by Diane Story
“I can’t get Rose for you, sister Elizabeth.” Abigail knew they couldn’t continue the charade. She and the sisters were hoping to give Fern time to figure out what she was supposed to do with Rose before they let Elizabeth know she was gone. “Mary spoke to us last night during one of our chants. She told us to give her to the girl named Fern. She has her now, and we don’t know where she has taken her.” There, that should dissuade her.
Elizabeth raised her cane in anger and shook the tip of it at Abigail. “You stupid fool, don’t you know there is nothing that can keep me from my granddaughter. Not even Mary. Tell me Abigail, how does Mary know of Rose? I told her she died at birth, how is it she knows?”
“I do not know, sister, perhaps she is a stronger witch than you know!”
“Mary is not a witch, she has the ability to reach others with her mind, evoking them to hear her, that is all. When I find the sister that told I will help her find her death.” Elizabeth stood to leave, dusk was approaching. She had a long ride to the cave.
Abigail stood in front of her. With her hands on her hips she faced her square on. She didn’t fear the old witch. “You haven’t the power to hurt your sisters, Elizabeth. You’re old now, and too slow to bring us any harm. Leave Rose be, she is of good, not evil. You will never have her, ever. The sisters will make sure of it.”
“Get out of my way.” Shoving the tip of her cane against Abigail’s abdomen, she pushed her back against the wall. “Your goodness will be your undoing. My granddaughter also has my blood, Abigail, that cannot be denied.”
Abigail stood rubbing the pain in her abdomen when Elizabeth left. There was only one thing left for her to do. It wasn’t what she wanted, but it was the only way to ensure the child’s safety. Turning, she looked to the sisters’ faces for support, it was there as always. “Come sisters, we must create a spell. Our sister Fern must be told what to do.”
“Fern, wake up!”
“Leave me alone, I’m tired.” Fern let her arm lay over her eyes. Why couldn’t they just leave her alone?
“Fern, wake up now! Elizabeth is coming, you must do as we tell you or she will take Rose.”
“Elizabeth is coming here? Are you sure?” Fern sat up quickly to a half dark cave. Rubbing her eyes, she realized she must have been dreaming. When she felt the nudges on her side, she looked down into Rose’s sweet little face. The little girl was cooing and kicking her feet. She wondered how long she’d been awake. “Come here, sweetheart, you must be starved. Rowen will be back soon with some milk, and maybe some cloth for a diaper, hmm?”
“Fern!” The faceless voice echoed against the cave wall.
“What?” Jumping, she turned around searching for the person behind the voice, but no one was there. “Who’s there?” Her voice echoed in reply.
“It is Abigail, Fern. You must get up and take Rose with you back to the wardrobe. The sisters have created a spell to allow you to pass through time. You will take Rose to the place of worship and leave her there to be cared for by the priest. Then you will return here to finish what has been started.”
“I don’t understand. Why would I go against Mary’s wishes?”
“If you do not do as we ask, Rose will die, and Rowen will die. Mary has been told of the sisters’ decision, she agrees it is the only way.”
Fern sat staring down at Rose, she knew she had to do as she was told, she couldn’t let this child die. “Alright, I’ll do it. When should I go?”
“Now, go now. Elizabeth is approaching.”
“What about Rowen?”
“He will not return until the deed is done. He must not be told of this, Fern, he is of good blood, but cannot be trusted yet. Hold him dear to your heart and he will understand.”
“Alright, I’ll go now.” Standing to her feet she quickly pulled Rose into her arms then bundled her in her blanket. Thinking quickly, she grabbed a piece of paper from the small note pad Rowen kept in his pocket. With his pen she wrote a quick note. “Take care of this child until the time comes for her mother to take her home. She is a child of love and as beautiful as a Rose.” “Come on, baby Rose, I’ll take you where you will be safe.”
With Rose cuddled to her chest, Fern ran across the fields until she came to the old house. She hadn’t been in it since their arrival; the thought of it scared her almost to the point of turning back around. But then the cooing of the little girl reminded her of why she was there; taking one step at a time, she entered the house and went straight up the stairs. The wardrobe stood in the same place as it had before. Her heart started to pound wildly in her chest, but she didn’t stop. As if the wardrobe knew she was there, its doors clicked, creaked, then swung wide open, allowing her to step through.
CHAPTER NINE
With the abundance of cows grazing in the fields, Rowen thought for sure he’d have no trouble finding milk for Rose. But it seemed all the women were in the habit of nursing their children. Made sense, considering he was in a century where Gerber wouldn’t be a household name for several hundred more years. Cloth for a diaper wasn’t a problem, he found that easily enough and after much fuss, he found a rancher willing to sell him some milk. With his treasures in hand, he headed back to the cave.
It was completely dark by the time he got back. The glow from inside the cave could be seen for quite a distance; he hadn’t realized it before. They would have to be more careful; tomorrow he would drag some bushes over to cover it. “Fern, I’m back. It took forever to find milk, but…” She wasn’t there. “Where the hell did she go?” he spoke out load to the empty cave. He should have never left her alone again. He was just leaving the cave to go in pursuit when she showed up. He frowned when he saw her empty arms.
“Hi Rowen!” She’d hoped to be back before him. He wasn’t going to understand about Rose.
“Where have you been, Fern, I thought I told you to stay inside?” He looked down at her as she bent over to go back in the cave. Grabbing her by her arm, he forced her back up. “Where is Rose, Fern?”
“Let’s go inside, Rowen, and I’ll explain.” She hadn’t figured out a good explanation yet. She looked down at where his hand was clamped around her arm. “You’re hurting my arm, please let go. I’ll explain once we’re settled.”
“Why do I have a bad feeling about this, Fern, where did you take her?” He felt his fingers squeeze against the bone of her elbow as the panic started to build in his gut.
“I said you’re hurting me, please let go, Rowen, I’ll explain inside.” His face was just inches from hers and she could feel the hot breath of his anger fan her forehead. “I promise Rose is alright.”
Rowen released her instantly when he saw the fear in her eyes. He knew he could never give Rose to Elizabeth, but now what leverage did he have to protect Jonathan? “I’m sorry, Fern, let’s go in.”
Fern looked at the small container of milk and cloth next to it for diapering Rose. There was also some food for them. She was starved, but first she had to tell him, to make him understand. “I’m really hungry, thanks for thinking about food for us, Rowen. I think I’ve already lost weight since we’ve been here.”
He looked her over and shook his head. “Love, you’re just right. Voluptuous and soft in all the right places.”
Fern blushed, of course he would know. “Let’s sit down, Rowen, and I’ll tell you about Rose.”
“I believe you when you say she’s alright, but I want to know where she is, Fern.” He watched her turn away and frown. Somehow he knew there was no way in hell he would ever be told where Rose was. Her words confirmed it.
“I can’t tell you where I took her, Rowen, the sisters made me promise. You’ll just have to trust me that she is safe. Safer than she could ever be, here with us.”
“When Elizabeth realized you’d gone to get Rose, she spoke to me. She told me to take Rose from you and bring her back to her. She said if I failed, she would kill Jonathan and Sarah.” He watched her eyes widen. “Do you know what this means, Fern?”
She didn’t know what or how to feel. She had to obey what the sisters said; in addition, if Elizabeth had taken Rose and killed her, she herself would have died. “So it looks like we are both fighting for our existence. Rowen, if Elizabeth kills Rose, then I die too.”
They sat staring into each other’s eyes, both understanding what the other was feeling and thinking. Gently he cupped her chin then let his thumb run back and forth over the little dimple in the middle, then up and over her bottom lip where he lingered as he remembered the taste of her. “We’ll beat this, Fern, I know it. Don’t ask me how we will, but we will.” He let his hand trail down her neck to the top of her dress. “I’m going to go to Jonathan and tell him who I am. I am going to warn him about Elizabeth. I’m also going to convince him Mary isn’t a witch.”
Reaching up she grabbed his hand, stopping it before it could slide down further. “No Rowen, you know you can’t do that. Jonathan is the magistrate. He’ll have you hung, I won’t allow it.”
“It’s the only choice I have, don’t you see that?” He smiled when her small fingers dug into his hand, stopping his progress. “He’s of my blood, Fern. He won’t let me die.”
She let her eyes drop to where their hands were clasped together over her breast. She watched his fingers dip under the collar where they gently rubbed back and forth, in a slow methodical way, bringing chills to her flesh. “I hope you’re right, Rowen, I really hope you’re right.”
Rowen watched the little gold flecks expand around her pupils when she brought her eyes back up to his. He wanted to kiss her so badly. Even without a spell forcing him, he could easily make love to her. The thought of her naked writhing body underneath his brought an immediate reaction from his groin. He smiled when she pulled his hand away. The contact seemed to make her feel uncomfortable, but for him it added fuel to the growing fire in his loin. “I’ll go tomorrow at first light. I’m going to have to think of a way to get him away from Sarah, any suggestions?”
“Well, I can think of one way that might work.”
“How?”
“I’ll go before you, when I see him alone I’ll uncover my face for him to see me. He’ll think I’m Mary and follow me. I’ll coax him all the way back here. You can talk to him here.” Proud of her suggestion, she smiled.
“No way, Fern, it’s too dangerous. What if he catches you? It’s too risky.”
“It’s a great suggestion and you know it, Rowen. He won’t catch me, I promise. Besides, you can come save me if he does.”
He watched her smile from ear to ear. She was right; it would work perfectly. Jonathan would be shocked, thinking Mary had escaped; he’d follow her anywhere. “All right, we’ll do it. But only if you promise me you’ll not take any chances. If it looks like it won’t work, you abandon the plan, got it?”
“I’ve got it!” she giggled at the look on his face. “Seriously, I won’t take any chances. Cross my heart, hope to die. Stick a million needles in my eye.”
He watched her cross her fingers over her heart and laughed. “Hungry? I brought us some food. It isn’t gourmet cuisine, just bread, goat cheese and peaches for dessert, but at least we won’t go hungry tonight.”
“I’ve never had goat cheese, ought to be interesting.” Without waiting for him, she reached for the food and started eating. She was starved, anything would do.
He watched her devour a hunk of the goat cheese without so much as a blink. Her cheeks were still flushed from laughing and her eyes were glossy from fatigue. Her hair had fallen from her cape to frame her face. Without thinking, he spoke his mind. “You really are beautiful, love.”
She stopped chewing in the middle of her bite. The way he was looking at her, she could be his supper. Trying to make light of it, she bit down on her food again. “And you are very handsome, Rowen.” Holding her hand out, she offered him the cheese. “You haven’t had any of this wonderful cheese yet, here take some.”
Reaching past the cheese, he slid his fingers lightly down her forearm. “I mean it, Fern, you should wear your hair down more often, it’s really quite flattering.” He smiled at the blush in her cheeks. “Last night was really eroti—”
“Rowen!” Her eyes locked onto his, begging him to stop. “We promised not to talk about that, remember?”
“I can’t help myself, Fern. It was quite nice, don’t you agree?”
She let her eyes drop to where his fingers lightly tickled her arm. Jerking it back, she scooted away. “Let’s just drop it, alright? What happened, happened. I have to get it out of my mind; we both have to get it out of our minds. We have a job to do, Rowen, let’s just stick to it.” After wrapping the cheese and bread back in the cloth, she lay down on her blanket and turned away. He was wildly attractive, just one touch from his fingers made her blood seethe. They couldn’t let physical attraction get in their way, no matter how much she wanted to feel his lips softly teasing hers and his tongue tracing her lips before dipping in to taste hers. Squeezing her eyes tight, she tried to force the vision from her mind.
Rowen gazed at her back. The way her dress conformed to her body as she lay on her side aroused him, more than he already was. “Damn!” what was he thinking? He couldn’t let her go to his head. What sort of disaster was he wishing for himself? “I’m going to go take a swim, Fern, I’ll be back soon.”
She rolled over just in time to watch him disappear. Closing her eyes, she tried to sleep, but it wasn’t possible. He wanted a repeat of last night, and damn it, so did she. Fact was, as soon as they were done making sure they were both going to be around for their own century, he’d never have anything to do with her again. She was nowhere near his league. She remembered the articles in the newspaper with his picture, there was always some gorgeous woman hanging on his arm. Poised and polished as if he’d picked her from a display in a ritzy art gallery. Flipping over onto her back, she forced Rowen from her mind and thought about Rose.
It was so odd, that priest knew she was coming. He was even waiting for her on the steps of his church. She passed through the wardrobe to be deposited directly in front of him. She didn’t recognize the surroundings. The priest was a little on the chubby side, and looked somewhat like a cherub the way he held his folded hands together next to his chest. When he waddled over to take Rose from her protective embrace, she took a step backward, unsure if she could trust him.
“Don’t be afraid, child. Your sisters told me you were coming. Actually, it’s been written in the sacred books for generations, but we weren’t sure of the exact time. It is an honor to be the one to help this child. I will make sure she is properly taken care of, don’t worry.”
“If the sisters trust you then so shall I, but please take good care of her. As you can see, she is precious.” Gently she handed Rose over to him and then turned to leave.
“Yes child, she is more precious than you know.”
When she turned to acknowledge his comment, he was already gone. She watched the door of the church as it slowly closed behind him and Rose. “Weird,” she thought, then turned back again to leave. She wasn’t sure how she would get back, so she walked toward where she’d come through. It was only a second before she was back in Mary’s bedroom. Without waiting to see if the old lady was home, she ran through the house, then across the fields to the safety of the cave.
Alone in the dark, she began thinking about Rowen’s naked, muscular body sliding through the water. There was a full moon out there, maybe he wouldn’t notice if she went out to watch. “Oh Fern, you should be ashamed.” Rolling over to her stomach, she closed her eyes tight again and tried to will herself to sleep. Hot and flushed, the last thing on her mind was sleep.
* * * *
“Make love to me, Jonathan, the way you do to your whore.” Sarah stared down into her husband’s face from where she sat perched on his chest.
Jonathan was pushing back against her shoulders with his hands, trying to keep her from testing his will. Her stomach had grown large from the
child that grew inside; even still, she was a beautiful woman. And in many ways still tempting. “Get off of me, wife. I have no desire for you tonight.”
“If I were Mary would you take me?” She panted as she pushed her naked womanhood down on his abdomen.
It was never his intention to hurt his wife, if only his love for her could have been stronger, he might not have fallen for his Mary like he did. “Lie down here beside me, wife, I cannot make love to you after what ye have done to Mary. You hath wrongly accused her, this I will never forgive.”
Jerking back as if stung, Sarah crawled down off his chest to join him under the quilts. “What will it take to remove her from thy husband’s mind? If not death.”
“Never will she be gone from my mind, nor my heart, my wife. But I will remain your husband and a father to our child. In your eyes I will forever see her death, of this you will never be forgiven.”
“One day you will return to my arms, Jonathan. You are but a man, your lust will drive you back.” Sarah closed her eyes and rolled away; sleep came easy, as victory was hers.
CHAPTER TEN
“Are you ready, Fern? Make sure you keep your face covered until he is alone. I’ll be right behind you until we reach the cave.” Rowen slid his hands down her dress then pulled her cape over her head.
“I’m fine, really, Rowen. Now let me go before the rest of the village starts to wake.”
Looking over her head, he saw Jonathan through the windows of his house; he was sitting at the table eating something that Sarah had just put before him. “If all the writings were correct, you will have no problem getting him to follow you, Fern. Ok, he’s getting up to leave now.” Bending forward, he kissed her forehead. “A kiss for luck.”
Fern smiled, he was genuinely concerned. “Thank you, Rowen, now let me do my job. I’ll see you at the cave.” Leaving him behind, she went to meet the man that had caused her ancestor so much pain.