Chapter Eleven

 

 

The trees created a canopy of green overhead as she rode next to him. Maggie again thought she had entered a seductive fantasy. She glanced to her side to see him sitting tall, his chin up, his gaze panning around the dense forest. She was sure he was making a concerted effort to avert looking at her. Maybe he was on the alert for more marauding bandits. What was that expression again?

Oh yeah… villainous hedge-borne miscreants. The woods were full of them.

Deep down she really was glad he had agreed to accompany her back out here. The countess could have sent any one of her servants to help. Dear Elthea.

Her mind was filled with images as she held the reins in her hands and put more distance between herself and Greville Manor. It had been difficult to say good-bye to the woman, yet each knew it had to be done. Elthea had been so kind to her. She had given her a small bag of coins to help her on her journey, and Maggie didn’t know how to refuse. Both of them had tears in their eyes, and Maggie knew no matter what happened to her now, she would never forget Countess Elthea, one of the wisest women she had ever encountered. How she would love Aunt Edithe to meet Elthea. The two of them would get along famously. They were so alike.

“’Tis most curious to be on this road once more.”

Maggie knew exactly what he meant and nodded. “Yes,” she murmured, not trusting her voice to say more. The last time they had been here, it had been a much different situation. They had each thought the other mad. Soon, only one of them would be sure of their sanity. She had to find that maze, even the village, a highway, a modern home… anything!

A part of her was wondering if she would see Nick again, once she returned to her aunt’s home. Would he drop his role-playing and seek her out? How she would love to show up at Greville Manor in Edithe’s cherry red Jaguar. In spite of her mood, she chuckled as she imagined everyone’s shock.

“Thou art recalling the fool, backward upon his steed?” he asked, then shook his head with honest laughter. “What a spectacle, no?”

Maggie grinned as she glanced at him. “I guess it was. I apologize for the way I acted that day. Nothing made sense to me.” Geez, he looked so handsome, with that green cape flowing from his shoulders and his blond hair catching the dappled sunlight.

“And does it now?” he asked with a smile, as his horse neared hers and his leg lightly brushed against her skirt.

Maggie felt his brief touch and inhaled sharply at the sensations racing through her body. She had never felt this strong of an attraction in her life! How could she just walk away from him?

“Mistress… . ?”

His voice brought her out of the confusion. “Please, Nick. Call me Maggie,” she answered, gripping the reins tighter. Everyone had been shocked when she’d insisted on straddling the horse, and now she wasn’t so sure it was such a wise decision as the slow, undulating movements of the horse beneath her created sensations that only added to her torment.

“I was inquiring if things felt more in order… Maggie.”

He added her name hesitantly, yet almost intimately, and the sound of it seemed to inflame her already warm blood. She shifted in the saddle.

Taking a deep breath, she said, “Actually, nothing makes sense to me, Nicholas. I don’t understand anything. Elthea and I spoke last night and… and I don’t know what to believe any longer.”

“You are not alone in your confusion, m’lady,” he replied, and then added, “The spot where I happened upon thee is not much farther. Soon, we may begin to explore the wood for your labyrinth.”

“I don’t think you exactly happened upon me,” she said, wanting the record straight.

“You happened upon me?” he asked, grinning with amusement.

She shook her head with a smile. “Okay… perhaps we ran into each other.” She looked out onto the path, pausing to speculate. “But just think about the timing, Nick. If it had been even an instant later you would’ve ridden by and never fallen. You might not have seen me at all… we would never have met.”

Glancing at him, she added, “I’ve never thought so much about the subject of time before in my life.” In truth, that was only one of her consuming thoughts.

“Aye, the theory of time and its relevance haunts us all, Maggie.” Now it was his turn to pause thoughtfully. “A most excellent friend of mine avows that nothing is accidental, mat all is meant to unfold at exactly the right time… even if the reasons behind it are unknown.”

“Your friend sounds just like my aunt. She would say just relax and enjoy the adventure.” Maggie couldn’t wait to find her aunt and tell her about this adventure. Without any safety, she was free-falling into a bewitching attraction to a totally unsuitable man.

“Thy relative is someone I would like to meet.”

Maggie quickly turned to him. “Oh, she would love to meet you, too. I know she’d be as fascinated as… well, as anyone.” She stared down at the path to help hide her near slip. “I mean, I don’t think many people can say they’ve met a person who claims to be from the past. They’re usually locked up for that sort of thing.”

He chuckled. “And yet, Maggie Whitaker claims to be from the future…”

Okay, so he had a point. There are two sides to every story, she reminded herself.

“Countess Elthea seems to believe you… and she is a brilliant lady.”

“Yes, she is.” Maggie agreed.

“But for the blessed unknown, I go in grace. That expression always reminds me there are no detours on the road to grace, Maggie. There is purpose for and in everything, even if the explication is not readily at hand. Such a thought is inconceivable to thee?”

He lost her on that one.

She shook her head and sighed. “Time travel? I don’t know… it’s so far-fetched. Science fiction.” They rode in silence for a few moments, each thinking over what the other had said, until Maggie blurted out, “But you know, I’ve heard that all time is concurrent. Probably in college. Einstein, or someone. It was many years ago, but I do now remember a demonstration of an old phonograph record, something about the grooves representing time lines and so time travel might be that somehow you jump a groove, or something.”

When she turned, he was staring at her. “You must meet Bacon.”

She laughed. “I’m sorry, I was rambling, but that memory just popped into my head.”

“I was not able to comprehend many of thy words, yet I did hear something most interesting. You are educated? Where might this university be?”

“Yes, Nicholas Layton. You are speaking to a woman who attended the University of Pennsylvania and graduated from Wharton School of Business, though a lot of good that did me in the last year.” She wasn’t going to spoil the moment by thoughts of what awaited her in New Jersey. She had enough to do staying right here next to Nick and not blurting out what her body was screaming. Again, she shifted in the saddle and almost groaned as it only increased her desire to touch him. It was absurd to be feeling like a teenager again!

“You are from the New World?” He seemed shocked.

“The New World,” she repeated and laughed. “It ain’t so new any longer.”

He glanced at her and seemed surprised by her answer. “There is much talk of the tribes of Indians. Have you any news of Simon Ferdinando?”

“Who?” Maggie couldn’t believe where this conversation was going.

“A’ Portuguese navigator working for the English Crown. He is looking for treasure.”

“Ah, no. Haven’t heard of him.”

“It is feared Indians have killed him. It must be a very wild, dangerous place.”

She shrugged. “It is. Not because of the Indians.”

He didn’t say anything for a few moments. Clearing his throat, he said, “There is something I must ask thee, Maggie Whitaker.”

Glancing at him, she grinned. “Yes?”

“’Twas only last year Parliament passed an act allowing deportation of convicted criminals to the colonies. I should want thee to know, I do not hold with others’ judgments.”

She laughed. “I’m not a criminal.” Unless not answering her phone or opening her mail was criminal. “And what’s with this New World? I’m an American.” A part of her was amazed that even now, he insisted that he was living in 1598.

“Yes… that explains much. You are an adventurer, to have crossed the ocean!”

Was there almost envy in his voice?

“This is where we turn,” he said and pointed to the right.

Maggie looked in the opposite direction. “Can we just ride up this road a little? I swear that’s where the parking lot is.”

“Parking lot?”

“A place to park cars, ah… vehicles of transportation.”

He looked confused, yet shrugged. “I suppose a brief detour would not impede our mission.” He turned his horse to the left, and Maggie followed.

She had never been a great horsewoman, yet was grateful for the summer she’d spent at camp and had learned to hold her own. Giving the horse the command with her knees and the reins, she managed to stay upright as the gait increased. Nick kept up with her, allowing her the lead. She was anxious to turn the next bend in the dirt road and see the parking lot.

She reined in the horse and stared at the thick forest where a paved parking lot should have been. Her gaze was riveted to the trunks of mature trees and the heavy undergrowth. Where was it? She would have sworn this was the road. Turning to Nick, she smiled sadly. “I’m sorry. I was mistaken. It couldn’t have been here.”

He merely nodded as they turned the horses around and headed back to the fork in the road. Maggie was trying to concentrate on the horse, yet her mind was turning all kinds of crazy thoughts around in her head. How could she have been so sure? Parking lots don’t just disappear. It had to be the wrong road. She refused to allow any other answer. Again, she urged her horse forward, past the fork in the road, down the narrow and rutted dirt path toward where she had entered this nightmare. The wind caressed her face, as though trying to soothe her chaotic mind. The sun shone on her with brief moments of dazzling light as she raced through a canopy of trees toward sanity. She had to find that maze….

“Maggie!”

His arm reached over, and he grabbed her left hand. Startled, Maggie realized he was pulling back on her reins while slowing his own horse. She immediately felt embarrassed.

“We are here,” Nick said, as both horses came to a trot.

“Already?” Maggie asked, and looked around to the woods.

He chuckled. “All ready, aye. The lady keeps her seat well upon a steed.” He turned both horses and then removed his hand from hers. “In fact, we have passed the place when first we met, a goodly length back.”

Slowly, they rode back several yards until Nick stopped and looked to the woods. “Here,” he said, and pointed. “This is where thy pearls were discovered missing. That tree is familiar. Aye, I remember well… ’Tis there,” he hesitated slightly, “you disrobed, removing thy underblouse.”

Touching the stiff, high collar under her chin, Maggie looked at the tree and remembered taking off the underblouse behind it. Yes, it did seem familiar. “Okay,” she said, and began to dismount.

“Heed caution,” Nick called out, and slipped from his horse to the ground.

Maggie saw him wince as his injured foot hit the dirt. “I can do it myself,” she insisted, yet found that the voluminous skirt made dismounting a struggle.

Suddenly his hands were upon her waist, and she had no other recourse as he pulled her down but to hold on to his shoulders. Slowly, almost as if he couldn’t bear to let her go, Nick allowed her to slide down the front of his body.

When her feet felt the ground, Maggie was sure the earth was made of quicksand as she seemed to sink beneath him in dizziness.

He held her tighter. “Are you all right?”

She forced herself to stand upright on her own. “It’s just that… well, I haven’t been riding in a long time,” she muttered, and managed to take a step backward as his hands left her waist. It was the first time they had such intimate contact, and her entire body was reacting to him.

She took a deep steadying breath and walked away from him. The woods did look vaguely familiar and, if she was to find that maze, it was now time for her to say good-bye. She should just do it. Taking another deep breath, she stopped at the side of the road, turned to him, and said, “I want to thank you for bringing me back here, Nick. I don’t know, saying good-bye seems—”

“Good-bye?” he interrupted, and came forward to tie the reins of both horses onto a tree branch. “Verily, I would not leave thee out here alone.” His eyes seemed wide with disbelief. “Together, we shall search for thy maze… but should it exist not, have you a thought for such a contingency?”

She felt tortured, to leave him without ever finding out what was in his heart was slicing through her soul. “I can’t think like that,” she answered. “It has to be here. I must find my way back… to my life.”

“And should that prove impossible this day, pray tell, what will Lady Margaret Whitaker do then?”

As he moved closer to her, Maggie took a step back, her mind refusing to entertain such thoughts. “I have to try. Can’t you understand I’m fighting for my sanity here? If I don’t find it, that means you’re right. Elthea’s right. I’m lost in time and…” Her voice faltered. “… I just can’t even think like that.”

“I am with you, and together we shall discover the truth. You are alone no longer in this adventure, Maggie. I shall see thee to safety. Of this, I promise.” He held out his hand. “Shall we…?”

She had to bite the inside of her lip to stop the tears. Everything was running together, her fears and her attraction, and she wanted to just scream out her frustration. Didn’t he understand she was struggling to find her sanity here? That if she entered those woods and there was no maze, she was insane? Had she somehow crossed over an invisible time line and entered another age? She was flying solo here. There was no one to tell her what was real, no one from her own time to help her understand what was happening. She was alone. Alone in a madness that was also the most incredible thing that had ever happened to her in her entire life! And now this man, this fascinating, talented, romantic, humorous, gorgeous man was staring at her, holding out his hand to her, offering her his help, his strength, his knowledge, his courage. Somehow she knew she’d be adding to that list of attributes if she stayed around him longer.

Was it any wonder her body seemed infused with an intense, gripping energy… a mixture of fear and anticipation? Courage. That was what she needed. Courage to continue this adventure. How does one get courage when there is no safety? She was on her own and had to trust herself now. No matter what happened once she entered the woods, she had to be prepared to accept it and deal with it. Even if it meant she was dead. For nothing while she was alive had ever compared to this adventure. Something had happened to her in that maze that rocked her world. Aunt Edithe and modern England didn’t seem to exist. The answer was in those woods, and somehow she had to summon up the courage to find it.

She squared her shoulders and straightened her spine, feeling a calming energy balance out the fear enough for her to make a decision.

Slowly, as though knowing she was about to embark on what might prove to be the most important thing she’d ever done, Maggie put her fingers into his and tried to smile. “Thank you.”

He held her hand tightly as he looked into her eyes. “Worry not, dear Maggie. No matter the outcome, I shall not abandon thee.”

He led the way and she pulled her hand back to gather her skirt closer as they entered the woods. The underbrush was thick and several times as the velvet material caught a branch, she would have to stop and free it. Already she had lost many of the seed pearls in her travels and regretted the damage to the beautiful costume. Somehow, once she got back, she would make reparation, but right now it was all she could do not to tear at the skirt and hold it up over her thighs. She wanted to run, to end this madness, yet held back as Nick led her deeper into the woods. Something was wrong. They were walking too far.

“Nick…” She stopped and looked around her.

Turning, he asked expectantly, “Yes?”

“I ran from the maze and within seconds was on the road. It couldn’t have been this far.” Her gaze took in the surrounding forest and she felt the weight of dread come over her body. “This can’t be the place.”

“But I tell you, it is. Come, the forest thins, and I see a clearing ahead.”

Hope surged then mixed with sadness that her adventure with Nick might just be over. This was it, then. Her heart began racing as she gathered even more of her skirt and hurried behind Nick as he held branches aside for her to pass.

Now he would see she hadn’t been making it all up. Maybe he could come back with her and meet Aunt Edithe. Maybe it wouldn’t be over. Maybe there would still be time to—

He stopped short and she almost walked into him. Stumbling forward, Maggie felt his hand on her arm to steady her. She looked up and stared at what was before her… a shaded clearing with rays of sunlight making an almost ethereal pattern through the canopy of deep green leaves. Wispy ferns dotted the carpet of tiny white flowers. It was almost magical to behold, yet there wasn’t a maze in sight.

“This can’t be it,” Maggie stated in a strangled voice. “The maze must be farther down the road.”

“I assure you, it is,” Nick answered and looked around. “With great speed, you came running from this clearing, Maggie.”

“No, there was a maze and I was lost and that little girl kept telling me to follow my heart and… and this can’t be it!” She turned around in a full circle, staring at where there should have been a hedge maze. “We must have made a mistake. We need to find the faire. Where is the village?”

“The village Trowbridge? ’Tis a long ride from here, too far for thee to have walked. I vow there is no grand event taking place in that impoverished hamlet.” He turned back to her, and spoke softly. “Maggie, how can it be even the possibility of unexplainable things, such as this phenomenon, is so impossible for you to believe?”

“You just don’t understand, Nick. My life just couldn’t have disappeared!”

“But thy life shines in front of me here, now Maggie, in this moment. I cannot deny what mine eyes see. Thou art alive as my own flesh and heart…”

He stepped closer to her.

“Countess Elthea has also heard of such extraordinary events, yet neither she, nor I, can explain them. Nevertheless, I know of someone in London who could help you. Sir Francis Bacon. In a hard ride, we could be there before nightfall. Come, I promised Countess Elthea I would see you to safety and—”

“I can’t go to London!”

Maggie walked farther into the clearing and found that her breath was coming in short gasps, as though she’d been running. Her heart was again racing and she thought she might just faint. “This isn’t happening. This isn’t happening…” she kept muttering, until she felt his hand on her upper arm.

Turning around, she gazed at him and could no longer contain her tears. “I cannot accept this! I have to find my way back,” she whispered in terror.

His finger barely touched her lips. “Shh…”

“You don’t understand,” she whispered, staring into his eyes and feeling a peacefulness enter her body. “I have to find my way…” Her words trailed off as she watched him study her mouth.

“Perchance thou hast, sweet lady,” he said in a low, soft voice, holding her now with both hands on her arms to steady her. He was staring into her eyes, beyond her eyes, and into her soul. “It could be you have come back… returned, to remember this…” He lowered his head to hers and captured her mouth in the softest, most gentle kiss Maggie could have ever imagined. Her body seemed to come alive, to feel more vital than she could ever remember. Suddenly, she felt herself waking up… for the first time in her life.

His hand came up and cupped the side of her face as his lips continued to softly explore hers, and Maggie thought she moaned in the most intense pleasure as he tenderly nibbled on her lips, demanding a response.

She gladly gave it.

She’d waited so long to feel this, to feel like this. It was as if her soul was soaring beyond her body, awakening to a long-remembered passion, yet one that she knew she had never experienced in her lifetime. Her head was spinning as she clutched the material at his chest and hung on, for he was taking her to an uncharted place in her heart, and she had no direction, only instinct.

His lips created an electricity that coursed through her as over and over and over again he kissed her as though starving for the taste of her. She felt his heart pounding against her breast and moaned as she flung back her head and gave in to what she had been craving since she’d met him. She wanted the taste of him imprinted on her mind, branding her skin and her lips so she would always remember this wonderment, this sensual intensity, this heaven on earth.

“Oh, Maggie,” he murmured against her mouth. “I prayed once we kissed you would remember. Long I have waited for you to appear in this life.” And he captured her mouth and took possession again. This time tenderness was replaced with passion, one kept long under control.

Maggie felt herself being taken to places she had only dreamed of as she ran her hands over his chest, feeling the beating of his heart against her palm, his wide shoulders, feeling the strength of his hardened muscles, his face, feeling the faint scratch of his beard under her fingertips. She felt everything she had ever wanted to feel with someone, as emotions long suppressed burst forth inside of her, taking her higher until she thought she was no longer touching ground. It was as if they were voracious for each other and when she pulled back and gasped for breath, the most amazing thing came forth from her lips.

“Where have you been all my life?”

His face was filled with passion as he stared at her mouth, her hair, her eyes. “Oh, my lady… I have been here… waiting only for thee.”

Again, they came together, touching, inhaling, as their tongues darted, mated, and their bodies longed to follow suit. He pulled back and with one hand untied his cape and tossed it to the ground.

She didn’t care if she was crazy, or if she had died and was in heaven. Every nerve ending in her body seemed to be screaming to go for the adventure. All her life she’d been the responsible one, the one who did whatever was right. Well, nothing in her entire life ever felt as right as this! To hell with whatever anyone else though…

This one’s for me.

She needed no further urging to lower herself upon the cape. She sank down as he knelt before her and pulled her against him as they fell together. Feathering ferns bowed under their weight and when Maggie looked up to the tree limbs, the sunlight, the bed of soft green that surrounded her, she knew she had found paradise.

Her heart sang out with the joy of freedom.

Nick pulled back and leaned on one elbow while his fingers caressed her lips.

“Thou art the most enchanting creature I have ever known, Maggie Whitaker. Is it no wonder my heart was locked, when thou art the key.”

“Oh, Nick…”

He leaned down and reclaimed her lips. Maggie wound her arms around his shoulders and pulled him closer. She wanted to prolong this moment of heaven. If she never experienced this bliss again, she wanted to capture the memory of it… for nothing in her life had prepared her for this intensity, this longing, this yearning to meld with another and lose herself in his arms.

When she opened her eyes, he was staring at her with such a serious expression that Maggie pushed on his shoulders to see him better. “What’s wrong?”

“Wrong?” His smile melted her heart “Everything is right finally.” He brushed a stray lock of hair away from her forehead. “I shall protect thee, my love. As long as I live and breathe upon this earth, I vow nothing will ever harm thee. It matters not who you are or from where you came, whether in jewels or rags… whoever you are, Maggie Whitaker, I thank you for finding me and ending my anguish.”

His eyes shined with emotion, and Maggie felt her own tears of joy resurfacing. She reached up and touched his cheek. “I thought we ran into each other,” she whispered with a smile. “Thanks for running into me, Nicholas Layton, and changing my life.” Her fingers traced a line down to his lips, as she added, “I wouldn’t have missed this for anything.”

It was in that moment, as their gaze connected with an electrifying jolt of recognition, of seeing beyond the eyes and into the soul, that Maggie knew Nicholas Lay-ton.

She had loved him forever.

“Nicholas…” she breathed, seeing that his eyes were a mirror of such an eternal love. “Do you understand this?”

He slowly shook his head while smiling with tenderness and wonder. “I do not, yet it seems the most natural thing I have ever done, for being in thy presence I have finally come alive. Come with me now to London, my sweet Maggie. Let us leave this place and begin… this, our adventure, together.”

The agreement was sealed with a kiss that took away Maggie’s senses and left her breathless. His body covered hers and she groaned at the barrier of thick velvet material that separated them. When his hand cupped her breast, she arched against him and felt her body melt with an intense, primal longing. Maggie held on to him to anchor herself to the earth as they vowed in a language older than time to become one mind, one heart, one soul.

It was indescribable, miraculous and real. The future was staring right at her.

And it felt so familiar…