by Teri Barnett
Her breath caught. It couldn’t be!
Oh, please let it be!
Valerie’s free hand flew to her throat. Her vision blurred and she struggled to keep from fainting.
Christos!
He smiled and inclined his head in greeting…but his eyes - those beautiful ebony eyes - were full of love.
Hekate clapped her hands together. “Ah, Valerie. Nice to see you, again.” She patted her chest and winked. “You listened to the heart, eh?”
“You two have met?” Frederick asked.
“Around the site. I see your daughter. She give me water.” The woman smiled. “She’s a good girl.”
Before Valerie could say anything, Hekate motioned to the man standing beside her. “This my nephew, Christos Campagna.” She pointed to her carriage. “And his daughter, Clare. They gonna travel with you to England.” Just then, Clarus climbed down, smiled, and offered a shy wave.
Clarus!
Valerie’s eyes flew to the girl and then to Christos. She fought back the urge to throw herself into his arms. Her thoughts tripped over themselves.
How did they get here? Vesuvius claimed them. I saw both Christos and Clarus die!
Silent tears swept down her cheeks. She pulled her eyes from Christos’s dear face and looked off into the distance, where the remains of the great volcano loomed on the horizon. After almost two thousand years of eruptions, it didn’t look nearly so terrifying to her anymore.
“You are thinking of the past?” Christos asked in a heavy accent.
Numbly, Valerie nodded, as she realized he was speaking English. It must have been Hekate’s magic.
“My aunt tells me marvelous tales of lovers whose fate Vesuvius has sealed. Perhaps, if you like, I will share these stories with you on the ship?”
Valerie smiled through her tears. “Your aunt is a very wise woman with a talent for the improbable.”
Frederick cleared his throat. “We should be going now, young lady.”
Valerie nodded. “Please, Papa. Just a moment with Hekate before she has to leave.”
Frederick glanced at Christos, then the old woman. “Don’t take too long. We’re on a schedule here.”
“I won’t Papa,” she said. Turning, she wrapped her arms around Hekate and hugged her tight. “Thank you,” she whispered. “For everything.” Valerie suddenly remembered the figure bent over Christo’s body after he’d fallen. “It was you, wasn’t it?”
“Love always survive, even the mists of time,” Hekate whispered.
Valerie looked at Christos and her voice quivered when she spoke. “Yes, it does, my dear friend. Yes, it does.”
Hekate smiled, her dark eyes sparkling. “Everyone needs a little help, sometimes, when facing a crossroads.”
Valerie hoped Lucy wouldn’t put up a fuss and insist she take a nap. But Lucy surprised her. When Valerie told her she was going to join Reggie on deck and take in a stroll, Lucy beamed and nodded in agreement, saying she was going to take a stroll herself with Johnny.
Valerie trembled with anticipation as she made her way topside. She had so many questions for Christos but there would be time enough to ask them.
A lifetime.
Christos was leaning against the railing looking out to sea. The rush of emotions of the last few days hit Valerie hard as she approached him, and she stumbled. Christos’s strong arms caught her before she fell to her knees. He took her hands in his. “Ah, my love,” he murmured in his ancient dialect.
“How?” she asked, the words barely a whisper. She studied his face. “And you’re not hurt.”
Christos shook his head. “I don’t know how it happened. After you left, I heard someone calling my name. I opened my eyes. It was Hekate. Just like the goddess she’s named for—she took my hand in death…
“The next thing I knew I was surrounded by the ruins of the city. She took me into her home and dear Clarus was there asleep on a bed.” He nodded at Clarus who was sitting on a bench beside Reggie, patiently nodding as he instructed her on tying sailor’s knots. “Hekate told us she’d know where to find you.”
“I am so glad she did.” Valerie’s eyes filled with tears. “I thought I had lost you forever.”
“Ah, Valerie, you are my life. I will go to this England of yours and do whatever is necessary to make you my wife.” Tears filled his eyes. “By the gods,” he rasped, “I swear to you that nothing will ever separate us again.”
Valerie nodded through her own tears. “That day when I went to the market with Stella and Clarus, I met Hekate in the street and she told me to have faith, that all I needed to do was to listen to my heart and I would find my way home.”
“And did you?” he whispered, his hand caressing her cheek.
“Yes. Yes, I did.”
Epilogue
Christos stood against the stone railing of the large wrap-around porch of his new home and looked out over the countryside of his adopted country. This place was not the Britannia of his memory, but a civilized country of cities filled with all manner of people. Almost twelve months had passed since he’d arrived, and he was still learning. He glanced over at Valerie, where she sat in a rocker with her morning tea, moving rhythmically back and forth. Drawn to her, he crouched next to her chair.
“How are you, my love?” One year in wedded bliss and he was still amazed she was his.
Valerie ran a hand over the swell of her belly. “I am well.” She touched his cheek. “I’ve never been happier.”
He took her by the hand and helped her stand. They embraced and she giggled when he jumped back, the baby soundly kicking him.
“Val!” Clarus came running from the back of the house. “Look! Grandmama and Grandpapa are here!” She bounded onto the porch and pointed at the carriage coming up the cobblestone drive.
Christos ruffled her hair. “You best go clean yourself up before Lucy spies you.”
Clarus giggled. “Lucy is all bark and no bite.”
Christos shook his head as his gaze met his wife’s twinkling eyes. Clarus had taken to life in England like a duckling to water.
“I bet Lucy has a basket of your favorite cinnamon scones,” Valerie said, tapping Clarus’ nose.
“They’re the best!” Clarus said. “I’ll be back in a jiffy,” she called over her shoulder as she bolted for the door. “Don’t eat them without me.”
“We won’t,” husband and wife said in unison.
“Will she ever slow down?” Christos moaned.
“I hope she never does,” Valerie said. “And neither will we.” She slipped her arms around his shoulders and smiled into his eyes.
Christos’s breath caught at the beauty in the emerald depths.
He bent his head and kissed her soft lips.
“You have bewitched me since the beginning of time,” he whispered against her lips.
“Is that a complaint?” She giggled into his neck.
“Never.” He tilted her chin up for one more lingering kiss. “You are my past, my present, and my future.”
“The future is ours as long as we follow our hearts,” Valerie said as she placed his hand on her swollen belly. “Forever.”
“Forever.”
About the Author
Teri Barnett is a bestselling author, award-winning artist, and commercial interior designer who brings a lifetime of learning and exploration to her writing, workshops, and art. She currently lives in Indianapolis with a bossy black cat who’s earned her own hashtag, #blackcatlou.
When Teri isn’t busy working on her next book, or redesigning the world, you can find her doing the artist thing in her studio, fighting the good fight, or riding through the corn tunnels of Indiana on her motorcycle.
You can visit Teri online at www.teribarnett.com to learn more about her books and subscribe to her newsletter. Follow Teri Barne
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