A Knight Such as This: Enhanced with Interactive Content: (Time Travel Romance) Book 1 & 2 (Ravenhurst Series)

by Lorraine Beaumont

  Shit. Poor guy. He sounded crazy. I couldn’t blame him; I had only been awake in this disgusting pit for a few minutes, and I found I was starting to freak out as well. I felt even worse when he started to cry and laugh at the same time. I couldn’t take it. He may have given me the creeps before, but obviously, he was hurt and scared. “Devlin, please stop. You are not crazy. I am here with you. You are not imagining me.”

  Devlin stopped sob-laughing. “Are you really here?” he asked hopefully.

  “Yes, unfortunately I am,” I said, and then sighed. “How could I not be?” I grumbled. “It seems I am as stuck as you are.”

  “You poor dear, are you chained as well?” he asked, reaching up and tugging on the chains above his head, making them jangle loudly.

  “Chained?” Why was he chained? What was Crazy afraid of?

  “Yes, I am chained. My arms are above my head and I have lost all feeling in them,” he complained.

  Perfect. “I am on my way, so keep talking, okay?”

  “You must be an angel,” he said in a faraway voice.

  I laughed, I couldn’t help it. “Oh no, I am no angel.” Far from it.

  “Who are you?” he asked, trying to keep the conversation going to keep his mind off the pain in his leg.

  “Um…I am, ah…Marguerite,” I lied.

  He was quiet a moment. “You are not Marguerite.”

  I skidded to a halt. “Why would you say that?”

  “Because I know you are not Marguerite.”

  “How would you know that?” I asked. Sebastian, my so-called betrothed, had no idea I wasn’t Marguerite, so how would he? “Did you do something to her?” I asked, really not expecting him to answer.

  “Not recently,” he said with an audible sigh. Why should he lie? It would all be out in the open soon enough. And if he died here, he wanted a clear conscience.

  “What do you mean… not recently?” I was almost afraid to hear what he would say.

  “I promise to tell you if you answer two questions for me.”

  I chewed on the inside of my cheek, contemplating what he asked. Well hell, what could it hurt? “Okay.”

  “Who are you, really?” he asked, surprised she did not deny him.

  Well, wasn’t this just peachy? I continued to pick my way over towards the sound of his voice. Why should I lie, there was really nothing to lose at this point. Besides, I was tired of keeping secrets. I was never good at it anyway. For once, I was thankful for the darkness, it would be easier to tell the truth if I didn’t have to see his face afterwards. “Here goes nothing.” I took a breath. “My name is Katherine Nicole Jamison.”

  “I knew it,” he whooped loudly and the action caused his body to move. “Gah,” he groaned in pain.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Yes and no,” he answered indecisively.

  “So which is it Devlin?” I was getting close.

  He chuckled at that and then sucked in his breath as another wave of pain assailed him. “I am fine,” he lied.

  “Okay.” I didn’t believe him but decided to keep his mind on something other than the pain he was obviously in. “So, how did you know I am not Marguerite?”

  “I am not sure really, the resemblance you have for one another is uncanny but there are distinct differences as well. Needless to say it did not take me very long to figure it out.”

  Well, he sounded quite pleased with himself; maybe I should really blow his mind and tell him I was from the future, here to fix a wrong done to some knight. On second thought, maybe not, since I didn’t even know what I was doing here, really, so telling him wouldn’t be as mind-blowing as I would have wanted. “So what landed you in this pit?” I moved closer. He was silent so long I thought he might have passed out again.

  Devlin finally answered. “My arrogance, I suppose.” He paused a moment and then asked a question of his own, “How about you? The do-gooder toss you down here?”

  “No!” I snapped.

  He chuckled, suddenly amused. “A man could hope.”

  “What’s with you two, anyway?” My head rammed into his gut. “Oh God, sorry.” I lifted my hands and tried to hold his swaying body in place.

  “I am all right.” Devlin bit back another wave of pain.

  “You do not sound all right.”

  “Well, I am as good as can be expected under the circumstances.”

  “There is that,” I agreed. “Okay, so this will hurt so…ah…”

  “Just do it…please.”

  “Here goes nothing.” I stood up, reached out, and missed. “Damn.”

  “What’s the matter?”

  “I can not find your hands. Hold on a sec.” I moved forward and hit him full on. “Oh God, sorry!”

  Devlin was not sure how long he would be able to bear her attempts at rescue. His jaw tensed. “It is fine, try again.”

  “Okay, but I am sure this will hurt a bit.”

  “I am sure it will too,” Devlin readily agreed, laughing lightly even though he was in pain.

  “Smarty Pants,” I said, but smiled into the darkness. At least he had a sense of humor. I ran my hands up his chest and followed his arm up to one of the restraints.

  Devlin closed his eyes again and let his head fall against the soft curve of her breast.

  “Hey!”

  “Sorry,” he said, but still did not move.

  Diligently, I worked on the screws to the cuffs, ignoring his face mushed up against my right boob. “You know, you never did answer me before.”

  “What was the question?”

  “What is with you and Sebastian?”

  “Oh, that.”

  “Why do you say it like that?” I unhinged one of his hands and draped it over my shoulder. “Just a couple more minutes and I will have you out of this.”

  “All right,” he said and nodded.

  “Well,” I prompted when he fell silent.

  “That is a long story.”

  “It looks like we have some time.”

  “Maybe you could ask me another question.”

  I wanted the answer to that one but asked another anyway. “So what is your deal, what are you about.”

  “Pardon?” he asked, sounding bewildered.

  Oh crap, I forgot he was a Victorian. “I guess I mean who are you, really, down deep and why?” I asked, not sure if he would get what I was trying to ask.

  “Another difficult question.” He sighed heavily. “I suppose I am never satisfied.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “I find I am always looking for something that is just out of reach,” he said with sincerity, realizing suddenly how true it was. “What are you doing with Sebastian?” he asked, sounding bewildered by the concept.

  I laughed at that, even though it was not funny. Why was I with Sebastian? Um, maybe it was because I had no choice. Maybe it was because I needed to fix this thing for the knight. But I couldn’t bring myself to say either. Instead, I said what I felt. “I belong with him,” I said, just now realizing how true it was.

  Devlin felt his chest tighten in response to her words. He did not know why, he had only just met her.

  “It is your turn to tell me something again.”

  “I will try.”

  “How did you know I was not Marguerite?”

  He laughed. It was a short, brittle sound. “Oh, it was just a feeling, really. You two may look alike, but there are very distinct things about you that differ from her. And of course, you confirmed what I already suspected. Does he even realize you are not Marguerite?” The disdain he felt for Sebastian was evident in his voice.

  I thought about that for a moment and then shrugged. “I guess not.”

  He laughed. “I knew it.”

  I froze, remembering how Sebastian called me Marguerite and remembering how I ran away. I sighed and began working the screws again. “What did you know?”

  Devlin noticed her tone. “Pray forgive me, Katherine, I did not mean to upset you.”<
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  “Well, you are right. He has no idea I am not this Marguerite girl.

  “You know, Katherine, you must be related to Marguerite,” Devlin said offhandedly.

  “Why is that?” I asked, curious.

  “You two are very much alike, and not only in looks.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes.”

  “Let me guess, we are both in love with Sebastian?” I deadpanned and then instantly cringed. I couldn’t believe I just said that.

  Devlin sucked in his breath. That hurt and it had nothing to do with his leg. “No, I believe you are the only one who has those feelings towards the do-gooder.”

  “What then?”

  “You are both indisputably unavailable.”

  My heart lurched a bit from the sadness behind his words. I finished releasing his arms. He fell forward against me and pushed me back to the ground. He was dead weight. I tried to push him off, but couldn’t budge him. He was heavier than he looked.

  “Are you all right,” Devlin asked as he pushed himself up so he would not crush her with his weight.

  “Yeah, I’m good,” I squeaked out, feeling his body press against my own. His face hovered above mine, and for a brief moment, I wondered what his lips would feel like pressed against my own.

  Devlin knew he could take advantage of the situation. He noticed she was not protesting and normally would have tested the waters, but after a few moments’ deliberation, he decided he did not want to, at least not like this. He eased off her slowly, moaning in pain. He hated to admit to himself that it probably had more to do with his heart than his leg.

  “Are you okay?” I leaned over him.

  “Now I am,” he said laughingly.

  I moved away quickly. “Are you always such a pig?”

  “Pig as in the animal? Or pig as in wastrel?” he replied, smiling to himself.

  “I guess wastrel.”

  “I believe I am. A wastrel, that is,” he said with conviction.

  Well, at least he was honest; I had to give him that much. “Can you move?”

  “Not well, why?”

  “We need to get out of here.” Since my eyes had adjusted to the darkness, I was finally able to see a faint light off in the distance.

  “You should go ahead without me.” He pushed himself up to a sitting position and leaned back to readjust himself so his weight wasn’t on his bad leg as much.

  “I will not!” I snapped.

  Devlin smiled in the darkness. Perhaps there was some redemption left for him after all. “Well, if you are going to take that tone with me, your wish is my command.”

  “You have a smart mouth, you know that?”

  “So I have been told,” he said, not elaborating on what else he had been told his mouth was good for. “Thank you.”

  “For what?” I tried stand once more and frankly, was surprised that I was able to without hitting something with my head. Leaning down, I grabbed him under his arms. “I am going to pull you up.”

  Devlin staggered up and hopped on one foot, gritting his teeth. “I am all right,” he breathed out past a wave of pain.

  “Who did this to you?”

  “I am not sure who it was,” he said, fighting the pain. “There may have been more than one of them,” he added in a stilted voice. “I could swear earlier, when I was coming in and out of consciousness, there were two people arguing with one another.” He lowered his voice. “They sounded insane.”

  I shivered. I didn’t know what crazy sounded like, but I sure as hell knew firsthand what crazy looked like.

  Devlin reached forward, and pulled her into his embrace and hugged her briefly.

  His hug surprised me and not in a bad way either. Exhausted, I rested my face against his muscled chest, letting him hold me. He was tall, and muscular like Sebastian, but not as broad. The top of my head barely reached his shoulder. An awkward silence filled the charged air between us.

  “We better get while the getting is good, right?” He slowly disentangled his arms.

  “Yeah…” I stepped forward and wrapped my arm around his waist as I tried to hold up most of his weight as we made our way towards the light.

  DESPERATE MEASURES

  HAWTHORNE MANOR * THE ESTATE GROUNDS

  THE two riders were perfectly silhouetted in the afternoon sun as they approached Hawthorne Manor. If Sebastian were not in such a hurry, he would have stopped for a moment to admire its beauty. It was built during the Greek revival period. He always appreciated the simplicity of this house, with its understated elegance. Ravenhurst was the opposite: huge and imposing. It seemed to him even garish at times. Especially with its gargoyles sneering down upon everyone who entered its massive doors.

  Yes, this house was much more to his liking. Out back, behind the house, there was a lovely garden and the remnants of a cookhouse with a cellar underneath. It burned down at some point through the years, but he could not remember when.

  The only thing that remained was the staircase leading under the ground, with a small cellar that was still used to store potatoes and such.

  Sebastian reined his horse in and dismounted quickly. He ran up the front steps, lifted the knocker and slamming it down, he waited.

  There was no answer.

  He lifted his fist and pounded on the door harder, then tried the handle. It was locked. He looked up at the windows. “Hello!” he called out.

  Still, no one answered.

  The hopelessness of the situation began to close in on him. Suddenly he could not catch a breath. He felt like he was suffocating. He ran his gloved hands over his face and leaned against the door. What was he to do now? He had no other ideas.

  Milford adjusted his seat, watching Sebastian struggle with his inner demons. He had never seen him so despondent, not even when Marguerite vanished. At the time, he seemed almost relieved she was gone. That entire situation never did set too well with Milford. And even though he did feel Sebastian deserved this in a way, especially for the callous manner in which he treated Marguerite, he could not help trying to alleviate some of his obvious distress. So without thinking, he blurted out, “Perhaps we should check the trail near the ravine again?”

  Suddenly there was a spark of hope in Sebastian’s eyes once more. “Yes, you are right Milford. That would make sense. We will be able to see more clearly, especially now that the storm has passed.” He trotted back down the stairs, took his horse from Milford, and easily swung up into the saddle. He gave the horse a gentle squeeze with his thighs and clicked his tongue. The horse took off.

  Milford followed his lead, regretting his decision as soon as they were off.

  As the sun sank further into the horizon, dark shadows loomed in front of them, darkening further the closer they came to the precipice of the dreaded ravine. Sebastian dismounted at the highest point, anchoring his horse’s reins around a boulder and skated down towards the edge. He slid into a large rock that jutted up from the top. It was impossible to see the bottom of the ravine from this vantage point. Shaking out the snow from his greatcoat he walked back towards Milford, his boots crunching loudly on the crust of the snow as he struggled to remain upright.

  Milford let out the pent-up breath he had been holding. He was relieved Sebastian had made it back in one piece. Now they could get the hell out of here and go back home. He envisioned a nice steaming cup of tea and one of cook’s biscuits he had stashed away in the larder. His fantasy was short lived.

  “Milford, I know what must be done,” Sebastian said as he grabbed a rope from his saddle.

  Milford quirked a brow at him in question. “Wh…” he swallowed hard, and then finished his sentence, “What must be done?”

  “You will have to look over the edge.”

  Milford nearly toppled from his horse in shock. “WH—Why me?” he stammered out.

  “There is no other way,” Sebastian, said, ignoring Milford’s horrified expression. “It is just too slippery. If I try it alone, I may fall,”
he said as if stating the obvious.

  Milford’s eyes widened. “What, pray tell, is going to stop me from falling?” he asked indignantly.

  “I will hold your feet,” he replied easily looping the rope around his arm.

  “Hold my feet!” Milford squeaked loudly. “How will we not both fall in?” he said, his voice rising higher on each word. “And why can I not hold your feet?” he asked in a huff of air.

  Sebastian frowned at him. “I am stronger than you,” he said with a definitive tone, putting an end to any discussion on the subject. He walked the rest of the way up to his horse, looped part of the rope through the saddle, and then turned back towards Milford. “See, we will be tied to the horse,” he said as he held the rope aloft.

  “What if the horse slips as well?” Milford hedged.

  Sebastian shook his head. “Do not be ridiculous, man. Now let us not dally. We are running out of light.”

  Milford was sick to his stomach, but he dismounted and followed Sebastian down to the ledge just the same, slipping and sliding the entire time.

  “Now lay on your stomach and I will brace myself back here while you lean over the edge.”

  “How are you to stop me from falling in?” he asked nervously, feeling faint.

  “I will be holding on to your boots.”

  “WH-what if they fall off my feet, they are not the best fit you know? Wait, I have a tighter pair back…” Milford never got to finish the sentence, Sebastian cut him off.

  “They won’t.”

  “How do you know?” Milford asked anxiously.

  “I just know. Now come on man, we are losing the light,” he repeated.

  “Well, I may be losing my life, so forgive me for dawdling,” Milford said, with a disgruntled tone.

  Sebastian sighed heavily. “You know, you may have missed your calling…you could have been an actor. I had no idea you were so melodramatic.”

  Milford narrowed his eyes with indignation. “Easy for you to say,” he mumbled angrily under his breath but lay down on his stomach anyway. He looked back at Sebastian. “You do have a good hold on me, correct?”