A Knight to Remember: Merriweather Sisters Time Travel (Merriweather Sisters Time Travel Romance Book 1)

by Cynthia Luhrs

  The guard shouted to raise the alarm and pounded down the steps. He could hear the knights shouting as they made their way to the far gate. The door opened and William came running to look out over his land. “Where are the invaders?”

  As William searched for the enemy, Clement brought the stone down hard on the back of William’s head. He fell with a heavy thud, hitting his head on the stone. Clement hastily tied his hands and feet together and placed a gag around his mouth.

  It would take time to sort out the chaos. Clement had paid a band of ruffians to run to and fro, screaming and yelling in the woods at the far western corner of the castle. He could hear the howls of the fake Scots.

  Pleased with his deception, Clement pondered how best to kill William. The man was heavy as a horse. If he struggled, Clement wasn’t sure he could throw him over the side. He grunted as he propped William up on the bench, his head resting against the wall. He was senseless but would wake soon.

  Clement wanted him awake. The man needed to know why Clement hated him so before he killed him. Wanted William to know they were half-brothers and Blackford would now be his. He was pondering whether or not to throw the witch over the edge too. Was Lucy truly a witch? He thought so in the beginning, but she had not performed any feats of magic.

  Mayhap she was nothing more than a girl. Clement scratched his backside. He could kill her or he could keep her and bed her. She had a feisty spirit and would likely scream. He liked them to scream when he bedded them. Then he would beat her. Women needed to be beaten daily to keep the demons away. As he was deciding what to do, the door to the battlements opened.

  September twenty-third, the first day of fall. Lucy opened the trunk at the foot of the bed and pulled out the ball of rags that used to be her wedding dress. She held it up, looking at the fire through the various rips and tears. At one time, the dress had been beautiful. Snowy white, encrusted with crystals and pearls and ethereal chiffon. Now it wasn’t even fit to dust the furniture.

  She stripped down to her chemise, and as she was about to pull it over her head, she stopped. If she took off the chemise to put the dress on, she’d be showing way too much skin. But with it on, would the garment hinder her efforts to go home?

  Would something from this time period hold her here? She was afraid and yet part of her wanted to stay.

  “Get it together. Get your mind right. You have to want to go back with your whole body and soul or it won’t work.” How was that for a pep talk?

  So she pulled the chemise off and pulled the ragged dress on. It would be dark soon, so it wasn’t like anyone should notice. The guard on the battlements were used to her acting odd. They’d nod and go back to watching for enemies.

  She lifted the blue sparkly shoes out of the trunk and admired them in the light. The wedges were a good four inches high, and she loved the color and the crystals. Lucy buckled them around her ankles and stood, wobbling for a moment. It had been months since she’d worn a heel. For a moment she felt like a little girl playing dress-up.

  With a small sniff, she twisted her hair up into a French twist and stuck the pins in to hold the hair. Next came the earrings, necklace and bracelets, which felt cold against her skin.

  The trunk closed with a soft thud and she rested her hands on top. Then she straightened her shoulders, stood and wrapped her cloak around her, pulling up the hood. She would take it off on the battlements. With a peek out the door, she blinked. The corridor was empty.

  Guess she wouldn’t need an excuse to get rid of her guard after all. Where was everyone? She thought she’d heard a commotion earlier but assumed it was the men being men.

  Would it hurt when she passed through time again? When she came through, Lucy wasn’t sure if lightning struck her or if it was the sensation of traveling through time that hurt so much. She remembered the explosion of color, a sensation of falling and the sound of metal tearing apart. Then nothing.

  Her bracelets jangled and she slid them higher on her arm. As she opened the door to the battlements, she thought there was a different guard on duty.

  “You. What are you doing here?” Lucy stepped closer and saw Clement standing next to a large bundle. She clapped her hand over her mouth in horror. It was William. He wasn’t moving.

  She ran over to him. There was blood running down the side of his face. She could see blood in his hair.

  “William! William, wake up.” She shook him and tried again. “William. You must wake up.”

  Clement started to laugh. Lucy felt the sting of a slap across her cheek as she turned her ankle in the heels and fell on her butt.

  “You are such an ass.”

  “You will die first, mistress.” He laughed. A creepy, insane sound. Clement kicked William. “I don’t think he is able to rescue you.”

  “Let him go.”

  William stirred, and Clement grabbed his hair, yanking his head back.

  “Wake, my lord. You can watch your lady die and then you will follow.” William did not move.

  Lucy felt sick. How could she help William? In the distance, she heard noise. Shouting. And what looked like torches in the woods. Clement followed her gaze, a look of satisfaction on his face.

  “The guards believe they are fending off an attack from the Scots. There aren’t any Scots. I paid a band of ruffians to pretend. This way we will not be interrupted. It wouldn’t do for the peasants to see the new Lord Blackford murdering his friend, would it? I will grieve when they find William broken on the rocks. One of the Scots must have made his way through the castle and surprised our lord.”

  “You are more bonkers than a raccoon swimming in moonshine, you know that, don’t you?”

  She had to buy time. Soon enough the men would figure out there was no attack. Then they would come back and look for a traitor. He happened to be standing right in front of her.

  Clement could see William was coming to, and took care not to get too close, Lucy noted.

  William glared at Clement. “What is the meaning of this?”

  Lucy inched toward the door, intending to find the guards, but Clement stopped her and pressed a knife to her throat.

  He looked at William while he held the knife to her. She could feel the cold point pressing on the flesh.

  “When your family fell out of favor with the king, I offered you a place at Blackford.”

  Clement scoffed. “It is beneath my station for me to take such a position. You still haven’t unraveled the plot, have you?” He shook his head. “I am disappointed in you. The lady has addled your mind. The William I knew would have figured out the plot and killed me months ago.”

  William shook his head as if to dispel the fuzziness. “What cause have you to betray me? We have been friends since childhood. You are like a brother to me.”

  “I dispatched a messenger to the king. He bears a letter you wrote. To Robert the Bruce. In it you declare your dissatisfaction with our king. You offer an alliance with Scotland. Gold to help in the fight for independence.”

  Lucy could see the moment Clement’s betrayal finally sank in. She knew what it felt like. Wished with all her heart she could help him. Could take the pain away. To know someone you thought of as friend since childhood would betray you so badly, it was a pain she wouldn’t wish on anyone.

  She didn’t know how he could look so calm, but he did. He leaned back against the wall, hands and feet tied. And yet he looked like he was out for a breath of fresh air.

  “I ask you again, why betray me?”

  “We share the same father.”

  Talk about dropping a bomb. Lucy couldn’t see the resemblance. William looked stunned, while Clement looked smug.

  “When my mother died I searched her trunks and found a letter. A letter she wrote to your father. In it, she confessed she was with child. Named him father. Your father was going to declare me his true son. I will show the king the letter. The letter along with proof of your treachery will be enough. The king will award me the gold, the title a
nd Blackford Castle.”

  Lucy was completely stunned. They were half-brothers. She’d heard William talk of his father with affection. She couldn’t imagine what he must be feeling right now. She wanted to go to him, comfort him. But the knife pressed harder and she was afraid if she moved Clement would slit her throat.

  “Soon after our father discovered your mother was barren, he looked elsewhere for sons. You know he wanted many sons. Who knows how many bastards there are roaming the countryside. You are naïve, William. You believed him to be a good man. And yet you have no idea he ill-used your mother so. I have known since I was seven years old that we are brothers.”

  William looked like he was trying to digest the story. And still Lucy could think of no way to save him.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” William looked at his friend with sorrow in his eyes. “Everyone has flaws. Even my father. I would’ve welcomed you into my life, gladly called you brother.”

  Clement looked stricken for a moment then recovered. “Lies. You treated me as a servant. Never as a brother.”

  Inspiration struck. Lucy stomped on her captor’s foot as hard as she could with her heel. He yelled out and the knife went flying. She dove for it, sliding across the stone, scraping her arms, but somehow she managed to grab the blade and toss it to William. In an instant Clement was on her, hitting and kicking. It seemed like hours she tried to protect herself, but in reality it was probably only a couple of minutes then he was gone.

  William stood there holding a bruised and battered Clement by the throat, anger blazing across his face.

  “The only reason I don’t run you through is for the affection I held for you these many years. I will not kill you because you are my half-brother. You will live with what you have done. Your punishment is banishment.”

  William swept Lucy up in his arms, holding her close. He looked over his shoulder at Clement. “Begone in the morning. Never show your face on my lands again. I will kill you the next time I see you.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  “Are you unharmed?” William carried her down the stairs to her chamber.

  When he’d seen Clement holding a knife to her throat, the bright red blood, William feared his heart would stop.

  “You saved me at great risk to yourself. I am in your debt, my brave warrior lady.”

  She touched the marks on his wrists where he’d tried to loosen the ropes. His half-brother was proficient in tying knots.

  His lady put a hand to his cheek and said, so softly he strained to hear, “Why did you let him go?”

  In truth, William thought it might not have been one of his best decisions. But he could not kill the only remaining family he had.

  He rubbed his eyes. “He grew up envying me and my relationship with our father. I knew his father was a cold man, though I did not know he beat Clement. To grow up wanting something you cannot have. The envy turned his heart black. Filled him with hate.”

  Thomas entered the chamber. “My lord. My lady. We are not under attack. ’Twas ruffians pretending to be Scots.”

  Wymund strode in, dirty and tired. “The earl to the west died of fever two months past. The messenger was discovered with his throat slit.” The captain of his guard handed him a letter. He recognized the seal. It was his own.

  The seal broke with a snap. The handwriting clearly that of Clement. ’Twas as he said. The letter was to Robert the Bruce offering support and gold. William would have been drawn and quartered when the king read this treasonous document.

  “I am obliged to you, Wymund.” He saw a look pass between the men. “You have heard.”

  “Why, my lord? Why did you let the traitor go free?” Thomas looked like he was ready to cry or hit something. William sometimes forgot he had not yet seen a score of years.

  “Clement and I grew up playing together.” He took a breath and looked to Lucy, who smiled at him with love in her eyes. “He is my half-brother. My father and his mother.”

  Lucy took his hand.

  “I did not know until tonight. I thought it better for him to live with the knowledge he will never have what is mine than to kill him. He is banished. If he shows his face on my lands, he will die.”

  The men nodded and left him alone. William pulled Lucy close. “If he harmed you…”

  He kissed her, threading his hands through her glorious hair. The thought of losing her gnawed at his gut. William ran a finger down her soft cheek.

  “I love you, Lucy Merriweather.”

  He looked at her again. She wore the future clothes she’d arrived in. Dread took the place of happiness.

  “Were you trying to go back?” He had hoped she would accept living here. With him.

  She kicked off the blue footwear and he caught a glimpse of skin. Seeing his gaze, she blushed and wrapped the cloak around her.

  “Today is the first day of fall, I mean autumn. When I came though it was the first day of summer.” She looked embarrassed. “I thought I would try one last time.” She stood on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek.

  “Deep in my heart I didn’t really want to go back.” She hugged him tight, her face against his chest, muffling her words.

  “I love you too, William. When I saw you tied up…my heart stopped.”

  He spent the rest of the night holding her close. Afraid if he let go she might change her mind and leave him. The fire beckoned as William considered burning the tattered dress and shoes. Lucy seemed to believe she needed them to return to her own time. If he burned them she couldn’t leave him…

  Cursed knightly vows, he could not, no matter how much he wished. She would have to make the choice to stay with him. Was his love enough?

  As Lucy wandered around the village, Thomas and Albin trailing behind her, she wanted to skip and sing. But she knew if she did most of the villagers would think she was even crazier than they suspected.

  She was purchasing more wool for crocheting when she heard two women talking. They couldn’t see her from where she stood. For some reason, Lucy hesitated. Later she would wonder what made her do so. As if some part of her knew something wasn’t quite right.

  “I saw Lord Blackford kissing her. With mine own two eyes,” the old woman with the gray dress said.

  Her companion, a young woman with black hair down to her waist, made a face. “He will kill her as he did his first wife.”

  Lucy gasped. Someone took hold of her arm and she jumped.

  “Are you unwell, my lady?”

  She could see the alarm on Thomas’ face. “Come, sit down on the wall.”

  Lucy let him lead her over to the wall. So many thoughts rushing through her head. What did they mean William killed his first wife? First wife? She didn’t know he’d been married.

  It was like Simon all over again.

  She had to find out what they knew. She sent Albin to fetch her something to drink and waited for the women to walk by. As they made their way toward her, she called out, “Might I have a word?”

  The two women looked at her curiously then made their way over to her. “Yes, my lady?” the young one said.

  She hesitated then decided it was best to ask straight out. “I didn’t mean to overhear you talking, but I did.”

  Fear filled the women’s faces. The old lady spoke up. “We meant no harm, lady.”

  The young one had an evil look on her face, as if she were enjoying the conversation. “Idle gossip, mistress. Nothing more.”

  “I would like to know the story. Will you tell me?”

  Albin appeared with a tankard of ale and she sent him back to fetch drinks for the women. She gestured to the stone bench.

  “Please, sit. And tell me the tale.”

  Lucy noticed her hands shaking as she took a sip. All the mean things Simon had ever said to her came rushing back. How he always commented on her weight. Her being American. Her Southern accent. And how in the end he’d tried to kill her. All because of her name. Lucy let out a shaky laugh and the women looked at her with
fear on their faces.

  She knew they probably thought she was unhinged, but she couldn’t help it. Was it possible she married William while she was trapped here? Was that why Simon swore her last name was Brandon? And not her sisters?

  The boy handed the women cups of ale, turned to her and said, “Anything else, my lady?”

  “No. I’m going to rest a bit and talk with these women. I’ll be ready to go back soon.”

  She saw Thomas nearby along with four other men, all keeping an eye on her from a discreet distance.

  The two women looked at each other and she guessed they were mother and daughter. The mother started to speak but the younger woman jumped in. She looked like she was in her mid-thirties. Lucy was guessing the woman was probably closer to her own age, if not younger. The woman was pretty but had a hard look to her. She seemed to be happy to tell her the sordid story.

  “Lord Blackford killed his wife Georgina. He is a very wealthy man. Some say wealthier than the king. But no one will have him. No one wants to die at his hands. They call him the Butcher of Blackford.”

  Somehow she managed to sit there while they all finished their drinks. Inside she was ranting and raving. Screaming and shaking. On the outside she knew she looked calm except for the slight trembling of her hands.

  She thanked the women and stood up to leave. She started to sway. Thomas caught her under the arm. “Let’s get you back to the castle, my lady.”

  She looked up at him. “Did you know, Thomas?”

  He didn’t even pretend not to know what she spoke of. “We all know about Lord Blackford’s first wife. My lord is a good man. I’ve never seen him harm a woman. She must have given him cause.”

  Fear filled her. It shook her to the core to find out William had killed his wife. What was it with her and men? Doubt flooded through her. All her bad decisions scrolling through her head. By the time they got back to the castle, Lucy had made a decision.

  She was leaving.

  And every day she would keep trying to go home. There had to be another way besides standing on the battlements, right?