Page 23 of Last Knight (Knights Through Time #7)

Ashley didn’t know how long she’d been up here, only that she could no longer feel her toes and it was dark. Hungry or not, she wasn’t ready to face him.

“I brought warm spiced wine.” Christian held the cup out to her.

Talk about the devil himself. The wine warmed her and took away the anger. Why be mad at someone she had no chance of a future with? Maybe they could be friends and she’d attend the wedding? Not. She planned to go home before then. Somehow.

“I wanted to tell you, but I was afraid you would think I was a witch.”

“You don’t remember, so I will say so again. I am a learned man and I have seen things which cannot be explained, so yes, I believe you.”

She’d been thinking. “Which Edward is king?”

“Edward III.”

“It’s sad. Castles will fall out of favor as cannons come into standard use. There is so much uncertainty ahead. ”

He looked around to make sure they weren’t overheard. “What else do you know of my time?”

“Only the highlights, I’m afraid.” She sat on the wall, looking out into the darkness, unable to believe all of this was his.

“I never paid much attention to history in school. I’m a big believer in looking forward, not back.

If I’d been born in Europe I would know more, but as an American, I don’t know why, but we tend to pay less attention to history, even our own.

I don’t know if it’s because we’re a younger country or because the country is large. I don’t know.”

She readjusted her hair, taking out the elastic and quickly doing a messy bun so it would quit blowing in her face.

“I know there’s war coming. And the plague. I know this is your life, but to me it was a story in a book, and not a particularly interesting one at that. I was always more interested in meeting the next item on my list of goals.”

“Are all women in your time educated?”

“Many. I finished high school a year early—college too. I’m twenty-three.”

She looked at him, realizing she didn’t know how old he was.

“How old are you?”

“A score and four.”

The light from the torches cast half his face in shadow. It was hard to tell how he was taking all this information.

“So you do not have five sisters and are running away from marriage to an old man?”

“No, I made it up to blend in.”

She’d fallen in love with him. A guy who was getting married.

Well, she wasn’t sticking around to see the perfect, beautiful, intelligent fiancée arrive.

And to make it all worse, she’d probably be nice on top of it all.

Because Ashley couldn’t imagine him marrying someone who wasn’t all those things.

It was time to go home, give up the daydream of living in the past, and go back to real life. How? She didn’t have a clue .

“Christian, I want to go home.”

“And if you cannot?” His voice was soft.

“Then I will have to find a job. Something useful.”

He touched her cheek, and she saw the wetness in the torchlight. Ashley hadn’t even noticed she was crying. He stood so close that she could see the gray flecks in his blue eyes, his expression inscrutable.

“I will send word to my brothers. We will return you to your time.”

“But what can they do? It’s not like they have a time machine.”

Christian sighed. “We will talk more after supper.”

He dismissed her guard and led her back to her room, where he stopped outside the door. It was strange knowing she would be sleeping alone for the first time since she’d arrived.

“I’ve had a bath prepared.”

Without thinking, Ashley hugged him tight.

“I could almost forgive you for not telling me about your soon-to-be wife.” She rubbed her hands together. “It’s like Christmas is coming early. A bath. Thank you so much.”

He looked stunned, but nodded. “The women will aid you.” He turned on his heel and left the corridor, and for the first time she was alone, and the emptiness he left in his wake was enough to fill a stadium.

“We will bathe you, lady.”

The two girls looked young, Ashley guessed early teens. They helped her undress. One held up the dress, frowning. “I’ll take this to be cleaned.”

The other one handed her another round ball of rose-scented soap. Ashley wanted to kiss the girl.

“Shall I wash your hair for you?”

“Please.” Having someone else wash her hair was a decadent feeling. As she soaked in the tub, watching the water turn gray, Ashley felt her muscles relax, the heat doing its job.

While the girl scrubbed her—which was a new experience, as she’d never had anyone bathe her before—Ashley thought about going home, started making lists in her head. Christian. It would have never worked anyway, since she couldn’t have babies. He’d made it clear he wanted a big family.

The water was cool by the time she climbed out, her fingers wrinkled. The girl dried her off with a large piece of cloth.

The other one had brought something for her to wear. As they dressed her, one of the girls made a clucking noise. “The dress is too short, lady.”

Ashley looked down to see her ankles showing.

“It doesn’t matter. It’s clean and it fits. I thank you for the dress.”

“When the merchant comes, you may choose the material for new dresses.”

“That would be nice.” She planned to be long gone by then.

One of the girls combed her hair, braiding it and pinning it up, chattering away, the sounds washing over Ashley.

“Did you know there’s to be a wedding, lady?”

The other one chimed in: “Lord Winterforth is finally getting married.”

Ashley snorted. “Tell me something I don’t know.”

The same guard who escorted Ashley around the castle was waiting outside her door, leaning against the wall, when she emerged from the room.

“The dress is lovely, though you’re rather tall for a woman.”

Ashley looked down at her stocking-covered ankles. She’d let the girls take her boots to be cleaned, so she was wearing soft shoes that reminded her of slippers.

“I’m not tall where I come from.” She was five seven, and in New York she often felt short when she ran into a model on the street.

It was an easy breed to spot, the girls impossibly thin and incredibly tall.

During her time here she’d seen plenty of people of average height and just as many short ones, though Christian and some of his guards were over six feet.

She guessed there would always be outliers.

“I don’t know your name. I’m Ashley.”

“My name is Quinn, lady. We are to sit at the high table with my lord.”

He led her through the great hall as she stared at the transformation that had taken place while she was bathing.

Tables and benches that had been pushed up against the walls earlier were now in rows, running up and down the hall.

Many of the people she had seen since she’d arrived were already seated.

There were tablecloths on the table, and from the dishes and the amount of food being served, she figured out Christian had plenty of money.

Not that the castle didn’t give it away, but he could have been one of those titled but poor guys.

He didn’t act like some of the guys she’d met at home that flaunted their wealth. The hedge fund guys were the worst.

Ben’s face flashed in front of her eyes.

He was going to be surprised when she finally made it back home.

Though as practical as he was, by now he’d probably moved on to someone else.

Ashley waited a moment to see if she was upset, but she wasn’t.

That alone told her she had been coasting through life with him.

She heard Christian laughing with a couple of his men as they approached the table.

Yep, she was upset thinking of him married to someone else. Sad to leave him.

The table at the front of the hall was fancier, with a linen tablecloth, silver goblets, and actual plates. The other tables had trenchers. At the end of the meal, Quinn said, they were given to the poor in the villages and the animals.

Christian stood, as did the other men. He pulled out the chair next to him.

“You are beautiful.”

“Thank you. It feels good to be clean again. ”

Ashley couldn’t have said what she ate. She was too busy looking at everyone, taking it all in. The memories would sustain her when she went home. First thing on her list? Diving into history.

Christian and everyone in the castle would be long dead when she went home. Would there be any mention of Winterforth in a book? Did she want to know Christian and his perfect wife had three adorable kids and lived happily ever after?

“Is aught amiss?” The look of concern on his face made her want to run from the hall.

“No, I was just thinking.”

“Of your home?”

“And other things.” She sipped the wine. “Tell me about growing up here.”

His face brightened. “My sire owned several estates, and this was one of them. When I came of age, ’twas mine. Each of my brothers has a castle as well.”

She grinned. “Of course they do. I vaguely remember you telling me you had brothers, but not much else, too much to drink that night. Do your parents live close by?”

“Nay, they passed years ago.”

“I’m sorry. I know what it’s like to lose those you care for.”

He was interrupted by a man asking him a question, and Ashley turned her attention to the people, watching them and learning so she would fit in while she was here. For however long that was. Christian was deep in conversation with the man next to him. She touched him on the shoulder as she got up.

“I’m going up to the battlements for some air.”

“Don’t stay long, you’ll be cold.”

Quinn followed, still chewing.

“I’m going up to the battlements. You don’t need to follow me.”

“I am to guard you—where you go, I go.”

“Let’s go to the kitchens first so you can finish your meal.”