AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Quinn was livid. Not only could she tell them all about Rouen but every other manufacturer of soft-paste porcelain of the time. She could also educate them on hard-paste porcelain which wouldn't be discovered for another seventy-odd years and would become known as Limoges -- some of the most sought after porcelains ever. Instead of flaying a layer of skin off the arrogant Archer, Quinn bit her tongue and lowered her head, but inside she was seething.
Katherine eyed Quinn from across the table as she battled to control her fury because despite Archer's abruptness with the other woman, Katherine didn't miss the looks he was giving her. He was hers and she didn't like to share so Quinn was going to have to leave, either on her own or with a bit of help, and she knew just how to do it because she had done it before.
Katherine suspected Quinn was smart enough to catch the insult when she directed her question to Thaddeus. "Other than her active imagination, what does your friend do?"
Quinn's head snapped up at that because what a rather odd, and eerily modern, question to ask considering women of this day did very little beyond embroidery and child bearing. It was the arrogant look on Katherine's face that had Quinn speaking without thinking. "You can ask me directly. I've been speaking for myself for the last few years now."
Katherine ignored Quinn and looked pointedly at Thaddeus awaiting an answer. Before Thaddeus could respond though, Quinn feigned concern as she looked right into Thaddeus' blue gaze.
"I didn't realize that Miss Danvers was hard of hearing. Oh, I am so sorry." She then looked directly at Katherine.
"I'll be sure to speak louder and use smaller words to make sure you understand."
Outrage turned Katherine's face pink.
"That's a nice color on you. It takes away that pale, pasty look you were sporting earlier."
"How dare you," Katherine hissed through perfect white teeth and Quinn couldn't help but think she looked an awful lot like a snake at that moment.
Archer's loud harsh words were like a slap in Quinn's face. "That is quite enough, Miss Shaughnessy," he bellowed.
Quinn couldn't help the glare that she leveled on him. He could sit by silently while his bitch of a lady condescended to her but heaven forbid Quinn should speak up for herself and give a little of it back. Oh no, instead she was treated as the recalcitrant child. She knew her fury was easily read on her face; she was never able to keep her feelings a secret. A flash of some emotion crossed over his face, no doubt in response to the fury that was radiating off of her but before she could identify it, he lowered his lashes.
Bastard.
"There's nothing wrong with Miss Danvers' hearing," Thaddeus offered as a way to defuse the situation. But Quinn, who was now firmly in temper and, since she was already being treated like a naughty child, leaned back in her chair and sneered at Katherine from across the table before she bit out her next words.
"Oh, so it isn't a physical defect that she suffers, just an abominable lack of social grace." Quinn's attention never left Katherine's so she saw the hatred that swept across Katherine's face. Suddenly a foot nailed her in the shin.
"Oww." Quinn closed her eyes a moment at the pain shooting up her leg. "I thought you couldn't kick a lady? I'm going to be limping for a week." She looked over at Thaddeus only to find that he was barely controlling his laughter.
"Don't you dare," she threatened, "I'm a train wreck and you're going to laugh now?"
Quinn glared at him as his suppressed laughter caused him to turn from pink to bright red.
Archer was saying something which had Quinn unconsciously rolling her eyes and that was all it took for Thaddeus to lose it completely. She knew it would only be minutes before she started laughing, too, so she stood.
"I could use some air. Thaddeus?"
As Thaddeus stood he almost doubled over from his uncontrolled merriment. Quinn moved quickly around the table and grabbed his arm just as her mouth started to twitch.
"Excuse us."
She just managed to pull him from the room before she erupted into a fit of, not feminine giggles but roaring, raucous laughter.
Thaddeus had tears running down his cheeks but he managed to say through his mirth, "You weren't jesting."
She wiped at her tears before she replied, "Nope."
Later in the evening, Quinn was walking through the gardens while she attempted to get some control over herself because she was freaking out a bit. She shouldn't be here and she was more than likely just dreaming but if she wasn't, how was she supposed to get home? Dinner had been a disaster, between Archer and his demonic girlfriend and Thaddeus and her laughter fit, she wasn't going to survive too many more dinners like that.
When she heard the sound of voices, she ducked into a patch of trees moments before Archer and Katherine appeared. Katherine's arms were laced through Archer's arm but it was the looks on their faces that gave her pause. For as cold as Katherine was to Quinn, she could see that Katherine felt a genuine affection for Archer. She reminded Quinn of a love-sick teenager looking up at her idol. Archer, despite the intimacy of their stroll, looked angry, even disgusted, yet Katherine didn't even seem to notice. There was definitely a very strange dynamic between the two but hopefully she wouldn't be in this fantasy land long enough for it to matter. She dismissed them and snuck back to the castle.
In the morning, Quinn woke, sat up, looked around the room and groaned. She was still in the 18th century. She felt her heart beating erratically in her chest as panic filled her. What if she wasn't dreaming, what if this was somehow real and she was truly in the past? The idea was just so far out there that Quinn wasn't ready to think too hard on it. Instead she decided since she was here, dream or not, she might as well get her fill of history in the making. She dressed quickly so she could spend the early morning studying the castle unobserved.
She marveled over the contents of the great hall, kitchen, several guest rooms and the music room. She wanted to go into Archer's solar but knew if he walked in on her he would probably accuse her of stealing and lop off her head. Yet for as much of an ass as he was, she couldn't deny that she was wildly attracted to the man.
After spending most of the morning -- and a good portion of the afternoon -- inside the castle, Quinn walked outside to get a better look at how the construction of the castle was done in the 1700s. It was extraordinary, she was actually here witnessing the place being built, of course, this probably was all just in her mind even though she never thought she had that great of an imagination. What she wouldn't give to have her digital camera or even her phone in this dream.
