10 Timeless Heroes; A Time Travel Romance Boxed Set

by P. L. Parker, Beth Trissel, L. L. Muir, Skhye Moncrief, Sky Purington, Nancy Lee Badger, Caroline Clemmons, Bess McBride, Donna Michaels

  She inhaled deeply, dragging much needed oxygen into her lungs. No, she couldn’t possibly tell him her thoughts.

  “Won’t, Mr. Chamberlain. Won’t.” She gently pulled his hand from her chin, resisted a compelling urge to bring the hand to her lips, and leaned her head back to close her eyes and give her overworked, racing heart a much-needed rest.

  “We are not done yet, Ellie. You may sleep now, but we are not done, you and I.” She knew he leaned close to whisper—close enough to bring goose bumps to her arms and strange stirrings to other body parts—but she kept her eyes firmly shut, though she couldn’t prevent a quick grin in response.

  The steady thud of the horses’ hooves and regular rocking of the carriage lulled her into drowsiness, with the warm, intimate feel of Robert’s breath lingering against her ear. Who knew Victorian men could be so...so...sensual? On that thought, Ellie slipped off the precipice...in more ways than one.

  Chapter Seven

  It seemed like only moments had passed before she felt Robert shaking her.

  “Ellie, we’re here. Wake up.”

  Ellie opened her eyes to find her face pressed against Robert’s chest, his arm around her shoulders. She gasped and pulled herself from his arms into a stiffly upright position, with a wary glance in Mrs. Chamberlain’s direction.

  Robert leaned near. “It is all right, Ellie. They are both asleep, but I must wake them now. I...enjoyed the short nap.”

  Ellie shook her head and bopped him lightly on the arm.

  “You shouldn’t have let me sleep like that. I don’t know what your grandmother would have said,” she hissed.

  Robert grinned unabashedly. “We will never know.”

  The driver came around to open the carriage door. Ellie tried to see over Robert’s shoulder but could not. He reached over to touch his sister’s arm.

  “Melinda, wake up. We’re home at last.” Melinda roused with a sleepy smile and turned to wake her grandmother.

  Robert stepped down from the carriage and held out a hand to Ellie. She laid her hand in his and climbed down the stairs. As he turned to help the other women, Ellie moved away to stare at the house up on the hill. It was an old Queen Anne-style house, but it looked almost new as best she could see from the porch lights. She still couldn’t grasp the concept. What she’d previously considered old-fashioned, antique, historical—was now new, modern, state-of-the-art!

  Lights spilled out from the three-story house onto the street below. The door stood open and an older man in a dark suit hurried down the steep steps. Ellie’s eyebrows shot up and she counted the brick steps as best she could at night—all thirty of them. She turned around to watch Mrs. Chamberlain being handed down from the carriage.

  How did the woman do it?

  The older man bounded down the last step with a puff, threw a curious glance in Ellie’s direction, and moved toward Mrs. Chamberlain while Robert helped Melinda down from the carriage.

  “Mrs. Chamberlain, Mr. Chamberlain, Miss Melinda. It’s so nice to have you home.”

  “Thank you, Roger. We are exhausted,” Robert replied. Roger offered Mrs. Chamberlain a solicitous arm, and turned to head back up the stairs. A sleepy Melinda lifted her skirts to begin what promised to be a long climb and followed her grandmother.

  Robert turned to offer his arm to Ellie.

  “Shall we?”

  “Oh, Robert, I’ll be hanging onto your arm for dear life by the time we get to the top. You don’t want me dragging you down.”

  Robert laughed. “You say the strangest things, Ellie. Of course I want you dragging me down. Why else would I offer you my arm?”

  She took it reluctantly, hoping against all odds that she wouldn’t embarrass herself by huffing and puffing all the way up the steep stairs.

  “Robert, do you walk up these stairs every day? How does your grandmother do it?”

  He chuckled. “No, I most certainly do not. Some construction is being done to the back of the house, and the carriage is not able to discharge us there at the moment.” He heaved a sigh. “So, for now, we must climb the stairs. I expect work to be completed by the end of next week.”

  Ellie alternated between watching her step and staring up at the house. The dark sky prevented her from determining its color or features, but the twenty or so well-lit windows in her immediate view indicated the house was immense.

  “Umm...Robert?”

  “Yes, Ellie.”

  “I don’t think I asked. What exactly do you do for a living? I suppose I could just as well have ended up in the...umm...immigrant car in my dream.”

  Robert threw back his head and laughed, that wonderfully joyous sound she had come to crave. Melinda turned around and smiled.

  “Ellie, Ellie. You make me laugh like I have not laughed in years.” He pressed her arm closer to his side.

  Ellie had all she could do not to start gasping for air at the effects of his nearness and the steepness of the ascent. She tried to drag in air between her teeth as quietly as possible.

  “I am a banker...as was my father before me. This was my parents’ house. They left it to me.”

  “Not to Melinda?”

  He gave her a curious look. “No, not to Melinda. She has money in trust, which I manage, but daughters do not usually inherit property.”

  Ellie studied the back of the young woman ahead of her and shook her head.

  “Of course. I knew that. How archaic!” she muttered.

  “How so, Ellie?”

  “I just want you to know that in my time women have as many legal rights as men. So, hang on to your derby, Robert, because the times they are a-changing.” She turned a firm, challenging eye on him, to which he responded with a dimpled grin.

  “I cannot wait to hear about all the changes, my dear Miss Standish, and I look forward to their challenge as well as to that light in your eyes.”

  Ellie’s face flamed, and she turned her face forward. Mrs. Chamberlain’s slow progress halted them halfway up the stairs.

  “You really need to get that construction done,” Ellie muttered, as an excuse to inhale deeply.

  “Yes, I know. I will press the crew tomorrow. This should have been finished while we were gone.”

  “You said the house had been left to you. Have your parents passed away, Robert?”

  He gave her a brief nod. “Yes, they both contracted pneumonia five years ago and died within days of each other. Melinda was only thirteen.”

  “Oh, Robert, I’m so sorry!”

  He laid a warm hand on hers as she clung to his arm. “Thank you. It is one of the diseases that I hope has been eradicated in your time. Has it, Ellie?”

  Ellie bit her lip and sighed, though short of breath.

  “No, I’m afraid not, Robert. More people survive pneumonia than they used to, but I’m afraid people do still die from it.”

  He sighed. “I am sorry to hear that. And your family, Ellie? What of them? Will they miss you? Did you leave anyone behind?”

  Kyle’s face flashed before her eyes, and she wondered if she were lightheaded from the climb.

  “No, no one, Robert,” she lied. “I left no one behind. My parents passed away several years ago in an accident, and I’m an only child. Of course, as you know, I think I’m dreaming, so I’m likely to wake up at any time.” She fervently hoped not, not yet.

  They neared the top. Robert pulled her up the last two steps and turned to face her.

  “If you are dreaming, Ellie, then I hope you do not wake up in the near future. But if you have traveled back in time, then you have come for a reason, and we must discover what that is. I have my suspicions.”

  Ellie shook her head and smiled but said nothing. It would be interesting to travel in time, but she’d never heard of anyone who actually had in reality—and she, Ellie, would hardly be the first person to do so. More likely, that would be some physicist or somebody with a government black-ops program.

  They followed Mrs. Chamberlain, Melinda a
nd Roger through the front door and into a large, circular foyer crowned by a massive, sparkling chandelier which hung down the length of a round staircase leading to the second and third stories. The chandelier’s light illuminated the foyer’s pale cream paint and reflected off the highly varnished parquet oak floors.

  An older woman in a plain, dark gray dress stepped forward.

  “Thank you, Mr. White. I’ll take Mrs. Chamberlain from here.” She took the frail-looking older woman by the arm and began to ascend the stairs.

  “Thank you, Mrs. White,” Robert said. A married couple Ellie thought. “I’ll see about organizing some tea. Would you care for some refreshment before you retire, Mr. Chamberlain?”

  Robert removed his hat and laid it on the magnificent oval teak table in the middle of the foyer. He turned to Melinda with an inquiring look.

  “Nothing for me, thank you, Robert, Mr. White. I think I will just go up to bed.” She followed the two older women up the stairs.

  Robert intercepted the butler’s curious stare at Ellie. “Yes, Roger, I would like some tea. Two cups, please. Could you ask Sarah to prepare a guest bedroom for Miss Standish, please? She will be staying with us for a period of time.”

  Ellie winced as the butler studied her clothing for a brief moment before responding.

  “Certainly, sir. Where will you take your tea?”

  “The study, I think, Roger. When you and Sarah are finished, you can retire. I apologize for keeping everyone awake so late tonight. The train schedule is unforgiving.”

  Roger nodded. “Think nothing of it, Mr. Chamberlain.” He moved away, leaving Ellie standing alone in the foyer with Robert.

  She dropped her eyes to the floor with the thought that in a romantic movie, alone at last, she and Robert would now be rushing into each other’s arms. If this were a dream, why wasn’t that occurring? What kind of rip-off dream was this, anyway? She choked on a slightly hysterical giggle.

  “Ellie?” Robert’s voice penetrated her rambling inner dialogue.

  She looked up to see him gesturing toward a large, closed, paneled door.

  “Would you care to join me in the study while your room is being prepared?”

  “Oh, sure,” she murmured with a barely suppressed chuckle and moved toward the door.

  Robert followed and reached from behind to open the door. A shiver ran up her spine as she moved past him.

  “You’re giggling again, Ellie. I suppose you still won’t tell me why.”

  With shaking shoulders, she turned her head from side to side. “I can’t, Robert. I’d be too embarrassed.”

  “Embarrassed? You? Surely not.” He gave an exaggerated sigh and grinned. “Very well. I’ll be patient. You will tell me one day.”

  Ellie entered a massive room remarkable for its dark wood paneling. Long green velvet curtains framed highly polished shelves housing hundreds of hardback books. Several elegant brown velvet chairs rested on an immense golden oriental carpet and faced a massive brick fireplace. A large wooden desk occupied one third of the room.

  Ellie dropped into one of the chairs indicated by Robert, finding it surprisingly soft and comfortable. She felt instantly at home and settled into the chair.

  “Oh, Robert, this room is beautiful, absolutely beautiful,” she breathed as she stared at the carved teak mantelpiece and eye-catching gilded mirror above it.

  Robert lowered himself into the chair opposite hers. He surveyed the room thoughtfully.

  “Thank you. I’m glad you like it. The house was built by my father, but I decorated this room last year.”

  “Well, you did a fine job. It is truly wonderful.”

  He smiled. “You may use it when you like. Grandmother and Melinda do not like the room. They think it is too dark, and they prefer the parlor.”

  “Well, thank you. I will.”

  Robert consulted his pocket watch. “It is past one o’clock in the morning. You must be tired.”

  Ellie grinned. “I am, though I’m not sure what time it is in my time. For all I know, I could be getting plenty of rest right now while I sleep.”

  He narrowed his eyes and fixed her with an exasperated smile.

  “Time,” he murmured as he crossed his legs and laced his fingers together.

  “Dream,” Ellie chuckled teasingly.

  Roger entered with a tea tray which he set down on a mahogany table between them.

  “Cream and sugar, Miss Standish?”

  “No, thanks, Roger.” Ellie took her steaming cup and admired the delicate gold leaf embossing small roses on the fine white porcelain.

  “Thank you, Roger,” Robert said. “I will see you in the morning. Not too early, mind you. I’ll leave for the office at ten.”

  “Good night, sir, Miss Standish.” Roger closed the door quietly behind him.

  Ellie again dropped her eyes to her cup.

  “You know, Robert, we have huge mugs to drink tea from now...like your shaving mugs. You do have a shaving mug, don’t you?”

  “Tea from shaving mugs?” He lifted a skeptical eyebrow. “I cannot imagine. Yes, I have a shaving mug. How did you know?”

  “I don’t know if you remember, but the Victorian era is one of my areas of interest. I have studied it quite a bit, especially women’s rights.”

  He took a sip of tea and eyed her over the rim of the cup. “Ah, yes, women’s rights. Melinda...inheritance. Shall I be hearing about that often from you in the future?” A sly grin goaded Ellie.

  “You most certainly will, Mr. Chamberlain. If this isn’t a dream and I’ve traveled back in time—as you believe—then that might very well be my reason for being here.”

  “That being what, Miss Standish?” A playful light in his green eyes threatened to make her laugh, but she refused.

  “That being to educate you and your ilk on the notion that women are equal to men.”

  “My ilk, Miss Standish? My ilk?” he murmured with a twitch of his lips.

  Ellie pumped her eyebrows comically. “You like that, eh, Mr. Chamberlain? I’m just trying to remember some old-fashioned words and use them...in honor of my visit to your time.” She inclined her head graciously in his direction.

  Robert sputtered his tea and set the cup and saucer down with a clatter. He leaned forward, rested his elbows on his knees and buried his face in his hands. Ellie watched his shaking shoulders with apprehension. Did she make him mad?

  He dropped his hands to reveal his face convulsed with laughter.

  “Oh, my dear Miss Standish! How is my century going to cope with you? How will I cope with you?” He shook his head in mock despair.

  “As a true Victorian gentleman, Mr. Standish. Unfortunately, as a true Victorian gentleman,” Ellie murmured partially under her breath as she longed to throw herself onto his lap and run her fingers through the chestnut waves of his shining hair. Her dream rapidly promised to turn into an epic of unrequited passion and bittersweet yearning.

  ****

  Robert leapt out of bed the next morning and rang the bell for his valet. He could not wait to begin the day, to see Ellie once again, to listen to her strange expressions and watch the charmingly rosy color flow and ebb in her face.

  With a knock on the door, his long-time valet, Charles, entered the room, an older gentleman who had been in service with Robert’s father. He crossed over to open the curtains.

  “You are up bright and early, sir.”

  Robert paced the room like a caged tiger. He rubbed his hands together briskly.

  “Yes, I am, Charles. I could not sleep but merely waited for the sun to come up.” Robert crossed to the window and stared out over the city as Charles laid out his clothing. “And the sun has certainly come up. Isn’t it a beautiful day?”

  He turned from the window to catch Charles’ startled look.

  “Yes, I know what you are thinking, my good man. What has possessed me, eh?”

  Charles pressed his thin lips together and handed Robert his trousers.


  “No, sir, I would not presume.”

  Robert glanced up quickly and grinned.

  “Of course you would presume, Charles. You would never tell me, that is all.”

  “As you like, sir,” Charles stoically handed Robert his undershirt.

  Robert slipped the soft cotton undershirt on and paused for a moment as if listening. He put a finger to his lips.

  “Do you hear anything in the hall, Charles? Is anyone else awake?” Robert crossed to the door and pulled it open, peeking out into the empty hallway. He sighed and closed it quietly.

  “We have a guest, you know, Charles. A woman. Her name is Miss Ellie Standish.”

  “Yes, sir, I heard,” Charles responded as he handed Robert a freshly starched white linen shirt.

  “Yes, you probably have. She is from Chicago. She will be a guest with us for a while. For some time, I hope.”

  “Indeed, sir. How fortunate.”

  Robert paused and looked over at Charles. “Charles, I know you too well. What is it?”

  Charles hesitated, then handed his employer a charcoal blue vest.

  “Nothing, sir. We heard about Miss Standish’s arrival this morning. She sounds like a lovely young woman.”

  Robert shrugged on his jacket.

  “Yes, lovely. Yes, she certainly is lovely. Indeed. I think I will leave work early today and take Miss Standish on a tour of the city. Does that sound like something that might be of interest to a woman, Charles?

  Charles dropped the tie he was handing Robert and bent to pick it up. His face was impassive as he held it out. Robert eyed him narrowly. How did the man manage to hide all emotion? Robert hoped he had startled the long-time servant, but other than dropping the tie, Charles had betrayed no surprise at Robert’s unexpected scheme.

  “Certainly, sir. A wonderful idea! So, you will leave work early?”

  “Yes, Charles. I will. I will stop by the bank and see if anything pressing requires my attention, and then I will return.” Robert drew in a deep breath. “It really is a beautiful day!”

  ****

  Sunlight peeped through the thick curtains of Ellie’s bedroom to tease her eyes open. She stretched like a cat from the tip of her head to the last little toe, every muscle stiff and sore as if she had indeed traveled back in time and aged a hundred years. She clasped her hands behind her head and studied the room.