PORTRAIT OF LOVE

An artist with no palate for business, Margaret Masterson could create a world of excitement on
canvas, but her love life was as dull as flat paint. Then a carriage ride on a foggy night swept
her back to Regency London and the pictureperfect nobleman she!d always yearned for.
"reoccupied with marrying off his rebellious sister, Adam #oleridge had no leisure to find a wife
of his own. $et when fate dropped Maggie at his feet, the handsome earl was powerless to resist
the desire she roused in him. %ut with time fighting against them, Adam feared that not even a
masterpiece of love could keep Maggie from becoming nothing more than a passionate memory.
SWEET TEMPTATION
Adam lifted an eyebrow, an amused smile on his lips, daring Maggie to dive in. "You think I
don't enjoy romane! "hat perhaps there is no romane in my soul!"
"I'm sorry," she said #uikly, trying not to laugh this time. ' 'It's just you're so dramatially
different from anyone I've ever known. I'm just not used to the sort of, oh, formal way things are
here.'' $he aimed for an apologeti look but ouldn't #uite hide the twinkle in her eye.
"%o you like $hakespeare!" &e looked at her sharply.
'I do. (hat ould be more romanti than !a pair of starcrossed lovers&!'
$urprised, Adam nodded appreiation at the #uote. Maggie smiled smugly. "he first point to
her, and the game had barely begun.
Adam flipped open the book and paged through it, #uikly finding the passage he wanted.
'"...Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, who is already sik and pale with grief that thou
her maid art more fair than she....'"
Maggie studied his e)pressive fae, #uelling an impulse to run her hands through his already
tousled, thik blond hair. $he ould almost feel the silky te)ture of his ravat and yearned to pull
it free, releasing his throat to her aressing lips.
*or editorial purposes, if you enounter the word "hi" and the sentene doesn't make sense, replae it with "in"
*or e)ample, "it was hi the drawer" should read "it was in the drawer"
Also, if you enounter "di" in any part of a word and the sentene and word make no sense, replae it with "th"
*or e)ample, "diere were people diat dien went" should read "there were people that then went"
+ther possible replaements are "I" for "," or "-" or "." or "/" *or e)ample "- am going to the store" should read "I
am going to the store"
+ther possible replaements are "m" for "th" *or e)ample "that should be" for "mat should be"
$ometimes, you may see the word "trie" whih should be replaed by "the" *or e)ample "trie book" should read
"the book"
$ometimes, you'll see a apital 0 for double ll's *or e)ample "she'0 go ne)t time" should read "she'll go ne)t time"
Sometimes, you'll see an "m" all by itself which should read as "in" For example "it was m the store"
should read "it was in the store
Sometimes, you'll see the word "tune" when it should read "time" For example: "it was the right tune to
see him" should read "it was the right time to see him"
I also notice many words ending in tl are being replaced by d. e.g. silendy, gende, impatiendy, gendy,
shordy, discreedy, flady and others should be silently, gently, impatiently, gently, shortly, discreetly, flatly,
etc.
Also, certain other words with tl are being replaced by de e.g. setde, batde should be settle, battle
In addition, you may sometimes see m or Fm which should be I'm !"
ll Fll which should be I'll !"
#e F#e which should be I'#e
$!SSI%&' '""!": "(il should read as I'll
Some words ha#e )( instead of )h**+++)(iite, )(ien should read as )hite, )hen
$!SSI%&' '""!": ",bu should be "-ou
$!SSI%&' '""!": at the end of paragraphs or sentences, if the last word has a . at
the end, then e.g. (hat is it. should read (hat is it/
0nfortunately, it's impossible for me to go through every sentene, so I'll leave it for you to figure out if you run in
to them.
,bu0 -ou
littie0little
ghdy0ghtly
setde0settle
Love Spell
Copyright 1995
Prologue
May (), (**+
"he swans glided silently by the daffodils, the regal bearing of the birds a omplementary
ontrast to the sunny flowers nodding enthusiastially in the bree1e. It was a sene to delight an
impressionist.. . Monet or 2enoir. A setting buoli and serene.
""oo damn serene, if you ask me," Maggie Masterson muttered under her breath, and
surveyed her surroundings through narrowed eyes hidden by dark glasses. $he slumped lower on
the wood3slatted garden benh and losed her eyes against the tran#uil sight.
,ing-
An arrow flashed by her cheek.
,ing- ,ing-
A flurry of arrows shrieked past her, scattering the
--
Victoria Alexander
hapless swans. Tourists screamed and scrambled in their panicked efforts to escape the sudden
onslaught. Maggie bolted upright and whirled to face the scene behind her.
An army of archers advanced from the dark shelter of the trees, the sea of bodies broken only
by men on horseback clad in shining armor. Maggie clambered to stand on the bench and boldly
faced the oncoming hordes.
.rom nowhere, an ebony stallion charged, reared, and pawed the air. /unlight glinted off the
silvered armor of the knight astride the magnificent beast. /he shielded her eyes against the
glare. A crimson plume thrust 0auntily above his helmet was bent double from the force of the
wind of his charge. The black steed thundered toward her, halting mere inches from where she
stood. Maggie refused to so much as flinch.
The knight tore his helmet from his head and flung it to the ground. 1is tousled blond hair fell
in 0oyous abandon around a strong, bron2ed face. Mahogany eyes gleamed above a roguish
smile.
'Lady Margaret, it has been a long time.'
/he raised a curt brow. '3ndeed it has, /ir #edric.'
1e 4uirked an amused brow. '1ave you been waiting long&'
'"ractically forever.' /he crossed her arms over her chest. '5hat kept you&'
1e shrugged as best he could in the rigid armor. '6h, this and that. /laying dragons, rescuing
damsels, and of course there were iiie #rusades.'
'6f course.' /he nodded, mollified by his response. '5ell, at least you!re here now.' /he
reached her arms out to him. 5ith one poweiful motion he swept her
12
$esterday 7 .orever
up and set her before him on the charger. '#edric-' /he shivered. '$our armor!s so cold-'
1is eyes twinkled down at her. '3ndeed, my lady, but beneath this frigid steel beats a heart
aflame with desire for you.'
'6h, good line, #edric.' /he gave him an admiring glance.
'Thank you,' he said modestly.
Maggie snuggled closer to the unyielding armor, hard and cold beneath her head. /he shifted
with discomfort. 1er head slipped lower. Abruptly, she 0erked upright.
444444444444444444
"he swans floated undisturbed, their surroundings still plaid and peaeful. Maggie brushed
her dark hair away from her fae and sighed. "hat was some daydream, omplete with a knight
in shining armor, no less. $he'd never had a fantasy like that before. &er lips urled in a rueful
grin. 5ut $ir 6edri was definitely something to dream about.
$he gathered up the assorted traveling paraphernalia that had fallen out of her tote bag and
hoisted herself to her feet. &er ga1e fell one again on the innoent swans and she studied the
birds thoughtfully. (hy did the beautiful reatures irritate her so muh! "hey were ompletely
inoffensive, harming no one, simply drifting with whatever urrent ame along. . . .
"hat was it, she reali1ed with a mental snap of her fingers. "he birds simply drifted aimlessly,
with no purpose. 7)atly how her sister, 8iki, desribed Maggie when she'd insisted her younger
sibling aompany her to 9ondon.
13
:itoria Ale)ander
8iki. ;etite, pretty, and damn near perfet, she was a free3lane photographer with an
international reputation and little patiene for a sister with no partiular diretion in life and no
apparent ambition to hange.
"6ome on, Maggs," 8iki had said a short month ago. "You don't have any real fous in your
life. You're twenty3si), and you still don't know what you want to do when you grow up. "ake
that job of yours. I thought it was going to be temporary."
"It was." Maggie shrugged. "5ut it kind of grew on me."
"I'll say. You've been doing it now for three years. Maggs, you majored in art. You have a real
gift for oils and waterolor. You're wasting all that talent in a job designing labels for anned
fruit."
"I<ll have you know it takes a lot of skill to make slied peahes look good enough to eat,"
Maggie said in halfhearted defense. $he grinned sheepishly at her sister's onerned e)pression.
"Maybe I'm just not ut out for a areer. Maybe I just want to find Mr. 2ight and be a stay3at3
home wife and mother."
8iki sighed. "*ine. (hatever makes you happy. Anything would be better than nothing. You're
just="
"I know, I know," Maggie said. "%rifting, I'm just drifting. I appreiate the onern, really I do,
but - have to run my own life." $he threw up her hands helplessly. "7ven if I'm not e)atly sure
how."
8iki shook her head in a vague gesture of resignation. "(ell, at least ome with me to 9ondon.
You an get away and do some serious thinking. (e'll spend two weeks there, then I have a job a
few hours
14
$esterday 7 .orever
away. (e an stay together or split up. (hat do you say!
Maggie knew from the beginning she didn't have a hoie. If 8iki wanted her to go to 9ondon,
she'd surely be on the ne)t plane. "heir relationship was that simple. 8iki had been mother and
father to her sine their parents died in a ar aident ten years ago.
$till, it annoyed her that her sister, a mere si) years older, insisted on ontrolling her life. 5ut
Maggie loved her too muh to put up more than a token fight and hated to let her down. $he
suspeted the way she lived her life did just that. (orst of all, 8iki was right. Maggie knew it
long before her sister made it an issue.
Maggie kiked the pebbles at the water's edge. All her life she'd sensed something missing. 5ut
what! "hat was the big #uestion. (hat did she want! A home and family! A solid areer!
$uess! 9ove! Maggie had never even hampioned a ause. A heavy sigh slid from her heart
and esaped through her lips. $he just didn't know> she only hoped she'd reogni1e it when she
found it. (hatever "it" turned out to be.
"Maggie." 8iki's voie intruded on her soul3searhing. Maggie turned toward the tiny,
energeti blonde approahing at full speed. "I've seen enough botanial gardens for one day.
&ow about you!"
"+h yeah. I've pretty muh had my fill."
8iki grinned at the sarasm in Maggie's tone. "?reat. (e've got to get going if we want to
ath the ne)t train bak to 9ondon. If we don't make it, we'll lose our dinner reservations."
15
:itoria Ale)ander
"2eservations." Maggie groaned. "6an't we just get takeout pi11a or something! I'm beat,
e)hausted, ready to drop. (hy an't we do something that re#uires less effort than a restaurant!
I'm not even hungry." $he turned her best give3me3mery e)pression to her lively sister.
8iki ignored the familiar look and propelled Maggie to the garden's main gate. "&as your big
sister worn you out!"
"Yes, yes, - give up."
"$orry, sweetie, I promised some friends we'd meet them. After dinner, you an go right bak
to the hotel and ollapse. I promise. 5ut right now get your rear in gear and get going. I don't
want to miss that train."
"?reat." Maggie heaved a heartfelt sigh and dragged after her sister.
444444444444444444
Maggie had to admit, one again, 8iki was right. "he food was wonderful and the restaurant
had the kind of atmosphere and old3world harm you ould have featured on a postard. 7ven
8iki's sophistiated friends were fun. $till, Maggie passed on plans to sample 9ondon's nightlife
in favor of returning to her hotel room and bed.
+utside the restaurant, she glaned up and down the #uiet, almost residential street. If the
restaurant was the epitome of 9ondon, so, too, was this night. Mist swirled around her ankles in
damp louds. Mysterious, romanti, and more than a little lonely.
"@ever a ab around when you need one," she said with resignation.
"5eggin' your pardon, miss." A #uiet, srathy
16
$esterday 7 .orever
voie intruded on her thoughts. $tartled, Maggie swiveled around. A horse and anti#ue arriage
was parked on the street nearly beside her.
"(here the hell did that ome from!" $he ould have sworn the arriage wasn't there a minute
ago.
"$orry if<n I startled you, miss." "he owner of the voie was poised on a leather3overed benh
high behind the horse, looking muh as he soundedA elderly, wi1ened, and tiny, more gnome than
man. Maggie shook her head at the faniful idea. 5ut what better addition to a foggy night in
9ondon than an anient, slightly mystial old man who looked as if he possessed the wisdom of
the ages!
""hat's okay, I just didn't see you. I must be more tired than I thought. &ave you been here
long!"
"A long time, miss, a very long time. "his be my route, ye see. And you're lookin' like ye need
a ride." @imbly, the gnome jumped from his perh, landing lightly by Maggie's side. Minusule
and weathered, he seemed more like a wooden arving than a living, breathing being.
:ivid blue eyes guarded by bushy, white eyebrows surfaed amid a sea of leathered wrinkles,
all rowned by a wreath of snowy urls. &is lothes were old3fashioned and well worn, pants
sewn from some kind of homespun material, shirt loose and flowing, overed by a soft leather
vest. "o Maggie's not so ritial eye he looked authenti, although she had no idea what period of
5ritish history he was made up for. &istory never was one of her strong suits.
"I was looking for a ab. I want to go bak to my hotel." -,
:itoria Ale)ander
"@eed a rest, do ye! Ain't nothin' more restful than a ride in me arriage." "he gnome offered
his hand in a gallant gesture.
Maggie hesitated a moment. "(hy not!" $he smiled, aepting his warm and surprisingly
steady hand. "After all, I'm in 9ondon. It's a $herlok &olmes kind of night. I might as well take
advantage of it and get the full effet."
"he gnome helped her step into the arriage. $he snuggled into the worn, tufted seats, the
sharp smell of leather and the pungent sent of horse tikling her nose.
"5esides," she said as the gnome limbed up to his post in front of her, "you just don't know
when a hane like this will ome your way again, do you!"
"@o, miss." &e liked his tongue. "he horse priked up his ears and the arriage started off.
"Ye never know with hanes and hoies." &e paused as if onsidering his words. "I hear folks
say destiny is a matter o' hoie, not hane. 5ut mebee it's a little bit o8 both. Ye never know
what might be ahead when ye hit a fork in the road. "ake the safe hoie and mebee ye'd be
passin' up somethin' speial, somethin' ye ain't name, but somethin' ye know is missin'. "hen
mebee that's the time to take a hane. "ake a path ye wouldn't take otherwise and mebee, just
mebee, that's destiny. 5ut ye see," he said with a hukle, "I'm jist talkin' about a arriage ride, o'
ourse."
"+f ourse." &is words mulled though her mind and the setting spurred her imaginationA the
soupy 9ondon night, a arriage ride, and an ageless philosopher.
1
$esterday 7 .orever
$omething was definitely missing in her life, and this gnome spoke about that very thing.
(eird. 5ut more than likely his speeh was a standard spiel to enthrall unsuspeting tourists.
$till ... it was a little spooky, and a little thrilling, and more than enough to make Maggie glad
she hadn't passed up this partiular fork.
$he smiled and rela)ed against the arnage seat. "he fog drifted loser, deeper, a blanket
around her. "he arriage rattled slowly through the shrouded streets, the moist, heavy loud
growing thiker, growing loser.
Maggie frowned, a twinge of unease trikling through her. "Is the weather getting worse! Is it
always this bad!"
"It's typial, miss, jist typial. It's always like this . . . every time. ..."
&is voie faded in the mist, his soothing tones reassuring. "he gentle roking of the arriage
lulled her, and her eyes slipped losed. (ithout warning, a sudden jerk brought her fully to her
senses.
"(hat's going on!" &ad they been hit by a ar! ;ani gripped her stomah and she tried to pull
herself to her feet. $he sreamed but ouldn't hear the sound of her own voie. A rushing roar,
like an approahing train, filled her ears. (asn't that the same kind of noise tornado vitims
reported hearing! (as this some kind of freak storm! An aident! $he ould see nothing
through the white, swirling louds.
A jarring wrenh tossed her off balane and propelled Maggie helplessly through the air. $he
barreled into a firm, solid objet. "he sharp impat
-B
:itoria Ale)ander
knoked her breath away. &er head smaked a hard surfae. $earing pain ripped a sream from
her throat. "hen . .. nothing.
Chapter One
April (), (9(9
Adam 6oleridge, $eventh 7arl of 2idgefield, struggled to ontain his anger and pressed deeper
into the plush velvet seat of his haise oah. &e steadily massaged a painfully throbbing spot
just above his left temple. &is right hand lay lenhed in a fist in his lap. "hrough narrowed eyes
he glared at the soure of his pain.
"he lovely blonde oupying the seat opposite him was a piture of omposure and self3
onfidene. +nly her hands, twisting the ties of her retiule, betrayed the fat that 9ady 9ydia
6oleridge was not as assured as she seemed. Adam's ga1e never left his sister's fae. &e took
perverse pleasure in athing those moments when she would forget her perusal of the fog3
shrouded, passing senery and steal a glane at him from beneath lowered lashes.
C-
:itoria Ale)ander
"%id you have a good time, 9ydia!" he said through tightly lenhed teeth.
"+h my, yes, Adam." 9ydia laughed. "It was lovely. $uh a rush."
"(ould you are to e)plain to me just what you thought you were doing tonight!"
"(hy, Adam." $he avoided his eyes, her tone suspiiously innoent. "(hatever do you
mean!"
"%on't play that game with me." Adam leaned forward, his fae looming within inhes of hers,
foring her to look at him. ""hat game of pretending there's absolutely nothing wrong with
flouting onvention, leaving sandal and disruption in your wake. And tonight I find you
e)posing your lower leg in front of some of the most disreputable rakes in 9ondon."
"It was a wager." $he sighed in obvious antiipation of his response.
"You were betting! ?ood lord." &e groaned and sank bak in his seat. "I am almost afraid to
ask. (hat kind of a wager!"
"+h . . ." 7yes downast, she struggled diligently with her now tangled retiule strings. "It had
something to do with the shape of a horse's leg and its speed. It doesn't signify."
"And were you planning to run a rae as well!"
";ossibly." $he shrugged, returning her attention to the passing senery.
"9ydia." &e groaned again, the pain in his temple now throbbing at a furious pae. "It's not bad
enough that sine your oming3out I've aught you dressing as a boy to sneak into plaes where
deent women, or any women for that matter, are not permitted> you've dampened your dresses
in a shoking display
22
$esterday 7 .orever
of indeeny, run off to ?retna ?reen="
"Dust that one," she said under her breath.
"+ne is enough, I should think."
"My dear brother." 9ydia finally raised her ga1e to his. "I had no intention of atually marrying
6onnor. It was a lark. At any rate, you aught us before we were sarely gone more than a few
hours."
""hat is beside the point. You do not seem to understand you are destroying any hane at a
good marriage. As muh as - have tried to divert any breath of sandal, there is still talk.
"9ydia." &e drew a steadying breath in an effort to ahieve a almer and ompletely rational
tone. "I want only your happiness. (hen *ather died it fell to me to look after you. I have done
my best, but you have thwarted me at every turn. You have turned down any number of
respetable mathes."
"Most men are interested primarily in my fortune, followed by my fae." $he shrugged. "I
e)pet more of the man I wed."
Adam ignored her. "You are three and twenty now, pratially on the shelf."
""hank you for notiing, dear brother." &er words dripped with sarasm.
Adam sighed again. "I don't mean to offend, but your behavior is intolerable. I admit, I am
partly to blame. I have let you have your way far too often. &owever, if things do not hange . .."
&e paused. "I shall be fored to do something we will both regret."
"(hat!"
"I shall be fored to make a suitable marriage arrangement for you." &e addressed her in a
formal, lofty tone. "0nder the terms of *ather's will, I am
23
:itoria Ale)ander
your guardian and have suh authority until you reah the age of thirty."
*or one stunned moment, 9ydia stared, obviously aghast> then she abruptly burst into peals of
laughter. "+h, fustian, brother. You would never make me wed a man I do not want or love.
Yours is an idle threat. And I do not know if marriage is what I want."
&er voie grew thoughtful. "I'm well aware that I have reahed an age where most women are
already long wed and produing a brood of hildren. And while that is not unappealing, perhaps
it's simply not meant to be."
"@o, 9ydia." Adam's voie was firm. ""o make a good math is your duty and responsibility. I
have made my deision." &e ignored a twinge of onsiene. "If you do not selet a proper
husband, I shall hoose one for you. You have one month."
9ydia's eyes widened with disbelief. "+h, Adam, you wouldn't."
"I would and I will, my dear. "here are several eligible parties who have spoken to me about
you in the past. I'm sure one of them an be brought up to srath." @oting her genuine dismay,
his tone softened. "It's not my wish to see you unhappy, but you leave me no other option. I am
sure whomever I selet will be someone you an share your life with, and in time, even grow to
love."
"Adam, I will not allow this." 9ydia's eyes flashed. "You annot fore me into marriage against
my will."
"@o." &e onsidered his words and braed himself for the effet they would have on her.
"You're right. (hat I an do is move you to one of the ountry estates and plae you on limited
funds. (ith your
24
$esterday 7 .orever
penhant for shopping and your love of soial engagements I imagine it would not be nearly so
pleasant a life as the one I propose3 &owever, it is entirely up to you."
"You give me little hoie, brother." Anger and resentment thikened her voie. 9ydia glared
and snapped her head away, staring blankly at the vague shadows outside the window, hands
lenhed tight in her lap.
Adam eyed her autiously. "he journey home ontinued in silene. &e had not e)peted to feel
#uite so muh like an overbearing, unreasonable ad, but he believed his deision was in 9ydia's
best interest. &e had to do what was neessary to seure her future. In Adam's mind, he had as
little hoie as the one he just gave his sister.
2eassured somewhat by her silent demeanor, Adam losed his eyes and noted the pain in his
head had eased. "he unpleasant duty attended to, he rela)ed and suumbed to a newfound sense
of peae and satisfation. ;erhaps he would give her more than a month to settle on a husband.
&e ould afford to be graious. &e had won the battle and vitory in the war loomed ahead. @ot
until they arrived at their ?rosvenor $#uare home did 9ydia speak again. $he desended the
arriage and turned toward her brother.
"You say I have a month." &er voie rang ool and ontrolled. "And I must find a husband to
meet your re#uirements!"
"Yes . , ." &e autiously drew the single syllable out. &e noted the look in her eye and the
sense of vitory and peae he'd relished so briefly faded.
25
:itoria Ale)ander
"(ell then, my love, I will aept your hallenge."
;eae and vitory vanished altogether.
"It isn't a hallenge. It isn't some game, some foolish wager. I am ompletely serious."
"$o am I, dear brother." $he looked him s#uarely in the eyes. "$o am I." 9ydia turned on her
heel and marhed toward the steps.
"5loody hell." Adam groaned under his breath and walked after her, the throbbing in his head
returning in full fore.
;reoupied with the latest twist in his #uest to assure his sister's happiness, Adam barely
notied the sounds of an approahing oah. &e glaned absently at the shrouded streets but saw
nothing beyond the glowing halo ast by the gaslight. %ismissing the distant latter as a figment
of the night, he turned his attention bak to his sister. "wo steps later, the sound of the oah
grew louder, sharper, the unmistakable noise of a arriage out of ontrol.
"9ydia, look out." Adam lunged toward his sister, shoving her out of harm's way. A bare
seond later an objet smaked into him at full speed. &e staggered with the impat.
"Adam, are you hurt!" 9ydia said, her voie rising with onern.
"Yes, but what="
"?ood ?od, Adam." 9ydia gasped. "It's a woman."
Adam knelt by the rumpled figure at his feet, illuminated by the dim light of the street lamp.
Although dressed in outrageous lothes, it was indeed a woman.
A lovely woman.
26
$esterday 7 .orever
Adam noted the fragile urve of her hin, the pale, nearly transluent skin under a dusting of
powder, a slight blush on her heek. 2elieved to find she breathed, Adam gathered the
unonsious woman into his arms, strode up the steps and into the house.
"$end for a physiian." &e barked ommands to the servants lustered uriously at the
doorway. 6arrying her up the broad marble stairway took little effort. 9ight, tiny, deliate, she fit
naturally into his arms. &e shifted her weight, drawing her tighter into his embrae. A spiy
fragrane wafted around her. &er hair, more red than brown, reahed to her shoulders and
brushed his fae with every step. A gold filigree heart on a slender hain nestled in the hollow at
the base of her throat. Mathing bobs dangled from her ears. "hik lashes left dark smudges
where they rested on her heeks. *ull, wine3red lips parted slightly with eah breath. A thought
ame to him unbidden. (ould the olor rub off if he pressed his lips to hers, let her breath
mingle with his own!
Adam laid his burden gently on the bed in the nearest vaant hamber, surprisingly relutant to
release her. &e paused by her bedside, momentarily mesmeri1ed by the rise and fall of full, ripe
breasts barely onealed under a sandalously thin yellow garment. +ver that, she wore what
appeared to be a type of man's leather oat. *lung open, the oat revealed a figure tapering
sedutively from firm breasts to small waist, the undergarment tuked into heavy blue otton
trousers. Adam's ga1e lingered appreiatively on the swell of her hip, the urves and valleys
displayed by the lose ut of the odd breehes. &e fought a momentary impulse to reah his hand
out
2!
:itoria Ale)ander
and run it down the sleek length of her shapely leg. %esire for this stranger surged through him.
Abruptly Adam stepped away, a pu11led frown furrowing his brow. (hat was he doing! &e
was not given to the sedution of helpless women. &e e)amined his feelings objetively. (hy
this immediate attration, this shoking, almost irresistible pull to a omplete stranger! "o a
woman he'd never met and not yet spoken to! @ot normally an impulsive man, he, in fat, prided
himself on keeping his emotions loked firmly under ontrol. 7)ept, of ourse, where his sister
was onerned. And now this bit of baggage as well.
&is ga1e aressed her, the mahogany urls fanning aross the pillow, the delightful figure
deliiously displayed in the sandalous lothing . . . the shoes.
"(hat manner of footwear are these!" &e leaned over the bed for a loser look. (ith a
tentative finger, he poked the odd3looking soles, the letters @3I3837 embla1oned on the side.
A servant alled from the doorway, interrupting Adam's e)amination. "Milord, the dotor is on
his way."
"7)ellent, (ilson." &e turned to the butler. "&ave her hanged into more appropriate attire,
perhaps one of 9ydia's night rails, and bring her lothes to me in the library. 5e #uik about it. I
would prefer not to have to deal with a dotor's #uestions. I have enough of my own." (ith one
last, speulative glane at the bed, he strode from the room.
444444444444444444
Adam threw open the doors of the library. 9ydia perhed on the edge of the desk studying
some kind of large, leather pouh.
2
$esterday 7 .orever
"Adam, look, I found this outside, ne)t to the woman. I believe it must be hers."
"+dd3looking thing for a woman to arry." &e aepted it from his sister's outstrethed hands.
";erhaps it will give us some lue as to who she is and where she's from." &e emptied the
ontents on the desk, spreading the unfamiliar objets over the surfae.
"?ood lord." &e gasped. "(hat kind of hoa) is this!"
9ydia stared uriously at the display. "(hat are these things!"
"I have no idea." Adam piked up a leather wallet and, peering inside, pulled out several notes.
It appeared to be some kind of urreny but it was smaller than anything he'd seen before, the
monarh pitured on the bill unknown. &e withdrew several ards, somewhat larger than alling
ards, made of a hard, thin, smooth, shiny board. All had raised numbers and one had the letters
:3I3$3A.
&e handed the ards to 9ydia. "(hat do you make of these!"
&er pretty forehead furrowed in a thoughtful frown. "6alling ards, do you think!"
"I rather doubt it. 5ut what purpose they might have esapes me."
Adam arranged them arefully on the desk and ne)t seleted a small blue book. :ery thin, with
a silver oat of arms featuring an eagle and the words "assport and :nited /tates of America.
+pening it, he found the name Margaret Melissa Masterson, and a likeness of the woman
upstairs.
"A very good likeness." &e showed it to 9ydia. "An
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:itoria Ale)ander
e)ellent artist's work, very lifelike."
Almost too lifelike.
"I would assume this is her name. &ere. Margaret Melissa Masterson. And here it says birth
date." &e tapped a finger on the line and frowned. "5ut this annot be aurate. It says="
"Danuary -C, -BEB." 9ydia gasped and turned astonished eyes toward her brother. "6an this be
true!"
"+f ourse not. It must be some kind of ruse. Although to what purpose I annot fathom." &e
surveyed the hodgepodge of items on the desk with a wary eye. ";erhaps you should retire and I
will deal with all this."
9ydia's eyes flashed with indignation. "I most ertainly will not. "his is fasinating. 7ven if it
is a hoa) it is obviously #uite well done. I refuse to go to bed until you and I, together, get to the
bottom of it all."
"*ine." 2esigned to the inevitable, he piked up a blak bo), roughly the si1e and shape of a
small brik. (ords were printed on it here and there, but there was little that made any sense.
9ydia pointed to printing on the bo). "I know that's spelled inorretly but ould it be annon!
6ould this be some kind of firearm or weapon!"
"I hardly think so." Adam turned the thing over, inspeting eah side. "&owever, it would be
wise to set this aside for now."
$ome items sattered on the desk were easily identifiedA a pair of dark glasses, sketh pads,
and peuliar, although reogni1able, writing instruments. "here were two maga1ines, one
entitled Time, the other #osmopolitan.
3"
$esterday 7 .orever
9ydia stared, transfi)ed by the over of the maga1ine she held. "5loody hell."
"9ydia." Adam snathed the periodial from her hands. "?ood 9ord."
It was his turn to be shoked. "he over featured the likeness of a woman dressed, or rather
undressed, in the most revealing of ostumes. @ekline plunging to navel, fabri linging like a
seond skin, one leg e)posed nearly to the hip.
"I believe I shall need some time to study this." Adam flipped through the pages #uikly and
shot his sister a pointed glane. "I don't think this is the proper sort of thing for you to look at,
however."
"%on't be stuffy, Adam. It's obviously a maga1ine for women."
$he snathed the publiation from him and pointed to the over. 9ydia ast a smug look at her
brother. "2ight here it says "&ow to 6ath Mr. 2ight in the @ineties." "he phrasing is odd but
there's no doubt as to its meaning, and that is definitely a subjet for females."
&e retrieved the maga1ine one again. "@onetheless, respet my wishes and leave this alone."
7ven as the words left his lips he knew his sister would get her hands on the journal as soon as
he turned his bak. &e made a mental note to remember to store it in a safe plae.
&e paged through the seond maga1ine and set it aside for further review later. Adam
marveled at the glossy overs, the vivid, lifelike images. 5oth maga1ines were dated May -BBF.
(hile the periodials were at least easily identifiable, other items were #uite frankly
ama1ing.
31
:itoria Ale)ander
strething the boundaries of imagination and belief. "hey disovered a small, thin, retangular
bo) with raised s#uare buttons, eah marked with a number. (hen pressed, the numbers
appeared in a type of window on the bo). Adam played with the devie, and finally determined it
was intended to do mathematial alulations.
"2emarkable." Adam vowed privately to investigate more thoroughly later.
9ydia, too, found some of the bag's treasures delightful. $he unfolded a loth pouh and ried
out with glee.
"6osmetis. +h, do look, Adam. It simply an't be anything else." $he seleted a small, flat
bo) with a transparent over and fliked it open. "It's rouge, I'm sure of it. And look, it has its
own brush. &ow wonderfully onvenient."
$he e)amined eah objet in turn, deiding the tubes of olored wa) were probably for lips,
the bottle of flesh3olored li#uid and mathing powder for skin. $he toyed with a metalli tube,
finally unsrewing it and withdrawing a wand with a irular brush at its tip. "I wonder what this
is for! It looks terribly interesting."
";ut it bak, 9ydia."
$he wrinkled her nose in a petulant e)pression and replaed the osmetis in the pouh.
(hile the items on the desk were fasinating, no less intriguing were the woman's lothes.
(ilson brought them to the library shortly before the dotor ame and went. "heir guest would
be fine, the dotor announed. $he had a slight bump on the head and should be allowed to rest
as long as possible.
32
$esterday 7 .orever
9ydia fingered the yellow undergarment. Adam inspeted the blue trousers.
"&er garments are definitely odd but well made and of good #uality," he said, e)amining the
seams. "7)ellent work here. 9ydia, have you ever seen anything like this!" &e showed her the
trousers' fastenings. 2ows of tiny metal teeth loked together with the passage of a small pull.
Adam yanked and found it e)traordinarily tight.
&e shook his head. "0nbelievable."
"Adam, don't you think this is, well, some kind of orset!" 9ydia held a sheer, white, upped
strip of material in front of her.
"I think that is obvious, my dear. And I think you know it."
9ydia had the good grae to blush and avoid her brother's ga1e. $he plaed the orset bak on
the desk and reahed for the ne)t garment, so sheer it was transparent and resembling stokings
strething from toe to waist, all in one piee.
"+h, Adam." $he sighed with envy. "Isn't this lovely! It's obviously some type of stokings but
so very deliate."
":ery nie." &e mumbled absently and onentrated on the urious shoes, made of fabri and a
material hard yet fle)ible. @ot leather, nothing Adam had ever seen. "hese, too, he set aside for
more intense perusal later.
Muh of what they e)amined was uni#ue, even remarkable, but Adam was not prepared for the
ontents of a yellow envelope bearing the words .A/T "16T6, );hour processing. &e
unfolded the paket and pulled out a stak of thin, glossy papers.
33
:itoria Ale)ander
"?ood lord." &is gasp drew 9ydia #uikly to his side. "hey stared at the papers, seeing
likenesses so realisti they ould sare be alled paintings. 5ut what on earth were they!
"%o look, Adam," 9ydia ried, wathing her brother flip through the papers. "&ere's the "ower
of 9ondon. And this one is the 5ritish Museum. And here=" &er voie rang with reognition.
"Yes, yes, (estminster Abbey." Adam shook with e)itement. ""his is inredible. (hat
auray, what ama1ing detail. "hey annot be mere paintings." "he stak totaled GE, eah
depiting a different 9ondon sene, some familiar, others ompletely unknown.
"Adam!" 9ydia pointed to one likeness. "Isn't that the woman upstairs! And here, and here,
too!" $he rifled through the papers.
"I believe so. And look, in several others there is the image of another woman."
"(hat on earth do you think these things all over the streets are!"
"I don't know." Adam s#uinted, trying to get a better look. ""hey appear to be some kind of
vehiles. 5ut isn't this odd! I haven't seen a horse in any of these street senes. (hy are there no
horses!"
&e wondered about more than that. 7ven when he reogni1ed a partiular building or a ertain
street, it appeared muh different from what he was austomed to seeing. (ires hung
everywhere. 9amps and signs appeared strange and unfamiliar. "he depitions seemed to be
9ondon, but a 9ondon somehow hanged.
5rother and sister stood side by side, ontemplating the items arrayed on the desk before them.
34
$esterday 7 .orever
"(hat does it all mean, Adam!" 9ydia said #uietly.
&e ran a hand aross weary eyes and sighed deeply. "I don't know. I wish I did."
"It's almost as though=" 9ydia turned wide eyes to her brother. "As if she omes from another
plae. @ot just Ameria, but somewhere else altogether, somewhere muh farther. Almost
from ... a ompletely different world."
444444444444444444
&ours later, Adam stood outside the guest hamber door. 9ydia retired some time earlier but
too many thoughts hurned through his head for sleep> too many unanswered #uestions
remained. &e hesitated a moment, then gripped the knob and stepped into the room.
$ilver moonlight filtered through the window. 6urtains billowed gently. A soft moan drew him
to the bed. &e approahed silently and leaned above the woman, lose enough to make out her
fae in the sant light, light refleted in the neklae and ear bobs she still wore.
"(ho are you, Margaret Melissa Masterson! (here do you ome from!" An intensity
underlaid his soft whisper.
As if in response, she moaned again and tossed on the bed, inoherent words mi)ed with sobs.
&e bent loser, straining to understand.
"@o . . . 8iki . . . where are you . . . no." &er thrashing inreased. Adam reahed out to alm
her. $he struggled and he stared into open, unseeing eyes. &is strong arms enfolded her, pulling
her lose. Adam groaned, autely aware of the feel of her breasts pressing against his hest
through the thin
35
:itoria Ale)ander
fabri of her gown. %esire overwhelmed him. &e tilted bak her hin and brushed his lips lightly
against hers. "he tension eased from her body. $lowly, relutantly, Adam pulled away. $he lay
limp in his arms, her eyes losed one again.
$o muh for not seduing helpless females.
"he lak of self3ontrol annoyed him, and Adam laid her gently bak on the bed. %rawing the
bedlothes around her, he spied an odd3looking braelet on her left wrist. 6urious, he piked up
her hand and arefully slipped the braelet off her arm. "he wide gold band had an attahed glass
ase. Inside the numbers -CAHH flashed.
"&ow very odd," he said. "It ould be some type of wath or lok but there are no hands, no
numbers, not even a fae. $till, it appears to be a kind of timepiee. A devie to trak time
perhaps. "ime . .." Adam's voie trailed off and he stared at the now serene figure on the bed.
"+f ourse, that's it." "he piees of the pu11le liked neatly into plae. ""hat's the answer."
(ith a last #uik glane at the bed, he turned and raed bak to the library.
&e searhed impatiently among the items on the desk and muttered to himself, "(here was
that! I know I saw something here."
&e sattered the pile of shiny ards until he found the one he had notied earlier but put off
e)amining in the wake of so many other fasinating disoveries. A small, stiff ard with some
type of transparent material enasing it, it had the words <river!s License at the top and another
one of those remarkable likenesses. "his one, too, was of the woman upstairs.
36
$esterday 7 .orever
"(here is it! &ere." he sei1ed the ard triumphantly and laid it on a leared spot on the desk.
"And this." &e grabbed the blue book marked "assport and plaed it ne)t to the ard. "And
these." &e snathed up the maga1ines and added them to the arrangement.
&is ga1e flew from one to the ne)t to the ne)t> he ould sarely believe his eyes. +n the ard
marked <river!s License the birth date was Danuary -C, -BEB. +n the passport booklet, the birth
date was the same, Danuary -C, -BEB. And the maga1ines bore the date May -BBF. 5ut of ourse
they would. $he wouldn't be reading periodials written when she was born.
"5loody hell."
$tunned, Adam stared at the evidene before him. "oo fantasti to believe, yet too logial to
deny. "he answer to the #uestions raised by the images too lifelike to be paintings, the unreal
#uality of the maga1ines, the mathematial devie, the lothes, and those blasted shoes.
"?ood lord." Adam gripped the edge of the desk. "6an it be! Is this possible! Is she not
merely from another plae! Is she from . . . another time!"
444444444444444444
Morning ame and went before 9ydia made her way bak to the library. $he slipped through
the doors and silently observed her brother. Adam sat behind the desk, oblivious to everything
but the maga1ine in front of him. &e appeared rumpled, disheveled, as though he'd spent the
night in his lothes. $urprising for a man who prided himself on his appearane almost as muh
as he did his skill
3!
:itoria Ale)ander
with the reins or his ompeteny in handling estate business.
"his was sarely the look of a man who would fore his own sister into an arranged marriage.
In the e)itement of their disoveries, 9ydia had nearly forgotten her brother's ultimatum> nearly,
but not #uite. It wasn't that she didn't want to be married. +n the ontrary, a husband and
hildren were her most heartfelt desire. 5ut 9ydia wathed friends marry for wealth, position,
and family, and others marry for love. $ome of those in arranged mathes eventually seemed to
find wedded bliss. +thers took their pleasure outside the marriage bed. 9ydia vowed she would
be an ape leader, and dwell in solitude in the ountry before submitting to suh a marriage.
&er eyes narrowed in speulation. Adam was a man thoroughly up3to3date on sientifi
inventions and disoveries. &ad his position in soiety been different, she was ertain he would
have spent his life as a sholar. +f ourse, he would have had to overome his now nearly
forgotten wild streak. @onetheless, his fasination with this Miss Masterson's possessions ould
be turned to 9ydia's advantage. If he found the woman as interesting as her belongings, perhaps
he would forget this nonsense about finding his sister a husband. +r at the very least, give her
more time.
"Adam, did you retire at all last night!" $he walked briskly aross the room.
"(hat! +h, yes, of ourse." &e appeared haggard and nowhere near rested. "I simply ouldn't
sleep,
3
$esterday 7 .orever
that's all. $it down> I have something to disuss with you."
&e hesitated, then gestured to the items on the desk. "$o, what do you make of all this!"
"I have no idea what to make of it." $he shrugged. "It's all very peuliar."
"If it is not a hoa), some well3devised ruse," he said autiously, "then it may well be we have a
visitor, and I say this relutantly, from another time."
9ydia stared, eyes wide with disbelief. "+h, Adam, that's ridiulous."
"I know, believe me, I know." &e leaned bak in the hair and absently ran his fingers through
his hair.
"I have been pondering this all night. 2eading these maga1ines, studying these items and,
ridiulous as it may well sound, this is the only answer. +ur Miss Masterson omes from another
time. I believe a time appro)imately one hundred and seventy3seven years in the future."
"You're serious, aren't you!" 9ydia ould not remember ever seeing her brother draw a rash
onlusion. +n the ontrary, he gave areful onsideration to all matters before him. If he
believed this, it simply must be true.
"Iuite serious. 9ook." &e piked up one of the maga1ines and waved it at her. ""his shows me
a world so totally foreign from our own it is hardly reogni1able. "here are many things here
that are appalling. ;overty, famine, and war still rage. Moral values appear virtually none)istent.
5ut there are wonders here, too."
&e rose and paed the floor, gesturing with the
GB
:itoria Ale)ander
journal in his hand. 7)itement shone in his eyes as his words spilled out faster and faster.
""here are forms of ommuniation and transportation never imagined in my wildest dreams.
Illnesses that would kill us are referred to here in passing as mere hildhood annoyanes. ?oods
and servies are provided by mehanial methods in numbers beyond measure. ?ood lord,
9ydia, people an atually fly."
9ydia stared at him, stunned. "Are you ertain!"
"As ertain as I an be. It is the only logial answer. "he only thing that e)plains all of this."
&e waved the maga1ine at the artiles on the desk.
9ydia's ga1e traveled from her brother to the desk and bak to Adam.
"It does make sense, more or less." &er voie was #uiet, thoughtful. "I had wondered about the
birth date, of ourse, and those wonderful little paintings, or whatever they are."
$he glaned again at the staked items on the desk, then turned bak to her brother. 6aught up
in his e)itement, she reali1ed the possibilities of his disovery.
"5ut how marvelous, how terribly e)iting. (hat fun it shall be. (e an take her around. $he
an tell the future. Maybe show some of these remarkable things. $he'll be the darling of the ton,
the hit of the season."
"%amnation, 9ydia." Adam e)ploded. "You will not speak of this to anyone. (e don't know
for ertain if this insane onlusion is orret. And even if it is true, who would ever believe it!
*or our sakes, and possibly for her safety, we must keep this to our3
4"
$esterday 7 .orever
selves." &e leveled a stern ga1e at his sister. "I am deadly serious. %o you understand!"
"+h, all right." 9ydia's lower lip jutted out in the pout she'd perfeted in hildhood. "5ut we
an't keep her a prisoner. +ne she wakes up, if of ourse this isn't some kind of prank, I daresay
she won't be at all happy to find out she isn't even born yet. I ertainly wouldn't be."
":ery well." Adam sighed in resignation. "(hat do you propose!"
"(ell, first she's going to need suitable lothes."
"6lothes!"
"6lothes." &e apparently failed to grasp her meaning. (ith a sigh of her own 9ydia replied,
"Yes, my darling brother, lothes. You annot e)pet her to go around in those things she was
wearing. As interesting as they appear, they simply will not do. $he needs to be properly
dressed."
"5ut we have no idea how long she will be here."
"Adam," she said, as though addressing a small boy, "how long she will remain with us simply
doesn't signify. If she is not dressed properly, at the very least the servants will omment. And
our servants will talk to other servants, and so on and so forth. If you really want to keep where
she ame from a seret, the best thing for all onerned is to make sure there is no gossip."
"+f ourse." &e returned to his hair. "&ow #uikly an it be done!"
9ydia smiled triumphantly. $hopping for someone else was the ne)t best thing to shopping for
herself. "If I plead and ajole and offer to pay far more than I would under ordinary
irumstanes, I believe my
J-
:itoria Ale)ander
modiste an provide an appropriate wardrobe by say, day after tomorrow. In the meantime Dane
an shorten some of my things."
&is ga1e wandered bak to the items on his desk, and 9ydia ould see she'd already lost his
attention. "I'll be going then!"
"*ine." &is eyes foused one again on the maga1ine in his hands.
9ydia smiled and strolled out of the room, her basi belief in men onfirmed. In spite of their
posturing and ondesending attitudes, manipulating them was so very easy for 9ydia she
sometimes wondered if she should fee. at least a little guilty. 5ut guilt never entered her
thoughts. &er mind was too full with the seeds of plans and plots to make Miss Margaret Melissa
Masterson as appealing to Adam as her maga1ines and other trappings. Meddling in this mystery
woman's far more intriguing life would surely keep her brother out of hers. A smug smile firmly
in plae, 9ydia alled for a arriage, grabbed her hat, and sailed out the door.
444444444444444444
Afternoon drifted into evening and still Adam remained at his desk. &e read and reread the
maga1ines. &e e)amined Miss Masterson's possessions over and over. $ome of what he read and
what he saw remained inomprehensible, too far removed from the sope of his knowledge and
imagination to understand. 5ut he ould grasp most of it and his spirits soared with the awesome
evidene of man's advanement.
Immersed in the wonders of a future time, he barely notied the light of day fade. &e never
saw a
42
$esterday 7 .orever
disreet (ilson silently light the gas lamps. :aguely, he was aware of 9ydia oming in and
saying something about a ard party. An untouhed supper tray sat on a table near the door.
At midnight, he finally pushed his hair away from the desk. (ith a weary step, he moved
toward a rystal deanter and the amber li#uid it held. &e poured the brandy and swirled it in the
glass.
"(hat is a woman from a world like that like!" he said. "(hat does she think! (hat does she
want! (hat does she need!"
$urrendering to an irresistible urge, he left the library and limbed the stairs to her
bedhamber. &e pushed the door open and moved silently over the arpeted floor to the bed.
7)tremely improper, his uninvited presene in a lady's bedroom. &e didn't have the e)use of
e)haustion or e)itement as he'd had last night. Yet, ine)pliably, he needed to be here.
$he lay sleeping #uietly tonight. ;eaeful. $erene. 5eautiful. Adam stood over her,
ontemplating the tousled hair, slightly flushed heeks, barely parted lips. "he tangled
bedlothes left one nearly naked leg e)posed. &e sipped the brandy still in his hand.
"I need answers, Margaret Melissa Masterson," he said softly.
;ulling a hair to the side of the bed, he sat and swung his legs up to rest on the bed, one
rossed over the other. *or minutes, or perhaps hours, he stayed. (athing her sleep. (aiting for
her to awaken. And wondering .. . what would happen then!
43
Chapter Two
Maggie opened her eyes slowly and ga1ed at her surroundings. It was a harming roomA high,
ornately plastered eiling, four3poster bed, beautiful anti#ue furniture, and just the right blend of
old3fashioned style and natural warmth. A room lived in and used every day. A room pretty yet
omfortable. A room totally and ompletely unfamiliar.
"(here the hell am I!" $he jolted upright and ringed, every musle in her body sreaming.
&er head throbbed and she ahed all over as if she'd been beaten, or worse, enrolled in an
aerobis lass. 5ut the physial battering was nothing ompared to her emotional turmoil.
Maggie loved a good party and a good time, but absolutely never in her life had she awakened in
an unfamiliar room.
"(hat is going on here!" Maggie threw her feet over the side of the bed and gingerly stood.
"(here are my lothes!" $he glared around the room as if it
44
$esterday 7 .orever
were somehow responsible for her prediament and hobbled toward a huge wardrobe, musles
protesting every movement. Maggie pulled open the doors and rummaged through the lothes
inside.
"5eautiful things. 2eally neat stuff." 5ut nothing was even remotely familiar. @one of the
lothes were hers, and Maggie stifled a rising sense of unease. "he garments in the wardrobe
were terribly elegant and very formal, at least to someone whose preferred style was jeans and a
sweater.
"+kay," she said. "6alm down. 9et's just go over the basis. I know my name. I'm Maggie
Masterson. (hen last I heked, I was in 9ondon. $o far so good. @ow for the trik #uestion.
&ow did I get here!" $he ga1ed at the engaging hamber. "And where is here, anyway!"
"he door to the room reaked open and Maggie turned sharply.
"(here are my lothes!" she said.
"he young woman at the door jumped but #uikly reovered to drop a #uaint urtsy.
"5egging your pardon, miss. I don't know about your things. 5ut the master said to bring you
these." $he held out an armful of lothes.
5arely notiing the girl's long dress and starhed apron, Maggie strode toward her. $he sei1ed
the lothes and held them out for appraisal.
"@o, no, these aren't mine." &er voie rang with impatiene. "I want my stuff bak. I just want
to get my things and get out of here. &ow do I do that!"
"I don't know, miss." "he girl stared wide3eyed at Maggie. "I only know the master said to
give you these."
45
:itoria Ale)ander
Maggie ast a disgusted glane toward the deliate, floor3length dress she held in her hands.
"9ook, I an't wear this.
"&ere." $he thrust the dress at the girl. ""ake it bak and tell me where to find this master of
yours."
"Milord is in the library, but you annot disturb him."
"+h, you bet I an. @ow, where is this library!"
""he bottom of the main stairs to the right, but you annot go down there." "he girl appeared
positively shoked. "@ot in your night rail."
"he unfamiliar word onfused Maggie. "My what!" "he girl stared at her nightgown. It wasn't
until then that Maggie paid any attention to what she wore. A beautiful white gown fell long
enough to over her bare feet and trail slightly behind. 9ots of material, but fairly sheer.
""his!" $he pluked at the deliate material. "+h, don't worry about this. 9ook, I know we're
from different ountries and all, but I an't believe anyone's going to be shoked by seeing me in
anything with as muh material as this getup. 5esides, I wear less than this for groery shopping
and from what I've seen of 9ondon so far, I'm fairly onservative. +f ourse"=she eyed the gir.
speulatively="nothing is as onservative as what you're wearing."
Abrupt reali1ation dawned and Maggie thought she understood.
"+h, I get it. "his is some kind of period hotel or bed and breakfast, right! You know, where
everyone wears ostumes and pretends to be &enry the 7ighth or Iueen :itoria or something.
"hat's ool, that's really neat." Maggie inhed toward the door. "5ut
46
$esterday 7 .orever
you see, this is all some kind of weird mistake. I'm not supposed to be here. $o I'll go downstairs
and see the master, or head honho, or whoever and get this straightened out. "hanks, so long."
Maggie shot out the door and raed down the hall in what she hoped was the right diretion.
+ther ostumed employees stared and she ignored a wave of self3onsiousness.
A prim and proper3looking butler3type dropped his jaw at her approah and she grimaed to
herself. Maybe 3 should have changed.
"7)use me," she said sweetly. ""he main stairs!"
""hat way," he roaked and pointed ten feet down the hall.
""hanks." Maggie dashed past him. 7asily finding the stairway, she flew down the stairs and
pulled up short at the bottom. @o less than four massive double doors to the right of the stairs
onfronted her.
"+h, this is swell."
$he eyed the doors and tried to deide whih was the best bet for a library.
"+kay." Maggie paed bak and forth and onsidered the options. "In old mansions like this
there was usually some kind of front parlor, and maybe sitting rooms, and of ourse dining
rooms and breakfast rooms.
"As for the library, well, this looks like as good a bet as any. I just hope I don't end up in some
kind of onferene or meeting or something."
Maggie swung open the seond set of doors and gasped.
5efore her in a magnifient, elegant, almost unreal setting were high, ornate eilings, a
glittering han3
4!
:itoria Ale)ander
delier, and damask draperies. "he room shimmered in green and gold.
"(hat a gorgeous restoration." Maggie stared in appreiation at the deliate striped settees,
9ouis KI: hairs, and Aubusson arpet. ""his looks pratially new and totally authenti.
$omeone did a great job."
$he baked out of the room, losing the doors behind her, and glaned uriously down the hall.
5hy there aren !t more guests & All the people 3!ve seen so far are obviously employees. That!s
really weird= this place is neat. $ou!d think it would be busier.
*eeling a bit like Alie in (onderland, Maggie onsidered her hoies. (hih way to turn
ne)t! (hat door to try now! Alie, at least, had the guidane of a rabbit and wasn't dressed in a
ridiulous nightgown.
Maggie turned to the ne)t set of doors.
"+ne more time." $he grasped the doorknob, pushed firmly, and, taking a deep breath, stepped
inside.
"(ow." Awestruk, she faed a lassi 5ritish library straight out of "Masterpiee "heater."
7ndless mahogany shelves reahed to the lofty eiling. 7ah shelf was rammed with leather3
bound books.
";ardon me," a soft voie interrupted.
Maggie sreamed and jumped. "Yow. +h, jee1. You sared the hell out of me."
Maggie glared into a pair of brown eyes so dark they ould have been blak, set in a fae that
just missed being lassially handsome. &is skin had a natural, light bron1e tone> his features
were strong and firm, topped off with dark blond hair. A killing
4
$esterday 7 .orever
ombination and Maggie's main weakness in men. "his one stood ool and olleted behind a
massive mahogany desk. $he stared and immediately ategori1ed him as ... a hunk.
"$orry, but you really startled me. I'm not usually so jumpy." ?ood ?od, she was babbling. $he
never babbled. "It's just that I'm looking for the library, and I really have no idea what's going on,
and I an't find my lothes and=&ey."
Maggie aught sight of her tote bag on the desk. @eatly lined up ne)t to it were the various bits
and piees she deemed neessary for traveling.
""hat's my stuff." Maggie rushed to the desk. ""hat's my wallet, and passport"=her hand
flitted over the objets="my amera, traveler's heks, and my redit ards, and hey."
$he glared at the hunk. "My lothes. (hat gives you the right to go through my stuff! (ho are
you anyway! I want to get out of here right now. I want the Amerian 7mbassy." &er earlier
unease threatened to return as full3fledged pani.
"My dear woman." "he hunk strode around the desk to her side. "I'm afraid you really must sit
down before we disuss this further." &e put his arm around her shoulders and tried to lead her to
a hair.
Maggie wrenhed out of his grasp and glared up at him, a small part of her relutantly noting
his broad shoulders and how he towered above her.
"%on't treat me like a hild. I'm an adult, an Amerian iti1en. I want some answers and I want
them right now."
"As you wish." &e sighed. "I really did not want to break this to you like this, but it does seem
the #uik3
JB
:itoria Ale)ander
est way to answer at least some of your #uestions. And I might add"=he lifted an eyebrow
="reover your omposure."
;ani now mingled with indignation and anger. Maggie narrowed her eyes at his superior
e)pression and ouldn't resist a #uik omebak.
"My omposure is just fine, thank you." After all, he ertainly didn't look like a serial killer.
"he hunk strode to the window and pulled the urtains aside.
"6ome here." It was a voie obviously used to issuing ommands and being obeyed. Maggie
ontinued her mutinous glare.
"6ome here, if you please," he added in a gentler tone. "@ow, look out the window and tell me
what you see."
Maggie lifted her hin and marhed to the window. @othing looked partiularly surprising. It
was a typial 9ondon street. ;erhaps a little leaner than most. %efinitely #uieter. Maggie had no
idea what she was supposed to look for or at. $he glaned #ui11ially at the man who, in turn,
appeared to study her an)iously.
"$imply give me your observations, your impressions."
$he onentrated on the sene before her. It was really #uite harming. Aross the obblestone
street was a s#uare of some sort. A horse3drawn arriage passed by, adding to the pitures#ue
atmosphere.
""hat's strange," she said. ""here's absolutely no traffi out there. @o parked ars either. Is it
some kind of a holiday!"
5"
$esterday 7 .orever
"he hunk ignored her #uestion. "(hat else don't you see!"
"I don't get it! (hat do you mean!"
&e frowned. "Miss Masterson, I believe you to be fairly intelligent. @ow please, look out and
tell me what is missing here."
"*ine." Arms rossed over her hest, she stared out the window. "I don't see ars. I said that
already." $he gave him a pointed glare. "I don't see, oh, I don't know, telephone wires, eletri
wires. I don't see any streetlights, no wait, there are lamps, gas, I think. I don't see stop signs,
stoplights."
$he spun to fae him. "$o far, all I do see is that you live on a #uaint, old3fashioned street. I
like the street lamps> it's a ute touh. 5ut every piture I've ever seen of 9ondon is #uaint and
old3fashioned. (hat's your point!"
"Miss Masterson," he said, impatiene now obvious in his tone, "don't you notie anything that
strikes you as out of the ordinary! Anything on the street or in the house!"
"7verything strikes me as out of the ordinary," she said. "I'm not from here. 7verything is
different from what I'm used to and where I live. 7ven in this house, it's a little weird.
7verybody, inluding you, is wearing bi1arre, old3fashioned ostumes. You also seem to have a
passion for anti#ues."
$he glaned around with grudging respet for his taste. "5ut lots of people love anti#ues. My
own sister has dragged me to autions and through histori houses for years. I still don't get what
you're driving at.
"I'm afraid this ould be something of a shok." &e
F-
:itoria Ale)ander
ga1ed at her with onern evident in his ebony eyes. In spite of her annoyane, a shiver of
warmth thrilled through her at his look. "I am fairly ertain the #uestion is not so muh where are
you as when are you."
"(hat!"
"As farfethed and totally unbelievable as this may seem . .." &e paused as though onsidering
his ne)t words. "I have ome to the unmistakable onlusion that you have very possibly . . ."
Again he hesitated as if weighing the effet his words would have on her. ""raveled through
time."
$tunned, Maggie stared at him.
"5ull," she said flatly. "(hat a rok. "hat's the ra1iest thing I've ever heard of. @obody
travels through time. You an't do that. ;eople travel to plaes, not times. +h sure, there are time
1ones and time shares and time off for good behavior. You an be on time, or out of time, or not
in time, or playing for time=" $he was babbling again but she didn't are. "his guy, ute as he
might be, was obviously nuts. 9iving in an anti#ue world, he now apparently believed he was
part of it.
"I don't know what kind of a sam you're running, but you're not going to get away with it. If
you've kidnapped me for money, I don't have any." Another, more morbid thought struk her.
"+h, jee1, you're not some kind of white slaver or something, are you! I thought that kind of
thing only happened in old books, or the >ational ?n4uirer, or True #onfessions or something."
"he words bubbled through her lips without thought or warning and she frantially onsidered
ways of esape. $lowly, hoping he wouldn't notie,
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$esterday 7 .orever
she inhed her way around the wall, aiming for the door.
"Miss Masterson," he said. "I know this is a shok and I am sorry to be so abrupt. I had hoped
to e)plain in a somewhat less startling fashion. I understand you need time to take all this in. "he
very idea of time travel is ludirous. &owever, I have had sine the night before last to try to
omprehend this."
"@ight before last!" Maggie ontinued her subtle movement, a fration of an inh at a time. If
she ould keep him talking, with any luk, she ould make a break for it.
"Yes, that's how long you have been unonsious. I will e)plain everything, but first I really
think"=he approahed her="you need to be properly dressed."
"%on't ome near me." $he desperately surveyed the room for something to use as a weapon.
A rystal deanter, half3filled with amber li#uid, stood on a nearby table. ;erfet. $he lunged for
it. Maggie grabbed the deanter and hefted it like a softball, the heavy weight omforting in her
hand. "%on't touh me."
"?ood lord, woman. I have no intention of harming you. I simply want to get to the bottom of
this. And I would prefer you put that down. "hat brandy is one of the few remaining bottles my
father stored before the war. It is still far superior to anything urrently available. If you feel the
need for protetion . . ." &e strode toward the fireplae and grabbed a poker. ""his would far
better suit your purpose." &e held the implement out to her.
Maggie's ga1e loked with his, the reali1ation of how ridiulous the sene was dawning on
her.
53
:itoria Ale)ander
"hreatening him with brandy! (hat was she going to do! *ore it down his throat!
$he fought the urge to give in to hysterial laughter, and autiously reahed for the poker.
$he'd play along with him for now. 5esides, she ouldn't go anywhere dressed like this.
$he gently replaed the deanter on the table and aepted the poker. @ow this was a real
weapon. $he rela)ed just a bit.
&e sighed with obvious relief, ""hank you."
""hat brandy must be pretty good stuff." $he suppressed a smile. "@ow what!"
"(ell, Miss Masterson, I really think="
"&ey, how do you know my name!"
"It was not diffiult to determine." &e waved a hand toward the desk. "It's on many of the
items we found in your sathel."
"And just who are you, anyway!"
&is fae broke into a smile. In spite of herself, Maggie grudgingly aknowledged, she liked it.
A lot. A single dimple in his heek made him approahable and, ?od help her, se)y. "oo bad.
?reat3looking men always seemed to be either married or gay, or like $ir 6edri, a figment of an
overative imagination. And this one was very probably a deranged kidnapper.
"I believe that is the only #uestion I an answer without hesitation. I am Adam 6oleridge." &e
grew serious. "And I, too, have #uestions I want answered. @ow, if you please." &e opened the
library door and alled to a servant. "?o with Dane. $he will help you dress properly. I find it
rather distrating to hold serious disussions with beautiful women who are
54
$esterday 7 .orever
pratially naked. Although under other irumstanes . . ."
&is voie trailed off and Maggie noted a dangerous gleam in his eye. A thrill raed through her
at the look and the ompliment, followed by annoyane at her involuntary response. $he had to
keep in mind her firm onvitionA the man was nuts.
&e gestured graiously toward the weapon in her hand. "And please, by all means keep the
poker if you wish."
"he beginnings of that killer smile played around the orners of his lips. Maggie steeled
herself to ignore it and its effet on her.
A servant appeared in the doorway. ;oker luthed to her hest, Maggie raised her hin and
stalked out of the room.
"5elieve me, pal, I intend to."
55
Chapter Three
$he marhed off, an indignant figure. Adam noted with appreiation the way the light silhouetted
her voluptuous form in the sheer white gown.
5hat a cunning little chit that one is.
Most women of his a#uaintane would have fainted dead away at the very thought of being
alone and helpless, faed with the unknown. "his bit of baggage not only had the ourage to fae
up to him and the spirit to attempt to protet herself, she #uite obviously did not believe him.
&e hukled and turned bak to the desk. "his woman might turn out to be even more
interesting than her time. %ealing with her ould well be an enjoyable endeavor, possibly a
hallenge. It had been #uite some time sine a woman, any woman, provided a hallenge for
him. $till, it was a hallenge from whih Adam had no doubt he would emerge the vitor. After
all, regardless of where she ame
56
$esterday 7 .orever
from, or rather, when she ame from, some things never hanged. (hen all was said and done
she was still only a mere woman. And no math for a man.
444444444444444444
Maggie studied herself ritially in the full3length mirror. It had taken nearly an hour to
hange, partly due to what she thought of as delaying tatis. *irst, she sent Dane for her
underwear. 2egardless of where=or maybe when=she was, if that was what the 9ooney3"une
downstairs wanted her to believe, she insisted on her own underwear. It was weird though, the
way Dane e)amined her bra, almost as if she had never seen one. A ridiulous thought Maggie
shrugged off and redited to nerves. "hat man and this house must be getting to her.
2elutantly she allowed the girl to help her dress, an annoying and irritating proess, but, as
Maggie disovered, neessary given the large number of tiny buttons and loops. %idn't the
5ritish know about 1ippers, for ?od's sake!
@e)t, she'd sent the girl for food. &unger always took her mind off everything. If she had to
deal with ra1y men, even really great3looking ones who oo1ed harm and sensuality, she needed
to keep up her strength.
(ith the maid gone, she searhed the room. All she wanted was one little eletri outlet, one
insignifiant light swith> even a single, solitary rummy old ordinary light bulb would do.
@othing.
@o obvious eletriity, no overhead lighting, no ords, no plugs, no outlets, no applianes of
any
5!
:itoria Ale)ander
kind, only andles and some type of gas lamps. Absolutely nothing to prove or disprove the date.
9ooking out the window didn't help either. ;eople passed by on horsebak and in arriages.
$ome vehiles seemed familiar in a histori way, but most were very strange in appearane,
definitely anti#ue. 7veryone, absolutely everyone, wore ostumes. 5ut outside the window, as in
the room, she saw nothing to prove she had or had not traveled through time.
A #ueasy, sinking feeling lodged in the pit of her stomah. 6ra1y as it seemed, bit by bit
evidene piled up. 7videne she simply was not prepared to aept. Maggie raked her brain for
answers. +kay, maybe this wasn't a period hotel> maybe she'd stumbled into an entire re3reated
neighborhood or village=like (illiamsburg bak home.
A desperate idea with no real foundation, but she lung to it like a lifeline. $he pushed away
the nagging thought that some of her 9ondon guidebooks would have mentioned suh a plae.
"he unsubstantiated theory helped suppress the ever3present threat of pani. *unny how muh
more the thought of traveling through time terrified her than the idea of being kidnapped by an
anti#ue3loving lunati. +nly to herself would she admit fear.
""he best defense is a good offense," she said to the image in the mirror. An image she thought
looked pretty damn good.
"he dress was lightweight, some kind of muslin, in a beoming lime green. $hort, slightly
puffed sleeves and a high waistline emphasi1ed her full breasts. "he skirt fell to her feet, gently
linging and molding in all the right plaes.
FL
$esterday 7 .orever
"(ell, at least whatever sam I've stumbled into has the good sense to pik an attrative time
period for fashion. I ould be standing here in a hoop skirt and rinolines.
"@ow." $he sighed and nodded at her refletion. "$tay mad and you won't have a hane to be
sared."
$he grabbed the poker off the table and in her best *red3Astaire3with3a3walking3ane
imitation, saluted the image in the mirror. "?ood luk. You're going to need it."
(ith a deep breath, she headed bak to the library.
444444444444444444
Maggie threw open the doors and firmly stepped inside. "he handsome, ra1y man behind the
desk stood at her approah. "his time she stared diretly at him. And he stared diretly bak.
Maybe too diretly. An assessing ga1e that traveled from her head to her toes, followed by a
omplimentary smile. +r was that a leer! &eat rose in her fae. $he lenhed her teeth, refusing
to give him the upper hand.
"You look delightful, Miss Masterson."
""hanks, you don't look half bad yourself." $mugly, she notied his eyebrow lift in response. A
little bravado, a little anger, if she ould just hang in there.
&e gestured at the poker in her hand. "I see you still have your protetion with you."
"I've grown very attahed to it." Maggie bree1ed into the room and seleted a hair near the
desk. $he perhed on its edge, plaed the poker aross her lap, and direted a level ga1e at Adam.
"It's 6oleridge, isn't it!"
5#
:itoria Ale)ander
"Adam 6oleridge, atually." "here was a distint twinkle in his eye. "$eventh 7arl of
2idgefield, to be e)at."
"6ongratulations." $he hoped he reogni1ed sarasm when he heard it. "$o, what year did you
say this is anyway!"
"here went the eyebrow again. "It's not merely what I say. It's what happens to be aurate at
this partiular moment. It is the year of our 9ord eighteen hundred and eighteen."
"7ighteen eighteen. I don't know anything about -L-L. "hat would be somewhere between . . .
what! @apoleon and . . . Iueen :itoria, right!"
"Iueen whom!" %idn't that eyebrow ever stay still!
"+h, ome off it." 7)asperation tinged her words. "You know, Iueen :itoria! 2uled for, like,
fifty plus years! ?ave her name to a whole time period! (omen wore long dresses and things
alled bustles, I think." $he paused, trying to reall everything she ould remember about the
:itorian age. "+h yeah, they made really great furniture. My sister loves it. 9et's see, what else!
+h. I know. It was very, very stuffy."
&e frowned, obviously onfused. ""he furniture!"
"+f ourse not," she said. ""he #ueen was stuffy. $traitlaed, morally upright, you know,
stuffy. Dust the word @ictorian meant anything very old3fashioned or prudish." $he eyed him
sharply. "You e)pet me to believe you don't know this! "hat this really is -L-L!"
""hat's orret."
""hat would be what! "wo hundred years! +ne
EH
$esterday 7 .orever
hundred and fifty! (hat!" $he jumped to her feet and irled the desk, searhing for her
alulator, brushing lose to him in the proess. ?rabbing the instrument, she punhed in the
numbers. "+kay, -BBF minus..." she muttered under her breath, "e#uals .. . one hundred and
seventy3seven years."
Maggie turned wide eyes to Adam.
"You're telling me I traveled one hundred and seventy3seven years into the past! Are you
kidding!"
""hat's the only answer that seems to make sense."
"?reat. $well." Maggie ould tell he really believed this. $he had to get out of here. "You
know, this is all oming as #uite a shok."
&e atually looked sympatheti. "I daresay."
"6ould I possibly have a glass of that brandy you were raving about earlier! It ouldn't hurt."
"5randy!" &e seemed surprised. ";erhaps you would prefer something else. 2atafia or
sherry!"
Maggie sighed with impatiene. "I don't know what ratafia is and I an't stand sherry, so
brandy would be great."
":ery well."
Maggie followed Adam to the table bearing the brandy deanter. &e poured a snifter and
offered it to her. 2eahing out, Maggie saw her hands tremble. Adam plaed the glass in her
grasp, overing her hand with his own. An almost physial shok shot through her at his touh.
$he raised startled eyes to him, forgetting for a moment to hide the fear and onfusion revealed
there. $he stared into the dark, smoldering depths of his eyes and read ompassion and uriosity
and . .. desire.
E-
:itoria Ale)ander
"Are you #uite all right!" &is voie was #uiet and onerned.
"*ine." $he pulled her hands free from his and drew a long drink of the li#uor. "he burn
asaded down her throat, steadied her nerves. $he ouldn't= no, wouldn't=let him see her fear.
Maggie s#uared her shoulders and returned Adam's onerned ga1e with one more than a little
defiant.
"@ow what, 6oleridge! (hat's ne)t!"
"(ell, I don't really know." *rowning, he poured himself a glass. "I suppose the first thing
would be to determine preisely how="
"Adam, I have everything arranged." A pretty young blonde blew into the room like a
whirlwind. "I have spent a sandalous amount of money, but our guest should be properly attired
by tomorrow. And then I=" $he aught sight of Maggie and stopped short. "+h, you're awake.
&ow wonderful. I have been so looking forward to meeting you."
"he newomer desended on her, athing Maggie's hands in her own. "I know we are going
to be good friends."
"And you are!" Maggie said.
"Miss Masterson." Adam sighed. "Allow me to introdue this hoyden. As muh as I am
sometimes relutant to admit the onnetion, this is my sister, 9ady 9ydia 6oleridge."
"+f ourse," Maggie said. &ow ould she have missed it! "he distint resemblane between
the two was obvious. A paler, smaller version of her brother, 9ydia had hair that tended toward
silver where her brother's resembled burnished gold. In the feminine member of the family, the
rih, dark, velvety brown
EC
$esterday 7 .orever
of Adam's eyes hanged to a lighter shade, more amber than brown. 9ydia stood just short of her
brother's hin, still a good four inhes taller than Maggie. "he differenes were minor, the
similarities striking.
9ydia arhed an eyebrow at her brother, dropping Maggie's hands. "I gather Adam hasn't
mentioned me!"
"I have sare had time, 9ydia. Miss Masterson woke only a few hours ago. I have been
attempting to e)plain the situation to her."
"+h, you mean about the time travel!" 9ydia said blithely.
Aood Aod, she!s as cra2y as her brother.
Maggie hose her words arefully. "You think I've traveled through time, too, right! You agree
with him." $he nodded toward Adam. ""hat the year, this year, is -L-L!"
"+f ourse, my dear. "here is absolutely no doubt about that. I an't imagine what a shok this
must be for you. +h, dear." 6onern and pereption shone in her eyes. "You aren't doing at all
well, are you!"
"I'm fine, really."
Ignoring Maggie's protests, 9ydia led her to a sofa and urged her to sit.
""his must be terribly onfusing and upsetting. I know in your plae I would surely="
"$he doesn't believe me," Adam said.
"@ot believe you!" 9ydia turned eyes wide with ama1ement to Maggie. "(hyever not!"
"Are you kidding!" Maggie leapt to her feet. "(here are you people oming from anyway!
@o, wait, don't answer. I know. -L-L. 9ook, I don't know anything about -L-L, but I do know
about -BBF. And
63
:itoria Ale)ander
I know there's no suh thing as time travel. (hat - don't know is what kind of a sam I've fallen
into and what you people want from me."
Maggie glared at Adam and 9ydia. 9ydia appeared ama1ed at the outburst and possibly a little
impressed. Adam looked resigned. &e'd seen Maggie in this state before.
"Adam, you're going to have to do something," 9ydia said.
"5loody hell, 9ydia. I don't know what to do. I wish I did." &e sipped his brandy thoughtfully.
"If we knew how she got here . . ."
"Adam, that doesn't signify at the moment." Impatiene olored 9ydia's words. "It seems to me
the first thing you must do is onvine her as to the truth of what has happened."
"Yeah," Maggie said. ";rove it."
";rove it!" he said.
"+f ourse, Adam. You must onvine her." 5uoyant with obvious e)itement, 9ydia turned to
Maggie. "You need proof and you shall have it."
"2eally!" Adam's voie weighed heavy with sarasm. "And how do you propose I provide
suh proof!"
"It's very simple, Adam. I saw those likenesses she had. +ur world is #uite different from hers.
%ifferenes that are very easy to see." "riumphantly 9ydia laid her trump ard. "All we have to
do is show her the town."
"@o." Adam said.
"Yes." Maggie ried.
"It's the perfet answer," 9ydia e)plained patiently. "$he will be able to see the truth for
herself.
EJ
$esterday 7 .orever
And sine it's nearly five o'lok, we shall simply take a ride in the park."
"?ood lord, 9ydia, we an't take her to the park. 7ven though she is properly dressed now, and
looks #uite harming=" &e ast an admiring glane in Maggie's diretion.
""hanks."
"=one she opens her mouth, there will be no possibility of avoiding attention. &ave you been
listening to her!"
"&ey. (hat's the matter with the way I talk!" Indignantly, Maggie rossed her arms over her
hest and glared. "his 7nglish snob had a hell of a lot of nerve.
"I'm sure there is nothing whatsoever wrong with how you speak when you are in familiar
surroundings. I apologi1e if I've insulted you."
$he narrowed her eyes and nodded grudgingly. "+kay."
"5ut," he said, "to my ears, your language is atroious. I an generally understand your
meaning, but it takes a great deal of effort. And, Miss Masterson, forgive me for saying it, you
have a nasty temper and a somewhat vulgar voabulary."
$harp silene fell like a slap.
9ydia turned shoked eyes first toward her brother, then toward Maggie.
Adam's hallenging ga1e remained riveted on his guest.
Maggie fought to keep herself under ontrol. $he refused to give this pompous, overbearing,
ditatorial, stuffed3shirt bite in the shorts the satisfation of wathing her blow up. Mentally
ounting to ten,
EF
:itoria Ale)ander
she took a deep breath and smiled.
"I think, 6oleridge, if I put every bit of effort and self3ontrol that I possess into it, I an get
through a simple ride in a park without disgraing you."
$he fluttered her eyelashes in what she ould only imagine was genuine southern3belle
fashion. %isgusting, blatant, but effetive.
"(ell, of ourse," Adam stammered, obviously e)peting a more outraged response. "I didn't
mean to imply=I just thought=?ood lord." &e groaned.
9ydia threw Maggie a onspiratorial smile.
"Adam, we shall tell everyone that she is a distant relation from Ameria. I daresay no one will
e)pet terribly muh from her and any problems an be easily e)plained away."
"You don't think muh of Amerians, do you!" Maggie said dryly.
9ydia's smile turned apologeti. "It's just that it's so terribly far away and very, well, rusti and
univili1ed. "hen, of ourse, there was the war. Although a lot of people really didn't seem to
have muh interest in that, being far more onerned with the *renh at the time."
"+h yeah. 2ight." (hat war! (hih war! 2evolutionary! 7ighteen twelve!
"I don't like this. I don't like this at all." Adam's brows pulled together in a disturbed frown.
"5ut you may very well be right if our guest is to be onvined we are not villainous
kidnappers."
Maggie wined. After all, for villainous kidnappers, they were turning out to be harming and
graious.
"And if we are going to attempt this rash, not to
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$esterday 7 .orever
mention dangerous esapade, we had best begin. "he sooner we leave, the sooner it will be done
with. I shall all for a arriage." &e strode from the room, issuing orders to waiting servants.
"he two women wathed him depart.
"Is he always like this!" Maggie asked, uriosity laed with sarasm.
"+h my, yes." 9ydia sighed. "(hat he really needs is a wife to take him in hand. 5ut he won't
marry before he sees me settled. And I have no intention of marrying just to satisfy his sense of
responsibility."
9ydia rose and offered her hand to Maggie. "@ow then, sine we are going to be together for a
while at least, may I all you Margaret! Miss Masterson is so very formal, and sine we are to be
relations, no matter how distant="
"+h, please, all me Maggie." ?enuine liking for this pretty blonde flooded her. If she wasn't
areful, she'd start believing all this -L-L bull.
"Maggie it is, and you must all me 9ydia. @ow then, we have to find you a hat and, let's see,
perhaps a shawl. Adam will be waiting and he an be so impatient.
"You'll love driving in the park." 9ydia stepped briskly out of the room, Maggie trailing in her
wake. "It's usually #uite delightful and there's always suh a good hane to meet someone
interesting or hear the latest on3dit."
And a hane to esape.
444444444444444444
Minutes later, Maggie sat in a small open oah ne)t to 9ydia. Adam faed them from the
opposite seat. ?rim3faed and silent, he glared in turn at Mag3
6!
:itoria Ale)ander
gie, 9ydia, and the passing senery.
9ydia kept up a steady stream of hatter, but Maggie paid no attention, onentrating instead
on the streets rolling by. 6aught up in a rowded proession of oahes and arriages, Maggie
hoped fruitlessly for even a glimpse of a ar, a bus, a ab. 7veryone appeared in ostume, right
down to the plentiful beggars in the streets.
(here were the ops when you really needed them! In her e)periene they always seemed to
be right there to ath you 1ipping a little too fast along a ountry road, but when you wanted
them, try to find one.
"he arriage passed through the park gate. Maggie noted nothing familiar, nothing modern,
nothing that said -BBF3 &er ga1e moved restlessly, trying not to miss a single lue that ould
provide answers. "he #ueasy, sinking feeling in her stomah returned.
Maggie's eyes told her what her mind simply ould not aept. 7ven in a historial park there
would be tourists, people not in ostume. (here were they! (here were the Amerians in their
taky shorts with their guidebooks and their loudmouthed teenagers! (here were the Dapanese
with their high3teh ameras! (here were the perpetual ollege students bakpaking their way
through 7urope!
+ne, briefly, Maggie met Adam's searhing ga1e. &e seemed to study her every move, her
slightest reation. $he refused to let him see the fear building, the pani growing with every turn
of the arriage wheel.
$he had to get away. 5ut how! 6ommandeering a arriage was out of the #uestion. "he only
horse
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$esterday 7 .orever
power she knew how to ontrol remained firmly under the hood of a ar. And she hadn't ridden a
horse sine hildhood. "hat eliminated the possibility of "borrowing" a beast to make her esape.
5esides=
"?ood ?od, they're riding sidesaddle." Maggie stared at the women on horsebak.
"+f ourse, my dear." 9ydia surveyed her uriously. "%on't women ride sidesaddle in your
day!"
"@o. (omen in my day wouldn't put up with it. (e are e#ual to men up to and inluding
riding a horse." Maggie glared at Adam, who simply raised an eyebrow as if to #uestion the
sanity of suh a soiety.
(hile the park was paked with people in arriages and on horsebak, Maggie notied many
others strolling though the grounds. "hat was it. $he ouldn't ride or handle a arriage but she
ould damn well walk.
"(ait. &old it. $top." $he interrupted 9ydia's omments on some fashion fau) pas in another
arriage. "$orry, but I'm really not used to riding in arriages, and it's making me . . . oh .. . kind
of... well, sik to my stomah. I'm going to be ill if I don't get out of this thing. You know, lose
my lunh. 6ould we walk a bit! ;lease!"
Adam studied her for a moment as if debating her sinerity, and Maggie did her best to look as
green as possible. 5ut 9ydia jumped right in.
"&ow inonsiderate we've been not to have thought of that. (alking will do us all a world of
good. Adam!"
"*ine." &e alled to the driver. Dumping out of the arriage, he e)tended his hand to 9ydia,
helping her
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:itoria Ale)ander
desend. &e turned to Maggie and she offered her hand for his assistane. Ignoring her, he
plaed his steady hands on either side of her waist and gently lifted her to the ground. *or a
fration of a seond she stared up at him, her ga1e loked with his. Autely aware of the heat
emanating between them, the nearness of his hard, strong body, she aught her breath. (as it
pani that still fluttered in her stomah or something else!
""h3thanks," she whispered.
"My pleasure," he said softly, holding her a shade longer than neessary.
"$hall we!" 9ydia interrupted, oblivious to the harged moment.
"he trio strolled down the shady walkway. 9ydia greeted a#uaintanes> Maggie and Adam
were silent, at least one of them more than a little onfused.
(hen pressed to introdue her, the brother and sister e)plained she was a distant onnetion
from Ameria. 9ydia did most of the talking> Adam remained notieably #uiet. Maggie kept her
mouth shut, trying to reonile her reations to Adam with her need to esape. %idn't hostages
often ome to like, even love, their aptors!
"2idgewood. 2idgewood. I say, old man, we haven't seen you in ages. (here have you been
hiding!"
Adam turned toward the all. "wo men on horsebak greeted him with the enthusiasm of old
friends. ?laning #uikly at Maggie, he appeared satisfied at her behavior and, with a genuine
smile, approahed the newomers.
"My dear 9ady 9ydia," a shrill voie trumpeted.
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$esterday 7 .orever
"&ow are you!" An immense, older woman with two girls in tow bore down on them like a
tornado on a trailer ourt.
"?ood lord." 9ydia turned away from the overbearing matron and groaned at Maggie. "It's
9ady3(entworth. $he's a dreadful bore and a horrible gossip, but obviously inevitable."
9ydia pivoted to fae her fate, a falsely sinere smile plastered seurely on her fae. "9ady
(ent3worth," she gushed graiously. "&ow delightful. I don't believe you have met my ousin
from Ameria, Miss Margaret Masterson!"
Maggie smiled slightly and nodded. 2egardless of 9ydia's opinion of 9ady (entworth, within
moments the three women aptured her attention with animated onversation.
Maggie heked out Adam. &e still spoke with his friends, paying no attention to her or his
sister. Immersed in her own onversation, apparently onsisting of the latest gossip, 9ydia ould
be ounted on not to notie if Maggie stayed by her side. +r not.
"his was it. "he hane she'd waited for.
6asually, hoping not to attrat attention, Maggie took a few slow steps. $he glaned at Adam,
then 9ydia. @o one notied. A few steps more. Again, no one notied. "he inhing ontinued,
slowly, sedately. $till no notie. At a distane of a good ten feet, she gave up all pretense at
disretion. $he turned and strode against the flow of arriages, hoping to get out of the park.
6onsious of the stares of the people she passed, she ignored them and stepped up her pae until
she reahed a measured jog. A pretty good trik in the long dress. Adrenaline, triggered by
inreasing
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:itoria Ale)ander
apprehension and alarm, spurred her on.
$he burst out of the park gate, finding herself on a vaguely familiar street. Maggie slowed and
sanned the area in a desperate searh for a op or, at this point, anyone who looked like they
hadn't just stepped out of the nineteenth entury.
@othing.
Maggie hiked up her skirts and ran. *ull3fledged terror pushed her feet faster and faster. $he
flew past astonished onlookers but barely notied and didn't are. Abruptly she pulled up short.
%iretly in front of her was the (ellington Museum.
?asping to ath her breath, she stared at the familiar landmark with relief. $he'd toured the
former home of the great military leader a few days ago. 9ondon's version of a subway system,
the 0nderground, was nearby. It was right about=she whirled around=here.
@othing.
@o 0nderground.
@o signs.
@o indiation of anything missing, anything out of plae.
7verything looked untouhed. As if nothing had ever been here. As if all she remembered
didn't e)ist. As if it hadn't been built yet.
Maggie denied the dawning reali1ation. "It an't be. It just an't be."
"he truth rashed in on her, overloaded her senses. All she'd seen, heard, even smelled sine
she woke up assailed her and pointed to one inevitable onlusion. If 6oleridge was telling the
truth, if she had traveled through time, then everything made
!2
$esterday 7 .orever
sense. It was the only answer that did make sense. "he only thing that didn't make any sense at
all, that didn't fit, that was ompletely out of plae, was Maggie.
"he world spun beneath her. An overwhelming sense of e)haustion slammed into her with as
muh fore as her revelation. &er mind refused to aept what she knew to be true. &er body
seemed to shut down. 5lakness losed in. 8nees bukling, she ollapsed as if in slow motion.
An iron grasp swept her up mere inhes above the ground.
"I hope you now have your proof," a voie muttered grimly.
Maggie struggled to fous on the man arrying her. &is fae swam in and out of her vision.
6oleridge, of ourse. "he thought gave her a warm sense of safety and seurity. (eird to like a
kidnapper this muh. $he sighed and nestled loser, her mind drifting off.
0nomfortably aware of her movements and ogni1ant of the impropriety of their positions,
Adam nonetheless gripped her tightly. "he feelings she aroused did little to temper his anger. &e
stalked through the streets, returning to the park, muttering all the way.
"5loody hell. "he woman has absolutely no sense. (hy on earth would I, of all people, or
anyone for that matter, make up a story as ridiulous as time travel! Absurd. And now look at
what's happened. I knew this was a mistake, all this 'prove it' nonsense."
Adam nodded urtly to shoked observers, knowing full well this esapade would be fuel for
every !3
:itoria Ale)ander
gossip in the ton by morning. At least no one knew the real truth. "hat was the lone saving grae
in the entire fiaso.
"I say, 2idgewood, is she all right!" an a#uaintane alled as Adam strode briskly by.
"Iuite." Adam responded in lipped tones designed to disourage further onversation. "$he
still has not fully reovered from her long voyage from Ameria."
"Det lag," Maggie murmured.
@ever breaking his determined stride toward the arriage, Adam pulled her loser and
whispered sharply in her ear, "8eep that mouth of yours losed."
&e drew his head bak and groaned in irritation. $he had already drifted off.
444444444444444444
&e wathed 2idgewood stride aross the park, a beautiful woman radled in his arms. "he earl
seemed to hold her a shade too losely, a bit too intimately. &is eyes narrowed and he onsidered
the possibilities. "his would bear wathing. A grim smile reased his lips. ;erhaps, finally, the
opportunity he'd waited and wathed for had arrived. &e would bide his time to make sure. &e
ould be patient. It sarely mattered anymore> he'd already waited a very long time.
444444444444444444
*or the third time in as many nights, Adam again lingered at Maggie's bedside, wathing her
sleep. &e no longer worried about the impropriety of his presene. 9ord knew, she probably
would not are. 9ast night she had been an intrigue, a mystery. "onight
!4
$esterday 7 .orever
she was infuriating, annoying, irritating, and, he had to admit, at least to himself, irresistible.
"?ood lord, woman." &e glared at the peaeful, sleeping figure. "(hat in ?od's name am I
going to do with you!"
!5
Chapter Four
In those fragile first moments of awareness, in a plae somewhere between deep sleep and
onsiousness, Maggie mulled over the strange things she dreamed. %reams of a handsome,
arrogant man and a visit to a far3distant time. (ait till 8iki heard about this one. Maggie smiled
and her eyes fluttered open. $he ga1ed around the room. A harming room with a high, ornately
plastered eiling, a four3poster bed, and beautiful anti#ue furniture. Dust the right blend=
"@o." Maggie bolted upright.
&er ga1e flew around the room. "his was no dream> this was real. All of it. "he period
ostumes that weren't ostumes at all, the missing ars, street signs, phone and eletri wires, the
lak of outlets in the house. All the things so familiar through her entire life she barely paid them
any attention, now took on a signifiane far beyond their everyday role in
,E
$esterday 7 .orever
the twentieth entury. "hey all pointed to the truth. $omehow she had atually traveled through
time.
"+h, damn." $he groaned and flung herself bak on the bed, pulling the blankets over her
head. &ow ould something like this happen!
$he took a deep breath and in one last grasping at straws, peeked out from under the overs.
@othing had hanged. 2elutantly, she aepted what she ould no longer deny.
*ear and pani subsided under a wave of anger and indignation. (ho the hell did this to her!
(ith a muttered urse, Maggie tossed the bedlothes aside and tumbled out of bed. $he stalked
to the wardrobe and hastily flipped through the lothes. 2ealistially, she'd need help to get into
any of these things and she didn't want to waste time finding a maid.
"(aste time! &a, that's a laugh."
Impatient to get going, she aught sight of a robe lying on a nearby hair. Maggie threw it on,
raed out of her hamber and downstairs to the library.
$he flung open the doors and burst into the room, spotting Adam again at the desk where she'd
first met him.
"+kay, 6oleridge," she said in her most demanding tone. "(hat the hell are we supposed to do
now!"
Adam #uirked an eyebrow, his ga1e drifting over her in an infuriating but definitely se)y,
alm, and thorough manner.
"%o you ever feel it neessary to be properly dressed!"
"6lothes," she said, "are the very least of my worries right now. In ase you haven't notied,
we have
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:itoria Ale)ander
a major3league problem on our hands. +r"=she gave him a hallenging look="should I say I!"
Maggie glared, her defiane a shield hiding the fear inside. (hat if he said she was on her
own! $he was an intelligent, independent twentieth3entury woman but ould she funtion in an
early nineteenth3entury world!
Alone!
Maggie didn't partiularly want to find out.
"he beginnings of a smile played aross his lips. "I rather think 'we' is appropriate."
2elief flooded through her, followed by annoyane. $he resented being dependent on anyone
= orretion=any man, espeially this arrogant, self3righteous snob. 5ut as muh as she hated
to admit it, she really ouldn't go this one alone.
"?reat. "hanks," she said, a hint of embarrassment in her voie. "I just needed to know where I
stood. I mean, after all, I guess I kind of fell into your life here. And I'd understand if you wanted
to dump me and this whole mess."
"hroughout her rambling speeh, Adam stared from behind the desk. 9eaning bak, elbows
resting on the arms of his hair, he steepled his long fingers lightly at hest level. &is fae,
however, betrayed his feelings, astonishment mingling with more than a little indignation.
"My dear Miss Masterson." &e leapt from his hair and irled the desk to approah her. "I
know not how things are done in your day, but here and now when a gentleman finds a lady in
serious distress he is honor bound to provide assistane. I ould not possibly let you ope with
this ordeal alone. (hy,
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$esterday 7 .orever
even if I found a man in this uni#ue situation I would feel ompelled to help."
"5ut," Maggie said slowly, hoosing her words arefully, "you don't think a man would need
as muh help as, oh, say, a woman. (omen being so . . . oh, let's see, helpless!"
&e smiled warmly, obviously pleased she understood his rationale and ompletely oblivious to
the sparks Maggie ouldn't keep from her eyes. ";reisely."
"(hy you=" $he struggled for the right words, grasping a phrase from her sister's feminist
past. "Male hauvinist pig."
Adam's smile faltered.
"You have the nerve, the audaity to think a man ould handle this situation better than a
woman! I'll have you know in my time, women do everything men do. (e have areers. (e
manage our own money. (e own property. (e've been voting for more than seventy years. In
my day, some men even work for women. Your ountry's even had a woman prime minister."
Adam paled. "Are you #uite through!" $he nodded smugly. &e ontinued, his voie ontrolled,
his words lipped and urt. ""hen do me the ourtesy of listening."
Maggie opened her mouth.
"8eep still," he said. "It is my turn."
Maggie stared at him, a towering pillar of barely ontrolled rage. Maybe she had misjudged
him.
"I am well aware of the many aomplishments of women in your time. I have thoroughly read
your maga1ines and while I do not understand every3
,B
:itoria Ale)ander
thing, the status of women in your soiety annot be denied. I do not know if women go through
some remarkable hange in the ne)t one hundred and seventy3seven years or if we have given
them less than their due today, but know this, Miss Master3son." &e stood within inhes of her,
glaring down at her upturned fae. "I do not mean to insult you and tender my apology if I have
done so. Your manner of behavior and way of speaking are foreign to me. (omen I know do not
at as you do, and I annot think of one who ould ope with the dilemma you find yourself in. I
have ertain e)petations about women that you simply do not fit. It is not easy for me to
reonile long3held beliefs with the reality of you. I would that you show the same sort of
patiene with me that I will attempt to show to you.
"Although,"=he fi)ed her fae with a steady glare="you make it e)tremely diffiult."
&e stalked to his hair. +ne seated, he leaned forward, his elbows on the desk, hands lasped
together. "I don't know what a male hauvinist pig is, although it is not hard to determine that the
phrase is not a ompliment. I suggest you bear in mind the differing standards of our respetive
soieties before making further pronounements about my harater."
&e looked so stern sitting there, Maggie almost thought she was -C years old and in the
prinipal's offie again. *unny, but his obvious anger didn't inrease her fear. Instead, it almed
her down. "his head3on lash of two distintly different ultures might turn out to be pretty
funny. Maggie ould use all the laughter she ould get. 0ntil she figured out
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$esterday 7 .orever
how to get out of this mess, anyway.
"+kay." $he pulled a hair up to the desk and smiled sweetly. "Your apology is aepted."
Adam sputtered and Maggie held up a hand to silene him.
"If we're going to survive this relationship without killing eah other, I think we need to drop
this partiular disussion right here and now. (hat do ya say! +kay!"
$he gave him a #uestioning look. &e sighed and Maggie thought he rolled his eyes a bit.
"Agreed." &is tone signaled agreement and resignation to the terms of the ease3fire.
"?reat." $he grinned and plopped into the hair she'd positioned by the desk. "$o, as I was
saying, what the hell are we supposed to do now!"
"Miss Masterson." &e shot to his feet. "You simply annot ontinue to use suh unseemly
language. It is not aeptable for well3bred young ladies to urse."
"+h, sit down, 6oleridge." $he waved him to his hair with an impatient flik of her hand.
"You're right, of ourse." $he wrinkled her nose at his look of shok that she atually agreed with
him. "(hile I'm here I need to at like a native and I promise to try. +kay! ?ood enough!"
&e nodded.
"?reat, but you need to keep some things in mind, too. *irst of all, I'm not a young lady. I'm an
adult."
"I assumed you to be at least one and twenty."
"Atually, I'm twenty3si)." $he noted his surprised look. "Is that a problem!"
"@o, of ourse not." &e seemed unomfortable,
L-
:itoria Ale)ander
possibly even disappointed. "I had simply assumed you were unmarried."
"I am unmarried. I mean single."
"(ell then, surely you have been widowed!"
"@o," she said slowly. "(hat's the matter!"
""he matter, Miss Masterson, is very probably with me." &e ran his fingers absently through
his hair. "2egardless of what I say I have ertain preoneived notions about women and what is
and is not e)peted of them. In this world, a twenty3si)3year3old unmarried woman is generally
onsidered on the shelf, too old to make a good math." &is ga1e probed deeply into hers.
""herefore, I naturally assumed you were muh younger or had been married. You are so very
lovely."
"he ompliment lingered in the air. &eat flamed in Maggie's fae. Aware of her own hurning
feelings, she marveled at his brown eyes growing darker with . . . what! ;assion! %esire! "he
look they shared, the harged moment, was more than enough to turn Maggie's legs to rubber.
$he didn't get it. 7ven when this man drove her up a wall there was something about him that
made her want to melt into his arms, and more.
"(hy have you not wed!" &is #uiet voie was thik with barely ontrolled emotion.
"I don't know," she replied just as softly. (as it getting hard to breathe in here! &er ga1e was
still loked with his. (hat had she been saying! +h, yeah. Marriage.
"I guess I never found the right person." &er response was barely a whisper. *or a moment,
Maggie ahed to throw aution to the winds and fling herself
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$esterday 7 .orever
into his arms. (hat would it feel like to share his embrae! &is kiss! &is bed! And looking in
his eyes she knew the same thoughts, desires, and possibilities surged through him as well.
"(ell. Ah." Adam leared his throat, destroying the moment that had grown too intimate for
omfort.
"Yeah. 2ight." Maggie sighed, torn between relief and disappointment. $he'd have plenty of
time to sort through her feelings later. And she really didn't need to ompliate an already
omple) situation with a relationship. 7ven if the man in #uestion made her senses reel and her
knees grow mushy.
"$hall we start at the beginning, Miss Masterson!" &e was abruptly all business.
@ot #uite sure why she found that more than a little annoying, Maggie interrupted. "5efore we
get going, please don't all me Miss Masterson. It makes me feel like an old lady shoolteaher.
And sine my age is already going to be a problem here, let's not ompound it."
"It shan't be a problem. You ertainly do not look your age, and if anyone is so rude as to ask,
we shall simply lie."
"?reat," she said under her breath, "lying about a birth date that hasn't happened yet."
&e waved aside her words. "It doesn't signify, Miss=Margaret !"
"Maggie."
"*ine then, Maggie. @ow, how did you arrive here!"
"If I knew that we wouldn't have a problem, would we!" $arasm dripped off her words.
"Miss Mas=Maggie," Adam said risply. "(e shall
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:itoria Ale)ander
not aomplish a thing if you do not ooperate."
"I know, I know, I'm sorry. It's just that. . . (ell. %amn it." Maggie ignored Adam's wine. "I'm
sared. I am really, really sared."
Maggie pushed out of her hair and, wrapping her arms around herself, paed the room. $he
tried to put her onfusing thoughts into words, for Adam and, even more, for herself.
"I don't understand what's happened. (hy I'm here. It feels like some kind of joke, a giant
osmi mistake. I'm a displaed person. A temporal refugee. I'm not supposed to be here."
&er voie suspiiously lose to a sream, Maggie took a deep breath, fighting to regain
ontrol. And losing.
"%on't you get it!" $he whirled to fae Adam. "%o you reali1e tehnially I'm not even born
yet. %o you have any idea how that feels! I have no past. @o history. 7verything I know,
everything I grew up with, everything I'm familiar with, doesn't e)ist. I don't know anybody. -
have no one here, no friends, no family. +h my ?od, 8iki." &er eyes widened with horror. "My
sister. $he'll be franti with worry. $he must have the ops ombing 9ondon by now. And I don't
even have a way to let her know I'm okay."
+n the edge of full3fledged hysteria, Maggie's vision blurred with tears, her breath oming fast
and hoppy.
Immediately, Adam was at her side, grasping her shoulders, looking down into her fae. "Miss
Masterson. Maggie. ;lease alm yourself. I have every onfidene this will all be resolved."
$he stared up at him, battling to maintain ontrol,
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$esterday 7 .orever
struggling to keep a lid on the pani threatening to e)plode within her. $he blinked bak hot
tears. Adam pulled her loser. &er head lay on his hest and he stroked her hair.
(rapped in his arms, without thinking she mathed her breathing to the stroke of his hand.
Maggie's fear and pani ebbed away, replaed by the now familiar feeling of safety and seurity.
And a growing need for this man to do more than simply hold her.
$he turned her head toward his, a single tear slipping down her heek. "Adam!"
"he desire they'd suppressed from the moment they met ould no longer be denied.
"Maggie." (ith a groan he swiftly brought his lips down to meet hers. &er weloming mouth
opened under the pressure of his and his tongue swept inside. +nly the light robe and night rail
separated her straining body from his hard, strong length. "heir mouths e)plored eah other's in a
mating ritual as old as man, as eternal as time itself. @ever had Maggie been kissed like this. &e
ripped the breath out of her, replaing it with his own. &is tongue teased and fened and daned,
leaving her knees again unable to support her. $he dissolved in his arms, reveling in an
awakening passion she never dreamed possible.
%imly she struggled to think. "his was getting them nowhere. +r maybe they were headed
someplae she'd rather not go, at least not now.
"Adam." $he gasped, dragging her lips from his. &er head dropped bak and tilted to the side,
giving his mouth aess to a partiularly sensitive spot just below her ear. &e ran a flurry of
devastatingly light
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:itoria Ale)ander
kisses down to the point where her nek met her shoulder. A tremor of passion shivered through
her and she wanted nothing more than to release herself to him ompletely.
5ut this had to stop. Marshaling her last oune of ontrol, she pulled away.
"Adam, stop." &er breath rasped through her lips.
"(hy!" &e bent bak to feather another shower of kisses on her now ahingly sensitive nek.
"5eause." $he wrenhed out of his grasp and fought for breath.
"6oleridge, this isn't the time or the plae. I don't even know you. I don't know what
impression you got from those maga1ines of mine but I don't make love with men I don't know.
?ranted, the moral standards of my time aren't as strit or uptight as yours, but I am not
promisuous."
Adam stared at her a long seond, unfulfilled passion still smoldering in his eyes. +nly his fists
lenhed by his side gave any real indiation as to his true feelings.
"+f ourse. +ne again, I apologi1e if my ations have insulted you." &is voie was so old
and ontrolled she wanted to smak him. &e wanted her as muh as she wanted him, but it wasn't
right. @ot yet. 7ven so, she resented his treating her like a stranger.
"@ow then, Miss Masterson . . ."
Maggie ignored his deliberate reversion to the formal title. Adam took his plae behind the
desk and, dipping a pen in an inkwell, sat poised to write. &e leveled a ool ga1e at her.
"(hat do you remember!"
"You're going to take notes!" $he ignored the faint
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$esterday 7 .orever
trembling in her hands and, trying to appear firmly under ontrol, dropped bak in her hair.
"Indeed." &e nodded. "It may help."
"+kay." $he sighed. If he wanted to be all stuffy and businesslike, she ould deal with that. It
wasn't what she wanted in their relationship, but at this point she wasn't sure what she did want
so she'd play it his way. *or now.
"(hat do I remember! I was visiting 9ondon with my sister, 8iki. $he's a free3lane
photographer."
"A what!" Adam asked.
"A photographer," Maggie said impatiently. "You know, she takes pitures!"
2eali1ation of where=and more importantly, when=she was dawned on her. "$orry, I forgot.
All this hasn't been invented yet. ;itures, photographs, how to e)plain ..."
Maggie jumped up from her hair and leaned over the desk. "he items from her bag were still
neatly arranged in preise piles.
"&ere." "riumphantly she found the photo envelope and pulled out the pitures. ""hese are
photographs, images aptured on film." $he searhed for the right words. ""hat's a speial kind
of, well, I guess paper is the best way to desribe it. It's very sensitive to light. You put the film,
the paper, in this."
Maggie grabbed the amera and handed it to him. ""his is a amera. "he film goes here. "he
lens opens for just a fration of a seond, letting in the light and reording the image on film."
$he smiled with satisfation at her e)planation until she notied Adam's frown of
onentration. 6om3
!
:itoria Ale)ander
plete and utter onfusion was srawled aross his fae.
"+h jee1, I'm sorry. I'm not e)plaining this well. I've lived with this stuff all my life and never
really thought about how it worked and never really ared. I just take it for granted that it will
work when I need it." $he drew a deep breath and wondered how best to e)plain.
$he moved to Adam's side of the desk and took the amera from his hands. "$ee this
window!" $he pointed to the viewfinder. "9ook through it."
&e held it up to his right eye.
"(hatever you see in the viewfinder will be reorded on film when you press the button. ?et
it! %o you understand!"
"Ama1ing." Adam looked around the room, the amera still glued to his eyes. "(e speulated
it might be a weapon of some sort."
"(eapon!"
"(ell," he said sheepishly, "it says annon."
"6annon!" ;u11led, she frowned, then reali1ed the truth and laughed.
""hat's the manufaturer, the ompany that makes it. 9et me have it."
2elutantly he did so and Maggie took it halfway aross the room.
"$tand up."
&e frowned suspiiously, his eyes narrowed. "(hy!"
Maggie laughed. "I'm going to take your piture. @ow stand up."
Adam rose to his feet.
"$ay heese." $he laughed again at his pu11led
LL
$esterday 7 .orever
look. "Dust smile. It doesn't hurt. Although I have heard of primitive tribes who feel taking their
piture an apture their souls."
&e seemed startled and she grinned, shaking her head. "%on't worry about it. I wouldn't dare
apture your soul. @ow smile, 6oleridge."
"hrough the viewfinder, Maggie wathed a devastating killer smile put a se)y twinkle in his
eyes and reveal that lone dimple in his hiseled heeks. &er heart skipped a beat. @o doubt about
it, the man was a ertified hunk. $he stared a shade longer than absolutely neessary to make
sure of the fous, a lame e)use in an autofous amera. Maggie hit the button, took the piture,
and set off the flash.
"5loody hell, what was that!" Adam rubbed his eyes frantially. "You've blinded me. I an't
see anything."
"+h damn, I'm sorry. I forgot about the flash." ?uilt propelled Maggie to his side.
"It'll be okay in a seond or two. I'm really sorry." ?enuine onern battled with amusement at
his plight. After all, he'd never run into anything like this before. Maggie bit her lip to keep from
smiling. (ith a sympatheti e)pression, she stared up at him.
"It's like looking into the bloody sun." Adam blinked his eyes e)perimentally. 5ut you are
orret. I seem to be #uite reovered now. (hat was that light!" 6uriously, he took the amera
from her. ""here's no andle here, no gas that I an see. (here did it ome from!"
"It's just a little battery3powered eletri light." At his #uestioning look, she groaned. "I an't
e)plain eletri power and batteries." $he glaned at the
LB
:itoria Ale)ander
amera. "5ut I an show you how this works and you an take a piture of me."
$he stood inhes from him, e)plaining the various parts of the amera and what to do to take
the piture. Adam breathed in her heady, spiy sent, listening to her words with only partial
attention. &ow ould he onentrate on anything she said when she stood there barely overed
by the light wrapper and nightlothes!
$he thought she had angered him by utting short their embrae. In fat, Adam was angry at
himself. @o matter what onessions he made aloud about twentieth3entury women, he firmly
believed this reature to be as helpless as the women of his time.
$he might well have ourage and spirit that led her to speak her own mind in a deued
irritating and even infuriating manner. Adam would have dismissed any woman of his time with
those #ualities from his onsideration without a bakward glane. 5ut with Maggie, the things
that made her so annoying strengthened, in some perverse way, the irresistible attration she held
for him. An attration made all the greater by their kiss.
&e ould not remember a mere kiss affeting him that deeply before. 7ver. A kiss that seemed
to reah to his very soul, losing his mind to everything but the sensation of her lips against his.
"he feel of her in his arms. "he way her body fit in perfet omplement to his. @o novie to
kissing, or what followed, for that matter, Adam nonetheless had a diffiult time ontrolling
himself when she pulled away. 9oss of ontrol was a uni#ue e)periene and it shook him in a
way no woman ever had.
#"
$esterday 7 .orever
In spite of her air of independene, she had let him see her vulnerability and fear, onfirming a
lifetime of beliefs about the fairer se). @o matter how muh he wanted her, no matter how muh
her responses showed she wanted him as well, he would not take advantage of her. &e would
temper his passions and onentrate on helping her return to her own time. If, of ourse, that
ould even be done.
"$o, do you think you an do it!" Maggie's #uestion brought Adam's attention bak to the
matter at hand. "he so3alled amera devie.
"6ertainly," &e aepted the amera from her with onfident enthusiasm. "$tand over there."
&e gestured to the door. ?a1ing at her through the view3finder, he paid less thought to Maggie's
instrutions than to the way her nightlothes lung to her voluptuous figure. "he way her hair
flowed freely to a loud of misty urls at her shoulders. "he way that even in the blak3and3
white tones of this viewfinder3thing, sparks shot from eyes he already knew were a brighter
green when angered, a deep, almost forest olor when aroused.
"Are you going to take a piture or what!"
"$orry." &e prepared to ativate the devie. If he wanted to keep his intentions toward her
honorable he needed to pay more attention to her twentieth3entury marvels and less to her
timeless attributes.
Adam pushed the button and the flash went off. "his time he was prepared.
;ride at his aomplishment shone in his eyes, "&ow was that!"
"It was fine." $he grinned in amusement at his satisfied e)pression.
B-
:itoria Ale)ander
"(hen do we see this piture!" he asked eagerly.
"+h, 6oleridge, I'm sorry. It has to be developed."
$ympathetially, Maggie noted his disappointment. &e looked like a little boy who had just
been given a toy without batteries. "I don't have the skills to proess the pitures. 7ven if I did,
I'm sure the hemials involved haven't been invented yet. Ill get them developed when I get
home. 5ut..." A surprising sense of dismay shot through her at the thought. "I guess you won't
get to see them."
$he wondered at the vague feeling of loss but shook it off.
"&ow do you propose to go home!" Adam returned to his hair.
"I don't know." $he sighed and sank bak into her own hair. "I'm not even sure how I got here.
All I know is I took a arriage ride with a little old man for a driver." $he strained to remember
and tried to ignore Adam's intense srutiny.
"&e was #uite a philosopher, going on about hanes and hoies and destiny. It was a foggy
night. And all of a sudden, it felt like something hit the arriage. Maybe a ar." $he glaned at
Adam. "%o you understand ars!"
""he vehiles in the pitures!"
$he nodded.
"?o on then." &e observed her as intently as if she were a bug under a mirosope.
"(ell, that's about it. It was like I was thrown through the air. I remember hitting something ...
and..." &er ga1e met Adam's. ""he ne)t thing I remember is waking up here. ;retty nuts, isn't it!"
#2
$esterday 7 .orever
A frown of onentration reased his brow. "It is most unusual."
"I still an't believe this." $he shook her head in wonder. "I mean I wake up one morning and
it's May -BBF, and the ne)t morning I wake up it's -L-L."
"(hat was the date in -BBF!" Adam said thoughtfully.
"9et's see." $he paused, pulling her thoughts together. "(e arrived in 9ondon on the seventh
and we'd been there for five days so it was . . . the twelfth, I think."
";lease be preise."
$he fought to remember, drawing her brows together in a pu11led frown.
"+kay, let me think. (e have=had=tikets to a show on the thirteenth. I remember beause
they were so hard to get. And that was the ne)t night so . . . yes, it was the twelfth. %efinitely
May twelfth." $he nodded firmly, more than a little pleased with herself.
Adam leaned bak and eyed her autiously. &e seemed to hoose his words with are. "I do
not want to put too muh importane on this," he said slowly. "5ut the night we found you was
April twelfth. %isregarding the years, of ourse, that's a disrepany of a month."
"A month," she ehoed.
"9ydia and I were arriving home after onluding a partiularly unpleasant disussion about
her future. I had nearly forgotten that," he said. "I mustn't let that business slip> however, it
doesn't signify at the moment. (e were walking to the door when we heard a arriage out of
ontrol. "here was a great BG
:itoria Ale)ander M
deal of fog so we never atually saw the vehile."
&e leaned forward and ga1ed into her eyes. ""he objet you hit was me."
"hey stared at eah other for a long moment, reali1ation hitting simultaneously.
""he arriage," they said in unison.
""hat's it." Maggie shouted with e)itement. ""hat's the answer."
"It does appear so." Adam smiled at her enthusiasm.
"And if the arriage brought me here"=Maggie's mind raed="it an take me bak."
$he jumped up and leaned over the desk.
"(ith that month differene maybe I an go bak when it's May twelfth here. +h, Adam,
I know it, I feel it. "he arriage will ome a month from now and I an go home."
BJ
Chapter Five
Adam stared at her green eyes glittering with e)itement. 6ould they have found the answer!
6ould it possibly be that simple! Merely wait for the right day and a arriage would appear to
spirit her bak to her own time!
"he thought of Maggie vanishing from his life as abruptly as she'd appeared aught Adam by
surprise. @ot until this moment had he reali1ed how very muh he wanted to know this visitor
from another time. &e wanted to learn more about her world and teah her about his. &e wanted
to share her thoughts, her feelings, and more. Muh more.
5ut if indeed she would only be with him for less than a month, his desires were not only
unwise, they ould destroy them both. &is resolve to keep his distane strengthened.
"It is ertainly plausible," he said lightly, onealing the onfliting emotions. "It seems your
stay with
#5
:itoria Ale)ander
us shan't be long after all, if indeed this theory is orret."
"?uess not. 9ess than a month now, if we're right. And it really feels right." 7)itement rang in
her voie.
"hen it hit her. 9ess than a month until she returned to -BBF. 9ess than a month to be with this
man who affeted her like no man ever had. If she returned, and onfidene filled her now that
she would, he'd be long dead and buried before she was ever born. As strong as the pull between
them, involvement with Adam would only break her heart. A weird #uirk of fate had brought
them together but gave only a tantali1ing glimpse of what might have been.
Maggie and Adam fell silent, eah deep in their own thoughts. 9ydia swept into the room
unnotied. *ar more astute than most gave her redit for, she immediately sensed the tension in
the air and assumed it had more to do with their obvious attration to eah other than the
overwhelming problem of time travel.
9ydia had already noted the sparks between her brother and their houseguest, even while
giving the well3pratied appearane of being oblivious to the goings3on around her. $he'd
developed the skill years ago when she first reali1ed young ladies were not often in demand for
their intelligene or pereption. $he eyed her brother and their guest speulatively. "his was
going far better than she'd dreamed. Adam had not mentioned that ridiulous husband nonsense
one sine Maggie's arrival.
"&ere you are." &er announed presene startled BE
$esterday 7 .orever
both Maggie and Adam. "Maggie, you're not dressed yet!"
"+h I=" $he glaned at Adam. "I had other things on my mind."
"&urry off to your room then," 9ydia said in the manner of a benefient general ordering his
troops. "I'll send Dane up to help you dress and .. . have you eaten!"
Maggie shook her head.
""hen I'll have a tray sent up as well. %o try to be #uik, we must be off. My modiste has sent
word that she needs a final fitting as soon as possible. (ith luk, we shall have your lothes, or
many of them anyway, ompleted by tomorrow."
*lushed with triumph, she turned to Adam. "I told you I ould aomplish this. @early an
entire wardrobe in a matter of a few days."
"(hat wardrobe!" Maggie asked.
"(hy, a wardrobe for you, of ourse."
"9ydia," Adam said #uietly, "she's not going to be here long."
9ydia frowned. "(hatever do you mean!"
Adam glaned at Maggie and she signaled for him to e)plain.
"(e believe Maggie ame here, to our time, by way of a mysterious arriage on the night of
May twelfth. (e think she is to return on that same day in our time. 9ess than a month from
now."
"+h, dear." 9ydia's mind raed. "his new development ould hamper her plans to distrat
Adam with Maggie. "Are you positive!"
"@o," Maggie said #uikly. "5ut it makes sense. I guess we just have to wait and find out."
B,
:itoria Ale)ander
"I see." It sounded as if this theory had more basis in fany than fat. And that meant if it was
onvenient to ignore it, 9ydia would.
5rightening, she pointed out what to her was far more obvious. "2egardless of the length of
time you'll be with us, you will need to be attired in the latest stare of fashion." $he smiled
impishly. "After all, you are a distant relation of the 7arl of 2idge3wood, remember! @ow go
along. I'll see you in the foyer when you're ready."
(ith one last glane at Adam, Maggie left the library.
9ydia turned to her brother, who seemed distant, lost in his own thoughts. "Adam, whatever is
the matter!"
"(hat! +h, nothing, nothing to onern you. Dust pondering this whole onfounded situation."
&e bestowed a tolerant smile on his sister. ""ake are of this wardrobe business and I will deal
with the rest."
$he stared at him for a long moment. "hat ondesending attitude he adopted whenever
anything of e)treme importane ame along had irritated her sine hildhood. :ery often, she
refused to put up with it. 5ut this time perhaps it was wiser not to distrat him from Maggie's
problems by doing battle head3on. &is words dissolved the twinge of guilt she might have felt by
playing with the lives of two people who might not possibly have any future together.
444444444444444444
"he trip to the dressmaker oupied Maggie and 9ydia for most of the day. Maggie never
appreiated the ease and onveniene of mass3produed, off3the3rak lothing until fored to at
as a human man3
BL
$esterday 7 .orever
ne#uin for some *renh3aented seamstress. 5ut she had to admit, the woman was a genius. "he
lothes she whipped up were absolutely gorgeous. Maggie hastised 9ydia more than one for
the vast amount of money being spent and the wide array of lothing 9ydia insisted she needed.
"2eally, Maggie." 9ydia sighed after one partiularly heated debate when the modiste and her
assistants left them alone. "I'm sure I know what you re#uire far better than you."
Maggie tried to interrupt but 9ydia #uieted her with a stern glane and ontinued. ""he lothes
you arrived in and the ones I've seen displayed in your maga1ines may very well be suited for the
life you are used to leading. 5ut in my life they simply will not do. $o, please, allow me to deal
with what I know best."
"5ut ball gowns!" Maggie shuddered. "%o I really need ball gowns!"
"+f ourse." 9ydia sounded surprised that she would even ask suh a #uestion. "Maggie, it's
the height of the season. Adam has ignored invitations sine you've arrived, not that he aepts
many anyway, but there are obligations he=and I=are ommitted to. It would hardly do to
leave you home alone. 5esides"=a twinkle shimmered in her eye= "you shall have a wonderful
time. "here is nothing like a soiree or, better still, a ball with a huge rush of people and, of
ourse, the walt1 to make you feel just the thing."
"(alt1!" Maggie groaned. "I don't know how to walt1."
9ydia frowned. "(ell, I know it is still not onsid3
BB
:itoria Ale)ander
ered aeptable everywhere, but I assumed everyone knew how to walt1 by now. $urely in your
time .. .&'
"(e don't walt1," Maggie said miserably.
"(hat do you do! 6ountry danes or #uadrilles perhaps!"
"@ot e)atly." Maggie searhed for the right words. "%aning is a kind of freestyle thing."
"*reestyle!" 9ydia frowned in onfusion. "I fear I have no idea what you mean. At any rate, it
doesn't signify beause here we walt1. (e will have to teah you. +r rather, Adam will. &e's
#uite wonderful and very sought after as a partner when he deigns to make an appearane."
"2eally! &ow nie," Maggie said oolly, surprised how annoying she found that bit of
information.
"+h, my, yes." 9ydia ontinued, apparently oblivious to Maggie's attempt at nonhalane.
"Adam is onsidered #uite a ath on the marriage mart. &e has a signifiant fortune, a well3
respeted name and title, and, even though he is my brother, I have to admit he is an e)tremely
handsome figure of a man. I have lost ount of the number of eager girls and ambitious mamas
who have set their aps at him in the past."
"$o how has he esaped!" Maggie pretended more interest in the piee of silk she fingered
than in the answer to her #uestion.
"I daresay I don't know," 9ydia replied just as lightly. "5efore *ather died, Adam was
onsidered #uite a rake. ?ambling and wenhing and suh. &e had a rather unsavory reputation
with a wide variety of women. In fat, at the time, I'm not sure a deent family would have had
him for their daughter in
-HH
$esterday 7 .orever
spite of his wealth and position. Although there were some who still insisted on throwing their
daughters at him.
"&e ame lose to marriage one, but I always thought it more a matter of onveniene than
any genuine affetion on his part. I'm not sure Adam ever reali1ed how taken the young woman
was with him. I've always thought she read far more into his attentions than was alled for. Adam
always onsidered the marriage mart something of a game. &e broke a fair number of hearts."
"Adam 6oleridge! "he same stuffy, uptight Adam 6oleridge I've met!" Maggie soffed.
""hat's really hard to believe."
"@onetheless, it's true. Adam flirted with proper young ladies from the best families but gave
his full attention to those who were, well, rather less than proper. I'm not supposed to know about
suh things, but people, espeially servants, do talk. And if one is simply observant. . ." 9ydia
shrugged.
"At any rate, when *ather died, seven years ago this summer, Adam hanged dramatially.
After the funeral he loked himself away for nearly two months. 2efused to ome out of the
library, *ather's library, at 2idgefield Manor. It was #uite frightening. &e would not talk to
anyone and barely ate enough to live. "he servants muttered that he had gone #uite mad.
"(hen he finally ame out, he made no mention of e)atly what he did during that time and
#uite honestly I was afraid to ask. I was barely si)teen. Adam was all the family I had left and"=
she sighed deeply="I was onerned about his health and his
-H-
:itoria Ale)ander
mind. And he seemed fine, just e)tremely different. Muh more sedate and ontrolled.
2eformed, if you will.
"&e threw himself into handling family matters and estate business. 5eame the very model of
propriety. &e pratially eliminated his soial life. +h, he kept his lub memberships and made
sure he was there to aompany me after my oming3out, but the wild nights and the women that
went with them ended. As if now that he was the head of the family, he needed to behave
aordingly. +f ourse, he felt ompelled to look after me. It was very muh as if he was trying
to make amends to *ather for the sandalous life he led."
9ydia tilted her head thoughtfully. "5ut you know, I don't believe Adam's sandals and
esapades really bothered *ather. I always thought he was rather proud of his son. *ather was a
bit of a rake himself in his day, you know. And it always seemed to me that he thought Adam
would grow out of it, take after him perhaps. *ather did not marry Mother and settle down until
well into his thirties. Adam was twenty3five when *ather died."
"You notie a lot more than you let on, don't you!" Maggie said.
9ydia ast Maggie a long, pensive look, as if arefully onsidering both her words and whether
she ould trust Maggie to hear them.
"Yes, I believe I do. 5ut I have learned through the years what is and is not e)peted of a
woman. I am to be pretty and deorative. My aomplishments should inlude musi in some
form. I play the pianoforte beause I have no voie for singing. I am able
-HC
$esterday 7 .orever
to embroider and sew a fine stith. I speak *renh passably and an manage a household, both in
town and in the ountry. I have mastered all that is e)peted of a young lady in my position
e)ept finding a husband."
9ydia sighed heavily. "And now Adam is threatening to take that out of my hands."
Maggie stared, shoked. "%o you mean he ould make you marry someone you don't want
to!"
"It's not unommon." 9ydia #uikly jumped to her brother's defense. "&e is ating in what he
believes is my best interest for my future. And in spite of my aomplishments, in the past my
behavior has not always been as aeptable as it should have been."
$udden insight struk Maggie. "You break the rules, don't you!"
"(ell, I don't break them so muh as merely bend them a bit. I find the rules, as you all them,
so"= 9ydia searhed for the right word="so onfining." $he added with a surge of anger, "And
bloody unfair, too."
Maggie nodded, enouraging her to ontinue.
"Adam had his opportunity to do whatever he wanted and has suffered no lasting
onse#uenes. If I, however, even dane with a man more than twie, my reputation will be a
shambles. I annot ride a horse or go for a walk without a servant in attendane. And heaven
forbid I should ever be alone with a man. "here are even streets in 9ondon where women are not
to be seen."
"You're kidding." Maggie knew -L-L was long before women's lib but this was ridiulous.
""hat's ra1y. (hy don't you just do what you want!"
-HG
:itoria Ale)ander
"Iuite simple, really." 9ydia shrugged with resignation. "I don't have that kind of ourage. +h,
I enjoy pushing the limits of aeptable behavior, but I'm afraid omplete revolution isn't in me.
"o be totally ostrai1ed from soiety is a fate even I shudder to ontemplate."
$he smiled, a gleam returning to her eye. "5esides, I do tend to get my own way far more
often than many unmarried women I know. It may well be the biggest benefit of having a doting
brother, even if his urrent well3meaning intentions are a bit tyrannial."
"(hat are you going to do about that husband business!" Maggie figured 9ydia wouldn't take
Adam's finding her a husband lying down.
"+h, I have some ideas," 9ydia said vaguely.
Maggie started to ask what kind of ideas but the modiste and her staff bustled into the room in
a flurry of silks and laes. $he made a mental note to learn more about 9ydia's plans later.
Maggie didn't know why, but somehow 9ydia's rypti omment left her with an indistint sense
of approahing doom.
444444444444444444
It was late afternoon before they finally returned home. Maggie would never have believed a
simple session with a dressmaker would be so e)hausting, but she was dead on her feet. +f
ourse, she'd spent all day being the objet of 9ydia's attention, as well as that of the modiste and
what seemed like a flok of twittering assistants. All Maggie wanted to do was head straight to
her room and her bed. 7ven dinner held no appeal.
-HJ
$esterday 7 .orever
Almost too tired to keep her eyes open, she feared she was too keyed3up to sleep. Maggie
worried if she lay down now she'd toss and turn for hours. $he needed something to help her get
to sleep. 5randy! "hat would do it. $he headed for the library.
Maggie bree1ed into the room, headed straight for the rystal deanter, and poured herself a
glass. $he took a sip. "he warmth of the li#uor flowed through her and she sighed.
"I told you it was #uite good, didn't I!"
Maggie whirled toward the une)peted voie. Adam lounged in a hair near the fireplae.
"Is this beoming a habit or what!" she said, her voie sharp with surprise. "7very time I turn
around you're sneaking up on me."
&e raised an eyebrow and saluted her with the glass in his hand. "I believe I was here first."
"You're right." $he sighed. "$orry." $he rossed to the sofa and ollapsed. $he laid her head on
the armrest, swung her legs up, and strethed her body out along the sofa's length. In the
e)tremely omfortable, semirelined position, Maggie observed Adam over the edge of her glass.
"I've really been a bite in the shorts sine I've been here. I know that. And you and 9ydia have
been the greatest. 9etting me stay with you, getting me lothes. And I honestly do appreiate it."
"Yes!"
"2emember I told you this morning I was sared!" &e nodded and she ontinued. "(ell, what
if this whole thing isn't temporary! (hat if I an't go home in a month! (hat if I'm stuk here
forever!"
"(ould that be so bad!" &is eyes gleamed intently.
-HF
:itoria Ale)ander
"(ould it be so terrible to spend your life here!"
"Yes." $he aught herself at the look of regret that passed through Adam's eyes so #uikly she
ould have been mistaken.
"@o. I guess not. Maybe. I don't know. I'm a reature of my environment, my history, my
soiety. 6an I e)ist without all that! It's like starting over on a desert island. I don't know."
$he shook her head slowly, then ga1ed at him. "And what about you and your sister! &ow long
an you pass me off as a weird, distant relative from Ameria! (hat do you do if I an't go
bak!"
"I daresay we shouldn't worry about that unless it happens. In the meantime, is this truly so
awful!"
"It's just so ompliated here. $o many dos and don'ts, rules and regulations. "here's a lot to
keep trak of."
A light of sympathy shone in his eyes. "I imagine it must be diffiult for one not used to it."
$he took another sip of the brandy. "@o shit, $herlok."
"Miss Masterson." Adam lurhed upright in his hair. "I thought you understood. I thought you
were beginning to grasp what is and what is not aeptable language. I don't know who $herlok
is but it is not diffiult to understand the meaning of that partiularly salty phrase. And 'no shit
$herlok' definitely does not fall within the boundaries of well3bred behavior. %o you
omprehend what I'm saying at all!"
Maggie widened her eyes and had the good grae to blush. (armth spread aross her heeks,
and for a moment embarrassment kept her silent.
-HE
$esterday 7 .orever
"I'm sorry," she said after a long pause. "I know I promised to at like I belong here and I
really am trying. &onestly. 5ut you have to remember one thing." $he sat up and leaned forward,
ga1ing into his dark eyes. "You, and 9ydia of ourse, are all I have right now. If I an't let my
guard down with you, I'll go ra1y. I'm living a total lie here and that's hard enough. 5ut if I an't
get a break when I'm with you, I don't think I an do it." $he paused and took a deep breath.
"$o please don't get mad at me when I forget all the little details about behavior and deorum
here. I need to be able to be myself sometimes. As taky as it may seem, this is who I am. I'm
sorry if I disappoint you."
"+h," he said softly and reahed to push an errant lok of her hair behind her ear. "I'm not at all
disappointed." &is hand traveled down to up her hin. &is bottomless brown eyes loked with
hers. "$o far I have been onfused and onfounded as well as infuriated and annoyed." &is
thumb lightly aressed her lower lip and she resisted the impulse to respond. "5ut I have also
been intrigued beyond measure and lured by a mysterious attration even I annot fail to respond
to."
"+h .. . yeah. 2ight," she breathed. (ow. "his guy was good.
2eally good.
Abruptly he removed his hand and she nearly fell forward. $truggling to maintain her dignity
and pretend nothing happened, she wondered at the look of ... what! $atisfation in his eye!
$urely she was
-H,
:itoria Ale)ander
mistaken. Maggie downed the last of her brandy and stood.
"(ell, I'm wiped out, so I'm going to bed. "hanks for everything."
"It is distintly my pleasure." &e piked up her hand and brushed his lips against it lightly.
"And one more thing."
&is ga1e bored into hers and she wondered if he would kiss her again. (ould she have the
strength or the desire to pull away this time!
"Yes!" $he tilted her fae toward him in e)petation.
"I was urious." "he underlying urrents in his soft words mathed her own. "I have replaed
all the items from your sathel and thought perhaps you would like to keep them with you." &e
dropped her hand and strode behind the desk. &e bent down and disappeared, only to rise with
her tote bag in one hand, her folded lothes, shoes balaned on top, in the other.
"I would suggest hiding them somewhere out of the obvious sight and reah of the servants. +r
would you prefer I keep them!" &is eyebrow raised with the #uestion.
"+h, no." $he reahed for her things, glad for the breathing spae the ation provided to pull
herself together. "he man had an irritatingly powerful effet on her. "I'll take them. "hanks. $ee
you tomorrow."
$he rossed the room and managed to open the door in spite of the burdens in her arms. A
vague disappointment that he had not attempted to kiss her, not pursued their mutual desire of
that morn3
-HL
$esterday 7 .orever
ing, annoyed her. $he really had to stop drooling over him.
$he losed the door. A low, self3satisfied hukle trailed in her wake. $he shook her head. &er
mind must be playing triks on her. After all, she was very tired and the only person behind her
was Adam. (hat on earth did he have to feel smug about!
-HB
Chapter Si
Maggie sailed down the stairs the ne)t morning far more refreshed than she'd been sine her
arrival in 9ondon, in either entury. Maybe her sister was right. Maybe what she really needed
was a hane to get away and think about her life. Maggie laughed to herself. 8iki had no idea
just how far away from her -BBHs life she'd gotten.
+vernight Maggie had reahed a deision. "his was her vaation and she was going to enjoy it.
If she had to spend it in -L-L 9ondon instead of -BBF 9ondon, so be it. It would definitely be
different and might even be fun. @ow that she had ome to grips with where and when she was,
she was determined to enjoy every minute of the month allotted her.
At the bottom of the stairs she ran into Adam in the foyer. *ar more asually dressed than she'd
seen him before, he wore some kind of buff3olored pants, dark jaket, and polished boots. "he
look flattered
11"
$esterday 7 .orever
him but she ouldn't help wondering idly what he'd look like in a pair of jeans and a "3shirt, both
a shade too small.
"?ood morning." &e smiled with apparent pleasure at her approah. &is ga1e traveled
appreiatively over her, spreading heat wherever it lingered. ""hose lothes suit you admirably."
""hanks." A shiver sampered through her and a blush warmed her heeks at the ompliment.
""his is one of 9ydia's. Mine aren't #uite ready." $he nodded at his lothes. "(here have you
been!"
"2iding. I try to ride as often as I an. 0sually every morning. 0nfortunately there's not always
time."
""oo bad," Maggie said lightly. "I guess that means you an't go with me today."
&e frowned suspiiously. "(here are you going!"
"(ell." $he took a deep breath and let the air and the words rush out. $omehow she didn't
think he'd approve of her plans. "I've deided to do some sightseeing while I'm here. You know,
take advantage of the situation. &ave some fun. 7njoy myself."
"And where preisely do you plan on doing this sightseeing!" &e #uirked an eyebrow.
"I don't know for sure." $he furrowed her brow in thought, sank onto the stairs, and patted the
step beside her, indiating that he sit. &e joined her, leaning his bak against the banister.
"My sister made all our sightseeing plans. I didn't want to ome to 9ondon in the first plae.
$he pushed me into it."
"(hy didn't you want to ome to 9ondon!" 6uriosity shone in his eyes. "It is a magnifient
ity."
"I didn't see the need for it, I guess. My sister
---
:itoria Ale)ander
thought it would do me good to get away." $he wrinkled her nose at the thought. "8iki, that's my
sister, thought I had no diretion in my life. $he feels I'm basially going nowhere. 8iki's pretty
muh of an overahiever. $he figured this was a good hane to put some perspetive on my life.
You know, from a distane."
"You most definitely have ahieved distane and, I suspet, a rather uni#ue perspetive." Irony
olored his words.
$he laughed. "@o kidding. 5ut I don't think this is e)atly what she had in mind. Anyway, 8iki
made up lists of things we were going to do. $he's very organi1ed and makes up lists for
everything." Maggie paused and smiled, remembering her sister's habit.
""he lists!" he prompted.
"+h, sorry." $he thought for a moment. "9et's see. (e were going to visit some of the spots
6harles %ikens wrote about. And the mythial "wenty3two 5aker $treet, home of $herlok
&olmes. And the haunts of Dak the 2ipper."
Adam frowned in pu11lement. "I'm afraid none of that sounds even vaguely familiar."
$he stared, then reali1ed what she had done. "I know." $he sighed. "I keep forgetting that what
seems anient to me hasn't even happened yet. Maybe I should e)plain."
Maggie tiked the points off on her fingers. "6harles %ikens was, or rather will be, one of the
greatest 5ritish writers of all time. &e'll be read and studied for generations. %ikens wrote the
most wonderful 6hristmas story ever. Most people prob3
--C
$esterday 7 .orever
ably know it by heart. "hen there's $herlok &olmes."
"$herlok!" A teasing smile rossed his lips.
"@ever mind." $he ignored the gleam in his eye. "$herlok &olmes was a fititious detetive.
&e was brilliant and ould solve almost any mystery simply by his powers of observation and
dedution. "he &olmes stories are among the best mysteries ever written."
"And this Dak the 2ipper is a literary figure as well!"
"+h, no." $he leaned toward him and widened her eyes. "&e was very real. &e was a murderer
here in 9ondon. 8illed four or five women, prostitutes mostly, I think, in the -L,Hs or maybe
-LLHs. I don't remember for sure."
"And your time reveres suh a man!" &is shoked e)pression surprised her.
"@o, of ourse not." Indignantly she glared at him. "You really do have the wrong impression
of my time. &e isn't revered. It all happened over a entury ago and they never disovered who
he was. It's one of the great riminal mysteries of all time. (ho was Dak the 2ipper! It's a
#uestion that even in my day researhers, riminologists, and even plain old armhair detetives
are still trying to solve."
$he ast him a sidelong glane. ""here was even speulation at the time that he was a member
of the royal family."
"I wouldn't be at all surprised." Adam smiled wryly. "5etween insanity, philandering, and other
surrilous ativities, I would not put murder out of the realm of possibility."
--G
:itoria Ale)ander
"(ell, don't worry about it." $he shrugged matter3of3fatly. "It won't happen for years yet."
"@o, I suppose not."
&e seemed to ponder the idea momentarily, then apparently shook it off. ""his still leaves us at
our original point. (here do you want to go! (ere there not any plaes in 9ondon that you, not
your sister, wanted to see!"
"$ure. I wanted to go see the impressionists at the 6ourtauld Institute. 5ut you know what!
"hey aren't painting yet. "hey won't be painting for another, oh, fifty or si)ty years."
$he bent toward him. "I'd love to see the @ational ;ortrait ?allery, too. %oes that e)ist yet!"
&e shook his head. "?reat. "errifi." $he sank bak against the stairs.
&e regarded her with his annoying amused smile and raised that infuriating eyebrow again.
"I'm truly sorry my ity an't offer you all you ame here e)peting. 5ut I assure you there are
many delights in 9ondon for visitors."
$he narrowed her eyes in suspiion. "Yeah, right. 9ike what!"
"(ell, there's (estminster Abbey, and the "ower, and, of ourse, the 5ritish Museum."
"%on't they have a lot of anient ?reek and 7gyptian stuff!"
"An e)ellent olletion."
"?reat. $ounds like fun." $he bouned to her feet. "@ow if I were at home I'd just go there by
myself, but I assume I an't do that here, right!"
&e nodded. ""hat's orret."
--J
$esterday 7 .orever
"$o are you going to ome with me!" $he strethed out her hand to him.
Adam unfolded himself from the stairs and took her hand. An almost eletri urrent shot
through her at his touh.
"I would be delighted to aompany you." &e smiled and again she was struk by what a
wonderful smile it really was.
""errifi. @ow, where an we get something to eat in this house! I'm starving."
444444444444444444
"hey strolled through the galleries of the 5ritish Museum at a leisurely pae. Maggie linked
her arm through Adam's and savored the feel of his warm, hard body ne)t to hers, his hand
overing hers. &e'd oasionally remove it to point out some treasure or other and she was
surprised to note how impatient she was for its return.
"hey spent long minutes e)amining the 7lgin marbles, huge hunks of ?reian arvings torn
from the ;arthenon and brought to 7ngland by 9ord 7lgin. Adam had seen them before. Maggie
had only seen photographs.
""hey're magnifient," she breathed.
"You like them!" $urprise olored his words. "I was under the impression you weren't
partiularly interested in history."
"I'm not muh on history," she said ruefully. "All those names and dates drive me nuts. 5ut
this"=she gestured toward the marble reliefs="this is art. I'm an artist. ;retty basi stuff,
ommerial work, but it's how I make my living."
Adam shook his head skeptially. "I still do not un3
--F
:itoria Ale)ander
derstand why your soiety permits women to work like men."
"he pleasure of their day together so far took the sting out of his words. Maggie wondered if
she was developing some tolerane for his se)ist attitudes. It wasn't as if the man knew any
better.
"6oleridge." $he laughed. "&ow am I ever going to get through to you!"
&e raised an eyebrow. "I have had the e)at same thoughts about you."
$he laughed again and this time he joined her. In easy ompanionship they ontinued their tour
until they paused in front of the 2osetta stone.
"Ama1ing, isn't it!" she murmured softly, awed by the huge tablet. "&ow one disovery like
this an unlok so many anient serets!"
"I don't understand." ;u11lement spread aross his fae.
"(ell, see how it's divided into three setions!" $he waved her hand at the blak basalt rok.
""he top is 7gyptian hieroglyphis, the middle I think is a different form of 7gyptian, and the
bottom is ?reek. It's the same information written in all three languages."
"?ood ?od." &e gasped, obviously shoked by her asual omment.
Maggie widened her eyes and stared at him. "You didn't know that! @o one's figured that out
yet!"
"@ot to my knowledge. And I do try to keep abreast of the latest disoveries."
"+h, Adam, this is a terrible mistake. I shouldn't have said anything. ;lease don't tell anyone."
--E
$esterday 7 .orever
"(hy on earth not! "his information should be ated on at one."
"@o." &ow ould she make him understand! "%on't you see! If you told anyone it ould
hange history. It ould be really minor, just a hange in a date. 5ut it ould have serious
reperussions."
"I'm sorry." &e shook his head in onfusion. "I don't see what possible effet this ould have."
$he struggled to find the right words. "I don't either, but it seems to me there are dangers
involved in time travel. "hings like parado)es. You know, how you an't go bak in time and
stop your grandfather from marrying your grandmother beause then you'd never be born!
(hih means you ouldn't go bak in the first plae and so on and so forth."
Maggie shook her head. "I don't think you're supposed to hange history. 7ven something that
seems relatively minor and insignifiant ould ultimately have a big impat." $he stared
helplessly up at him. "Am I making any sense!"
"I believe so," Adam said. ";erhaps you're right. &ow very intriguing." &e spoke thoughtfully,
as if onsidering the idea. "You mean to say that anything you do here ould have long3range
effets. "he smallest thing ould hange the future and your world. Is that what you mean!"
$he breathed a sigh of relief. ""hat's it e)atly."
"$o have you ome to any other onlusions about traveling through the ages!" Maggie noted
the twinkle in his eye and her mood lightened.
"As a matter of fat I have." $he smirked. "I've read a lot of siene fition and wathed a lot
of /tar Trek and Terminator stuff." $he groaned at his look
--,
:itoria Ale)ander
of omplete onfusion. "I'll e)plain another time, 6oleridge. "rust me on this one." 7)plaining
photography was nothing ompared to spae travel and 6omdr. %ata.
"Anyway, it seems to me there are probably, or at least there should be, rules about time travel.
9aws of nature maybe, like gravity. 2ule number one, what we just talked aboutA %on't hange
history."
A #ui11ial frown reased his forehead. "5ut how an there be rules or laws if no one has ever
done this before! If no one knows what these rules are!"
""hat's e)atly it. (e don't know that no one has ever traveled through time. *or all we know,
people ould be doing it every day."
""hat's e)tremely farfethed. I sinerely doubt there are travelers romping through the
enturies." &e lifted a skeptial eyebrow. "5ut for the sake of argument, I'll grant you that. (e
don't know for sure. $o>"=an amused light glimmered in his eye and Maggie ignored the
thought that he was humoring her="what are these rules!"
"(ell, it seems to me right now there's one more person in this world, in this time, than there's
supposed to be. "here's an imbalane. $o it only makes sense that I'm going bak. "hat will put
everything bak the way it's supposed to be."
"You still believe your arriage will ome bak for you on the twelfth!"
$he onsidered his #uestion arefully. "I'm not ertain. It's just something I feel. I an't
e)plain."
Maggie paused, then nodded toward the stone.
"It all seems so relative, doesn't it!" she said. ""ime, I mean. Anient 7gyptians probably
thought
--L
$esterday 7 .orever
they had all the time in the world, yet now their inredible ivili1ation is just a memory. "he
ama1ing art they reated is relegated to a measly display in a museum." &er words drifted into
silene and she ga1ed at the massive blak rok, its serets still shrouded in the shadows of time.
Adam sei1ed the opportunity to study her unobserved. &e had never enountered suh a
woman as this before. $he was spirited, stubborn, unruly, yet ourageous and undaunted. &e
found her language both pu11ling and atroious, but she obviously had intelligene and depth he
had not enountered in a female before.
Intelligene was not an attribute he would have thought attrative and definitely not one he had
sought before. 5ut in Maggie, her mind was as ompelling as the lovely pakage it ame
wrapped in. Add to that the immediate physial attration between them and Adam would be
hard3pressed to keep his resolve firm to stay away. 2ight now he was not entirely ertain he still
wished to.
"6oleridge, are you listening!"
"(hat! +h sorry." &e struggled to regain his omposure, but her brilliant green eyes bored
into his ausingly.
"I said, what's ne)t!"
"6lassial sulpture!"
"?reat, let's go." $he took his arm one more and they resumed their tour of the best the
5ritish Museum had to offer a visitor to 9ondon in -L-L.
444444444444444444
Maggie wandered aimlessly through the 6oleridge mansion alone. $he and Adam had spent
the better
--B
:itoria Ale)ander
part of the day at the museum, but tonight he and 9ydia had a party to attend. A soiree, whatever
that was. "hey'd invited her along but Maggie begged off. $he wasn't ready to fae a lot of
people yet and was grateful Adam and 9ydia didn't push her.
Maggie had a tray brought to her room for dinner and thought she would enjoy being alone
with time to think. 5ut as the evening wore on, she grew bored and lonely. &er solitary,
impromptu e)ploration of the house filled the hours, but even as she prowled the halls, the
frustrating restlessness ontinued.
&er self3guided tour did take her mind off her problems. $he disovered several more parlors
or salons. @one #uite as large as the green3and3gold room she'd stumbled into her first morning,
but all e#ually elegant. $he found what she assumed was a ballroom, with a huge handelier
overed with sheets hanging like a forlorn ghost in the enter. $he made her way through an
enormous formal dining room and the smaller breakfast room she'd seen this morning. $he
heked out the loation of eah of the mansion's several water losets, those up3to3date
onvenienes of whih the staff was e)tremely proud. Maggie found one on her first day and
with relief vowed never to use the hamber pot in her room.
7ventually, her meandering led her to the library. $he was growing to love this room. (arm
and inviting, it reeked of furniture polish and old books. A distintly masuline room. Adam's
santuary. Maybe that was why she felt so omfortable and seure there. $ay what she would
about the man, he did give her a feeling of safety and protetion.
-CH
$esterday 7 .orever
Maggie wandered over to a bookshelf and perused the titles, some familiar, many unknown.
$he notied a great number of sientifi books standing side by side with lassis, inluding
6hauer, Milton, %ante. Maggie oneded the respet due the great authors but in terms of atual
reading had always found them ponderous and frankly boring.
$he moved to another shelf and disovered $hakespeare. Maggie ran her fingers over the
assorted olletion and deided to pass. $he enjoyed the 5ard but preferred his works onstage
rather than on paper.
2oaming around the room, she aught sight of a opy of "ride and "re0udice. $he hadn't read
Dane Austen sine ollege and grabbed the book with delight. $he was never all that wild about
Austen but the book represented something familiar in this ompletely foreign plae.
$he snuggled down in a orner of the library sofa and within minutes, lost herself in the
lighthearted tale of love and misunderstanding. Maggie found the book far more enjoyable now
than when she first read it. ;erhaps beause then the haraters were part of a world she ould
not relate to. @ow, at least for a while, their world was hers.
"$o you like the writings of Miss Austen!"
&is now familiar voie interrupted her. Maggie glaned up from the volume and her heart
skipped a beat. Adam leaned la1ily against the door frame, arms rossed, regarding her with
interest. $he hadn't seen him dressed formally before now and he not only looked fantasti, he
e)uded an aura of ontrolled power and sensuality.
-C-
:itoria Ale)ander
$taring at him, Maggie wondered why men ever gave up ravats and ruffled shirts, form3fitting
jakets that emphasi1ed broad shoulders and trim waists and skin3tight pants that left little to the
imagination and had hers working overtime. (ith his blond good looks, dark, velvet eyes and
dimpled heek, it was easy to see why women were attrated to him. $he ould well imagine
how he a#uired the now forgotten reputation of rake. 7)itement #uivered within her.
&er best interests lay in avoiding Adam. 9ogially that made sense. 5ut her deision to settle
in the library was based as muh on a suppressed desire to see him as it was on the need for a
good book. 9ogi had little to do with it. $he was tempting fate, dangerously and deliiously.
$he smiled. "I find I like her more than I used to. %o you!"
"$he is e)tremely popular."
"In my time this work is onsidered a lassi e)ample of the 5ritish novel."
&e shrugged, e)pressing his opinion of the #uestionable taste of her time. "I find her writings
too . . . sentimental for my taste."
"And too romanti!" Maggie's tone teased but she treaded dangerous waters. (asn't it only this
morning she swore not to get involved with him!
&e lifted an eyebrow, an amused smile on his lips, daring her to dive in. "You think I don't
enjoy romane! "hat perhaps there is no romane in my soul!"
;lunging ahead, Maggie took a deep breath and laughed. "(ell, you just don't strike me as the
ro3
-CC
$esterday 7 .orever
manti type. You're so businesslike and, well . . ."
"6ontrolled, perhaps! ;reise!"
$he laughed again. "I was going to say stuffy."
"he eyebrow shot up one more and she noted a genuine look of surprise in his eyes.
"I'm sorry," she said #uikly, trying not to laugh this time. "I really don't think you're stuffy. It's
just that you're so dramatially different from anyone I've ever known. I'm just not used to the
sort of, oh, formal way things are here." $he aimed for an apologeti look but ouldn't #uite hide
the twinkle in her eye.
"$tuffy." &e snorted, and strolled asually aross the room to the shelves.
@ot romanti! Adam 6oleridge! 7arl of 2idge3wood!
Adam had never reeived a single omplaint about either his manner or his attentions to
women. 7speially not from women. In his hell3raising days he'd onsidered himself a harming
and aomplished lover. And sine then he had not laked for female ompanionship when he
hose to pursue it.
&e surveyed the books on the shelves. "I suppose you find 9ord 5yron or $ir (alter $ott
romanti!"
"@ot partiularly." Adam heard the amusement in her voie. If he looked her way, he would
surely see a hallenge light her eyes. @ot romanti! &a. &e'd see about that.
A nagging thought in the bak of Adam's mind reminded him of the neessity of keeping his
distane from this woman. 5ut what harm ould an innoent flirtation do! &e was a man and
men ould ontrol
-CG
:itoria Ale)ander
their emotions. And after all, she was the one who had issued the hallenge.
&adn't she!
&e pluked a volume from the shelves and pulled a hair lose to Maggie.
"%o you like $hakespeare!" &e looked at her sharply. "%o you even know $hakespeare!"
"?ive me a break." $he laughed. "Yes, I know $hakespeare. @ot personally, of ourse." $he
paused at his look of onfusion.
"It's a joke. $ee, that's what I mean about you. You have absolutely no sense of humor. You're
too uptight, too severe, too straitlaed, too="
"$tuffy!" he asked.
""here you go again. You take everything way too seriously."
"Miss Masterson, you have maligned my harater and personality and you e)pet me to
simply wave it away. I have grave responsibilities whih aount for the serious aspets of my
nature. &owever, I do enjoy humor when I see it. And as for romane, I may onsider it silly and
uninspired in the work of Miss Austen but I reogni1e and appreiate it in the hands of a master."
"In what!" A teasing tone sounded in her voie. 'The Taming of the /hrew&'
""hat may well be appropriate under the irumstanes." "he amused smile returned. &e had
the look of a man who had just gained the upper hand and knew it.
"&owever, in terms of romane, my first hoie would be Romeo and Buliet. %o you not
agree!" &e stared deeply into her eyes.
-CJ
$esterday 7 .orever
Yep, dangerous waters all right. &ow long would she be able to stay afloat! 0nfortunately, the
danger added to the thrill. 0pped the stakes. Maggie had no #ualms about playing this little
game. As long as they played only with words.
"I do. (hat ould be more romanti than 'a pair of star3rossed lovers.'"
$urprised, Adam nodded appreiation at the #uote. Maggie smiled smugly. "he first point to
her, but the game had barely begun.
Adam flipped open the book and paged through it, #uikly finding the passage he wanted. "
'&e jests at sars that never felt a wound,' " he read. " '5ut soft. (hat light through yonder
window breaks! It is the 7ast, and Duliet is the sun.' "
"he balony sene. "he ultimate romanti sene of all time, at least in Maggie's eyes. &ad
been sine the seventh grade when she and Dimmy 5ennett were piked to memori1e the lines
and reite them for a lass. "he assignment meant a week of after3shool study sessions at her
house or Dimmy's. 5ut Maggie didn't are. $he'd had a silent, hopeless rush on the boy all year.
"he balony sene always brought bak the poignant pangs and passions of first love.
Dimmy moved away at the end of the shool year and as time passed, Maggie rarely, if ever,
thought of him. 5ut Romeo and Buliet never failed to leave her with a flutter in her stomah and
a longing in her heart.
$till, if a man of her own time had pulled this, Maggie would have laughed out loud. "o all
reading Romeo and Buliet hokey and lihed was an understatement. Although, to be honest, it
had never hap3
-CF
:itoria Ale)ander
pened before. At least not in her adult life. $omehow, from Adam, it seemed not merely right but.
.. perfet.
" 'Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, who is already sik and pale with grief that thou
her maid art far more fair than she.' "
As muh as she enjoyed $hakespeare on the stage, the best performanes, even Dimmy's, paled
ne)t to the impat of Adam reading the immortal words.
&is rih, strong voie swept through every orner of the book3lined room. "he mellow,
honeyed tones wrapped her in a ooon of sensual imagery. 7ven the look of him in the elegant,
formal evening lothes added to the rih te)ture enveloping her. "he library shimmered in the
gaslight, the atmosphere rih with the possibility of magi.
" '$ee how she leans her heek upon her hand. + that I were a glove upon that hand, that I
might touh that heek.'"
Maggie studied his e)pressive fae, #uelling an impulse to run her finger along the line of his
hiseled jaw, feel the shadowed stubble there. "he temptation lingered to run her hands through
his already tousled thik blond hair. $he ould almost feel the silky te)ture of his ravat and
yearned to pull it free, releasing his throat to her aressing lips.
It would take so little to fall in love with this man. ;ossibly she was already a bit in love.
"houghts of him ertainly seemed to be on her mind every waking moment and she'd only
known him for what! "wo days! 5ut on the other hand, time had taken on whole new
possibilities.
(hat was it about him that drew her to him like
-CE
$esterday 7 .orever
a ompass needle to magneti north! (ould this irresistible pull be as strong if she were on
familiar ground, or was her growing desire more a result of time and plae than anything else!
Maggie didn't think so. %eep inside she instintively sensed that with this man it would be the
same regardless of where or when.
" '9ady, by yonder blessed moon I vow, that tips with silver all these fruit3tree tops=+, swear
not by the moon, th' inonstant moon.' "
Adam's hands radled the book gently, almost reverently. &is strong, steady fingers strethed
oasionally to turn a page. $he longed to reah out, entwine her fingers with his, revel in the
touh of his hand.
&er thoughts drifted bak to this morning's kiss and she dwelled on what might have
happened. (hat ould still happen. $he imagined being in his arms again. Imagined what magi
those fingers ould reate, what serets they ould unleash.
9ost in her thoughts and $hakespeare's words, Maggie hardly notied when Adam losed the
book. &is hands lasped hers and her startled ga1e met his. It took a moment to reali1e he wasn't
reading> he knew these words by heart.
" '?ood night, good night. ;arting is suh sweet sorrow . .
&e piked up her right hand and brought it to his lips. "urning it over, still ga1ing into her
eyes, he kissed her palm lightly. A surge of sensual delight shot through her.
"'. . . "hat I shall say good night till it be morrow.' "
-C,
:itoria Ale)ander
&e kissed the other palm. &is eyes never left hers. A yearning for more washed over Maggie.
&er head swam. &er body ahed.
"It's very late." &is gentle voie abruptly jolted her bak to reality.
"(hat! +h, yeah. 2ight," she stammered, trying to regain whatever shred of omposure she
had left, but he still held her hands. $he snathed them away and looked up to see him regarding
her with an amused e)pression. "oo flustered to do battle, Maggie wisely held bak. $he stood
and headed for the door, then turned bak to Adam.
"I believe I owe you an apology." $he smiled. "You definitely have a romanti soul. And you
may not be nearly as stuffy as I thought."
""hank you, Miss Masterson . .. Maggie." &e returned her smile and bowed elegantly.
444444444444444444
Maggie losed the library doors and ollapsed against them. $he needed to ath her breath. A
good general knew when to retreat as well as advane and this skirmish was lost. "hose last few
moments alone were a major battle in self3ontrol. @ow desire and frustrated passion left her
weak and trembling.
A relationship with Adam would end in disaster. $he didn't want to go home and leave her
heart behind. 5ut then, a small voie nagged, maybe she should stop fighting beause maybe it
was already too late. And, the voie ontinued relentlessly, maybe what she'd find with Adam,
even for a short time, would be worth the prie.
Another line from $hakespeare flashed through her mind. @ot from Romeo and Buliet but
tailor3
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$esterday 7 .orever
made for this situation. $he muttered under her breath and headed for the stairs. " '9ord, what
fools these mortals be.'"
444444444444444444
Adam swirled the brandy in his glass and ontemplated the door Maggie had walked through
moments before. &e imagined she stood on the other side of that door, trying to regain ontrol.
Adam hukled softly and sipped the li#uor. $he tried so very hard to oneal the effet he had
on her but it was learly a harade. &e grinned with satisfation. @ot romanti! $tuffy! &a.
Adam had enjoyed tonight, enjoyed the game, the hallenge, and espeially the triumph. "here
were no doubts that he indeed ame out the winner. And winners did not give up their pri1e.
&e knew not when it happened, but somewhere between this morning and the moment Maggie
walked out tonight, his feelings rystalli1ed, evolved from simple passion and desire to . .. what!
9ove!
Adam didn't know and didn't are. &e had vast e)periene with women, but love!
@ever.
&e only knew a woman had never enhanted him like this. Miss Margaret Masterson suited
him and he would not give her up.
Adam wanted Maggie in his bed and in his life, permanently. &e merely had to wait until she
reali1ed she wanted it as well. "hen he would move heaven and earth, and old men in arriages,
and time itself to keep her by his side and in his world.
*orever.
-CB
Chapter Seven
Maggie bree1ed into the breakfast room with an air of serenity that belied her onfliting
emotions. All night she'd tossed and turned, her mind replaying vivid images of Adam's touh,
Adam's kiss. "he feelings he aroused onfused her. Men in her life were few and far between, but
it wasn't as if she was an innoent, blushing virgin. $he'd known desire before, even imagined
herself in love.
5ut for whatever reason, this seemed different. Adam affeted her senses far more intensely
than any man.
7ver.
+ne look from him melted something at the very ore of her being. +ne touh of his hand left
her trembling. +ne kiss . . .
&er heart told her to go for it. 7njoy what she ould and if she fell in love, well, she'd deal with
that when it happened. -GH
$esterday 7 .orever
5ut a highly protetive, annoyingly sensible voie inside sreamed any involvement with
Adam, physial or emotional, arried a real risk of heartbreak. "hrough the long, sleepless night
Maggie had debated the #uestion.
(as it a risk worth taking!
$he peered around the room, disappointed not to find Adam. +nly 9ydia sat at the table, going
through a stak of what looked like mail. $he glaned up with a weloming smile.
"?ood morning."
"&i." Maggie took a plate from the sideboard, seleting from the vast array of breakfast fare.
"he food here tasted far better than she was used to, riher somehow. +f ourse these people had
never heard of holesterol or alories. If she didn't wath out, she'd go home the si1e of a small
elephant. $he relutantly passed on the more tempting=and fattening=items.
6arrying her meagerly filled plate, Maggie settled in the hair ne)t to 9ydia. 6uriously she
glaned at the orrespondene. "(hat are you doing!"
9ydia leaned bak with a sigh. "Invitations are oming in from everywhere for balls, soirees,
ard parties, dinner parties. I am having a diffiult time deiding whih we shall attend."
"(e!" 6aution tinged Maggie's tone.
"+f ourse." 9ydia arhed an eyebrow in a manner suspiiously like Adam's. (as that some
kind of irritating family trait!
"It is past time you began aompanying us. You simply annot remain hidden here. Most of
the lothes we ordered have been delivered and you no
-G-
:itoria Ale)ander
longer have any e)use for begging off. 5esides, the entire ton is bu11ing with #uestions about
the beautiful Amerian relation Adam arried through the park the other day."
"+h, that's swell." Maggie groaned. "You mean I'm already the subjet of gossip!"
9ydia nodded serenely.
"5ut I thought the idea was to keep my presene low3key. &ow an I do that if all these soiety
types are wathing me!"
"You shall do fine," 9ydia said onfidently. "It's not as if you will be alone. Adam and I will be
at your side every minute."
"I don't think I'm ready for this," Maggie said. "You told me there are all the ridiulous rules
you people have. I'll never be able to keep them straight."
9ydia brushed aside her objetions. "It's not that ompliated." &er eyes twinkled. "5esides,
there are so many things one an't do it's fairly easy to remember the few one an."
Maggie stared, too horrified to reali1e 9ydia was joking. &ow ould she possibly get through
the kind of formal affairs people in this era attended routinely!
"Adam will be meeting us shortly in the ballroom to teah you to walt1." 9ydia turned her
attention bak to the stak of invitations.
Maggie sighed, her moment of pani giving way to relutant aeptane. Maybe she ould
handle it with the right help and the right teaher. It didn't look as if she had muh of a hoie. 4
4 4
-GC
$esterday 7 .orever
Maggie faed Adam in the enter of the modest ballroom. 9ydia sat off to one side at what she
alled a pianoforte. "o Maggie, it looked pretty muh like the pianos of her time, maybe a bit
smaller. It was reassuring to note musi was one thing that transended time.
Maggie ga1ed up at Adam with delight. &e really was tall. $he'd notied his height earlier, how
he always seemed to be towering above her. 5ut some flaring emotion usually prevented her
from paying any attention to something as mundane as height, at least in their enounters so far.
At five feet, four inhes, Maggie was used to being on the short side, used to looking up at most
men. Adam was a good ten inhes taller. And tall men brought out the best=or was it the worst!
=in her.
Adam's already familiar smile of amusement played on his lips. "Are you #uite ready!"
"I suppose." $he drew a deep, nervous breath. "(hat's first!"
"%o you know nothing at all about daning!" An eyebrow rose in surprise.
"+f ourse I do. I'm not stupid." Maggie bristled at his ondesending attitude. "I'll have you
know my mother made me take ballroom daning when I was a kid."
"And that was . .. how long ago!" "he smile widened into a definite grin.
"%on't be so smug. I'm just not used to this. I'd like to see how you'd do dumped in a totally
new environment."
"he defense of her lak of soial skills seemed a soure of inredible amusement to him.
Annoyed,
-GG
:itoria Ale)ander
Maggie made a onerted effort to alm down. "5ut I've always been a fast learner, so let's get
going."
"My pleasure."
"I'll bet," she muttered under her breath.
"he infuriating grin still plastered on his fae, Adam nodded to 9ydia to begin playing. &e
took Maggie's right hand in his left. ;laing his other hand firmly on the small of her bak, he
pulled her tight.
:ery tight.
"Are we supposed to be this lose!" $he gasped, knowing full well her shortness of breath had
little to do with his tight grasp, and everything to do with the pressure of his hard, firm body
against hers.
"Yes." &e ga1ed into her eyes and she lost herself in the e)itement they promised, the desire
they revealed. $wept away on a tide of nerve3tingling antiipation, Maggie barely notied Adam
sweeping her off her feet literally as well.
"You are doing far better than I e)peted," he said, a note of approval in his voie.
"(hat!" Derked bak to reality, Maggie promptly stumbled, stopping them both in their traks.
"$orry."
(hat was wrong with her! 7very time she looked into this man's eyes, every time he touhed
her, she turned positively worthless. If this kept up she wouldn't need to worry about any kind of
involvement with him. $he'd simply melt into a small puddle at his feet and that would be that.
$#uaring her shoulders and taking another deep breath, she glared up at him. "he amused,
vaguely superior e)pression she found so irritating remained
-GJ
$esterday 7 .orever
on his fae, almost as if. . .
&e ouldn't possibly know what she was thinking. +r what happened to her when he ame
within CH feet.
6ould he!
"$hall we ontinue!" &e drew her into his arms one again.
Maggie nodded and onentrated on following his lead and listening to 9ydia's musi. $he
aught on #uikly and in no time walt1ed with Adam as easily as if they'd daned together all
their lives.
&er onfidene grew and she rela)ed, turning her attention toward the man holding her
seurely in his arms. $he promised herself that this time he wouldn't get the upper hand.
"$o how am I doing!" $he tilted her fae toward his.
"7)ellent." Adam smiled and tightened his already firm grip.
&e had not held her like this before, and he found the feel of her supple body against his
deliious beyond all e)petation. &ard3pressed to ontinue the lesson, he reveled in the sent of
her hair, the deliate plaement of her hand in his, the remarkable sensation of her breasts
brushing against his hest.
&e longed to reah down and nu11le the sensitive point on her nek, savor the taste of her skin
beneath his lips. 5eyond all reason, he wanted to sweep her into his arms and arry her to the
nearest seluded spot. "o hell with waiting for her to burn as hotly for him as he wanted=no=
needed her. As he whirled her around the dane floor, her eyes darkened, their emerald tone
deepening to the olor of a forest glade.
-GF
:itoria Ale)ander
&e had seen that olor before. &e would not have to wait long.
Maggie tossed her head bak and laughed with the sheer e)hilaration of flying aross the room
in Adam's arms. In the grip of a sensation nearly as powerful as his touh, Maggie marveled that
women ever let the art of walt1ing esape them. ?ranted, the dane was not really suited to
soial funtions of the late twentieth entury. 5ut, oh, what a glorious feeling. &er dress swirled
around her ankles. &er feet barely skimmed the floor.
Adam e)euted a partiularly intriate move and Maggie followed his lead effortlessly.
":ery good," he murmured, appreiation glowing in his eyes.
""hanks." $atisfation rang in her voie. "I told you I was a fast learner. I'm a natural at stuff
like this."
"A natural!"
9aughter bubbled from her lips. "$ome things just ome easy, naturally, like daning."
"(hat else omes naturally!" Adam stared down at her, his fae the piture of innoene.
"All kinds of things." Maggie tossed off the words lightly, but her glane dared him to go on.
"Indeed," he responded softly, his voie a aress, sending hills of antiipation up her spine.
"6an you be more e)pliit!"
&er eyes loked with his. %rawn into their velvety depths, she read aknowledgment of her
dare, and aeptane. $he laughed with delight and onfidene.
Maggie oneded last night's defeat but she
-GE
$esterday 7 .orever
wouldn't lose round two. $he wouldn't let her emotions arry her away. $he wouldn't fall in love.
And as muh fun as verbally fening with him was, right now perhaps disretion really was the
better part of valor and a hange of subjet was in order.
"&ave you thought any more about my little problem!"
";roblem!" &e looked perple)ed.
"You remember! I'm not from around here."
"+h, of ourse." 6omprehension dawned on his fae. "I have thought of little else but you. And
of ourse your problem."
(as it her or did everything he said have a double meaning!
"And . . ."
"I have onsidered your onlusions." An amused smile played on his lips and he looked down
at her. "5ut let us take your assumptions a little further, shall we! *or the sake of argument, say
the reason you ame here in the first plae was beause this is where you ultimately belong. You
were fated, destined, to ome here. "his is, if you'll forgive the e)pression, your future."
$tartled by his suggestion, she stared. "I hadn't thought of that."
"(ell, perhaps it is something you should think about." &e abruptly seemed far more serious
and intense. &is eyes darkened with meaning that sent desire rippling through her. +ne again
she abandoned herself to the musi and the movement and the man.
If not for the irumstanes, if this were her own time and plae, she might not ignore the tiny
voie inside whispering that perhaps this was indeed her
-G,
:itoria Ale)ander
fate. "hat Adam, perhaps, in all the world, in all of time itself, was the one man right for her.
5ut it wasn't different.
In spite of their disussion of rules and her future, Maggie's belief that she didn't belong here
and would be leaving stayed firm. $he was a twentieth3entury woman with all the baggage that
entailed, inluding independene and a sense of e#uality as well as a definite need for panty
hose, television, and mirowaves. "here was no way she was fated to live her life in a plae
where indoor plumbing was onsidered up3to3date.
As for Adam, she wanted him and didn't doubt he wanted her as well. "here wasn't anything
wrong with that. @ot for a woman of the -BBHs. 5ut in spite of her thoroughly modern ideas
ould she really have Adam on those terms! @o emotions, no ommitments, just enjoy the
moment! 6ould she handle it!
"his wouldn't be an easy game to play. "he stakes were high.
*or Maggie, defeat meant losing her heart.
*orever.
444444444444444444
9ydia's ga1e followed the ouple as they twirled upon the polished floor. "hey daned for
nearly an hour and 9ydia was pleased with how #uikly Maggie mastered the steps. Always in
e)ellent form, Adam never failed to make his partners look good. 5ut even 9ydia had to admit,
not #uite this good. Adam and Maggie daned as one, as if halves of the same whole.
9ydia frowned. $he did not want her brother heartbroken, merely distrated, and she ertainly
did
-GL
$esterday 7 .orever
not believe Maggie's nonsense about leaving in a month. (hatever une)plained fore tossed her
here in the first plae ould not possibly be relied on to snath her bak.
(hen most people looked at 9ydia they never saw past the blond urls, pert nose, and amber
eyes. "hey never suspeted that hidden withifi the willowy body beat a heart of pure logi. It
simply did not make sense that Maggie's arrival was without purpose. As no other purpose
presented itself, 9ydia reasonably assumed that, sine she had, after all, ome on the night of
Adam's ultimatum, Maggie's purpose was to help 9ydia avoid a fored, arranged marriage.
;erfetly logial.
9ydia's touh lightened on the keys and the notes drifted to a lose. Maggie and Adam
ontinued to dane, never notiing the musi had stopped. A satisfied smile rossed her lips.
":ery good." 9ydia lapped her hands and flitted aross the floor. "he daners drew apart> only
their eyes still met.
"Maggie, you have done beautifully," 9ydia said. "&asn't she, Adam!"
"5eautifully." Adam's ga1e lingered on Maggie.
""hanks." Maggie addressed 9ydia but her attention remained on Adam.
9ydia studied them ritially. $he ould easily take her time. @either seemed to notie her
presene. &er plan was working #uite niely. "2eally e)ellent, Maggie. You should have no
problems tonight."
""onight!" Maggie gasped, her fous now firmly fi)ed on 9ydia.
"+f ourse tonight. (e're going to the %uke and
-GB
:itoria Ale)ander
%uhess of 5roadmore's ball." 9ydia strove for a look of innoene. "%idn't I mention it!"
"@o, you didn't mention it." Maggie turned a pleading e)pression to Adam. "@ot tonight. I'm
not ready. I an't."
9ydia sniffed. "You will simply refuse all danes e)ept the walt1, whih you obviously have a
gift for, and follow my e)ample. You shall not only be fine, you shall have a delightful evening."
"6oleridge," Maggie said.
"I'm afraid, my dear, 9ydia is very probably right," Adam agreed, a sympatheti note
underlying his words. ""he inident in the park has brought you to the attention of the ton. Many
are beginning to wonder why they have not seen you publily. I believe it is time. You an dane
and beyond that="
"I know, I know." Maggie sighed. "8eep my mouth shut. I have=what was it! +h yeah, a
'nasty temper' and a 'vulgar voabulary.' "
"5ut," Adam leaned over and whispered softly in her ear, "you aren't at all stuffy and there
definitely is romane in your soul."
-JH
Chapter Eight
Maggie surveyed the %uke's grand ballroom with uriosity. &er hand rept up to touh the
filigree heart nestled in the hollow of her throat. "he metal warmed by her skin boosted her
ourage and onfidene. $o did Adam. "he look of stunned ama1ement on his fae when she
appeared dressed for the ball onfirmed what her mirror already told her. $he looked fantasti,
like a priness from a storybook. Maggie's build and height were as muh made for the style of
the times as this dress had been made for her.
"he deliate green ball gown highlighted her eyes, emphasi1ed the red tones in her hair,
aented her reamy skin. "he dress molded to her urves, the high waist omplementing her
well3endowed figure. At first the e)tremely low3ut nekline seemed far too revealing and she
wondered if she looked as naked as she felt. 5ut Adam's ga1e lingered appreiatively
-J-
:itoria Ale)ander
on the e)posed swell of her breasts and her reservations vanished.
Maggie sailed through the reeiving line with ease, thanks to the subtle guidane of Adam and
9ydia. "he introdution to her hosts, the %uke and %uhess of (hatsit, went without a hith. +f
ourse, only Maggie thought of them as (hatsit. 2emembering names was not her forte, and
sine they insisted on taking titles on everyone, well, she might as well give up right now.
Maggie barely had time to take in the spetale around her before she and 9ydia were
surrounded by men lamoring for their attention.
"Maggie, I'd like to introdue you to 9ord 6rofton and 9ord (ells. "his is 9ord &andley and
this is Mr. Ainsworth. ?entlemen, may I present Miss Margaret Masterson, visiting from
Ameria."
9ydia introdued her with a skill and speed that left Maggie struggling with a severe ase of
sensory overload.
"And you must meet 9ord $o and $o, and of ourse here is the ever so harming 9ord $uh
and $uh."
In the whirl of introdutions, names and faes blurred into a kaleidosope of onfusion. 5ut
within moments Maggie understood two basi fats about life in -L-L that lifted her onfidene
yet again. +ne, these men were all e)tremely harming and obviously interested in her. And two,
regardless of whether it was the nineteenth entury or the twentieth entury or very probably the
thirty3seond entury, flirting in any time was pretty muh the same. Maggie was a master of that
fine art.
*ortunately it wasn't espeially diffiult to maintain the "keep your mouth shut" advie and
still dis3
-JC
$esterday 7 .orever
arm the gentlemen around her. After all, they didn't e)pet brains in a pretty woman, or any
woman, aording to 9ydia. And while Maggie didn't flaunt her intelligene, she did use it to her
advantage.
"%elighted to meet you, Miss Masterson." +ne of the rowd grasped her gloved hand in his
and lifted it to his lips. "&ow long will you be graing our fair ity!"
"My plans are indefinite at the moment." $he hedged and gave the man before her a teasing
smile. &e wasn't #uite as tall as Adam but she still had to look up at pale blue eyes set in a
pleasant fae, surrounded by sandy brown hair. &is stoky build onveyed a sense of power, and
Maggie thought him #uite attrative. In fat, all the men she met were attrative. &ad men lost
something through the enturies or did the formal blak3and3white attire make any man look
great!
"I'm afraid I didn't #uite ath your name."
"Maggie," 9ydia ut in, "this is 9ord 9indley."
"Miss Masterson, I hope I shall have the pleasure of a dane!"
&is re#uest threw Maggie momentarily and pani surged in her hest. $he wasn't sure how to
e)plain, what e)atly to say. 5efore she ould, Adam appeared at her elbow.
"Miss Masterson is regrettably sorry, but sine she is reently arrived from Ameria, she is not
familiar with our danes. $he does walt1, but as her relative I'm afraid I annot possibly allow
her to partner anyone outside the family."
Maggie struggled to ontain a relieved giggle.
"7)tremely sorry, but I'm ertain you understand."
-JG
:itoria Ale)ander
&e steered her toward the dane floor, leaving 9ord 9indley with a strange, onsidering
e)pression on his fae that said he didn't understand at all.
Adam and Maggie took their positions, one of his hands holding hers, the other on the small of
her bak. A loop around her free wrist held up her skirt, and a fan dangled from her hand.
"I thought it was against the rules to dane with any man more than twie!" A teasing lilt
lightened her tone.
"It is perfetly aeptable," he said loftily. "I am your relation."
"5ut you aren't, really."
"5ut I ould be." &is eyes darkened and he swept her into the dane at the start of the musi.
"aken abak, Maggie nearly stumbled. (hat the hell was he trying to say! $he stared at him but
he avoided her ga1e, and she relutantly turned her attention to the dane and the daners.
9ike a setting out of an epi movie, the huge ballroom glittered in gold and rystal. 7laborately
dressed women in rainbow hues shimmered with jewels. Men, some in radiant olors but most in
blak3and3white formal dress, radiated wealth and power. It was all so wonderfully 5ritish.
Maggie had to remind herself this was no sene from a ;5$ drama. "his was real. And for now
she was part of it.
"he musi died, and Maggie and Adam swayed to a stop at the edge of the dane floor. $he
opened her mouth to ask what Adam meant by his earlier rypti omment.
-JJ
$esterday 7 .orever
"2idgewood. Adam." A rih, masuline voie interrupted her thoughts.
"2ihard." Adam's fae shone with pleasure.
Maggie turned toward the voie. A tall, ruggedly handsome man with a wide grin approahed
them, aompanied by a lovely blonde nearly as tall.
"Adam, it has been far too long." "he two men slapped eah other on the bak e)uberantly.
Maggie wondered if this was male bonding nineteenth3entury style and noted how their ation
had the same feel of men giving eah other a high five, or football players patting eah other on
the butt. $ome things really didn't ever hange.
"I know. I've been remiss in not keeping up with old friends." Adam ast an admiring glane at
the blonde. "5ut sine your marriage I assumed you to have more important things on your
mind."
"he woman smiled knowingly.
Adam turned to Maggie. "Maggie, this is 9ord and 9ady (estbrooke, 2ihard and Amanda.
"his is Miss Margaret Masterson, a distant relation of ours from Ameria."
"Ameria, how wonderful." Amanda e)laimed with delight. "I, too, am from Ameria.
;hiladelphia. (here preisely are you from!"
"%enver," Maggie said without thinking. "6olorado."
At Amanda's blank look, Maggie reali1ed her mistake. $he searhed her mind, frantially
looking for a way out of this dilemma. (here the hell was she from!
"6olorado .. . 6ounty. "hat's it. %enver in 6olorado 6ounty. In .. . oh .. ."
-JF
:itoria Ale)ander
(hat states were there in -L-L! $he glared in desperation at Adam. &e shrugged helplessly
and . . . ?ood ?od, she was in trouble now. &e raised both eyebrows.
"+h . . ." "ottering on the brink of pani, Maggie struggled to think. "+h ..."
6ome on. @ame a state.
"+h . . . hio!"
2eognition registered on Amanda's fae and she frowned. "I'm afraid I am not very familiar
with +hio. Muh is still frontier, is it not!"
"+h, yeah." Maggie sighed with relief and felt as if she'd just won *inal Deopardy. "It's very
rusti, rural, very rural. 9ots of frontier. "rees, too. 9ots and lots of big, big trees. And, um,
bears. "here are bears. ..."
"I believe you mentioned a breath of fresh air earlier!" Adam finally ame to her resue and
took her arm. "2ihard, we shall speak later." &e nodded to Amanda and direted Maggie away.
":ery nie to meet you," she said over her shoulder.
2ihard wathed the retreating figures hurry into the garden and noted his wife staring intently.
"&ow very odd," Amanda said, speulation in her voie. "$he appears to be hiding something."
"I hope not, my dear." 2ihard gave her a la1y smile. "It may have esaped your notie, but he
is in love with her."
444444444444444444
Adam ushered Maggie #uikly down the terrae steps to a fairly private orner of the garden.
"he
-JE
$esterday 7 .orever
effort to keep up with his long strides kept Maggie #uiet. 0ntil now.
"I don't believe this. (hat a disaster," she said. "I don't know anything about +hio."
""hat was painfully apparent." Adam rossed his arms and leaned asually against a tree, not
bothering to hide his amusement at her tirade. "I believe you mentioned something about trees
and bears! It sounded delightful."
"oo wrought up to give him the sathing answer his omment deserved, she ignored him. "It's
like I'm being punished for something. "hat's it. I'm being paid bak for every time I ever said
'(hat do I need to study history for! I'm going to be an artist.' And the answer was always 'You
need to be a well3rounded person.' &a. "he real answer is beause someday you'll be asually
traveling through time and disover you need to know this stuff so you won't look like a total and
omplete idiot."
$he paed bak and forth, gesturing wildly. "I never liked history. It was boring. And now here
I am living it. (hat a laugh. (hat a joke. (hat a bite in the shorts. And you." $he whirled
toward him and leveled a blistering look. "You were absolutely no help whatsoever."
&e shrugged nonhalantly, obviously trying to stifle a smile. "(hat would you have me do!"
"(hat! +h, I don't know." &er mind raed. "You ould have let me know how many states
there are in the 0nion. In Ameria."
"&ow many are there in your time!" &e raised an in#uiring eyebrow.
"*ifty."
-J,
:itoria Ale)ander
"?ood lord," he said. "I would not have dreamed it possible. %oes the ountry now streth over
the whole of the ontinent! &ow did suh states develop! Are they autonomous or dependent! Is
the republi system of government still funtioning!"
Inredulous, Maggie stared at the genuine uriosity on his fae. "(hat are you! @uts! I an't
believe you want to disuss the geopolitial evolution of the 0nited $tates. &ere. @ow. I think
we have="
""wenty," Adam said almly.
""wenty what!" $he was ompletely onfused. "(hat are you talking about!"
""wenty states. "he answer to your #uestion." Apparently giving up all pretense at hiding his
amusement, he broke into a broad grin.
"oo upset for its usual infuriating effet, Maggie simply aimed her best drop3dead look at him.
"You have absolutely no idea what I'm trying to deal with here. I feel like I'm in one of those
dreams, you know."
&e shook his head in obvious fasination.
"(here you're naked and everybody else has lothes on, only you don't know you're naked
until it's too late! &aven't you ever had a dream like that! "hat's how I felt in there. 5y the time I
reali1ed what was wrong it was too late."
A voie inside warned her about overreating. 5ut shed developed a good head of steam and
wasn't about to let it go. "It's all so mind3boggling." $he ollapsed onto a garden benh. "And I
am so damned onfused."
$he glared at him for a long moment. Adam seemed to be arefully onsidering his words.
-JL
$esterday 7 .orever
"You are onfused," he said slowly. "I barely understand a word you say. 9istening to you is
like listening to a foreign language, olorful and e)iting, but one needs an interpreter. "he
words and phrases that pour out of your mouth at breaknek speed make absolutely no sense
whatsoever."
"9ike what!" $inerely urious, Maggie didn't grasp his problem.
"9ike what! 9ike that, although that e)pression is not too diffiult to grasp. @either is 'get it!'
5ut others . . ." &e glaned at her sharply. "Are 'kids' hildren!"
$he nodded.
"I thought so," he said with satisfation. "5ut what is a 'major3league problem'! +r a 'bite in
the shorts'! &ow does one 'boggle one's mind4! 6an you atually 'drive someone up a wall' in
your time! And what in ?od's name is an 'oh kay'!"
"hroughout Maggie's life she had had a natural, well3developed sense of the absurd that saved
her from embarrassing tight spots more than one. &er temper flared fast and burned hot but
usually e)tinguished just as #uikly, often replaed by a reognition of the ridiulous.
Maggie stared at Adam and her frustration slipped away. At the definite spark of amusement in
his eyes, she laughed and ouldn't seem to stop. (ithin moments Adam joined her, his rih, lear
laughter surrounding them. &e reahed down, lasped her hands in his, and pulled her to her
feet. "hey faed eah other, bodies shaking with mirth until a tear daned down her heek.
-JB
:itoria Ale)ander
"$o what do we do now!" $he sniffed and smiled up at him.
"@ow!" &e released her hands and let his slide around her waist.
"@ow." &er hands slipped up his shoulders.
&is lips desended on hers gently. A kiss light, ethereal. &er lips parted beneath his and his
tongue la1ily traed the inner edge of her mouth. %esire surged through her. &er fingers rept to
his nek and pulled him loser. "he pressure of his lips on hers inreased. &e drew her tongue
into his mouth, and any possibility of oherent thought disappeared.
"heir lips still joined, he piked her up and swung her around to rest against a tree. "he rough
bark pressed into her bak. $he didn't are. &er body molded to his and she felt his hard arousal
through the layers of fabri separating them. 9ost in a sea of sensation, she moaned, her head
falling bak. &is tongue followed the line of her jaw to her ear and he nibbled on the sensitive
lobe, his faint breath sending hills shivering through the very ore of her being. *eatherlike
kisses trailed the line from ear to shoulder, his tongue fliking the heated surfae of her skin. &e
found the pulse point at the base of her throat and his tongue played aross the throbbing he
disovered there.
+ne hand was splayed on her bak> his other traed the edge of the dress's nekline.
*ingertips, playful and tantali1ing, brushed the tender mounds of flesh. &is hand slipped under
the silken fabri, pushing the material down and releasing her breasts to him. &e upped one in
his hand, his e)ploring tongue trailing lower, agoni1ingly slowly. $he
-FH
$esterday 7 .orever
strained toward him, nipples eret and hard. ?ently his tongue outlined the flushed irle, the
sensitive skin taut with antiipation. &e drew the hardened bud into his mouth, trapping it lightly
with his teeth, his tongue teasing it into mind3numbing arousal. Maggie gasped, her grip
tightening around his nek, her breath oming #uik and fast. *ire flashed through her veins>
passion surged in her blood.
Adam's mouth ontinued to plunder her breasts, sukling, aressing. &is hand dropped and
he gathered the fabri of her skirt, raising it slowly an inh at a time until he reahed her leg.
%elighted, he reogni1ed the odd, one3piee stokings she wore on her arrival. &e ran a hand
slowly up the silken fabri pausing at the urve of her hip. &is fingers found the waistband and
dipped inside. Maggie shuddered at his touh.
&e withdrew his fingers and trailed them lightly over the flat of her stomah, drifting ever
lower. &is hand upped the round urve at the ape) of her thighs and she s#uirmed slightly,
inreasing the pressure of his fingertips. "hrough the thin material he ould feel her heat, feel her
moisture. $he was his for the taking but he wanted more from her than mere lovemaking.
Muh more.
2elutantly, Adam removed his hand and smoothed down her skirt. &e readjusted the bodie
of her dress and gently pulled her bak to reality.
"Maggie," he whispered against her ear.
"&mmm!" $he sighed, her eyes still half losed.
"Maggie." &e aressed the edge of her ear with his tongue. "(e have to go bak."
-F-
:itoria Ale)ander
$he moaned softly. ""hen stop doing that."
&e upped her hin in his hand and looked deeply into her eyes. "hey seemed finally to fous,
the olor a satisfying deep forest green.
"9ater," he said #uietly.
"9ater," she said with a tremulous breath.
*or a long moment their ga1es loked. And Maggie knew in the harged silene agreements
were reahed, vows traded, promises e)hanged.
444444444444444444
9ydia thought only she notied their absene and only she was aware of their return. *rom
aross the room she noted the high olor in Maggie's fae, the possessive way Adam held her
arm. $he smiled at her suess and turned her attention bak to her urrent partner. All was going
very well indeed.
444444444444444444
&e stood a distane away and notied 9ydia 6oleridge's attention turn toward the entry to the
garden. &is ga1e followed hers and he, too, wathed the ouple's return. &e, too, notied the
woman's flushed fae, the obvious ownership in the man's touh.
"he woman intrigued him. &e did not think she was as insipid as most females of his
a#uaintane. &is sharp observations indiated a rare intelligene she apparently did not want
disovered. &e sensed she hid something more. ;erhaps this venture would be far more
enjoyable than he'd antiipated.
?rim satisfation flowed through him. &e no longer doubted that this was indeed what he'd
been wathing for. &is long wait was finally nearing an end.
444
-FC
$esterday 7 .orever
It was an evening out of a fairy tale, and Maggie its 6inderella. "he glittering ballroom, the
beautiful, elegant women, the handsome, stately men. "o Maggie's eyes it was a fantasy ome
true.
(ith Adam by her side, she reveled in the sene around her. &er sheer enjoyment of the
evening had muh to do with the shared passion in the garden. $he #uivered every time he turned
his sensual, aressing ga1e toward her.
Later.
Maggie met what seemed like vast numbers of people and handled the onversations as best
she ould. $he kept her mouth shut. Many of Adam's friends ommented on how long it had
been sine he'd seen them. $urprised, she meant to ask him about it.
Later.
9ydia joined them oasionally. $he daned every dane with a new partner and rarely gave
any man the benefit of a seond dane. 5ut she was never without partners, never without a
rowd of men avidly pursuing her favors. If she wanted to get married, she obviously had her
pik of eager andidates.
(alt1es seemed few and far between and Maggie used the breaks to #ui1 Adam about people
or ustoms she didn't understand. &er biggest onfusion of the night had a lot to do with her own
problem remembering names. &ere, everyone apparently had at least two.
"I don't get it," she said after they'd finished a onversation with an a#uaintane of Adam's. "I
thought your name was 6oleridge."
"It is."
-FG
:itoria Ale)ander
""hen why does everybody all you 2idgewood!"
"2idgewood is my title."
"5ut 6oleridge is your name. (hy don't they all you 6oleridge!"
Adam stared at her with an e)pression of mild amusement. "I don't know. "hat's simply the
way it is."
"&umph." $he snorted in derision. "(ell, I'm going to keep alling you 6oleridge. (e don't
have titles in Ameria."
&e leaned over and whispered in her ear, ";erhaps that is what's wrong with your ountry."
"he twinkle in his eyes took any sting out of his words and Maggie wrinkled her nose at him.
"hey stood side by side, wathing the daners. An invisible urrent of desire and antiipation
and growing need ared between them. Maggie did her best to keep the onversation light, not
easy when Adam turned his rih, simmering eyes on her. "aut e)petation inside her heightened
the e)itement of the night and sharpened her senses beyond measure.
Later.
"hey idly sipped hampagne, lost in eah other's eyes. A stunning woman swooped down on
Adam.
"Adam, my darling, it has been suh a very, very long time."
Maggie blinked in surprise at one of the most beautiful women she'd ever seen. About her own
height with ebony hair and eyes nearly as dark, she had porelain skin and a perfet figure.
"6aroline." &e raised her hand to his lips. "Allow
-FJ
$esterday 7 .orever
me to present a relation of mine from Ameria, Miss Margaret Masterson."
$he nodded slightly and fliked her eyes over Maggie with disinterest before returning her
attention to Adam.
"I had no idea you would be here tonight. I had heard you no longer ome to funtions like this
as often as you one did."
$he oked her e)#uisite head to one side and ga1ed at him in#uisitively. Maggie instintively
disliked her. $he looked too muh like a predatory animal ontemplating the ne)t meal. Maggie
reogni1ed a killer when she saw one.
Adam shrugged nonhalantly, amusement in his eyes. "It's simply not neessary to aept
every invitation. I value my time too highly to waste it."
"5ut Adam," she said with an obviously pratied pout, "we used to have suh a grand time.
Although . . ." $he sighed prettily. "@ow that I am married again I assume it would not be #uite
the same."
"2egretfully so, I'm afraid." Adam smiled. "$o you are now 9ady &argreave!"
"Yes, but Adam"=she rinkled her perfet nose and tapped him on the shoulder with her fan
="you of all people should know how unimportant names are. You remember, '(hat's in a
name! "hat whih we all a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.'"
$hakespeare.
6aroline trailed the fan slowly down his arm and ast him a wistful look. "%o you still know it
by heart, Adam!"
/hakespeare&
-FF
:itoria Ale)ander
%y heart&
(as this woman saying what Maggie thought she was saying!
$peehless, Maggie turned to Adam. &e had the unmistakable look of a hild aught with his
hand in the ookie jar.
"Maggie," he said autiously, as though reading her thoughts.
A huge, heavy knot sank in the pit of Adam's stomah as Maggie's eyes lightened to a vivid
green. &e well knew that olor and braed himself for her outburst. "Maggie, I think we shoul d
="
"9ady &argreave." Maggie's voie took on a ool, authoritarian tone. "(e have some pressing
family business to disuss. I hope you understand, but we need to speak privately now."
6aroline turned toward Adam indignantly. "Adam!"
Adam never took his eyes off Maggie. "%elightful to see you again, 6aroline, but we really
must say good evening."
6aroline threw him a petulant glare and flouned off. Adam paid no attention and onentrated
on Maggie.
(hy wasn't she sreaming! (hy wasn't she making a sene! It was what he e)peted, how
she'd reated every other time she'd been angered. (hy was she so alm!
$o ontrolled!
$o old!
"Maggie, I an e)plain." &e regarded her an)iously. &er demeanor was unsettling. Almost
frightening. $he turned iy green eyes toward him.
-FE
$esterday 7 .orever
"I don't think an e)planation is neessary. I think it's all perfetly lear." $he spoke with a
#uiet, risp preision that hilled Adam's blood.
"You used a well3rehearsed routine to get what you wanted. And I admit it was e)tremely
effetive. Romeo and Buliet, ga1ing deeply into my eyes, kissing my hands. +h, it was good, it
was very good. Your tehni#ue is impeable. 5ut I have a few #uestions."
"Maggie, I. . ." Adam stared at her helplessly. &e ould take her ranting and raving but he
didn't know how to deal with this #uiet, old manner she'd adopted.
"About tonight! "he sene outside! (as that step two! Another part of your highly refined
sedution! If I asked 9ady (hat's3her3name over there, will I find out you typially have women
half3naked in the garden!"
&er eyes flashed iy bolts and he wined, her ausation perhaps more true than he wanted to
admit.
"I trusted you, 6oleridge. You and 9ydia are the only people here, literally in this entire world
who know who, and I guess, what I am. You alone know what I'm going through, how damned
onfused and sared I am. And yet you tried to take advantage of that.
"I know how you and your entire world see womenA as objets, as possessions. 5ut I thought
something speial was happening between us. I thought I had your friendship, maybe even your
respet, and fool that I am, I thought you ared about me. Instead it turns out I'm just ne)t in line
on your list of on#uests. (as that the idea! $ee if you an
-F,
:itoria Ale)ander
get the woman from the future into bed! *ind out if there are any new developments in the ne)t
one hundred and seventy3seven years! (ell, let me tell you something pal, tab A still fits into
slot 5."
$he flung a disgusted look at him. "(here I'm from, if a woman wants to sleep with a man,
she has that freedom. I admit, moral standards are different than they are here. 5ut I don't are
what entury it is, I don't like being used. I don't like to be triked."
Maggie started to leave but turned bak to Adam, ""he thing that really annoys me is how I
almost fell for it."
Maggie marhed off, her step measured and sedate, her head high. A asual observer would
have thought nothing wrong. ;art of Adam admired how firmly she kept herself under ontrol in
spite of her anger. And there was no doubt she was angry. &er eyes told him that.
If she'd only let him e)plain. It wasn't as if he'd planned the night in the library or anything that
happened afterward either. +h, he admitted that partiular sene from $hakespeare had ome in
handy in the past. 5ut it had nothing whatsoever to do with her. %idn't she reali1e this was
different from any of his past liaisons! $urely she would understand if she would only listen to
him. &e refused to lose her over something as insignifiant as this.
"5loody hell," he muttered.
444444444444444444
"(hatever did you do, Adam!" A fan tapped him lightly on the arm. 9ydia stood beside him,
pinning him with a perple)ed e)pression. Another woman
-FL
$esterday 7 .orever
making his life diffiult. At least he still had some ontrol over this one.
9ydia observed Adam arefully. A sinking feeling warned her she'd just made a mistake.
+bviously all was not going as well as she'd assumed. 9ydia's ga1e aught her brother's, the
sudden gleam there inreasing her unease.
"You are oming with me." &e grabbed her arm and propelled her aross the room.
"(hat are you doing!" 9ydia gasped.
5oth brother and sjster were far too familiar with the ways of the ton to let anyone know there
was anything amiss. "o outward appearanes they looked as if they were simply taking a
pleasant stroll together, if somewhat more #uikly than normal.
"Adam," 9ydia said through lenhed teeth, "answer me. (hat is wrong!"
Adam pulled up in front of a tall, handsome, dark3haired man and thrust his sister forward
roughly. "&ere," he said. "You wanted her one> she's yours now. Marry her, 6onnor."
9ydia and a startled 6onnor stared. Adam turned on his heel and stalked off.
"(ell, my dear, what was that all about!"
$till ga1ing after her brother, 9ydia shook her head.
"I really don't know what's ome over him. I think=" Abruptly notiing who she spoke to,
9ydia turned with smile of real pleasure.
"6onnor. In the midst of all this I hadn't even reali1ed it was you. (hen did you get bak to
9ondon!"
-FB
:itoria Ale)ander
An amused smile drifted aross his handsome fae. "$everal weeks ago."
"And you have not alled on us! 6onnor, I am heartbroken." 9ydia threw him a pouting
glane.
6onnor laughed. "I doubt that you have ever been heartbroken, my dear. I am onfident the
heartbreaking is all on your side. @ow what was all that with Adam about!"
"%ane with me and I'll e)plain."
&e gave her a #ui11ial glane. "If I remember orretly, your danes were always spoken for."
$he waved his objetions away with a flik of her fan. "It doesn't signify."
6onnor took her arm and esorted her onto the floor. "Ah, 9ydia, it's good to know some
things never hange. You still do e)atly what suits you."
"And what of you, 6onnor!" 9ydia raised an in#uiring eyebrow. "You, too, have always done
preisely what you wanted. I understand you made your fortune in India!"
"Iuite," 6onnor said with a sigh. "I would have stayed there, too, had it not been for this
blasted inheritane nonsense."
""hat's right, I had forgotten. You are now the :isount $t. 6lair." 9ydia ast him a
sympatheti look. "I was sorry to hear about the death of your ousin."
"I wasn't," he said bluntly. "I never partiularly ared about the title. My ousin was a mean,
viious man who only wanted to make everyone else as miserable as he was."
"+h, my."
"@ow, my dear, enough of that. (hat's all this marriage business about!"
-EH
$esterday 7 .orever
9ydia rinkled her nose in distaste. "Adam has deided it's past time for me to wed. If I do not
selet a husband, he will hoose one for me."
"&e's right, you know. You should have a husband."
"6onnor." 9ydia stared, shoked that he would side with Adam.
"6alm yourself." 6onnor hukled. "I agree that you should be married. &owever, I do not
neessarily ondone Adam's methods."
""hat's better." 9ydia sniffed, somewhat mollified.
&e started, as if an unpleasant thought had just struk him. "&e has not seleted me for this
human sarifie, has he!"
"6onnor," 9ydia said, an offended tone in her voie. $he rapped him sharply with her fan. "%o
you not wish to marry me!"
&e ignored the attak, the amused smile again returning to his lips. "9ydia, my darling, I know
you too well and love you far too muh to marry you. (e have known eah other sine I tagged
along behind your brother and you were still in leading strings. I fear we are far too muh alike
to suit."
"5ut you did want to marry me one. $urely you have not forgotten the ill3fated attempt to
spirit me away to ?retna ?reen." $he peeked at him under lowered lids and flashed an impish
smile. &e returned it fondly.
"If memory serves, my funds had all but vanished and under the terms of my grandfather's
will, I had to marry to inherit the portion he set aside for me. And I further remember"=he ga1ed
down at her, eyes twinkling="I was #uite in my ups at the time."
-E-
:itoria Ale)ander
"Indeed." 9ydia nodded.
"And," he ontinued, the twinkle growing more pronouned, "you were rather fo)ed yourself."
";erhaps."
"I will never understand," he said thoughtfully, "how you managed to onvine a man as
intelligent as Adam that it was a kidnapping. Aording to my reolletion="
"6onnor"=she #uikly jumped in="it was a very long time ago and better forgotten. %on't
you agree!" $he gave him her most appealing look, eyes wide, lips slightly pouting. 6onnor
laughed with delight.
"7nough. I give up. It was indeed a long time ago." &e ga1ed deeply into her eyes. "5ut
perhaps I should marry you."
"@o, 6onnor." $he laughed lightly. "I shall not give you a seond hane. 5esides, I fear you're
right. (e are far too alike to suit."
"Ah." &e ga1ed heavenward dramatially, the agoni1ed e)pression on his fae made
unonvining by the smile in his eyes. "@ow you have done it again, broken yet another heart. I
shall have to pull myself together and attempt to arry on bravely."
"6onnor." $he laughed one again. "I have truly missed you."
"And I you." &is e)pression sobered. "You know that I shall be there if you ever need
anything." "he twinkle returned to his eye. "7)luding a husband, of ourse."
"+f ourse." 9ydia smiled up at him. 6onnor was not the answer to her husband dilemma.
Maggie was. 5ut the memories he triggered might help in that respet. 9ydia would have to do
some long, hard
-EC
$esterday 7 .orever
thinking and areful planning. 5ut it might work. And with 6onnor's help . ..
9ydia flashed him a well3pratied, da11ling smile guaranteed to make every other man in the
room green with envy. "his evening was turning out better than she'd hoped after all.
-EG
Chapter !ine
Maggie had no desire to talk to Adam and absolutely no wish to hear any of his so3alled
e)planations. ;erhaps women didn't abandon soial funtions on their own here, but she wasn't
from here and those weren't her rules. Maggie did not hesitate to make her way home. Alone.
$he simply asked a servant for Adam's arriage and sent the driver bak for Adam and 9ydia. It
was, she thought, a piee of ake.
"he brief ride gave her time to think. "ime wasted. $he ouldn't onentrate on the problem at
hand, ouldn't fous her thoughts or feelings. A surreal detahment gripped her, as if she were
wathing someone else.
+dd. $he wondered almost analytially why she wasn't seething with rage. (hy hadn't she
ripped his head off!
Maybe she just didn't are.
Maybe she ared too muh.
-EJ
$esterday 7 .orever
%istaning herself let Maggie e)amine that idea objetively, arefully, emotionlessly. If
Adam's ations affeted her to the point that her emotions needed to shut down, it would mean
he meant far more to her than she was willing to admit or aept. $he pushed the thought away
firmly. @o, the numbness inside probably had more to do with some kind of time travel jet lag
than any real or imagined feelings for Adam.
Maggie went to bed before Adam and 9ydia returned home and slept fitfully. +ne, she
thought she heard footsteps pause outside her door, as if someone debated oming in. 5ut
eventually the footsteps ontinued on their way.
It wasn't partiularly diffiult for Maggie to avoid Adam, espeially with 9ydia's unwitting
help. $he stayed by 9ydia's side, aompanying her wherever she went. And 9ydia was
onstantly going somewhere.
"he vivaious blonde took her on what seemed like an endless shopping trip. It was the -L-L
version of "shop till you drop." And 9ydia had it down pat. "hey stopped at milliners', and
bootmakers', and fabri shops, and a variety of other plaes Maggie ouldn't possibly name.
(hile fasinating and fun, it also made Maggie homesik for a good old Amerian shopping
mall. And just like modern shoppers, 9ydia never seemed to atually have any ash.
"5ut we have aounts," 9ydia told her, e)pressing surprise that suh an e)planation was even
neessary. ""hey simply send the bills to Adam. %on't you have aounts!"
"(ell," Maggie said thoughtfully, "we have redit
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:itoria Ale)ander
ards. I suppose that's pretty muh the same thing."
Maggie filled her in on the use and misuse of redit ards and 9ydia agreed, the basi priniple
was indeed the same.
9ydia spent money like water. 5ut when Maggie ommented on it, 9ydia brushed the #uestion
aside, saying simply they ould well afford it. *rom what Maggie had seen so far of the
6oleridge life3style she ould well believe it. $till, she hesitated to buy anything herself. +nly
when 9ydia insisted did she make any purhases.
Maggie wasn't the only one asking #uestions. Mesmeri1ed by tales of the future, 9ydia
pumped Maggie for answers about everything from ars to areers. Muh of what she heard was
so far removed from her own world, she aused Maggie of making it all up. 5ut Maggie
assured her the wonders of the twentieth entury were all very real, or at least, they would be
someday.
+ne Maggie reali1ed just how limited 9ydia's life really was, she tried hard to answer her
#uestions as thoroughly as possible. (hile 9ydia's intense uriosity enompassed virtually every
subjet Maggie touhed on, one of her greatest interests lay in the lothes of Maggie's time,
espeially the sandalous yet intriguing lothes pitured in the pages of Maggie's #osmopolitan.
In spite of Adam's objetions, Maggie loaned the maga1ine to 9ydia and she read it thoroughly.
"*or the most part, I believe I understand the lothing you wear." 9ydia seemed to hoose her
words arefully.
"hey sat in the arriage returning home, and Mag3
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$esterday 7 .orever
gie thought it more than a little bi1arre to be disussing -BBHs style as ditated by #osmo while
riding through a distintly -LHHs world.
""hey seem e)tremely well suited for omfort. Although to be ompletely honest. .." $he
turned a worried e)pression to Maggie, as if onerned about offending her, and looked her
straight in the eye. ""hey're not espeially pretty, are they! I haven't seen anything that's
partiularly elegant. It's all so, well.. . dull."
Maggie stared at her for a long moment, then broke into a grin. "I've been trying to e)plain,
life is very different. (omen in my time have to work for a living. I have a job I go to every day,
e)ept weekends. A big evening out is maybe pi11a and a movie. +h, sure, I'll go to bars or
parties with friends, but that's usually just jeans and sweaters. "here are no balls or soirees. "here
isn't even a season."
Maggie laughed at 9ydia's look of sheer horror. "It's not that bad. I wouldn't have time for all
that even if we had a season. And there are all kinds of ompensations. I make my own money. I
go where I want when I want. I don't have to have a servant haperon me every minute. In fat, I
don't have servants at all. And I don't have to get married if I don't want to," she said with a
triumphant flourish.
9ydia looked awestruk by the possibilities and maybe even a little unomfortable. $he
appeared to give thoughtful onsideration to Maggie's desription of her world.
&er eyes narrowed. "Is it aeptable, however, to have servants if one wants them!"
"+f ourse." Maggie laughed again. "5ut they are
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:itoria Ale)ander
very e)pensive and only people who are terribly rih have them."
9ydia brightened. "(ell, it's fine then. I am terribly rih."
Maggie kept grinning and shook her head.
"@ow." 9ydia settled herself more omfortably in the arriage. ""ell me what a bar, a movie,
and a pi11a are."
*or a split seond Maggie thought how very muh like Adam 9ydia was. &e, too, had seemed
fasinated by the future. $he sighed in resignation, rolled her eyes toward the heavens, and
begged silently for help on how best to e)plain the mystery of pi11a.
444444444444444444
5ou#uets of flowers filled the foyer, greeting Maggie and 9ydia on their return. Most were for
9ydia and she gave them the matter3of3fat perusal shown only by someone used to suh
offerings. 5ut two do1en magnifient yellow roses arried a ard with Maggie's name. $he
regarded the gift with suspiion. If Adam thought he ould follow one tried3and3true senario
with something as lihed as flowers, he'd just have to think again.
"Maggie, they're lovely." 9ydia's attention turned from the bou#uets addressed to her. "Aren't
you going to read the ard!"
"@o," she said bluntly.
""hen I will." 9ydia snathed the ard from its resting plae among the blooms. "It says
'2egretfully, you left before our dane. Another time perhaps!' " 9ydia looked up in surprise. "It's
signed 7dward 9indley."
"(ho in the world is 7dward 9indley!" Maggie -EL
$esterday 7 .orever
pluked the ard from 9ydia's fingers, e)amining it uriously.
"You remember, you met him last night. 9ord 9indley! &e asked you to dane right before
Adam swept you away!" 9ydia wrinkled her brow thoughtfully. "I don't know him very well but
he's always seemed #uite harming. I believe he has a si1able fortune and is in line for a title. &is
grandfather is a visount or baron or something, I forget whih." 9ydia's eyes twinkled with
mishief. "I believe you have made an impressive on#uest."
"?reat." Maggie groaned. "(hat I don't need right now is a on#uest."
9ydia threw her a sharp look. "@o, my dear, a on#uest may be the very thing you do need
right now."
$tartled, Maggie wondered if maybe 9ydia was right.
444444444444444444
Maggie agreed to go to a party that night with 9ydia. %esending the stairs to the foyer, she
disovered Adam, formally dressed and ready to aompany them. 9ydia kept her busy all day
but Adam lingered always in the bak of her mind. And he was the last person she wanted to see
now. $he steeled herself against the pounding leap of her pulse and refused to let his presene
disturb her.
"Maggie, I would very muh like to speak with you," he said #uietly.
Maggie stared for a long moment. "I don't think so.
$he turned to retreat up the stairs and he grabbed her arm, swinging her around to fae him.
"Maggie, please listen to me."
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:itoria Ale)ander
"%on't touh me." $he jerked her arm away. "%on't touh me again. 9ook, I know that women
here have no rights whatsoever, but I'm not one of them. I appreiate your hospitality, espeially
sine I have nowhere else to go, but that's where it ends. Dust beause I'm living here does not
make me your property. $o don't put your hands on me again. 7ver."
"Maggie, please." &is eyes pleaded, tempting her, for a seond, to give in. $he sensed pleading
in any way, shape, or form was foreign to this proud, arrogant man, and it took all her self3
ontrol to resist his re#uest.
"6an it, 6oleridge." $he started up the stairs, then turned bak. ";lease tell your sister I'm not
going tonight. All of a sudden I don't feel like partying."
Adam's ga1e followed her up the stairs. (hy in ?od's name was she being so stubborn! "his
misunderstanding with Maggie haunted him all day until he ould think of little else. &e wanted
her bak in his arms, melting under his pratied touh. &e missed the sound of her voie,
missed how she teased him with her unpreditable ways and her inomprehensible phrases. &e
would rather have her threatening him with pokers or raving about her onfusion with his world
than this old, hard disdain.
A sense of annoyane grew. &e honestly ould not understand why she would not even listen.
(hy she would not let him tell her how muh she now meant to him. (hy she would not let him
admit, perhaps, the use of $hakespeare was a mistake. 5ut a mistake made years ago when he'd
ultivated it merely to suit his purposes, not a mistake with her.
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$esterday 7 .orever
&er reations were e)atly what he'd hoped for when he pulled the volume of $hakespeare off
the shelf. Initially, all he thought of was vitory, savoring her surrender to the poeti phrases and
timeless passages. 5ut afterward, his mind returned again and again to those moments in the
library, when he sensed her ga1e upon him, aught a hint of her into)iating sent in the air, felt
the almost palpable warmth emanating from her bekoning body. "his had never happened to
him before.
(ith Maggie, everything was different.
(ith Maggie, old words e)hanged between young lovers took on a new meaning. @ever
before had he glimpsed what it must have been like to be in the throes of a first love. A love
threatened by fores beyond ontrol. A love doomed from the very start. @ever before had he
understood why, ultimately, the pair hose death over separation.
(ithout Maggie, would his life be worth living!
Adam shook the thought off, annoyane rapidly turning to irritation and anger. %amn the hit,
anyway. &e might not be willing to die for her but he might very well kill her. (hat was she but
a nuisane and a bother! 7ven with all her astounding revelations about the twentieth entury she
remained as irrational and inomprehensible as any other woman. If this was what the future
held, she ould bloody well keep it, as far as he was onerned.
"Adam." 9ydia broke into his thoughts. "&ave you seen Maggie! I would like to="
"$he isn't oming," Adam said harshly. "And I'm not going either. I'll aompany you and find
someone to esort you home, but I find my plans
-,-
:itoria Ale)ander
have hanged. I will be spending the evening at my lub."
"Adam, whatever have you done to her!" 9ydia glared at him.
(ould no one give him any redit in this house! &is own home! "hat damned woman had
turned his life upside down and now even his sister was #uestioning him.
"I have done nothing." (ords lipped and preise, he direted his annoyane at 9ydia. &e
ertainly did not owe his sister any e)planation.
Adam ushered her toward the door, shooting her a ool ga1e. "And, my dear, how is your
searh for a husband oming! I believe you have barely three weeks left."
9ydia's startled look gave Adam a ertain amount of satisfation. "riumphing over at least one
woman lifted his spirits somewhat. A pity, though.
It was the wrong woman.
444444444444444444
Maggie stalked into her room and slammed the door behind her. "oo furious to keep still, she
paed bak and forth, muttering under her breath.
"&e's got a hell of a lot of nerve. "hinking he an e)plain this away and I'll fall panting into his
arms. &a. I an't believe I trusted him. &e's like every other man in every other plae and
probably every other time. "hey're all interested in one thing and don't are what they have to do
to get it."
Maggie paed and muttered, muttered and paed for a good -H minutes, eventually working
the rage out of her system. Anger replaed the numbness of last night. $lowly she almed and her
wrath faded.
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$esterday 7 .orever
+nly the pain remained. $inking onto the edge of the bed, reali1ation stunned her. "hat was why
she was so mad.
&is alulated ations hurt.
2eally hurt.
Almost from their first meeting, Adam had given her a feeling of safety and protetion in this
strange new world. @ow he'd shattered her trust.
;ainful as that was, it was insignifiant ompared to knowing he didn't think any differently of
her than he did any other woman. $he was merely one of a rowd of what! %o1ens! &undreds!
$he didn't begrudge him his past any more than hers should make a differene to him.
5ut that magial night in the library had an impat on her she would never get over, and never
forget. "he immortal words of $hakespeare, the warm and intimate setting, the primeval,
magneti pull of the man all made an indelible mark on her soul she ould never erase.
It all made her love him.
Maggie groaned and threw herself bakward on the bed. "hat was it, wasn't it! 7ven as she
had debated the pros and ons of a relationship with him, it was already too late. $he'd been
fooling herself all along. &e'd laimed her in the library that night as surely as if he had atually
taken her to his bed.
And she would never be the same.
In love with a man there ould be no possible future with. In a few weeks he would be as
remote as if on another planet. "hey were separated by nearly CHH years, and there was
absolutely nothing she ould do about it.
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:itoria Ale)ander
A tear trikled down her heek. Maggie wasn't muh for tears and disliked women who gave in
to their emotions, but she ouldn't seem to stop herself and didn't seem to are. "ears rolled down
her fae and she lay urled up on the bed.
$he wanted to go home.
$he wanted her sister.
And more than anything, she wanted Adam.
444444444444444444
All things onsidered, it was best to avoid Adam altogether. "he ation was almost too easy
and Maggie wondered if he wasn't avoiding her as well. A subtle #ui11ing of 9ydia onfirmed
her suspiions, more or less. 7ven though, with 9ydia, Maggie was never #uite sure if she
reeived a straight answer or simply 9ydia's oddly onvoluted, strangely logial way of
interpreting the world. 9ydia said her brother typially oupied his days with family business, or
at a bo)ing saloon, or involved with his stables. In the evening, if he wasn't at home, he
oasionally served as her esort but more often spent time at his lub. In short, 9ydia had no
idea where he was but implied he appeared far busier than usual and definitely was nowhere to
be seen.
$everal times Maggie hovered on the verge of going to the library. $he told herself she needed
something to read, but in reality she hoped to run into Adam. Aidentally, of ourse. %rawn as
irresistibly as a moth to a flame, and just as dangerously, she was fored to all upon every inh
of willpower she possessed to stay away.
$taying away ompletely seemed the best ourse. If she ame fae3to3fae with Adam her
resolve
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$esterday 7 .orever
would be swept away in a tumultuous wave of passion and desire. $e) was one thing, but love
was another matter altogether. "he sooner Maggie got over Adam, the better. $he still had a few
weeks left here and, with luk, would be over this love business before she returned to the future.
Maybe the pain would be gone by then, too.
$he already missed him, already yearned for a glimpse of his fae, the touh of his hands, the
aress of his lips. If she didn't get over it now, how muh worse would it be when she went bak
home!
(ould she look for his fae on every street! 9ook for a resemblane in every passing stranger,
wondering if this was a great3great3grandhild! (ould she spend long hours in libraries, trying
to find out what beame of him, trying to disover what woman he eventually hose to spend his
life with! ;lay Duliet to his 2omeo! (ould she want to know when he died! If his life was happy
without her!
$he knew what he meant to her, but did she mean anything to him! (ould he even remember
her as the years went by! (ould a month spent with a ra1y, unonventional woman from a
future too far away to even imagine simply fade into an amusing bedtime story for his hildren
and grandhildren! (ould there ome a time when the stories beame more real than the
memories! (hen even he began to doubt that someday men would fly and lifelike pitures
would be aptured on paper and a woman with volatile green eyes and hair more red than brown
had briefly touhed his life! And would it all happen long before she'd taken her first breath!
;ainful, depressing thoughts and images rowded
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:itoria Ale)ander
Maggie's mind, inreasing her restlessness. Inativity only heightened her heartahe, and an
almost freneti, defensive energy gripped her. $he had to keep moving.
9ydia helped, setting an impressive pae. $he and Maggie made alls during the afternoon.
"heir first stop, muh to Maggie's surprise, was 9ady (ent3worth's.
"9ydia, I thought you didn't like her!"
"+h, I don't. 5ut she is suh a horrible gossip that if I don't put in an appearane every now
and again, I feel ertain I would be her ne)t target. 5esides," 9ydia whispered behind the
starhed bak of the butler showing them in, "I always learn suh fasinating things."
"he servant ushered the women to a large salon and it was all Maggie ould do to keep from
gasping out loud. $he'd never seen anything like this room in her life, never imagined it in her
wildest dreams. It was an oriental theme gone berserk. "he wallpaper glowed a vivid red. 5lak
la#uered hests fought for dominane with end tables and hairs arved to resemble bamboo.
"he dragons nearly took Maggie's breath away. 6arved dragons, gilded dragons, dragons as the
arms of hairs, as the bases of tables, on the walls, on the arpets, they seemed to serve every
oneivable purpose and over every available spae. It was a 6hinese nightmare.
"9ydia." Maggie grabbed her arm, needing support from the almost physial effet of the
overwhelming hamber. "(hat is this!"
"$hh." 9ydia hissed. "It's the first stare in furnish3
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$esterday 7 .orever
ings. 7)tremely fashionable. Although my own personal taste runs to something less likely to
breathe fire."
Maggie hoked bak a laugh. A few flames in this room might be an improvement. $he pulled
herself together in time to join 9ydia in greeting 9ady (ent3worth's daughters and the grand
dame herself. In this setting the overbearing matron looked positively subdued ompared with
the other dragons ompeting for attention. Again, Maggie nearly lost it but a sharp glane from
9ydia helped her smother a threatening giggle. Maggie spotted a partiularly obno)ious
knikknak and fought to keep her e)pression serene, hoping she ould hide the ama1ement and
amusement the room triggered.
@ot until then did Maggie notie other visitors. "hey didn't e)atly blend inA it was just
diffiult to sort out people from mythial beasts. 9ydia turned to greet someone emerging from
the reptilian menagerie.
"Iuite ama1ing, is it not!" a voie asked from behind Maggie's shoulder.
"(hat!" $he turned to find 9ord 9indley and smiled in reognition. "+h, hello. (hat's
ama1ing!"
&is blue eyes sparkled. "(hy, the room, of ourse. $urely it has not esaped your notie!"
"I don't see how it possibly ould," she said wryly. "I don't mean to be rude. I'm not wild about
this partiular style."
&e hukled and shook his head. ""atful as well as beautiful. I must say Ameria is produing
impressive representatives these days."
""hank you." $he suppressed an almost instintive
-,,
:itoria Ale)ander
urge to drop a urtsy. "his time period was definitely getting to her. "And thank you for the
flowers. "hey were lovely."
"I thought yellow would be appropriate with your hair and eyes. Although now that I see you
again I must say even roses don't do you justie."
&is frankly admiring ga1e threw her. $he wasn't used to elaborate ompliments, but after a
moment, embarrassment turned to gratifiation and surprise. $he liked this kind of treatment far
more than the offhand omments offered bak home.
"(ell, thank you again. Your words are every bit as e)travagant as your flowers."
&e grinned in obvious appreiation. "I shall have to remember Amerian women are not as
retiring as our 7nglish ladies."
$he laughed, warming to the verbal repartee. "@ow that is a ompliment and something I, for
one, am proud of."
"@ow then, when do you think we ould have that dane!"
"%ane!" $he laughed self3onsiously. "I hate to admit this, but I really don't dane. I walt1 a
little but that's about it."
"A walt1, then." &is eager e)pression turned to a onsidering frown. "5ut will 6oleridge allow
it! &e seemed rather protetive as your only relation here."
At Adam's name Maggie bristled. "2elation or not, he doesn't have muh to say about it."
Impulsively she added, "I would love to dane with you, but 9ydia is planning our soial
ativities, so I have no idea when we might have that hane." $he gave him a regretful smile.
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$esterday 7 .orever
"I see. In that ase would you do me the honor of aompanying me for a drive in the park!
"omorrow perhaps!"
A dane was one thing. 5eing alone in a arriage with this guy, no matter how ute or how
nie, was something else altogether.
"+h, I don't think so. "hanks."
""he day after then!"
&is persistene flattered her but still she hesitated. It didn't seem like a very smart idea. 9ydia's
attention turned bak to Maggie at that moment and she aught the end of 9ord 9indley's
re#uest.
"+h do go, Maggie. It will do you good."
"Yes, Maggie," he ehoed. &is eyes sparkled and he brought her hand to his lips. "It will do
you good."
"I give up." $he laughed. (hat the hell. $he'd have to pay attention and think before every
single word but how hard ould that be anyway!
"I'd be delighted to ride with you on the day after tomorrow. +kay!"
&is eyes narrowed and his brow reased in a perple)ed frown. Maggie sighed. $he really had
to wath her mouth. "I mean, if that's all right with you!
&is e)pression leared and he smiled down at her. "0ntil then." (ith a slight bow he turned
away. 9ydia and Maggie made their good3byes and headed for their ne)t visit.
Aside from an oasional slip of the tongue, Maggie adapted #uikly to the soial rules of
these brief visits. It was pretty basi. "ypially, 9ydia and Maggie would not be the only guests.
If no men were present, the women talked about fashion, and after
-,B
:itoria Ale)ander
Maggie's session with the dressmaker she ould generally wing that. $ine women were, in any
plae or time, still women, the topi typially turned to men. (ho was available! (ho was
atively seeking a wife! (ho was interested in whom!
$urprised, Maggie notied how often a man's attrativeness seemed measured in the height of
his title and the depth of his wallet. :irtually every eligible man disussed faed a ritial
analysis on the basis of those #uestions. (hat was his annual inome! &ow many ountry plaes
did he own! If not titled now, was he in line for one! And who would have to die for him to get
it! It all seemed very avalier and downright greedy in Maggie's eyes.
Maggie also noted that whenever Adam's name ame up, speulative looks were sent her way.
$he ignored them but #uestioned 9ydia in the arriage between visits.
"Adam is e)tremely eligible," 9ydia said patiently. "&e is two and thirty years now and it is
past time for him to hoose a wife and start a nursery."
"$tart a nursery!" 6onfused, Maggie's eyes widened. "(hat do you mean! &e's going to be a
florist or grow trees or something!" "he women e)hanged pu11led looks, neither #uite
omprehending what the other attempted to say.
"Maggie, I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about." 0nderstanding broke on 9ydia's
fae and she laughed. "@ot that kind of nursery. A nursery for hildren."
"You mean he'd get married just to have hildren!"
"@ot just hildren. An heir, a boy. +nly boys an inherit a title and muh property is entailed."
-LH
$esterday 7 .orever
"I don't understand."
"I'm not sure I thoroughly understand it myself but entailed property goes along with the title
and if there is no male heir, the title and the property goes bak to the 6rown." 9ydia shrugged.
""hat's why it is imperative for Adam and others in his position to marry, have a son, and ensure
the suession. It's his responsibility to his family."
"$o . . . why hasn't he!" Maggie's words were slow and measured.
"I suspet for the same reason I haven't. &e has never found someone he wanted to spend the
rest of his life with."
9ydia sighed. "I believe my dear brother, for all his brisk, effiient ways and preise,
ontrolled life is a romanti somewhere deep inside. +ur parents' marriage was a love math. I
was very young when Mama died but Adam was twelve. And I think that influened him
greatly."
$he stared moodily at the passing senery. "I think he wants what our parents had, as do I."
"I see," Maggie said #uietly, and the two women sat silent for a few moments, eah thinking
her own thoughts.
9ydia abruptly returned to the subjet. "You are not the only one asking about Adam's marital
prospets these days. "here is some talk that Adam has finally settled on a math."
"+h, how nie." Maggie's words ehoed hollowly. $he struggled to suppress an almost
physial pain.
9ydia glaned at her sharply. ""he talk, my dear, is entered around you."
"(hat!" Maggie bolted upright in the arriage.
-L-
:itoria Ale)ander
"@aturally." 9ydia tiked off points on her gloved fingers. ""here was the inident in the park,
when everyone notied how Adam held you far more firmly than neessary as he arried you.
"hen there was the ball. "he way the two of you walt1ed as if you were meant for eah other.
And, of ourse, neither of you daned with anyone else."
9ydia leaned bak in the arriage seat and pinned Maggie with a diret look. ""he latest on3dit
is that you are here from Ameria for the sole purpose of marrying Adam."
$tunned, for one Maggie had absolutely nothing to say. $he simply stared at 9ydia and
wondered if Adam had heard the gossip. If he had, what did he think! %id he are!
"Maggie, don't be so surprised. I ould have told you this would happen. Although it really
didn't our to me until it was too late." $he smiled sympathetially. "It doesn't signify. (hen
you leave we shall simply say you went home to Ameria. It will be the subjet of talk for a few
days> then something else will ome along and it will be forgotten. And with you gone, there will
be do1ens of willing girls ready and eager to take your plae."
"+h, yeah, right," Maggie said #uietly. A lump in her throat burned at the thought of someone
taking her plae with Adam. A plae, she told herself firmly, she had already relin#uished and
had no laim to anyway. "he reminder didn't help. Maggie fell silent, her stare fastened
unseeingly on the world passing by the arriage.
9ydia observed her ritially. Maggie obviously ared for Adam. (hy else would she try so
hard to
-LC
$esterday 7 .orever
avoid him! 9ydia noted that Maggie's preferene for her ompany had an almost ompulsive air
about it. Maggie and Adam might well be the two most stubborn people she had ever seen.
9ydia drew a deep breath. "he plans formulating in her head the past few days were taking a
definite shape, and none too soon. 7very time Adam grew ross with Maggie, he'd take it out on
her and bring up that nasty marriage business. @o loser to seleting a husband now than when
he first issued his threat and more resolved than ever not to bend to his ultimatum, she had to get
his attention bak on Maggie. In the meantime, 9ord 9indley ould possibly be a great help.
9ydia smiled to herself. A dose of jealousy might be just the toni her dear brother deserved.
444444444444444444
"hat evening, 9ydia dragged Maggie to some type of reital in a mansion even more lavish
than the 6oleridges'. An easy funtion to get through> Maggie simply appeared as if she listened
to the fre#uently off3key soprano, apparently the daughter of the house. Again, she and 9ydia
were the subjet of attention for numerous young men, and again she found flirting to be timeless
as well as easy. $he ould handle it as long as she displayed more bosom than brains and no one
asked speifi #uestions about her bakground. "hose that ame up, she and 9ydia defleted
lightly.
"he musial interludes, suh as they were, provided Maggie with breathing spae. ?ratefully
she reali1ed that was why 9ydia aepted this invitation. (ould Adam be here as well!
;eriodially she
-LG
:itoria Ale)ander
sanned the paked room, but she never saw him and berated herself when relief that she did not
have to fae him battled with disappointment at his absene.
7dward 9indley joined Maggie and 9ydia briefly. Maggie atually enjoyed the omfortable
onversation and wondered if there might be the makings of a friendship here. $he'd always had
good male friends. Maybe that was why she'd never fallen seriously in love. ?od knew she ould
use all the friends she ould get now. *riendship with 9indley was a pleasant thought, but
relutantly she had to fae reality. "he rules and struture of 2egeny 7ngland probably didn't
allow for platoni friendship.
444444444444444444
Adam ame late and stayed only a few moments. &e wanted to fore Maggie to talk to him,
make her listen to what he had to say. *rom the bak of the room, he stared at her, wathing her
laugh and hat with . .. who was that! 7dward 9indley! Adam didn't know the man but
immediately disliked him intensely. &e turned abruptly and walked out. It was a first. Adam had
never baked down from a fight in his life.
%id he leave beause he had too muh pride! After all, he had done nothing that truly
warranted this e)treme reation from her, so why should he be the one to apologi1e!
+r did he have too little ourage!
(hat if he told her of his feelings! &ow important she had beome to him and how very muh
he missed her. And what if after he told her all that,
-LJ
$esterday 7 .orever
what if she simply didn't are! %id he have enough ourage to fae that!
444444444444444444
"he ne)t day took on the same harateristis as the day before. 5oredom stalked Maggie. All
these people ever seemed to do was shop and gossip and party.
"Isn't there anything else here!" Maggie omplained to 9ydia. "hey'd put in a full day of alls
and now were taking a leisurely arriage ride in the park. It filled the time but did nothing to ure
Maggie's ontinued restlessness. 9ydia suggested a drive and, at this point, Maggie was game for
anything. 7ven so, it surprised her when 9ydia took the reins herself.
"I didn't know you were allowed to drive." Maggie stared with surprise and admiration.
"(ell, not all that many women handle the reins themselves," 9ydia said. "5ut it's not unheard
of. I simply badgered Adam for years and eventually he grudgingly taught me." $he gave a sharp
flik of the reins and smiled onfidently. "7ven he admits I am #uite good."
7agerly she turned to Maggie. "(ould you like to learn! It really an be wonderfully
e)iting."
Maggie laughed ruefully. "I don't think so, thanks. 5ut some kind of e)erise would be great.
Although I'm sure you don't have health lubs or swimming pools or 2ihard $immons."
9ydia ignored the unfamiliar ativities and onsidered the #uestion. "(ell, we ould ride. %o
you ride!"
"@ot sine I was a kid at summer amp. I used to go every year and I really liked riding. If I
remember, I was pretty good, but it's been a long time." Maggie
-LF
:itoria Ale)ander
nodded toward a ouple on horsebak. "And there's no way I ould ride with one of those. In my
time a sidesaddle is pretty muh a thing of the past."
9ydia's eyes narrowed and she wathed the riders file by.
"You know," she said slowly, "I haven't bent any rules lately."
$tartled, Maggie stared, intrigued by a gleam in 9ydia's eye. "(hat do you mean!"
"+nly that I have never ridden astride," 9ydia replied innoently.
"@ever!" ?iven 9ydia's admitted pursuit of her so3alled adventures, Maggie found her
admission hard to believe.
"@ever," 9ydia said solemnly. ""he perfet opportunity never presented itself. 0ntil now."
Maggie observed her losely for a long moment, then grinned. "Adam won't like it."
9ydia shrugged. "Adam won't know."
"All right." Maggie whooped with e)itement. "(hen an we go! (here!"
"9et me think." 9ydia's eyes narrowed and she thought for a moment. ""he park is really the
only plae in town. (e'll have to go very early, even before the earliest riders are out. $o it wil l
have to be before dawn. And we'll have to saddle our own horses to avoid the grooms and
stableboys."
"?reat. 6an you get some pants!"
";ants!" 9ydia's fae registered shok.
"Yeah, pants. 5rithes, pantaloons, whatever you all them." Maggie nodded at a woman on
horsebak. "You're not going to ride in one of those getups. You'll kill yourself. My jeans are
hidden in
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$esterday 7 .orever
the bak of my wardrobe, so I'll be fine, but if we do this, you have to have pants."
":ery well." 9ydia sighed. "And I have suh a lovely new habit, too." $he sighed again. "I'll
simply have to steal something from one of the servants."
Maggie leaned toward her eagerly. "%o you need help!"
"+h, my, no." 9ydia smiled sweetly. "It's been a while sine I have, shall we say, borrowed
men's lothing but I'm reasonably sure I remember how. @ow then, whih of the servants would
have lothes to fit me!"
"he women laughed and giggled their way bak home as they worked out the details of their
illiit ride. Maggie didn't want to get 9ydia in trouble, but, after all, it was her idea. $he
suspeted this would be a big deal if they were aught. $o they simply ould not get aught.
Maggie and 9ydia went to bed early. "hey wanted to be up and gone before dawn. "hey didn't
have to e)plain why they deided not to go after all to a party they'd aepted an invitation to.
"his was yet another night Adam didn't put in an appearane.
*or the first time in days, Maggie slept soundly. $he never heard the footsteps again stop at her
door in the middle of the night. $he never notied how long they hesitated there. And she never
woke to the lonely eho of the sound as it finally retreated down the dark hallway.
444444444444444444
Adam absently swirled the brandy in his glass and stared unseeing at the flames in the
fireplae before him. It was his fourth brandy, or perhaps his sev3
-L,
:itoria Ale)ander
enth. &e no longer ounted. &e was not, however, in his ups. +n the ontrary, while eah sip
darkened his mood, eah glass brought his thoughts into sharper fous. And they foused on only
one thing.
Maggie.
&e ould not get her out of his head in spite of his best efforts. 7)ept for the moment last
night, he had not seen her for two days. %eliberately. &e filled those days with business and
strenuous e)erise, bo)ing and riding. &is evenings were spent here at his lub where his
obviously glum demeanor did not enourage ompany.
Adam had not behaved like this in years. @ot sine his father died. In those days his drinking
and arousing and gambling were his ways of striking bak at the loving but domineering father
who ould not understand why his only son wanted to go to war or why his son believed it was
his duty to king and ountry to join the fight against @apoleon. Adam never ould e)plain to his
father why he onsidered it a #uestion of honor. &is honor and his family's. &is father not only
forbade his involvement, but his influene in government and military irles was suh that when
Adam tried to irumvent him, it was to no avail. And Adam resented it.
2esentment that manifested itself in wild behavior. *or years Adam lived with rekless
abandon, following his emotions, giving in to impulse, pushing strength and ourage far beyond
the pale of aeptable behavior. @ever #uite rossing the line into the unforgivable yet never
#uite ompletely respetable either.
(hen his father died, grief and guilt paraly1ed
-LL
$esterday 7 .orever
him. 7ven vast amounts of very fine li#uor did not ease his pain. Alone, he struggled to ome to
terms with the relationship he ould no longer hange. ?radually, through the long days loked
away in his father's private refuge, he began to omprehend, began to see that, as strong as his
father always appeared, he ould not fae the possible loss of his son in battle. &e remembered
his father's fae when Adam was involved in some partiularly diffiult srape or sandal.
5ehind the anger, there was always a glimmer of amusement, a touh of pride, a hint of paternal
love. "oo stubborn and defiant to reogni1e it at the time, Adam didn't reali1e what he'd had until
his father's death. (hat he'd lost.
"he impetuous youth ame out of his father's library a mature man, setting aside emotion and
vowing to turn his life around, to make the estates profitable and arry his name honorably, to
make his father proud. &e sueeded admirably, harnessing the same intensity he had one used
in the pursuit of pleasure. If somewhere along the way he had gone too far, beome too ruthless
in business, too old and self3ontrolled in his personal life, too .. . well, stuffy ... so be it.
And now, for the first time in years, he sat around swilling brandy after brandy. And why! *or
a woman! 7ven in his rakehell days he had not ated like this over a mere woman. "he 6yprians
and demimondes he assoiated with knew what to e)pet from him and he from them.
In younger days he'd partaken of all the aeptable=and many of the unaeptable=pleasures
9ondon had to offer. In spite of his unsavory reputation,
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:itoria Ale)ander
he was still onsidered a pri1e, if somewhat tarnished, on the marriage mart and muh sought
after as a guest. (hen he deigned to make an appearane, he had few #ualms about flirting and
harming innoents and near innoents in their first seasons. &e was typially areful to make
lear his intentions, to make sure no young miss or her family e)peted more from him than he
was willing to give. Adam's sense of honor always remained stronger than his rebellion.
(hy was Maggie so very different from the women he knew! A normal woman would have
let him e)plain. A normal woman would have welomed him bak with open arms. After all, he
was still an e)tremely eligible ath. A normal woman would have understood previous
enounters.
&e ignored the nagging #uestion in the bak of his mind. (hy on earth was he wasting his
time! (hy did he even are! &e wanted her, of ourse, wanted her in his bed and by his side.
5ut what e)atly did that mean! (ould he offer her arte blanhe! (ould she even onsider
that! (as that what he wanted!
@o. &e sighed. &e had never offered to keep a woman before and would not start with
Maggie. "hen what did he want!
"You are a sorry sight."
"(hat!" Adam glaned up into the amused eyes of 2ihard (estbrooke. "+h, 2ihard." &e
returned his sulking attention to the flames flikering in the hearth. "(hat are you doing here!"
2ihard settled in the hair beside him and signaled a waiter for a brandy. "Amanda and I were
at a partiularly boring soiree and she was having
-BH
$esterday 7 .orever
muh too good a time to drag herself away, so I left. I shall return for her later. I might ask you
the same #uestion."
"I am thinking," Adam mumbled.
"I see." Adam heard the amused note in his friend's voie. "And how is she!"
$tartled, Adam turned toward him. "$he!"
"Yes, the intriguing reature you were with the other night."
"Maggie," he said darkly.
"Yes, Maggie. $he is an original. (hat are you going to do about her!"
Adam growled. "(hat makes you think I am going to do anything about her!"
2ihard hukled. "Adam, I have known you for many years and I have never seen you #uite
this bad. 7ven in the old days when at any given moment either of us ould have been found
fo)ed and ready to do battle at the slightest provoation. It's been my e)periene when any man
looks like you do there is very probably a woman behind it."
"Maggie."
"Yes, Maggie."
"$he is impossible," Adam grumbled.
2ihard smiled knowingly. "Amanda was impossible, too, until I married her." &e hukled
again. "$till is, in fat. (hy don't you marry her!"
"Marry Maggie!" $urprised, Adam noted the idea did not sound at all farfethed.
"$he would make a delightful ountess."
"&a." Adam snorted. "%elightful isn't the word I'd use. $tubborn, intratable, annoying,
impulsive= those are some of the words I'd use."
-B-
:itoria Ale)ander
":ery well." 2ihard laughed. "$he would make an interesting ountess."
"$he would, wouldn't she!" Marry Maggie! Adam agreed relutantly. It might well be the
perfet answer. If he married her she ertainly ouldn't leave him. $he would be his always.
Maggie was the only woman he had ever met to affet him this deeply. *or the first time in
years, he was alive again beause of her. "he intensity of the attration between them shoked
him but he ould not deny it. Maybe this was why she had ome to his time. Maybe the gods had
brought them together. Maybe this was, indeed, their fate. "he thought lifted his spirits, only to
have them plunge again.
"$he won't even talk to me," he said glumly.
"Adam." 2ihard soffed. "I have seen you work your way bak into the good graes of many
an angry woman. 2emember that daner bak . . . when was it!"
"Years ago." Adam waved the #uestion aside, then brightened. ""hat was a good job, wasn't
it!"
2ihard nodded. "@o man ould have done better."
Again Adam's spirits fell. "5ut I ouldn't do the same with Maggie. @o, she'd find out. "hink it
was part of a well3rehearsed plan."
"(ell, I have onfidene in you. You will ome up with something. I must be leaving." 2ihard
stood to go. "5y the way, did you hear about the robberies in the neighborhood! "hieves
breaking into houses! I hear they've hit a few near you. Amanda is #uite alarmed and had me put
e)tra men on."
"Yes, I've heard," Adam said absently, his mind
-BC
$esterday 7 .orever
still on his more pressing problem. "I've alerted my staff."
":ery well, then." 2ihard shook his head, a smile of amusement again on his lips. "I an see
you have more, ah, thinking to do, and I must ollet my wife." &e stared to leave, then turned
bak. "+h, and, Adam."
&is sharp tone aptured Adam's attention and he wondered at the serious note now in his
friend's voie.
"+ne more thing. +riginals are very diffiult but well worth the trouble. Amanda has made my
life happier than I ould have ever imagined. Your Maggie may well do the same for you. 5ut. .."
&e hesitated as if unertain how to proeed. ""here is something very different about her. I don't
think she is #uite what she appears to be."
Adam groaned and slumped further into his hair. &e stared one again at the flames, pulled a
long drag of his brandy, and ursed under his breath. "@o shit, $herlok."
-BG
Chapter Ten
"Maggie. Maggie." A voie alled in the dark.
&er mind still fogged with sleep, her thoughts failing to fous in the blakened room, Maggie's
eyes drifted open.
"Maggie." "he voie grew more insistent.
"(hat!"
"$hh. It's me."
Maggie's eyes adjusted to the dark. "he ghostly figure leaning over her bed took shape. 9ydia!
(hat was she ... ! +f ourse, they were going riding. &ow ould she have forgotten!
"%amn," Maggie tumbled out of bed. "I must have overslept. $orry."
$he srambled into the jeans she'd plaed on the foot of the bed the night before. "It's not too
late, is it!"
"@o," 9ydia whispered. "5ut we really must hurry.
-BJ
$esterday 7 .orever
&ere." $he thrust a wadded3up piee of fabri at her. ";ut this on."
Maggie grabbed the material and shook it out. It looked like a shirt. "(hat is it!"
"It's Adam's linen. I'm wearing one as well."
"I was going to wear my "3shirt."
9ydia shook her head. ""he yellow garment! @o, that's too sandalous even to onsider and
not nearly warm enough for this morning. 5esides, if anyone sees us in these, we might pass for
boys. I brought this, too."
In the gloom, Maggie s#uinted to make out what appeared to be a blanket.
"&ere, take it. It's a loak."
Maggie grabbed the heavy wool garment and dropped it on the bed. $he pulled the shirt over
her head and struggled with the buttons, eventually leaving it open at the nek. $oft and full, it
smelled faintly of Adam.
"+kay, let me just get my shoes." Maggie stumbled to the wardrobe and grabbed the @ikes
from their hiding plae. 9eaning against the massive piee of furniture, she pulled on the shoes
and bouned lightly on the balls of her feet, enjoying the pleasant, familiar spring. It was great to
be bak in her own lothes again. 7ven though the flowing dresses and lightweight slippers here
were growing on her.
$he grabbed a brush and ran it through her hair, then tossed it on the bed and snathed up the
loak. $he threw the oversi1e garment around her shoulders. "2eady!"
"2eady." 9ydia nodded, pulling up the hood of her
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:itoria Ale)ander
own loak to over her blond urls. $he arefully opened the door and peered autiously into the
hall. "*ollow me."
"he women silently rept along the darkened passageway, trying not to alert any of the
mansion's sleeping residents. 9ydia led the way down a servants' stairway that ended near what
Maggie assumed must be the kithen. &ere was a orridor and what appeared to be a bak door
or maybe a servants' entrane.
9ydia flipped bak her hood and pulled a key from an invisible poket. 6arefully she fit the
key in the lok and turned it. "he door reaked open slowly and they slipped through, losing it
silently behind them. (ithin moments they were at the stables.
"wo horses stood saddled and ready.
"I thought you didn't want anybody to know about this," Maggie hissed.
9ydia shrugged. "I didn't, but I was not at all sure if we ould saddle the horses ourselves, so I
asked ?eorge to help. %on't worry. &e'll keep our seret, won't you, ?eorge!"
"he silent ?eorge nodded somberly.
"5esides, I paid him to be still."
"You atually had real money! 6ash!" Maggie's voie dripped with sarasm.
"+f ourse," 9ydia said loftily. "@ow shall we!"
It had been a long time sine Maggie last mounted a horse, but the skill ame bak to her
#uikly. $he sat astride within seonds and waited for 9ydia to do likewise. 5ut 9ydia remained
standing, eyeing the horse with more than a little skeptiism. ";erhaps this idea was not well
thought out after all."
-BE
$esterday 7 .orever
"+h, ome on. (here's your spirit of adventure! (e've ome way too far to give up now."
Maggie turned to the stableboy. "Is there something she an stand on to get into the saddle!"
?eorge brought a stool and eventually 9ydia sat astride the animal, whih looked nearly as
unsure as she.
""his is odd, isn't it! $itting like this." 9ydia adjusted herself in the saddle. "5ut really #uite
omfortable and one doesn't feel as if they're about to slide right off. I ould beome #uite used
to this." $he turned to Maggie. "2eady!"
"After you."
9ydia took the lead and Maggie followed her out of the stable and into the street to the park.
444444444444444444
"he pair passed through the park gates in that unertain time of morning between the total
blak of night and the rosy glow of dawn, with muh of the world shadowed gray and
indistinguishable. (isps of mist swirled and hugged the ground, sattered only by their passage.
"he clopclop of the horses' hooves ehoed through the lonely streets. "he air hung heavy with
early morning dew. "endrils of hair urled around Maggie's fae. "he furtive nature of their ride,
the #uasidisguises, even the still of the predawn hour stimulated Maggie. 7)itement oursed
through her veins.
"hey passed few people on the street, only a arriage here and there apparently returning home
from a late night out. In the park they rode alone, the hour still too early for even the most avid
rider. "hey trotted through deserted, tree3lined lanes. Mag3
-B,
:itoria Ale)ander
gie grew onfident both in the saddle and in their ability to pull the whole thing off without
inident.
"hey rode deeper into the park and Maggie turned to 9ydia. "Is there someplae where we an
let loose! You know, really have a good run! Maybe a rae!"
"+h, one does not rae in the park. It's simply not permitted." 9ydia shook her head firmly.
"6ome on," Maggie said. "You're riding astride. You're wearing pants. And you're worried
about a little thing like speeding! 2ela) and let's enjoy it."
"Your point is well taken,N 9ydia said ruefully. "I aept your hallenge." $he laughed and dug
her heels into the horse's flanks. &e lunged forward and took off, leaving Maggie gaping after
them.
"(hat hallenge!" $he urged her horse into a anter. "(hat's with this family and their
hallenges anyway! %amn. If I lose her I'm in big trouble."
&er horse piked up speed and they raed in the diretion 9ydia disappeared. Maggie's body
moved with the rhythm of the beast and, after a moment, she lost herself in the sheer enjoyment
of the ride, of being one with the broad, handsome animal. 7)hilaration, primal and primitive,
surged through her and she felt every inh as muh a reature of nature as the one beneath her.
"his was the release she sought, the answer to her restlessness. $he kept an eye open for 9ydia
but reveled in the sheer estasy of her powerful flight.
$he slowed her horse to a walk and ontinued to searh for 9ydia. It had been a while sine
she'd seen her and an uneasy feeling rept over Maggie. It wasn't #uite daylight yet, although it
was muh lighter than when they'd arrived. $he had absolutely
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$esterday 7 .orever
no idea where she was in the park. Maggie thought the area seemed a bit off the beaten path but
she'd only been to &yde ;ark twie, three times if a visit in another entury ounted.
Maggie's first thoughts were for 9ydia's safety. $he didn't want anything to happen to her. ?uilt
swept through Maggie. If 9ydia was harmed, regardless of whose idea this outing was, it would
be Maggie's fault. 9ydia wouldn't be here if it wasn't for her.
Maggie wasn't onfident of her own safety, either. "his was downright spooky. &er horse
steadily pushed forward and her earlier unease gradually turned to real fear. In the dim light
surrounding trees took on strange and frightening shapes. "he rakle of twigs in the faint bree1e
seemed somehow sinister. "he oasional branh brushing her hair startled her and she jerked in
the saddle, her heart in her throat.
"%on't be paranoid," she muttered softly, taking omfort in the sound of her own voie. "You
don't know e)atly where you are but you're still in a ity park. You an't get too lost. Dust hill
out."
$he took a deep breath and ontinued her monologue. "?ranted, this is a sary plae, but think
how harming it is in the daylight with all those people parading around. %on't think about
muggings in 6entral ;ark or Dak the 2ipper or anything like that. "hat's deades and deades
from now. "his is the original kinder and gentler plae. 2ight!"
$he glaned around as if e)peting an answer and afraid she might hear one. "$tay alm. %on't
get freaked out."
A faint sound in the distane aught her attention
-BB
:itoria Ale)ander
and she reined her horse to a stop. "he noise from somewhere behind her grew steadily louder. It
sounded like something rashing through the trees. $omething big. $omething nasty. &eading
toward her.
"+h, damn. 6ome on." $he spurred her horse and they shot off in no partiular diretion, just
away from whomever or whatever was behind her. Maggie's heart thudded wildly in her hest.
"error lodged in her mind. $he ould think of nothing but esape. &er horse flew past the trees
and Maggie lung to his nek tightly. "he raket of her pursuer grew louder and louder until she
almost felt the hot breath of a demon beast behind her. $he refused to spare a single, preious
moment to glane bak and strained ahead, urging her horse forward. 5lind, numbing fear
logged her mind at the thought of what she might see.
(ithout warning a hand reahed out and grabbed her reins, e)pertly pulling her horse to a stop.
Ating only on instint, she slipped to the ground and took flight, running as fast and as hard as
she ould. &er blood pounded through her veins> her breath rasped through her lips. Adrenaline
pumped her legs faster and faster. 5ranhes lawed at the heavy loak over and over like
grasping hands, impeding her progress.
A hand grabbed Maggie's arm, jerking her to a halt, ripping a sream from her throat. *ranti
with terror, she struk out blindly. 5reaking every self3defense rule she'd ever learned, Maggie
doubled up her fist and swung indisriminately with all the power she possessed. CHH
$esterday 7 .orever
"Yow. 5loody hell." an inensed but e)tremely familiar voie yelled.
"Adam! +h, jee1." $hok widened Maggie's eyes and slowly she foused on Adam's grim,
furious fae. &er legs suddenly too weak to support her, she sank to her knees and buried her
fae in her hands. *or a long moment she fought to get her breathing under ontrol. "error ebbed
away and relief filled her. $he wanted to laugh and ry at the same time. *inally she unovered
her fae and glared up at him.
"You sared the hell3out of me." $he srambled to her feet. "I had no idea who was hasing
me. I thought you were going to kill me."
Adam's eyes narrowed. &e had the look of a man struggling to ontain himself. &ow muh
trouble was she in!
&is hands knotted into fists by his sides and he spoke through lenhed teeth. "I am going to
kill you.
&e grabbed her arm and dragged her toward his horse standing patiently a few feet away.
$he struggled against him. "(here are we going!"
"&ome."
"(hat about my horse!" $he sanned the woods around her, hoping the missing horse would
provide an e)use to delay what was oming. Anything to put off faing Adam's wrath struk her
as a very good idea.
&e tossed her up on his saddle as if she were a sak of potatoes and leapt behind her. "&e shall
be taken are of."
$he sat flattened against him. &is arm around her
CH-
:itoria Ale)ander
waist held her seurely, his free hand holding the reins.
"5ut 9ydia, I've lost her." Informing him of his missing sister, while dangerous, seemed like
another good delaying tati.
"$he should be home by now." &is tones were lipped and risp.
$he twisted around to fae him. "5ut what=!"
"Miss Masterson." +bviously any patiene Adam had up to this moment had now evaporated
as rapidly as the early morning mist. "(e shall disuss this later. My purpose at this point is to
get you home unobserved. "he task will be made muh easier if you will simply keep your
mouth shut."
$he started to speak.
"$hut up."
"*ine." $he settled in for the brief ride home. &er position pinned against him would have been
pleasurable at any other time, but at this moment, even though she knew aording to the rules of
his life she was in the wrong, anger replaed remorse. &er fighting spirit was up. $he was
looking forward to having it out with him.
444444444444444444
Maggie marhed into the library two steps ahead of Adam and pulled up short at the sight of
9ydia looking an)ious and more than a little hagrined.
"Are you all right!" 9ydia said.
"&ow did you get here!" Maggie said at the same time.
9ydia nodded toward Adam. "&e had a arriage and a driver."
"&e got me on horsebak," Maggie said wryly.
CHC
$esterday 7 .orever
Adam losed the doors firmly behind him. "I think an e)planation is in order." &is voie
sounded alm and ontrolled but his eyes flashed dangerously.
"Me, too." Maggie whirled to fae him. "?o ahead, e)plain."
"(hat!"
"7)plain why you hased me through the park, saring me half to death. 7)plain what gave
you the right to haul me bak here like a bag of groeries. 7)plain how you knew where we were
in the first plae. 7)plain="
"?eorge told me."
"%amn," Maggie swore under her breath.
"?eorge!" 9ydia said. "5ut I paid him."
Adam turned stormy eyes on 9ydia. "5ut I pay him more. ?eorge knows where his loyalties
lie. And it's a bloody good thing, too. Imagine my surprise when he greeted me with the news
that you two had taken horses and gone ?od knows where. And dressed like that, no less." &e
spit the words out as if they were somehow distasteful.
"(hat's wrong with the way we're dressed!" %efiane drenhed Maggie's words.
"You know full well what's wrong. Maybe there is, after all, an e)use for you, for the way you
think and at." &e turned to 9ydia. "5ut what in the hell was in your mind! You know the
irreparable damage this little stunt ould do to your reputation. I am grateful no one was around
to witness your disgraeful behavior."
"My behavior!" "he anger in 9ydia's eyes now mirrored her brother's. *aing off against eah
other, the two had never looked more alike.
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:itoria Ale)ander
"(hat about you! (hat about your behavior! It was nearly dawn and you were just getting
home."
*or the first time Maggie notied Adam's evening lothesA ruffled silk shirt, elaborately tied
white ravat, blak jaket. "he elegant lothes, the fury in his eyes, and the stony set of his jaw
reated an impressive and intimidating figure.
"I had been home. You had both retired. I went out again." &e sighed angrily. "My behavior is
not in #uestion here."
Adam fored himself to alm down. &is initial pani and fear when he learned the women
were missing gave way to relief when he found them safe, followed #uikly by anger. @either
Maggie nor 9ydia had any real notion of the dangers faing unesorted young women in the dim
reesses of the predawn day.
"$ine I obviously annot trust you two alone and I am not about to play nursemaid to you
every minute, I have made a deision."
&e paused to let his words sink in. Maggie and 9ydia e)hanged an)ious looks. Adam direted
his ne)t omments to his sister.
""here are far and away too many temptations in town. I an see that Maggie makes a more
dangerous ompanion for you than any of your previous ohorts. I had hoped you'd grown out of
esapades like this but I was mistaken. I am sending both of you to the ountry as soon as I an
make arrangements."
Maggie stared in disbelief. If she left she might blow her only hane at getting home. $he
shook her head vehemently. "@o way, pal. @ot on your life. I'm staying right here."
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$esterday 7 .orever
"(hat!" Adam's stunned e)pression was almost omial. &e'd apparently never faed outright
defiane from a woman, any woman, before.
"I am not going either," 9ydia said in the almest voie she'd used so far.
&e whirled toward her, fists lenhed by his sides, eyes flashing, every line of his body tight
with rage. "You will."
9ydia returned his glare with a serene, almost amused e)pression. "@o, I most ertainly will
not. "his is the seond time in reent weeks you have made one of your deisions regarding my
life and I will no longer put up with it. 0nder the terms of *ather's will you are my guardian and
I aept that. 5ut I am not a hild and I refuse to be treated like one."
Maggie stared at the sene played out between brother and sister, impressed at the self3assured,
somewhat regal way 9ydia ated. Adam, on the other hand, looked like he'd burst a blood vessel
any moment. Maggie wanted to heer 9ydia on but tatfully, and probably wisely, deided to
stay out of it.
"You gave me a month to find a husband. I have no intention of leaving before the allotted
time. I plan on enjoying every minute of it right here." &er eyes shot daggers at him. "If at the
end of that time I am not betrothed, I will retire to the ountry as per your threat, beause I
absolutely refuse to marry anyone that meets your #ualifiations and not mine."
"You'll bloody well do as I say."
Ignoring him ompletely, 9ydia stepped to the door, opened it, and turned bak to her brother.
"$he's right, you know. You are a bite in the
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shorts," $he sailed out the door and losed it firmly behind her.
444444444444444444
9ydia floated up the stairs, hoping there were no servants around to notie the self3satisfied
grin she ould not keep off her fae. ;oor, dear Adam. $he'd never openly defied him. 7ver.
$he'd never had to. 9ydia always did e)atly as she wished and paid whatever prie ame due
later. Adam typially raged at her over the minor rises she reated but he always proteted her,
too. ;rotetion that in reent years saved her from any potential slur on her honor or good name.
+f ourse her esapades weren't truly terrible. $he'd never been sedued, for e)ample. 9ydia
preferred to think of them as larks, minor adventures. As she'd told Maggie, she didn't have the
ourage to totally flout onvention. $he liked the soial whirl of the ton far too muh to be
fored to give it all up simply beause of sandalous behavior, no matter how enjoyable suh
behavior might be.
$he wasn't e)atly sure why she'd blatantly defied Adam this morning. 0sually she worked her
own subtle form of manipulation on the dear man. ;erhaps it was Maggie's influene. ;erhaps it
was just time.
;oor Adam. $he had absolutely no intention of aepting an arranged marriage or making a
desperate math herself in the ne)t few weeks. 2egardless of what she said in the library, she
would not spend the years until she turned GH banished to the ountry.
Maggie was still her best hane at getting Adam off this ridiulous marriage business. &e
obviously
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$esterday 7 .orever
ared for the woman. $he ould tell by the way he turned so surly whenever he was at ross
purposes with her. &e merely needed to learn how muh he ared. "he time had ome for her to
put her plan into motion. $he would need help but ould probably make the arrangements easily.
*or now, she would return to bed. @othing e)hausted her more than an early morning ride.
444444444444444444
Maggie and Adam stared at the door, sharing a stunned silene, Adam's fae a mask of
onfliting emotions. Maggie read outrage in the angry tilt of his jaw and tension in his powerful
body. 5ut onfusion was there as well, a hint around his dark, stormy eyes, a suspiion on his
furrowed brow. &is e)pression triggered a surge of ompassion. ;oor guy. &e'd probably never
faed a situation where things were totally out of his ontrol before.
Adam turned dark, flashing eyes toward her and any feelings of sympathy vanished. &er heart
dropped to her stomah at the fury rampant on his fae, the ontrolled rage of his stane. "And as
for you . .." &e started toward her.
"&old it right there." $he shoved her hand in front of her and lifted her hin defiantly. "You
may have the right to run your sister's life but, as far as I'm onerned, you have absolutely no
right to run mine."
"As long as you are in this house you are my responsibility." Adam glared and turned abruptly.
&e strode to the table and poured a glass of brandy. +bviously trying to regain his self3ontrol he
downed
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:itoria Ale)ander
the li#uor in one swallow and splashed out a seond glass.
Maggie stalked past him and poured a glass of her own. *ollowing his lead, she, too, downed it
greedily. &er eyes watered and she hoked bak a ough, but she refused to let him see the
effets of the drink. (ithin moments, the warmth of the brandy spread through her and she
poured another.
"You are orrupting my sister."
"(hat!" $he slammed the glass down on the table, amber drops splattering on the polished
surfae. "I<ll have you know this wasn't my idea."
"It wasn't!" &e raised an eyebrow in an e)pression that learly said he didn't believe her.
"2iding astride was not your idea!"
"@o." $he stifled a glimmer of guilt. "@ot really."
"+h!" "here went the eyebrow again. "And I suppose it wasn't your idea to wear trousers and
=" &e peered at her sharply and reognition washed over his fae. "My good linen. You're
wearing my good linen."
"(ell," she said, evasion in her voie, "okay, maybe that part was my idea." Anger at his
attitude sparked within her. (ho did he think he was, anyway! "0ltimately, this whole thing is
your fault."
"My fault." Adam gasped, looking genuinely surprised. "&ow in the name of all that's holy is
this my fault!"
"It just is." Maggie wasn't making a whole lot of sense but she was too mad to are.
"(hy is it my fault!"
"5eause." %ecause what& %ecause he broke your heart&
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$esterday 7 .orever
"5eause you used me," she said. "You used a line on me like you've probably used on every
other woman who's passed through your life."
"I did not." 2ighteous indignation stamped his fae and aompanied his words. "@ot every
woman."
"(hat! +h great, that makes it muh better."
"I didn't mean it that way." Adam ran his hand through his hair in an an)ious gesture. "You
would not let me e)plain."
"You didn't try very hard."
"You refused to listen."
"You should have made me listen. You're the big, maho nineteenth3entury lord of the manor.
You're used to everyone obeying your every whim. (hat's the matter! (as it a little intimidating
to find a woman who didn't fall at your feet in awe of your money and your title! A woman
willing to stand up to you and not take the kind of bull you dish out! (as dealing with me just
too muh of a hallenge!"
"A hallenge! (hat hallenge! 7very time I ame near you, you melted in my arms. If I had
wanted you in my bed you bloody well would have been there by now. 5ut why would I want
someone with absolutely no inkling of proper behavior, no apparent onsideration for anyone's
problems but her own, and the soial manners and mouth of a guttersnipe!"
"A guttersnipe!" Maggie gasped.
A firestorm of fury swept through her, and without thinking she did what she had never done
before in her life. $he drew bak her hand and let it fly.
CHB
Chapter Eleven
Adam aught her open hand in midair and the resounding slap reverberated through the library.
"he very air seemed harged, shimmering with barely onealed tension and emotion.
$hoked by her ations, Maggie's eyes widened and she stared at Adam. "heir ga1es loked for
a long, eletri moment. $lowly Adam brought her hand to his lips, turned it, and kissed her
palm. &is eyes never left hers.
"%amn," she breathed.
"5loody hell." &e groaned and pulled her unresistingly into his arms.
"heir lips met and all Maggie's bottled3up emotions burst free like a swollen river breahing a
weakened dike. $he twined her hands in his hair and his lips rushed hers. &is tongue invaded
her mouth and she reeived it greedily, desperate for the into)iating sensation. $he wanted to
devour him, wanted
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$esterday 7 .orever
him to devour her in return.
&is hands upped her jeans, and he ran his fingers over the urve of her buttoks. &e slipped
his hands under her loose shirt, his touh searing her bare skin. $he gasped at his heat and he
pulled her tighter against him. &er hands slid down his nek and she fumbled with the knotted
ravat at his throat, finally wrenhing it away to open the nek of his shirt. 5reaking the seal of
their kiss, she let her lips find the sensitive skin at the base of his throat. &is head fell bak and
he groaned at the feel of her e)ploring tongue. &er mouth traveled lower, desperate for the taste
of him. $he pushed his jaket over his shoulders and he shrugged it off, letting it fall forgotten.
*ranti with a too long buried need, she struggled with his shirt, opening it to the waist. &er
fingers ran over his e)posed hest and she reveled in the firmly musled e)panse and the te)ture
of risply matted hair beneath her fingertips.
(ith one #uik movement, he grasped the hem of her shirt and pulled it over her head. $he
wore the odd, white orsetlike undergarment she had had on when she'd arrived, and he drank in
the sight of the reamy flesh rising above the filmy fabri, heaving beneath. &e pulled her loser
and his mouth traveled the valley between her breasts. A breathless moan esaped her and she
luthed his head to her hest. &is tongue traed the edge of the garment and she #uivered
beneath his lips.
"&ere," she whispered and deftly unfastened the front losure of her bra, releasing her breasts
to his plundering mouth. &e lavished attention on eah one in turn, taking one, then the other. &e
pulled,
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sukled, and teased until she thought she ouldn't endure the e)#uisite pleasure another moment.
&er hands grasped the shirt strethed taut aross his bak and her head fell forward.
Abruptly, he drew bak and laimed her lips with his, hungry and demanding. $he lung to
him, her legs li#uid, no longer able to provide support. &e pulled her loser and she gasped at the
sensation of his bare hest against her naked, sensitive breasts. &is manhood bekoned through
the fabri separating them. $he strained her hips forward to meet his. 9ost in a fog of sensual
antiipation, she e)isted only in the touh of his hands, the taste of his skin, the heat of his body
pressed to hers.
"ogether they sank to their knees, mouths still engaged in a fren1y of taste and touh. &er arms
wrapped around his nek. &is hands traveled aross her hips and stomah, finding the junture of
her thighs. $he groaned at the pressure of his touh through the denim of her jeans and moved
rhythmially against his hand. &e stopped and she shuddered, grasping him onvulsively. &e
found the waistband of her jeans and struggled with the button, finally ripping it off in a ha1e of
unrelenting desire. Impatiently, he pushed the 1ipper open and slid the pants down her hips.
&is hand irled the tender flesh of her stomah and trailed to the urls between her thighs. &e
e)plored the soft, moist folds of skin beyond and found the point of her passion. &is fingers
toyed and played until she nearly wept from wanting him.
"+h, Adam, now, please," she ried, frantially luthing him loser.
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$esterday 7 .orever
&e eased her bak on the plush arpet and stood, tearing off his lothes. $he wiggled out of her
jeans and waited impatiently. &e towered above her and for a moment she thought how very
muh she loved him. "hen he was there, filling her with the essene of his being.
"Maggie," he said with a groan. &er warm, moist body enveloped him, and Adam thought he
had never known suh intensity, suh pleasure, suh perfetion. "he fire, the fury, and the
passion of this woman were his and he wanted nothing more than to take her to heights he had
never suspeted possible. 0ntil now.
$he wrapped her legs around his and strained against his thrusting strength. "hey moved in the
rhythm of the ages, faster and higher to a plae she never dreamed e)isted, never imagined ould
be reahed. "ogether they limbed where surely no one had been before until ultimately he
shuddered onvulsively against her and she sreamed softly as the world e)ploded around them.
444444444444444444
Adam propped himself on one elbow. &is ga1e drifted la1ily over the naked woman beside
him. A smile played aross his lips and he drank in the sight of her. %isheveled hair framed her
flushed fae, her lips parting slightly as she breathed. &er eyes were losed and long dark lashes
deliately brushed her heek.
(hen had he lost ontrol of his life! (as it when Maggie had tried to strike him! (hen 9ydia
openly defied him! +r was it muh sooner! "he night he found Maggie rumpled at his feet
perhaps! $ome3
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how the answers no longer interested him. "he only thing interesting him at all was her.
"he intensity of their lovemaking shoked him. &e never knew it ould be #uite so remarkable,
#uite so onsuming. $he unleashed passions in him he never dreamed e)isted. And now, lying
here, studying her, tenderness and peae filled him. &e wanted to take her in his arms and hold
her lose, always. &e wanted to protet her, are for her. 5efore today, he thought she merely
suited him. 5ut it was far more than that. (ith her he was omplete. *ulfilled. (hole.
&e had asked himself one before if this was love.
@ow he knew.
%esire rose one again within him. &e trailed his fingers lightly down the valley between her
breasts and traed a irle on her stomah. &er eyes fluttered open and she gave him a ontented
smile. ;leased, he noted her eyes were still a deep, forest green.
"%o you really think I have the manners and mouth of a guttersnipe!"
&e reahed over and brushed his lips against hers. "You have a lovely mouth." &is lips moved
to her ear. "And wonderful ears." &is mouth traveled to her nek. "And a truly superb throat."
&is tongue drifted lower and delight shivered through her. "You reali1e we're lying here on the
rug stark naked!" $he struggled to keep her thoughts together. &e shifted to a position over her,
his tongue now teasing her breasts.
"I had notied that," he murmured and ontinued his e)ploration.
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$esterday 7 .orever
"(hat about the servants!" 5reathing grew diffiult.
&is mouth aressed her stomah, his tongue traing intriate patterns. ""hey won't ome in if
the door is losed." &is words fluttered against her bare body.
"5ut what. . . !" &er voie was barely a whisper.
"%on't you ever stop talking!" &e growled out the words softly, his mouth still nu11ling her
belly. $he willingly gave up and lost herself to the e)#uisite sensations he reated.
&e lifted his head and ga1ed up at her. "You do reali1e this hanges everything!"
$he sighed in agreement and he returned to the task at hand.
&is hands gently aressed her inner thighs and her legs fell open. &is fingers stroked the
#uivering folds of flesh and she moaned with the sheer enjoyment of his knowledgeable touh. A
throbbing built deep within her and she wondered vaguely if he ould feel it, too.
&is tongue fliked the foal point of her pleasure and she gasped at the ama1ing sensation. $he
tensed at the new intimay. A glimmer of apprehension tore her mind from the remarkable
feeling.
"Adam." $he gasped out the words autiously. "I don't know..."
"&ush, my love."
$he surrendered ompletely. All possibility of oherent thought fled and she spiraled in a
whirlpool of eroti indulgene. $he writhed unontrollably, her nails digging into the arpet
beneath her, des3
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:itoria Ale)ander
perate to esape the sweet, sinful torture. More desperate not to.
*lashes of blinding, hot pleasure surged into every revie of her being until she wept with
desire and whimpered for release. Adam's hands, lips, tongue e)plored every surfae of her body,
and every nerve sreamed with the flaring heat.
+ver and over he brought her to the brink of mindless estasy. +ver and over he held her bak.
$he grasped his shoulders. ;rimordial pressure built deeper, higher, and she moaned in mindless
wonder.
$ensing her omplete arousal, Adam ould no longer ontain his own rampaging need. &is
throbbing, pulsating manhood bored into the hot, wet oblivion of her. &e groaned, submersed in
the sensation of their joining and swept away one again on a timeless wave of passion.
$he wrapped her legs around his hips and instintively mathed her movements to his,
ountered his thrusts with hers, molded her body to his own. $he arhed her bak, franti for
every ontat, every movement a new pinnale of e)itement. &is lips rushed hers and their
hard, rasping breaths rashed and ollided. $he demanded and devoured. &e filled her insistent
body with a fiere intensity he never dreamed e)isted.
"ogether they soared to unbelievable heights where their very souls joined. 5onded. Merged
into one. (here they rossed the border that separated one life from another. (here neither
knew where one left off and the other began. 0ntil finally, forged by flames of passion and fired
by bla1ing desire, an inferno of estasy erupted within them. "heir bodies
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$esterday 7 .orever
shuddered and shook and they lung desperately to eah other.
And Maggie knew no matter what else might happen, this was meant to be. *ated as surely as
night follows day. As ertain as the seasons.
As inevitable as time itself.
444444444444444444
Maggie lay on her side, Adam's body molded around hers. $he marveled at the way they
seemed to fit together so perfetly, as if one body was made with the other in mind. $he sighed
in lethargi ontentment and snuggled deeper into his arms. A kiss tikled her ear.
"I ould stay like this always," Adam said.
"wisting, she turned to fae him and snaked her arms around his nek. "2eally!" $he brushed
her lips aross his. "I was under the distint impression I drove you ra1y."
"You do." &is eyes twinkled. "5ut I find I am beginning to enjoy the ride."
$he laughed with delight and her ga1e loked with his. Almost impereptibly, his eyes
sobered.
"Maggie." &e pronouned her name slowly as if hoosing his words arefully. ""ell me about
him. About the man you loved."
"(hat man!" $he stared, pu11led. "(hat are you talking about!"
""he man who took .. . the man you gave=damnation, I don't know how to ask this." In his
eyes she read frustration and something she ouldn't #uite define.
2eali1ation struk her and she wasn't sure if she should be amused or annoyed. 7mbarrassment
min3
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gled with onern on the fae of the normally unflappable 7arl of 2idgewood and warned her to
take his #uestion seriously. "he tender way he held her took the edge off any onlusions he
might make about her harater.
"6oleridge," she began gently, "are you saying you notied I'm not a virgin!"
&e nodded silently. $he studied his fae for a moment. "%oes it matter!"
Maggie held her breath, surprised to find his answer would matter #uite a bit. &er ga1e probed
his and the pause before he spoke seemed to last a lifetime.
"@o." &e answered with the firmness of a man who had ome to a deision and found it
orret. "I understand the standards of your time are different from the standards of mine. And I
aept that." "he look in his eyes softened and his voie was gentle. "It is jealousy, I fear. I find
myself in a rage that any other man has known you like this."
$he stared and thought surely he ould see her love for him shining in her eyes. "Adam," she
whispered, "no one has ever been with me like this before."
;ropping herself up on one elbow, Maggie loked her ga1e with his. $he studied him a
moment, then plunged ahead. "I've slept with two other men. +ne in ollege, one a ouple of
years ago. 5oth times I thought I was in love." $he shrugged awkwardly. "5oth times I was
wrong. In my day, it's very unusual for a woman of my age to be a virgin. In fat," she said
wryly, "it's unusual for any adult woman to be a virgin."
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$esterday 7 .orever
"And men do not mind!"
"I don't think so." $he refleted for a moment, then grinned. "If they did, I think they ould
easily prevent the problem. %on't you!" $he ga1ed at him innoently. &e laughed aloud at her
e)pression and tried to pull her lose.
"Your turn."
"As you wish." &e sighed solemnly. "I am not a virgin, either."
"Adam." $he laughed and swatted playfully at him. "8nok it off, I'm being serious." &e
plastered a somber e)pression on his fae but the twinkle in his eye gave him away. $he
pretended not to notie. "9ydia told me you almost got married one. (hat happened!"
Adam shrugged, his demeanor now serious. &ad she struk a nerve! Maybe this was a
#uestion better off not asked.
"In my youth, I was not #uite as . . ." &e hesitated as if searhing for a word.
"$tuffy!" she said, smiling impishly.
&e gave her a #uelling glare. "I would prefer self3ontrolled. At any rate, I gave my affetions
#uite freely="
"$o I've heard," she said wryly.
&e ignored the interruption. ""here was a young woman whose family took my flirtations far
more seriously than intended. I never thought she did, although sometimes I wonder. ..." &e
paused as if remembering. "I do not think I singled her out partiularly. I was no more attentive
to her than to anyone else. @onetheless, there was speulation that we would wed, gossip I paid
no heed to."
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:itoria Ale)ander
Maggie ga1ed at him uriously. "$o what happened!"
A shadow rossed Adam's eyes. "My father died. I needed time to myself. "o sort out my life.
Afterward I learned she, too, had died. A arriage aident, I believe."
&e shrugged matter3of3fatly. "I was sorry, of ourse. 5ut I had no serious feelings or
intentions toward her. I don't believe she had any toward me. +ur marrying was a mere figment
of gossip and rumor."
Maggie reahed out to lightly trae the line of his jaw with her fingers. "I'm glad you aren't
married now."
&e aught her hand and drew it to his lips. Adam ga1ed into her eyes and whispered against
her palm, "$o am I, Maggie, so am I."
"he lok in the hall sounded the hour.
"5loody hell." Adam leapt to his feet. &e reahed his hand down, grasped hers, and pulled her
up to join him.
"(hat is it!" she said breathlessly.
"$i) o'lok." &e found her jeans and shirt and tossed them to her. &e muttered and pulled his
own lothes on. "$i) o'lok. $ervants will be throughout the house within minutes if they aren't
already. &ere we are, stark naked." &e stopped his tirade abruptly and glared at her.
$he stood where he had pulled her to her feet, making no attempt to dress and grinning at his
paniked e)pression.
"I thought you said the servants wouldn't ome in here if the door was losed."
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$esterday 7 .orever
It was his turn to grin. "I lied."
$he reali1ed the impliation of his words and her mouth dropped open. "hen she, too,
frantially dressed, wiggling into her jeans. "%amn," she muttered. "My button is missing."
"I must apologi1e for that," he said formally, then seemed to take notie of just how ridiulous
suh formality was, given the irumstanes. It resembled a sene from a bad sitom. Adam wore
a shirt but his pants were little more than halfway on. Maggie had pulled her jeans up but the
waist gaped where the button was missing and she had no shirt on at all. "he absurdity of the
situation struk them both at the same time. Adam's deep, rih tones mathed the laughter
bubbling through Maggie's lips. (ithin moments, they were one again in eah other's arms,
finding refuge from their unontrollable mirth.
Adam kissed the tears of laughter from her heeks and spoke with regret. "I wish we ould stay
here together all day. 5ut we should both get some rest and I do have business to attend to
today."
"I know." $he sighed, pulled away from him, and pulled her shirt over her head. "5esides, I
have a date this afternoon."
"A date!" A perple)ed e)pression rossed his handsome fae.
"Yeah, a date," she said lightly, looking under furniture for the mate to the tennis shoe in her
hand. "You know. An appointment, an engagement."
"(hat kind of engagement!"
"A ride in the park." Intent on her searh, Maggie paid no attention to the steely tone in Adam's
voie. &er muffled voie ame from a diretion about half3
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way under the sofa. "(ith 7dward 9indley. &ere, gotha." "riumphantly holding the errant shoe
high, she stopped short at Adam's old, hard e)pression.
"(hat is it! (hat's wrong!" 6onerned, her ga1e searhed his fae.
"You will not drive in the park with 9indley today or any other day."
"(hat!" Ama1ement rang in her voie. "(hy on earth not!"
Adam stared at her, a do1en reasons running through his mind. %ecause 3 love you. %ecause 3
want to marry you. %ecause the thought of another man anywhere near you drives me insane.
5ut he had not yet delared himself and hesitated to do so now. $he reated to him with
unbridled passion, but was it love on her part! Adam 6oleridge had little to fear from any man,
but the answer to that #uestion from this slip of a woman tightened a vise of apprehension
around his heart.
"5eause." &is tones were hardened steel, what Maggie alled his lord3of3the3manor voie. "I
said you will not, that's why."
Astonished, Maggie stared. (as this the same funny, loving man she'd been with all morning!
Indignation swept aside her tender feelings.
""hat's a load of bull, 6oleridge." $he threw her shoulders bak and looked him diretly in the
eyes, her ga1e as iy as she ould make it. "(e've gone over this before. 2ead my lips."
$he tiked off the points on her fingers. "+ne, I am not a woman of your time and I refuse to
be treated like one. "wo, I am not a possession, not an objet. "hree, I do not belong to you or
any man and I do
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$esterday 7 .orever
not need to be taken are of. *our, I am not your responsibility and five and si) and seven and
eight= I do not take orders from you. I'll see anyone I damn well please."
&er glare tangled with his, and her eyes flared a hallenge he'd be hard3pressed to miss. "?ive
me one good reason why I shouldn't go on an innoent little arriage ride."
/ay something. Tell me this meant more to you than a onenight stand. Tell me you care about
me. 3 love you. /ay something to make me stay.
"I . . . am . . . ordering you . . . not to go."
&er heart plummeted. If he had only asked instead of ordered. If he ared about her even a
little, he would have taken her feelings into onsideration. (ouldn't he! &e knew full well she
wouldn't respond to his ridiulous order. It was obvious that any illusions she harbored about
what she meant to him were just that. Illusions. Illusions fostered when he seemed to meld with
her inner being, touh her very soul. Illusions she now knew were as evasive as gossamer and
just as unsubstantial.
"(rong answer, pal." $he snathed up her loak and, shoes in her hand, marhed to the door.
$he managed to fling it open and glaned bak at him. &e loomed in the enter of the room, fists
lenhed by his sides. A musle in his tightly lamped jaw twithed, and fury smoldered in his
dark, bottomless eyes. &e'd never looked so angry or so magnifient. A golden god of war,
&er throat ahed unbearably. If she didn't get out of there now she'd run bak into his arms,
willing to give up her priniples and her pride to be with him.
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:itoria Ale)ander
$he marshaled every oune of self3ontrol she possessed to resist the temptation, but surrendered
to the impulse to let him know e)atly what he'd thrown away.
"I told you every other time I've slept with someone, I thought I was in love. I thought so this
time, too. +bviously I was wrong. Again."
$he swept out of the room without a bakward glane.
Adam stared at the losed door and tried to digest her parting shot. / thought so this time, too.
"he words ehoed in his mind. / thought 3 was in love.
$he thought she was in love! (ith him! $he loved him!
$he loved him.
A broad grin split his fae and he wanted to yell for the sheer joy of it. +f ourse she loved
him. &ow ould she not! ?ranted, they lashed at every turn, but when they meshed it was
magnifient. &e had never been so alive and vibrant in his life as when he was with her. $urely
her passionate responses, not just while lovemaking but in every other enounter as well,
indiated she had the same reations to him.
$he loved him.
&e ontinued to dress, grinning like an ass, but he didn't are. @othing mattered but that one
unbelievable fat. 6ertainly Maggie was angry with him now, but they ould resolve their
differenes. &e truly believed love ould indeed on#uer all. "he admission surprised him. &is
soul had far more romane in it than even he had ever suspeted.
&e would allow Maggie her little jaunt in the park with 9indley. After all, he had nothing to
fear.
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$esterday 7 .orever
$he was his, body and soul.
$he loved him.
&e ast a #uik glane around the library and notied her odd undergarments lying halfway
beneath the desk. In one deft movement, he swept them up and disreetly stuffed them under his
jaket. (ith a jaunty step, he swaggered out of the library, through the foyer, and up the stairs. A
voie inside warned him to wipe that silly grin off his fae before the servants notied but right
now Adam didn't are if a houseful of hirelings or the entire world knew.
Miss Margaret Melissa Masterson loved him, and at this moment in the year of our 9ord
eighteen hundred and eighteen, that made him the happiest man on the fae of the earth.
444444444444444444
Maggie was miserable.
$he lay urled in a ball on her bed, tears rolling down her heeks. %isgusted, she swiped at
them. $he'd ried more here than she had in her entire adult life. (hat was the matter with her
anyway! $he wasn't usually suh a wimp.
+kay, so she'd been flung through time for some unknown reason. $o she ended up in an era
she knew pratially nothing about and had to wath every word she said. $o she had to lie about
who she really was and where she ame from. And then to top it off, she went and fell in love
with a nineteenth3entury se)ist. (as that any reason to ry!
%amn straight.
"his was turning out to be a pretty rummy vaation after all. It was April twenty3first, her
ninth day here. If her theory was orret, and she'd leave
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:itoria Ale)ander
on the twelfth of May=C- days left. "hree full weeks to deal with Adam or avoid him. "hree
long weeks to ontinue this weird harade. "hree brief weeks to get over loving a man who saw
her only as a possession and a problem.
$he sniffed and wiped her nose impatiently with the bak of her hand. %amn. (hen did they
invent 8leene) anyway! (allowing in self3pity would get her nowhere fast. "here was nothing
she ould do about being here and nothing she ould do about Adam.
&er unhappiness was as muh her fault as his. &e was only interested in getting her into bed,
or in this ase, on the floor. "he session with $hakespeare told her that. $he had no one to blame
but herself for reading too muh into making love this morning. "he fats were there. $he had to
fae them and deal with them. ;eriod.
$he tried to attribute her tears to e)haustion. "he predawn ride and the session in the library
had taken their toll. (hat she really needed now was sleep. 9ater she'd onsider how to survive
the upoming few weeks. *or the moment she'd esape her problems in blissful slumber. After
all, in a few hours she had a date. +ne she'd very likely paid a big prie for. And there was no
way in hell she was going to miss it.
CCE
Chapter Twelve
A bou#uet of wilted posies had more life than Maggie, at least by the looks of her. $he definitely
drooped.
9ydia sighed with e)asperation and eyed Maggie trooping languidly down the stairs. $he did
not appear at all like someone about to go off for a drive with an eager suitor. 9ydia narrowed her
eyes in speulation. (hat happened after she left the library! %id Maggie and Adam do battle!
And if they did, who won! 5y the looks of her, not Maggie.
+h, she was as pretty as ever. &er deep blue dress set off her reddish hair niely, the style
omplementing her figure. 5ut in an unguarded moment 9ydia aught a glimpse of sheer misery
in Maggie's eyes.
9ydia greeted her at the door to the green3and3gold salon with a barrage of #uestions. "(hat
on earth happened this morning! (hat did Adam say!" 9y3
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:itoria Ale)ander
dia's brow arhed in in#uiry. "(hat did you do!"
"@othing." Maggie walked to a settee and settled herself graefully. "Absolutely nothing."
9ydia's mouth dropped open in disbelief. "&e didn't leture you! &e didn't renew his threat to
send us off to the ountry! &e didn't do anything!"
"@othing worth mentioning." Maggie almly pulled on a pair of gloves. "I don't want to talk
about Adam anymore."
"5ut surely he="
"@o more." Maggie's sharp tone and firm, diret look took 9ydia by surprise. $he sank into a
hair, nodding in stunned resignation.
""hank you." Maggie's voie softened. $he piked up her hat and tied it over her hair. "Is
7dward here yet!"
"I don't believe so." 9ydia wondered at Maggie's strange behavior. (hat had happened in the
library! (hat on earth did Adam do to her! And why did she refuse to disuss it!"
"9ady 9ydia, Miss Masterson." (ilson interrupted her musings. "9ord 9indley has arrived."
"he butler stepped aside to allow 9ord 9indley to enter the room.
&e looked at Maggie and his eyes lit up. Maggie at one beame graious and harming, any
problems either forgotten or at least well hidden. &e was at Maggie's side in an instant, bowing
over her hand. $he atually seemed to enourage him. 6onsidering her understandable relutane
to go in the first plae, it was all very odd.
"9ydia, you remember 9ord 9indley!" Maggie turned to her friend.
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$esterday 7 .orever
"+f ourse. &ow are you!" 9ydia e)tended her hand. $he, too, ould be graious and harming
when the need arose.
"9ady 9ydia." 9indley's lips brushed her hand. &is surprised ga1e met hers. "You are not
driving today! (ould you are to aompany us!"
"&ow very kind of you to ask, but I have other matters to attend to." $he tilted her head and
glaned up at him in a pratied pose. "(ill we see you tomorrow at 9ord and 9ady Ainsworth's
soiree!"
"It's highly probable." &is eyes twinkled at her, then searhed out Maggie. "If you and your
ousin will be there, then surely I will be in attendane as well."
"I see," 9ydia murmured and withdrew her hand.
"Miss Masterson, shall we!" 9indley offered Maggie his arm and she aepted.
"$ee you later, 9ydia," Maggie tossed over her shoulder. $he and 9indley walked through the
foyer and 9ydia listened to her light banter and 9indley's appreiative hukle.
9ydia folded her arms over her hest and leaned against the salon doorway, eyeing the
departing ouple. It was not a proper pose for a young woman but 9ydia's thoughts were not
onfined to those of a proper young woman anyway.
9indley was harming and handsome, all any woman ould ask for. 9ydia's standards were
high and disriminating, and even she ould see his undeniable appeal. If Adam didn't take are
he would lose Maggie. And it would serve him right.
Annoyed, 9ydia shook her head. $he no longer understood either her brother or Maggie. *or
two peo3
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:itoria Ale)ander
ple so obviously attrated to eah other, they seemed to be doing all they ould to make eah
other miserable. It was Adam's fault, no doubt. &er lips ompressed in a firm line. "his situation
was ridiulous and it was past time she took matters in hand. 6onnor would help. 6onnor would
do anything for her. After all, they were better than lovers.
"hey were friends.
It was no longer a #uestion of using Maggie to help avoid marriage. @ow it was a matter of her
brother's happiness. "he more he and Maggie raged at eah other, the more it onvined 9ydia
that his happiness did indeed lie with her. $he had not seen Adam alive in years. @ow if she
ould just get through to him. (here was he anyway!
"Adam," she alled imperiously and headed for the library. $he wanted to know what
happened last night and she wanted to know immediately. More important, she wanted to know
what he planned to do about it. If she were lever, maybe she ould get him to admit he saw
Maggie as more than just an intrusion on his well3ordered life. If 9ydia's plans worked out, she
would be.
444444444444444444
Maggie glaned around uriously from the rather impressive height of 9ord 9indley's arriage.
&e drove with a natural ease. ?rowing onfident in his skill and ability with the reins, she
rela)ed her death grip on the seat beneath her. $he still preferred a nie Mustang onvertible, but
right here and now, an open3topped arriage was obviously the ne)t best thing.
"Miss Masterson," 9indley said, "I am e)tremely
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$esterday 7 .orever
pleased you deided to join me. I feared when I arrived you would have begged off."
";lease all me Maggie. Miss Masterson is way too formal." $he gave him an enouraging
smile and noted with satisfation the light in his eyes. "(hy did you think I wouldn't show up!"
&e shrugged. "2idgewood has seemed e)tremely protetive and I thought perhaps he might
forbid you to aompany me."
"(ho!" ;u11led, Maggie stared> then understanding dawned. "+h, you mean 6oleridge. I
never will get used to how everyone uses titles here instead of names. I all him 6oleridge." $he
narrowed her eyes. "And he has nothing to say about what I do or do not do." A old note
sounded in her voie. "I'm not his responsibility, and I don't have to ask his permission to go for
a ride in the park or anything else."
"5ut he is your only male relation here." 9indley's fae e)pressed his surprise. "As head of
your family, it is only natural he make deisions regarding your ativities. You are under his
protetion."
""hat's not how it's done in my ti=" Maggie aught herself "=in my ountry. And I'm not
about to put up with that attitude here." $he looked straight in his eyes. "9ord 9indley="
"7dward," he said.
"7dward. I'm used to having a great deal of freedom and to making my own deisions about
every aspet of my life. 0p to and inluding who I dane with and who I ride in the park with. If
Adam 6oleridge doesn't like it, that's his problem. %o I make myself lear!"
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:itoria Ale)ander
&e stared at her with obvious admiration. ";erfetly."
$he threw him an impish grin. "I gather women in 7ngland aren't as outspoken as I am!"
&is smile warmed his eyes. "I was going to use the words free3spirited and independent." &is
attention turned briefly to a passing arriage and he nodded a #uik greeting. "I daresay
2idgewood doesn't seem like the type of man to take your attitudes in stride," he said asually. "I
don't know him well, but he has always struk me as a man in ontrol of his life. &e seems very
preise and demanding, even old and somewhat aloof."
Maggie mulled over his words and hose her response arefully. $he owed a ertain amount of
loyalty to Adam despite their problems. "(hen I first arrived, that's e)atly how he struk me.
5ut to be honest, he's been very kind, thoughtful, and generous. &e's shown me a great deal of
hospitality. &e's made me feel at home as muh as possible and I appreiate it."
7dward frowned, obviously pu11led. "5ut you are family."
$he laughed lightly. "%istant, very distant. And I showed up without any advane warning.
$o"=she shrugged="I'm really luky he welomed me as warmly as he has.
"@ow, I'm sure there are far more interesting things to talk about than Adam 6oleridge." $he
aimed her most provoative smile at him. ""ell me what I should see in this fasinating ity of
yours while I'm here."
Maggie fored a look of rapt attention to her fae
CGC
$esterday 7 .orever
and tried to fous on 7dward's onversation, but thoughts of Adam kept reeping into her mind.
*irmly she pushed him away, determined to give 7dward her omplete attention. &e really was
e)tremely nie and #uite handsome as well as harming ompany. "he only thing wrong was
that he wasn't the man she longed for.
&e wasn't Adam.
444444444444444444
"he sene looked muh the same as at the first ball Maggie attended. "his ballroom glittered
as brilliantly. "he daners sweeping over the floor were as skilled. "he women were as
beautifully attired, the men as impeably dressed. 5ut it all seemed somehow tarnished. Maybe
she was growing immune to the spetale that one aptured her imagination.
At the last ball she'd entered on Adam's arm, filled with the e)itement of his presene and
antiipation of the evening to ome. "onight she fored herself simply to be here.
$he s#uared her shoulders and, taking a deep breath, surveyed the room spread before her.
Yesterday's drive with 7dward bolstered her onfidene. 7ven without Adam she ould probably
hold her own. &er appearane in the deeply low3ut gown added an e)tra measure of ourage.
After a night of little sleep interrupted by turbulent dreams, she deided one again to make
the best of her stay here. (ith 9ydia's enouragement, this party seemed like the most
appropriate plae to start.
Maggie hadn't seen Adam sine she stalked out of
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:itoria Ale)ander
the library yesterday morning. (hen she returned from her drive with 7dward, 9ydia told her
Adam had been alled away une)petedly to one of the estates and wouldn't return home until
tomorrow morning.
If he got bent out of shape over a simple arriage ride, how muh more irritated would he be to
disover she was not only attending this soiree, but planned to walt1 with anyone and everyone
who asked! &e didn't have the right to run her life or issue orders. "he sooner he figured it out,
the better.
Maggie's anger over his tyrannial attitude steadily gained ground on her heartahe. $he was
determined to ignore the knot in her hest and the lump in her throat and have a good time.
@o . .. make that a great time.
"I have been ounting the moments until your arrival."
A smiling 7dward stood at her elbow with an offering of hampagne in his hand. &is sky3blue
eyes sparkled in his handsome fae and her spirits lifted.
"(hy, thank you. "his"=she aepted the hampagne and lifted the glass in a mok salute
="and you are e)atly what I need right now."
"Ah, Maggie." &e plaed his hand over his heart and sighed dramatially. "I fear you shall
break my heart before this evening is over."
&is delaration threw her for a moment. &e wasn't serious, was he! $ure, 7dward ould help
her get over Adam, but she had no desire to hurt him. A twinkle daned in his eyes and she
laughed in relief.
"7dward, you're a terrifi ator."
"Am I!" &e aught her gloved hand with his, and
CGJ
$esterday 7 .orever
swiftly lifted it to his mouth. 5rushing his lips aross the bak, he ga1ed deeply into her eyes.
"Are you ertain of that!"
$he let a smile linger on her lips and glaned at him in her most flirtatious manner. As long as
her heart wasn't involved, she ould play this game of verbal fening. ;lay it and win.
"(here I'm from, there's an old sayingA @ever say never. *rankly, here I'm ertain of nothing,
but it's a risk I'm willing to take." $he tossed her head bak and aught his ga1e with hers. "Are
you!"
&is eyebrows lifted in an e)pression of mild surprise and appreiation. "You are definitely an
original. I wonder, are your ations as intriguing as your manner!"
"7dward." $he laughed. ""hat's for me to know and you to find out."
A startled e)pression flashed aross his fae at the unfamiliar phrase and he stared at her
uriously. $he sipped her hampagne and returned his ga1e over the edge of her glass with her
best innoent air. Abruptly he grinned.
"(hat a delightful proposition." &e nodded toward the dane floor. ""hey are playing a walt1.
I believe this is our dane."
"You bet." $he downed the last of her drink and handed the empty glass to a passing waiter.
Maggie offered 7dward her hand. "I'm all yours."
&e led her to the floor. "@ot yet, my dear," he murmured softly under his breath. "@ot yet."
&er startled ga1e flew to his and she noted a fair amount of satisfation on his fae. &er
flirting hadn't gone too far, had it! "hat was silly. $he brushed the
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:itoria Ale)ander
thought away. "his was harmless party talk. It meant nothing and 7dward wouldn't take it
seriously. 5esides, she wouldn't be here long enough to really break any hearts.
*lying aross the floor in 7dward's arms, losing herself in the sensation of the dane, she
agreed with 9ydia. "onight was e)atly what she needed. "here was nothing like a good party
and an interesting man to heal a broken heart.
444444444444444444
Maggie daned off with 7dward, and 9ydia nodded with approval. "hat should keep her guest
oupied for a while. @ow if she ould just find 6onnor. . . $he sanned the rowded ballroom.
9ydia tapped her foot impatiently. $he had sent him a note re#uesting he meet her here. It would
be just like 6onnor to ignore her summons, to go blithely about his business at the very moment
she needed him most. If she wasn't #uite ertain he was the only one who would onsider helping
her, she would simply find someone else. 5ut there was no one in the world she trusted as
ompletely as she did 6onnor. 7ven though he was never as prompt as she wished.
"&ave you given up on me yet!" 5usy searhing one side of the ballroom 9ydia didn't notie
his approah from the other diretion. $urprised, she found him standing right ne)t to her.
"(ell, it's high time you put in an appearane," she snapped. "(here on earth have you been!"
6onnor raised an eyebrow ondesendingly. "9ydia, my love. %o not hastise me if you want
to seure my help. @ow apologi1e."
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$esterday 7 .orever
$he threw him a withering glare. "*ine. I apologi1e."
&e lifted her hin with one bron1ed finger and smiled into her eyes. "$ay it like you truly
mean it, 9ydia."
$he glared at him for a moment, then burst into laughter. "I give up, you win." $he gave him
an apologeti smile. "I am sorry, but I am ounting on your help. And I must admit, I am a bit
nervous about pulling it all off."
";ulling what off!" &is brows drew together in a autious frown. &e had been involved in
9ydia's esapades before, but it had been years sine the last fiaso. "(hat devilish plot have you
onoted this time!"
"It's really not all that devilish," she said defensively. "And it's for a very good purpose.
Atually"= she grinned with pride="it's e)tremely lever."
"9ydia." 6onnor groaned. ""hrough our entire lives, from the time we were hildren together,
whenever you have gotten that look in your eye, inevitably you esaped with a mild reprimand
and I was flogged. Aren't we too old for your shemes!"
"6onnor." $he hastised him with a glane. "I shall never be too old. 5ut if, however, you are
not up to helping me . . ." &er voie drifted off, leaving an unspoken threat in the air.
"If I refuse to help you"=his words were sharp= "will you give up this plan, whatever it is!"
9ydia ga1ed up at him with all the sweetness and innoene she ould muster and answered
softly, "Absolutely not."
&e groaned again. "(e are no longer hildren, CG,
:itoria Ale)ander
9ydia. Your shemes are not as harmless and harming as they one were."
"I agree." $he sighed. ""he stakes are muh higher now."
6onnor stared for a moment, then threw his hands in the air in a gesture of defeat. "I am at
your mery. (hat fiendish plot have you ome up with this time!"
"6onnor," she hided gently. "%on't raise your voie. 9et's go out and find a nie #uiet spot in
the garden where we an talk privately."
$he took his arm and ushered him aross the room. 6onnor would help her. &e always had.
$he only wished he would get that grim look off his fae, that look of a ondemned man being
led to his own e)eution. (ith 6onnor's help nothing ould go wrong. 9ydia absolutely refused
to onsider the reperussions if, just possibly, something did.
CGL
6onnor's mouth dropped open in obvious disbelief. If he wasn't so attrative, he would surely
resemble nothing so muh as a startled goldfish. 9ydia returned his ga1e with all the natural
serenity at her disposal.
"You know what you are proposing borders on the insane and is most probably riminal!" &e
leaned forward on the garden benh beside her.
":ery likely," 9ydia said lightly.
"%oes that not onern you!" &e was plainly astounded by her plan and she suspeted it was
not the leverness that impressed him.
$he ga1ed diretly into his eyes and favored him with a Madonna3like smile. "@ot at all."
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$esterday 7 .orever
"5loody hell, 9ydia." 6onnor leapt to his feet and paed to and fro before her in the seluded
garden alove. "9et me be ertain I understand this grand sheme of yours. You propose to have
Maggie, this woman you are onvined is perfet for Adam, kidnapped so that he an save her.
%uring all this, he will reali1e he loves her and she will reali1e she loves him. 6orret!"
"7)atly." ;leased he aught on so #uikly, 9ydia nodded. $he wished he would sit down,
though. $he never reali1ed how tall he really was until he towered over her like this. It put her at
a distint disadvantage.
"9ydia." &e groaned and granted her unspoken wish by sinking onto the benh ne)t to her. "I
don't believe you have thought this through. &ow is this kidnapping to proeed!"
""hat's where you ome in."
"$omehow I suspeted as muh," he said under his breath.
$he ignored him and ontinued her e)planation. "You will provide me with two of your men. I
will let them in the bak way and make sure Maggie is alone in... oh ... let me think, the library
will do. "hen they simply kidnap her."
"And how preisely do they aomplish that little feat!" &e leaned bak, pinning her with his
diret look, sarasm in his tone. "I don't imagine your Maggie shall simply go along with all
this."
"I have given that a great deal of thought." 9ydia leaned forward eagerly. "I onsidered
laudanum or something to render her unonsious but the aftereffets would be too unpleasant."
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:itoria Ale)ander
"(ise deision." "he sarasm lingered. "It would spoil the effet to aidentally kill her."
"7)atly." $he nodded in agreement. ""hen I thought about having her bashed over the head.
5ut 6onnor"=she ga1ed at him innoently="I don't want to atually ause her any harm,"
"You plan on terrifying this woman by kidnapping her, but you don't want to do her any
harm!" An inredulous e)pression strethed aross his fae.
"+f ourse not." Mildly annoyed at his lak of understanding of the finer points of her plan,
9ydia drew a deep breath and fored herself to pay no mind to his obvious relutane. "It seems
to me the best way is to threaten her with a gun, tie her up, and put her in a bag."
""ie her up and put her in a bag! 9ike a trussed3up partridge! "his is what you've ome up
with! (hat you e)pet me to help you aomplish!" &e glared at her. "And one we get her in
this bag, what do you propose to do with her!"
"I've taken are of that." 9ydia spoke proudly. ""here is a little inn right outside of the ity,
sarely one hour from my house. "he 9ion's Mane, I believe. I have passed it on my way to the
ountry ountless times. (e simply have her loked in a private room there to await resue by
Adam. %id I mention the kidnappers shall leave a note asking for Adam to bring a ransom!"
6onnor shook his head, looking rather da1ed as the full impat of her sheme unfolded.
"@o! (ell, that is an important point. "he way I see this, Adam will disover the kidnapping
within an hour or so after Maggie is taken. "hereby ensur3
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$esterday 7 .orever
ing she shan't stay at the inn very long. Adam will arrive, franti with fear that she has ome to
harm. Maggie shall be eternally grateful to be saved. 5oth will ome to their senses and reali1e
how muh they truly mean to eah other." 9ydia grinned with satisfation and triumph.
6onnor shook his head slowly. "I will not do it. I will not be a part of this ill3fated plot."
"+f ourse you will, 6onnor." 9ydia ga1ed at him with utmost onfidene.
$uspiion darkened his e)pressive eyes. "(hy are you so ertain!"
"5eause, my love, if you do not I shall simply hire men to do this for me. "hat would be far
more dangerous, far more likely something would go wrong. (e both know I shall do this with
or without your help."
6onnor had the look of a man trapped, desperate for any means of esape, a man grasping at
straws "I don't have a gun to use for this kind of thing. I only have dueling pistols."
"I have a gun," 9ydia said lightly.
"(hat!" ?enuine shok showed in his fae. "(here in the name of all that's holy did you get a
gun!"
"It sarely matters." $he fliked the #uestion away with a snap of her fan. "I shall make sure
it isn't loaded."
"7)ellent idea." $arasm surfaed again but 9ydia overlooked it to get his ooperation.
"$o is it all arranged then!" she asked sweetly.
"@o. I don't have any rope. And where will I get a bag!"
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:itoria Ale)ander
"6onnor." $he sighed patiently. "I will be more than happy to proure the rope and the bag. I
will provide the gun. I will even write the ransom note. Although"=she paused to onsider this
detail="Adam does know my handwriting, so I shall have to disguise it. All you have to do is
provide the kidnappers themselves. I will meet them in the garden around . . . oh . . . ten o'lok
tomorrow night."
"9ydia." 6onnor took her hands in his and ga1ed into her eyes. "&ave you thought about her
reputation! $he ould be ruined by this."
"+h, my." 9ydia started with real surprise. "I had not onsidered that at all." $he pulled her
brows together thoughtfully, then brightened. "(e shall simply have to make sure no one hears
about it. 5esides, Maggie doesn't are one whit about her reputation." $he widened her eyes as a
thought struk her. "5ut that might be the perfet solution. If her reputation was at stake, Adam
would feel honor3bound to marry her. +h, 6onnor, what a wonderful idea."
6onnor sighed heavily, a sure sign of 9ydia's suess. @ot only had 6onnor failed to thwart her
plan, he had provided another good reason to arry it through.
"Adam will all me out if he disovers your little plan, and I an't say I should blame him."
""hen he must not find out the truth." $he stood and pulled 6onnor to his feet. &e truly was a
wonderful man. $omething of a rake but a good, true friend. If she had been smart enough to fall
in love with 6onnor years ago when she probably should have, she'd be married and settled by
now. Instead of doing her best to avoid wedded bliss.
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$esterday 7 .orever
"I think, 6onnor, you should meet Maggie." $he oked her head and ga1ed up at him with an
impish grin. "Dust so you will know what to e)pet."
6onnor groaned as she led him bak toward the ballroom. "Adam is right, 9ydia. You do need
a husband."
Chapter Thirteen
"Maggie, this is 9ord $t. 6lair, 6onnor, a very old, very dear friend of Adam's and mine. 6onnor,
may I present Miss Margaret Masterson, a distant relative."
Maggie pulled her attention from the rowd of admirers she was trying to harm. $he looked
up at a man at least as tall as Adam and as different physially from him as night from day.
(here Adam's hair resembled burnished sunshine, $t. 6lair's took the appearane of the other
end of the lok, blak as midnight, and intense blue eyes so deep they appeared almost navy. &e
had a polished look about him that sreamed superiority and a smug, aloof attitude. Adam's
attitude. Maggie took an immediate dislike to him.
0ntil he smiled. It rinkled the edges of his eyes and put a twinkle in their enter. Again she
wondered if men had lost something in the years between this time and hers or if she was simply
luky enough
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$esterday 7 .orever
to meet all the great3looking guys here.
"6onnor, please be harming and attentive to Maggie," 9ydia ommanded. "I believe I see my
ne)t partner approahing. 6all her Maggie> she's not terribly fond of formality. Amerian, you
know." 9ydia greeted her partner and with a farewell nod swept off.
Maggie's ga1e followed her departure and she leaned toward 6onnor. "Is she always like this!"
"Always." &is ga1e, too, fi)ed on the figure now daning aross the floor. "9ydia has been
somewhat irrepressible her entire life. $he goes merrily on her way, rarely giving heed to the
possible onse#uenes of her ations. And regardless how often those ations have sunk her
deeply in trouble, she simply sees no reason to hange." &e turned toward Maggie with a sigh. "I
must admit, most of the time, I, for one, would regret it if she did."
Maggie grinned up at him. "I love her, too."
"$o Miss Masterson, Maggie!" $he nodded. "You are a distant relation from Ameria! &ow
very odd. I have known the 6oleridge family all my life and annot reall the mention of
Amerian relatives."
Maggie maintained her serene e)pression. 7very day it grew easier to deal with her fitional
bakground. +ther than the first embarrassing enounter, she hadn't found it neessary to
mention %enver in 6olorado 6ounty, +hio, mythial haven for trees and bears, again. &er skills
at defleting speifi #uestions had improved, and being Amerian helped. (henever she tripped
up and used a distintly twentieth3entury phrase, she enouraged her listeners to attribute it to
yet another odd idiosyn3
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:itoria Ale)ander
ray of Amerians. $he worked the superior 5ritish attitude regarding her ountrymen to her
advantage, even though it seemed vaguely unpatrioti.
"+h, the onnetion is e)tremely distant," she said airily. "I suspet it was already half
forgotten." It was time to turn the tables. "9ydia said you are very old friends!"
"Yes. My family's land is ne)t to hers and we played together as hildren. Adam is five years
older than I, so I was always tagging along after him. 9ydia is four years younger, so she in turn
tagged after me." &e grinned at the memory. "0ntil, of ourse, she was fored into the mold of a
proper young lady and learned the rules of proper behavior."
Maggie inlined her head at the dane floor skeptially. ""hat was years ago, you say!"
&e laughed in response and she joined him, "I said learned them, not took them to heart." "he
shared laughter dissolved any lingering reservations. It wasn't hard to see why 9ydia onsidered
him a friend.
6onnor raised an eyebrow in#uisitively. "Is your ne)t dane spoken for!"
"0nless it's a walt1, I'll have to pass."
"It is a walt1 and I believe it's mine." Adam's voie ut in and Maggie whirled around. $he
ignored the franti beating of her heart and flashed him her most withering glare. &e smiled
down at her, apparently #uite at ease and more than a little onfident.
"I don't think so, 6oleridge," she said through lenhed teeth.
Adam's head lowered until his nose nearly touhed hers. $he widened her eyes and smothered
the im3
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$esterday 7 .orever
pulse to step bak. &is dark eyes glittered dangerously. "Yesterday you said I should have made
you listen to me. You shall listen now. You may join me on the relative privay of the dane floor
or we an remain here where virtually anyone an overhear us. +r"=he smirked wikedly="we
ould go into the garden."
$he gritted her teeth. "I would love to dane."
6onnor narrowed his eyes appraisingly. Adam swept Maggie onto the dane floor. "he sene
before him was lear and a slow grin spread aross his fae. Adam definitely did not look like a
man who needed to be onvined of his affetion for anyone. In fat, it was apparent that Adam
had gone well past the reali1ation 9ydia's sheme was e)peted to bring him to.
2elief flooded him. "he idea of rossing Adam held no appeal. In spite of Adam's thoroughly
proper and upright behavior in reent years, his reputation as an e)pert marksman on the dueling
field still lingered.
(here was 9ydia! 6onnor sanned the ballroom in a futile effort to loate her, then shrugged
in resignation. It would do no harm to let her ontinue to make her plans. &e would set her
straight tomorrow night.
&is mood onsiderably lighter, his grin widened. After all, tonight, he had an engagement with
a pretty little atress he planned on getting to know #uite well. And if he left now, the evening
wouldn't be a total waste.
4 4 4
CJ,
:itoria Ale)ander
"+kay, 6oleridge. 6ut to the hase. (hat do you have to say!" Maggie glared up at him as
they glided aross the dane floor. $he fit naturally in his arms. "hat fat was somehow
annoying. Almost as muh as the smug smile plastered on his fae, a smile that widened to a grin
whenever he ga1ed down at her.
"Ah, Maggie." &e laughed. "I am beginning to find your language delightful. 7ven when I
have no idea what you are saying, the sheer sound of your outrageous omments harms me."
5rows knit in onfusion, Maggie stared. (hat was he up to! "(hat do you want!"
"(hat do I want!" he said. "(hy, Maggie, I wish to apologi1e."
"2ight." $he snorted. "You're trying to tell me Adam 6oleridge, the big deal, earl of something
or other is going to admit he was wrong! &a. *at hane."
""hat's e)atly what I am going to admit." &is e)pression sobered.
$inerity rang in his voie. "I was wrong. I do not have the right to issue you orders, to tell you
who you may see and what you may do." &e ga1ed deeply into her eyes and Maggie's heart leapt
to her throat at the emotion revealed there. "I an only offer as an e)use my upbringing and the
times I live in, the undeniable jealousy I feel when another man is near you, as well as fears that
are somewhat new to me. I fear someone else will disover how remarkable and uni#ue you are.
I fear you ould love another. I fear I would lose you."
Maggie's mouth dropped open. "houghts and emotions bombarded her. (hat was he saying!
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$esterday 7 .orever
(hat did he mean! %id he really are about her! 9ove her! 6ould she trust him!
$he barely notied the end of the dane despositing them near the door to the terrae. Adam
hurried her outside. $wiftly leading her to a seluded orner, he pulled her into his arms.
"As for $hakespeare." &is ga1e searhed hers. "I will admit I ultivated that talent for the sole
purpose of sedution. 5ut, Maggie"3=the an)ious light in his eyes told her, in spite of his past,
right now he meant what he said. And right now she wanted to believe="never have those
words meant anything to me until I said them to you. @ever have I known the love of 2omeo and
Duliet until I spoke their vows to you. It was a ploy years ago. (ith you it is real."
Maggie stared, stunned. %espite his initial appearane of onfidene, an an)ious #uestion
lingered in his eyes. &e was as unsure of her response as she was.
A wry smile touhed his lips. "I suspet I have for one left you speehless."
Maggie shook her head in onfusion, pulled out of his arms, and baked away. %isbelief
battled with hope. %oubt fought with joy. $keptiism lashed with wonder. $he struggled to put
her rampaging emotions into words.
"You've had me on an emotional roller oaster sine the first moment we met." $he impatiently
waved away his #ui11ial look. "2oller oaster. It's a ride at an amusement park." $he rubbed her
forehead, frustrated. "@ever mind. It just means I've been up and down, elated, depressed. In
short=onfused and off balane. I want to be very sure I un3
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:itoria Ale)ander
derstand e)atly what you're saying."
&e nodded enouragement. ";lease ontinue."
""he $hakespeare business is something you ame up with to sedue women, but with me you
really meant it! 2ight!"
"7)atly."
Maggie spoke thoughtfully, hoosing her words with are. "And unlike women of your time,
I'm used to running my own life without interferene or assistane from men and you now aept
that." $he narrowed her eyes in suspiion. "Also right!"
";reisely." &e grinned.
"I don't know, 6oleridge." $he shook her head slowly. $he wanted desperately to believe him,
longed to believe him. &e offered a major onession here, abandoning muh of what he'd
aepted without #uestion all his life beause of her. 5ut ould she trust him! "hey were from
two ompletely different worlds. "heir ingrained values, overing virtually all aspets of their
lives and soieties, lashed at every turn.
$he shrugged in unertainty. "I just don't know."
"heir eyes loked for a long, tense moment.
"I love you, Maggie," Adam said softly.
Astonishment fro1e Maggie, and her heart thudded in her hest. It took less than a seond for
Adam's words to strike her soul. 9ess than a seond for her onfusion and doubts to dissolve.
9ess than a seond to throw herself into his arms.
"Adam, oh, Adam." $he flung her arms around his nek and lung to him.
"Maggie." &is lips desended, rushing hers beneath them. "he frustration, anger, and pain of
the
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$esterday 7 .orever
last days broke under the elation of being bak in Adam's arms, and Maggie didn't are what else
happened.
"+h, Adam. I love you, too." &is lips overed her fae, her nek, her throat, and she responded
in kind, franti for the taste of him.
"I know," he whispered.
"(hat!" $he drew bak and peered at him indignantly until finding the twinkle in his eye.
"&ow did you know!"
&e laughed. "You told me. You said you thought you were in love." &e nu11led her ear. "It was
the most remarkable thing I'd ever heard."
Maggie oked her head and grinned. "If I'd known, I would've said it a lot sooner."
"&ow muh sooner!" &e #uirked a brow #uestioningly.
$he sighed, resigning herself to omplete surrender. "I've known sine the night in the library.
"he one you and I and $hakespeare spent together."
&e grinned wikedly. "I gather the tehni#ue is still effetive then."
"Adam." $he tried to smak him with her fan but he deftly defleted the blow and responded
by thoroughly kissing her. $he melted against him, any further resistane dissolving on the night
air.
"$o," Maggie said, and drew a shaky breath when breathing was again possible. "(hen did
you know!"
"8now what!"
"8now you loved me."
&e ga1ed down at her with an e)pression that set her pulse pounding. "(hen I ould not stay
out of an unonsious woman's bedroom, I wondered.
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:itoria Ale)ander
(hen I disovered a new passion in words I knew by heart, I suspeted. 5ut when I held you in
my arms and found a world I never dreamed possible, I knew." &is eyes filled with suh
tenderness Maggie's senses reeled with the impat. $he pulled his head down to meet hers and
her lips met his again, gently at first, until greed heightened their demand.
Abruptly she drew bak,
"Dust tell me one more thing." $he hesitated to ask but she had to know. "It's none of my
business, really. And you an tell me so, but given your past, rather ative love life and the whole
$hakespeare business .. ." $he paused, held her breath, and blurted the #uestion. "&ow many
other women have you said 'I love you' to!"
&is eyes widened and his forehead furrowed in obvious surprise. "(hy, none."
"?reat." 2elief filled her and she grinned. 6ould her heart really burst from suh joy or did it
only seem so at this inredible moment! $he flung her arms around his nek and slanted him her
most entiing glane. ""hen take me home, 6oleridge."
444444444444444444
*rom his vantage point in a shadowed doorway he observed the tender sene and permitted
himself a small smile. &is assumptions were orret after all. In reent days, he had wondered if
he wasn't mistaken about 2idgewood and the Masterson woman. If perhaps her outspoken ways
and independent manner were distasteful to the old, aloof earl. @ow he ould see he was right
from the beginning, from
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$esterday 7 .orever
the moment he first saw them together. "his was what he had waited for, what he had planned
for. 2idgewood loved this woman.
It was time. CFG
Chapter Fourteen
Adam bounded out of the arriage before the steps were let down. Maggie breathed an unsteady
sigh of relief at their arrival home. 9oked in Adam's arms, the ride wasn't long but it seemed
filled with antiipation and a fair amount of tension. &er head had nestled on his hest, his heart
throbbing beneath her ear. @ow that they had delared their love, everything should be perfet.
$o why was she unsure and hesitant, nervous and apprehensive!
Impatiently she tried to smother the feelings. It wasn't as if they hadn't already made love. As if
tonight would be their first time. $till, as she reahed out her hand for his assistane, it trembled.
Adam turned and her doubts vanished at the love and desire in his eyes. &e pulled her into his
arms and arried her toward the door.
"Adam." $he laughed.
"$hut up, Maggie." &e grinned. At the base of the
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$esterday 7 .orever
steps he stopped and aptured her ga1e with his. "I want this night to be perfet."
&er breath aught in her throat. "It already is," she whispered.
&e lightly kissed her forehead and strode up the steps. "he door opened soundlessly and he
arried her inside, nodding to a well3trained (ilson, who gave no indiation it was at all out of
the ordinary for the master to arry women into the house.
"$prained ankle, (ilson," Adam muttered urtly.
"@o doubt, milord." (ilson's omposure remained unruffled. +nly the gleam in his eye
suggested he thought otherwise.
Maggie giggled and hid her fae in Adam's jaket. 7ven with her in his arms, Adam took the
stairs easily and ontinued down the hall to her room. ;ushing open the door, he deposited her
gently on her bed.
"(hy, Adam 6oleridge." $he laughed up at him. "(hat about the servants! Is it proper and
orret for you to be in here like this with me!"
Adam's e)pression grew thoughtful. "@o, Maggie, you're right. It is most ertainly not proper
behavior." &e turned and walked out of the room, shutting the door firmly behind him.
*or a moment Maggie was too stunned to move. (hat was that all about! (ho ared about
proper behavior! 6ertainly not her. $he leapt off the bed and raed after him. ?rabbing the brass
knob, she pulled. A noise sounded behind her and she whirled around. Adam leaned la1ily
against a doorway on the far side of the room. A door that, up till now, she'd assumed was some
kind of loset.
"(hat's in there!" $he gasped.
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:itoria Ale)ander
"My hamber." A grin strethed aross his fae. &is dimple flashed sedutively and a wiked
gleam settled in his eyes. &e sauntered toward her.
$he widened her eyes at his approah. "You mean to tell me all this time you've been right
ne)t door!"
"0m3hmm." &e kept oming.
"My room is onneted to yours!"
""hat's orret." &e hesitated, the grin hanging to a pu11led frown. ""hat upsets you!"
"Yeah, I'm upset. I'm very upset." $he tried to keep her voie as serious as possible. ""hat
we've wasted a hell of a lot of time." $he gave him an entiing glane and he grinned bak,
piking her up one more and arrying her into his room.
(rapped in antiipation, she barely registered the room. $he noted a fleeting impression of
deep burgundy drapes and bed hangings, of heavy arved furniture, massive and dark. Adam set
her on her feet and took her firmly into his arms. &is eyes bored into hers and any doubts
vanished at the love revealed there.
?ently his lips desended on hers. $lowly her mouth opened beneath his, and she sighed as his
tongue slipped inside. &e traed the inner edge of her mouth, the eroti e)ploration suspending
time. &e drew bak and Maggie's wobbly knees threatened to turn to mush. It took all her
onentration to remain standing. $he'd never been kissed like that before.
"(ow."
"5e #uiet, Maggie," he growled softly.
"+kay." "he agreement was little more than a sigh. $he tilted her lips toward his but he
ignored them.
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$esterday 7 .orever
turning his attention instead to the sensitive skin at the base of her throat. &er head fell bak and
she moaned at the heat of his lips and the skill of his touh. &is hands upped her shoulders and
he skillfully swung her around. &er world narrowed to the onfines of his hands, his breath, his
sent> her head rolled limply forward. &is lips glided along her nek, irling from front to bak,
featherlike kisses that teased at the top of her spine.
Almost impereptibly, his tongue trailed the ridge of her shoulder, stopped only by the sleeve
of her gown. &e pushed the silken fabri off her shoulder and nibbled at the e)posed flesh. &is
every move was agoni1ingly slow and Maggie #uivered. $he #uelled the impulse to submit to
the throbbing building within her and savored the sensations heightened by the subtle self3denial
and Adam's e)pertise.
&e popped open the buttons of her gown, one by one releasing the pressure of her bodie. &e
slid the dress down until it rested at her waist, then pulled her tight against his hest. (rapped in
a sensual fog she noted dully he was still fully dressed. "he feel of her naked bak against his
lothed hest.. . wiked and e)oti. &is hands slid around her waist and up to up her breasts.
8nowledgeable fingers played and teased the hardened, sensitive tips until she moaned and
melted against him.
&e dropped his hands and pushed the gown down past her knees, athing all she wore
underneath along with it, to puddle at her feet. "he sinful aress of a faint draft on her naked
body whispered over her and she ahed for the press of his frame to hers. "he eroti touh of
Adam fully lothed behind her
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:itoria Ale)ander
e)ited and aroused her. ?ently he turned her to fae him. *ar too lost to be embarrassed, she
stood before him. "remors of desire oursed through her at the stark need in his eyes.
&e sooped her into his arms and plaed her on the bed. &is lothes #uikly fell to the floor
and her ga1e followed his every movement. "he glow from the fireplae glinted off his golden
hair, highlighted the planes and angles of his musled body, refleted the smoldering depths of
his eyes.
&e lay beside her and she moved into his embrae, into his heat, her lips meeting his. $he
opened her mouth and darted her tongue into his mouth. Iuik. %emanding. &ungry. &e
ountered with a leisurely, almost la1y e)ploration that left her trembling and urgently needing
more. $he arhed loser, twining her hands in the silk of his hair, desperate for his flesh against
hers, yearning for the feel of his long, hard length.
&e refused to be hurried in his ontrolled, measured dane of disovery. 2efused to #uiken
the pae of his languid, sweet torture. 2efused to give in to the insistent, pounding rhythms
esalating inside her. &e trailed a hand down her body, a whisper aross her inflamed skin, a
seret aress on her stomah. $he shivered with deliious antiipation. &is hand drifted lower,
finding the urls at the junture of her thighs. &er legs fell open. ;owerful, knowing fingers
skillfully sought out the essene of her womanhood and she moaned at the e)#uisite, mindless
estasy he drove her to. A oiled spring wound tighter deep inside her, the tension heightening,
the need unbearable.
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$esterday 7 .orever
Adam sensed her inreasing e)itement. &is body responded to her demands but he refused to
surrender to her. Yet. &e would not allow himself to suumb to the skin flushed with overripe
desire, the full, firm breasts heaving with eah impassioned gasp, the into)iating body straining
toward him. &e wanted their love to be more than she had ever known. More than she had ever
dreamed. More than she had ever desired. &e wanted to mark her as his forever. $he whimpered
beneath him, onvulsively gripping his shoulders and pulling him tighter to her. Adam groaned,
and finally he, too, ould take no more of the deletable, maddening torture.
&e positioned himself above her, his eyes, dark as night, smoldering with passion. (ith a
joyous ry she arhed to meet his downward stroke. $inged by his heat, seared by her desire, she
welomed him to her body and her very soul. "hey moved together with an instint born of
another time, nurtured in another age. Mathing thrust to thrust, movement to movement, one
body in perfet, si11ling harmony with the other. *aster and higher they daned, straining as if
the sheer fore of their franti desire would disover worlds of passion never dreamed of. "his
one woman made for this one man.
"hey poised at the brink of madness for a moment or a lifetime until ultimately together they
plunged into an eruption of pleasure. &is body shook against hers, hers #uaked onvulsively, and
they lung to eah other as if life itself were at stake.
And for that one e)plosive moment, time stood still.
"ime.
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:itoria Ale)ander
"heir enemy and their master. *or this one single seond, defeated. @o matter how brief,
regardless of how fleeting, the memory of this moment, the triumph of this love would stay with
them through all time, filling their yesterdays, oloring their tomorrows.
*orever.
444444444444444444
$he lay in the massive bed, one hand tuked under her hin, resembling a lassial statue,
peaeful and serene. Adam hukled silently at the image. +f all the things he ould say about
"his Maggie," peaeful and serene would not be among them.
&is Maggie.
As muh as he liked the sound of that, he'd better never let her know he thought of her as his
Maggie. It would no doubt launh her into a speeh about not being anyone's property and how
she wasn't from this time and did not e)pet to be treated as if she were, losing with
delarations of freedom and independene. &e grinned at her sleeping form. &e ould aept
that. %iffiult as it was to endure at times, her spirit and insistene of what she onsidered her
rights were among the things he loved about her.
$urprised, he reali1ed he also loved sleeping through the night with her uddled beside him,
and waking to find her still there. "here would be no separate bedrooms in this marriage. Adam
wanted to spend the rest of his life with her by his side like this. "hey had muh to talk about.
&e leaned over and nibbled her ear. "Maggie, my love. (ake up."
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$esterday 7 .orever
&er eyes fluttered open. $he strethed lu)uriously, slanting him a la1y, sensuous
smile. "You were right. 9ast night was . .. perfet."
&e grinned and brushed her lips with his. "I know."
$he wrapped her arms around his nek and pulled him loser, turning his light kiss
into something far more satisfying.
"Maggie." &e groaned. "I must get dressed. I ut short matters dealing with the
estates yesterday to rush bak to town last night. I must return today."
%isappointment shone in her eyes. "(hen will you be bak!"
""onight." &e raised her hand and brushed a kiss along her palm. "(ill you wait up
for me!"
$he seemed to onsider his re#uest thoughtfully, then gave him a teasing smile. "I
think I an arrange that."
"You'd better," Adam growled and kissed her thoroughly. &e pulled away and
noted her eyes darken. &is own desire rose and he pushed the thought from his mind,
staunhly but relutantly. &e had to take are of this estate problem. "hen he ould
devote himself fully to her.
&e flung bak the bedlothes, lifted her into his arms, and arried her out of his
room and into hers.
"(hat are you doing!" she said, luthing a sheet to her naked form. Adam
dropped her abruptly on the bed and she bouned awkwardly. &e sat down beside her
and upped her hin in his hand, ga1ing firmly into her stormy green eyes.
"You brought up the #uestion of servants last night. And you were right. *inding
you in my bed CE-
:itoria Ale)ander
without benefit of marriage would destroy your reputation." &is look softened. "I do not want
you hurt."
"Adam." $he laughed. "I don't are about my reputation. I an take are of myself."
&e smiled in resignation. "I know. 5ut just this one do as I ask."
"+kay." $he sighed and threw herself bak on the pillows. "You'll definitely be home
tonight!"
"%efinitely."
"I'll wait for you in, oh, say, the library!" $he ga1ed at him innoently.
&e mathed it with a wiked look of his own. "+ne of my favorite rooms."
"Mine, too." &er eyes were a remarkably deep forest olor and he regretted his inability to
respond to the depth of her arousal until his return. "Mine, too."
444444444444444444
9ydia allowed herself a ongratulatory smile. "he day had gone e)eedingly well. *ar better
than she had hoped. $he did not even have to lure Maggie to the library. Maggie went on her
own. +dd for her to venture into Adam's domain when she had obviously been avoiding him
for days.
5ut then Maggie's behavior today, overall, had been e)tremely unusual. $he'd slept #uite late,
then stayed in her room most of the day, taking a long bath during the afternoon hours. "he
sandali1ed servants were still e)hanging shoked omments over Maggie's re#uest for a ra1or.
"o shave her legs, of all things, aording to the gossip. "he idea intrigued 9ydia and she vowed
to try it herself at the first opportunity.
@ow Maggie sat urled up on the library sofa with
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$esterday 7 .orever
a book, and 9ydia reasonably assumed she would stay there for a while. A servant sent from the
ountry by Adam arrived hours ago with a message from her brother. &e would be home by
midnight. "he timing ould not have been better.
"he hall lok himed the hour. "en o'lok. 6onnor's men should be waiting by now. Most of
the servants had already retired for the evening. 7ven so, 9ydia rept furtively to the rear door,
unloked it, and pulled it open. $he stepped outside #uikly, her ga1e sanning the dim, deep
shadows.
@othing.
"here was no one there.
:e)ed, 9ydia took a few more steps and looked for any sign of 6onnor's men. "5loody hell,"
she muttered under her breath. "Dust like him. @ot only is he always late but his men are late,
too." $he peered one more around the unmoving shapes and vague, indistint outlines taking on
sinister proportions in the pale moonlight.
9ydia shivered and stepped bak inside, determined to wait as long as it took for 6onnor's men
to appear. $he did not doubt they would ome. 6onnor had never failed her before. &e would not
fail her now.
444444444444444444
+n the fourth or perhaps the fifth time she ventured outside 9ydia found 6onnor's men. It was
now nearing eleven o'lok. $he finally spotted two figures hovering near a wagon in the alley
near the mews, beyond the end of the garden. Indignantly she strode toward them.
"It's about time," she said. "he ouple fro1e at her
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approah. "I suppose 6onnor gave you the wrong time!"
"he men stared first at eah other, then at 9ydia.
"&ow's that, milady!" "he autious #uery ame from the diretion of the shorter of the two
shadowy figures.
"It sare matters now." 9ydia sighed and drew loser. &er ga1e swept the men in an assessing
manner and she nodded with admiration. "I must say, though, you two have ertainly dressed the
part. I did not e)pet 6onnor to get into the spirit of this evening and I think it's #uite harming
of him to humor me this way. You will serve e)tremely well."
"hey appeared wonderfully sinister. "he short one inlined toward e)ess poundage. "he other
was several inhes taller but every bit as wide as his ompanion. 5oth wore shabby, apparently
ast3off lothing. 9ydia sniffed deliately. "here seemed to be a distint odor lingering about
them. "hey were perfet. $he beamed at the men. If only they'd get that baffled look off their
faes. +h, well, intelligene was perhaps a little too muh to hope for.
"@ow that you're here, follow me." 9ydia tossed the words over her shoulder and walked to the
door. "he men traded glanes, shrugged, and followed. "I shall go over this one again with you.
%id 6onnor give you all the details!"
"@o, milady." "his time the answer ame from the larger of the pair.
"I suspeted as muh. :ery well." $he halted just outside the door, turned, and stepped behind
a large shrub. "he men e)hanged onfused looks and jumped when 9ydia reappeared.
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$esterday 7 .orever
"&ere." $he shoved a length of rope and a burlap sak at them. "I told 6onnor I
would get the rope and the bag and here they are." "he men took the artiles with
obvious relutane. 9ydia's brows knitted in an e)asperated frown. "I see I truly must
go over this. 9isten losely."
"he pair leaned forward as if mesmeri1ed by her words.
""he woman you are to kidnap is in the library. %own this hall, through the door,
third room on the right. "hreaten he) with this." 9ydia disappeared behind the shrub
one more and returned brandishing a wiked3looking weapon. &er startled
henhmen gasped and even in the faint glow of the moonlight, she saw them pale at
the sight of the gun.
"%on't be suh ninnies," 9ydia said impatiently. (ere these two really as dim3
witted as they appeared! $he sighed in resignation. "hey would simply have, to do.
It was far too late to hange her plans now. "It isn't loaded."
In perfet harmony, the men released pent3up breaths. %id eah do everything in tune
with the other! 9ydia shook off the faniful thought and returned to the matter at hand.
'@ow go in there, threaten her with the gun=N
'5egging your pardon, milady,N the short one said, hesitation in his voie. '5ut what
should we be sayin< to her!N
"he #uestion took her by surprise. "(hy, say anything you like, I suppose." $he paused to
think. "@o, wait. %on't say too muh. Dust tell her she's being kidnapped and to keep #uiet and
she won't be hurt." ;leased with herself, 9ydia brightened. "Yes, that
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will work #uite well, I think. "hen tie her hands. "here's a strip of loth in the bottom of the
bag. ;ut that in her mouth, the bag over her head, and voila, it's done." 9ydia beamed at her
obviously impressed audiene.
""hat's right lever, milady," the taller kidnapper said, admiration evident in his tone.
""hank you." 9ydia smiled modestly. "@ow," she said, her words again brisk and effiient,
"did 6onnor at least tell you where you are to take her!"
"he pair again traded looks, the short one speaking with a new air of onfidene. ""hat he
did, milady. %on't you worry yourself none. (e'll take are of it."
"I have the utmost onfidene in your abilities. @ow one last thing." "he men leaned in as
though hanging on every word. "You must make absolutely ertain she is not harmed in any
way. It would defeat my purposes if she were at all injured. %o you understand!" $he gave
them eah her sternest glane and was gratified to note the almost worshipful e)pression in
their eyes.
2egardless of the lass of men one dealt with, their responses never differed when it ame to
an attrative woman. "he same instint that told 9ydia when a man was about to attempt to kiss
her or, heaven forbid, ask for her hand, now told her these two would follow her instrutions to
the letter.
444444444444444444
Dane Austen's words daned before her eyes. Maggie had read the same page three times.
$ighing with frustration, she tossed the book aside. &er mind refused to fous on the written
words. "oo many
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thoughts rowded her head. "houghts she had resisted all day. "houghts now demanding
attention.
2estlessly, she pushed herself off the sofa and, wrapping her arms over her hest, paed the
room. $he always ould think better on her feet. "he emotional turmoil gripping her inside
refused to let her sit still. &ow many steps was it to the wall anyway! +ne ... two . . . three ... It
was definitely time to sort out her feelings, past time to fae the fats.
"he love she shared with Adam was nothing short of remarkable. @ever in her wildest dreams
had she imagined the intensity of suh feelings. &ow her heart leapt at the sight of his strong,
handsome fae or the touh of his gentle, knowing hands. 7ven his infuriating se)ist attitudes
and his annoying habit of lifting one eyebrow in that superior e)pression now endeared him to
her.
"%amn," she muttered. It wasn't fair. (hy did she have to ome nearly two enturies into the
past to find the one man who filled the empty, ahing spot in her soul! "he one man who gave
her what she never even knew she searhed for. "he one man she didn't have any possibility of
a life with.
"I just don't get it," she ried, surprised to find she had spoken out loud. *ine. Maybe the
sound of her own voie would help her work out this mess. It sure as hell ouldn't hurt. All day
it had been easy to push aside reality and pretend she and Adam ould share a life, build a
future.
"*uture. Yeah, that's the problem, isn't it." $he sighed and paed off the room again. "wenty3
eight steps, pivot. . . turn, CL steps, pivot. . . turn . . .
"he future, her future, did not inlude Adam. An
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unknown fore tossed her through time and into his arms and no doubt would snath her away
again in, what! @ineteen days! $he and Adam were as star3rossed as 2omeo and Duliet, their
love just as doomed.
"I an't leave him," she said to the empty room, "but I an't stay." 5ook3lined shelves towered
above her. "he literary wisdom of the ages stared. $ilent. Ausing.
"%on't you see!" she pleaded with the rows of leather3baked spines, mute jurors in her trial of
passion. "$taying, even if I had a hoie, ould srew up the ne)t two hundred years. I'm not
supposed to be here. I'm out of plae, out of syn." Maggie fought to find the words, for
$hakespeare and 6hauer and %ante. And more, for herself. "I don't belong here. I have to go
bak."
A nagging thought throbbed the one3word #uestion she'd evaded and denied and refused to
fae.
5hy&
"(hy!" 6onfused, she tried to fous her words into a ohesive argument. "(hy! 5eause of
parado)es and ripple effets and all those things siene fition writers preah about." $he shook
her head slowly. "@one of that stuff has ever been proved, but it makes sense. I have to go
home." "he firm tone of her voie made her wonder who she was trying to onvine.
$he resumed paing, piking up where she left off. 7ighteen ... -B ... CH ... As she passed the
fireplae another persistent thought struk her with the breathtaking impat of a old blast from a
garden
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$esterday 7 .orever
hose on a blistering summer day. $he pulled up short.
5hat if 3!m wrong&
Maggie stared unseeing at the flames leaping in the marble hearth. "(hat if I throw away
everything, go home, and I don't have to!" $he spoke #uietly to the fire. "(hat if Adam was
right when he said maybe, just maybe, this is my destiny!"
$he whirled to fae the faeless leather3bound volumes, reahing toward them in desperate
suppliation.
"&ow do I know!" she asked her nonommittal witnesses. Iuiet. 6ondemning. &er voie
dropped to a whisper> her hands fell to her sides. "&ow do I know!"
444444444444444444
Maggie lost trak of time standing in the middle of the room, staring mesmeri1ed at the
daning flames. "he hypnoti effet, the primeval appeal of the fire, almed her. $he would do
what she had to do, what she believed was right. @o matter how muh it hurt. And, she had no
doubts, it would hurt.
$omewhere on the fringes of her onsiousness, she heard the library door open.
Adam. Marshaling her ontrol, she pulled a smile to her lips and turned to greet him. "he
smile fro1e on her fae. "(ho in the hell are you!"
"wo of the most disgusting3looking men she'd ever seen inhed toward her. Atually,
disgusting gave them too muh redit. ?rubby and somewhat slimy in appearane, they
reminded her of haraters from a 6harles %ikens novel. 6haraters who had gone a bit
overboard to get that perfet sum3of3the3earth
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look. "hey were too e)aggerated to be sary. "he taller one held a mass of burlap in one hand,
rope and a piee of white material in the other.
"(hat do you want!" she said in her most imperious tone, surprised and a little pleased to note
she had piked up some of the lofty superiority of the 5ritish upper lasses during her stay.
"Dist do as we say, milady, and ye won't get hurt none." "he short, fat one pulled his hand from
behind his bak to reveal an odd3looking gun. Maggie's heart stuk in her throat. $he knew ne)t
to nothing about weapons, but she ould spot a gun, even an anti#ue one, when she saw it. All of
a sudden, the %ikens haraters seemed a lot less ridiulous and a lot more sinister.
"(hat do you want!" she repeated firmly, refusing to let any fear show.
"(e've ome ta take ye with us, miss." "he taller, weasel3faed one slowly approahed,
waving his rope and burlap at her. &e looked so muh like a dogather trying to lure an errant
hound Maggie almost hoked, smothering a hysterial laugh. 5ut the nasty gleam in his eye told
her no matter how ridiulous the pair looked, they were deadly serious. And she was in real
trouble.
Think- &er mind raed, desperate for a way to help herself. "he duo inhed slowly loser. $he
baked away just as slowly, mathing them move for move. $he'd spent a lot of time in this
room. $urely there was more than one way out.
"he window. "hat was it. If she ould reah the window, she ould dive through the glass to
the outside. +f ourse, she'd only seen that done on ": or
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$esterday 7 .orever
in the movies. &ow hard ould it be anyway! $ure, in her own e)periene glass didn't break
#uite that easily, not when you wanted it to. 5ut right now she didn't see any other hoie.
$he darted toward the door, hoping to draw them off in the wrong diretion, then swiveled
and broke toward the long windows, bringing her arms up to shelter her fae. $he steeled
herself for the jump through and lunged at the glass. 0nbelievably, hands grabbed her just as
her feet left the floor. "hey were on her, one luthing her arms, the other trying to wrap the
gag around her mouth.
$hoked by how muh faster they were than she'd imagined, she struggled furiously but
without suess. (hy ouldn't she remember anything from all those self3defense lessons!
"hey already had the gag in her mouth but she refused to give up. A well3plaed kik hit home
and she gained a small measure of satisfation.
"he fat one sreamed. "5loody 'ell, *reddy, she kiked me in me bleeding jewels."
"&it 'er then," (easel3fae ommanded.
Maggie's desperate fight aelerated, spurred on by pani and fear.
"5ut we ain't supposed to hurt 'er," the fat one whined.
"%on't be a bloody arsehole, hit 'er." "he weasel tried to ontain Maggie's violent, franti
thrashing. C A sharp pain e)ploded in her head. $hok registered for a split seond. "he fat one
atually hit her. $he didn't think he had the guts. It was her last thought before slumping to the
floor and desending into blakness.
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444
9ydia eyed 6onnor's henhmen an)iously. "hey arried Maggie through the bak hall and out
the door. "he tall one had her tossed over his shoulder, well overed by the burlap bag.
+bviously Maggie was ooperating fully. "here was no indiation of movement within the bag.
?ood. (ith a sigh of relief, 9ydia headed toward the library to plae the ransom note on the
mantel. $he did not want her future sister3in3law hurt.
C,C
Chapter Fi"teen
Maggie's eyes snapped open to total darkness. &er head throbbed. "he world bouned beneath
her. %isoriented, she ouldn't make sense of her surroundings. $he lay on her side. (here was
she! (hy ouldn't she see! A jarring bump shot a stab of pain to her head but jerked her mind
into sharp fous.
"hose ostumed haraters had kidnapped her. (hy! More to the point, what did she do now!
$he was onfined in some kind of srathy bag, maybe the burlap (easel3fae was arrying. A
sharp, arid smell lung to the fibers and stung her nose. A sent reminisent of. .. what! $poiled
onions! 2otten potatoes! A gag bound her mouth, and her hands were tied behind her bak. $he
tested the bonds and to her delight found the knot loose. &a. (hat a bunh of idiots. "hey must
have figured if she was unonsious they needn't worry about keeping her tied. $he'd show them.
$he wasn't a graduate of the 2oky C,G
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Mountain $hool of 8arate and Martial Arts self3defense ourse for women for nothing.
?ranted, it hadn't helped her muh bak in the library, but this was different. "his time the
element of surprise was on her side and she had way too muh to lose to give up without at least
trying to esape.
Iuietly, with the barest of movement, she slid the rope off her wrists. 2ough3edged voies
murmured low behind and at a level slightly above her. Dudging by the bumpy ride, she must be
in some kind of wagon or art. Apparently she hadn't been unonsious too long. &er arms and
legs hadn't fallen asleep and weren't stiff yet. &oping not to attrat their attention, she slipped her
hands up to her fae and removed the annoying gag. ?reat so far, but she was still in the nasty,
stinky bag.
"he art hit a hukhole and she sei1ed advantage of the boune and rolled over. @ow she
faed the voies. Maggie edged a fingernail into the loosely woven fabri and pried it apart for a
tiny peek hole. Dust as she thought. "he %ikens gang sat with their baks to her on a benh
above where she lay. If she didn't make any sudden movement to alert them, she ould simply
slide this sak over her head. 6autiously she inhed the bag off, then overed herself with it.
@ow what! $he si1ed up her aptors. &er e)periene with them in the library proved they were
muh stronger and faster than they appeared. "he tall one had an evil look about him that frankly
gave her shivers. "he fat one was a major3league whiner, but probably her best bet for esape.
"he bare outline of a plan rooted in her mind. If
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$esterday 7 .orever
this didn't work, they might kill her. And nobody in this or any other entury would ever know
what happened. %ammit. If she had to die she sure as hell wasn't going to take it lying down.
$he urled into a rouh position. A sant inh at a time, she edged her way forward until she
s#uatted diretly behind the benh. $o far so good. $he held her breath and rose slowly. &er eyes
drew level with the benh. A flash of lightning illuminated the sky. 9ying there between them
was the gun. Maggie nearly ried out loud with delight.
$he sank down again, pulled her hem up, and tied her dress around her waist. "here was no
way she ould do what she planned with FH pounds of skirts trailing around her ankles. *inally
she gathered the edges of the burlap bag together. Maggie took a deep breath in a hopeless
attempt to steady her nerves and alm her shaking hands. +kay. +n the ount of three. +ne .. .
two .. . three.
Maggie sprang to her feet and in one swift move yanked the bag over the head of (easel3fae.
(ith an ear3piering yell that would have done the entire staff and student body of the 2oky
Mountain $hool of 8arate and Martial Arts self3defense ourse for women proud, she twisted
and turned like Master "i had taught. (ith a nearly lassi form she'd never shown in lass, she
e)euted one superb kik that sent the tall, %ikensian thug sailing out of the wagon in a perfet
ar to land several yards away with a soft thud and a loud groan.
Maggie and the fat one stared at eah other, one in horror, the other in ama1ement and more
than a little pride. $he swiveled and grabbed the gun. In her
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best television op impersonation, she aimed it with both hands, straight at his head.
""ake me home, pal," she said. "@ow."
&e turned shoked eyes toward her, then toward his partner, groaning under the burlap by the
side of the road, then bak to Maggie.
"@ow." Maggie gestured with the gun. If this gun trik looked as awesome in person as it did
on ":, her kidnapper should be pretty damned intimidated by now.
"he fat one snapped the reins, and the horse took off with a jerk that nearly threw her to the
floor. $he reovered her balane and glared at the driver. "You did that on purpose."
$he lambered over the benh, untied her skirts, and settled beside him. "he art wasn't
moving that #uikly. @ot nearly fast enough for Maggie, although she reali1ed one horse ould
only go so fast.
"he fat one gave her a sidelong glane. "It ain't loaded."
$tartled, Maggie stared. "(hat do you mean, it ain't loaded!"
&e kept his eyes on the road. ""he lady what gave us the gun said it weren't loaded." &e
shrugged and glaned at her. "$he said she didn't want you hurt none."
""hat's great. 2eally thoughtful. %amned onsiderate." $arasm dripped off her words. "I don't
suppose you all hitting me in the head and knoking me out hurting me!"
"You kiked me in me family jewels," he said indignantly.
"You were kidnapping me. (hat the hell was I
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$esterday 7 .orever
supposed to do! ?o along #uietly!"
"(eren't my idea," he said in a lofty tone that seemed to absolve him of all blame in the
matter.
$he eyed him suspiiously. "(hat do you mean! (hose idea was it!" $omething he'd said
earlier now aught her attention. "(hat lady gave you the gun!"
""he one in the alley. 9ooked like a bloomin' angel, she did." &e sighed and Maggie ould
have sworn a look of adoration passed over his grubby fae. "$aid we was to take the gun, snath
you, and take you to someplae some bloke alled 6onnor knew about." &e glaned toward her
autiously. "$ine we was lookin' to break into a house or two tonight we didn't think it smart to
argue with 'er."
$he narrowed her eyes and onsidered his weird e)planation. It didn't make a whole lot of
sense. +f ourse, most of her life lately didn't make sense. "+kay, if the damn gun isn't loaded,
why are you taking me home!"
&e laughed, a rather nie laugh atually. $he peered at him sharply. A loser inspetion
showed him to be fairly young, probably about her age. &e wasn't even really fat. &is lothes
were merely e)tremely bulky. Dust right to hide stolen goods in.
"5loody 'ell, miss, I ain't no bloomin' kidnapper. I'm jist a housebreak, a ommon thief."
Amusement twinkled in his eyes, Maggie groaned to herself. $he was beginning to like this guy.
"5esides, I ain't never seen nobody fly through the air like *reddy did. I didn't want to be takin'
no trips like that." &e hukled. "5etween you with your sreamin' and kikin' and that pretty
blonde ating like #ueen of the underworld it sure has been some night." &e shook his
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:itoria Ale)ander
head, grinning. "(ait till me Margaret hears about this."
"Margaret!"
"Me missus." &e shook his head again. "$he ain't gonna like it. Ain't none too pleased about
my stealing anyways."
"(hy do you do it!" Maggie asked, genuinely urious.
&e shrugged and looked her straight in the eye. &is were a pleasant green olor. "$ometimes
you ain't got no hoie."
$he stared bak. "here was something vaguely familiar about the man. +r maybe it was just
the familiar resignation of the truly poor. "$orry," she said but refused to pull her ga1e away.
""here's got to be something else you an do."
&e ontinued to stare and she noted a glimmer of hope in his eyes, followed #uikly by
disdain. Maggie knew without words this man wondered how .someone like her ould
possibly know what his life was like. And she also knew, sadly, he was right.
&e turned bak toward the horse and the pair sat silently a few moments. "I been thinkin' I
might try me luk in Ameria." &e glaned at her #uikly. "You're from there, ain't ye!"
$he laughed and leaned bak on the benh. "(hat gave me away!"
&e flashed her an almost wounded look at the sarasm and she immediately repented.
"$orry," she said again, promising herself to take him seriously. $he onsidered his omment
in silene.
""hat's not a bad idea," she said slowly. "Ameria has a lot to offer, espeially now." $he
warmed to the
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$esterday 7 .orever
subjet and reali1ed how muh did lie ahead. ""here's nearly an entire ontinent to e)plore and
settle. @atural resoures are in abundane. 9and. Adventure. A hane for a good future. You
ould do a lot worse, you know." $he stared at him pointedly.
"I hear there's a lot of opportunity in Ameria." &e flashed her a grin. "*or an honest man,"
$he aught the gleam in his eye and laughed. "hey rode the rest of the way forging bonds of an
odd friendship. In spite of the kidnapping and the head bashing, he was taking her home and he
ertainly didn't have to. $he told him all about Ameria, as muh as she ould remember from
history, here and there embellishing a bit to make her ountry sound even more attrative. $he
wasn't sure why she wanted this thief3turned3kidnapper3turned3relutant3resuer to have a better
life. $omehow the idea just seemed right.
In turn, he told her about his life. &e had eight kids and never enough to eat. &is parents were
farmers but he was orphaned at an early age and ran away to the ity. $till, farming was where
his heart lay. Maggie nodded sagely, onfident Ameria in -L-L was a great plae for farmers,
even though the hane of somebody like him oming up with enough money for passage for a
family of ten was pretty farfethed.
&e reined in the horse and the wagon rolled to a stop. "5eggin' your pardon, miss, but I'll be
leavin' ye here."
Maggie glaned around #uikly. "he area looked somewhat familiar.
"(e're still a wee bit aways from the house we
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nabbed you in. 2ight down that street there. 5ut"= he shrugged and looked apologeti="I an't
be takin' the risk that someone ain't out lookin' for ye. And me."
Maggie understood. "$ure, I see what you mean. @o problem." $he turned and jumped off the
wagon, then impulsively turned bak and ga1ed up at him. "9ook, you didn't have to bring me
this far, and you haven't gotten anything out of tonight. Aside from bruises, that is." $he grinned.
"I think Adam would be more than willing to pay a reward. Maybe we ould get you that passage
to Ameria."
"I ain't takin' harity," he said gruffly.
"@o, you'd rather steal." $he shot him an impatient glare. "It's not harity." $he took a deep
breath and fored herself to be alm, ontinuing in a gentle yet firm voie. "9isten, it's a reward.
You helped me out and you ould have dumped me after I kiked your friend off the wagon.
6ome and see us ne)t week. Ask for Adam 6oleridge, he's the earl of something or other.
5esides"=she threw him a onspiratorial grin="he'll never miss it. &e's got tons of money."
"5less you, miss," he said #uietly, the emotion in his eyes touhing something deep within her.
"@o sweat." Maggie flashed a #uik salute and turned one more to leave, again #uikly
turning bak. "I almost forgot. I don't know your name."
&e stood in the wagon, pulled off his hat, and e)euted a rather well done bow. "Me friends
all me 5ert."
"+kay, 5ert." $he laughed, rossed her arms over her hest, and tilted her head. "Is there a last
name!"
""hat there is, miss. Masterson. 5ert, 5ertram
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$esterday 7 .orever
Masterson at your servie." Again he bowed graefully.
"5ertram Masterson," she said, staring in ama1ement. &er father's name was 5ertram. "he
name had been in the family for generations. &er name, Margaret, was also a family name.
&er father had always been fond of telling the story of how the first Mas3tersons had ome to
Ameria beause his anestor had done a favor for a nobleman. "he tale had grown to
mythial proportions through the years. Maggie had never #uite fallen for it, never paid that
muh attention to the details that seemed more spetaular whenever the yarn was spun. 5ut
she did remember the part about the reward.
;assage to Ameria.
"(ow." she breathed. $he stared in awe at an atual anestor, and he stared bak. Maggie
shook her head and grinned again. "6ome and see us, 5ert, and good luk."
"?ood luk to you, too, miss." &e sat bak on the benh and liked to the horse. "he
wagon slowly moved off.
"5ert," Maggie alled after him and he turned toward her. "(hen you get to Ameria,
enourage your kids to keep moving west. It'll be a great life. I promise." &e nodded and she
waved. "he wagon pulled farther away.
"After all, 5ert," she said under her breath, wathing him drive off, "someday a desendent
of yours needs to be born in 6olorado."
(as she now the ause of her family oming to Ameria or would it have happened
anyway! (as she destined to play a part or was it just a bi1arre
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:itoria Ale)ander
fluke! &ad she interfered in history or simply helped it along!
"he impliations of her ations, the ra1y impat of time travel, and a do1en other #uestions
tumbled through her mind. Iuestions she wasn't up to faing right now. $he had to get bak.
"urning to start the short walk, a shiver of fear skated through her. (ould she be safe by
herself! $he glaned down and smiled wryly. "ired and filthy, her dress torn, Maggie resembled
any other beggar on the street. @o one would bother her looking like this.
In spite of everything, the knok on the head, the moments of sheer pani, and the bruises
inflited by the bouning ride, the enounter with 5ert had left her with a. warm, fu11y feeling.
Maggie threw one last look at the retreating wagon, then headed toward the house that right
now felt very muh like home.
444444444444444444
Adam strode into the library with an eager step, then pulled up short. Maggie wasn't here.
%isappointment surged through him. $urely she would be here waiting for him. &e had even
sent a message ahead saying he would be home by midnight. Adam had hurried to settle his
business, and pushed his horses to the limit to get bak. &e glaned at the lok. It was still not
#uite twelve. (hy wasn't she here!
+f ourse. It was lateA she had probably grown tired and was upstairs waiting. Adam grinned
with antiipation. "he day spent away from Maggie strengthened his resolve to marry her.
"onight he would formally ask for her hand, even though he onsidered the matter settled
already. &e turned to CLC
$esterday 7 .orever
leave the room and his eye aught sight of a pile of orrespondene staked on his desk. %uty
battled with desire and he groaned aloud. It would take only a few moments to go through and
then he ould turn his omplete attention to Maggie. 2esigned, he approahed the desk, sooped
up the sheaf of papers, and #uikly shuffled through them.
A disreet knok from (ilson interrupted him. "Milord, 9ord $t. 6lair is here. "o see 9ady
9ydia."
"At this hour!" (hy would 6onnor stop by so late to see his sister! 3 ":ery well, (ilson.
$how him in and find 9ydia."
(ith a nod, (ilson retreated, returning with 6onnor moments later.
"6onnor." Adam greeted his old friend with genuine affetion. "I am sorry we have not had
time to get together sine your return to 9ondon. In fat, I believe we've only seen eah other
one, at the 5roadmore ball." An appalling thought stopped him in his traks. "?ood lord,
6onnor, you didn't take me seriously, I pray! You're not here to marry 9ydia, are you!"
6onnor laughed and Adam released a sigh of relief. It wasn't that he didn't like 6onnor. In fat,
he'd always thought of him as something of a younger brother. 9ord knew he wanted the best for
his sister. 5ut in spite of his sarasti words the other night, a math between the two of them did
not strike him as right somehow. Adam studied him intently. $till... the situation might bear
another look. 9ydia ould do far worse.
Abruptly, the laughter died in 6onnor's throat. "Adam," he said, aution in his voie, "get that
look
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off your fae. You know full well I am not about to get myself leg3shakled to 9ydia or anyone
else. 5esides"=he grinned="9ydia and I know eah other far too well to suit. It's been my
observation that a suessful marriage re#uires a few mysteries, perhaps even a seret or two."
Adam grinned bak. "(ell said. $o why have you ome to see my sister at this late hour!"
6onnor shrugged. "$he asked me for a favor and I must tell her I shall not go along with her
little plot. I had planned to be here earlier but ertain . . . er . . ." 6onnor seemed to have trouble
finding the right words and Adam ould not resist a slight hukle at his obvious disomfort.
"here was wry satisfation in knowing he ould still make 6onnor feel as if he were -C and in
trouble again.
"6ertain what!"
"5last it, Adam," 6onnor sputtered. "6ertain previous engagements took longer than
e)peted." &e glared as if daring Adam to say something.
"5randy!" Adam said innoently.
";lease," 6onnor said, still in apparent disomfort.
Adam poured glasses for them both and they stood, sharing the kind of ompanionable silene
only old friends an.
"6onnor! (hat on earth are you doing bak here=" 9ydia burst through the door, stopping
short at the sight of Adam. "Adam. You're home. &ow . . . nie." A honeyed smile graed her lips
and Adam immediately grew suspiious.
"9ydia," he said, "6onnor has ome to e)plain he annot take part in whatever sheme you
have attempted to rope him into this time."
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$esterday 7 .orever
9ydia's eyes grew wide. A flash of pure horror rossed her fae. $he turned toward 6onnor
and grasped his arm, fear evident in her eyes. "(hat does he mean! (hat do you mean!"
6onnor's dark brows drew together in a #uestioning frown. ""here is no reason to be overset. I
simply saw Adam and Maggie together last night and reali1ed there was no need to arry through
with your plan." 9ydia's fae paled. 6onnor glaned toward Adam. "It was a typial 9ydia plot.
$he thought if Maggie was kidnapped, you and she would reali1e I how muh you mean to eah
other and marriage would result. I was to supply the kidnappers. It was atually #uite lever." &e
turned to 9ydia and tensed at the mask of shok on her fae. An amused hukle died on his lips.
$he released her grip and sank into a hair, burying her fae in her hands.
"9ydia!" Adam struggled to ontrol a growing sense of foreboding.
"ears glimmering in her eyes, 9ydia pulled her ga1e to searh his. "5ut they ame, 6onnor,
they ame."
6onnor shook his head in apparent onfusion. "I never sent anyone."
"9ydia," Adam spoke slowly, measuring his words, "where is Maggie!"
"+h ?od, Adam, they took her." "ears trikled down her fae.
"(ho took her!" Adam fought bak the fear and pani that threatened to overwhelm him. In
two long strides, he stood in front of his sister. ?rabbing her shoulders he pulled her to her feet.
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"(ho took her, 9ydia!" &is words rang with anger.
"I don't know. I found them outside, two men. I thought they were 6onnor's men."
"(hat happened! &ow did they get in!" Adam shook her roughly. In all their years, he had
never been this harsh with her, never this angry. &e ould tell by her eyes she was sared. *or the
first time in his life, he wanted her to be.
"I=" 9ydia gasped. "I helped them. I let them in." $he sobbed and hoked out the words. "I
told them what to do. I thought 6onnor sent them." &er eyes pleaded with her brother.
"%o you know what you've done!" &e thrust her away before he ompletely lost ontrol. "Your
hildish stunts are no longer mere pranks. You've put Maggie into the hands of ?od knows who.
Men who ould kill her or worse. (e may never see her again. Your meddling in my life may
well have ost Maggie hers."
9ydia stood faing him, a da1ed e)pression on her fae. $he lifted her hin defiantly and fire
flashed from her eyes. "You meddled in my life first."
"You're right, 9ydia." &is voie grew #uiet and ontrolled. %eadly. 6old. A tone he had not
used sine the days when he ould best an opponent with his hilling manner off the dueling
field as easily as with a weapon on, a voie he would not have thought still ame as easily as his
own breath.
"Your life, whether you like it or not, is my responsibility. You an relieve me of that by
marrying. 0ntil then I shall ontinue to do what I think is best. And in the future, you will trust
me to know what is best for me as well. I will not ondone anything but
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$esterday 7 .orever
model behavior from you from now on or so help me, 9ydia, sister or no sister, I will make your
life a living hell."
A voie inside hided him for being so harsh. "his was, after all, his spoiled, beloved sister.
5ut the thought of losing Maggie forever turned his heart to iy stone and triggered the rigid
self3ontrol he'd perfeted years ago to prevent his emotions from affeting his ations, adopted
now to deal with his sister and keep him from going mad with fear and helpless frustration.
"Adam," 6onnor said, "perhaps we an find her. "hey an't have gotten too far."
Adam nodded. Ation was better than doing nothing. Ativity would help fill this numbness
inside. &e turned to 9ydia. "&ow long have they been gone!"
"@ot more than an hour," she said #uietly.
"9et's go." Adam brushed by his sister and strode out the library, 6onnor lose on his heels.
"he men raed toward the front door, Adam hoping against hope that as futile as it seemed,
maybe, just maybe, there was a hane of finding her. And then, by ?od, he would never let her
out of his sight again.
444444444444444444
Maggie was less than a blok away when the first raindrops hit. $he'd been dimly aware of the
thunder and lightning but was far too busy with other problems to pay any attention. 0ntil now.
"?reat. Dust what I need. "he perfet ending to a perfet evening."
$he trudged toward the house, every step inreasing her irritation and her #uestions. (ho
would want to have her kidnapped anyway! 5ert mentioned the name 6onnor and it sounded
vaguely fa3
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miliar, but she'd met so many people here it was hard to keep them all straight.
And who was this woman 5ert desribed as an angel! Maggie really hadn't met many women
at all sine her arrival. "he hanes that she'd made any female enemies were pretty slim. "he
thought of 9ady &argreave flashed aross her mind but she dismissed the idea. "he woman didn't
strike Maggie as the kind who would e)pend a lot of effort on something like a kidnapping
unless she ould gain a great deal in return. @o matter what she one had with Adam, she had
nothing to gain now. 5esides, there was no way anyone would desribe that evil woman as an
angel.
"he gentle rainfall #uikly progressed to a full3fledged downpour. Maggie tried to run, but her
drenhed gown weighed her down and made the attempt impossible. *ored to onentrate on
putting one foot in front of the other, Maggie plodded forward until she finally reahed the
house. $he dragged herself up the first steps and the door flew open. Adam rushed past so
#uikly she got only a glimpse of his fae. &er heart stood still at his e)pression. 6old.
%etermined. My ?od, what had happened in her absene! &is speeding figure knoked her off
balane and she tottered preariously on the stairs.
"&ey." $he flailed her arms, struggling to keep from falling on the rain3sliked step.
Adam halted his headlong rush and whirled toward her.
"Maggie!" &e peered at her through the pouring rain. "Maggie."
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$esterday 7 .orever
&is e)pression of sheer joy sent e)itement and pure happiness raing up her spine. &e
grabbed her, pulled her into his arms, and rushed her to his hest as if he would never let her
go.
"+h ?od, Maggie." &e kissed her lips, her heeks, her eyes, and held her fae between his
hands. "I thought I might never see you again." &is an)ious ga1e searhed hers. "Are you
unharmed! %id they hurt you!"
"he onern she read in his fae nearly broke her ontrol. "I'm okay." $he gave him a teasing
smile. "I told you I ould take are of myself."
"$o you did." &e grinned down at her. "5ut I did not know that e)tended to foiling
kidnappings."
&is grin was her undoing. "he terror and fear of the last hour swamped over her and tears burst
her dam of emotions. "+h, Adam." $he sobbed. "I've never been so sared. I didn't know what
was going to happen. (ho those people were. If they were going to kill me or what."
&e pulled her tight again and murmured in her ear, "You're safe now, my love. "hat's all that
matters. I have you bak."
$he shuddered. 2elief and e)haustion hit simultaneously and her head seemed light, her tired
mind fogged. 5eing in his arms again was like oming home. Maggie's heart warmed in his
embrae. &er strength drained away and she sagged against him. At this moment, this was where
she belonged. In opposition to everything she believed in, right now she wanted to depend on
him, wanted to be taken are of, wanted to be his. $he tilted her head up at him and smiled.
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:itoria Ale)ander
"It's good to be bak." "he smile and her voie grew faint. $he was too wet and miserable to
keep going. "@ow," she said with a sigh, "do you think we ould get out of this damn rain! I'm
soaked."
Adam whooped with delight and sooped her up in his arms. "7ven your atroious language is
musi tonight."
&e laughed, arried her into the house, and deposited her on the sofa in the library. +ne of the
maids already had blankets, and (ilson provided a hot up of tea. Adam sat beside her. In front
of the fireplae, she snuggled in his arms. &er lids drifted losed, the warmth of the room and the
man flowing into her.
Maggie's eyes flew open. $omething she'd paid no attention to now registered in her rapidly
learing mind. $he jerked upright on the sofa and sanned the library.
"You." $he pointed to 6onnor standing #uietly with 9ydia aross the room. "It's you. You're
the one. 5ert said something about a man named 6onnor. I ouldn't plae it at the time but he
was talking about you, wasn't he!" $he glared at 6onnor, who appeared distintly unomfortable
and more than a little guilty. "(hy in the hell would you have me kidnapped!"
"(ell atually, my dear . . ." 6onnor stammered.
"&e didn't have you kidnapped, Maggie." Adam's old, oddly harsh words drew Maggie's
attention. &is ga1e met hers. "9ydia did."
"9ydia!" $he gasped, her ga1e jumping to the blonde. 9ydia appeared a piture of omplete
on3
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$esterday 7 .orever
trol. +nly her eyes revealed her remorse, eyes that pleaded for forgiveness.
Maggie threw the blanket off and leapt to her feet. "I thought you were my friend. &ow ould
you! And more to the point, why!"
"Maggie." 9ydia approahed, her hands held out before her in a beseehing gesture. "It was
not e)peted to turn out this way. 6onnor was to provide me with men. And you were not to be
harmed in any way. I did not think that="
"@o, you did not think at all, did you!" Adam's voie boomed behind Maggie. $he glaned
bak. &e stood lose, a towering figure of iy golden rage. "You did not think she ould have
been killed, she ould have been dishonored, she ould even have been sold."
"$old!" Maggie swallowed hard. "(hat do you mean I ould have been sold! 9ike to a brothel
or harem or something! Yuk."
Adam ignored her outburst, his dangerous ga1e still fastened on his sister. "$he ould have
been harmed in other ways. :iolated. Abused. (e might never have known what happened to
her. (e might never have heard from her again."
Maggie frowned. (hatever 9ydia had done, and it now appeared she'd done #uite a bit, she
didn't deserve this treatment from her brother. "hey were the only family eah other had. $ine
Maggie's arrival, her influene had triggered more and more onfrontations between the pair.
$he knew the importane of family beause all she had left was her sister. $he refused to ome
between this brother and sister. Maggie reahed out and gripped Adam's arm. &is
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ga1e met hers and his rage softened.
Maggie turned bak to 9ydia, her voie #uiet. "(hy did you do it!"
9ydia sighed deeply. "I wathed you and Adam. 7ah so miserable without the other. At first I
merely wanted to get his mind off trying to fore me into a marriage." 9ydia shot Adam a #uik
glane, then returned to Maggie. "$oon it was apparent you obviously loved eah other but
neither would admit it. I thought if you were in danger, kidnapped, Adam would disover how
muh he ared. $aving your reputation would ditate he would have to marry you and the two of
you would be together."
""hat's what this was! $ome kind of bi1arre mathmaking sheme!" Maggie laughed, on the
edge of hysteris. "his revelation oupled with the events of the night was almost more than she
ould take. "You people are nuts. I thought you were all a little ra1y when I first got here, but
now that I've grown to know you . . ." $he shook her head and wiped the tears from her eyes.
"You just wanted us to get together! Dee1, 9ydia. Adam and I have been sleeping together for
days."
+nly the sharp rak of thunder outside ompeted with the shoked silene that slammed into
the room.
9ydia gasped.
Adam groaned.
6onnor hoked bak something that sounded like a ross between a laugh and a snort.
Maggie stared at the stunned faes around her and grimaed. "(hoops."
9ydia turned an outraged e)pression toward her
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$esterday 7 .orever
brother. "You have bedded her! $edued her! You with all your talk of propriety and your
ritiism of my behavior! You took advantage of a woman who has little understanding of our
lives and our entire world. $he doesn't know the harsh rules the ton adheres to for unmarried
women. +h, Adam, how ould you!"
"9ydia," Adam said sharply, "it's not like that. I love her. I want to marry her."
"(hat!" Maggie ried.
"Marry her!" 9ydia snapped. "You'd bloody well better."
"I intend to," Adam said rossly. "And I didn't need your interferene to reah that onlusion.
I knew it days ago."
"Marry me!" Maggie whispered.
"7)use me." 6onnor leared his throat. "It appears to me this has beome a distintly family
matter so I shall take my leave. Adam." 6onnor nodded, a barely suppressed grin on his fae. "It
has been, as always, an unforgettable e)periene."
&e turned to Maggie. "My dear, I am truly sorry for any inadvertent role I played in this
evening's fiaso and I wish you the heartiest ongratulations. 5e assured nothing I have heard
this night will leave this room." &e leaned toward her, a wiked sparkle in his eye. "5ut someday
you must tell me who 5ert is."
&e threw 9ydia a wry glane. "9ydia." &e nodded one more and headed toward the door.
"I will see you out, 6onnor." $he tossed a last withering glare at her brother and flouned out
the door.
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:itoria Ale)ander
6onnor's eyes rolled toward the heavens and, groaning, he followed her.
Maggie's shoked ga1e turned to Adam. "Marry me!"
Adam shook his head, a gesture sheepish and endearing. "I had not planned on asking you this
way. I wanted to ask for your hand with all the romane and beautiful words that would put even
$hakespeare to shame."
Maggie was too stunned for words.
"Maggie." &e strode toward her and wrapped his arms around her. "I love you. I annot
imagine life without you. I want you by my side always. I want you to bear my hildren and
grow old with me. Maggie, marry me." "he love in his eyes, the antiipation in his voie, the
strength of his embrae nearly undid her.
"I. . ." Maggie's ga1e loked with his. "I an't."
$hok slapped Adam and his fae twisted in disbelief. "(hat do you mean, you an't!"
$he pulled out of his arms and baked away, her ga1e never leaving his. Maggie shook her
head. "I'm not meant to be here, Adam. I'm not staying. (e both know that."
"I know nothing of the sort." &is voie grew sharp with the pain she read in his eyes.
"(e've been through all this before." $he turned away, no longer able to fae his stunned hurt.
""here is one person too many in this time. +ne person more than history says there should be.
"here's a definite imbalane. It's not right. (ho knows what devastating hanges my staying
ould bring! "o the future. My future."
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$esterday 7 .orever
$he whirled to fae him, hoping to make him understand. "You talk about your responsibilities
to your position and your family. I have responsibilities, too. "o a future you know nothing
about. I know the way things are supposed to happen. If I stay, it ould ause some horrible
ripple effet. It ould hange history. Maybe for the better, possibly for the worse."
"You annot be positive of that."
"You're right. I'm not." $he wrapped her arms around her hest in a protetive gesture. ""hat's
part of the problem. I just don't know. 5ut I do know I an't take that hane. I an't take that
responsibility."
&is dark eyes flashed. "You have told me yourself there is nothing in the future for you. (ith
the e)eption of your sister, you have no family. Your life, even the independene you flaunt so
proudly, has not made you happy." "he desperate note in his voie tore at Maggie's soul. "I am
offering you a life, a future, here where you an be happy. (e an be happy. You love me as
muh as I do you."
"+f ourse I love you," she said, her voie rising. ""hat's not the point. You think love alone
will make this right!" A hysterial laugh puntuated her words. "You are a romanti. "here's
more than years that separate us. You love me now beause of who I am, but it's my past, my
history, that's made me what you love.
"Adam." $he had to make him understand. "2emember the 7lgin marbles! In the future the
?reek government and the 5ritish government will go
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:itoria Ale)ander
round and round over who should have possession of them."
"5ut we an are for them better," he said, pu11lement written on his fae.
"You an today, but things hange." $he struggled to find the words. "*or the ?reeks, the
marbles are a part of them, part of their history, part of their olletive past, part of what makes
them who they are. It's the same way with me. "he nearly two enturies of history that separate
us have shaped me as distintly as any geneti influene. "hey've made me what I am. If I
stayed, the woman you love might not e)ist beause that history might not e)ist. (ould you still
love me then!"
"I will love you forever." &is voie #uietly rang with the truth of his words.
;ain seared her heart and she stared at his beloved fae. $he had no hoie. (hen the arriage
ame it would take her bak, her one hane for happiness lost.
"(e don't have a forever." $he shook her head slowly. "I'll love you, and ry for you, and
mourn losing you for the rest of my life, but I an't stay here."
&e grabbed her arm and pulled her roughly to him, his dark eyes flashing down at her. "(hy
do you refuse to understand! 2efuse to believe this must be your destiny! "o be here with me.
*ate has brought us to eah other and we belong together. $urely you feel that as strongly as I
do!"
"Yes , . . no," she said. "I don't know. I only know I have to leave."
"he room thikened with anger and pain. 9ong
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$esterday 7 .orever
moments passed. "hey stared silently, their eyes saying what words ouldn't about love and loss.
Adam pushed her away and his e)pression hanged abruptly, growing formal, remote, old.
&is words were iy, as if a door to his heart had langed shut, as if he no longer ared, as if
anguish had fro1en all emotions, destroyed all love.
"You say you love me. Yet you would relegate me to a yellowed, long3forgotten page in a
history book. You would onsign me to a dim memory in the dusty reahes of time. If this is your
twentieth3entury idea of love, then perhaps I am well off without it, well off without you."
&is words piered her soul with an almost physial pain and for a moment she didn't know if
she ould bear it. Adam pivoted sharply and strode from the room, leaving Maggie's ries behind
him.
"+h, Adam, no. I do love you." "ears welled in her eyes and streamed down her fae. &er heart
had never broken before, never known the kind of overwhelming despair that now oursed
through her, never dreamed of grief this intense. &ow ould anyone survive this kind of pain that
ripped through her as sharply as a knife! &ow ould she! Maggie ollapsed slowly onto the sofa.
$he had just made the biggest deision of her life.
And she prayed it was right.
CB,
Chapter Siteen
Maggie wandered through the ne)t days in a ha1e of heartahe and onfusion. More than
anything she wanted to be with Adam, wanted to make him understand, but he avoided her. &e
rose before dawn and left the house, returning, if he ame home at all, well after she had fallen
into restless, dream3plagued sleep. $he listened for his footsteps in the hall, strained to hear
movement in his room. @othing.
9ydia seemed to avoid her as well. "wo days after the kidnapping they ran into eah other for
the first time in the foyer. 9ydia was no help.
"I do not understand, Maggie." 9ydia shook her head in frustration. "You love Adam. &e loves
you. (hy will you not marry him!"
Maggie sighed. $he had e)plained over and over and was tired of repeating herself. &er
e)planations didn't hange anything. "+ne more time, 9ydia. I'm not supposed to be here, in this
time, in this plae.
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$esterday 7 .orever
"here's one person too many here> there's an imbalane. I have to go bak."
"And what about Adam!" 9ydia said harshly. "(hat about him! %o you know in his entire life,
I have never seen him the way he is with you. @ot years ago when he was an impetuous, devil3
may3are rake. And definitely not after *ather died when he beame so stiff, proper, and stuffy.
"hese days with you, even when you are railing at eah other, he has been alive as I have never
before seen him. I've seen him laugh with you here." &er ga1e loked with Maggie's. "You will
destroy him if you leave."
"I don't have a hoie," Maggie said. "%on't you get this at all!"
A shoked e)pression flashed aross 9ydia's fae and she stared at Maggie. "You are sared."
"+f ourse I'm sared. $ared of messing up two hundred years of history."
"@o, that's merely your e)use." 9ydia's eyes widened and she nodded slowly, as if onfirming
her suspiions. "You are sared of what staying here would mean to you personally, not the
oming enturies. $ared to throw your lot in with the man you love. $ared to build your own
future with him. You would rather return to the safety of what you are familiar with, and I do not
mean your horseless vehiles and your flying mahines, but the omfort of not having a hoie to
make. You would rather go bak to an empty e)istene than aept the hallenge of a full, rih
life here."
9ydia stared Maggie straight in the eyes and, shoked, Maggie read disdain and pity there.
"*or all your talk of independene and freedom CBB
:itoria Ale)ander
and how you run your own life, you are as trapped as I. 5ut my prison omes from my soiety
and my times. Yours is of your own making. You have been offered all I want in life, a man who
loves you and a future filled with happiness. You are willing to toss it all away beause you lak
the ourage to follow your heart."
"he iy e)pression on 9ydia's fae heightened her resemblane to her brother, and Maggie's
heart wrenhed at the reognition. "I used to envy you, Maggie, the life you led, the life you told
me about. 5ut with all your knowledge and inventions and freedom, it does you no good. At least
I know what I am searhing for. You do not even know that."
9ydia started to leave, then paused and pinned Maggie with a disappointed look. "I have the
utmost sympathy for you, Maggie." $he shook her head. "You are suh a fool." 9ydia turned and
swept up the stairs.
Maggie gaped in painful astonishment. 9ydia's ausations hurt. $he ouldn't possibly be right.
. . ould she! Maggie sank onto the stairs. (as she just making e)uses! (as she sared of
making a hoie! Making a ommitment! &er own sister had aused her of drifting through her
life. (as she still drifting!
$he desperately needed somebody to talk to, but 8iki wasn't here. &er friends weren't here. @o
one she knew would even be born for nearly -FH years. +ther than Adam and 9ydia, she had no
one.
7)ept 7dward.
$he jumped on the thought like a flood vitim to a rooftop and impulsively alled for a
arriage. If
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$esterday 7 .orever
there was one rule she'd learned here it was that there was nothing more improper than visiting a
man alone. 5ut she was about fed up with the whole, primitive time period, the entire anti#ue
world and everyone in it. $he was tired of feeling frustrated and helpless. "ired of hurting.
6hanes were 7dward wouldn't be muh help. $he ertainly ouldn't e)plain everything to him.
5ut he seemed like a nie guy, someone who might give her some support, who would be on her
side. A friend. 2ight now having a friend wouldn't solve her problems, but it sure wouldn't hurt.
444444444444444444
Maggie prowled the fringes of the room, absently piking up an item here and there. "he
parlor in 7dward's house was harming, his home not as big as Adam's but just as opulent. (hat
would have happened to her if she'd landed at the feet of some of the less desirable members of
nineteenth3entury 9ondon!
"Maggie." 7dward strode into the room, smiling a welome. &e rossed to where she stood
and took her two hands in his. "It is delightful to see you, but I must say I was surprised when I
was told you were here."
$he sighed and avoided his eyes. @ow that she was here, she wasn't sure #uite what to say. $he
drew a deep breath and ga1ed up into his onerned blue eyes. "I just wanted to get out of the
house. I had to get away and I needed somebody to talk to."
7dward's brows drew together in a onsidering frown and his ga1e searhed her fae. &is
words
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:itoria Ale)ander
ame #uietly. "&as 2idgewood harmed you! &urt you in some way!"
"he une)peted #uestion shoked her. $he pulled her hands from his and turned away. "@o. +f
ourse not." "he irony of his in#uiry leapt at her and she laughed bitterly. "If anything, I've hurt
him."
"&ow!"
Maggie wrapped her arms aross her hest and stared unseeing at the ;ersian arpets beneath
their feet. "&e wants to marry me." &er ga1e loked with his. "I said no."
In one sure step, 7dward was beside her. &e pulled her into his arms too swiftly for protest,
rushing her against his hest.
""hen marry me, Maggie," 7dward said, his voie rough with emotion. "You have intrigued
me sine the moment we met. Your air of fire, your manner of speeh, all have enhanted me. I
an make you happy as 2idgewood never ould."
&is lips desended on her startled reply, his mouth on hers in a kiss hungry and demanding.
"oo surprised to reat, Maggie notied only that while the pressure of his lips was pleasant
enough, it wasn't what she wanted, who she wanted.
$he flattened her hands against his hest and pushed him away. "7dward," she said
indignantly. "8nok it off. I'm very flattered but I don't need a lover or, ?od knows, a husband
right now. I need a friend. %on't you people make friends!" $he glared at him. &is e)pression
hanged from surprise to wry amusement.
"I don't think I want to be a mere friend to you.
GHC
$esterday 7 .orever
Maggie." An odd but appealing smile twisted his fae.
A weird sense of apprehension shivered through her. $he pushed it aside and pulled a steadying
breath. "(ell, you don't have a hoie. It's friendship or nothing. "ake it or leave it."
&is smile threatened to beome a grin. "&ow ould I possibly refuse suh a graious offer!
*riendship it is then, although I must admit I have never been friends with a female before. "his
should prove #uite interesting." &e offered her his arm. "@ow, my friend, if you'll allow me to
esort you to a hair I will all for refreshments. ;erhaps some tea!"
"5randy would be better," she said, taking his arm.
&e gave her a surprised look, then grinned. "5randy it is then." 7dward hukled under his
breath. "I will be your friend for now, Maggie, but I make no guarantees about the future."
"@o problem." $he sighed and sank into a hair. "I do."
444444444444444444
7dward and Maggie spent the ne)t few hours in ompanionable onversation. It was pleasant
and rela)ing to be able to take her mind off Adam, if only for a short time. "he visit with 7dward
wasn't a mistake after all. "he onversation did not return to her problems until she was nearly
ready to leave.
"Maggie," 7dward began, eyeing her over the edge of his glass. "(hy will you not marry
2idgewood!"
$he shook her head sadly. "I don't want to talk about it. 9et's just say there are obstales that
make any long3term relationship between us impossible."
&e gave her a disbelieving look. "*rom what I have
GHG
:itoria Ale)ander
seen, Maggie, I do not believe you would let any obstales stand in the path of something you
wanted. I know no other Amerians. Are you all so determined and outspoken!"
"@o, and I'm afraid I'm not like that either. You give me way too muh redit."
7dward peered sharply at her, then turned his ga1e to the brandy in his glass. &is hands
swirled the amber li#uid in a la1y, hypnoti wave. "%o you are for him!" he asked #uietly, his
ga1e finding hers. "%o you love him!"
$he stared into his eyes, reading onern and sympathy and, possibly . .. hope. &er voie was
soft, the words nearly a whisper. "Yes, I do."
"And does he love you!"
$he hesitated for a long moment and pulled her ga1e from his. $he stared unseeing aross the
room. "I believe so, yes."
7dward frowned thoughtfully. "Yet you will not marry him. You must both be very unhappy."
""hat about says it, 7dward." $he laughed harshly. "Atually miserable, destroyed, devastated.
All better words to desribe what's going on."
"I know you are hurt. . . now." 7dward paused as if onsidering his words. "&owever, it may
very well be for the best."
$tartled by his omment, Maggie's brows drew together in a #uestioning frown. "(hy do you
say that!"
7dward sighed. "I know he is a member of your family and I have hesitated to say anything,
but at this point it may be ill3advised not to say something."
&e paused, then plunged ahead. ""he 7arl of
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$esterday 7 .orever
2idgewood you know today is a far ry from the man I first met years ago. "hen he used people
ruelly, partiularly women, for his own purposes. @ot just 6yprians and demireps, that is to be
e)peted, but respetable, impressionable young women. 6allously tossing them aside when his
pleasure was satiated. *or the last seven years, he has apparently abandoned that pastime, at least
with honorable women, to onentrate on his business pursuits. 5ut I do not believe he ould
have hanged that muh."
&is words astonished her. It wasn't so muh what 7dward said. Maggie was familiar enough
with Adam's past to be able to put 7dward's omments in perspetive. 5ut the tone of his words
seemed tinged with a vague bitterness.
&e looked her straight in the eyes and issued a hilling warning. "5e areful of him, Maggie.
&e annot be trusted with something as fragile as your heart. %o not hange your mind. %o not
give in."
Maggie left with 7dward's admonition ringing in her ears. $he knew Adam well enough to
know whatever he had done in the past, he had never deliberately used or hurt anyone, espeially
women. &is sense of honor was too strong. *rom what 9ydia had told her it was highly
developed even in his youth.
(hat bothered Maggie was how 7dward had gotten this distorted piture. &e admitted he
barely knew Adam. $he mulled it over in her mind on the way home and reali1ed the ulprit
must be the viious gossip 9ydia laimed was the &feblood of soiety here. (hat a shame it
would still influene 7dward's opinions of Adam even after all these years. "his e)plained why
Adam was always so on3
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:itoria Ale)ander
erned about 9ydia's reputation and her own. +bviously whatever one did in nineteenth3entury
9ondon might well be forgiven but never forgotten. A hill shivered through her as if a shadow
passed over her heart. 7ven if the prie was astronomial, maybe she was better off in the long
run going bak where she belonged.
*or the afternoon, Maggie had managed to forget her heartahe in 7dward's pleasant ompany.
5ut one she returned to the grand mansion, her very presene in the house, his house, triggered
a wave of heart3stopping anguish. 7dward provided a sympatheti ear but the man she really
wanted to talk to was Adam.
+n the way to her room she enountered him in the orridor where he ould not esape.
"Adam, please." $he turned pleading eyes toward him and laid her hand lightly on his arm.
"(e have to talk."
&e glaned at her hand as if her touh somehow violated him and, trembling, she withdrew.
&is ga1e met hers and she read iy disdain and hardened self3ontrol. "I believe all has been said
that needs to be said. 5y my alulations, you should be leaving in fifteen days. ;lease enjoy our
hospitality during your remaining time here, but . . ."
&is eyes narrowed and glinted dangerously. "he line of his jaw tensed. &e towered above her
and for the first time in his presene a twinge of real fear rippled through her.
"$tay out of my way. I do not want to see you again." &e turned and with determined steps
strode down the hall. "he vehemene of his words, the an3
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$esterday 7 .orever
ger he ould not disguise in his eyes, the rigid self3ontrol guarding every line of his body all
ombined for an almost physial impat. Maggie staggered slightly as if she'd been struk. $he
sagged against the wall and those damn tears made an appearane again.
?od, she had hurt him so muh. &ow ould he bear it!
&ow ould she!
$he hurt, too, after all. "he reali1ation hit her like a smak in the fae.
(ait a minute. &e wasn't the only one in pain. &e wasn't the only one suffering. $ure, he felt
like the world was ending but he only had to deal with his own grief. Maggie had her anguish
plus the hurt and guilt of knowing her deision devastated the man she loved.
$he swiped angrily at the tears drying on her fae. &e had a lot of nerve. Instead of eah of
them suffering they ould be spending this lime together. If this was all the time they had, it was
just plain stupid to waste it.
"he more she thought about it, the more anger replaed the sorrow in her heart. $he'd be
damned if she would ontinue to let him ignore her. "his was her life, too, and she wasn't going
to sarifie these preious days beause he was nursing wounded pride along with his broken
heart. &er heart was just as broken.
&er world was just as shattered. &er misery was just as great, if not greater.
&er hin raised in defiane. $ure she planned on leaving, but she wasn't gone yet. 0ntil she
walked out
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:itoria Ale)ander
of that door and stepped into that arriage and was tossed bak to the twentieth entury this
relationship, or love affair, or whatever one wanted to all it wasn't over yet. @ot by a long shot.
2egardless of what the high and mighty earl of whatever Adam 6oleridge said, there was no
way in hell she'd stay out of his sight. In fat, she was going to be in his sight so muh he'd have
to physially throw her in the street to get a moment's peae.
Maggie marhed into her room and straight to the door to Adam's hamber. It wasn't loked.
$he raked it open just a bit, enough to hear him ome in but not enough for him to see her. $he
wanted to keep the element of surprise on her side. Maggie always was better in a fight when her
opponent wasn't paying attention or thought she was unonsious or lulled into some kind of
spiritless aeptane.
&a. $he'd show him. $he'd never given up on anything in her life without a fight. $he ouldn't
battle the fores of time but ompared to that, 6oleridge would be a walk in the park. Maggie
loved him and he loved her and she wasn't about to let that go until the time ame. @o matter
what he thought, this was not the time.
Maggie dragged a omfortable hair to the onneting door and settled in to wait. $he would
wait all night if neessary. After all, what was the loss of one night's sleep! $he had to s#uee1e a
lifetime of love into the ne)t two weeks. +ne night wasn't too high a prie to pay to get started.
444444444444444444
If not for 2ihard (estbrook, Adam would have been embroiled in at least one, and possibly
more
GHL
$esterday 7 .orever
duels in the few days sine he'd taken up residene in a hair in front of the fireplae at (hite's.
"he illegality of dueling did not seem to appreiably diminish its fre#ueny. Adam's surly, rude
behavior had infuriated more than one patron of the e)lusive establishment and only 2ihard's
interferene, inluding his subtle reminders of Adam's e)pert marksmanship, had averted
disaster. 2ihard sanned the room and spotted his friend sitting virtually where he had left him
hours before.
2ihard sighed and strode toward him. It was fortunate 9ydia had the presene of mind to send
a message to 2ihard two days earlier about Adam's behavior. It seemed the years of proper
living had abruptly vanished and Adam had reverted to the hellion days of his youth. +r perhaps
residing in hell was a more aurate desription.
Aside from his belligerent attitude toward all who ame near, he seemed to want to do little
more than drink himself into oblivion. *or good or ill, he ould never ahieve that. Adam had the
ama1ing ability to hold his li#uor far better than an ordinary man. "o 2ihard's keen eyes, the
opious amounts Adam onsumed had very little effet.
2ihard sank into the empty hair ne)t to his friend and signaled for a drink of his own.
$omething had to be done about Adam for his own sake and for 2ihard's. Amanda was #uite
understanding about the time spent with his friend in this sorry state but even her patiene had
limits. 2ihard had no desire to test them, and tonight he was determined to finally get Adam to
talk about what happened. 9ydia's note said only that there was trouble
GHB
:itoria Ale)ander
between Adam and Maggie.
"$o, have you deided what you will do!" 2ihard #uirked an eyebrow #uestioningly. "+r do
you simply plan to remain here drowning in a vat of brandy for the rest of your life!"
"?o away, 2ihard," Adam said, his manner surly. "9eave me alone."
"I would dearly love to do just that but I feel an odd obligation to try to help one of the few
people in the world I onsider a friend." &e lounged farther into the hair and hukled. "I have
no doubt you would do the same for me."
Adam ignored him and 2ihard sighed impatiently. &e obviously needed to take a more diret
approah. "6orret me if I am mistaken but I was under the distint impression you planned on
marrying Maggie. (hat has happened!"
Adam turned weary eyes toward him. "$he won't have me, 2ihard." &e turned his fae bak
toward the fireplae and spoke so #uietly 2ihard had to strain forward to hear him. "$he says
she an't stay here. $ays she has to go home. $he's not from here, you know."
"I know," 2ihard said, fighting the temptation to be amused. ;erhaps the li#uor had finally
aught up with Adam. @either of them was as young as they used to be. "$he's from Ameria,
isn't she!"
"@ot just Ameria." Adam shook his head sorrowfully and leaned toward 2ihard as if
onfiding a great seret. "$he's from the future. *rom -BBF. $ays if she stays, she'll muk up
history for the ne)t two hundred years, give or take a few years."
"he li#uor had definitely aught up with Adam.
G-H
$esterday 7 .orever
2ihard ould no longer prevent the smile playing on his lips. "(ell, that ertainly is a dilemma.
You say she an't stay!"
Adam shook his head somberly.
2ihard was hard3pressed to keep from laughing. &is friend looked so sinere and unhappy
and was so obviously in his ups. 2ihard had never seen Adam in this ondition and it indiated
just how miserable he truly was, but even so, a woman from the future! "he very idea was
ridiulous, although 2ihard had to give Adam his due for imagination and originality.
2ihard suppressed a grin. "%oes she know preisely when she will be leaving!"
"About two weeks."
"(ell then, it would seem to me that instead of wasting your time here, you should be
spending every minute with Maggie. Attempting to onvine her to give up the, um, future and
stay with you."
"It wouldn't do any good." Adam shook his head in misery.
"(ell, old man, I think you should bloody well give it a try. @ow ome on." 2ihard pushed
himself out of the hair and stood over Adam. "(e shall all for your arriage. It is past time we
both retired to our respetive homes."
Adam unfolded his body from the deep hair and rose beside his friend. $urprised, 2ihard
noted Adam was far steadier on his feet than he e)peted.
"It won't work," Adam said sadly, shaking his head.
"?ive it a try, Adam." 2ihard esorted his friend toward the door. "It seems to me that at this
point
G--
:itoria Ale)ander
you have very little to lose. And possibly very muh to gain."
444444444444444444
Adam stalked into his room and shrugged his jaket off, tossing it on a nearby hair. &e stole a
#uik glane at the door to Maggie's room. In reent days, that glane had beome a habit.
$tartled, he looked again. *rom here it appeared the door to her hamber stood open. &e moved
autiously loser. It was open. ?ently he pushed and the door swung wide. Adam peered into the
darkened room. "here, urled up in a hair near the door, was Maggie, sound asleep.
Adam thought his heart would break anew at the sight. &er head rested on her arms> long, lush
lashes swept her heek> her lips parted slightly with eah breath. (as it only two weeks ago he
had wathed her uriously as she slept! (ondering who this woman was! (hat she was like! A
lifetime had passed sine then.
Adam wanted to sweep her into his arms and steal her off to his bed. (anted to keep her
imprisoned there for tonight and always. &is fists lenhed by his side. @o. If she would not stay
with him willingly he would not fore her. &e would not beg.
&e gently pulled the door bak to where he had found it and headed toward his bed, pulling off
his ravat and kiking off his shoes. "he temptation of knowing Maggie was within his reah
ditated he not remove his lothing. Adam turned down the lamp and fell into bed. 6rossing his
arms under his head he lay wide awake, staring at the anopy, asking #uestions he had no
answers for.
G-C
$esterday 7 .orever
(as Maggie right! (ould it reate a great imbalane in the fabri of time for her to stay with
him! 6ould one mere person make a differene in the enturies to ome, as Maggie believed! If
she were orret, he had no right to e)pet her to stay. In fat, it would be as muh his
responsibility as hers to make sure she returned to her own time, but Adam ould not dismiss the
feeling that radiated from the pit of his stomah and filled every nook and ranny of his soul.
&e and Maggie were destined, fated to be together.
In the meantime, should he follow 2ihard's advie! $pend every possible minute with her in
hopes of hanging her mind! +r was it better to aknowledge defeat and start getting over her
now! 5etter to lose no time in returning to his well3ordered life! It seemed far less painful but
somehow owardly. &ow empty his life would be without her.
7ventually he would marry. It was his duty and responsibility to wed and produe an heir. 5ut
how ould any woman ompare to his outrageous, passionate Maggie!
Maggie. "he only woman in a lifetime of searhing he had found to love. "he only woman he
had ever admired for intelligene and ourage and, ?od help him, independene. "he only
woman he had ever made love to whose body and soul soared with his own.
(ould he ever esape the memories of their days together! *orget the sound of her laughter,
the teasing lilt in her voie and gentle insistent demands of her touh! (ould he ompare every
other woman to her! $earh every fae hoping against hope she had
G-G
:itoria Ale)ander
returned! (ould he do that for the rest of his life!
And what of her! $urely she would marry someday and have hildren. (ould she look at them
and wonder what hildren she and he would have reated! +r would her days spent with him
simply beome another adventure in a lifetime of adventures! (ould their love and their passion
fade to a dim memory somewhere in the distant past! (ould she forget the fire and the fren1y
and the way their souls forged together for all time!
(ould she look for his grave!
"he #uestions assaulted him, battering his mind, and he tossed and turned on the bed until he
ould take no more. &e leapt up and strode to the hair, flinging his jaket to the floor. &e
positioned the hair in front of Maggie's door and pushed. "he door swung open. $he had not
moved. Adam sank into the hair, propped his elbows on the sides and rested his hin on his
steepled fingers.
Maybe 2ihard was right. Maybe not. At any rate, at this moment, he ould at least be near her
without her knowing. (ithout losing any of his masuline pride. &e would ommit every detail
of her fae, every line of her body to memory. And he would do it well.
It must last a lifetime.
444444444444444444
$unlight streamed into the room. Maggie's eyes fliked open. $he jerked upright in the hair
and wined, the rik in her nek a painful protest. %amn. $he must have fallen asleep.
6autiously she leaned forward and peaked through the rak in the door. @othing. $he pulled the
door wider and finally
G-J
$esterday 7 .orever
flung it open. 7mpty. Maggie moved to the bed and found the bedlothes disturbed. Adam had
obviously been here and gone.
"&a. If he thinks he an esape me that easily he's got another think oming." $he stalked out
the door, building up steam, heading for the breakfast room.
"+kay, where is he!" Maggie stormed in and sanned the room. 9ydia sat serenely at the table
behind a pile of orrespondene. $he glaned up asually. "(ho!"
"You know who," Maggie snapped. "Your brother, that's who. @ow where is he!"
9ydia peered around with an air of surprised innoene. "(ell, I don't believe he is here."
"I an see that." Maggie lenhed her teeth. "I have to find him. I have to talk to him. &is days
of avoiding me are over. And as for you . . ." Maggie paused to level 9ydia a sathing glare. "You
may be right. I may be sared about love and ommitment and everything that goes with it. 5ut if
I had a hoie . . ." $he hesitated, then made up her mind and plunged ahead. "If I had a hoie,
I'd stay here with Adam. 5ut I don't have a hoie. And until I leave I want to spend every
possible minute with your pigheaded, se)ist, stuffy, annoying brother. %o you understand!"
An amused smile rested on 9ydia's lips. "5ravo."
"5ravo!"
"I was wondering when you'd stop behaving like a beaten puppy. It is not at all like you. I must
say it took far longer for you to ome to your senses than I'd antiipated."
G-F
:itoria Ale)ander
Maggie narrowed her eyes in suspiion. "You e)peted this!"
"+h, my, yes," 9ydia said with a light laugh. "I assume you have onoted some sort of plan.
@ot a kidnapping, of ourse." 9ydia had the grae to blush at the reminder. "5ut something
e#ually as lever."
Maggie sighed and sank into a hair. At least she and 9ydia seemed to be allies one again.
+ne 6oleridge down, one to go.
"I have to talk to him. I have to make him listen, try to make him understand. If, of ourse, I
an find him."
""hat's not at all diffiult. I believe he is at his lub, (hite's. It has beome a seond home."
"?reat." Maggie leaned forward eagerly. "(here is this plae!"
"It's on $t. Dames $treet, of ourse. @ot far from here." 9ydia's brows drew together in a
deliate frown> then her eyes widened. 6omprehension dawned on her fae. "+h no, Maggie.
You wouldn't. You ouldn't, it's not permitted for a respetable woman to even be on that street,
let alone go into a lub. Your reputation will be ruined."
"+h, knok it off, 9ydia. - don't have a reputation and I don't are what anybody thinks." $he
grinned. "If going into that hideout of his will make him listen to me, then anything is worth it."
$he stood and headed for the door. "I'll see you later."
"(ait," 9ydia said. "If you are determined to do this, at least hange your lothing. You look
like= what is that #uaint e)pression you use!=oh yes, pond sum. Your lothes have the
appearane of having been slept in."
G-E
$esterday 7 .orever
"Atually, I did sleep in them," Maggie said sheepishly. "+kay, I'll hange and then I'll go."
9ydia sighed in resignation. "And when you are ready I shall aompany you."
"+h, no, you won't." Maggie shook her head vehemently. "I don't have anything to lose here
but you . . . "his is your world. I don't see this as any big deal but I've been here long enough to
know your soiety, the poundage or weight or whatever in the hell you all it="
""on!" 9ydia said helpfully.
"Yeah, the ton, they are not forgiving of people who break the rules. You've gotten away with a
lot in the past, 9ydia, but don't push it." Maggie shot her a firm glane. "You're not oming."
9ydia beamed. ""hat is so very thoughtful and kind but I'm afraid my mind is #uite made up. I
shan't allow you to go alone and the idea of missing out on an adventure of this magnitude, well,
it really is worth the risk, don't you think!"
9ydia paused, abruptly serious. "Maggie, I am three and twenty, far past the time when most
women wed. I have been out in soiety sine shortly after my seventeenth birthday. "o date, I
have had numerous offers of marriage but none that I have been willing to settle for. It may well
be that I will never find the love I desire, but I refuse to aept less. 5y aompanying you, my
reputation shall very probably be destroyed."
A smile daned on 9ydia's lips. "At the very least, after this Adam shall not find it at all easy to
marry me off to some respetable but boring peer. "he only men that will be willing to aept me
will be
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:itoria Ale)ander
somewhat less than respetable." $he shrugged sagely. "It's been my observation that men who
are less than respetable are usually e)tremely interesting. 7ventually, if I am fored to take a
husband not of my own hoosing, I prefer he be interesting." 9y3dia's eyes twinkled. "You do
plan to go all the way inside, do you not!"
Maggie groaned, aepting the inevitable. "+h yeah, all the way. (e might as well leave no
stones unturned, no onventions intat."
9ydia lapped her hands together. "(onderful. "his shall be e)iting. @ow hurry and hange
so we an be off."
Maggie sighed and stalked out the door. 5ringing 9ydia was a big mistake. @ot only would
Adam be irritated by her appearane at his preious lub, he'd be angry that she'd dragged 9ydia
along with her. +h, well. Maggie turned toward the stairs. "hings ould hardly be muh worse.
"his might very well be her last hane with Adam.
9ydia's voie followed her up the stairs. "+h, Maggie." Maggie paused to listen. "%o wear
something pretty. Adventures always go so muh better when one looks one's best."
G-L
Chapter Seventeen
"(hat do you think! $hould we knok or just barge right in!" Maggie eyed the entry to Adam's
lub. (ell aware of the startled male eyes peering at them from a nearby bow window, she and
9ydia paused to onsider their ne)t step at the door of (hite's.
"(ell," 9ydia said brightly, "I should think if we knok, it would allow them the opportunity to
refuse us entry. I believe barging in may well be our wisest hoie."
"?ood move." Maggie s#uared her shoulders and took a deep breath. (hile the idea of
intruding on a hallowed men's lub, a sared shrine to testosterone, held a lot of appeal, now that
she was atually here, the reality of what she and 9ydia were about to do sent a flurry of winged
reatures fluttering in her stomah. ""he best defense is a good offense," she murmured. "9et's
go."
Maggie gripped the doorknob and shoved, nearly
G-B
:itoria Ale)ander
stumbling when the barrier to the masuline santuary opened smoothly. "hey stepped firmly
aross the threshold. Maggie barely registered a vague impression of dark wood and dim lighting
before the apparent guardian of the male stronghold bore down on them, sputtering and spewing
like a masuline avenging fury.
"I beg your pardon, miss, but women are not permitted to enter. "his is a men's faility and we
do not="
"6an it, pal," Maggie snapped. "&ere's the deal. I'm here to see 6oleridge. Adam 6oleridge.
"he big shot earl of something or other=3"
"2idgewood," 9ydia supplied helpfully.
"Yeah, thanks." Maggie nodded to 9ydia then direted her best withering glare at the flustered,
red3faed protetor of male virtue. "2idgewood, that's who I'm here to see. And I'm not moving
one inh until I do. $o if you're really so threatened by having two measly women in your
bastian of male hauvinist pigdom, I suggest you get him out here right now. %o I make myself
perfetly, totally, and ompletely lear!"
"he sentinel was almost omial in his helpless rage and Maggie wondered briefly if he would
suumb to some kind of fit right here on the floor. &e drew himself up to his full height, not
muh taller than she, and glared with righteous indignation.
"My responsibilities are to this lub and to its members and I shan't="
"You shall. You will. You'd better," Maggie shot bak. ""he way I see it, you have two hoies.
You an stand here and let me make a sene so outra3
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$esterday 7 .orever
geous it will go down in history, and believe me, pal, I know what will go down in history, or
you an haul 6oleridge's butt out here. And you an do it now."
"I have no intention="
"I'll handle this."
Maggie whirled at the sound of Adam's voie and her heart thudded in her hest at the sight of
him. &is figure, tense with ontrolled anger, filled a nearby doorway. &is fae, hardened with
fury, was a fitting setting for eyes that bla1ed malevolently. Maggie's started at the sight of the
man she loved giving every appearane of an intent to kill her, slowly and painfully. +nly the
somewhat haggard and weary look around his eyes that even rage ould not disguise kept her
ourage up.
"6oleridge has, as you so olorfully put it, hauled his butt out here." In two long strides, he
reahed her, roughly grabbed her elbow and hauled her to a orner of the foyer. @ot atually
disreet, but the two of them no longer stood in the enter of the room.
&e glared down at her upturned fae. "(hat in the name of all that's holy are you doing! Your
presene is not only appalling but sandalous. "here has never, I repeat never in the history of
this lub been a woman inside these doors. I know life is muh different where you ome from
but I annot believe even you have the audaity to totally fly in the fae of the onventions of my
world. +f my life."
&is fury mesmeri1ed her. *or a moment, fasination with the sheer power of his anger
overwhelmed her and she lost trak of e)atly what he said. 0ntil he spit out the words
guaranteed to ath her attention.
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:itoria Ale)ander
"&ave you absolutely no sense of propriety! @o understanding of a woman's plae!"
$he hoked bak a strangled gasp. "(hat a load of rok that is, 6oleridge. I have every sense
of a woman's plae. It's in the house and in the senate."
"(hat the bloody hell does that mean!" 6onfusion rang in his voie.
"@evermind," she snapped. "It was an automati response. It's from a bumper stiker. It doesn' t
= what! 9ydia!"
"$ignify!" 9ydia suggested.
"Yeah, that's it, signify." Maggie sighed in e)asperation and lenhed her teeth. "You're getting
me off trak with your se)ist, anti#ue attitudes so shut up for a minute and let me talk." $he
glared at him and his smoldering eyes narrowed. ""hat's better."
"(hat do you want!" "he words were lipped, slow and dangerous.
"I want you, you idiot." $he stared into his rage darkened eyes. "I want you. I want to spend
the rest of my time here with you. 7very minute. 7very day. 7very night. I don't want to waste
any more time yelling and sreaming. I don't want to s#uander preious hours with both of us
miserable. 5eing together now, when we an, has got to be worth something. Maybe it will hurt
more when it's over, than if we stopped seeing eah other right now. I don't know and I don't
are. It's a risk I sure as hell am willing to take."
&e raised a skeptial eyebrow.
"%on't you do that to me." $he said, infuriated. "%on't you give me that superior little #uirky
thing you do with your eyebrow. It drives me ra1y. I'm
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surprised you've managed to get through life without somebody trying to rip it off."
Maggie drew a deep breath and threw down her final gauntlet. "9ook, Adam. I know this is
sary and maybe it's too muh to ask. Maybe, you're all brave and maho when it omes to duels
or whatever but when it omes to your heart, maybe you're just too muh of a oward to take a
hane."
Maggie tore her ga1e from his and struggled to find the right words, fighting to gain ontrol,
willing herself to alm down. &er hands trembled. $he raised her ga1e again to his, hoping he
ould read all her emotions and mentally whispered a silent prayer to reah him.
"If I an't be with you for the rest of my life, I want to ram a lifetime of memories into the
days we have left. (e don't have forever and way too soon this will all be over, but I don't want
to live without you. @ot until I have to."
Adam stared at the fiery reature before him. &is Inomparable. &is +riginal. ?od, she was
magnifient. &er green eyes flashed and glittered like living emeralds. ;rieless. 6olor flushed
her heeks. &er attitude was stubborn and unyielding, her stane defiant. &e read the hallenge
in her eyes and a glimmer of unertainty as well.
&ow ould he resist! &ow ould he turn away! &ow ould he tell her he had already deided a
few days with her were well worth a lifetime with anyone else!
"I aept," he said almly.
&er eyes widened with apparent surprise at the
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ease of her vitory and his surrender. "(hat do you mean, you aept!"
A smile tugged at his lips. "I mean, I aept your proposal, or hallenge, or terms." &e grabbed
her and pulled her into his arms. Adam lowered his head until they stood nearly nose to nose. &is
ga1e bore into hers and he noted with satisfation the apprehension in the glowing depths of her
eyes.
&e gritted his teeth, his #uiet words for her alone. "If you ever ome here or any other plae
that is stritly out of bounds for women of my time and my world again, you will live to regret
it." Maggie narrowed her eyes and opened her mouth. "5e #uiet. I am not finished. I, in turn, will
not use suh a plae to avoid dealing with you." 2elief flared in her eyes and a smile teased the
orners of her mouth. "@ow," he growled. "8iss me."
(ith a joyous ry she threw her arms around his nek and his lips rushed hers, seeking,
devouring, breathing the life from her and returning it again, nourished and full. Maggie paid no
attention to the faes staring from every foyer opening. $he ould have been anywhere and
would not have notied or ared. All she knew was the power and glory of Adam's plundering
lips and her own impassioned response. All she wanted was to drown herself in the asade of
emotion and sensation rushing over her. All she needed was to be here, in his arms, where at least
for now, she belonged.
?ently, Adam pulled bak and Maggie stared up at him. "(ow," she breathed, and sagged
against him, her knees too wobbly to support her. "(e really do that well, don't we!"
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$esterday 7 .orever
&e threw bak his head and laughed with delight. "Yes, my darling Maggie, we do indeed." &e
gallantly offered her his arm and esorted her toward the door. "@ow, shall we go home!"
"9ydia!" he tossed over his shoulder. "Your presene here has not gone unnotied and we will
disuss your ations at a later point." &e sighed in surrender. "2ight now, I will be happy to
simply assume you are diretly behind us."
"+f ourse, Adam, I'm oming."
9ydia trailed after Adam and Maggie, taking in as many of the details of (hite's as she ould.
"his was an opportunity that ame to a woman only one in a lifetime, if then. $he peered
around. It was all rather disappointing. $he wasn't sure e)atly what she had e)peted, but
something . . . well . . . more. "his was the epitome of the 7nglish men's lub, the ultimate haven
for the men of her world. A santuary where they pursued suh manly pastimes as drinking and
gaming. And it appeared dull and boring.
"(hat a shame," she murmured under her breath and swept through the hallowed portals of
(hite's with a vaguely superior sense that even if men deemed it neessary to hide away from
the world surrounded by their own kind, it was somehow pleasant to know the women who were
forbidden entry weren't missing very muh at all.
444444444444444444
7dward 9indley lounged inonspiuously among the urious lub members now dispersing
from their positions in the doorways and entries surrounding the foyer. Many fluttered in outrage
at the feminine intrusion into their santuary. $till others hukled
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:itoria Ale)ander
in amusement and more than one wager was laid as to how soon there would be a 2idgewood
heir.
7dward's asual attitude belied his intense srutiny of the sene in the foyer. Dudging by
2idgewood's miserable demeanor in reent days, 7dward had been ertain Maggie would have
no more to do with the man. @ow, however, it was obvious the pair had reoniled. "oo bad.
7dward atually liked the headstrong beauty. "he idea of taking her for himself had entered his
mind more than one. $till, perhaps it was not too late. ;erhaps the seed he'd planted during their
talk would eventually bear fruit.
If not, there were other ways to separate the Amerian from 2idgewood. +ther ways to
destroy the earl's happiness.
+ther ways to make him pay.
444444444444444444
Maggie and Adam spent the ne)t week alone together at his ountry home a few hours outside
9ondon. "he house itself was a huge ;alladian struture, enormous and elegant but somehow
still a home. Adam's eyes glowed with pride as he showed her around. "he better part of his
hildhood was spent here and Maggie envisioned hordes of happy hildren joyously areening
through the halls. $he ignored the pang in her heart at the thought. "hose hildren would not be
hers.
As lovely as the house was it ould not ompete with the beauty of its setting. "he glorious
7nglish ountryside bla1ed with a profusion of spring flowers, the rolling meadows and fields
fresh and green and new with the promise of the season. "his was
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how she had imagined it in visions onjured up by A hildhood tales of Alie in (onderland and
;eter 2abbit.
"hey filled long, la1y days disovering eah other. Adam shared his love of horses and they
rode nearly every morning. Maggie adamantly refused to ride sidesaddle and Adam grudgingly
oneded. *or one not used to it, the saddle ould indeed be not only diffiult but dangerous.
$till, he drew the line at her desire to wear jeans, arguing that even if she did not are about her
shattered reputation her ations refleted on his family. Maggie grumbled but ompromised and
direted a servant in fashioning a type of split skirt for riding that Adam relutantly aepted.
"he influene of the man she loved and the harm of the ountry reawakened the urge in
Maggie to paint, an urge she thought had died long ago. Adam sent to 9ondon for supplies and
Maggie applied paint to anvas with inspired abandon. 7ah brush stroke ame stronger and
surer and her anvases glowed with energy and light. (ith Adam lying on the grass by her side,
she reated works radiant with life, shimmering with olor, ebullient with emotion. $he alone
reogni1ed the influene of the impressionists yet to ome. Maggie basked in Adam's
enthusiasti admiration, warmed by the beaon of respet in his eyes.
It had been years sine she'd piked up a brush for pleasure. Years sine she'd had either the
time or the desire to e)press herself on anvas for the sheer joy of reation. Instint told her
these were the best works of her life. "he knowledge filled her heart. "hese paintings would
stay with Adam, a part of her
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that would be with him always.
(hile she painted they talked about their lives and their worlds, their dreams and desires.
Adam told her about his hildhood and she pitured the tanned, golden3haired little boy running
barefoot through the fields. &e talked about his shimmering memories of a prinesslike mother,
beautiful and spirited and far too wonderful to grow old and Maggie saw the heartbroken -C3
year3old oping with the death of a beloved parent and struggling to be a man. 7ventually Adam
told her of his wild youth, of his rebellious nature and sandalous ations. &e spoke #uietly of
the father he had loved and fought and learned to understand only when it was too late, and
Maggie glimpsed beyond the strong, onfident adult at her side to the impulsive, headstrong
young man, rekless and onfused.
Maggie gave of herself as well. $he shared with Adam her grief at the death of her parents and
talked #uite a bit about her sister, how 8iki had been both mother and father to her. $he spoke
with justifiable pride of her sister's suessful areer in a highly ompetitive field. $he'd never
told her sister of her feelings and a rush of shame swept through her at her selfish omission.
Maggie and Adam spoke of the future. &is uriosity e)tended far beyond her abilities to
e)plain. $ome things he simply would not believe. &e aepted the idea of airplanes but drew
the line at spae travel. (hen she told him men had walked on the moon he aused her of
making it all up. 5ut the onept of telephones and television and omputers fasinated him. "he
gleam in his eye told Maggie he
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$esterday 7 .orever
would like nothing better than to get his hands on one of the ars he'd seen in her maga1ines.
$he'd laughed when he found the very thought of drive3through fast food, well . . . "highly
distasteful and positively univili1ed."
Maggie refused to talk speifially about history yet to ome. &e had read her maga1ines. &e
knew her world was not perfet. 5ut she ould not bear to tell him of the horrible things man
would do to man in the oming years. $he ould not tell him her own ountry would be ripped
apart by ivil war. 6ould not tell him his ountry would be threatened by onflits so enormous
they were alled world wars. And she ould not tell him about weapons that ould wipe out
entire ities.
"he battle of the se)es was one war she eagerly leapt into. Maggie argued for hours on the
topi of the intelligene and abilities of women. Adam aknowledged that she was indeed
superior to women of his day but remained skeptial about women overall. Maggie grew more
and more frustrated trying to onvine him women shouldn't be treated like mere property, that
they ould, and should, take are of themselves. &e would appear to give in and she would feel
vitoryOwithin her grasp, only to note the teasing glint in his eye and reali1e he was humoring
her.
"heir days were glorious, their nights . . . e)#uisite. 9oked in eah other's arms they e)plored
the boundaries of desire, pushed the limits of their passion. 7ah time together was more
magnifient than the time before. Maggie thought surely mere humans weren't meant to
e)periene suh estasy,
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:itoria Ale)ander
surely mere mortals ould not long survive suh pleasure, surely only the gods themselves were
allowed to slip the bonds of earth and soar to the heights where her soul and Adam's emerged
as one. 7ven when time ripped them apart, a piee of their hearts would stay always with the
other.
5y mutual, unspoken agreement, neither mentioned the days rushing past, leading them
inevitably to the end. Maggie ouldn't help but keep a running ountdown in her head. "hey
returned to town a week before she was to leave, regretfully saying good3bye to perfet days
and endless nights.
Maggie and Adam sampled all the delights 2egeny 9ondon had to offer. &e seemed to want
to show off his ity and his entury, seemed to want her to see everything in its best light. "hey
returned to the 5ritish Museum and toured the "ower of 9ondon and (estminster Abbey. "hey
attended a mas#uerade at :au)hall ?ardens and went one to the theater. Maggie was fasinated
by everything and reali1ed part of her pleasure ame from the presene of the man at her side.
@ow and then she'd ath Adam wathing her speulatively and hoped he wasn't thinking
about trying to hange her mind about leaving. $he'd brush the idea aside, refusing to dwell on
the parting to ome. 5ut with every shared laugh, every tender moment, every passion3filled
enounter ame the unbidden thought. "here were not many left.
*or the most part, 9ydia wisely left them alone, but two nights after their return to 9ondon,
Adam and Maggie planned to go with her to another ball. Maggie didn't are how long she
stayed, she'd never
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$esterday .orever
get over the passion with whih these people threw themselves into entertaining and being
entertained. +f ourse, they all seemed to have endless supplies of money and no real jobs to
worry about.
Maggie dressed earlier than the others and wandered down to the library. $he wore a rather
simply ut, ream3olored gown and was no longer even mildly bothered by the revealing
deolletage. $he twirled e)perimentally around the room. "onight, one again, Adam would take
her in his arms and they would walt1, flying aross the floor in a manner that was far too
wonderful to be alled a mere dane. Maggie would miss the walt1, miss the elegant lothes, and
most espeially miss this room.
"he library would always be her favorite plae. &ere she and Adam fought and made up and
made love. $he ran her fingers lightly over the well3polished mahogany desk. %id this room, this
house, still e)ist in her time! $he firmly pushed the thought away. $he wouldn't let suh musings
intrude on the preious little time left.
A disreet tap sounded at the door and (ilson entered #uietly. "Miss, you have a visitor. $hall I
show him in!"
"A visitor! (ho would be visiting me! &ow strange. (ell, thanks. - guess he an ome on in."
(ilson withdrew and a moment later 7dward 9indley stepped into the room.
"7dward." Maggie beamed, genuinely pleased to see him. "&ow nie to see you again. 5ut"=
she gave him an apologeti glane="I'm afraid it's kind of a bad time. (e're just getting ready to
go out."
""his shan't take long," 7dward said somberly, and
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:itoria Ale)ander
Maggie frowned, pu11led by his serious tone.
"+kay, what's up!"
"0p!" 7dward #uestioned, then shook his head as if to lear her unusual phrase from his mind.
"Maggie, I know that you and 2idgewood have resolved your differenes."
"&ow did you=" Maggie paused and the answer hit her. "+h, the business at his lub. %oes
everybody know about that!"
"+nly most of 9ondon, I should think," 7dward responded wryly. "You have reated #uite a
sensation."
"And #uite a lot of gossip, too, I bet." Maggie laughed and shrugged. ""hat's the way it goes.
5y the way, I haven't thanked you for listening to me when I needed a friend. I really appreiate
it."
"I told you then I did not merely want to be your friend.'' &is blue eyes glittered strangely. "I
want muh more than that."
"7dward." $he gave him a teasing smile to hide her growing unease, inreasingly aware of the
odd way he stared at her.
"6ome away with me, Maggie. Marry me. (e an be in ?retna ?reen before morning."
$peehless, Maggie stared. "7dward. &aven't we been all through this! I appreiate the offer.
It's nie to be asked but I don't want to marry you. Adam and I are, well, involved. $o thanks, but
no thanks."
7dward's eyes darkened, his features hardened. &e appeared different, frightening somehow.
"7dward, don't take it so hard. I an't imagine you honestly thought I'd aept."
"It would be for the best, Maggie." &is voie was
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$esterday 7 .orever
soft and persuasive and he slowly approahed her. "he narrowing distane between them
unnerved her but Maggie stood her ground. "2idgewood is no good for you, Maggie. &e will
only destroy you."
""hat's okay, I'll take my hanes." "his was getting really weird. Maggie didn't think 7dward
would atually hurt her but the look in his eyes was definitely spooky. Adam should be down
any minute. $talling 7dward seemed her best bet. "(hat's ?retna ?reen anyway! $ounds like a
golf ourse."
"It's a village just over the $ottish border." &e had rossed the room. +nly the desk stood
between them. "7ager lovers go there to be wed."
"(ell then, we an't go there, an we!" $he inhed bakward. "I'm definitely not eager. And
we're friends, remember, not lovers."
"@ot yet," he growled, irling the desk.
$he mathed her movements to his, keeping the desk between them. "his guy was definitely
nuts. Maybe she needed to be firmer. "7dward, there's no way I'm going to marry you, so you
an knok this nonsense off."
"Maggie, you will aompany me. (illingly." &e paused and pulled a wiked3looking dagger
from beneath his oat. "+r not." &e shrugged as if he didn't are one way or the other. "It is up to
you."
"7dward, don't you think you're being overly dramati!" Again they irled the desk in a
bi1arre dane. "You have a real problem with rejetion, don't you!"
"he gleam in his eye seemed sharper, his look rueler. "It is your deision."
"I don't think you've given this enough thought."
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:itoria Ale)ander
Maggie kept her ga1e on 7dward on the opposite side of the desk, wathing out of the orner of
her eye for the door to the library to open. $urely Adam would walk through any time now. "I'd
make a lousy wife. I'm stubborn and impulsive. I have absolutely no regard for propriety. I mean
look, I've already reated a major sandal."
"It adds to the e)itement, Maggie."
&er mind raed> surely there were other reasons why she'd be a bad hoie for a wife. "You're
in line for a title, right!"
"I will be a baron when my grandfather dies." &is eyes narrowed suspiiously. "(hy!"
"(ell . . ." 5hy, Maggie& Think- ""hen I'd be like, what, a baronette! It sounds like something
you'd get at a movie. I'd like a soft drink and a bo) of baronettes. $ee, I don't even know the
right words and I am ompletely irreverent. I'd only embarrass you. And besides . . ." It hit her.
"I'm an Amerian. You guys don't think too highly of Amerians. (e're rude, we're boisterous,
we're big mouths. And none of us have titles. All your friends would think you'd married beneath
you."
"I do not are," he muttered through lenhed teeth.
"hey kept their measured pae, Maggie not letting him get any loser, keeping the desk
between them.
"7dward, I don't get it. (hy are you so hot and bothered to marry me anyway! 5asially we've
just shared a ouple of drinks together. 7ven where I'm from, that's no basis for a long3term
ommitment." "he dagger in his hand mathed the daggers in his eyes and it finally dawned on
Maggie. "his time she
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was in real danger. 7ven the 2oky Mountain $hool of 8arate and Martial Arts self3defense
ourse for women never overed how to defend yourself against a knife3wielding, nineteenth3
entury lunati while wearing an elaborate, formal gown.
"2idgewood wants you. "hat is enough for me."
"Adam! @o, you've got it all wrong." (here the hell was Adam! "You were right all along. &e
was just toying with me, using me. &e's going to dump me anytime now. $o if that's what this is
all about, you an forget it. It's all a mistake." $he smiled and shrugged, hoping he would buy the
lie.
"I do not believe you." &e spit the words at her and the two stared at eah other.
"Maggie, are you in here!" Adam strode into the room, apparently unaware of their guest.
"Adam." Maggie lunged toward him. In a flash, 7dward grabbed her arm and rushed her
against him, pulling her behind the desk, the dagger poised at her throat.
"Maggie." Adam leapt forward then pulled up short. "he meaning of the sene in front of him
lear. "?ood ?od."
"Adam," Maggie s#ueaked. "I believe you know 7dward 9indley, don't you!"
"9indley, what is the meaning of all this!" Adam appeared alm but Maggie sensed the tension
in every line of his body.
7dward's voie rang old. "I have waited a very long time for this, 2idgewood."
7dward stood slightly to Maggie's side and she ould get a twisted glimpse of his features. $he
did not like the look of sheer hatred on his fae.
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:itoria Ale)ander
"Adam, he says he wants to marry me. I keep trying to tell him he doesn't want me for a
wife. I an be a real bith. "ell him, Adam."
Adam shrugged. "I vow, she an be most e)eedingly diffiult."
Maggie gave him a sathing glare. &is agreement was a little too enthusiasti. "And I have
a nasty temper and a vulgar voabulary."
"5loody hell, 9indley, she sounds like a street urhin half the time, the other half like a
seasoned sailor."
Adam was trying to help, but he didn't have to enjoy it #uite so muh. After all, she did have a
knife at her throat.
"$ee, 7dward. You really don't want to marry me." I
";erhaps," he said #uietly, "I shall kill you instead."
"+h, great." Maggie groaned. $uddenly marriage didn't seem so bad.
Adam was obviously taking 7dward's suggestion seriously. It wasn't anything he did overtly,
but his voie hardened, his stane tightened. &is ga1e aptured 9indley's. "(hy!"
7dward laughed, an eerie, definitely ra1y sound. "(hy, 2idgewood! I annot possibly
e)pet you to remember someone who obviously played suh a tiny part in your e)tremely
full life."
"2emember who! You!" Adam stared, pu11led.
"@ot me." 7dward soffed. "7leanor 6hatterton."
A wave of emotion swept #uikly over Adam's fae, vanishing as abruptly as it appeared.
"$he had position and wealth," 7dward said. "5ut that meant nothing to me. I loved her. I
loved her for I years and was living for the day I ould make her
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$esterday 7 .orever
mine. 5ut she had eyes only for you. 7ven when you rejeted her and I offered my suit, she
disregarded me." 7dward paused as if remembering the sene, then ontinued bitterly. "$he said
if she ould not have you she would not settle for me. "hat night she took her own life."
"he room fell silent.
"+h, 7dward, I'm so sorry," Maggie said softly.
&er words seemed to drag him bak from the past and he raised bla1ing eyes to Adam. "You
did that to me, 2idgewood. @ow I shall do it to you. I shall have the woman you love. $he will
belong to me."
Adam gave him a look of disgust. "$he will not belong to you and does not belong to me.
(omen are not property to be passed around like attle."
"Adam." Maggie ried with delight. "You've finally got it. I am really proud of you." In her
surprised pleasure Maggie instintively took a step toward him, only to be jerked bak hard
against 7dward's hest.
"Iuiet." 7dward shouted. "9isten to me losely. $he will marry me or I shall kill her. 7ither
way, 2idgewood, you lose and will finally know the same pain I did."
"(ait a minute," Maggie tossed in. "You're going to kill me to make him miserable! %on't you
see a problem here! I mean, yeah, he'll mourn and grieve for a while but then life goes on. I'll be
dead and buried and he'll be alive and well. %o you really think this is the best way to get even!"
"%oes she always talk so muh!" 7dward said impatiently.
Adam shrugged in resignation. "Always."
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:itoria Ale)ander
"+kay, guys, let me make sure I have this straight. It's marriage to 7dward or death, right!"
";reisely," 7dward said.
"(ell then." Maggie paused and took a deep breath. "I guess it's marriage. +kay 7dward, I'll
marry you."
"7)ellent," 7dward sneered.
"5loody hell," Adam said.
"(ell, Adam, it's not like I have muh of a hoie here." An idea flashed through her mind.
+ne that might work. If she ould get Adam to understand. 2ight now he looked so
flabbergasted she wasn't sure if anything ould penetrate. $till, she sure didn't have muh to lose.
"$o, let's toast our engagement. 5randy sounds good to me. And 7dward, you ould probably let
go of me now, you know, put the knife down."
"I am not a fool," 7dward growled, but he did rela) his grip.
"@ow, Adam." Maggie's ga1e loked with his and she prayed he'd understand. "2emember the
first time we met, the very first time! In this very room! You told me how great that brandy
was!" $he glaned at the heavy rystal deanter on the table and his ga1e followed hers.
"2emember how I offered it to you that day!"
A pu11led frown knit his brow. "You offered it to me!"
"Yeah, remember!" "lease remember. "5ut you pointed out how fine it was and suggested I
have something else instead!"
"I suggested . . ." 6omprehension finally dawned on his fae. "+f ourse, yes, ertainly I
remember."
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$esterday 7 .orever
Adam strode to the table and grabbed the deanter. &e approahed 7dward and Maggie
autiously.
"%on't ome any loser," 7dward barked.
Adam stopped in his traks. "I was simply going to offer the brandy."
"And I really need it, 7dward." Maggie words bubbled out fast and furiously. "All this
e)itement, I really think I'm going to pass out or something." $he willed herself to go limp and
sagged in his arms, foring him to pay more attention to the arm supporting her and less to the
hand with the knife. "+h, yeah, I'm going to faint. 2ight here. Any minute."
&er eyes met Adam's. $urely he understood. ";robably going to keel over right here on this
desk. Yeah, I an feel it oming . . . right. . . now." $he lunged forward, flinging herself over the
desk. Maggie aught a fast glimpse of Adam hurling the deanter like a major3league pither. A
sharp pain priked her nek. A thud sounded inhes behind her. 5randy rained over her head and
the deanter hit the floor with a resounding rash. $he jerked up from the desk and whirled
around. 7dward lay unonsious on the floor.
$he stared at Adam with open admiration. "?ood shot." $he glaned at 7dward. "Dee1, I hope
you didn't kill him."
Adam was at her side in a seond, rushing her to him. "&e deserves it, but I doubt if he's
dead." &e tipped her hin up and stared into her eyes. "5loody hell, Maggie, I don't even know
what to say to you anymore. 7very time I turn around you're in some kind of trouble and you
always seem to be able to get yourself out of it."
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:itoria Ale)ander
Maggie pulled bak and ga1ed into his fae in ama1ement. "Adam, you're the one who did it.
You saved my life."
"@o, my love. It was your idea." &e shook his head slowly. "You are indeed wel l able to take
are of yourself. You don't need me."
&is statement hung in the air between them and Maggie didn't know what to say. $he stared
up at him and read fresh pain in his eyes. $he wanted to reassure him. +f ourse she needed
him. %idn't she! "he thought shook her, and at this moment she wasn't sure if she knew the
answer.
"Adam, don't be silly." $he laughed nervously, dismissing his omment. It was an
unsatisfatory response. $he knew it and sensed he did, too. Maggie hurried to hange the
subjet.
$he stepped away and gestured to her lothes. "(hat a mess. I'm a disaster. I've got brandy
just about everywhere." $he reahed a hand up and swiped at her nek. "9ook at this." $he held
out a hand overed with brandy and . . . blood.
"5lood." she ried. "I'm bleeding. &e ut me."
Adam leaned forward and e)amined her nek. "Maggie, it's barely a srath."
"he room swayed around her. "Adam, you don't understand." "he lights grew dim. "It's blood,
it's my blood." &er knees bukled slowly. "I'm not very good with blood," she murmured and
rashed fae3forward onto the desk one more, this time for real.
Adam stared blankly for just a moment, then hukled. &e swept her into his arms and arried
her to the sofa, the hukle growing to a full3fledged laugh. "he woman who stood up to him
without a
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$esterday 7 .orever
seond thought, handled kidnappers with apparent ease, and unflinhingly dealt with a knife3
wielding lunati, his ourageous, spirited Maggie . . . ouldn't bear the sight of her own blood.
GJ-
Chapter Eighteen
Maggie's eyes fluttered open and Adam's amused fae filled her line of sight. "Adam." $he
struggled to sit up. "(hat happened!"
&e sat on the sofa beside her relining figure and hukled. "You fainted. I never would have
imagined"=he shook his head wryly="you, of all people, overset by a little blood."
$he lapped her hand to her nek and fingered a bandage there. "It's not that I'm afraid,
atually," she said defensively. "It's just that when it's mine, I find it, well, unnerving." $he
glared up at him. "%oes this make you happy!"
&e took her hand and raised it to his lips. &is ga1e never left hers. "7stati."
"he touh of his lips sent a thrill of eletriity raing through her and she wanted nothing more
than to be rushed in his arms, lost in his embrae.
"&ey." $he sat upright abruptly and stared toward
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$esterday 7 .orever
the desk. "(here's 7dward!"
""he servants are wathing him. &e is still unonsious. I have sent for the authorities."
$he searhed his fae an)iously. "(hat was that all about! (as there any truth in what 7dward
said!"
Adam pulled his ga1e from hers and stared unseeing aross the room. "7leanor was the woman
I told you about. "he woman gossip linked me with right before my father died. I paid perhaps
more attention to her than I should have, but I never believed she onsidered it was more than a
mild flirtation."
&e sighed heavily and ontinued. "$he died about a week after my father did." &is shoulders
sagged. "I did not know for nearly two months. &er family let the world believe it was a arriage
aident, but they wanted me to know the truth."
""hat she killed herself!" Maggie said gently.
"?od, no." Adam raised startled eyes. "7leanor and I liked eah other, enjoyed eah other's
ompany, but we were never in love. $he had no reason to take her own life." &e reahed
forward and grasped her hands. &is eyes ga1ed deeply into hers and she read onern there, as if
Adam worried about her reation to his words. An iy hand of apprehension gripped her heart.
"Maggie," he said slowly, "7leanor's family thought she had another suitor, one she spurned in
favor of me. $he did not kill herself. $he was murdered." &e gripped her hands tightly. "I believe
the suitor and the murderer was 7dward."
"(hat!" $he snathed her hands from his. "You're saying he's done this before! "hat's really
hard to
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:itoria Ale)ander
believe." 6ould she have been that wrong about the man! $he shook her head. "7dward was my
friend."
"Maggie." Adam spoke almly and retrieved her hands. &is ga1e was tender, his words firm.
"&e tried to kill you. &e has apparently been wathing me for years, waiting for me to find love.
&is friendship with
you was a sham, a pretense." &e reahed forward and brushed the hair away from her fae, then
upped her hin in his hand and stared into her eyes. "&e would have killed you, Maggie, have
no doubt. &e is insane with his need for revenge and has already killed one woman."
$he stared at him, shoked. &er voie was barely a whisper. "&e really would have killed me,
wouldn't he!" Adam nodded somberly and she shook her head in ama1ement. "Dee1, this is
turning out to be one
hell of a vaation."
Abruptly shivers shuddered through her and she ouldn't seem to ontrol herself. "Adam, hold
me."
&e pulled her swiftly into his arms and held her tight against his hest. Maggie let his omfort
and strength surround her. 9ethargy rept over her and without warning e)haustion gripped her.
Maggie wondered dimly if this was some sort of delayed reation of shok to the events in the
library and the revelations afterward. 7dward. A murderer. $he snuggled deeper in Adam's
embrae, sighed heavily, and losed her eyes.
"here was something she needed to tell him but her mind was too fu11y to onentrate.
$omething he said earlier that she had let slip by. $omething he had wrong. (hat was it! $he
seemed almost drugged with fatigue and weariness. (hatever it
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$esterday 7 .orever
was, she ould tell him later. $he still had time.
444444444444444444
7ven the enounter with 7dward did not take Maggie's mind off the days relentlessly raing
past. $he and Adam spent every minute together, neither mentioning her impending departure.
$till, it olored every thought, every ation, every moment.
Maggie insisted she and Adam take the pitures remaining in her amera. "hey drove around
9ondon surreptitiously taking photos. Adam ommented that they probably looked like a pair of
utpurses plotting break3ins with their seretive behavior. 5ut Maggie snapped that it was easier
to deal with a few suspiious looks than to try to e)plain a devie that hadn't been invented yet.
"he pitures were important to her. "hey would be the only tangible evidene she'd have of her
time here with Adam.
Maggie was able to introdue Adam to a genuine thief when 5ert showed up at the house.
Adam aepted Maggie's re#uest for passage for 5ert and his family without #uestion and
graiously thanked the young housebreak for bringing Maggie home. Adam #uirked his eyebrow
at her when he heard 5ert's last name but he never onfronted her with the #uestions the man's
presene brought up. Iuestions Maggie had avoided faing. Iuestions about hanging history or
being a part of it, about oinidene versus destiny. (hen Adam stared speulatively at 5ert,
Maggie ould tell the same #uestions ran through his mind. $he wondered why he never asked
them out
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:itoria Ale)ander
loud but was grateful for the omission. $he didn't know the answers.
$he'd ath Adam staring at her but his look was different than it had been before the inident
with 7dward. In the ountry, his glanes were urious, onsidering. @ow they appeared infinitely
sadder, and somehow resigned and aepting. 7ven without words, Maggie sensed he'd given up
any hope of her remaining in his world. It was better this way, though the reali1ation left her
vaguely disappointed.
All too soon, May twelfth dawned. Maggie and Adam stayed together in his room for muh of
the day talking #uietly about nothing of importane. All they had to say to eah other had either
already been said or would never be spoken aloud. 7ah knew the other's feelings about love and
loss. Maggie's onvition that she had to leave remained firm. Yet with eah hour that passed she
knew it would be harder and harder to say good3bye.
"hey made love for the last time. $lowly, almost reverently, their usual joy in eah other now
poignant, bittersweet.
At the end, he gathered her in his embrae and she wept in his arms. *or the life they would
never build, and the hildren they would never raise and the golden twilight years they would
never share. &e held her lose and they promised #uietly that no matter what happened in their
separate futures, they would herish this time spent together always.
And vowed they would never forget.
444444444444444444
After dusk, 9ydia joined Maggie and Adam in the front salon, the beautiful green3and3gold
room Mag3
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$esterday 7 .orever
gie admired so muh when she first arrived. "he air lay sluggish around them, thik and heavy
with tension and apprehension.
Maggie leaned against the fireplae, dressed one again in the lothes she wore when she
dropped into their lives. $he had abandoned the fashionable and e)tremely beoming dresses she
had worn for the last month and instead donned the odd, heavy blue trousers, sandalously thin
yellow shirt, the leather jaket that looked far more appropriate for a man than a woman, and the
bi1arre shoes that so fasinated Adam,
"he bag full of wonders from another time was looped over one shoulder. Maggie insisted
Adam keep the mathematial item she alled a alulator, he was so taken by it. &er arms folded
aross her hest, only her ga1e shifted, fi)ed on Adam paing in front of the fireplae. @ow and
then their eyes met. Adam's glowed dark, forbidding, and anguished> Maggie's mirrored
aeptane, heartahe, and despair.
9ydia wathed them silently. "hey were obviously deeply in love and just as obviously in pain.
&er throat ahed with tears she refused to spill. "his was, after all, their sorrow. $he was sarely
more than an observer, but one filled with helplessness and frustration. 9ydia was not used to
suh feelings and she raged inside at the tragedy of it all and her own sense of futility.
$he alone still held out a single thread of hope. 9ydia had never really believed Maggie would
be taken away on this night. @ever truly imagined that Maggie and Adam were not destined to
stay together
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:itoria Ale)ander
always. Maggie's leaving was as farfethed as the whole idea of her arrival from the future in the
first plae. 5ut 9ydia had seen the proof of that. "his return trip so far was simply a theory.
9ydia stood by the window, periodially pulling bak the heavy broade drapes to peer into the
empty street.
@othing.
9ydia prayed Maggie was wrong. ;rayed her theory was flawed. ;rayed her arriage would not
ome.
$he noted the time on the mantel lok. ?ood, it was growing late. $urely it would soon be too
late and Maggie's belief that she would return to her own time on this night would be shattered.
9ydia nervously heked the street again. (here mere moments ago it was lear, a mist now
grew notieably thiker.
&er heart sank. $he glaned at Adam and Maggie, too deep in their own thoughts to notie.
"he tiny spark of hope within 9ydia died A fog3filled night brought Maggie and it appeared one
would now take her away.
9ydia turned again to the window and drew bak sharply as if stung by what she saw. *or a
moment she toyed with the idea of not saying anything, of pretending there was nothing outside.
$he shook her head sadly. It would be no use.
"5loody hell," she murmured #uietly and turned toward the lovers. "I am so sorry." $he ould
hardly bear to say the words. "It appears your arriage has arrived, Maggie."
"he olor swept from Maggie's fae and her anguished ga1e aught Adam's. 9ydia disreetly
left the
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$esterday 7 .orever
room. Maggie and Adam stared for a long, silent moment.
"I guess this is it then," Maggie said #uietly.
Adam nodded. "It would appear so."
"I don't want to go/' she whispered.
Adam just shook his head sadly. It had all been said over and over. @ow that it was time,
Maggie didn't know how she ould bear to leave him.
"+h, Adam." $he sobbed and threw herself into his arms.
"Maggie. Maggie, my love." Adam rained desperate kisses on her as if devouring her would
keep her by his side. (aves of despair washed over them and they lung to eah other, drowning
in their desperate sorrow.
"+h ?od, Maggie," Adam whispered hoarsely. "&ow an I live without you!"
"I an't stay, Adam, I an't. "his isn't where I belong." $he wrenhed herself out of his grasp,
knowing if she didn't leave now she never would. 7verything told her she had to leave. "here
was no hoie. $he started toward the door, then turned bak to him. 2eahing her hand up to his
heek, she touhed his beloved fae one last time.
"*orever, Adam. "hrough all time. "hrough eternity itself, know ... I will always love you."
&e aught her hand in his and kissed her palm. $he ga1ed into his endless, dark eyes for the
last time. A sob hoked her throat. $he pulled away and ran out of the room, through the grand
foyer, and out the front doors. 9ydia stood on the steps, staring at the horse and arriage.
$he grabbed Maggie's arm. "Maggie, I beg of you,
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:itoria Ale)ander
don't go. %on't do this." &er amber eyes flashed and she aught Maggie's ga1e. "It will kill him."
Maggie shook her off. "I have to. You know that and you know why." Maggie swatted
impatiently at the tears on her fae. "I was right about this damn arriage oming bak, wasn't I!
I'd say it's a good bet I'm right about the rest of it, too. About one person too many here. About
an imbalane." $he shook her head and took a deep, steadying breath. "+ne I leave, everything
will be right again. In history. In time. It will all be bak to normal."
"@ormal!" 9ydia laughed hysterially. "@othing will ever be normal here again. Adam will die
a little eah day without you. +h, he'll do his duty and take are of his responsibilities, but you
take with you his heart. @ormal, Maggie!" 9ydia shook her head. "9ook at what you've done to
me. You've shown me there will be a time when women will not have to hide their intelligene.
(hen women will be able to stand up for themselves without apology. (hen marriage will not
be their only future. I will not see it, but knowing it will ome has hanged how I look at myself
and everything around me."
Maggie stared, horrified by 9ydia's words. "+h, 9ydia, I'm so sorry."
"%o not be sorry." 9ydia shook her head and smiled wryly. "It was a wonderful adventure."
Maggie threw her arms around 9ydia and embraed her desperately, tears hoked with
laughter.
""ake are of your brother for me, 9ydia," Maggie whispered. "&elp him to go on. I love him
so muh." $he released 9ydia and stepped toward the arriage.
"2eady, miss!" It was her gnome. Any lingering
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$esterday 7 .orever
doubts vanished. &e had returned for her. $he nodded silently and he helped her into the
arriage.
Maggie turned. 9ydia stood on the steps, tears streaming down her fae. In the open doorway,
Adam stood alone, fists lenhed at his sides. $he raised a hand in silent farewell but let it fall to
her lap. It was too late for good3byes. "he arriage moved forward sedately, in no apparent hurry.
Adam's figure blurred, obsured by the swirling fog and the tears in her eyes.
#hances and choices, her driver had said on her first ride. <estiny is a matter of choice, not
chance . . . a little bit of both . . . take a chance . . . 0ust mebee . , . that is destiny.
5ut she never had a hoie, never got to deide whether to take a hane. Maggie had always
believed there were no options here, that she had to go bak.
A startling thought laned through her with a physial jolt. Adam didn't know that. $he never
told him what hoie she'd make if she ould. &ow ould she leave him forever without letting
him know! It was the least she ould do for the man she would always love.
"(ait. $top." she sreamed. "I an't go yet." Maggie stumbled from the rolling arriage. Adam
raed toward her and she tumbled into his waiting arms.
"+h ?od, Maggie, I thought you were gone forever," Adam ried.
"Adam." $he pulled bak and stared diretly into his eyes. "I ouldn't leave without telling
you. If I had a hoie, if I had to make the deision, nothing ould
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:itoria Ale)ander
tear me away from you. %o you understand! @othing."
"he glimmer of hope died in his eyes and he shook his head sorrowfully. "@o, my love. I fear
you are mistaken. I learned the night with 9indley, you do not need me."
"@ot need you! (hat an idiot you are, 6oleridge. You've never been so wrong." $he shook her
head slowly. "I may not need you to protet me or defend me, but without you - don't know how
I'll go on or survive. I don't know what will keep my heart beating, how I'll take a breath without
you. @eed you! +h, Adam, you're all I've ever needed, ever wanted, ever dreamed of." $he
shrugged sadly. "(ithout you, my life won't be worth living."
""hen stay with me, Maggie." &is dark ga1e searhed hers. "$urely one mere person will not
make that muh of a differene to the ne)t two hundred years."
Maggie shook her head. "I an't take that hane. +ne person just might throw everything off. I
have to="
"I'll go."
Astonished, Adam and Maggie whirled to find 9ydia smiling serenely behind them.
"@o," Adam said.
"Yes," Maggie whispered.
"Adam," 9ydia said gently, "it would seem the perfet solution."
Adam stared at his sister. "I annot permit you to go off to ?od knows where, to remain for the
rest of your life."
9ydia sighed. "Adam, my love, we both know I
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$esterday 7 .orever
have not found my proper plae in this world. My reent ations have fairly guaranteed an
aeptable offer of marriage will be not be forthoming. &ere my age is already a hindrane, but
Maggie assures me," she said, her eyes twinkling at her brother, "in her time three and twenty is
onsidered e)tremely young."
"@o, 9ydia." Adam shook his head firmly. "In her world you would be alone and helpless with
no one to guide you, no one you ould turn to."
"Yes, there is." Maggie spoke up thoughtfully. ""here's my sister, 8iki. $he ould and would
be more than happy to take 9ydia in hand."
Adam frowned. "I daresay I am hard3pressed to trust my sister's fate to someone named 8iki."
"&er real name is 8atherine," Maggie said. "Most people all her 8at. 5etter!"
"&ardly."
"My sister's a wonderful person, Adam. 8iki would take good are of 9ydia." $he aught
Adam's ga1e. "7speially if she knew I wasn't oming bak."
"And what of you, Maggie!" Adam pulled her to him and searhed her eyes. "You said if you
had a hoie, you would hoose to stay with me. You appear to have it now. (ill you give up all
you know, all you have ever known! Your sister! Your omforts! Your history!"
Maggie stared up into his deep, smoldering eyes, eyes she ould ga1e at for the rest of her life
and onsider herself luky. $he nodded slowly. "In a flash, 6oleridge."
&e rushed her to his hest, and joy swept through her. A #uestion sparked in her mind and she
pulled
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:itoria Ale)ander
bak. "If I an." Maggie turned to the gnome still seated in the arriage. "6an I! 6an I stay! 6an
9ydia take my plae!"
"he wi1ened old man seemed to onsider the #uestion. &e studied eah of them in turn, eah
waiting e)petantly. "?ots to have me a fare."
%isappointment ripped through her. "he gnome's bright blue eyes peeked out from his
wrinkled fae and aught her ga1e. "5ut sometimes, miss, a fare is only one way."
"he meaning of his words hit her and she reeled with the impat. "+ne way! You mean I'm not
supposed to go bak! I'm supposed to stay!" $he glared in irritation. "(hy didn't you tell me!"
&er driver shrugged his anient shoulders. " "weren't my plae."
"It's settled then," 9ydia said with satisfation. "$hall we go!"
"I am still not ertain ..." A frown furrowed Adam's brow.
"Adam." 9ydia laid a gentle hand on his arm. "I fear this is not your deision and I have made
mine. %o not make this parting more diffiult."
Adam pinned her with a steady stare, his words heavy with emotion. "You reali1e this is more
than likely permanent. You shall never return." &is dark eyes gleamed. "(e shall never see one
another again."
A wistful smile touhed 9ydia's lips. "I know."
*or a long moment, sister and brother ga1ed #uietly at eah other, one with the sorrow of a
final good3bye, the other with the barely suppressed antiipation of a new life.
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$esterday 7 .orever
"+kay," Maggie interrupted, "I hate to break this up but if you're going to take off we've got to
get going." &er mind raed. "I have to write you a note for my sister to e)plain all this. $he's
never going to believe it. "here has to be something to onvine her." $he snapped her fingers.
"Adam, is there a 5ank of 7ngland yet!"
"Most ertainly," he responded in a somewhat haughty tone.
"%on't be suh a snob," she said, "not now. (e an set up an aount for 9ydia and 8iki> that
will take are of money. I an put my things, things 8iki will reogni1e, in a safety3deposit bo)
or something. If we're right, you'll be getting bak on the same day I left. And here." $he pulled
off one of her filigree earrings. ""hese are one of a kind. 8iki had them made for me, so she'll
reogni1e them. I'll give the other to the bank to use for identifiation."
Maggie rummaged in her purse and pulled out her sketh pad and a pen. Iuikly she sribbled
a note to her sister, folded it, and handed it to 9ydia. $he pawed through her purse again, this
time oming up with her hotel key and a fistful of pound notes.
"&ere's the key to our hotel room. "he address is on the key hain here. And you'll need this
money for a ab to get there." Maggie grimaed with onern. "I just wish I ould be sure you'll
get there okay."
"5eggin' your pardon, miss," the gnome interrupted. "$he'll be just fine. I ain't never lost a fare
yet." Maggie wasn't sure why, but a profound sense that everything would indeed be all right
flooded
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through her at his words. 9ydia would be well taken are of.
"(hat about my lothes!" 9ydia frowned, glaning down at her lovely rose3olored gown.
"(on't I look e)tremely odd in your time!"
Maggie laughed. "9ydia, trust me. In 9ondon in the -BBHs nothing is e)tremely odd. (ait, one
more thing." Again Maggie dove into the bottomless purse and pulled out her amera. "?ive this
to 8iki and tell her to have the pitures developed right away. It might just be the one thing that
really onvines her."
Maggie glaned from 9ydia to Adam and bak again. "his might not be the perfet, totally
orret hoie, but it seemed more right than anything ever had in her life.
""ime's awasting, miss." "he gnome's voie signaled their time was indeed up.
Maggie and 9ydia embraed. Maggie whispered into her ear, ""ell 8iki not to worry. "ell her
I'm happy and I've found what I was looking for." $he pulled bak and her ga1e met 9ydia's.
"And thank you."
"@o." 9ydia laughed lightly, her ga1e still linked with Maggie's. ""hank you."
"he women broke apart and 9ydia turned to Adam. &e pulled her into his arms. ""ake are,
little sister. I will miss your laugh and your e)travaganes and your e)asperating adventures. I
am still not fully onvined of this."
"My dear, darling brother, of ourse you aren't. You have spent far too long looking after me."
$he drew bak and e)itement sparkled in her eyes.
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$esterday 7 .orever
"%on't you see how right this is! I want so muh more than I an ever have here. $ine I first met
Maggie I have suspeted her world was muh more suited to me than my own. Muh more
forgiving." $he grinned. ""his will be the adventure of, well, a lifetime."
$he kissed him lightly, s#uee1ed his hand, and turned to the arriage. "$ir, if you will!" 9ydia
presented her hand to the gnome. &e helped her into the arriage and took his plae on the seat in
front. 9ydia twisted around and waved gaily, then eagerly settled in. "he arriage slowly moved
off.
Adam wrapped his arms around Maggie and they wathed the retreating arriage.
"(ill she be all right, do you think!" A worried note sounded in Adam's voie.
Maggie snuggled deeper in his arms. "+h, - think she'll do just fine. It's the twentieth entury
that needs to worry."
"And what of you!" &e nu11led her ear. "Are you happy with your hoie!"
$he sighed and leaned her head bak against his hest, her ga1e never leaving the arriage. All
she would never see or do again flashed through her mind. $he would miss her sister fierely, but
8iki would understand.
&er ommitment was to more than just Adam. $he was now a permanent part of his time. A
time that had always been remote and unreal for her. A time she'd never given muh thought to.
A time she would spend the rest of her life in. Maggie would now have to at least try to beome a
proper nineteenth3entury woman, with all the annoying restritions that en3
GF,
:itoria Ale)ander
tailed. "here was time enough for that. "here was all the time in the world.
It was a trade3off. $he wasn't giving up so very muh ompared to all she was getting. A
hane to live a new life by the side of the man she loved. "he man who loved her. (as she
happy with her hoie! $he murmured #uietly, "Ask me again in about thirty years."
Adam hukled softly. &e and Maggie stood wath until the arriage disappeared into the mist
and the future. "ogether they turned and stepped into a future of their own.
GFL
Epilogue
May (D, (**+
8iki Masterson sat in a small, private room at the 5ank of 7ngland staring at an old3fashioned
trunk and a large, flat parel wrapped in brown paper. $he luthed an envelope of freshly
developed photos. 8iki had toyed with the idea of developing them herself but she was almost
afraid to look. $he'd been in a state somewhere between disbelief, uriosity, and sheer pani ever
sine that dit1y blonde had shown up at her hotel room last night.
"he blonde said her name was 9ydia 6oleridge, and arried a note from Maggie, one of
Maggie's favorite earrings, and her amera. "he message was short, to the point, and made no
sense at all. It simply told her to present the earring at the 5ank of 7ngland with identifiation. It
asked her to take are of 9ydia and not to pani and all the polie. "he
GFB
:itoria Ale)ander
note losed by saying Maggie loved her and hoped one day she'd understand. 8iki prided herself
on being a alm and rational person who took life's une)peted turns in stride. $he ould handle
anything.
7)ept, perhaps, this.
$he'd #uestioned 9ydia most of the night and the story the young woman told was
unbelievable. 8iki would not have bought it at all e)ept for a ouple of odd things that didn't
add up. 9ydia was either the best atress ever or had lived all her life in some remote, univili1ed
part of the world, or ... in another time. $he was genuinely fasinated with literally everything
from the light swithes to the television to virtually every item in the bathroom. And her 7nglish
was far too perfet, far too pure. 6lassi.
9ydia's lothes were hand3sewn and she needed help getting in and out of them. "hey were
possibly the best historial reprodutions 8at had ever seen or. . .
"hey were real.
And 9ydia had alled her 8iki in a ompletely natural manner. Almost as if 9ydia had spent a
great deal of time with someone who talked about her a lot. +n her passport, her name was
8atherine. ;rofessionally she was 8at. +nly one person in her life ever alled her 8iki.
Maggie.
8iki would have dismissed it all as some kind of on, would have alled the polie but for an
instintive gut feeling. A feeling that had saved her life more than one. A feeling that, as weird
as it sounded, told her the blonde was indeed telling the truth.
"he evidene mounted. 8iki brought the earring
GEH
$esterday 7 .orever
to the bank and learned there really was an aount in her name. "he bank referred to it as a
legay and the bank offier who e)plained said there was a single stipulation. $he was to
administer the aount but it was to be shared with one 9ydia 6oleridge. "he aount was
opened appro)imately -,E years ago. (ith interest and ompound interest and speifi,
onfidential instrutions for investments it amounted to what the bank offier said with no little
pride ould be onsidered one of the largest private fortunes in the ountry, perhaps even in the
world.
8at knew the answers to all of her #uestions were probably in that trunk. $till, she hesitated.
(hat if it was true! (hat if it wasn't! Maggie ould still be in trouble. 8at set the paket of
pitures aside and took a deep breath. $tanding, she leaned over the hest and with a determined
tug, yanked on the lid. It stuk for a moment, then gave way with a moan.
8at peered inside. Most of it was filled with anti#ue leather3bound books. ;aked in one
orner she found her sister's oversi1e, leather purse. 8at would have known it anywhere. $he
arefully pulled it from the trunk, the leather now raked and weathered with age. Inside, 8at
disovered Maggie's wallet and gently opened it. It reaked with the movement and 8at worked
arefully, prying out redit ards and a driver's liense. All the dates were urrent, all the ards
uriously disolored. +ld. Anti#ue.
$he pulled out the paket of pitures, drew a deep breath, and heked inside. "hese were the
pitures Maggie had developed just two days ago, now yellowed and fragile, and 8at stared in
fasination. $he reahed for two maga1ines still in the bag. 6urrent
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:itoria Ale)ander
issues of Time and #osmo rumbled with age. *inally, she pulled out a digital wath and a plasti
alulator, both in remarkably good ondition although obviously old and worn.
Maggie must have simply used up the other things she typially kept in her purse, like pens
and makeup. "he thought nearly passed unhallenged, then hit 8at with an impat that left her
breathless.
6h, dear Aod, it!s true-
8at gripped the edge of the desk to support herself against the swirling maelstrom of emotion
threatening to engulf her. 9ydia. "he aount. "he purse. It all added up. &er sister was really
gone.
%a1ed by the revelation, 8at stared into the trunk. Abrupt anger washed over her. $he needed
more than bits and piees. $he needed to talk to Maggie, needed to hear this from her. $he
reahed for the losest book when her eyes aught sight of a folded paper that had slipped
beneath the purse. (ith a trembling hand, 8at slowly pulled it toward her. $he knew before she
opened it that this was the message she hoped for. 8at unfolded the paper and read the faded
words in her sister's familiar hand.
/eptember (E, (9FG
My dearest Hiki,
3 can scarce believe it has been +) years since 3 left your world, although, if all went well,
3 suspect for you it has been but a day. 3 have rewritten this particular letter every year. 3n
this trunk, you will find my 0ournals with the entries
GEC
$esterday 7 .orever
addressed to you. 6ne for every day of my life. 3t was my only way of sharing those days, and my
thoughts, with you.
Lydia has by now explained what happened, how 3 came to travel through time, and why 3
chose to stay. "lease watch over her as you watched over me. Treat her as a sister. /he will need
you as 3 did. The accounts should enable you both to live free of financial concern.
(e have prospered here as well, helped by the history lessons 3 fought so hard against as a
student. 3 wish now 3 had paid more attention. My family accepts my uni4ue ability to know what
will happen before it does and, 3 say with satisfaction, 3 have used the knowledge wisely. $et 3 do
not feel 3 have tampered with history. Looking back, 3 firmly believe it was always my destiny to
be here.
3t is odd to think by the time you read this 3 will be long dead and buried. 3 see you in my mind
as vividly as if B had never left. My beloved Adam died three months ago. 1e lived to be far
older than most do in this day and age. 3 anticipate 3 will soon follow and the notion does not
displease me. 3 do not fear death. Adam and 3 will be together again and this time nothing will
tear us apart.
<o not grieve for me. 3 have led a wonderful life full of love and laughter and miracles. 3
made the right choice.
3 have no regrets.
$our loving sister,
Maggie
GEG
:itoria Ale)ander
"ears blurred 8at's eyes and she blindly groped for the envelope of pitures, spilling them on
the table. $he tanned the photos out and reogni1ed senes of 9ondon. 5ut a different 9ondon.
$omehow more sedate and graious. $he piked up a piture of a handsome blond man in a
book3lined room. Adam. "hen she spotted one of Maggie, apparently in the same room. &er eyes
twinkled at the amera and the photographer and she seemed to be wearing some kind of robe.
8at laughed through her tears. Maggie would show them. $he'd set 2egeny 7ngland on its ear.
8at sooped the pitures up and set them aside, reahing now for the pakage. &er fingers
shook slightly and she fumbled at the knot in the twine around the brown paper3wrapped parel.
$he managed to get it untied and the paper fell away. 8at gasped in astonishment and delight.
"here were two paintings, bak to bak. "he first was a portrait of four young hildren at play,
three girls and a boy. It was learly Maggie's work, free in spirit and slightly impressionisti.
"heir hair olor varied from blond to dark red and 8at ould learly see glimpses of Maggie and
the man in the piture in their faes. $he hoked at the reognition.
Maggie's hildren.
$he propped the painting against the trunk and turned over the seond. &er heart aught in her
throat. It was of Maggie and the man she now reali1ed was Adam. Maggie was a little older but
beautiful, serene, obviously happy. Maggie did not paint this one and whoever the artist was had
talent, managing to apture the love shared by these two people. It radiated in their eyes.
GEJ
$esterday 7 .orever
"he seond painting joined the first and 8at sank down in the hair at her bak. &ere was her
proof, here were her answers, her sister's way of letting her know she was all right. "ears slipped
down her heeks. $he would miss Maggie terribly even though it appeared 9ydia would keep her
more than busy in the sister department. $he laughed out loud. 9eave it to her sister to hand her a
projet like that.
&er ga1e drifted bak and forth between the happy ouple in one painting and the laughing
hildren in the other. It would be hard not to grieve but she had the paintings and the journals to
keep her lose to Maggie. A sense of alm and peae sifted through 8at. &er sister had finally
stopped her drifting.
*inally found the plae she belonged.
*inally found her happiness somewhere in yesterday . .. and forever.
GEF