Christmas at Kellworth (Twickenham Full-Moon Ball Time Travel Romance #4)

Chapter 1

Twickenham Manor

President Day

When Reese Taylor stepped into the portrait gallery on the manor’s top floor, her anticipation stilled, replaced with memories. She faced the full-length painting of her and her friends again. Its nature couldn’t fool her this time, and she didn’t need to touch it to know what it held.

Magic.

She smiled at the moonlight pooling around her feet, reminding her of mist as it cast a soft glow across the canvas.

The five of them stood immortalized in elegant Victorian dress, their faces captured with gifted precision.

It took her back to that scary, wonderful whirlwind that had been their first visit.

Back then, Reese had found the picture gallery eerie, with all the faces that hinted at stories she wasn’t sure she wanted to know.

With this being their third visit to the past, there was something different about the room.

She felt anticipation beyond what she would expect for a holiday visit.

Back then, she had fought against the magic that grabbed them. Now, the portrait made her watchful.

But for what? This was a simple visit to spend Christmas with friends she had met in the past. Still, she couldn’t shake the sense that the magic wasn’t done with her yet.

“Don’t we all look clueless?” Jem asked, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his chin on her shoulder.

“If only we’d known then that it would all work out all right.” Reese nuzzled her husband’s cheek.

“I sure didn’t.” He gave a dark chuckle before tickling her neck with a feather-soft kiss. “I’m so grateful you forgave me.”

“Me too.” Reese turned in his arms and caressed his cheek. “I love you.”

“I love you more.” Before she could argue, Jem pressed his lips to hers.

At the sound of Aunt Nellie clearing her throat to announce her arrival, they broke apart.

“Is it time?” Jem asked, turning them to face the ageless Fae woman who had come to mean so much to them.

“Yes, it is.” Aunt Nellie tilted her head, watching Reese. “Are you sure you are up for this journey? You still don’t look well.” The trip through time was never easy for her, and Nellie had warned them it could get worse for some people the more often they did it.

“I think so.” Reese tried to sound confident and forced herself not to put a hand over her queasy stomach. She wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize their visit. “I’ll be fine once we’re there. I can’t wait to see everyone again, and especially to meet Lady Ellen’s husband.”

It still irked Reese that they hadn’t been able to attend her friend’s wedding. Jem must have known what Reese was thinking because his chest rumbled with a low chuckle.

Fine. They hadn’t been able to travel back through time so Ellen could be at Reese’s wedding either. It was hard enough bridging the ocean to see international friends. She and Ellen had to cross time too.

“Well, you will have a lovely visit. That’s all I can say about it.” Nellie winked at them.

Only a little amused, Reese shook her head.

Some things never changed, and one of those was their hostess’s tantalizing hints.

Since Nellie had been the Fae caretaker of Twickenham for what seemed like forever, she would know, as an earlier version of her would be the one to welcome them when they arrived in the past.

“From my experience, magic minds its own business until it decides to mind ours,” Reese remarked dryly.

“True enough. I am merely the guardian here. I do not control the magic,” Nellie said with a touch of resignation in her soft smile.

“And the magic leak continues to expand slowly, a bit like moss on old stone. Sometimes it surprises even me.” Her eyes narrowed, and she shifted her gaze to Reese. “As you will soon find out.”

An odd flutter tugged at Reese’s chest, touched with both excitement and dread. “What aren’t you telling us?”

“It is time.” Nellie ignored the question, her hands already swirling as they gathered the magic. “Now, remember to touch each other and the portrait. Bid everyone a Happy Christmas for me.”

“We will.” Jem grabbed Reese’s hand and pulled her back to the large portrait.

Her queasiness was already increasing with the magical brightness. As the room spun, the air grew thicker, making it hard to breathe. Instinctively, she squeezed Jem’s hand, hoping she wouldn’t fall over.

“I will never get used to this,” she grumbled and leaned her head to touch the portrait behind them.

“I have you,” Jem whispered. He always did, even if she hadn’t always understood that.

The spinning increased, the light so bright it made her head hurt despite her having closed her eyes. Then it stopped.

With a groan, she swayed, but Jem kept her on her feet, which was a blessing because otherwise she might have also lost the contents of her stomach. The air around them felt different, heavier, and filled with the scent of burning wood.

Reese slowly opened her eyes. They stood in the same gallery they'd just left, but now it was decorated in the darker colors of the Victorian era.

She kissed Jem. “We made it.”

He grasped her trembling hand and pressed it to his chest, glancing around, his head tilted as though listening. “Nellie will be here soon with her potion to fix all that ails you.”

“It’s not fair that this traveling doesn’t bother you as much as it does me,” Reese complained. Though she was glad at least one of them was steady. On their first, involuntary trip through time, it had hit them both so hard it brought them to their knees.

“Are you okay?” Jem searched her face.

“I’m just a little dizzy.” She tried to take a step but stumbled. “And wobbly.”

Jem pulled her closer. “Be patient.”

The sound of rustling skirts and hurried footsteps drew their attention to the doorway, where a familiar figure appeared. Aunt Nellie, dressed in a Victorian ball gown, swept into the room wearing her beloved bright smile.

“What a delight!” she cried, clapping her hands together. “You made it safe and sound. It is lovely to see you both again.” She pulled them each in for a quick hug.

“You don’t look a day older, Aunt Nellie,” Reese said slyly, despite how bad she felt.

Nellie arched an eyebrow, her eyes crinkling, before asking, “Would you enjoy some dancing tonight? My guests have just gone in for the midnight supper. Are you hungry?”

The thought of eating made Reese gag.

“Ah. I think not, then,” Nellie said sympathetically. “And here is Lulu, just in time.”

The diminutive Fae maid hurried in, carrying a tray with two glasses.

“Thank you.” Reese accepted one and swallowed the pleasant-tasting liquid quickly. With virtually instant relief from her dizziness and upset stomach, she breathed in relief, though she still didn’t feel steady on her feet. “I’m glad to see you, Lulu.”

“‘Tis lovely to have you back, Mrs. Taylor.” The maid grinned.

Jem placed his cup on the tray and then put an arm around Reese’s shoulders.

“We understand there will be a Twelfth Night Ball at Kellworth, so we planned to attend that one. I think it might be best if we just go to our room. It means a lot to us that you made one available for us when you already have a full house.”

“You are always welcome here, Jamison,” Nellie said fondly.

She then directed the tall, gray-haired butler to escort them to their rooms. With a polite nod, he motioned for them to follow.

Everything about the manor felt both familiar and different. Moving through the grand corridors of Twickenham Manor still filled Reese with a sense of wonder that only half an hour ago she had walked down this very passage, but over a hundred and fifty years in the future.

“It’s like stepping into a dream again, isn’t it?” Jem asked, his eyes shining with wonder.

“Yes, it is.” And a dream she appreciated now.

The butler led them to the same spacious guest room they had used on their last visit. “Your clothing for this visit should arrive shortly.” He gave a slight bow before leaving them alone.

Reese sank onto the edge of the bed, more tired than she remembered feeling last time. Jem sat beside her, and she rested her head against his arm.

“Do you think we’ll ever get used to it?” she asked.

“I hope not. The mystery and magic of it all are part of the charm, don’t you think?”

“Yeah. I agree.” About to lie back, Reese’s gaze landed on a portrait hanging on the wall opposite the bed.

They had stayed in this room before, and the painting hadn’t been there then.

Aunt Nellie painted the pictures of people in the manor, since all of them were of her time travelers.

Except those portraits were kept on the top floor because they served as anchors to allow the subjects to travel through time by choice.

The guest rooms had still-life pictures or landscapes, but never people.

Pulled by something she didn’t understand, Reese rose and stepped closer.

“What is it?” Jem joined her and then frowned. “Oh. Shouldn’t this be upstairs?”

“That’s what I was thinking.” Reese peered more closely at it.

The portrait depicted a handsome older woman dressed in fashions dating to a much earlier era. She stared off into the distance, her expression hauntingly wistful.

A sense of familiarity tugged at Reese, but she couldn’t think why. She was pretty sure she had never seen the painting before. Yet something resonated in her eyes, like she had lived through great sorrow and still bore a terrible burden. It made Reese want to know her story.

“I don’t remember seeing this before,” Jem said. “Any idea who she was?”

“No, but there is something about her.” Reese tilted her head thoughtfully. “Doesn’t she look like she’s waiting for... I don’t know... something? Or maybe someone?” Her mood dipped. “But I get the sense it never came.”

“I wonder what time period her clothing is from. Whatever her story is, you don’t have to feel bad that she’s dead in our time. Look, I know this aspect of time travel depresses you, but you’ve never met this woman.”

He pulled her away from the painting. “Besides, I’m sure Aunt Nellie is bound to remember the woman’s story.”

“That does make me feel a little better.” Reese couldn’t shake the feeling that the woman in the painting was trying to tell her something, which was strange, even for Twickenham. “You’re right.” She yawned. “We’ll ask Nellie later.”

Jem took Reese’s hand and eased her to the oversized chair positioned before the fire. He sat in it and pulled Reese onto his lap. She rested her head on his shoulder and allowed herself to relax in the fire’s warmth.

“Visiting here for the holidays is a dream come true for me,” she whispered near his ear.

“A real Victorian Christmas.” Jem shifted her so his mouth could find hers.

They had barely gotten into it when someone knocked on the door. With a groan, he helped push Reese to her feet before rising to stand beside her.

“Enter,” Reese called.

The door creaked open, and Aunt Nellie poked her head in, eyes twinkling as if she knew what she had disturbed. “I trust you are settling in well?”

“Just waiting on our clothes,” Jem said.

“Lulu informed me they have already been placed in the dressing room. Little has changed in the styles since your last visit.” Nellie turned to leave, but Reese shot a glance at the portrait again.

“Aunt Nellie,” she said, “who is the woman in this painting?”

Nellie’s smile wavered for a moment. If Reese hadn’t been watching the Fae woman so closely, it would have been easy to miss.

“Ah, yes.” Nellie’s tone was light but guarded.

“I felt prompted to place her portrait in your room, just as I was prompted to paint it many years ago, after Beatrice disappeared. She was a relative of the Hildebrands.” Nellie paused, her gaze drifting to the portrait with an unreadable expression.

“She was a young woman when I painted it.”

Beatrice. And she was related to Ellen and Gareth. Reese nodded but then frowned, glancing at the painting. “But she looks to be in her late fifties or early sixties.”

“Indeed. Her story is...” Aunt Nellie sighed. “Complicated.”

Complicated? For the seemingly all-knowing woman whose memory went back centuries?

“What happened to her?” Reese pressed.

Nellie shifted her gaze to the portrait and said finally, “She simply disappeared. At the time, some suggested she had run away, while others feared she had met with foul play. But no one knows for sure. I’ve often felt that her spirit lingers, waiting for closure.”

“Here at Twickenham? Not at Kellworth?”

“She disappeared before the Hildebrands moved the family seat to Kellworth. She was visiting here when she disappeared, but not during a full moon.” Nellie’s expression turned troubled. “As you know, there is insufficient magic to travel between the full moons.”

“So it couldn’t have been that,” Reese mused, still wondering why she felt such a connection to this Beatrice.

“Thank you for telling us,” Jem said.

Nellie smiled again, though it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Rest now,” she advised. “The Kellworth families have plans to keep you both quite busy during your visit. Sleep well.” She left the room, closing the door behind her.

Reese exchanged a glance with Jem and asked, “So why did Nellie move Beatrice’s portrait into our room?”

“That might be the question of the century,” he said, a twinkle in his eyes.

“I saw what you did there.” Reese slid into his arms. “So I have to ask in reply: which century?”

Chuckling, he kissed her.

But Nellie didn’t do things without a reason, even if she couldn’t put words to the why. This Beatrice was more than just a distant relative of dear friends and might be a key to a mystery that had yet to be unraveled.