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Archer shrugged. "We haven't figured that out yet."
"I've been thinking and, though Katherine and Edwyn are working together, I don't think they're after the same thing." Quinn's comment captured everyone's attention. She focused on Archer as she continued. "We told you about Edwyn stealing from you. There is something you have that he wants, he picked you specifically, but he needed a way to get near you. And what better way than to get you engaged to someone of his choosing like Katherine, the stunning beauty with ice for blood. Your wife dies unexpectedly and right on the cusp of that Katherine sets her cap on you sight unseen. They blackmail you and he's got his in. For Katherine, I think she truly wants you and your money. She's vindictive, and possibly a killer, but her motivation is passion and greed, pure and simple."
"And Edwyn?" Thaddeus asked.
Quinn looked up at him before she replied, "Presumably to steal something but what that something is, I don't know." She hesitated with sharing the rest of her theory, since it was a rather hard theory to swallow, but they all believed her to be from the future and had taken that shocking news rather well so she continued on. "In my time there's a man I sometimes work with," Quinn saw as Arch speared her with his glare from across the room.
"He's a fool, Archer, so whatever you're thinking, don't. Anyway, his name is Derek Blake and he's an archaeologist like me but he is always looking for the big score and has, on more occasions than is statistically possible, found very rare treasures."
"You think he's somehow moving through time hiding treasure and digging them back up in the future?" Archer asked incredulously.
"I do. Edwyn and Derek could be twins."
Thaddeus looked intrigued. "Seriously?"
"Yes. Edwyn is squatting on Danvers' land, we already saw him burying treasure, and his counterpart in the 21st century has the uncanny ability of finding treasures that no one else even knows exists. So play it out. He needs to get closer to you so he hires someone with ambition. They blackmail you into marriage and as the brother, he gets into Whispering Winds."
"But what is he after?"
"I don't know and, more, how did he learn of whatever it is when there is so little documented about Whispering Winds and you in the future?"
Quinn let that sink in for a minute before she asked, "You mentioned at dinner one night about how Edwyn handled his estate. Does he personally have an estate?"
"That night I was referring to Lord and Lady Danvers who when on continent split their time between their London townhouse and their estate that is not too far from Whispering Winds. I just assumed that Edwyn shared in his family's beliefs when it comes to tenant farming. As it turns out, he isn't even a Danvers."
"That's what I thought. I am sure he is Derek and he knows I know. We are running out of time."
Archer was very quiet for a minute and when he spoke his voice was very soft. "Why do you suppose there is nothing of our legacy in the future?"
She reached for his hand. "I think Derek came back and orchestrated a con that led to your and Nickie's deaths and, more than likely, people witnessed his disappearing act as he slipped back into the future. Even in my time, seeing someone disappearing into thin air would create chaos and fear because the unexplainable always does. That fear and uncertainty can turn into rumors of curses and magic and I believe that is what happened to Whispering Winds."
"This is all rather overwhelming but, oddly, I find it all plausible." Lady Scarcliff said from her spot across the table.
"If Edwyn is this Derek character then who is Katherine?" Cecilia's voice had Quinn looking over at her and smiling as a plan started to form.
"I don't know who she is but I have a fairly good idea of what she is." Quinn looked to Archer and Thaddeus before she added, "We're going to have to go undercover."
Archer's eyebrow rose at that, "Meaning?"
Her grin was razor sharp as she replied, "You'll see."
Later that night Archer and Quinn strolled through the small garden in the back of the townhouse and though Archer wanted to know what Quinn was up to, he didn't want to take up their time together with talk of Derek/Edwyn and the Danvers. In truth, he was still trying to understand it. What did the world become that made time travel possible? The thought was daunting and a bit frightening.
He pulled his mind from such things and promised himself he'd stay in the here and now by reaching for Quinn's hand and letting complete and utter contentment fill him. She spoke his name and when he looked down at her he knew what he was feeling was clearly seen in his expression because of the small hitch in her breathing. In response, he couldn't help leaning over and lightly brushing his lips over hers. "Yes?"
It seemed to take her a minute to remember what she was going to ask.
"Could you tell me about your wife?"
He knew his grin faded at the mention of that woman but he didn't release his hold on her hand as he answered.
"I remember very little about her. She was vain and arrogant, hand-picked for me by my father."
Quinn could feel the anger rolling off him so she stopped and reached for his other hand. "She gave you Nickie."
"That's just it, Quinn, I'm not convinced that she was Nickie's mother."
Quinn didn't have to feign shock at that announcement. "What do you mean?"
