Last Knight: Thornton Brothers Time Travel (A Thornton Brothers Time Travel Romance Book 4)

by Cynthia Luhrs

  She was adjusting her dress when he rode past her.

  “It is you.”

  Christian almost fell off his horse. It pleased her to catch him off guard.

  “What are you doing out here? You could have been set upon by thieves.”

  “I heard you ride out and I knew it was you. But why keep it a secret? You’re doing great things. I heard about the widow. And the girl you helped make a good marriage.”

  “Come, I will tell you as we ride home.”

  On the way, he told her all he had done.

  “Can you understand?”

  “You want something of your own. Not as a Thornton or Lord Winterforth, but as Christian. I think it’s wonderful.”

  “I would ask you to keep my secret. Will you?”

  “I will,” she said as she reached across the distance between them and touched his arm. “I understand what it is to have secrets.”

  “Aye, many women do.”

  Her plan to be mean to him disintegrated to dust. He was a good man. Would whoever came up with the whole Robin Hood idea get it from the things Christian had done?

  They rode in silence until he cleared his throat.

  “There is much I must tell you. I am no longer betrothed.”

  “What do you mean you’re not betrothed? I just talked with Helen today.”

  He chuckled. “I came upon her in the chapel with her love. Instead of running him through, I’m going to apprentice him to a cousin. He’ll be a carpenter. And I gave them gold to start their life together.”

  “Why did she seek you out?” She told him of her conversation with Helen.

  “You wished her to wed me?”

  Instead of answering, she said, “I meant every word I said about you. So what now?”

  “I would think it quite obvious.”

  And with that comment, Ashley was quiet. Did he really mean they would be together? And if she agreed, it would mean she truly had accepted staying. Giving up her life in the city, her job, and her five-year plan. She looked at the man riding beside her. He was good, strong, everything she could’ve ever wished for. Had he been in her own time, she wouldn’t have thought twice. And then she knew: this whole time, nothing had felt like work. While her relationship with Ben had been hard and she was always thinking about it and how difficult she found it, with Christian everything came easy. They belonged together.

  He stopped before they crossed the bridge. Dismounted. There was a charge in the air as Christian stalked toward her. He lifted her off the horse and, so slowly it was agonizing, set her on the ground, but didn’t let her go.

  When he bent his head to hers, her breath caught. He touched a finger to her lips, tracing the outline, then pressed his lips to her temple, hair, cheek, and finally, when she couldn’t stand it another second, he tasted her, nibbling as she groaned deep in her throat.

  Every cell hummed, tuned to him, as energy crackled and flowed from her into him. Ashley wrapped her arms around him and kissed him back, tasting mint and wine. The smell of him enveloped her, holding her close, and she felt like she’d crested the first hill on a roller coaster and was hurtling down the track. He was steel and satin as she surrendered.

  “Pardon, my lord?”

  Ashley jumped back with a yelp as Christian snarled and drew his sword. The guard looked sheepish.

  “We were returning from night patrol and did not wish to disturb you, my lord. But the men are tired.”

  Mortified, Ashley recognized several faces of the guard.

  Christian chuckled and swung her up on the horse in front of him.

  “See to my lady’s horse.”

  Over the next few days, Christian was never far away. He took her for rides, made sure she had met all the villagers, and even tried to jump rope. Medieval wooing was pretty spectacular.

  She had finished her lesson for the day, proud of her students. They knew their ABCs and were working on bigger words. Yesterday she’d seen bloody hell written in the dirt and laughed, wondering who was responsible. Christian thought it was one of the girls.

  A commotion outside made her look out the window. One after another, six carriages pulled into the courtyard. Finally she would meet his brothers and James and William. Though she was most looking forward to meeting their wives, as Christian had been uncharacteristically quiet about them.

  “Ashley. Come. Meet my family.” Christian practically dragged her outside. She couldn’t help it—her mouth fell open. It was like a fashion shoot. The men all looked like models, and the women…they were pretty…but something about them… There were children and tons of luggage. It was total chaos.

  “This must be your betrothed.” A man with blue eyes and a rakish smile embraced her.

  “Dolt. This is Ashley Bennet.”

  A woman stormed over, followed by a man with black hair and a terrible scar.

  “Christian Thornton, you’ve gone and lost your sixth fiancée? Hell’s bells, I’m not finding you a seventh.”

  The man, who must be her husband, put a hand on the woman’s arm as he stared at Ashley. “My love, I believe Mistress Bennett may be the one.”

  “Whatever.” The striking redhead smiled. “It’s nice to meet you. Sorry, it’s just all we’ve heard is how this one wants to be married and we worked so hard to find this girl. Did you off her or something?”

  It all tumbled into place at once. Christian being evasive. The women in front of her and the way they talked. The people in front of her went wonky. No, she was not going to faint. Instead, she narrowed her eyes and punched Christian in the arm.

  “How could you?”

  Then she faced the women. “You’re like me, all of you.”

  Everyone started talking at once.

  “Ashley, wait.” Christian ran after her. Why had he not told her the truth? Dolt, you didn’t want her to go. Now you have likely lost her.

  She stomped into the stables, startling the horses.

  “I should have told you about them. In truth, I was going to…”

  “When? After you were happily married to Helen?”

  “Nay.” He held out his hands. “I do not know. All I know is I did not want you to leave me.”

  “How many?”

  He did not know what she meant.

  “How many are from the damn future?”

  “All of the women.”

  She gaped at him. “Six women are from the future and you kept it from me?”

  He’d never heard such words—well, mayhap his brothers’ wives had said some of the words. She let out a breath.

  “It’s over. We’re finished.”

  “’Tis you I want to wed.” How did he make her understand how much he loved her? Could not live without her?

  She whirled around, her eyes full of fire. “Don’t you see? It wasn’t your choice.”

  “I could not find the words.” He had made a grave mistake. “Now you have met them, you can have speech together, they will tell you what they know, and you can choose.” He took her hands, a sick feeling in his stomach. “Would you stay? Give up your life in New York? I would have a modern carriage made for you, give you everything I have to make you happy.”

  Her hands were so cold.

  “Do not leave me.”

  “Just go, Christian. I need time alone.” Her eyes were leaking, so he decided to seek the counsel of his brothers.

  In his chamber, Christian opened the pouch at his waist, pulling the ring out. He’d had his men out searching ever since they were set upon by the thieves. Now the remaining three men were dead and Christian had the ring back, the one belonging to Ashley’s dam. He wanted to rush back to the stables and offer it to her, but she was so angry. He would wait and try again, beseech her to forgive him.

  And if she left him?

  Nay, he would not think on it. The loneliness he thought banished was back, blackening his soul.

  Melinda had never been so happy to see Christian smiling instead of moping about.r />
  Ashley was the one he wanted, not Helen. She was dying to find out what on earth had happened since he’d left a couple of months ago. She and James had a bet—she thought the girl would run off with a sailor, but James picked a baker.

  The way Christian looked at Ashley, Melinda would bet a pound of country ham he was in love with her. Which was fantastic, because Melinda had a feeling Ashley was the perfect match for him. She saw the way they looked at each other before Ashley stormed off. It was obvious they both cared for each other, so why hadn’t Christian proposed?

  Melinda had found Ashley in her classroom, teaching kids and a few of the guards to read. After the lesson, they’d talked over a few cups of wine, and she’d laughed when Ashley confessed she had been mean to him on purpose to annoy him and put some distance between them both. Then everything changed, and Helen was out of the picture. And they all showed up. Leave it to Christian to not have told Ashley about them. So Melinda told her about meeting James and how her sisters met their husbands. They talked late into the day, and Melinda left determined to see them together.

  Ashley couldn’t believe there were six other women just like her. She really liked Melinda, appreciated her sharing her story and that of her sisters. But how could Christian have kept such an important thing from her? It was unforgivable.

  Being here somehow felt like she had gone backward. Not just in time, but in her goals and dreams. To stay here in the past was to fail. In the future she had a good life. A fabulous apartment, a couple of good friends, an amazing job… Strike that. No more job. But she had plenty of money saved, and she knew she could find another job and another place to live. A better place.

  Plenty of firms would be happy to hire her. She would be free to do as she wished whenever she wanted. No bratty kids screaming for her attention or a husband expecting a hot meal after a hard day at the office. At night she could sit on the counter, bare feet in the sink, eating cereal for dinner. And on the occasional weekend day when she didn’t go into the office, she would sleep half the day away, take a long nap and then a bath. She was answerable to no one, and it was the way she liked it.

  The kids here would be fine. Someone else would finish teaching them to read, Christian would make sure Merrick was taken care of, and she would forget him.

  In time.

  The decision made, Ashley thought she could find a place in the village. She had her hair combs to barter. No matter what, she wasn’t staying at Winterforth one more second. The old gray horse was nervous as thunder boomed across the sky.

  “Ashley, halt.”

  Lightning flashed and the horse reared. She slid off, hitting the ground, a sharp pain slicing through her leg.

  The sky opened up, rain stinging her skin.

  Christian lifted her in his arms. “I’ve got her. Take her horse.” He carried her to his horse. “Silly fool, you could have been killed.”

  “I hate you for lying to me.”

  He grunted and lifted her up on the horse. “You’re bleeding.”

  “When I fell, I must have cut myself.”

  He urged the horse to a gallop. It wasn’t until they crossed the bridge into the courtyard that she spoke again. “I want to go home.”

  There was a horrible sound, and lightning hit something outside the walls. From the smell, it must have been a tree. The smell of ozone was heavy in the air, the wind pulling at her. A terrible sound filled the air. This was it: she was going home.

  But when Ashley opened her eyes, she was still here. The storm had blown through, a soft rain falling in its place.

  It hadn’t worked. She was bleeding and there was a storm. That was what Melinda had told her was required.

  “It didn’t work.”

  “I am sorry you could not return home. Say you will forgive me. I am a dolt.” Christian reached in the pouch at his waist.

  “What’s that?” She squinted, holding the ring up to the torchlight. Ashley gasped. “I don’t understand. Where did you find it?”

  “I know ’tis all you have left of your dam. I have had men out searching since we were set upon by thieves.”

  She wiped her eyes. “Thank you.”

  He dropped to his knees in the mud. “I love you, Ashley. Say you will marry me.”

  Her stomach dropped. Talk about a hypocrite. She shook her head and pulled him to his feet. “I’m sorry. I can’t.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  The proposal changed everything. Now she was the one with the unforgivable secret. Over the next few days they avoided each other. Christian spent time with his brothers, while Ashley spent the days with Melinda and the rest of the women. She knew she had to tell him, especially after their blow-up. He deserved to know why she could not marry him.

  They had taken over the ladies’ solar thanks to Ashley. Charlotte was so happy they were all together, and would be for Christmas, hopefully with a new sister-in-law. Ashley was chewing on something. It had to be big. As much as Charlotte wanted to pry, she was trying to wait, see if Ashley and Christian would make up. But if they didn’t soon, well, they’d all get involved. Shotgun wedding, anyone?

  “You know, I don’t know what made me think of it, but do you remember that terrible row between Aunt Mildred and Aunt Pittypat?”

  Lucy looked up from her crochet, her silver hair pulled into a bun. Looked like she was making Ashley a scarf.

  “I remember. We’d been there, what, about a month or so? You were hiding up in the tree, listening to them argue on the porch. I could see you from my bedroom window.”

  Charlotte knew Lucy would remember.

  “She said something about a mystery man who washed up on the beach…but do you remember what else she said?” After pausing for dramatic effect and making sure her sisters were itching for her to tell, Charlotte dropped the tidbit in their laps.

  “Aunt Mildred said the man was dressed strangely.”

  Melinda hopped up. “No way. Do you think it’s possible?”

  “Wait, what are you talking about?” Anna, tired from dealing with her son, who wouldn’t sleep through the night, tucked her brown hair behind her ear and sat down next to Lucy.

  “Tell us the story.”

  “Yes, do.” Elizabeth and Jennifer shut the door behind them and proceeded to set up their easels.

  Charlotte looked to her sisters. Lucy nodded.

  “Our parents died in a sailing accident when we were little. I was eight at the time. Aunt Pittypat was kind of a hippie, and she took us in. Her sister, our Aunt Mildred, was always cranky and going on about how tired she was.”

  “Aunt Pittypat died of a heart attack the same day Lucy went missing,” Melinda said.

  “I’m so sorry,” Anna said, and the others offered condolences too.

  “Before she passed, did she ever tell you the identity of the mystery man? An old boyfriend?” Elizabeth handed Jennifer a small jar, and the two of them faced the windows to paint the winter landscape. They’d been painting scenes at each of their homes, and planned to do a painting for each season.

  “We don’t know. She would never talk about him, always changed the subject when we asked about the men in her life.” Lucy’s fingers moved quickly as she talked, and Charlotte always wondered how she didn’t lose her place.

  Charlotte had been thinking a lot about her aunt. She guessed it was natural during the holidays. “You know, she never married again after we came to stay with her. I always thought it was because of us.” She grinned at the others. “After all, she’d been married eight times—it wasn’t like she was opposed to the idea. But maybe it was because of him?”

  “Do you think he could have been from the past? I wonder who he was. Do you think she let him go because of us?” Melinda frowned.

  Charlotte didn’t know why—it seemed to fit, but maybe that was because there were seven of them sitting together, all women from the future, yet here they were in the past, all having somehow found each other.

  “If she did fa
ll in love and let him go back to the past without her, I can’t imagine how heartbreaking it must’ve been,” Anna said.

  Elizabeth turned around, a smudge of green on her chin to match her eyes. “Who was the youngest? Your mom?”

  Charlotte nodded. “Yes, Mom was the youngest. Aunt Pittypat was the middle sister, and Aunt Mildred was the oldest. She was very proper and never married. When we went to her house, we were always afraid to sit on the furniture.”

  The memories washed over her as she thought back to that time in their lives when everything was so unknown, and how comforting it was to have her aunt accept them into her home, to love them as her own.

  “The people here would call her a witch,” Lucy said. “She liked to dance outside by the light of the moon, believed in ghosts, and I remember her talking to my parents every day after their deaths.” She put her project down, wiping her eye. “Remember on Friday nights how we got to stay up late and hang out with all of her friends?”

  Charlotte laughed. “She had the most interesting friends. Poor Aunt Mildred couldn’t handle them.”

  A servant brought wine and pastries for everyone, and Melinda served, pouring as the scent of spices filled the air. “Remember Aunt Mildred’s favorite saying?”

  “No use borrowing trouble,” all three sisters said together.

  Charlotte looked at Ashley. “I used to say that the Merriweather sisters had the worst taste in men. Even Aunt Pittypat always said men were fun but they were more trouble than they were worth. She was a hippie with flawless manners, dancing naked under the full moon and then serving snacks afterward on china that was over two hundred years old.”

  Melinda jiggled her foot as she watched Elizabeth and Jennifer sketching out the scene. “I wonder if she and Aunt Mildred fell out over this mystery man.” She wiped her eye. “Remember Aunt Pittypat used to say, ‘Better shut your mouth before you swallow a bug, sugar’?”

  “I wish I could have met her,” Jennifer said. Charlotte thought she had the most beautiful hair, so black it was almost blue.