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"There are always deaths when building a home such as this. I just hope this inconvenience doesn't cause too much of a delay."
Disgust filled Quinn as she watched Katherine and Archer. They were sitting together but his back was to her so she had no idea how he had reacted to Katherine's hateful words. She suddenly had no desire to be in either of their company and so she stood.
"I've a headache. I'm going to retire for the evening."
Thaddeus started towards her but she stopped him with a raised hand and a smile.
"I'll be fine," she promised. "See you in the morning."
And without waiting for a reply she swept from the room and started up the stairs only to be stopped by a booming voice calling her name.
"Miss Shaughnessy." Archer called from the base of the staircase.
Quinn was so enraged by Katherine's heartless words that she didn't let Archer speak, but took a few steps down so she could address him eye to eye.
"I watched a young man die today, a boy who lost his life so that you can live in splendor. His blood on your stones may be an inconvenience to you and your lady friend but I'll be damned if I'll dishonor his memory by breaking bread with people so callous and cold as to be only concerned with how his death delays the completion of this."
She saw the flash of anger before he bit out, "And that is what you believe?"
"It's what your lady came right out and said and since you have linked yourself to her, it is a reasonable assumption that you share her opinions. Especially when you made no point to contradict her. If you don't share her views then I think, Lord Scarcliff, you may want to pick your friends better." And with that she dismissed him, turned, and fled up the stairs.
The following morning when Quinn once again woke in the 18th century, she conceded to herself that she was not dreaming. She was disappointed in the reality of Whispering Winds, namely that the head of the household wasn't what she had always pictured. She had romanticized the castle and all who lived here with its knight in shining armor and fair maiden, but to find the situation so vastly different was a let-down. On a more practical note, she needed to figure out what was happening to her, why she was sent here and how she was supposed to get home? She knew she would -- she had to -- but while she sought those answers she was going to try to learn as much as she could about this magical place.
There was still a mystery here, one that caused this beautiful castle to become a ghost town in the future, and solving that puzzle was just too much of a lure.
Sara entered with a tray of hot chocolate and thickly-sliced toast which Quinn devoured and then the tedious task of dressing ensued. An hour later, after much squeezing and pinching, Quinn was stepping out into the bright outdoors.
Thaddeus was working with Archer today and it was suggested to her that she join Katherine in the library. Right, like that was going to happen. She would rather face down an entire ship of pirates then spend any time voluntarily in that woman's presence. Maleficent fromSleeping Beautycould have been fashioned after Katherine, exquisite and evil to the core.
Instead, Quinn decided to visit the gardens and was delighted to see that there was a kitchen garden almost exactly where Quinn had envisioned one and it was filled with beautiful hardy plants and not a single weed. Mrs. Hamston ran a tight ship.
As she admired the meticulous garden, the sound of banging drew Quinn's attention and the image that filled her vision had her stopping and staring. Archer and Thaddeus were working with laborers to lift heavy stones into place. After yesterday's tragedy, this brought an uncontrollable wave of fear to her heart but she forced herself to get past it. This was how it was done, she assured herself, and after the accident everyone was sure to be more careful.
She studied Archer and Thaddeus who were dressed much like the other workers with white shirts unbuttoned at the collar and rolled at the sleeves, long-legged breeches, boots and their long hair pulled back from their faces -- but there was no denying the elegance and sophistication that they wore like a second skin.
She watched as they managed to lift a stone that had to weigh upwards a few hundred pounds into its place on the wall. She wondered how they would react if they saw the modern machines used in the future to build and what those machines would create.
Her gaze lingered a moment or two longer on Archer, his form clearly visible under the clothes that were sticking to his heated skin. He was gorgeous -- arrogant, autocratic and rude -- but gorgeous. On a sigh, she turned and started walking along the river's edge.
It felt very strange walking the same landscape she had three hundred years in the future. It was crazy to even consider the possibility that she had gone back in time. It was more probable that she was dreaming -- a very elaborate dream about the place that had consumed her thoughts for so long. What she had trouble reconciling was how did she find the castle that first day seven years before and why the feeling of nostalgia that swept over her causing her to stop so suddenly? She had seen Archer's ghost by the river's edge that day but how did she know what he would look like when she hadn't met him until she found herself in the past?
Quinn pulled her thoughts from that vexing conundrum as she continued to walk along the river bank; the sound of the water babbling over the rock bed was so peaceful. Lost in her thoughts, she had walked well beyond the castle and before her the landscape spread out endlessly.
Seeing the vast untouched land she could easily understand the early explorers need to discover what would happen if you ventured out too far into the unknown frontier. Would you eventually step off the edge of the Earth? And what was out there in that vast, beautiful landscape? It was tempting to keep walking and do a bit of exploring herself but she decided it would be more prudent to start back.
She hadn't gotten very far when she saw a massive black horse approaching. Atop it was the Lord and, if his blazing green eyes were any indication, he was pissed. He pulled the horse to a stop just before her and he looked down his aristocratic nose at her.
"Have you no concern for anyone but yourself?" he demanded.
"Excuse me?" Quinn responded ready to again battle this beautiful man.
"The entire household has spent the past hour looking for you," he roared. "You've been gone for almost four hours."
Oops. "I didn't realize I've been gone that long. I certainly didn't mean to worry anyone nor did I want anyone to take time from their busy schedules to look for me."
"I wonder if you gave any thought to anyone at all."
Quinn glared at him as her temper flared. "It must be nice to be so decided in your thinking to believe you know a person after so short an acquaintance."
