Chapter 25
Samantha paced in the bedroom she’d been given, partly because she was nervous and partly because she simply couldn’t sit down.
The next time she traveled through time to help rescue an ancestor upon whom her very existence depended, she was going to see if she could do so in a place where the clothes were more comfortable.
She had no idea how long Derrick had already been gone, but it seemed like at least an hour had passed since he’d trotted off toward the Tower, Oliver and Peter in tow.
At least he had money, thanks to Granny Mary’s ability to clean clocks at the gaming table, and he had two shadows at his heels, ones she certainly wouldn’t have tangled with.
She’d already had a lesson from Oliver in self-defense; she suspected he’d only shown her the mild stuff.
She jumped half a foot at the knock on the door.
She’d already been attended by two different maids, but sent them on their way while pleading a headache.
She walked across the wooden floor, then opened the door carefully.
The relief that rushed through her at seeing her grandmother’s sister there was almost more than she could take.
Mary came in and shut the door behind her. “You look like you could use a drink.”
“I don’t drink.”
“Neither do I, generally, so I called for some tea. At least that way the water’s boiled. I’m not even sure I trust the wine.”
Samantha waited while tea was set up, then listened to her aunt dismiss the servants with what she could only assume, having grown up with her father, was a first-rate local accent. Mary arranged herself at the table, then looked up.
“Come sit, girlie, if you can.”
“I think I could be the tea table with this shelf I’m wearing around my hips,” Samantha muttered. “Who thought up this ridiculous-looking getup anyway?”
“Oh, I imagine you could give a fairly decent lecture on that, couldn’t you?” Mary asked, her eyes twinkling. “Make good use of that stool, sweetie, and let’s take our minds off things for a bit. That Derrick Cameron is one good-looking kid.”
Samantha had to agree, but she was too busy trying to sit to say as much. She got herself arranged, managed to get something down her parched throat without wearing it down the front of her dress, then looked at her great-aunt.
“Does anyone else in the family know you do this?”
Mary leaned back against the wall and propped her feet up on a stool she dragged over with the toe of her shoe. “Helen, of course, but she’s been on several jaunts with me to oversee the births of Jennifer’s children.”
Samantha looked at her in surprise. “My cousin Jennifer?”
“Who married Nicholas, Earl of Wyckham, in . . . well, sometime in the early thirteenth century. Can’t quite bring the exact date to mind at present.”
Samantha felt her mouth fall open. “So, that’s where you’ve been going? I thought you were volunteering with the Peace Corps!”
Mary smiled. “Not yet. Perhaps when I’m older and don’t have the energy for this any longer.”
Samantha suppressed the urge to snort. Mary MacLeod McKinnon was every day of seventy-five. Heaven help them all if she ever decided time traveling wasn’t enough excitement for her.
“Derrick’s very handsome,” Mary noted. “But then again, he is a Cameron. Good genes.”
Samantha knew her great-aunt was trying to distract her, which she appreciated.
She found herself torn between blushing and feeling quite ill.
There was actually no reason to blush because there was nothing between her and him, but there was every reason to feel very nervous because he was off taking the tour of the Tower of London.
“We’re not a couple,” she managed.
“Uh-huh,” Mary said. “That’s not what it looked like to me.
So, how did you manage to run into him? And you can relax, Sam.
He’ll be fine. Jamie says he’s extremely bright and sly as a fox.
He’ll manage to get himself in and out of the Tower on a tour without giving anything away.
He’s dressed appropriately and he’s very handsome.
The only thing I would worry about is every female in the area hitting on him, but since you’re not a couple, that’s not a worry. Now, details.”
Samantha tried to take a deep breath, but there was no hope of that thanks to her corset. She supposed she could breathe later, maybe when they’d gotten back to their proper place in time.
“Gavin found me a job over here for the summer—”
“As well he should have,” Mary said with a snort. “Useless ass.”
Samantha had to smile. There was a reason Mary was one of her favorite people.
“He did manage to get me over here to England, so I can’t say too many bad things about him. He got me a house-sitting gig with a couple in Newcastle.”
“And?”
“Well, it turns out the people I was house-sitting for are textile thieves,” Samantha admitted.
“They wanted me to deliver something for them in London, which I agreed to because I had no idea what they were up to. Inside that package, though, was a piece of Elizabethan lace that they had stolen from a client of Derrick’s. ”
“How much of that did he know?”
“Most of it, actually. He followed me from Newcastle to London, rescued me from Elizabethan England, then we sort of came to an understanding about the fact that I wasn’t a thief.”
“And you’re here to rescue Richard Drummond from the Tower,” Mary said.
“Don’t you think that’s a good idea?”
Mary laughed a little. “I do, actually. He’s insufferable in person, but a very fine actor. I’m not sure how he got mixed up in anything worthy of being tossed in jail, but I suppose your Derrick will figure that out.”
Samantha studied her great-aunt. “You don’t know?”
Mary started to speak, then sighed. “I know he’s been accused of stealing gems, but that’s only because someone mentioned it at supper last night.
Jamie texted me a couple of days ago at home and told me what Derrick thought was going on.
Once we nailed down a few details, I hopped on a plane to London, then snuck back here to wait for you. ”
“But, Granny,” Samantha said weakly, “the jet lag . . .”
“One of the benefits of being old,” Mary said with a smile. “Don’t need much sleep. So, here we are, happily trying to sit in on these crazy Elizabethan fashions, waiting for your boyfriend to get back from his casing of the Tower of London.”
“He isn’t my boyfriend,” Samantha protested.
“Well, cupcake, he’d obviously like to be.” She nodded. “I have two good eyes and years of experience looking at this kind of thing.” She made herself a bit more comfortable. “I’m assuming you have come along not just to keep him company.”
Samantha tried to swallow, then had to have help by means of some more tea.
“Well, the thing is, the jewels the Richard Drummond of the current day is accused of stealing somehow got slipped into my bag the last time Derrick and I were here retrieving some lace that I had left hiding in the past. He’s not happy about it, but I came along partly to act as bait.
We figure whoever planted them on me might try to get them back if they knew I was here. ”
Mary looked for the first time slightly unsettled. “There’s some danger involved in that, Sam, I don’t mind telling you so. People get away with all kinds of things here if they know the right higher-ups.”
“I’m going to try to stay out of the way of those types.” She took as deep a breath as her corset would allow. “I don’t suppose you’ve heard anything about anyone missing some gems, have you?”
“I can certainly ask around,” Mary said. “I wish I’d known sooner, but Jamie didn’t say anything.”
“I don’t think there was anything to know,” Samantha said with a shrug. “It makes you wonder, though, doesn’t it, who would have that many jewels swiped from him and not want to publicize it so he could get them back.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Mary said thoughtfully. “Richard’s stonewalling them in the Tower, or so I hear, so no joy there. Maybe the owners are just trying to do a little sleuthing in private. Or perhaps Mauntell knows something.”
“Is it possible to find out?”
Mary pushed her stool aside and got to her feet with more energy than Samantha had at the moment. “I’ll go ask a few questions.”
“But can you really trust anyone here?”
“You underestimate the power of my biscuits and gravy.”
Samantha would have smiled, but she was just too nervous to. “What if Lord Mauntell’s involved?”
“How many gems?”
“Forty-eight.”
“How much does Derrick think they’re worth in modern pounds?”
“About fifty million pounds.”
That Mary didn’t look shocked left Samantha feeling slightly shocked.
“Granny, that’s a lot of money.”
“Honey, that’s because they’re antiques. People always pay more for old stuff. But back here, they’re just ordinary rocks. I’m not saying they aren’t valuable, but they’re going to be worth a fraction of that right now.”
“Do people have that much money?”
Mary laughed a little. “Arundel’s rumored to owe about a half a million smackers to dozens of tradespeople.”
“Well, that doesn’t mean he has it in the bank,” Samantha pointed out.
“The poor saps who made his clothes certainly don’t,” Mary agreed.
She shook her head. “But for a minor lord, losing that many gems could indeed be quite a hit to his treasury. I’ll go do some careful snooping.
” She started toward the door, then paused and looked over her shoulder.
“There’s a masquerade tonight, you know, followed by supper.
Dancing as well. Who knows who we’ll find there? ”
Samantha could hardly bear to think about it. She promised her great-aunt she would try to rest, then watched Mary leave. She picked up her tea, then almost dropped the cup when the door opened suddenly.
She closed her eyes briefly. It was just Derrick. Unpierced, unshackled, unarrested. Perhaps that was good enough for the afternoon.