Lonely is the Knight (Merriweather Sisters Time Travel Romance Book 3)

by Cynthia Luhrs

  After dinner, she laid out everyone’s work for the next few days. Henry was outside with the men. They were checking the walls for weak spots. With so much happening, time passed quickly, and Charlotte felt like she was the white rabbit, constantly running late. That afternoon she was in the solar taking a few minutes for herself when Henry stumbled in.

  “You look as tired as I feel.”

  “Seeing you, wife, I am no longer weary. Tell me about your day.”

  Charlotte filled him in on what she’d been doing, and was pleased to hear him say she’d done such a great job. Who knew organizing archeological teams and villagers would be so similar?

  With a look out the window, she pursed her lips. It was time. She couldn’t put it off any longer. Who knew when they would have time together again? They had their chamber and the solar to themselves. But every other inch of the castle and its buildings were occupied with people. And someone always needed her or Henry for something. Charlotte wouldn’t wait any longer. She owed it to her husband.

  “I have something to tell you. Something I’ve wanted to tell you since the day you rescued me but haven’t quite known how.”

  Henry put down his cup and came to stand next to her. They looked out at the water and the enemy beyond. He took her hands in his.

  “Whatever it is, you may tell me. You know I would do anything within my power to aid you.”

  “I don’t want you to think I’ve lost my wits. I just keep thinking if someone were to tell me what I’m about to tell you, I would think they were completely crazy. And I certainly wouldn’t believe them.”

  “Charlotte. Look at me.” Henry leaned forward and kissed her on the lips. “Whatever secrets you’ve been keeping, I am your husband and I will believe you.”

  Somehow hearing him say it, whether he would or not, made her feel so much lighter. Charlotte made a face and took a deep breath.

  “Here goes. I’m from the future. From the year 2016. Almost seven hundred years from now.”

  Henry dropped her hands. He stared at her as if he were truly seeing her for the first time.

  “The future? We found you washed up on the shore. ’Tis not possible.”

  She’d opened her mouth to start explaining when the damn door opened with a bang.

  “My lord, my lady. Make haste. A messenger has arrived. He is not long for this world.”

  Hells bells. Charlotte wanted to run to the kitchens to see the messenger, but she also wanted to throw a serious tantrum like a two-year-old who’d gone two days without a nap. Just when she’d gotten her nerve up. Well, she’d waited this long, what was a few more hours?

  Chapter Thirty-One

  After supper, Charlotte was half-asleep in a chair when Henry came back. Groggy, she scrubbed a hand across her face.

  There had been so much blood, she had to leave the room. As she gagged, she was afraid she’d barf and be a distraction. Even the healer couldn’t save him. She’d patted Charlotte on the shoulder as she left the room.

  “Blood takes getting used to, lady. Be of good cheer you do not find it so easy to bear.”

  She’d thanked the woman and run out of the room and into her chamber, where she took deep breaths out the window to clear the smell from her nose.

  “Did he survive?”

  Henry shook his head. “Nay. The messenger did not survive, though he did pass on a message.”

  “I don’t understand. I thought during times of war, messengers were allowed to pass?”

  “And allow information to get through to the enemy? Nay, messengers are not given safe passage.” He pulled her onto his lap, his breath warm against her ear. “The message was not written down for fear it would be discovered. The man memorized it. I did not forget what you told me. You swear you are from the future?”

  “I am. Though I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t believe me.”

  “’Tis odd; the messenger said Lady Blackford and Lady Falconburg are sisters. Lucy and Melinda Merriweather. They have your name. These are the sisters you search for? And if ’tis true, how can you be from the future?”

  Charlotte wasn’t sure she’d heard him correctly. “Did you say Lady Blackford and Lady Falconburg are my sisters? And we know where they are? But then why did they say they didn’t have a third sister? We could have already gone to Falconburg. I would have been with them before the siege even started. You wouldn’t have had to marry me.”

  Henry scowled. She ignored his look and jumped up, dancing around the room. “It doesn’t matter. All that matters is I actually did it. Traveled through time and found my sisters.” As the reality of her situation sank in, Charlotte slumped. “We must end the siege. I have to see them with my own eyes.”

  “’Tis been a long day. Tell me your tale from the beginning. As they come from…the future…they may not have wished to arouse suspicion by saying they had a third sister no one had ever met. Surely they will come to see for themselves it is truly you. Tell me your story, then I will tell you what I know of Lord Blackford and Lord Falconburg.”

  Charlotte was too agitated to sit. Instead, she paced around the room. She explained to Henry how Lucy’s boyfriend tricked her into marriage and then tried to kill her. How Simon hired someone to kill she and Melinda.

  “When Simon tried to murder my sister, I think that’s when she went back in time. And when Melinda went to Falconburg by mistake.” Charlotte grinned. “She couldn’t find north if you pointed her in the right direction. I know somehow she went back in time.”

  “But how did they travel through time?”

  “Hell if I know. The worst part? I told Melinda to get over it. That our sister was dead. I didn’t believe her. And now I know. There’s more to life than what we see with our own eyes. And time isn’t a straight line; it’s some kind of circle. Or a road with many paths.”

  “Melinda saw a painting in your time of your sister Lucy?”

  “It’s what sent her to England to look for answers.”

  Henry looked as if he were about to faint.

  “William Brandon, Lord Blackford, is married to Lucy. He is a most ferocious fighter. They have five children.” Henry cocked his head at her. “She is much older than you. William married her more than a score of years ago.”

  Charlotte’s world tilted. “How can that be possible? She hasn’t been gone that long.” She was trying to figure out possible answers when Henry spoke again.

  “And Melinda. James Rivers, Lord Falconburg, married her a few years ago. They call him the Red Knight for the blood staining his armor and sword crimson during battle. I’ve never seen anyone fight like him. He fights until he collapses. Men would leave the field of battle rather than engage him.”

  “Melinda disappeared at Falconburg. That’s where they found her car, but she hasn’t been gone that long. There must be a way to get word to them. To tell them I’m here.”

  “They will know by now I have been making enquiries. Though they will not know why. We need my brother’s armies.” Henry was staring off into the distance with a look she had come to recognize. He was plotting.

  “Falconburg is closest. If we could get a message there, James would send men to fight and dispatch messengers to my brothers and Lord Blackford.”

  Henry muttered, “We are using the gate at the east wall. ’Tis hidden and heavily guarded. We must be careful sending a messenger out; he will have no cover across the water. ’Tis our only hope.”

  Henry pulled her close and kissed her soundly. “I must have words with the men. When I return, I would like to hear more about this future.”

  She hugged him tight. “You believe me?”

  He leaned back to look at her. “I believe you, wife. And I will see you reunited with your sisters.”

  She felt so much better since she’d told him. Charlotte sat back in the chair, drained. It was surprising how much energy it took to keep a secret and how tired you were once you finally told someone. She only meant to close her eyes for a mom
ent.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Several of Hallsey’s men tried in vain to swim across the water. Henry’s archers ensured they did not get far. He was feeling the march of time. The trebuchet would arrive soon and the assault would begin. Henry dispatched another messenger. It would take him longer to evade the enemy. Perhaps several days to reach Falconburg.

  The old woman’s words came back to Henry. Those you call friend will turn against you. A stranger will become more important to you than your own life. And when you see nothing but darkness ahead, look to the east.

  Blackford lay to the east, as did his brother Edward. Did that mean help would come in the shape of an army? Henry accepted Charlotte was the stranger, but what worried him most was who would turn against him? Had that bit of the prophecy already been fulfilled? Was it the three knights who betrayed him by not sounding the alarm when the enemy came? They were in league with Timothy and ran from the castle during the chaos. When this was over, Henry would send men to find them and they would pay for their treachery. Were there others?

  The people’s spirits were high, but it would not last once the assault started. And Henry would not be able to defend against the trebuchet. He prayed the walls would stand.

  He chuckled as one of the archers bellowed an insult about swine and the man’s dam before letting loose an arrow. The man to his left on the battlements released a bag, the stench making Henry breathe through his nose. He heard the curses as the refuse found its mark.

  Today his wife was in the gardens. When she needed to think, she said feeling the earth between her fingers helped. Henry understood her need, for he liked to ride or to pace. And since he could not ride, he’d been pacing a great deal.

  Standing there watching her, he was taken again by her beauty. Not just on the outside, but on the inside as well. As the sun hit her face, he realized with sudden clarity—he loved her. And the knowledge sent terror through him. As much as he tried to banish his parents from his thoughts, they intruded time and time again. Had they loved each other at one time? Henry could not remember, and thought not. But perchance they did before he and his brothers came along.

  Children. Henry hadn’t thought he would ever have children. But now? Married to Charlotte, he could picture a son and a daughter who looked like her.

  “I was calling your name. You must be a million miles away.”

  Her odd mannerisms and speech made him accept her story for truth. He wanted to know more about the future. Henry leaned close and whispered, “Can everyone in your time travel to the past? To the future?”

  “I don’t think this is something we should be talking about with so many people around. You saved me from being branded a witch once. I think we have enough to deal with without that coming up again.”

  “You are right, my lady. Let us go inside. For I wish to hear more about the future.”

  “So the two brothers try to kill my sister and I. I still can’t figure out exactly how I traveled through time. I hope when I see Lucy and Melinda they will have figured it out. And no, people can’t travel through time. I think it is a very rare ability. In my time, everyone hears information immediately. So I would know if other people had traveled through time.”

  “Tell me again about cars.”

  Charlotte laughed. He was fascinated by cars and trains, basically anything that moved.

  “We sent men to the moon. To outer space, in the heavens.”

  He gaped at her. “Truly?” Henry looked up to the ceiling as if he could see through the stone and up to the sky. “Your time is a marvelous place.” He frowned. “You must miss your time very much with so many marvels.”

  Charlotte pulled him close to her, putting her arms around him as they looked out the window. “I do not believe we can travel back to my time. I think if we could, my sisters would’ve already done it. I accepted this idea when I decided I would try to find them.”

  “Tell me again how it happened.”

  “The car I was in went over the cliff and hit the water. There was a terrible storm. I remember I was bleeding. I’d been hit from a piece from the other car—”

  She trailed off then held out her arm. “This bracelet? I purchased it from a shop in London. When you gave it to me, I thought I would be sent back to my time. But somehow it didn’t work.”

  Henry looked pale, and Charlotte braced herself in case he started to fall. But he recovered. “The bracelet? It exists in your time?” He looked at the bracelet as if seeing it for the first time. “It brought you to me.”

  “The more I think about it, I wonder if traveling through time has something to do with the storm, blood, and the bracelet. Somehow maybe the combination of those things sent me back. If something similar happened to Melinda and Lucy, we’ll know, but it’s not like it does us any good. We can’t go back.”

  A while later she came up for air. Her husband sure could kiss. Charlotte started to mention the daggers, then stopped. What if Henry was planning to give them to her? If she mentioned them, something could happen. He might not give them to her. Or he might hide them, thinking they would find their way to her. Which might lead to her never buying them in the future or traveling through time. Because maybe it was the bracelet, or maybe the daggers? Unwilling to take the risk, she decided not to say anything and chance changing the way things were supposed to go.

  “I would very much like to see your time.”

  “I think you would find it marvelous, and yet I prefer it here. My time has become so busy. People running to and fro; so much noise. The way the day unfolds is very different. This time suits my soul. I believe I am where I am meant to be. And my sisters are here. So I would not want to leave.”

  Charlotte touched his face. “And you are here. I am content.” She leaned forward to kiss him, and after that there was no talking for quite a while.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  All hours of the day and night, the enemy tried to cross the water. One made it to the wall but had nowhere to go. No handholds, nothing. Refuse and other stinky objects hit the walls, splashing into the water. It seemed they were having trouble with the trebuchet. She didn’t know if a piece was missing or what, but it still wasn’t assembled. Charlotte sent up a word of thanks, believing Aunt Pittypat was watching over them from the great beyond.

  “Get some rest. You’ve been cooking nonstop for days.” Charlotte patted the plump woman on the shoulder. Mrs. Benton looked like she was about to drop. As she started to protest, Charlotte stopped her.

  “You have trained your helpers well. They know what they are to do. Go and rest.”

  “As you wish, my lady.” The cook looked around the kitchen, and with a sigh of resignation put down her spoon.

  Charlotte looked at the three women standing at attention. “Do not let our mistress of the kitchens be displeased. I know you will do well. We must keep everyone fed. If they are full they won’t be in bad humor. Tomorrow you will change places with the next three women. And then Mrs. Benton will be back. We will continue taking turns until this is over. Those who do well and want to continue in the kitchens may do so if she agrees.”

  The women nodded. Charlotte could tell they were worried—she was too. But the best way to keep worry from taking over was to stay busy. She’d sorted out other groups of people to clean and others to do the wash and other assorted tasks. She knew how important it was to keep things clean and prevent infection. There was so much to do.

  Right now, she missed her washer and dryer with a vengeance. Maybe if she described it, the men could come up with an old-fashioned crank to wring out the clothes, or a tub with spokes to function as an agitator. She’d seen them in antique stores. The rollers with a crank and tubs beneath. Surely a little thing like that wouldn’t make a big difference to history?

  As she walked out into the courtyard to check on people, three children ran up to her.

  “My lady, we spotted a man in the water this morning. He did not make it across.”
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br />   Charlotte smiled at them. “I knew all of you would be good lookouts. We must keep Ravenskirk safe.”

  She made her way to the lists to watch Henry and the men train. It had become her favorite way to start the day. At first she simply enjoyed watching them with the eye of her future self. Now, though…she appreciated the practice for what it was, always being ready to fight. When he finished, Henry walked over to her, wiping the sweat from his brow.

  “The women believe you have commanded armies. You would’ve made a great warrior.”

  “I’m glad you think so. I find if I keep busy, I don’t worry about what’s happening beyond the walls. I think it helps the people too.”

  Henry leaned down and kissed her, to jeers from his men. He smiled at her. “They are envious I have such a comely wife.”

  Being together constantly, Charlotte felt she knew Henry better than she’d ever known anyone in her life. And knowing she loved him scared her. With everything currently happening, she was afraid. Afraid he would be taken from her. Afraid the messenger wouldn’t make it and her sisters wouldn’t know she was here. So much to worry about. Charlotte shook her head. She had to move again. Do something. Otherwise her thoughts would keep traveling down a dark path.

  She hugged Henry. “I want to check on Father Riley.” The man was timid and shy at the best of times. With the siege going on, he could barely bring himself to leave the chapel.

  “Take him some food. Talk with him. He says the sound of your voice calms him.”

  “I will. See you later.” The priest was a nice enough man. She wondered why he was always so afraid.

  Charlotte packed a basket in the kitchens, stopped to sort out two women fighting over eggs, and made her way to the chapel.

  “Hello? Father Riley? I brought you food and ale.”

  The man trembled as he sat up. How on earth could he sleep on the hard wood?