Always and Forever (29 page)

"Are you okay?" he asked with concern.

She looked up with a warm smile, "Wonderful." She unconsciously tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. Despite everything, she really did feel surprisingly wonderful and she knew the reason for it was the knowledge that she was somehow linked to this man. Her feelings for Gabriel weren't a betrayal of Archer because they were all tied together.

"Do you believe in fate, Gabriel? That souls can call to one another even across time?"

Gabriel stopped and turned to face Quinn. "I know the first day I saw you, I had to meet you. It wasn't even a conscious decision. It was instinctual, Quinn. I needed to be near you as much as I needed to breathe." His hand came up to cradle her cheek. "And ever since that first day, I've never wanted to be anywhere but with you. If that is fate, then yes, I absolutely believe in it."

Quinn pressed a kiss into his palm and replied, "So do I."

The night was cool and clear: a perfect evening for a dance. As Quinn and Gabriel made their way down the lane they could see fairy lights laced through the few trees that scattered the landscape; their twinkling adding just the perfect touch of whimsy. A large bonfire, a bit of a distance a way, was burning high into the night sky, and the harmonious sound of an Irish folk band floated through the air. Scents escaping from the large black cauldrons hanging over open flames made Quinn's stomach ache with hunger. Colleen and Gulliver immediately saw them and hurried over in greeting.

"Oh, we are so glad you could make it," Colleen said wrapping her arms around Quinn. "The dancing is going to begin soon. We usually stick to mostly reels and jigs, so if you need help with the steps just ask anyone. All will be happy to show you the moves. If you're hungry," she went on, "there's Irish stew and Colcannon, a mashed potato dish, or Coddle, a kind of pork stew with potatoes and onions. Maureen, the red head over there, makes the best soda bread and Danny O'Bannion brought a few casks of mead. And, of course, there's ale."

Quinn was a little overwhelmed by Colleen's exuberance and the dance itself because it reminded her of the fair she had helped create with Archer. "It's wonderful, Colleen. How often do you all get together like this?"

"At least once a month."

Quinn took Colleen's hand, stepped closer and whispered, "Thank you for inviting us tonight and thank you for this afternoon, for sharing a part of your family's history with us."

Colleen nodded in mutual understanding. Her legacy was living on through Quinn. "Please enjoy yourselves. Oh, and I should mention that when I told people of your visit, everyone was eager to meet you..." She looked over at Gabriel before she added, "...both of you."

Just then, the first wave of people came up to introduce themselves. No sooner had the introductions been made then Quinn found herself being pulled out onto the makeshift dance floor by a young lad with black hair and bright blue eyes. She didn't know the dance but he was an excellent partner and twirled her around and around. Quinn never laughed so hard! As soon as one dance was over and another started, she found herself with another partner and on it went for most of the night. At one point, she looked up at her partner and she saw it was Gabriel.

"Finally," he said as he pulled her into his arms. "I've waited for my turn all night."

To Quinn's surprise, Gabriel was just as skilled as all of her other partners and he expertly led her through a faster-paced waltz. Even as they moved in circles around the dance floor, their eyes never left each other. Quinn felt a wave of déjà vu as she remembered her evening dancing with Archer and, looking at Gabriel, somehow she knew he felt the connection between them too. He twirled her, lifting her off her feet, and her laughter mingled with the sounds of the band.

As they lost themselves in the other, neither realized that they danced alone. The others stood to the side and watched, with a bit of envy, their perfect moment.

Gabriel and Quinn returned from their brief trip to Ireland just in time for Gabriel to be called away on business. It was the perfect opportunity to check in with Charles as he had contacted Quinn in Ireland with some information on Derek's Mayan dig.

Not long after Gabriel's departure, Quinn climbed into her Mini Cooper and headed to Stow. The familiar bell over Charles' door sounded her arrival and within moments she was sitting across from Charles at his desk.

"I've been looking into that dig we talked about but there isn't anything, at least documented, that draws any interest. He had a partner on the dig, the same partner he had for several digs, but they parted ways. I have her name but as of yet I still haven't been able to get in touch with her."

Quinn couldn't deny she was disappointed that Charles hadn't learned more, but it was also exactly what she expected.
However, the message he left during her trip intrigued her.

"You mentioned you wanted to show me something?" she prodded.

"Yes." Charles brought her to a work table on the other side of the room. It was scattered with books all about Derek and his finds.

"Like I said, nothing was documented from the Mayan dig. But as I scanned through these books on him, I did make a discovery which I thought was rather interesting," he gestured to the books on the left side of the table, "These are his earlier digs and these are his later digs."

Quinn settled into a chair and studied Derek's earlier photos. He looked so young and naíve, so very different from the calculating and jaded man he was now. There was honesty in his expression, a general love and excitement for his work. Quinn then moved to his later digs but that hopeful expression was gone and instead there was that hardness to him that she had come to know and expect. And he wasn't aging gracefully either. The lines around his mouth and eyes cut pretty deeply. Why had he changed so much?

"Take a look at the pendant around his neck," Charles said handing her a magnifying glass. "It isn't in any of his earlier photos but he isn't without it in the later ones."

Quinn took the magnifying glass and held it to the pendant. It looked to be made from obsidian and the etchings around the perimeter of the circle were definitely an ancient language, glyphs of some sort. Could it be Mayan? On a cursory examination, absolutely.

"We need someone familiar with Mayan artifacts to take a look at this and, as it happens, I know someone," Quinn offered then looked up at Charles and added, "Nice work."

"Thanks, but now I have to ask what do you think it means?"

Quinn realized she probably should have built it up a little but she was so excited at the possibility of making headway into Derek's nefarious moves that she just blurted it out.

"It's only a hunch," she said excitedly, "but I suspect the Mayans figured out a way to travel through time and this pendant holds the key."

Charles bewildered expression in response was priceless.

After making arrangements to have her friend study the photos of the necklace, Quinn left Charles and headed back to Whispering Winds to get proof of what she was claiming.

There weren't as many people walking around Whispering Winds as there had been during her last visit and that was probably due to the nasty weather. She parked her car, climbed out, and headed into the castle.

Even though she worked at Whispering Winds, most of her time was spent in the restoration annex so the tour guides and ticket tellers didn't recognize her. She paid her entrance fee and opted for the self-guided audio tour, as opposed to the guided tour, so slipping in and out of rooms wouldn't draw notice.

The first place she wanted to visit was the unfinished section of the castle she had visited with Thaddeus and Nickie. It was there that they had hid the loot that Derek was trying to steal from Archer. She wondered if Archer had retrieved his possessions or had he left them for her to find in the future?

The room she sought was not on the tour which meant she was going to have to sneak into the part of the castle that was closed off to visitors. There were no alarmed inner doors, since the place was still a residence, so sneaking in only required her walking under the red rope that blocked the hallway. She looked around scanning for security cameras and found none, then quickly slipped under the rope and disappeared down the hall.

It was difficult seeing since the lights were off in this part of the castle but she brought up a mental map of where she was and where she was heading. It didn't take long for her to reach the section of the castle that, when last she saw it, had been unfinished.

By the style of decorating it was clear a female was in mind when the room was designed. The rosewood furnishings were so very delicate but the color palette kept the room from being overly feminine. Quinn liked the charcoal-gray walls and off-white fabrics. Additional splashes of color came from the deep jewel-toned rugs scattered around the dark wood floors.

Her focus turned to the fireplace and the exact location of the hidden panel. She felt her heart hammer hard in her chest and after a quick check for security cameras, she reached for the panel. It didn't take nearly as long as she expected to work it free and when she looked into the concealed space, she saw the sacks sitting just as she had placed them over three hundred years earlier.

She really hadn't made it up; she had somehow gone through time! She couldn't take the treasure -- didn't want to risk getting caught with it -- so she sealed up the hiding spot paying close attention to leaving the fireplace looking exactly as she found it.

She quietly slipped from the room and made her way down the hall. She was heading for the exit but found herself detouring and taking the steps up two flights and down the hall. She gently pushed open the door and a gasp caught in her throat because her room looked exactly as it had. The bed cloths and curtains were a bit different but the walls were still papered in rose silk. The rosewood furniture was exactly the same and was even arranged just as it had been when she claimed this room as her own.

Memories she hadn't called filled Quinn's mind but she knew she couldn't get caught in a part of the castle where she shouldn't be. She started to leave but froze when she felt the touch, whisper-soft and icy cold, on her cheek. The sensation was so startling that Quinn drew in a ragged breath and worked to steady her galloping heartbeat.

Her feet seemed to have a mind of their own as she walked into the room towards the bed. Inexplicably, she stopped and looked down at the floor, half expecting something to jump out at her. And that's when she saw it. It was so small that it was undoubtedly missed by most, but scratched into one of floorboards was a small A and Q. Quinn knelt down and ran her finger over the letters, knowing it was Archer who had carved them.

She started to pull her hand back but some instinct made her press down firmly on the board which caused it to move. Quickly she removed the loose floorboard only to find a clothed-wrapped parcel hidden in the dark space beneath. She didn't hesitate to put the parcel in her purse before returning the board.

The emotions coursing through her were too numerous to ponder. Archer had left her something, and if she wasn't being too fanciful, he was there in that room with her leading her to it. Her eyes smarted with tears as her heart rolled painfully in her chest.

Slipping back into the approved area went without a hitch and before long Quinn was back in her car. She drove the hour trip back to the Cotswolds because she wanted to be home when she unveiled her treasure. Once she was locked in her house, she poured herself a glass of wine and headed up to her bedroom. She kicked off her shoes, turned on the gas fireplace and curled up in the chair opposite the fire.

Her hands shook as she unwrapped the parcel to find a journal. When she lifted the front cover, the breath stilled in her lungs at the inscription:

For my dearest Quinn

Yours, always and forever, Archer

She turned the page and lost herself in Archer's words.

June 14, 1704

It's been over a fortnight since you were taken from me, faded from my life like an elusive dream. It was real, as real as anything could be, but you're now gone and continuing on without you is proving to be very difficult.

I've sequestered myself to my room finding I long for sleep, hoping to find what I lost in my dreams. But you aren't there, you aren't anywhere. To face a life without you, knowing that I will never again hold you, touch you, see you smiling at Nickie or laughing with Thaddeus causes a pain so severe sometimes I wish for the pain to take me, to release me from the prison that has become my life.

Where are you now? Do you even remember or do you believe it to all be just a wonderful dream? I need to remember every moment. I need to write it all down so in the years to come, when reality and fantasy start to blur, I will remember every moment that I was blessed to have shared with you -- from the first moment I saw you standing in my great hall until that day at the river's edge when you reached for me then disappeared before my eyes.

Your softly spoken vow haunted me then as it does now. I will remember you, I will miss you every day of my life, and I will love you even long after life leaves this body. Wherever you are, Quinn, know that there is a man who loves you, a love so strong that even the passing of time can not dim it.