Nothing But Time (33 page)

Silence.  Kate glared at Brand while he stared back at her in surprise.  “She what?”

“You know, fired?  Sacked?  Canned?  Let–
”

“I think we’ve already made that list before.”

“She knows about us,” Kate told him.  “Saw us together somewhere or something but today… well, something must have really pissed her off ‘cause she started yelling at me
… well, doing what she does best, anyway
and calling me all sorts of bad things.  And
… and
she slapped me!
”

“What?”

Kate rubbed her cheek, leaning listlessly against the side of the carriage
as the sharp pain and humiliation she’d felt in that awful moment flowed through her once more
.  “I’ve never been sla
pped before.  Never
in my whole life. 
She blames me for all the problems she’s having with you. 
She thinks I
’m
the reason you refuse to get married.  That I’m
ruining your life.”

All the anger and worry he’d felt for Kate all afternoon fell away with the report she delivered.  She’d
argued
with his mother?  His mother had struck Kate?  What had prompted such an event?  Thoughts raced
through Brand’s mind
from stunned disbelief to anger to disgruntlement.  Certainly
,
he could
now
understand why Kate had chosen to stay away.

Why hadn’t she come to him though?  Why hadn’t she told him straight away what had happened?  Did she have so little faith in him that he wouldn’t reprimand his own mother for
such unseemly behavior?  Harrowby snorted internally.  Had he given Kate any reason to think that
he would willfully step across social boundaries by siding with a mere servant?

No.  He had avoided her for weeks in an attempt to avoid intimate interaction with a member of his staff, to avoid linking his name with hers.  Even when finally giving into their undeniable attractions, he had done so covertly hoping to hide their affair from everyone.

Of course it was to Kate’s benefit to keep the truth concealed, but wasn’t it to his as well?  It wasn’t what he wanted
;
none of this was what he wanted.  Social policy and pure habit had prompted those actions proving to Harrowby just how firmly bound he had been by those strictures if they subconsciously influenced his motivations even now.

Never had he been given more valid evidence of how firmly society ruled his life, nor of how badly he needed to break free.

Switching sides
in the carriage
, Brand sat next to Kate and gathered her into his arms, cradling her head against his shoulder.  “You aren’t ruining my life, Kate.  You’re saving it.  My life has completely changed since I met you.”

“My life has changed, too,” Kate
murmured
,
enjoying the warmth of his hard body next to hers.  Tipping her head back, she nuzzled
his
neck.
  “
I know you won’t understand this, Brand, but you are unlike anyone I have ever met or had the chance to meet. 
Can’t tell you why.  It’s a secret a hundred and thirty-five years in the making.”

“That long?  What is it?”

“Told you I can’t tell. 
It
could be paradoxical, catastrophic…”

“That bad?”

“Yea
h
,” Kate snuggled into Brand’s side, sighing content
ed
ly.  All the anger was gone.  It took only being in his embrace to wash it all away.
She turned her head to nuzzle her lips against his neck
again
.
“Sorry I got fired, Brand, but on the bright side, I guess now we don’t need to worry about your moral dilemma.”

“My morals are fine, thank you and, I assure you, you are not sacked.”

“Why not?  If you fire me, you can put me up in a little flat in town
like we talked about
.”

“I
thought we’d already discussed the impossibility of such an occurrence, Kate,” he replied.  “Besides you don’t want to be my mistress.
”

“Aren’t I already?”

“Not yet.”

“That’s right,” she answered
huskily, running her fingers through his hair as she continued to kiss and lick the side of his neck
.  “We’ve rounded third but haven’t made it home yet.  Don’t you think it will be awesome when we do?”

“I think it will be life changing,” he whispered
, returning the favor by nipping the tendons on the side of her neck
.

“Mind boggling,” she told him
with a shudder, tracing a path of kisses along his jaw
.  “Amazing, phenomenal, spectacular…”

“Marvelous.
”
Brand caught her lower lip
between his and drew it into his mouth enjoying her gasp and moan.  Kate levered herself up, pulling up her skirts to straddle his hips before brushing her lips against his.

“Legendary.”  The word emerged so softly that Brand barely heard it, but the words that followed, though jus
t as gently murmured rang through his mind with the force of a dozen pealing bells.  “I love you, Brand.”

Kate kissed him then, hot moist lips that ravaged his though he remained frozen in surprise.  “Brand?  Don’t you want to kiss me back?”

“You’re inebriated, Kate,” he said harshly. 

“I’m not that drunk,” she returned
,
undulating slowly against him,
surely able to feel t
he rampant desire he could not hide.
  “Just a couple or three pints thoug
h I do have to admit that your
ale is really something else compared to what we have back home.  Even so, I’m not drunk so much as… untethered.  Yea
h
, untethered.”

“I don’t want to take advantage of you
in such a state
,” he said through clenched teeth.

“That old argument again?” she teased and kissed him once more.

“
Obviously,
I don’t think you know what you’re doing or saying.”

“Don’t know what I’m doing like this?” Kate rotated her hips slightly
eliciting a moan from him
.  “Don’t know what I’m saying?  I love you, B
randon Ryder,” she whispered
against his mouth capturing a groan released for a different reason.

Harrowby
took her mouth in a ferocious kiss, her confession sending a jolt of possessive joy through him
though he k
new that it could be nothing more than
drunken rambling
.  His fingers wove their way through her hair until he was cradling her head in his hands.  “Kate, my
darling,” he murmured.  “Damn, this is not the place and we haven’t the time even if I did think you knew what you were about.”

As if to punctuate the lack of opportunity, the carriage ground to a halt and
Harrowby
could see through the window that they were home once more, not surprising given the distance of less than a mile into town.  “Come, Kate.  Let’s see you into bed.”

“Mmm, let’s see
you
into bed,” she countered saucily and
the earl
couldn’t stifle the grin that lifted his lips. 

“What an impudent woman you are,” he told her as they
vacated the carriage hand in hand and
entered the main hall
.  Kate moved to disengage
their linked fingers but
Harrowby
held on tightly causing Kate to raise her brows in question.  “I think it’s about time we made some changes, don’t you?”

“My lord.  My lord!”  T
he butler rushed
toward
them trying to gain their attention.

“What is it, Geoffrey?”

The butler’s usually stoic expression was alive with curiosity.  The portly man was almost bursting with it. 
“We have a visitor. 
That is to say
, Miss Kallastad has a visitor
awaiting her in the front salon
.  A gentleman
visitor.
”

“I do?”

“She does?”
Harrowby
asked at the same time, raising an inquiring brow to Kate.  “Who is it?”

“Well, my lord.
”
T
he usually staid
Geoffrey shuffled his feet in anticipation of delivering the next bit
of
information
.  “He says he’s her husband
.”

“Husband!” they both exclaimed at the same time and Kate shook her head automatically in response to Brand’s lowered brow.  “Oh, no, no, no.  Don’t look at me like that.  I’m not married, I promise you.”

“Then who would come
to this house and say that you are?”
he
demanded
, both of them forgetting about the butler’s presence.

Kate actually had a very good idea who might come to Ramble House posing as her husband to see her. 
Truly, who else did she know outside this house? 
But how to explain that to Brand?  “It’s probably Dr. David Fergusson, a colleague of mine from the research facility
I
worked at before.”

“The one in Oxford?”  Brand frowned at her.  “Why would he jest so?”

“Maybe he thought he wouldn’t be able to talk to me unless…” Kate winced at the lame excuse
she heard coming from her mouth and stopped
.  “Okay, seriously, I don’t know why he would say something like that.  I’m sure it’s just his idea of a joke… a bad joke.”

“A very poor joke.”

“Yea
h
, well, he’s kind of like that,” Kate said with a shrug.

“We should go
and
see what he wants,” Brand said and Kate put a hand on his arm
as she recalled where they were
, glancing meaningfully at the butler.

“Thank you, my lord, for trying to protect me so, but I can see
to
him on my own,” Kate said.  “I’m sure you have other things to do.”

Harrowby
ground his teeth in frustration, knowing that her words, though coming too late to be completely effective in putting a damper on any speculation his butler might have been developing about them, were meant to give the appearance of a strictly employer/employee relationship. 
It was too late for that, he knew.  The gossip about them had surely begun the moment he’d shown up personally at the tavern to fetch her.

In truth, he didn’t care any longer for his own sake.  Only Kate mattered.

And, with a curtsey, Kate was walking away from him to meet with her visitor.  Curiosity raged through him. 
Harrowby wanted to determine for himself who the fellow was,
what he was to Kate and what he wanted from her now.

What if the man truly were her husband?  Perhaps he had abused her and Kate had r
un away making up the entire ta
l
e
of her researc
h to mask a troubled past.  But
no, his Kate wouldn’t stand for such behavior in man much less lie in such a fashion. 
Kate was honest and smart.  Surely if there were any danger, she would say so. 
The earl
snorted.  Even in that, he had no real fears.  Kate could take care of herself in any situation.

Such knowledge didn’t stop him from wondering though and
Brand had to forcibly plant his feet to keep himself from following her as she
made
her way to the front salon.

A steady flow of curses sang through
Harrowby
’s mind as he watched her go.  The situation, this entire situation was intolerable.  He couldn’t go on pretending that he didn’t care about what was happening to her, that he didn’t care when her life was endangered or when
strange men came to call on her.  Things had to change whether that change brought with
it
scandal or ruin.

How exactly he would bring about that change,
Harrowby
wasn’t certain, but he did know where he intended to start.  “Geoffrey, where is my mother?”

After double-checking to make sure she was alone, Kate slipped into the salon and closed the door before facing her
‘
gentleman visitor
’
.  “David!  What are you doing here?”

David spun around, his own smile bursting in response.  “Kate, darling!”

Kate stiffened a bit as he came to embrace her but managed a smile as she stepped back.  “How are you doing?”

“I think the greater question is, how are you doing?” David countered.  “Has it been horrible?  Are you ready to come home?  Come, let me see your hands.”

Kate held out her chapped hands without embarrassment knowing what he was expecting to find.  In truth, they didn’t look any different to her despite the harsh soaps they’d been immersed in these past couple
of
weeks.  She’d spent her entire life using them roughly.  “See
,
not so bad.”

“Not so bad?” he rebutted.  “They’re
shocking
.  I’ve brought a nice, rich lotion for you thinking of the condition your hands would be in.”

“Why, David, that’s so nice,” Kate said sincerely, not expecting such a considerate gesture when she knew David had been certain of her failure. 
“How did you find me
here
,
David
?” she asked.  “
You couldn’t just Google Ramble House
or something like that.
”

“I found out where this place was just after you sent me that letter a couple
of
weeks ago,” he explained.  “I
suppose
I can understand why you didn’t come for a visit on your day off.  It would have taken you all day just to make the journey to London and back.”

Though his words were understanding, Kate could still hear the disappointment.  “Yea
h
, well, you’re right.  It would’ve taken forever.  So how are things going?”

“Excellent,” David said as he took her hand and led her over to one of the settees, urging her to sit before he t
ook a seat beside her and clasped
her hands b
etween his.  “You were right. 
I’ve made trem
endous progress in your absence.  F
reed from preparing for your
arrival
or entertaining you, I found myself with more time to focus on the task at hand.”

“So it’s coming along then?” Kate asked
,
feeling joy mingle with
dismay
in the pit of her stomach.

“It’s already arrived, my dear!” he announced.

“What do you mean?  Are you saying…
?”
Kate swallowed back the d
read
that was rising in her throat.
  “Are you saying it’s done?  You fixed it?”

“Indeed I have. 
The cabling is sound and the metal plates are ready,
” David told her with a proud grin.
  “I found a fellow in Brent who completed those in no time at all.”

“
It’s all done
?” came Kate’s next, more hesitant question.

“Just finished reworking my calculations
,” he assured her.
  “
Ran simulation after simulation to make sure we return to the exact right time
.”

“Oh.
”
T
he word emerged faintly and Kate wondered for a moment if she were about to pass out from the surprise or if her head were still buzzing from the ale she’d drunk.

“Oh?”
David laughed.  “Is that all you have to say?  Come now!  Go
and
pack your bags and let’s be off, shall we?  The
twenty-first
century awaits us.”

Still Kate just sat there staring at the wall in
a
daze. 
Not only had he fabricated the cables but he had also constructed the plates to connect the siphon to
?  She couldn’t wrap her mind around the idea.  Barring a few brief flashes of optimism, she had never truly believed he could do it.  She had come to accept that her life was here, that her life was with…

No, her heart leaped
in denial pushing away the doubt.  She could go home now, Kate thought with a jolt of pleasure.  She could see her parents, sister and own nephew soon.  She could go back to work doing something she loved.

“Come, Kate, I thought you would be thrilled.”

“I – I am,” she answered hesitantly.  “I’m just so surprised.”

“Yes, I know you really had very little faith… Kate Kallastad, have you been drinking?” he asked wrinkling his nose as he leaned in.

“Maybe just a little bit,” she replied
then wrinkled her own nose.  “Oh, don’t you start, too.  Really, you’d think a girl’s never had a drink before.”

“Quite right, I
suppose
it never occurred to me that you might find some enjoyment here when you did not find any with me.”  It was another slight jab meant to rouse her guilt, but Kate could barely focus on David and his little intrigues.

He had actually solved the power problem, she thought trying once more to absorb the truth. 
She could go home.
Kate focused on the thought once more. 
She could go home
.

The problem was, suddenly she wasn’t sure if she wanted to. 

Kate thought of Brand.  A man unlike any she’d ever known or imagined.  A man of power, humor and caring.  A man who set her thoughts tumbling with one word and her body trembling with a single touch.  Kate thought of their extended foreplay of the night before, the way his big body surrounded hers, weighed upon hers.  She hadn’t even the chance to make love with him yet.

But that wasn’t even the worst of it.  She hadn’t the chance to be loved by him, by a heart that was brimming with untapped affection and adoration.  Kate had fallen in love with Brand so quickly, maybe too quickly, but it was real.  More concrete than any emotion she’d ever known.  Having Brand love her back would be the most incredible
experience of a lifetime, able to complete her more than any job ever could.

The feelings he roused in her were unimaginable, irreplaceable
… perhaps even fulfilling enough to replace the love of her family. 

Kate drew in a shaky breath.  Was she truly thinking this?  Was she truly considering staying in the
nineteenth
century just so that she might have a chance at holding Brand’s heart if only for a moment?

It was pure insanity
, she
berated
herself. 
Stand up right now and tell David you’ll go with him,
some part of her demanded, but her heart retained control. 

Would it be worth it?

No, of course not
, that small corner of her mind argued. 
Are you nuts?  Are you going to let a man define your life?  Of course not.  You’re going!

“I’m staying,” Kate
said
aloud.

“What?”
H
er mind echoed David’s more vocal disbelief.  “Surely you jest, Kate.  Or perhaps it is the alcohol speaking.  You don’t know what you’re saying.  Come now, let’s go.”

“I’m sorry, David,” she said, taking a deep breath to steady herself.  “I cannot go with you.  I’ve met someone here.”

An uncomfortable silence roared in Kate’s ears.  What more could she say to him now?  She hadn’t wanted to hurt his feelings.  Surely, he had known somewhere deep down inside that she had never seen him the way he wished she might.
Perhaps she should have given him the ‘just friends’ speech when she’d left?

“You o
nly been gone a few weeks, Kate.
”
H
e laughed uncertainly, a mask for some hurt he felt at her words.  “Surely, it’s nothing more than a crush.”

“It wou
ld be so much easier if it were.
”
Kate’s head was spinning as she wondered at her sudden resolve.  “But it isn’t.  I can’t leave him.  I
won’t
leave him.  I’m sorry, David.  I know you hoped for something more between us, but it was never meant to be.”

“And this is?” he replied with a slight sneer.

“Please don’t,” Kate begged
,
taking his hand.  “I don’t want ugly feelings left between us.  Please, I
need
you to understand that this isn’t something
I would have ever anticipated. 
Sometimes we just
can’t help where our hearts lie
.”

David looked down at their clasped hands and into Kate’s pleading green eyes
.  He
relent
ed
with a sigh of resignation. 
“I must say, I’m surprised I’m not more broken-hearted over this, Kate.  I had thought…
well, I suppose there’s nothing more to say on the subject other than to ask again, a
re you sure this is what you want?”

“It is.”  Kate drew in a deep breath.  “Will you tell my par
ents not to worry?  That I’ve m
et a nice man from – oh, I don’t know – Saudi Arabia or something that has some religious need to sequester their brides or something?  I don’t want them
worrying or
thinking I’m dead.  I’d rather have them think that I’m happy.  Or maybe I can write a letter for you to send to them, that way they wouldn’t come to you for answers that you can’t give them.”

“Perhaps that might be best,” David nodded.  “Do you think you’ll change your mind then?”

Kate met his eyes and said softly, “No, David.  I don’t think so.  I’m sorry.”

They sat there a while longer while David studied her as if trying to see the truth of it in her soul.  “I will remain
in London
for
a while
just in
case you change your mind.
  No rush really.
”

“I won’t
but thank you, David
,” she said
before adding one small fib.  “I just want to say that I always knew you could do it, you know?”

“Thank you, Kate.”  David rose from the settee and retrieved his hat
,
s
ettling it back on his head.  “
I should be off then if I hope to catch the las
t train back into town.  I’ll
wait for your letter to your parents, all right?”

“Yes, thank you
a
gain.  For everything.”  Kate rose and gave David a gentle hug.  “Goodbye.”

“Goodbye, Kate.”

Kate watched him go, astounded by what she had just done.