigo pushed past him. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m not sure,” he replied slowly. “Something is not right.”
A shrill cry drifted across from the fie
lds to the south and he ran to the gate where had stood with Edward and Sofia only yesterday. Mary ran up from the shoreline with Zeus close at her heels.
“Oh, Dougal,” she cried before placing her hands over her face.
“What’s the matter?” he asked urgently. “Did someone come from the mainland?”
“No,” Mary replied, shaking her head from side to side. “The lassie has gone.”
“Gone how? Did someone come for her?” A vision of the Knights Templar kidnapping Sofia lodged in his mind and he shook the thought away angrily. “Tell, me girl.”
“She has taken the boat and rowed across the firth,” Mary replied, worry etched on her brow. “But I do not know when. I went to call her for the midday meal and I could not find her. I went to the shore and the boat in the cave was gone.” She burst into tears. “I could do nought as there was no other boat.”
Relief coursed through him. It was simply a matter of following her and bringing her back—she would not have got far in the few hours since she left.
“How will we follow her if there is no other boat?” Indigo asked.
Dougal groaned as realization hit him. There was no other boat on the island and the Astrolaberors could not convey them in the present time. The co-ordinates had been locked into the device for the two time periods and if he changed them, they would not be able to return to the present, where Zane waited for them. He paced the courtyard trying to think of another way to follow Sofia and Indigo strode beside him pulling at his sleeve.
He pulled his arm away angrily. “For God’s sake, woman, let me think.”
She stood and stared at him for a moment before turning on her heel and walking toward the shore.
Dougal watched her go as helplessness filled him. “Don’t leave my sight,” he called after her.
One woman lost is enough.