Page 34 of A Hellion for the Highland Hawk
Nancy clamped her mouth shut and looked away. She might’ve felt like she knew Adeline well after researching her for a year, but they were tantamount to strangers. And Nancy didn’t tellhersecrets to strangers. In fact, the only person she had ever told about her mother was Emily.
“Nancy, it’ll ruin our lives,” Adeline said with a sigh. “I’m so sorry, I can see that this is important to you, but… I’m the one who’snotmissing. I don’t give you my permission to write about me. And if you write about the rest, the avenues will close. People aren’t supposed to time travel, and if it gets messed around with too much, I truly believe it’ll spit us out or drag you back or the world will fold in on itself… I don’t know. But Idoknow that I won’t risk my family. Please, Nancy. If I get you home, swear to me you won’t write about us.”
It was worse than never finding out what had happened to the Clark sisters. If Nancy gave up this story, then she’d have to admit defeat to her boss and spend the rest of her career writing puff pieces and trash articles.
Then again, hadn’t she started on this project to try and help the Clark sisters in whatever form that might take? What sort of reporter would she be if she didn’t listen to the requests of the people she was writing about? A crooked one. One who probably deserved to spend the rest of her career writing about celebrity break-ups and fashion mishaps.
Maybe I can just write a piece on how I found them traveling.
It wasn’t the dramatic, Pulitzer prize ending she might have wanted, but it was likely the right and honorable thing to do. To keep the Clark sisters and their secrets safe.
“You’re truly happy here?” she asked quietly, a note of disbelief in her voice.
Adeline sighed. “I chose to be here. I went back, I was in my apartment, I was in the future, and… I just missed it. I missed Logan. I missed being where I could make a difference.” She paused, a grin lifting the corners of her mouth. “How many times have you been called a witch?”
“A few,” Nancy admitted wryly.
“That passes, too.” Adeline paused. “But once I return to Jane’s, I promise I can send you back whenever you want. Send for me, and we’ll figure it out.”
“Why would you assume I don’t want to leave with you right now?Leave,right now?” Nancy emphasized.
Adeline gave a small shrug. “You’re more than welcome, but I just thought you might want more time to?—”
The door burst open, and Hunter stood there on the threshold with a dark glint in his eyes, his back rigid.
“Is everythin’ all right, Lady Gibson?” he asked tightly, though his gaze didn’t leave Nancy. “Is she unwell?”
Adeline rose to her feet and gave him a steady look. “Nancy might be facing some confusion due to her long and difficult journey here,” she explained. “But she’ll be fine with time, care,and rest. I’ll come and visit again in a fortnight—unless I’m summoned earlier—to make sure she’s faring well.”
The mixed accent had returned, her New Jersey twang merging into something more Transatlantic. Likely to make herself better understood by the people she tended to with such obvious care. Care and, apparently, love had made her willingly give up the future to live a simpler, more dangerous life in the past.
“Does that sound all right?” Adeline fixed Nancy with a pointed look. “Two weeks?”
Nancy nodded subtly. “I look forward to it.”
“Well then, I’ll just do my last checks on the baby, leave some instructions about the medicine I prepared, and then I’ll be on my way back to help the wounded. No rest for the healers,” Adeline said, with a sterner nod to Hunter, before leaving the room.
Hunter immediately came forward, crouching down to Nancy’s level, his green eyes searching her face. “Do ye feel well? Ye look pale, lass. And ye were down in the cold for a long while.” He lifted his hand to her face, touching her cheek. “A mite warm. Do ye feel feverish?”
“It’s like Adeline said, I just need rest,” Nancy replied, pushing his hand away.
She slowly got to her feet, and he rose with her.
“Do ye want me man-at-arms to be punished for what he did?” he asked gruffly.
Nancy frowned. “Punished?”
“Aye. He mistreated ye when all ye did was help,” Hunter replied. “He accused ye falsely. We have punishments for that.”
Nancy dreaded to think what those punishments might be. True, she was furious with Jack for not listening, but if someone came from the year 2326 back to her time, she’d probably think there was something amiss with them, too.
It wasn’t right to judge Jack on his opinion or suspicions of her when she was strange to him. Here, strange meant unnatural. Witches and sorceresses. Things to be feared.
And he probably saw me jab something into Freya’s leg while muttering, ‘I hate this place.’ Besides, Elsie needs him.
“No,” Nancy said. “No, he did the right thing. If Ihad meant harm, if I were an assassin or something, he’d have probably saved her life. But there’s no harm done, so… yeah. No need for anyone to get a slap on the wrist or worse.”
Hunter nodded. “As ye prefer.”
