The Hands of Time (10 page)

As Finn collapsed on top of me panting, a line from Hemingway’s “For Whom the Bell Tolls” ran through my mind.  “Did you feel the earth move?”  I did.  The earth definitely moved
,
and I wrapped by arms around Finn, holding him close and wishing he’d never leave me.  Finally, he raised his head and looked down at me.  “You weren’t a maid,” he said without reproach.

“I was married.”

“
So w
here is your husband?”  He didn’t seem angry, just curious. 
I suspected that making love to a married woman
would not make Finn run to the nearest confessional. 

“He is gone, long gone.”  I looked up at him to see his reaction.  Finlay gave me a beautiful smile and kissed me soundly on the mouth.  “Good, you are all mine then.”

Eventually, we got up and started for the castle.  I rode behind Finn through that green tunnel and wondered about the immediate future.  What would happen now?  How would our relationship change, especially since I was
now
living in his home?  What would Alec say?

“Finn?” I called to his back.  He turned around, “
H
m
m?”

“Can we not tell Alec?”  I asked timidly.

“I
was not
planning to make an announcement
, but t
here is no shame in what we did. 
I would never do anything to dishonor you.”  He gave me a warm smile
,
and I felt reassured.  I wondered where Finn saw this going.  From my understanding of the times
,
there wasn’t much between being a whore
and
a wife, unless you settled for the life of a mistress.  Is that what I
’
d just become?  I supposed that would be the desired outcome.  I certainly didn
’
t want to be anyone’s whore
,
and the idea of marrying Finn was ludicrous, especially since I fervently hoped to return to my own time.  I wasn’t in love with him.  I had just been seeking warmth and comfort from another human being in a time of great confusion and fear.  Finn made me forget
everything but him for that short time
,
and I was more th
a
n willing to let him do it again and again. 

Chapter 1
3

Finlay watched Valerie
disappear
inside
, as
Robbie
led
the horses
away
to be fed and watered and
walked
into the stable.  He was utterly confused
,
and called back to Robbie to bring back his horse.  He needed a good gallop to clear his head
and
swung into the saddle
, tearing through
the gate at breakneck speed.  At first, he was just curious about the girl.  She was very beautiful with
her
shiny, dark hair and eyes that were more violet th
a
n blue
,
and he felt an urge to protect her from whatever it was that sent her to the house of strangers
,
rather th
a
n return to her own home.  She was obviously educated, intelligent and spirited, not to mention passionate.  He had known many women, but most of them were either paid to participate in the act
,
or lay there just giving themselves to him like a gift to be unwrapped. 
The older women were more experienced, but he didn’t want
them
.  They did not stir his blood
,
and he politely refused their advances. 

Valerie was young and shy, yet she had given herself to him with innocent abandon, wanting to please him as much as wanting to be pleased.  He had just left her
,
and already he felt himself stirring again, wanting to turn back and run up to her room, catching her in a state of undress and tumbling her onto the bed.  He knew he wanted to get married at some point in the future, but he
had
never actually met anyone he wanted to marry up
until
now.  He reined in his horse, shocked at the thought that
had
just passed through his mind.  Was he really thinking of marriage? 
Well, why
not?  She might not have fortune or family, but he
did not
care about that.  She had touched his soul
,
and her solemn recital of the Pater Noster confirmed to him that she was a Catholic like him, which was an important factor in
choosing
a wife.  Hell, he just might have found himself a bride. 
Finn
dug his heels into the horse’s flanks and flew over the road
buoyed
by his decision.

Finn rode for about an hour before
taking
pity on Dante and
turning
back toward the castle.  The horse would no doubt be tired and hungry
,
and he could certainly use a bath himself.  It was a warm day
,
and he was sweaty, hot
,
and terribly thirsty.  Finlay threw the reins to Robbie and went into the castle, going down to the kitchen first to get a cool drink and charm Cook into giving him a piece of pie or a slice of ham with some bread to tie him over until supper.  He had missed the midday meal and he was hungry after his exertions.  Finlay smiled to himself as he finished the pie and headed up
the stairs to his room.  He wondered what Mistress Crane was doing at that precise moment
,
and if she had any regrets about allowing him to make love to her.  She might be worried about the future, but he would soon put everything to rights. 

Finlay stripped off his clothes, thankful that Robbie had hauled the water for his bath in record time.  The copper tub stood in front of the unlit fireplace, the water warm and inviting.  He was just about to get into the tub
,
when the door flew open and Nell stood on the
threshold
clutching a towel to her chest.  She blushed furiously at the sight of his naked body
,

“
I ‘ave
brought y
e
a towel,
s
ir.”  She curtsied
,
and Finn nearly burst out laughing at the ludicrous tableau they m
u
st have made, him stark naked and her curtseying like a loon. 
He already had a towel, but he took it from her anyway and asked her to leave, holding the towel in front of
him
to spare her
embarrassment and watching her execute another curtsy
. 

Damn the girl, he thought, as he lowered himself into the bath.  She was always barging in on him.  He had told her repeatedly to knock, but she was too slow-witted to remember.  He chuckled to himself at the memory of her face when she saw him.  She wasn’t nearly as shocked as she let on.  She was staring at him like a woman who likes what she sees
,
and would not be too quick to
push him away
should
he make a move. 
Finlay dismissed Nell from his thoughts.  She was just a silly child
,
and
his
desire for Valerie
was
muddling his thoughts and
making him see
things that weren’t there.  He closed his eyes and allowed his mind to return to the meadow and Valerie’s willing body.

Chapter 1
4

I pulled the bell to summon Betty and asked for a bath
,
when she finally appeared.  I felt a little guilty, knowing the effort involved in carrying buckets of hot water up to my room, but I hadn’t had a bath in days, settling for just washing parts of myself with a wash rag.  I wanted to wash my hair
,
and the slickness between my thighs left me feeling strangely excited and ashamed at the same time. 

Half an hour later
,
I was lying in
luxuriously
warm water, hauled up by poor Robbie, and enjoying the feeling of actually being clean.  Bathrooms with running water would have to be at the top of the list of things I missed, putting aside Louisa and my parents.  I had forbidden myself to think of them since that made me cry
,
partly out of pity for myself
,
and for the anguish they must be feeling not knowing what happened to me. 
I never realized how much I took for granted living in the
twenty-first century
.  I still hated using the chamber pot under my bed
,
and my daily shower had to be substituted by
occasional
washing of various parts. 

I desperately missed the electronics as well.  My fingers longed for the feel of a computer keyboard, the keys clicking away as I typed an e-mail or looked up information, and I desperately missed music.  What a luxury it was to just put on my i
P
od and choose a playlist which
suited my mood.  I hadn’t heard music since I came to the castle
,
and I longed for the sound of a melody, any melody.  I
’
d never been a huge fan of TV, but now I would kill for a DVD.  How wonderful it would be to distract myself by watching a story made entirely for my entertainment.  The only thing that I
’
d
found
to occupy my mind was books.  There were several more plays, two by Shakespeare and one by Christopher Marlowe
,
and a few volumes on Greek Mythology.  I
’
d love a
steamy
romance or a murder mystery, but I had to settle for what was available to me. 

I closed my eyes and thought of Finn.  I hadn’t seen him since this morning.  He brought me back to the castle and seemed about to come in, when he suddenly changed his mind and took off.  Was he upset by what happened?  Maybe he felt that now he had some kind of an
obligation
toward me
,
and wished he never touched me.  I wondered if he would come home in time for supper.  I hadn’t seen Alec either.  Betty had mentioned that a messenger had come from Plymouth,
bringing
Alec some letters
,
and I wondered if
he
and Finn would be off again soon. 
I didn’t like it when they were gone. 

I finally forced myself to get out of the tub once the water became cold
,
and began to dress for dinner. 
My hair had nearly dried
, so
I brushed it out and pinned it up.  Walking around with my hair loose around my shoulders was considered wanton, whereas the men wore their hair lo
o
se and thought nothing of it.  I slipped my feet into shoes and went to the dining room.  Alec was already there having a brandy
,
and he poured me one as well.

“What have you done to Finlay?  He took off as if the hounds of
H
ell were after him this afternoon.”  Alec was obviously joking, but I saw the surprise on his face when he saw me blush.  Oh, God, Finn wouldn’t have to make an announcement
after all
.  I think I just did that all by myself.  Alec gallantly looked away for a moment and then cleared his throat and began again.

“I
have
had some post this morning.  We have been invited to a Midsummer Night Ball
,
a week from Saturday,
by Lord Weston.  He is a good friend and a longstanding client.  How would you like to go to a ball,
m
y
l
ady?”  He bowed to me elaborately and took me by the hand giving me a twirl.  “Do you like to dance?”

“I do.  Will there be music?”  I asked hopefully.

“Of course.  They will have players for dancing, a masque, and possibly even fireworks.  Lord Weston loves to show off his wealth and I, for one, am very happy to allow him to share it with me and mine.”  I felt suddenly happy to be referred to as one of “his” and I sank into a de
e
p curtsy
, lowering
my head and looking up at him through my eyelashes
, batting them theatrically
.  “My Lord, I would
be
most honored to attend the
b
all with you, but I
’
m afraid I am in sore need of a gown.”

This time it was Alec’s turn to blush.  “As it happens, I knew that we would be invited, as we are invited every year, so I took the liberty of purchasing a gown
for you when last in Plymouth.  I do hope you like it.  You can try it on after supper if you wish.”  I was speechless with surprise.   I tried to imagine Alec going into a shop and looking for a gown for me, choosing a color and style
,
and
possibly asking the seamstress to model it for him.  I couldn’t wait to see what he had chosen.