Nothing But Time (46 page)

***

“I’m disappointed in you, old chap.”

Brand shot Fergusson a glare that dared him to say more.

“Not only is it
ethically
wrong to return you – without Kate and myself you would have died,
I’m sure
you know – I’m still not
certain
I should do it at all. 
I don’t understand how you cannot see the larger picture here.  Your life in the past wa
s over, can’t you
understand
that?  If Kate’s theories on non-interference are correct, it would be wrong for me to return you.”

“My nephew needs me, the earldom needs me.”
  They were the only reasons that made sense at that moment because his heart being ripped from his chest certainly did not.

“Yet without you
is how they were meant to go on,
”
David insisted.  “Your return will only change the destinies of so many others.”

Brand pondered those words wondering at the truth in them before shaking his head.
“Is it not equally wrong for me to be here then?”

David just rolled his eyes as if the truth were obvious. 
“Our future isn’t written yet.  Yours was.  Besides what did your time have to offer you
, eh
?  A stifling existence?  An eventual marriage to a woman you despise?  A life where your writing would go unrecognized?  Yes, Kate told me.  She also told me you are quite good.  What have you here, then?  A chance to live a life pursuing that passion with a woman who loves you by your side.  Possibilities beyond imagination.  As I said, I’m disappointed in
you.”

“
You cannot talk me out of this,” Brand ground out.  “
My nephew…”

“
Save it for someone who believes you.”

Kate sat in silence for ten full minutes before the tension become so unbearable she couldn’t stand it. 
She couldn’t look around the flat without seeing
Brand
everywhere.   She couldn’t bear the thought of returning to her bed alone.
 
She wanted to run after Brand
and beg him not to leave her
but knew the decision to stay had to be his own.  She couldn’t keep him by her side with tears or guilt that would event
ually drive them apart.  He had
made his choice.  He had chosen his life over sharing hers and, in truth, she couldn’t blame him.  Her world was an ugly place to a man from another century, even Kate had felt the difference
since
their return.

She had asked too much of him, Kate realized as
she
grabbed up her
coat and
car keys
, unable to stay in her
flat
, their home,
a moment longer.  Speeding out of Oxford, Kate unconsciously headed south towar
d ISIS berating herself all the
while. 
She
expected him to give up his family when she could
not
relinquish her own, asked him to give up his wealth, his title
… so much more than she had
.  Ge
neration Me, indeed
. 
Because she loved Brand, she expected him to sacrifice for her when she didn’t want to make the same sacrifice for him. 

Kate dialed David’s cell phone but it went straight to voicemail.

But she had
sacrificed, Kate
argued silently.  She had intended to stay in the past with him when she’d sent
David
away that day.  Only Brand’s illness had changed that.
  She had done what was needed to keep him alive and, that accomplished, all she wanted now was his happiness and that rest
ed
in the past. 
However,
if he believed that her presence there as well would make him more content…

She needed to catch them, needed to stop them before they left without her.

Swiping her authorization card at the unmanned guardhouse at the front gate, Kate waited until the cross bar rose and sped into the parking lot.  She found David’s car parked alone near the entrance to the building that housed his sector.  Parking, she raced to the door and swiped her card again… and again and again.  But it was no use.  The cards only worked where an employee was authorized to go.  She knew that.

She
was too late.  They were gone and Kate had no way of going back to Brand on her own.  What a fool she’d been!

Kate
returned to her car, dropping her forehead against the steering wheel.  Too late. 
As always, denial had kept her from seeing the bigger picture and now it was too late. 
Starting the car, Kate left
Didcot
and
,
instead of heading back to Oxford, went east
castigat
ing
herself the entire
drive into London and all the way to the
B
ank
of London
. 
For hours she sat in her car waiting for the bank to open
,
cursing herself for a fool all the while.
  The moment the bank opened, Kate was inside finding the manager who could provide her with her one last connection to Brand.

She was shown to the vault
where the safety deposit boxes were kept
and, once David’s box was retrieved, left in peace. 
Kate
stared at the box for several moments before she opened it finding
it filled with gold coins
,
jewelry
,
ancient stock certificates
and, to Kate’
s
surprise, two of Brand’s
completed
manuscripts
as well as
the one he had been working on when they left
.  Kate stroked the familiar handwriting on the
ag
ed
page
s
wondering why they were there.

At the bottom of the box was an envelope with her name on it.  Kate picked it up taking in the
yellow
ed paper and her hand began to shake.  Though he’d only been gone a couple hours, Brand was long dead now.  How could she not have considered that?

A bubble of agony welled up in her chest a
s Kate clutched the letter
.  Gone.  He was forever gone!  Regrets and heartache were nothing when compared to the
sorrow
flowing through her.  What had she been thinking?  How could she not have realized?  Better a life in the past alone knowing that Brand was there too than living a life without him at all!

Now she was a million miles and more than a century away with nothing.

How could she have made such a terrible decision?

Ten minutes later, Kate wiped her eyes knowing she could
not
mourn Brand forever in the vault of the Bank of London.  Opening the letter, Kate wondered
at the life Brand had lived.  How had he died?  Had he lived a long life?  Had it become a happy one?  And what of
David
?  Had he gotten from life everything he’d been looking for?

She looked down at the crackling paper.  It was dated June of 1925.

Dearest Kate,

This is now my fifth replacement of the original letter I wrote almost fifty years ago.  I had determined to place a letter safely in
the box straight
away as your earl’
s illness has been
a constant reminder that one’s life could end at anytime.

I’m in my seventy-eighth year now. 
I
magine
that!
  This trip to the bank shall likely be my last.  I led the life I was looking for, Kate.  I want you to know that and know that I also looked out for Harrowby’s interests as best I could.

At Harrowby’s request,
I
offer
ed
my services as a tutor
and counselor
to yo
ur young student, Nathan Ralston
.  I believe I helped him become a great member of the nobility, a leader for progressive causes. 
He is an excellent earl, a knowledgeable busines
s
man. 
He grew up happy, Kate, with a loving mother and now a wife
, children and even grand
children of his own
.  Though we only keep in conta
ct these days by post, I gather he is an excellent and loving father
.

As for myself,
a few years after my return,
I did
finally wed
the old-fashioned girl I was always looking for and raised a small family myself. 
I hesitate to mention that it was Susan Ralston I wed but please be assured that she was ever happy. 

I kept my knowledge of the future to myself though I will admit that I might have exploited that knowledge for my own monetary gain to some extent, I am sure your world will remain unmarred from my financial maneuvering.

The items in this box are for you to make the most of.
Some were Harrowby’s personal items.  Overall, i
t should translate into a tidy fortune
and future
for you.

Enjoy your life
, Kate, as I
have enjoyed mine
. 

Your partner in time,

David Fergusson

Kate flipped over the page looking for more information but that was it.  She stared at it in disbelief.  Where was the news of Brand?  What had happened to him?  Surely she hadn’t been mistaken in assuming
David
meant to leave her word of how Brand fared as well!  Or was the illness
David
referred to not the appendicitis that h
ad
nearly taken Bran
d’s life when she was there but
rather, another illness that had ended his life too soon?

Stunned, she dropped into a chair and stared at the letter as if the burning of her eyes would produce words previously unseen, but there was nothing.  Brand was truly gone.

Fifteen minutes later, Kate roused herself from her grief-filled stupor enough to gather up the items
David
had placed in the box and shove them into her purse.  Placing the box back into its slot, Kate exited the vault and nodded her thanks to the manager before leaving the bank.  In a
daze, she
drove blindly back to Oxford
, lost in grief and mourning for the
love she had briefly found and censur
ing herself for
letting it go so easily.

She would never forgive herself for not embracing a life with Brand on any terms.  She would never forget the love that had
ful
filled her in a way she had never imagined.

Kate parked on the street in front of her flat and stared out the window.  She didn’t want to go in but where else was she to go?  To work?  God help her, she hadn’t even
thought to call
in sick
today
.  She’d be lucky if she still had a job.

She could go back to her parents, maybe.  Kate shook her head.  Even her dad couldn’t fix this.  She was on her own.

Sighing heavily, Kate got out of the car and headed up the walk.

“Thank God, I thought you were never going to get out of the car.”

Kate’s head shot up in surprise to find Brand sitting on the steps in front of her flat, his elbows propped on his knees and a huge smile gracing his handsome face.  “Brand?” Kate stuttered uncertainly.  “What are you doing here?”

“
T
hanking the Lord that the day has been a relatively mild one
,” he answered cheerfully
as he stood.  Gone were the summer clothes of his time
. 
Instead,
he wore jeans and a light wool sweater under his leather jacket
. 
He looked heavenly. 
“
I’ve been waiting for you for hours. 
Where have you been?”

“London.”  Kate thought of the bank and David’s letter with little mention of Brand.  Could that be because Brand hadn’t gone with him after all?  Exhilaration surged through Kate making her head swim dizzily.  “You stayed here?”

“I stayed where my heart is,” he corrected
,
rising to meet her on the walk since it seemed she wasn’t going to come any further.
  Reaching her, Brand drew her into his arms and hugged her tightly against him.  “I couldn’t go without you.  My life is wherever you are, Kate.  I’ve known that for months and should not have forgotten it so easily.  I will find my way here with you.”

“What about Nathan and Susan?” she couldn’t help but ask.  If Brand had regrets, they would eat away at him in time.

“
They will move forward with their lives as they were destined to.  Without me. 
I wrote a letter to Susan
explaining that I
would not be
return
ing
home and
asking her to hire Fergusson as Nathan’s tutor.  He agreed to teach Nathan everything he knew about business and investments so that the earldom would prosper and grow,” Brand assured her.  “As for their more
personal lives, Susan and I had a long talk
before my solicitor came that evening to rewrite my will.  She and Nathan will be free of my mother’s influence.  I believe they will be truly happy.”

“They were,” Kate said with a chuckle before digging in her purse for David’s letter and handing it to him.

“I wish now I could go back and wring his neck,” Brand said without heat
after he read it
.  “When I told him to look after my sister, that wasn’t quite what I had in mind.”

“Oh, Brand!” Kate chuckled in relief and
p
ressed her cheek against Brand
as she hugged him tightly
listening to the solid thumping of his heart, feeling
the
steady
rise and fall
of his chest
against h
er.  He was truly here!  He
stayed for her!
“I should have gone with you, Brand.  I’m so sorry.  I’ve known for months, too.  I love you so much.”

“I love you, too.”

“I just wanted you to be happy,” she said.

“I will be.  We will be.
  Together.
”

With Brand’s urging, Kate tilted her head back to receive his kiss of promise.  His lips traced her
s
tenderly, poignantly relaying all the love and passion in his heart bringing tears to Kate’s eyes.  They weren’t tears of sorrow and pain this time but tears of joy. 
She looked up at h
im, seeing
blue eyes filled with
love and tenderness and smiled
,
welcoming h
is
smile
in return. 
She had him forever now.  She would never let him go.

“Oh, I just figured it out!” Kate said suddenly then chuckled.  “David put your manuscr
ipts in that safe deposit box, B
rand.  He
left them not for me but for
you so that you could finish them here!”

Brand thought of his life’s work, the heart and soul he had poured into those books only to think them lost to the past.  “That’s surprisingly thoughtful of him.”

“I know, right?”  Kate hugged him again.

“What else did he
leave
?” Brand asked
with sudden urgency.  “Might
I see?”

“Of course.”  Kate le
d the way to her flat – their flat – and dumped her purse out on the kitchen counter. 

Brand dug through the pile until he came up with his hand clenched tightly.
“Clever devil, that Fergusson.”

“He said there were some things of yours in there, Brand,” Kate said curiously. 
“
Do
you have everything you need
to be happy here
now
?”

“
Not everything. 
There is only one more thing I need and I wi
ll ask you
for it
now,” he said softly
, opening his hand to reveal a ring thick with diamonds in an old-fashioned but elegant setting.  It was stunning
.
But no more stunning than the sight of Brand dropping to one knee.  He took her hand in his, his thumb caressing her tenderly.
“
I bought this
back then.
  I knew even then that I would never be content until I was free to show my love for you to the world.  You have given me everything that was lacking in my life.  Love, laughter, companionship and contentment.  Across all time, I will love you. 
Will you marry me, Kate?”

Kate’s heart melted at his tender, heartfelt words and with the knowledge that he had
planned
to marry her in his time as well
,
proving that he had been prepared to take more risks for her than she had ever considered. 
“
Brand, a
re you sure?”

“Will you marry me, Kate?” he asked
as he stood,
brushing a lock of hair from her temple before
tucking
it behind her ear
.

“I don’t want you to feel as if you have to, Brand.”

“Will you marry me, Kate?” came the third, more intent
repetition
of the question and Kate’s green eyes glowed with happiness.

“Well,
I suppose so.”

Brand slipped the ring on her finger and pulled her into his arms, kissing her passionately
.  He
lift
ed her up into his arms and spun
her
around as she clung to him with a squeal. 
With a laugh,
Kate
curled
her fists into his hair
and
pulled him down to
meet her lips
once more.

“What’s all this, then?” a deep voice
rang
into the room and Kate dragged her mouth from Brand’s to find her parents framed in the doorway.

“Daddy!” Kate cried out.  “Mama!  You’re here!” 
Urging Brand to drop her feet back to the floor,
Kate ran into their arms, hugging and kissing them before stepping back with a wide grin.  “Guess what?  I’m getting married!”

Sarah Kallastad trading a knowing look with her husband before smiling broadly.  “I always told you, Mark.  When she final
ly fell, it was going to be
hard
and fast
.”

Kate’s father shrugged philosophically.  “
Like mother like daughter.
”