“What? There have been others?” Melinda jumped up and started pacing in the dirt. “I need to talk to him.”
Henry shook his head. “I’m afraid that’s going to be difficult. Father Moore suffered a stroke. He can’t talk. Given his age, they’re not sure if he’ll recover.”
“Oh. Sorry to hear. Is there anyone else who might know? Or maybe articles in the paper?”
He scratched his head. “Might be. My brother would know. We’ll ask when we get back.”
Henry stood and put a hand on her arm to stop her from pacing. “I’m sorry. If my brother died here, I’d tear the place apart looking for answers.”
She looked up at him. “Thank you for not thinking I’m crazy.”
Melinda turned in a circle, thinking of all the places she could search. “I think I’ll spend the few hours of daylight I have left exploring the castle.”
“Then let’s get started, aye?” Henry efficiently packed up the remains of their lunch, finished off his beer, and shot her a blinding smile. “Let me stow this in the boot and I’ll help you search.”
For the next several hours they wiggled rocks, climbed over debris, and searched for any kind of clue. Henry was right: it was faster with two people. Melinda didn’t know what she hoped to find, only that she had a feeling there was something she was missing.
When they got back to the pub, they would talk to Brad. See what else he might know. Was there a serial killer on the loose? Or some shadowy group kidnapping people?
Melinda rolled her eyes. She was getting punchy. Coming up with all kinds of implausible ideas. What was the saying? The simplest explanation was usually the right one. Too bad she didn’t have a simple explanation. Not one she liked.
Some of the walls were unstable, rooms ended in jagged openings, and she was afraid to climb several of the staircases. The growing darkness made her swear. Unable to see, she had to give up.
“Where’s your car?”
He grinned. “I walked. Figured you’d drive me back so I didn’t freeze my arse off.”
The ride back to the pub was short, and she gratefully sank down next to the fire to warm herself.
“I added whiskey to your tea. To help take the chill off.” Brad handed her a mug of the steaming liquid.
Melinda inhaled. “Thank you. I feel like a giant Popsicle.”
The two brothers joined her around the fire, along with two of the older men Melinda had decided were permanent fixtures of the pub.
Brad pointed to the older gentleman on his left. “This is Angus.” He pointed to the man sitting across from her. “And Magnus.”
He grinned at her. “Yes, they’re brothers.”
Both men smiled at her, inquisitive blue eyes watching her behind thick glasses.
“I was hoping either of you could tell me anything you might know about people disappearing around here.”
She sipped the tea, feeling the warmth spread to her stomach as the whiskey did its job. She could feel her toes again thanks to the fire. Melinda pulled the soft blanket tighter around her. Henry had brought it over for her when they arrived.
Angus spoke first. “You’re the American lost her sister, yes?”
She nodded.
“Saw her come through here with some rich fop from London.”
Magnus jumped in. “He was a rude one. Stepped on my toe, didn’t even apologize.”
“We thought she was too good for him. Sorry you lost her.” Angus turned to his brother, silent communication passing between them. He turned back to her. “The old stories say they always come back.”
She leaned forward in the chair. “What, like fairytales?”
Magnus nodded. “You might say that. Father Moore liked to talk about the strange happenings at the castle. He said in all his time here, one other person disappeared, a young boy. He was found six months later wandering around incoherently. He told a fantastical tale of other lands, but no one believed him.”
The man shrugged and took a long pull of his drink. “Your sister might not be dead. She might be with the fairies.”
Fairies. Melinda didn’t know whether to laugh or to scream. There was no such thing as fairies. But she listened as they told various tales. Each one more outlandish than the next. She would bet most of the tales could be traced back to somebody being drunk.
She yawned for the third time. Brad ushered the men back to the bar.
“Sorry about them. They can get a little carried away.” Henry took her teacup before it slid off her lap. “What do we do now?”
Maybe the thoughts had been swirling around her mind all this time, but suddenly Melinda knew what she was going to do.
“I’m going to check out in the morning. Head back to London and do some research on missing persons in the area. I don’t know what I’ll find, but at least I’ll feel like I’m doing something.”
“We have internet here. You don’t have to go off to London.”
She let him down gently: “I appreciate it, but I need a change of scenery. Walking around the city will help me think. Thank you for all your help today.”
She stood up and yawned again. “Dinner was great, but I’m exhausted. I think I’ll have a hot shower and turn in early. See you in the morning.”
She left Henry staring into the fire. Another time, if she were at a different place in her life, she might be tempted to start something with him. But now she had only one focus, to find out what had really happened to Lucy. And there was no way she believed Lucy was in fairyland.
The simplest explanation. She should accept Lucy was gone. But if there was another explanation, she was determined to find it.
Melinda enjoyed her breakfast at the fancy hotel. The drive back yesterday had taken her all day. Of course, part of that was because she got lost several times, and then there were the sheep. At least three different times she found them blocking the road and had to wait until they decided to move on. By the time she got to London and checked in to the hotel, Melinda had been so exhausted she fell asleep without bothering to change out of her clothes.
The next morning, after a long, hot shower and a hearty breakfast, she was feeling more like herself again. Time for a plan.
Walking always helped Melinda come up with her best ideas. She was known for pacing around her office and then calling out an idea or five. There was so much to see in the city that it wouldn’t matter which direction she chose. Walking down a cobblestone street, Melinda felt lost, untethered to the world. It was something about all the history here that made you feel you could turn a corner and find yourself in another time. Now she was being fanciful. All the tales Magnus and Angus had told her going to her head.
She made her way to Trafalgar Square, where she aimlessly meandered, exploring shops and stopping for lunch. Not noticing where she was going, Melinda found herself in front of the National Gallery. She wandered through the museum, stopping and looking at whatever caught her eye.
Afternoon tea was something she could get used to. Melinda made a note to start the practice at home. It would be a nice way to break up the day of her boring corporate job. Taking the time to have a cup of tea and a little snack would refresh her during the dreaded afternoon slump. She liked her job, it just wasn’t something she loved, and every day from three to four she felt like taking a catnap.
As she turned down one of the corridors in the museum, Melinda found herself all alone in the gallery. She admired the paintings, stopping to read some of the plaques. She was ready to call it a day, but a small painting in the far corner caught her eye. Something about the bright colors among the darker colors on the wall.
As she leaned close to get a better look, the world dropped out from under her. Melinda placed a hand on the wall to steady herself. The room started spinning and black spots somersaulted over each other before her eyes.
“Miss, are you okay?”
She opened her eyes to see a kindly guard looking down at her. She was sitting on the floor.
/> “What happened?”
“I was doing my rounds and saw you go down right hard. You women today. You don’t eat enough, always trying to be skinny.”
He looked her up and down. “You look fine to me. Better get some food in you.”
“I will. Thank you for your concern.” She got up, made sure she wasn’t going to pass out again, and put a hand on his shoulder. “Thank you for helping me. I’ll sit here for a few minutes then find something to eat.”
The guard looked doubtful. Melinda crossed her fingers behind her back. “Promise.”
She waited until he was gone. Coast clear, she stood inches from the small painting. Well, small compared to some of the works taking up half the wall from floor to ceiling. The canvas looked about sixteen by twenty inches. The piece was untitled. The card next to it read, Noble family, fourteenth century.
The painting depicted a sexy man with long black hair and emerald eyes. There were five children of various ages. Four boys and one baby. But it was the woman in the painting that caused Melinda to wonder if she was hallucinating.
The woman in the painting was Lucy. How was it possible her sister was the subject of a painting from the fourteenth century?
Chapter Five
Melinda uploaded the picture of the painting she’d taken at the museum. She felt vaguely guilty. But it was more important to find out what had happened to her sister and why Lucy was the subject of a painting created at least seven hundred years ago than it was to worry about the light from the flash affecting the painting.
She ordered room service, put the Do not disturb sign on the door, and went to work on her iPad. One thing she knew: she was good at research.
“Charlotte. I’ve been trying to reach you all night.”
It was a couple of hours later in Romania, but Charlotte was still up. Her baby sister was so different. Charlotte was content to roam the globe with nothing more than a backpack, while Melinda preferred to live in the same town all her life and always over-packed. She worried Charlotte would never come back and would instead drift aimlessly, listening for something only she could hear.
“It’s late, Mellie. What’s wrong?”
“So how do you think our sister came to be the model for a painting dated sometime in the fourteenth century?”
Melinda waited for Charlotte to digest the entire story. When she’d left the museum, Melinda spent every moment searching for any information about her sister. Scrolling through thousands and thousands of images, and all she’d come up with was a big, fat nothing.
Charlotte let out a half-sigh, half-grunt, and Melinda swore she could feel the coming lecture all the way across the distance. Guess tonight Charlotte was playing the big sister role.
“Listen, sis, you need to get out. Go sightseeing. You’re turning into a hermit. It isn’t healthy. Don’t you think it’s time to accept Lucy’s gone? She died. She didn’t vanish. You’ve got to let go. Move on with your life.”
“Is that what you’re doing? Moving on with your life? It seems to me like you’re running away. I don’t want to argue. Didn’t you hear me, other people have gone missing—”
“Stop. You’re completely obsessed. You’re only twenty-six, way too young to be so obsessed with death. Lucy has taken the next step in the journey.”
“Don’t give me that New Age hocus-pocus stuff. That’s what people say to make themselves feel better. I feel like there’s a hole in my heart. I’ve tried, honestly. I don’t know why I can’t let this go.” Melinda took a deep breath.
“Come to London. Are you still on the dig? Help me see what we can find. Together. There has to be an explanation.”
“We’re still in the Carpathian Mountains and we’re snowed in. In fact, I’m surprised I can even get a cell signal. I’ll always love Lucy, but I’m not going to shut my life down. She wouldn’t want that. She’d want us to laugh and find someone to love and to go on living.”
Melinda could hear Charlotte speaking to someone in the background, and then she came back on the phone.
“You know there is another explanation…they say everyone has a twin. I think you found Lucy’s. Who knows; maybe the woman hanging on the wall is some old ancestor of ours.”
Melinda had to agree. Her baby sister had a point. The explanation made sense, but it wasn’t very satisfying. Was she looking too hard? Trying to find answers that weren’t there?
“I booked my ticket for two weeks. I’m gonna stay, spend the rest of the time looking, and if I don’t find anything then I’ll come home. I’ll say goodbye for good. Is that what you want to hear?”
Charlotte’s voice was gentle across the miles. “I know it’s hard. She’ll always be our sister. We’ll always love her. But it isn’t healthy to obsess. Finish doing whatever you have to and get the feeling that she’s still alive out of your system. I’m not trying to be cruel, Mellie, just realistic. You know how you get. Call me when you get back home. How about this? I’ll come home in time for Easter. We can make chocolate bunnies and dye eggs like when we were kids.”
Melinda looked at the time on the phone. As late as it was, she might as well stay up. She scoured the internet looking for anything related to missing persons around Blackford Castle. Then she searched on time travel. Wow, so many search results. She found all kinds of way-out-there theories. Tons of fiction. Lots of romance books, some of which she noted to read for fun later, and way too much speculation. Not to mention all the occult books. They looked the most promising. Talk about some crazy ideas.
Melinda ordered an early breakfast from room service and ate in the room. She’d located a couple of bookstores nearby that offered a large selection of books on the occult.
The smell of incense in The Cauldron bookstore almost knocked her over. The proprietor acted like he was a wizard or some other magical being. She barely resisted the urge to laugh every time he popped up around the corner and peered at her through electric-blue glasses with pale blue lenses.
The shop was full of books on spells and New Age practices. Melinda swore she went through every book in the place. The only thing she seemed to find in common was they all thought certain days of the year were most favorable. Was it coincidence Lucy was lost on the first day of summer? It was one of the dates mentioned.
Could her sister somehow have gone back in time? And if she did, how did she go back?
If these books had any truth to them, she was trying during the wrong time of year. Tomorrow was Valentine’s Day. According to the books, the next favorable day would be the first day of spring, in late March. She didn’t have that long to wait.
Three of the books had the most information. She felt a little silly believing in this hocus-pocus stuff, but if it worked…
When she leaned over to pick up her tote bag, her necklace fell out of her sweater.
The wannabe wizard reached for it. Melinda stepped back, not wanting him to touch it.
“Let me see?”
She held it up. “Look, don’t touch.”
He peered at the gems and charm on the heavy gold chain. “That necklace has power.”
She forced herself not to roll her eyes, and instead plastered on her best fake smile. “So I’ve been told. What do I owe you?”
As she left the store, Melinda tucked the necklace under her shirt. She passed an advertisement for Stonehenge. It kept coming up. Like when you bought a certain kind of car and all of a sudden saw loads of them on the road.
Stonehenge. During her research, boatloads of mentions about Stonehenge kept popping up. People ascribed all kinds of supernatural happenings to the stones. It was worth a look.
There was one ticket left on a day trip by bus from London to Stonehenge. Thank goodness for online booking. What did people do before the internet?
Melinda locked everything of value, including her passport, in the safe in her hotel. All she brought along was the room key, lip gloss, and money. She finished putting on all of her outerwear, then headed out of the h
otel to meet the bus.
There was a seat in front by the window as she boarded the bus. Melinda settled in, took out her notebook and one of the new books, and started reading.
There were all kinds of people on the bus. Everyone from older couples and kids traveling for their gap years, to all the New Age hippies and self-described witches and warlocks. Many of them looked at her curiously or tried to engage her in conversation, but she shut them all down. She wasn’t in the mood to talk or make friends. She was on a mission.
When they arrived, Melinda followed two girls with rainbow hair off the bus and into the cold wind. She could see the appeal of the place. There was some kind of energy in the air. Feelings of hope. Melinda walked around people-watching as she whispered over and over, “Take me to Lucy, take me to Lucy, take me to Lucy.” She felt a little silly, but since no one could hear her, what could it hurt?
Several hours went by and it was time to board the bus back to London. Nothing had happened. No matter how hard she wished, no matter how many rocks she touched, she was still here. Maybe the woman was an ancestor. It certainly made more sense than believing her sister could’ve somehow traveled back in time.
But the idea wouldn’t leave her head. And she wondered if you could go back, how could you control when you went back? Because even if she found a way, how would she know she had the right time period? All she knew was Lucy, or the woman who looked like Lucy, was in the fourteenth century. What if she got there at the beginning and Lucy didn’t go back until the end? Or what if she got there at the end and her sister had died an old woman? Worse yet, what if she got there and Lucy wouldn’t arrive for thirty years? Talk about a long wait.
Heck, what if she ended up in ancient Rome, Regency England, or, heaven forbid, what if she went all the way back to the time of the dinosaurs? Melinda certainly didn’t relish becoming a lion or dinosaur snack.
By the time she arrived back at the hotel and enjoyed a nice, quiet dinner, she decided to go back to Blackford Castle one last time. She would search the grounds and outbuildings once more and then go home.
Knight Moves: Merriweather Sisters Time Travel (Merriweather Sisters Time Travel Romance Book 2) Page 3