documenting his serviceable clothing, his body’s latent powerful stance, the calculating look that met hers when she came back to his eyes. “Yes, I can imagine you do.”
His eyes widened a bit and for the first time a tiny spark of awareness shot into their dark depths. Sexual awareness.
Whoa
, she thought, backpedaling quickly.
We won’t be going there again
. His mercenary skills apparently extended beyond kidnapping for his queen to … other things. Things she had little experience with and no business fooling around with. Not with him anyway.
She glanced away and caught her reflection in the pond. Baggy overalls, a T-shirt that was almost as old as she was, and Beatrice’s fishing bonnet. Oh, yeah, she was just a seduction waiting to happen. She smiled wryly.
“I’m glad I amuse you,” he said shortly. The spark—if it ever really existed—had died, replaced by the cool competence and impatience that were more typical of him.
She didn’t tell him she was amused at herself, not him. She liked him better when he was on the defensive. He was still cocky and arrogant as hell, but he seemed more human somehow.
“You said there would always be risks, whether I went with you or not. What did you mean? Does it have something to do with Jimmy?”
“There are those who would like nothing better than for Wales to—”
She lifted her hand. “Hold up. Wales?”
“Of course. One of Britain’s three kingdoms.”
“Countries, you mean. Wales, Scotland, and England. But they are united under one monarchy.”
He stared at her for a long moment, then said, “That changes.”
“Oh.” Talia wanted to ask him more, and at thesame time she didn’t want to hear another damn thing. Right now she had goose bumps on her goose bumps. He was pretty damn good at this “I’m from the future” thing and she wasn’t liking it.
“Lord Chamberlain, our High Parliamentarian, would like nothing better than for Llanfair to lose its ruler and heir to the throne in one tragic death.”
She stilled.
Llanfair?
In her mother’s fairy tales King Cynan’s castle was set in the magical land of Llanfair. She’d thought it had been all make-believe. She desperately wanted to keep believing that. Then something else he’d said struck her. “Ruler
and
heir?”
“Queen Catriona is pregnant with a son. The heir to the throne.”
Chapter 4
P regnant. Talia’s stomach tightened. She wanted to believe this was indeed some sort of elaborate fairy tale, a bizarre dream that she might still wake up from. But the idea that there was an unborn child at the center of it all made everything that much harder.
Archer didn’t let up. “If she dies, and the heir with her, it will make those difficulties she inherited from her father look like a simple ripple of disturbance.”
“Does she have enemies?” Why was she talking about this person as if she really existed? Only, technically she didn’t actually exist. Not yet. Not for some unnamed number of years in the future. Talia’s head began to throb.
“On the surface, things seem in line, but there is an undercurrent of corruption that I know to be fact. Chamberlain has organized his opposition well. They are simply waiting for word of her death to overthrow what would remain of the monarchy.”
“And you know all this firsthand? High-level access for a businessman, wouldn’t you say?”
He didn’t so much as twitch a muscle. “There are all sorts of commodities one can broker in. Information being one of them.” He held her gaze. “Baleweg, it appears, isn’t the only one who has masteredtime travel. Chamberlain had Dideon sent here to stop you from returning.”
This was the part that Talia had the hardest time explaining away. Archer and Baleweg could be two flakes or con artists who happened to know her mother and somehow knew about her make-believe tales. However, Jimmy’s threat and assault, and the fact that he knew Archer … that one was a bit harder.
His eyes widened a bit and for the first time a tiny spark of awareness shot into their dark depths. Sexual awareness.
Whoa
, she thought, backpedaling quickly.
We won’t be going there again
. His mercenary skills apparently extended beyond kidnapping for his queen to … other things. Things she had little experience with and no business fooling around with. Not with him anyway.
She glanced away and caught her reflection in the pond. Baggy overalls, a T-shirt that was almost as old as she was, and Beatrice’s fishing bonnet. Oh, yeah, she was just a seduction waiting to happen. She smiled wryly.
“I’m glad I amuse you,” he said shortly. The spark—if it ever really existed—had died, replaced by the cool competence and impatience that were more typical of him.
She didn’t tell him she was amused at herself, not him. She liked him better when he was on the defensive. He was still cocky and arrogant as hell, but he seemed more human somehow.
“You said there would always be risks, whether I went with you or not. What did you mean? Does it have something to do with Jimmy?”
“There are those who would like nothing better than for Wales to—”
She lifted her hand. “Hold up. Wales?”
“Of course. One of Britain’s three kingdoms.”
“Countries, you mean. Wales, Scotland, and England. But they are united under one monarchy.”
He stared at her for a long moment, then said, “That changes.”
“Oh.” Talia wanted to ask him more, and at thesame time she didn’t want to hear another damn thing. Right now she had goose bumps on her goose bumps. He was pretty damn good at this “I’m from the future” thing and she wasn’t liking it.
“Lord Chamberlain, our High Parliamentarian, would like nothing better than for Llanfair to lose its ruler and heir to the throne in one tragic death.”
She stilled.
Llanfair?
In her mother’s fairy tales King Cynan’s castle was set in the magical land of Llanfair. She’d thought it had been all make-believe. She desperately wanted to keep believing that. Then something else he’d said struck her. “Ruler
and
heir?”
“Queen Catriona is pregnant with a son. The heir to the throne.”
Chapter 4
P regnant. Talia’s stomach tightened. She wanted to believe this was indeed some sort of elaborate fairy tale, a bizarre dream that she might still wake up from. But the idea that there was an unborn child at the center of it all made everything that much harder.
Archer didn’t let up. “If she dies, and the heir with her, it will make those difficulties she inherited from her father look like a simple ripple of disturbance.”
“Does she have enemies?” Why was she talking about this person as if she really existed? Only, technically she didn’t actually exist. Not yet. Not for some unnamed number of years in the future. Talia’s head began to throb.
“On the surface, things seem in line, but there is an undercurrent of corruption that I know to be fact. Chamberlain has organized his opposition well. They are simply waiting for word of her death to overthrow what would remain of the monarchy.”
“And you know all this firsthand? High-level access for a businessman, wouldn’t you say?”
He didn’t so much as twitch a muscle. “There are all sorts of commodities one can broker in. Information being one of them.” He held her gaze. “Baleweg, it appears, isn’t the only one who has masteredtime travel. Chamberlain had Dideon sent here to stop you from returning.”
This was the part that Talia had the hardest time explaining away. Archer and Baleweg could be two flakes or con artists who happened to know her mother and somehow knew about her make-believe tales. However, Jimmy’s threat and assault, and the fact that he knew Archer … that one was a bit harder.
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