His eyes fluttered open but they were glazed and unfocused. She prayed he was lucid and not still under the influence of being so near his former self.
“Where am I?” he asked through parched lips. She kissed them and hurriedly answered.
“You’re home, at the farm. We’re all here. How do you feel?”
He wrinkled his nose and grimaced. “My face hurts.”
“Owen hit you, darling, but you can’t be angry with him.”
At those words, his half-shuttered eyes flew open and he sat up straight as if a steel rod had been injected into his spine. She could see at once he remembered everything. To her utter dismay he began to bawl like a baby, thrashing away from her.
“Oh my God, no. No, no. Matilda, no. What have I done?” He looked at her wildly, still holding her at arm's length as if he didn’t deserve her comfort. “Dear God, Ariana.” He collapsed backwards again, curling himself into a ball on the couch, his wracking sobs one of the worst things she’d ever witnessed. “I shot her. I shot our baby girl.”
She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around him, causing him to go stiff. “Ariana is all right. She’ll be fine. Do you hear me? She’ll be fine.” She said it loud, right in his ear, convincing herself as much as him.
He went limp, seeming to hear her and understand. He wriggled out of her embrace and covered his face with his hands. “I was so stupid, so stupid.”
Tilly sighed, placing her hand on his shoulder since he seemed determined to keep getting away from her hugs. “Yes. It’s good at least now you recognize that. Perhaps you won’t be again.”
“Where is she? I must see her.” He sat up, but she could feel him shaking. He was in no condition to leave the couch yet.
“She’s still asleep after her surgery.” He winced at the word surgery. “And she mustn’t see you so upset at any rate. She already feels responsible for you going in the first place.”
Ashford took a deep breath and moved so she could sit beside him. When she wrapped her arms around him again, he let her. “How can you still love me after what I’ve done?” He gasped. “You do still love me? This isn’t just pity?”
“I don’t pity you at all right now, Ashford. I’m still plenty angry. But of course I love you.” She patted his knee and smiled. “Actually, I’m too tired to really be angry. I know you did what you thought was best. And Owen said you weren’t acting yourself at all so we think that was the proximity thing. You were foolish for going off without telling me your stupid plan, but then again Ariana was a bit foolish for jumping in front of a gun to save that… well. We’re all together again, we’re all alive. That’s all I care about.”
His whole body stiffened again. “Nick is still alive. This isn’t over. It will never be over while that scoundrel still breathes.”
She paused to let the melodrama of his words fade, then answered. “You’ll hear everything soon enough. I don’t even know all the details, but the children believe everything will be fine on that front. Ariana was quite firm that Nick was innocent this time around.”
“But what if there’s a next time? We’re going to trust the children on something so important?”
Were they? She thought of Ariana’s strength and determination to keep her father from becoming a murderer, the responsibility she took when she apologized and swore never to run away again.
“Yes, we have to. They’re not children anymore. We were going to let Ri get married for goodness’ sake.”
“I never loved the idea of her getting married so young, but it’s a far sight better than the alternative.”
Tilly nestled against his shoulder, all her anger gone. Nothing had worked out the way she would have chosen, but everything had worked out. “There aren’t any more alternatives,” she said. “That past, that future, whatever it is, is gone. It’s been played out and now it’s done. Are we agreed on this?” She twisted her neck to get a look at him. He frowned and furrowed his brow. “Please, Julian. No more secrets.”
His trademarked Ashford scowl softened and he dipped his chin to kiss her. “We’re in agreement. We all tell the truth and we all trust each other from now on.” He kissed her again. “And no more time travel.”
She pulled away. “About that,” she said, placing her fingertip squarely in between his eyebrows to keep them unfurrowed. “I think I want us to visit Dexter. Ariana used a spell that was safe and accurate. I think it might be the same as what old Liam used to use. It’s how Owen got you both back here.”
“A trip to visit your cousin? You’d want to leave the boys after we’re finally all together again?”
“I want to take the boys. No more secrets, right? We need to come clean about everything. For all we know Christian is some latent magical genius and is about to wreak havoc because he doesn’t know what’s going on.”
He chortled. “I doubt any of our sons are latent geniuses at anything, God bless them.”
She whacked him softly in the arm. “They’re brilliant in every way, just like you are.”
“Now I know you’re delusional.”
She took in a slow, cleansing breath and released it, letting go of all the worries and fears of the last weeks. Pushing out any fresh fears that might take hold from what she was going to propose.
“I’m serious about this, though. If we hadn’t kept everything a secret about their heritage, Owen and Ariana wouldn’t have practiced without supervision. They wouldn’t have needed to find that damn book because they would have already known to leave it well enough alone. It’s clear they’re talented, like your sister and Kostya. Kostya has to stop being afraid and we have to be more open or they may end up going down a road like Camilla did.”
She let him simmer in silence for a few moments, knowing that any mention of his twin sister and what she’d become was a terribly tender subject to him. But living a life of lies and denial hadn’t changed anything. They still almost lost Ariana. Fate was a jerk, that was all there was to that.
“Family meeting, then?” he finally asked. “I suppose a trip to future London is as good a plan as any. It’s not as if we have a home to go back to in this time.”
She swatted him again. “Too soon, Ashford. Way too soon.”
He dropped a conciliatory kiss on the top of her head. “Can we take Farrah with us when we visit Dexter? It might be nice to have some alone time in the future. I do love their cinemas.”
She squeezed him tight enough to make him grunt. “Yes, I sent a messenger after them telling them to abandon your plan to stake out that other portal up north. How could you do that to poor Thomas?”
“Poor Thomas?” he huffed indignantly. “I hadn’t seen him so excited in years as when I suggested he might get to travel again.”
“Then we should take him, too. Let him and Farrah have a night at the movies, too.”
“You’re the brilliant one amongst us, my love.”
“Glad you recognize that as well. Shall we go check in on Ariana?”
He stood, pulling her with him and patting gingerly at his nose. “How will she ever forgive me?”
Tilly stood on her toes and kissed his lips, then his battered, bruised nose. “I imagine she’ll say there’s nothing to forgive.”
Chapter 27
Ariana followed the estate agent, ignoring a slight twinge in her side. She’d been recuperating for a month— or a couple hundred years, depending on one’s point of view— and was ready to consider herself fully recovered from her accidental gunshot wound. And except for the occasional twinges and itchiness where her stitches had been, she was completely fine. She almost couldn’t believe she was really here, looking at her mansion.
It irked her that she had to buy it all over again and after so much time had passed, all the hard work she and her witches had put into it was wholly undone. But a promise to the truth was a promise to the truth and even though this was costing her a pretty penny, she’d never been happier or more at peace.
Her family was a
ll together again and even more importantly, all on the same page. Her brothers practiced silly, rudimentary spells every day between their lessons and it turned out that little Nathan seemed to have a real knack for it. Grayson wasn’t too shoddy and Christian was as useless as usual, causing her to worry about his future a bit, now that he didn’t have the earldom to fall back on.
“It looks worse than it is,” the estate agent said, pointing to the top row of windows, every one of which were broken.
One on the left was boarded up, making Ariana recall the pirate drawings her mother used to make to amuse them. Thinking of her mother made her smile. She was in her element, the happiest Ariana had ever seen her. And it was fun watching her father bumble around haphazardly, trying to get used to everything.
“It actually looks very bad,” Ariana said.
“The roof is sound, the floors are good. Nothing’s rotting, I mean. Of course you’ll need to sand and finish or tear them up completely. It would be a shame, though, since they’re original and really lovely if you can get past the lumpiness.”
Ariana followed her inside after she struggled to get the lock unstuck. They both had to lean on the huge door to get it to open, and were then greeted with the ear-splitting screech of the rusty hinges. The agent looked around, desperate to find something positive to say about the dusty, cobweb encrusted surroundings.
“I’ll take it,” Ariana said before she could think of a single thing.
“You will?”
“It used to belong to my great-great-great… well, an ancestor. I was actually named for her. I have a love of history and want to restore the place to how it used to be.”
The agent pressed her lips together as if to prevent a whoop of joyful disbelief. “I’m sure it was amazing back in its day. I don’t really know why it was left the way it was. It’s been owned by the county for as long as I can remember. You’re sure you want it?”
“I’m absolutely positive.”
“It’s a huge undertaking. I’m not trying to discourage you, but most people don’t even take two steps in before realizing they’re in over their heads. The last real nibble we had was someone wanting to tear it down and build an adult theme park, but the county wouldn’t hear of something so tacky.”
Ariana had no idea what an adult theme park was, but was glad she hadn’t lost out on the chance to own her beloved house again. They walked quickly through as much of the place as they could without becoming completely filthy. The estate agent asked at least four more times if Ariana was certain and each time she laughingly assured her she was.
She declined the ride back into town. “Some people are meeting me here,” she explained. “I’ll ride back in with them.”
The agent opened her mouth to ask if she was sure yet again, then closed it with a smile. “This isn’t usually our protocol, but there’s nothing in there you can make worse, and certainly nothing to steal.” She handed Ariana the front door key. “But don’t let anyone get hurt or it’s on my head. Stay out of the attic and cellar.”
“Thank you, that’s very kind,” Ariana said excitedly. She’d expected to get to show off the grounds but now she could reveal the inside as well. “I won’t go anywhere near the attic or cellar, don’t worry.”
They agreed on a time for Ariana to go to the agent’s office the next day to get started on the papers and then she zoomed away.
“Probably cackling the whole way back into London about how foolhardy I am,” Ariana mused. She wandered around outside the old house, not letting any cracks or crooked bricks ruin her good mood. The garden was in as woeful a state as the building, but she knew from experience that there was nothing broken that couldn’t be fixed.
When she ended up back at the front again, she waved to see her guests had arrived. Cousin Dexter parked his car and Aunt Serena and Uncle Kostya spilled out, looking as harried as they always did after an automobile ride. Emma, Christian, and Grayson unwedged themselves from the small backseat.
Before Ariana could ask, Uncle Kostya called out. “Your mum should be just behind us with Nathan and Dahlia and your father. How she can drive on these streets in one of these contraptions is beyond me.”
“Not to mention her driver’s licence is at least thirty years expired,” Cousin Dexter said, giving her a quick hug. They’d all been together just that morning but after hearing about everything they’d been through, he liked keeping them in his sights.
Before anyone could worry too much, another car pulled up, jerking to a halt a bit too close behind Dexter’s. He sucked in a breath and waved his hands.
Her father got out, looking pale and clutching a hand to his heart as if the ride over could have possibly been the most frightening thing he had ever been through. During the month of her recuperation and in light of their family’s new policy of full disclosure, he’d told her some truly hair raising tales of when he used to use the portal.
His face turned grim when he realized where they were. Her mother didn’t look overly pleased, either. The boys took off like the wild things they were, running towards the back garden in search of whatever it was they thought they were going to find.
“What’s all this?” Uncle Kostya asked, seeming to sense her parents’ apprehension.
“This is the house I used to own when I had my coven,” she said. It still made her slightly ashamed to speak about it so openly, but for the most part her family didn’t judge her too harshly. “It’s really lovely. Please, everyone. Come inside and look around.”
Her mother rushed to her side and took her arm. “Do you still own this place?” she whispered.
“Almost,” Ariana whispered back. “Please, Mum and Da, keep an open mind.”
She and Cousin Dexter got the front door open with another round of unpleasant scraping noises and squeaking. She held out her arm in a sweeping motion, urging them to go in.
“It looks like it has good bones,” Uncle Kostya said, tapping the walls as he made his way down the hall.
The others followed, looking around as if at any minute something might fall on their heads. Which Ariana allowed it might. Aunt Serena commented on how beautiful the floors would be if they were restored and admired the stately high ceilings and the moldings which were in surprisingly good shape.
“But this is where—” her father started, unable to contain himself when everyone else was being so positive. “How can you possibly like this place?”
“Nothing bad actually happened to me here,” she said. “Well, the one thing, when Milo tried to … but anyway, I love this place. I don’t have a single bad feeling toward it and neither should you.”
He grumbled but said no more, raising a brow at her mother. “Bad things happened to me here,” she said quietly. She looked around until she located the side stairs and made a beeline up them.
“Is that safe to go up the stairs?” Emma asked, patting her slightly rounding belly. She had been obsessed with safety ever since finding out she was pregnant and mostly told people to ignore her, but now she had a point.
“I think so,” Ariana said. “Go have a look at the gardens, what there is of them. I’ll get Mum.”
Up the creaky but solid stairs, Ariana finally found her mother in a spacious room she remembered using as her own. Before she could tell her this, her mother turned to her, hugging her arms to her sides.
“This is where Nick locked me in and threatened to kill you if I didn’t go along with his plan.”
“This was my room,” Ariana said.
She nodded and choked back a sob. “I didn’t know at the time he’d already poisoned you and you were already—”
“Wait, Mum,” Ariana interrupted. They all had so much to confess and reveal that she must have forgotten an important detail. “I never died, didn’t I ever tell you that? When Owen and Maria got there to rescue me, Milo went berserk with terror and so did Nick. It turns out the first time, I mean the time that I never actually lived through, I didn’t die. The poison did
n’t work. And Owen— well, that’s his story to tell if he wants. But even in that future or past or whatever it was, I was fine.”
Her mother dropped her arms and sighed, moving to the window to look out. “Down there is where your father came to rescue me. That’s not such a bad memory.” She turned and looked at Ariana, her face full of concern. “If you’re happy here and determined to live here, I suppose I’ll get used to it.”
“But do you feel any of the bad— what do you call them? The things that float around in the air?”
Her mother chuckled. “Vibes? That’s not a magical thing, darling. It’s something you feel in your gut.”
“Do you feel any bad vibes here, then?”
Ariana waited while her mother closed her eyes and breathed in deeply through her nose, tilting her head back and forth. She opened her eyes and shrugged.
“I actually don’t.” She looked around. “This was a gorgeous room when I was here. Even though I was scared and enraged, I can still remember it. You certainly did have opulent taste. Is that how you’ll decorate it again?”
“About that,” Ariana said, taking her hand and pulling her back toward the stairs. “Let’s go make the announcement to everyone that I’m buying this place again. And don’t get Father started on how I got the money. It’s perfectly legal. Generations of solicitors have made a sound living looking over my investments all these years.”
In the overgrown and thorny back garden, everyone gathered together while she proudly announced she was about to be the owner of the place once again.
“You’re what?” her father roared. Her mother took his arm and pulled him down to whisper something in his ear. He pursed his lips but didn’t put up any more fight.
“Like I told Ariana,” her mother said for everyone’s benefit, “If she wants to live in this time and in this house, we’ll all be happy to visit her.”
“Absolutely,” Emma said. “This place is a historian’s dream. I can only hope you’re going to stay true to its era and not have everything be stainless steel and white tiles?”
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