Chapter 6
Later that evening, with baby Oliver on her hip, Reese tickled the boy with a curl of her hair as they watched the swirl of snowflakes against the darkening sky.
She loved how the candlelight reflecting in the glass made her feel as if she were inside a snow globe.
The warmth from the crackling fire behind her provided a welcome contrast to the chilly night.
Beside her, Ellen cuddled Oliver’s twin sister, Sophie.
“We’ve only been here a day, and it’s already been a wild trip.” When Reese got a giggle from the little boy, she chuckled, making Sophie laugh too.
“Are they not delightful?” Ellen asked, her face glowing with happiness. Then the joy disappeared from her eyes. “I do not know what it will mean to have Aunt Beatrice with us. My heart aches for what she has gone through, but I fear for Grandmama if her sister is taken from her again.”
“She’s really suffered a lot of loss in her life, hasn’t she?” Reese asked. “You and Gareth were lucky to have her fill in when your mother died. Do you and Michael plan to stay here once your baby is born? Kellworth would be fun having a bunch of little ones running around.”
“We will remain, and I am quite excited about it.” Ellen came to the window. “I so wish you lived here as well.”
“And I wish you lived in my time.” As much as the idea appealed to Reese, she was a modern woman with modern goals, and she liked her conveniences. “But I couldn’t leave my mother.”
Ellen sighed. “I understand. Had George not chosen to remain with us in this period, I believe it would have been much more difficult for Michael to. And I do so appreciate his sacrifice.”
“We make a lot of those for love, don’t we?” Catherine asked, entering the room.
And she would know, since she had left her job as an ER doctor to come to this period. As an earl, Gareth had responsibilities that he couldn’t step away from. In turn, he supported her efforts to educate local midwives without drawing too much attention to it.
“Has it been very hard?” Reese asked, struggling to keep Oliver in her arms as he stretched for his mother.
“Living in this time has definitely been an adjustment, though being with Gareth makes it worthwhile. It’s still a balancing act between this time’s status quo and our being too proactive.
I find it frustrating how rigid some of the people are, especially those in London.
” She gave a soft laugh. “But it’s a good thing I love my husband so much. ”
“For which I am eternally grateful.” Gareth stepped beside his wife and kissed her.
Biting back a smile, Reese exchanged a satisfied glance with Ellen. There had been a time when the earl was convinced Reese should be his partner, and his obvious happiness with Catherine was incredibly rewarding.
“Here’s your pregnancy test.” Catherine handed over a small package before taking the little boy.
“Gareth, you should take Sophie before she falls asleep.” Ellen shifted the baby girl into her father’s arms.
The earl was adorable with his kids. He was mad about his son, his heir, but there was something touchingly precious about the way he treated his daughter.
When Gareth and Catherine left the drawing room to put the children to bed, Ellen asked, “When will you take the test?”
“I’m dying to right now, but I don’t want to risk a false negative, so I should wait until morning. If I can hold out that long.” Reese pocketed the box to resist the temptation. “Where is everyone else?”
“Did Jem not say?” Ellen slid her arm through Reese’s. “Michael and George are showing him and the Colonel the conservatory. You must see it.”
Reese sat on the sofa and pulled Ellen down beside her. “I’ve seen it. The modern version, anyway. In pictures. I finally broke down and looked up the history of Kellworth. It makes me incredibly happy the Hildebrand family managed to maintain the estate through all the turmoil that’s coming.”
“I have wondered,” Ellen said, tilting her head thoughtfully, “if the Hildebrand family in the future still knows of the time travel.”
“I can ask my time’s Aunt Nellie, but it’s something Gareth and Catherine should consider, if they haven’t yet. Will it be a Hildebrand tradition?” They had gone to the future for the birth of their twins, so Nellie had painted their portraits.
“What are you thinking?” Ellen asked, leaning closer.
Reese explained. “If I am pregnant, then my baby has already traveled.”
“Indeed.” Ellen leaned back, a crease growing between her eyebrows, like when something worried her. “Aunt Nellie told Catherine that time travel is easier for children who have done it while their mothers were increasing with them.”
“Interesting.” Reese gave her friend a playful nudge. “Can you imagine if you visited the Kellworth of my time and asked them if they knew about time travel? They would think you were crazy.”
“Indeed.” Ellen’s expression turned thoughtful. “I do not know how we will explain Aunt Beatrice’s return.”
“It would have been easier if she hadn’t aged.” Reese watched the flames. “You could have introduced her as a cousin or whatever who came for a visit.”
“Or a visiting heiress,” Ellen teased, shooting a sly glance at Reese, which made her grin.
“Well, Nellie has to explain where her unexpected guests come from.” Reese sighed. “But you all will have to make up some kind of backstory for Beatrice. How bad was it when she disappeared?”
“It was ghastly,” Evangeline said, entering the drawing room.
“Do tell us about it, Grandmama,” Ellen said, rising to offer assistance.
Evangeline waved her off and settled into a large, overstuffed chair near the fire. She pinned Reese with an assessing look.
“This time-travel magic explains a great deal. Ellen has dragged me to Gareth’s tenant village. All they can do is sing your praises. Are all people from the future reformers?”
“Don’t I wish,” Reese muttered before shifting to face Evangeline. “But how will you explain your sister’s return?”
“If she is able to remain?” The words came out trembly, and the older woman’s eyes glistened.
“We must trust Aunt Nellie to find a way and proceed with that in mind,” Ellen said. “So we ought to be prepared, and we can hardly tell people the truth. The entire family would be cast into Bedlam.”
“Maybe she eloped with some foreign nobleman.” Jem leaned against the doorjamb, looking so handsome in his Victorian attire. “And her husband died recently, so she’s returned home to reunite with her loving kin.”
Reese waved him over, shifting to make room, while Ellen did the same for Michael, who had come in behind Jem. As he settled beside her, she felt the small box in her pocket and had to resist the urge to tell him everything. They could talk about it later.
“Has the Colonel left in a fit of temper yet?” Evangeline asked once the men had seated themselves. She sounded bitter. From the look on Ellen’s face, it said a lot about the older woman’s mood that she referred to him by his title rather than his name.
Reese could sympathize. From what Ellen had shared, the Colonel had been the love of Evangeline’s life.
When her father had refused his suit, Arthur bought a military commission and left for India.
She then refused to marry anyone else. Now, her beloved sister had returned, and the Colonel was treating the miracle like an act of evil.
“I believe it will all work out,” Jem assured Evangeline. “You’ll learn to give more credit to Aunt Nellie’s teas.”
“Ellen and I can speak to the truth of that.” Michael lifted his wife’s hand and kissed a faint burn scar on the top. “Your Colonel is already showing signs of coming around.”
“We have confidence because the magic moved five of us to 1850,” Reese said, “and one stayed. She’s someone you’ve probably met at social functions.”
Evangeline straightened, but before she could speak, Gareth stepped into the room, Catherine on his arm.
“I believe it would surprise you, dear Grandmama, by the number of time travelers who choose to remain in the times they are sent.” He shot Reese an amused glance before his gaze landed on his wife’s. “And a wise decision it is, I might add.”
“And some people bully Nellie into sending them to a different time,” Reese replied blandly.
Gareth stiffened. “As though anyone could bully that woman.”
“You two, knock it off.” Catherine pulled the earl into the room and settled on a loveseat.
“As I was saying,” Reese said, “we need to come up with a story for Beatrice.”
“Something romantic,” Ellen insisted.
“Something believable,” Jem said.
“I like the idea of an elopement,” Catherine mused. “It should be somewhere remote, so we don’t have to worry about members of the Ton having visited the country.”
“Her beloved should have been a prince,” Evangeline said. “As a girl, Beatrice always said she wanted to marry one.”
Michael nodded, rubbing his chin. “But one not in line to inherit.”
“A fictional location.” When everyone stared at her, Reese shrugged. “It’s not as if you guys have the internet to verify it. Make up a small, remote kingdom, someplace like Andorra but with a royal family.”
“It could work,” Catherine said. “Andorra is controlled by both France and Spain.”
“Where is this?” Gareth asked, a touch of irritation in his voice that he hadn’t heard of the place. He worked hard to be well-informed.
“And your response is exactly why we should make up a location but let it be inspired by an actual place. For people who’ve traveled widely, it might sound vaguely familiar. So, the late husband could be Prince étienne de...” Reese glanced at the others for suggestions.
“Altaverde?” Michael suggested. “That has a nice Spanish ring to it.”
“Why would he have come to Twickenham rather than London?” Evangeline asked, getting into their fictional tale.
“Well, let’s think about it. Forty years ago, Napoleon was an issue.” Jem was thoroughly enjoying this. As an actor and a drama teacher, he loved the idea of creating a fake history. And why not? They were already living a fairy tale.
“So, Prince étienne might have come to England as part of a diplomatic delegation,” Gareth mused, “perhaps to offer their declaration of neutrality.”
“Yeah, and during a visit to London, he and his entourage were invited to a house party at Twickenham,” Jem added.
“Yes,” Ellen cried, clasping her hands to her chest, “and it is there he met and fell in love with Beatrice.”
“Does this work as a beginning?” Reese asked Evangeline, who wore a look of delight.
“I believe so.” Then she frowned. “However, what about her children? How could she bear to leave them and her grandchildren?”
“Infertility,” Catherine said. “They weren’t able to have any.”
Evangeline nodded. “So, when her husband passed away, she had nothing to keep her there.”
“What’s this?” George asked, entering the room, followed by the Colonel.
Everyone went silent.
Colonel Pritchard narrowed his eyes. “I may not understand all your secrets, but I know when I have walked into one.”
“We’re not doing anything nefarious,” Reese said lightly. “We just need a cover story to protect Beatrice from scandal.”
“And all of us from Bedlam,” Catherine added with a wink.
The Colonel glanced at Evangeline, who watched him hopefully. He let out a slow breath before giving a reluctant nod. “Well, then. You must let me know if you require a soldier to guard your secrets. Or at least make sure they sound credible.”
At her relieved smile, his body relaxed, and he strode to stand by her chair.
“What did you come up with?” George inquired, and they brought the two men up to date with the story for Beatrice.
“Quite clever,” the Colonel said somewhat reluctantly.
“Would her widowhood be recent?” George asked with a little too much interest, even as he tried to sound casual.
It reminded Jem that the older man had admitted to spending time studying Beatrice’s portrait.
When everyone stared at him, George hastily added, “It’s something you will want to decide considering your rules about mourning. ”
“True, true.” Gareth nodded, though the corner of his mouth twitched. “Have I mentioned that Clarisse has expressed an interest in hosting a Christmas gathering for my cottiers?”
“I’m excited to meet everyone again.” Reese smiled, staring into the distance as if she were reviewing her memories.
“It was marvelous how she took charge.” Then Ellen’s expression darkened. “The village was truly in a dreadful condition.”
Gareth’s neck had turned red, but he gave Reese a respectful nod and said, “Oftentimes, one must encounter an individual with a different perspective before one will make changes.”
“Talk about a new worldview,” Catherine said and laughed. “Seriously, Gareth, you said the oddest things when I first met you.”
“How did you meet?” Colonel Pritchard asked.
“Aunt Nellie introduced us.” Catherine sent her husband a loving glance. “She painted his portrait. You know she paints, don’t you? From the moment I saw it, he captivated me.”
“I have never given heed to the portraits, though I have seen a few.” The Colonel narrowed his eyes, studying the earl. “I would like to see yours.”
“I think not, Arthur.” Evangeline’s voice turned teasing, but it contained a touch of fear. “It would break my heart for you to fall in love with a lady in that gallery.”
He faced her, stiff as though at attention, his expression indignant. “Never.”
Jem hoped the man’s intense feelings for Evangeline would help him accept Beatrice’s unexpected and unusual return.