Dreams of Stardust

  Damn it anyway.

  He'd known she would react with a start when she found out just how far his lack of title went, but what he hadn't expected was her apology, or her tears. If he hadn't known better, he might have thought she liked him.

  Which, all things considered, had to be yesterday's most devastating piece of news.

  He walked down the stairs to the courtyard before he could give that any more thought. He had to go; she had to stay. That was the cold, hard reality. He was a merchant; she was medieval nobility. That was more of that same kind of reality.

  And never the twain shall meet…

  John and Montgomery appeared suddenly on either side of him. They looked at him glumly.

  "Ready?" John asked.

  "Yes," Jake said. "We'd better go while we can."

  "Can't you just stay here?" Montgomery asked.

  Jake slung his arm around Montgomery's shoulders and pulled him toward the stables. "I have responsibilities at home."

  "Then see to them and come back," Montgomery said. "That's simple enough."

  "My business is in London. I can't come back north." Or back in time, he added silently. He looked over his shoulder at John, who was slouching along behind them. "Coming?"

  John sighed and hurried to catch up with them. "I'm here. What is the plan?" he asked.

  "I need to get back to where you found me," Jake said. "There might be something there I need."

  "The robbers didn't even leave your clothes," John said. "Why would they have left anything else?"

  "I still need to look," Jake said. "You never know."

  There were two horses, one for him and one for the twins together. Two, but not three. Jake was unsurprised. He hadn't expected Amanda to come with them. He hadn't expected to see her at all that morning—and he hadn't. He supposed he was glad she was remaining behind. Who knew what sorts of dangers lurked out in the wilds of medieval England? He wondered about the advisability of taking the boys with him.

  "Are you certain you don't want a horse?" Montgomery asked, for what had to have been the tenth time that morning.

  "I don't think I'll have a way to send it back," Jake said.

  "But that doesn't make any sense," John said. "How are you going to get home without a horse?"

  "I'll manage," Jake promised, wondering how in the hell he was going to do that. Maybe he would just zip back in time and the boys' memories would be wiped out in the process. Maybe he would vanish in a puff of smoke and they would think he was a powerful fairy and tell stories about him for the rest of their lives.

  Maybe he needed to sleep on a bed that was long enough for him. He was starting to hallucinate.

  "I think you should manage to stay here," Montgomery said stubbornly. "Amanda likes you. We like you. I think even Father would like you."

  "And how does that serve him?" John snapped, turning on his brother. "He's a merchant, Montgomery. Father would never give her to a mere merchant." He shot Jake a look. "I beg your pardon, Jake."

  "That's all right," Jake said, smiling easily. "I'm sure there's a really great titled guy with lots of land just waiting to come sweep your sister off her feet."

  The thought left him, unsurprisingly, with an intense desire to grind his teeth.

  But lest he reduce his molars to powder, he wiggled his jaw, rubbed his hands together, and took the reins of his horse. "Let's go while the sun is still shining. I'm sure it won't last."

  Montgomery and John grunted in agreement and they swung up easily onto their mount's back. Jake swung up less easily, but he managed it.

  And with that, they were off.

  Jake felt distinctly like the blind leading the blind. He had no idea what he was going to do short of just making it back to the place where he'd landed. Once he got there, he had no idea how to proceed. Should he turn cartwheels? Recite Burns? Knock three times?

  He considered the problem as he rode through the village with Artane's youngest lords. He supposed there had to be some sort of something that would indicate a gate through time, but he didn't remember any standing stones, fairy rings, or big red Xs marking any spots in Northumberland.

  Worse still, who would he ask about just such a thing, in either century? He supposed he might have consulted the village midwife, or the local witch, if Artane currently possessed either. But such questions would undoubtedly get around and then he'd be labeled a certifiable whacko and who knew where that would land him.

  He had very unpleasant memories of Artane's dungeon and no desire to make new ones.

  Who would he have asked in his own time? Gideon? He examined his time spent with him and decided that even if Artane had odd things turn up now and then, that just couldn't mean time travelers.

  Could it?

  He shook his head. Gideon was far too normal a guy to have had any kind of experience with the paranormal. Surely if he had known that something really weird was going on in his ancestral keep, he would have mentioned it. Wouldn't he?

  Now, Seakirk was a different story. Jake suspected that Worthington could cough up quite a few interesting details. He seriously regretted not having interrogated the butler more thoroughly. Seakirk had ghosts; could it not have time-travelers as well?

  And if it didn't, surely there was some nutcase in the twenty-first century who had ideas on the whole thing. Surely he wasn't the first to find himself centuries out of his own time. People went missing all the time, didn't they? There had to be more explanations for it than getting eaten by bears.

  Unfortunately, he didn't have any of those resources at present and was stuck with just his own clever self and whatever ingenuity he possessed to get himself out of his current mess.

  It seemed to take an inordinately long amount of time to get to where he was supposed to be going, probably because he was spending most of his time scrutinizing for clues every patch of grass his horse stepped over.

  Nothing looked out of the ordinary.

  Nothing looked in the least bit time-travelly.

  The boys stopped eventually and looked at each other before they looked at him.

  "This is it," John said heavily. "Where we found you."

  Jake sat on his horse and stared at the countryside. It looked a bit like the countryside near Seakirk, but really, how could he tell? He'd first seen it—or not, as the case might have been—in the driving rain. He'd avoided looking at it the next day, thanks to that blinding headache. He couldn't have said with any certainty what the place looked like.

  So that solved nothing for him. He turned to the mystery of his clothes. Could he have been robbed, or had he just been stripped on his way through time? He looked carefully at the grass at his horse's feet and saw something sparkle all of the sudden. He dismounted as gracefully as he could and dug through the grass until he found it.

  A pound coin.

  He closed his hand around it and felt a shiver go through him. So, he hadn't lost his mind after all.

  He had, however, lost his clothes and it was obvious by the trampling of the grass that he'd had help with that. So he had been robbed. He handed John his reins and continued his search. He made wider and wider circles, but found nothing else.

  He stopped finally, looked up at the sky, and wondered what in the world thieves were going to do with his wallet, his jeans, his very expensive leather coat, and his Dr. Martens. Well, actually, he could imagine what they might do with his shoes and coat. It was his wallet that concerned him.

  He hoped that wouldn't come back to haunt him.

  He went back to where he'd found the coin and stood there, putting up all his paranormal antennae. He waited, but nothing happened.

  So he wasn't exactly Mr. Poltergeist, but even he was beginning to suspect he wasn't going anywhere soon. He looked up at the boys to find them staring at him as if he'd lost his mind.

  "What are you doing?" John asked.

  "Looking for clues," Jake replied.

  Montgomery shook his head. "I told you, Jake, you w
on't find the thieves. I think you should forget the loss and come back home with us."

  "No," Jake said.

  They looked less than satisfied with that answer, and he couldn't blame them. He wasn't all that satisfied either. He looked at them, trying to to come up with something useful, when it occurred to them that perhaps they were part of the problem. He hesitated.

  "You know," he said, "I might be able to find what I'm looking for if you could move back a little."

  The boys blinked.

  Jake shooed them with his hand.

  John shrugged and took over Jake's horse. Then he and Montgomery did as they were asked and backed their horses up. Jake stared at the spot of ground where he'd found the pound coin and willed himself to go somewhere. Anywhere. Forward, to the future.

  Nothing happened.

  He looked at the boys. They were watching him, solemn-eyed and silent.

  He waited again.

  It took a long time.

  But still nothing happened.

  The boys started to shift, as did their horses. Jake shifted as well, but he didn't have any other choice but to remain where he was, just to see what was going to happen. What else was he supposed to do? He had to get home.

  The feel of hoofbeats came to him through his feet before he heard them. He looked up and saw a rider, one he recognized. In fact, he doubted he'd ever mistake her for anyone else. So she had come to see him off. For some reason, that was very heartening.

  Amanda pulled up, breathing hard. He was about to thank her for coming, but she spoke before he could.

  "I had to flee," she said. "I saw Ledenham coming from a distance."

  Jake felt his ego being properly deflated. He might have struggled to come up with something to say to save his pride, but he was distracted by the looks John and Montgomery were giving each other.

  "What?" he asked. "What's wrong?"

  "Nothing," Montgomery said, looking less than sure of himself.

  "Nothing at all," John agreed.

  "Liars," Jake said. "Who is Ledenham?"

  "One of our neighbors," Amanda said grimly, "though not a close one. His keep is on the border like ours, but inland. Past Wyckham. I'm surprised Nicholas didn't see him coming and send someone to warn us." Then she shook her hair back over her shoulder. "He's no one of consequence."

  "But he is," Montgomery protested. "Mandy, he is more powerful than you allow. And wiley."

  "And vile," John added. "I'd be wary of him, were I you. He's not one to offend."

  "And what will he do?" Amanda demanded hotly. "Steal me away? And have the wrath of Artane as a whole descend upon his sorry head?"

  "Amanda," John said seriously, "he could harm you quite thoroughly before any of us could reach you. I tell you, he is not one to have as an enemy."

  "We'll protect you," Montgomery said, putting his shoulders back and smiling bravely. "Never fear, sister. He'll not best us—"

  Famous last words. Jake looked behind Amanda and saw several horsemen coming their way. Amanda looked over her shoulder and swore. Jake considered his limited options, which amounted to run or fight, and came to a quick decision. He shoved the pound coin down into his boot, then called to the boys.

  "When they come, I want you to ease around them and ride like hell for the castle."

  "But—" John began, looking horrified.

  "Go get help," Jake said. "You aren't running; you're going to get help. Let's just hope they let you do it."

  They looked indecisive. Well, John looked indecisive. Montgomery looked terrified and was doing his best not to show it. Jake liked them both very much. He only hoped he would get to see more of them. He didn't like what he'd heard about the men coming toward them.

  And he liked the looks of them even less when they arrived. Amanda had moved her horse so she was standing beside him. The lads backed away, then suddenly bolted. One of Lord Ledenham's men started after him but Ledenham called him back.

  That told Jake all he needed to know.

  He put his hand on Amanda's horse and waited for Lord Ledenham to make the first move. Ledenham looked at Amanda disdainfully.

  "So, Amanda my love, you have a peasant here to tidy up after your horse. He looks to be a sturdy one."

  "He's not a peasant," Amanda said calmly. "But it would take eyes far clearer than yours, Lord Ledenham, to see that."

  Jake studied the man in the very bauble-encrusted clothes and saw less a man than a snake, coiled and ready to strike. Montgomery and John's assessment of this one was not far off. He was dangerous. Amanda needed to be careful.

  Lord Ledenham waved a dismissive hand toward his men. "Take her. I'm finished negotiating with Artane. I need a bride and today seems as good a day as any to have one."

  Jake squatted down as if to duck out of the way of the men coming for Amanda, then grabbed two handfuls of eminently fresh, steaming horse dung and flung it upward and outward.

  While Ledenham's nearest guardsmen were swearing and brushing off their clothes, Jake slapped Amanda's horse on the rump. He managed to pull himself up behind her as the beast leaped forward.

  No small feat.

  Apparently desperation was a good teacher of horse skills.

  "Fly," he shouted, and they did.

  For himself, all he could do was hang on for the ride and hope that he'd neither misjudged their adversary or his own riding skills.

  "You're mad!" Amanda shouted over her shoulder.

  "Probably," he shouted back. "Sorry about your clothes."

  She laughed. He would have been glad she appreciated his sense of humor if he hadn't been concentrating so hard on just staying on the horse.

  And all the while, he braced himself for the feel of an arrow in his back.

  Amanda looked back over his shoulder. "Still there, but falling behind," she said, then urged her horse to greater speed.

  They overtook the boys a hundred yards outside the village. Jake bellowed for them to hurry, which they did, sending farm life and villagers scattering with equal dispatch.

  They thundered across the drawbridge and up the way to the inner bailey. Amanda shouted for the gate to be drawn up, but Jake suspected that wouldn't happen in time.

  What did happen, though, was that the portcullis slammed home with a resounding clang the moment the boys cleared it. Amanda's horse skidded to a stop in front of the stables. Jake slid off, then leaned over with his hands on his thighs, sucking in air. He saw Amanda dismount in much the same fashion. He straightened, then took her arm and pulled her toward the keep.

  "You can't stay out here," he said.

  "My father's guards can—"

  "I'm sure they're wonderful, but please go inside."

  She hesitated, then nodded with a sigh. "As you will," she said and walked away. She hadn't taken five steps, though, before she turned and looked at him.

  "You stayed."

  He smiled. "So I did."

  She stared at him silently for a moment or two, pursing her lips as if she considered what, if anything, she should say. Apparently, there was no good comment for a merchant who had promised to leave but was now going to be underfoot for an indeterminate amount of time. She merely looked at him again for a long moment, then turned and walked back to the house.

  Jake watched her go, noticed peripherally that the boys had taken the horses away, and then after dunking his hands in a horse trough and wiping them on his clothes, stood in the midst of Artane's courtyard and contemplated life and its mysteries.

  It took quite a bit of time, but left him no wiser.

  What in the hell was he going to do now?

  He rubbed his hands over his face and wished desperately for pockets. He thought so much better when he could shove his hands in his pockets and pace.

  So, lacking the proper clothing, he settled for clasping his hands behind his back and pacing in front of the stables.

  Unfortunately, it didn't provide him with any decent answers.

  The truth
, the unavoidable truth, was that he was stuck, and he had no idea how to unstick himself.

  He didn't bother wasting time bemoaning his fate. It was in his best interest to assume the best, to assume that there was a reason he was in medieval England, to assume that he had something to accomplish before he found an empty seat on that Paranormal Express back to the Future.

  What else could he do?

  The boys came out of the stable. Montgomery looked at Jake carefully.

  "You're staying?"

  Jake took a deep breath. "Yes."

  "Good," Montgomery said, fighting a grin. "I hoped you would."

  "Well, it's just for the moment," Jake said. "To keep Amanda safe until your brothers get home."

  "Then you will be here a while," John said. "Who knows when they will come? Miles is due any day and Nicholas, well, Nick's keep is in sorry shape, so 'tis possible he will be there for the remainder of the summer. Robin will come home when Anne's father irritates him overmuch. That could be any day."

  Or it could be in a month. And since Jake supposed he was going to be in medieval England for a while, he would have to do something about his lack of medieval skills. Skill with the sword could only be an asset in protecting Amanda. Maybe that was the whole point.

  He nodded to himself. Yes, it was entirely possible that that was the very reason he was staying. It was obvious that though the boys were certainly willing, they were not completely able to keep Amanda safe. And while his skills with his hands were certainly useful in certain situations, he was sorely lacking when it came to facing many men with swords.

  That could change.

  If he could just find the right teacher.

  He stood there for several moments, wondering where he might begin his search, when he was suddenly distracted by a commotion at the gates. He watched as the portcullis was raised a bit and a young man slithered underneath. He crawled to his feet, cursing furiously. He was quite rumpled and sweating profusely.

  " 'Tis Miles," Montgomery said joyously. "He's home!"