Dawn approached the room, the area empty, a sign on display explaining that readings were finished for the evening. Had she missed the woman? Would her questions, her curiosity, go unanswered?
The door opened and Old Mary peeked her head out. “I have been waiting for you.” She motioned Dawn in. “Hurry, time draws near.”
Dawn did as the woman said, entering the room quickly and the door shutting with a soft click behind her.
Old Mary smiled. “Now you look like the woman I know. The woman who has a courageous enough heart and soul to love a powerful warrior against all odds and through the centuries.” Her smile faded. “Your love for each other is more potent than I ever imagined. You must always remember this night. Never forget it.”
Dawn signed and Old Mary shook her head. “I do not understand some of your gestures. Speak to me as you once did.”
Dawn shrugged, not understanding what the old woman meant.
Old Mary’s smile returned. “You are confused.”
Dawn nodded and proceeded to gesture to the old woman the way she did to Cree. She tapped at her lips and pointed to the woman.
“I wish I could explain it all to you, but my time is limited here as well as yours. You need to secure your love for Cree and this night, this special time when the Heavens allow centuries and souls to collide, has given you the opportunity to do that. You must declare your love for Cree by midnight, then nothing, or no one, will ever come between you two ever again. If you do not, he will be forever lost to you. When it is done, tonight’s magic will be made known to you.”
Dawn shook her head, still not understanding and desperately wanting to.
Old Mary reached out, her aged hand slipping around one of Dawn’s to take hold. “Trust me, Dawn, as you have always done. Trust your love for this man who you think is a stranger yet your heart tells you differently. Trust this night is a gift and be grateful, but also vigilant, for one who caused you harm before is out to do so again.”
Dawn’s silent sigh had her shoulders sagging.
Old Mary squeezed Dawn’s hand. “Take heart and waste not another moment, but remember when this day turns to the next, the worlds collide no more and your chance vanishes.” A tear trickled down her wrinkled cheek. “Now go and do what your heart tells you to.”
Dawn had no chance to argue or ask any more questions. The old woman nudged her out the door and Dawn felt her urgency and her feet took flight. She slowed her pace when she entered the narrow hallway that led to the front rooms of the castle where the event was being held. She was about to step out of the shadows and hunt for Cree when an arm slipped around her waist and yanked her off her feet and into the small alcove to the right.
“Dawn.”
Cree’s soft whisper in her ear had her stilling her hands that were about to lash out at her mysterious abductor.
Cree spun her around in his arms to face him and to claim a kiss, a kiss he had ached for since seeing her dressed in the Carrick plaid. His heart had smashed against his chest and passion had hit him hard, almost had turned him hard if he hadn’t taken control of it. Never had he felt such emotional and physical intensity for a woman.
He held tight to her after his lips left hers, pressing them near her ear and whispering. “We need to talk, but first I must give my speech. Meet me in the conservatory after I’m done.”
With Old Mary’s words ringing strongly in her mind, she didn’t want to wait until then to tell him how she felt. She had to tell him now before it was too late.
“Cree,” Wintra called out, stepping into the hallway. “I saw you enter here. Where are you? It’s speech time.”
Dawn’s cheeks flushed when he stepped out of the alcove, taking her with him.
Wintra grinned, her eyes turning wide as she opened her mouth to speak.
“Not a word, Wintra,” Cree warned and walked past her, Dawn in tow.
Dawn tugged at his arm when he went to enter the room where everyone waited for him and looked to Wintra as she signed.
Wintra interpreted for her. “Dawn would prefer to remain tucked in the back of the room where she can take her leave more quickly. And she says please don’t keep her waiting. There is something very important she must tell you.”
Cree ran his finger gently down Dawn’s cheek. “Never will I keep you waiting.”
His tender words wrapped around her with the same intensity as his arms when he held her and she watched brother and sister walk off together. Laughter trickled silently through her, hearing what Wintra had to say to her brother.
“One night and you’re in love. Oh, how I am going to tease you after this night is done.”
Dawn’s smile vanished in an instant and her body tensed when she felt the point of a blade pressed at her back.
“Try to attract attention and I’ll shove this blade right through you and leave you here in the shadows to bleed to death.”
Dawn recognized Lady Ann’s grating voice. She had no doubt the woman meant it, having nothing to lose at this point, and Dawn nodded.
“Take slow steps back.”
Dawn did as the woman ordered until they stood in the hallway where Dawn had been with Cree only a few moments before.
“You’re my way of escaping unharmed. No one will dare approach me with a knife to your back. One good jab, in the right spot, and you’ll be dead in no time. So keep that in mind if you’re thinking of trying to get away from me. Come with me without protest and I’ll release you as soon as I’m a distance away from here.”
Dawn scrunched her brow.
Lady Ann snickered. “Your body grows rigid. You don’t believe me?”
Dawn shook her head.
“Whether you believe me or not makes no difference to me. You have no choice in the matter. Now move,” Lady Ann ordered.
The tip of the blade, feeling as if it was about to penetrate her flesh, had Dawn moving and she was surprised when in just a few short steps they entered through a door that opened on complete darkness. Light suddenly flickered on and jostled around and she realized that Lady Ann had turned on a torch.
“Climb,” Lady Ann demanded.
“Cree’s father Douglas brought me to this area of the castle when we were young. We would explore it, as we did the secret passageways, and pretend to be our ancestors fighting our enemies. It’s the oldest part of the castle and rarely, if ever, used. Douglas and I talked about what we’d do with it when the title fell to him, both of us assuming we would marry one day. Then he went off to University, traveled some, met Colleen, and everything changed.”
Dawn heard the hurt and anger in the woman’s voice even after so many years.
“Colleen got what was mine and I got a marriage to a self-absorbed man who ruined my family’s fortune. And did Douglas offer help when I asked him?” She laughed and to Dawn it sounded more like a witch’s cackle. “He’d only help if my husband and I allowed his accountants to take control of our finances. My husband refused and shortly after died of a heart attack, not that it mattered to me. What did matter was that I had no choice but to turn my finances over to Douglas’s accountants and they keep me on a short leash. I barely have money to spend. His family’s brooch would change all that. It’s been said that the brooch is priceless and that idiot Colum ruined everything for me.”
Dawn almost lost her footing when the woman gave her a shove.
“Keep going. It’s not far.”
Hurry, time draws near.
Old Mary’s words echoed in her head. Dawn thought on the event schedule. Cree’s speech had been set for ten minutes before eleven since the doors for the dessert extravaganza was set to open at eleven. However, there had been delays throughout the evening. Dawn tried to recall the last time she had seen a clock, there being several throughout the castle rooms.
Her heart skipped several beats when a flash of a clock caught in her memory. Cree hadn’t started his speech until ten minutes after eleven. Five or more minutes had to have passed which put the time not far from half eleven.
Dawn’s stomach churned. She didn’t have much time. She had to get back to Cree.
The generous applause that followed Cree’s speech wasn’t what brought a smile to his face. It was that he was going to meet Dawn in the conservatory and tell her how he felt about her even though they barely knew each other. He had the strong, uncanny feeling that she felt the same way. He had been surprised and concerned when he hadn’t seen her in the back of the room, but then he thought that she was so eager to talk with him that she had left early for the conservatory. He wished she had waited for him, but then he should have kept her by his side as he had felt an overwhelming urge to do. He would be with her soon and then he would never let her go.
A few handshakes as he made his way through the crowd and he’d be on his way, then his mum took hold of his arm, keeping him where he stood.
“We know how much you have all waited for this moment, the reveal of Chef Turbett’s dessert extravaganza,” his mum said into the microphone. “My son is now going to do the honors and open the doors to an unforgettable and decadent experience.”
The guests clapped enthusiastically and turned toward the doors, the two guards stepping aside as Cree and his mum approached.
Cree wanted to rush forward and toss the doors open, but this was his mum’s moment and with the exciting expression she wore, she was truly looking forward to it and he didn’t want to spoil it for her. Once done, it would be easy to slip away and go to Dawn, and leave his mum to enjoy the much deserving accolades.
“Are you ready for this decadence?” he called out, turning in front of the doors to address the guests.
A cheer went up and Cree grabbed both door handles and threw the doors open. A gasp went through the crowd and Cree stood staring. He had attended one of Turbett’s simple dessert displays and it had been anything but simple. The man had outdone himself with this one. It truly was an extravaganza.
Cree stepped aside, out of the path of the guests who entered with flourish and awe, and he couldn’t blame them. The lighting was subdued while hundreds of unscented candles flickered throughout and 3D images of ghosts floated overhead and mechanical owls and ravens, looking far too real, sat perched on tree branches, their heads turning as their eyes followed you when you walked past them. In the middle of the room sat a long table draped in lush purple velvet with soft, twinkling lights highlighting the various tiers of the most decadent looking desserts ever to be seen. In the center sat a large cake in the shape of a black cauldron with formed, crystallized flames sticking out of it. Various types and sizes of spiders made of dark, light, and peppermint chocolate, some appearing more threatening than others, sat among the desserts and dared the guests to reach past them. Silver candelabras dripped with chocolate spider webs. Cakes in shapes related to All Hallows Eve—pumpkins, black cats, witch’s hats—appeared far too real to take a fork to. Tarts, flans, puddings, and truffles, in too many flavors and colors to count, sat atop pedestals in the shape of tree trunks. Candied fruits sat in green leaf-shaped platters marked Creepy Crawlers and a sign sat written in a lavish script in front of an assortment of fresh fruits dipped in dark, milk, and white chocolate that read… Poisonous Pleasures. While an assortment of mouth-watering mini pies and pastries cautioned playfully with a sign that read, Mini Madness... bite at your own risk.
A tea service was set up at the far end of the room. A large black projection screen draped across the top and sides in black silk covering the wall behind it. A scene of a path leading into a dense forest, in the dark of night, a full moon partially covered by gray clouds added to the eeriness of it as it appeared to transport everyone deeper and deeper into the woods. Tea urns tempted and warned… Drink if you dare. Monster Mint. Devil’s Darjeeling. Creepy Chamomile being three among half a dozen more.
Cree wanted Dawn to see this, be part of it along with him and his family. He looked to see his mum smiling, her arm looped around Turbett’s arm, a sizeable man, though more muscle than fat, introducing him to people. It was a rare sight to see since the chef rarely left his kitchen. Leave it to his mum to coax him out.
He hurried off, eager to talk with Dawn and eager to have her enjoy the remainder of the evening by his side, always by his side, from this night on.
Dawn found herself in a room, Lady Ann having given her a shove inside when they reached the open door. When the torch’s light fell on the bed, weathered from age, Dawn grew lightheaded and for a brief moment, as if catching the scene out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw herself in the bed sleeping, wrapped in Cree’s arms.
“I used to pretend I was Douglas’s wife and lady of the keep when we would sneak into this part of the castle. I searched this room endlessly through the years, thinking if it were me, I would hide the precious brooch here in my bedchamber where I could return and claim it. But I never found it.” Lady Ann gave a disgusted sigh. “I don’t know why I’m wasting my time and taking one last chance to find it, though I’m left with little choice. If I don’t find it, I’m left to plead with Douglas to forgive my desperation, my lapse in judgement, and see that all charges are dropped against me. Go stand in the corner by the fireplace.” She shook her head. “I don’t know how that thing hasn’t crumbled by now, it’s so old.” She shined the light on Dawn, forcing her to close her eyes against the glare and turn her head away. “And don’t be foolish and run. You won’t make it far without a torch to guide you.”
Sadly, she was right about that. Those stone steps were treacherous with a torch. Without one, she doubted she could find her way to the stairs let alone make her way down them. Besides, she felt compelled to go to the stone fireplace. There was something there, something whispering to her as crazy as that sounded.
Dawn was grateful for the darkness that embraced her as she eased a stone out from the fireplace, Lady Ann so busy stomping on the old wood floor in hopes of finding a secret hiding place, that she didn’t hear the scraping of the stone. Dawn reached her hand behind the stone and felt something tucked snug in there. She slipped it out, a small pouch, and eased the stone back into place. Quietly, she dug her fingers into the leather pouch and as soon as she felt it, she knew what it was… the brooch.
An image of it flashed in her head. It was a pewter ring brooch with two small hearts at the top of it and a small red ruby in the center where the hearts connected. Lady Ann would be sorely disappointed. It’s worth far less than she had imagined and yet to Dawn it was priceless, sensing deep in her heart that it had been a gift of love… a timeless love.
She hurried and tucked the pouch into the folds of her plaid at her waist. She would give it to Cree.
Cree.
How much time had passed? She had to get away from Lady Ann. She had to get to Cree.
Cree was nearly out the open doors when he was brought to an abrupt stop, seeing his father enter the room. He had to smile. He was dressed in full Scottish dress, kilt, sporran, and all, and every woman’s eyes, young and old, fell on him. But he had eyes only for his Colleen, searching the room for her.
Douglas spotted his son and went to him, his eyes still searching for his wife. “I was on my way here to surprise your mum when I got a call from our security team. Has everyone been apprehended?”
“We’re still searching for Lady Ann.”
“She’s gone too far this time.”
“Douglas!”
His father turned at the sound of his wife’s thrilled cry.
“I’ll see to things. Enjoy the remainder of the evening with mum and later there is someone I want you to meet,” Cree said.
His father’s attention was diverted from his wife, who fast approached. “You met someone?”
“I did and I intend to marry her,” Cree said as if he dared his father to object.
It was good Colleen called her husband’s name out again, since Douglas wasn’t sure what to say to his son. He stepped forward, his arms spread wide to embrace his wife. He didn’t care if it wasn’t considered proper in front of their guests. He had missed her and he wanted her in his arms.
Cree slipped out before his parents could stop him. Having seen the confused look on his father’s face, he knew he wouldn’t wait to ask him questions. There would be time for that later. Now he wanted to get to Dawn and do as his father had done, embrace the woman he loved.
Love. It had to be what he felt for Dawn. How in one night, one moment in time, he could discover love, he didn’t know. Or perhaps the old fortune-teller was right. Perhaps there was such a thing as timeless love and he had been fortunate enough to have found the one he had spent many lifetimes with and, if that was so, he wasn’t about to lose her.
He hurried to the back of the castle, the silence growing heavier the farther he got away from the ballroom. He couldn’t wait to see Dawn. Couldn’t wait to hold her, kiss her, love her.
Mine.
As archaic as that thought might be. It was true.
A scowl surfaced as he approached the conservatory. The door was closed. Why hadn’t she left it open for him… unless?
He hurried forward, flinging open the door, and stepping inside. A quick look told him all he needed to know.
The room was empty. Dawn wasn’t there.