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Archer couldn't tear his gaze from her as he watched how her joy was reflected in every part of her face. His heart ached because he knew when she left he was going to be devastated. The thought of losing her, of living out the rest of his days without her, made him stop abruptly.
She turned to him as concern marred her features. "Archer?"
"Promise me, in the future, when you visit a fair you will think of me."
"I promise. But Archer I will think about you every day, remembering you, loving you, missing you. It won't even be a conscious choice because you are apart of me now, as I am apart of you."
He pulled her to him. "I can't bear the thought of you leaving me. But I know you will be missed by more than just me because you've touched us all." He stepped back and took her hand before he said, "Come with me."
"Where are we going?" Quinn asked.
"You'll see."
They reached a clearing where a man sat with an easel, torches were lit illuminating him and the vacant chair that sat just before him. Archer led Quinn to the chair and helped her to smooth her skirts.
"I want to have a miniature painted of you so you'll be with me always."
Quinn's heart twisted painfully in her chest as she whispered, "I want one of you."
"I hoped you'd say that. It's already done," Archer announced proudly.
And so when the miniature was painted the artist captured a woman looking with love at her gentleman.
A few nights after the fair, Mr. Grant arrived at Whispering Winds and with him came upsetting news of Katherine.
"I couldn't find a last name for Katherine but she was hired by the man we know as Edwyn Danvers to orchestrate the ruin of Lord Scarcliff's sister. It was as you thought, Miss Shaughnessy, he didn't care if they actually got married; he just wanted access to Lord Scarcliff's home. It was Katherine who wanted the marriage and from the way she was howling in her prison cell, it wasn't just about the money."
"Her prison cell?" Quinn asked shocked.
"Apparently the real Lord and Lady Danvers arrived home earlier than scheduled to find Katherine and Beatrice, the other actress posing as Lady Danvers, in their home with a man who is a known criminal. When he was arrested, he admitted that Katherine was hiring him to kill not only Lord Scarcliff and his son but you also, Miss Shaughnessy."
Quinn gasped but Archer reached for her hand. "You stopped it, Quinn."
"What about Edwyn?" Thaddeus asked.
"After an extensive search the police found nothing; no evidence that he was ever there at all. Both women are currently locked in the local jail pending sentencing. As you know, crimes against the peerage are handled most severely. And plotting the murder of an Earl and his heir, well, the end is a foregone conclusion."
Quinn gulped at those dire words, "Meaning?"
"They will hang."
"Oh my God."
"You said there was no sign of Edwyn?" Thaddeus asked but he was looking at Quinn and clearly he knew exactly where the man went.
It was all going to be different, the past had been righted and the future had most definitely been altered. Archer and Nickie would be remembered, Whispering Winds would no longer be a ghost town, and a family was brought back together. But what of Derek? He was back in the future, but what he was doing was still a mystery. And he was still a potential threat to Archer, but Quinn wasn't through with him, not until she stopped him. Sadly, she knew she'd get the opportunity to question Derek soon because she could feel that her time here was coming to an end.
The following morning, Archer asked Quinn to accompany him into the village but he didn't mention where they were going until a small cemetery appeared over a rise. A black iron fence surrounded the sprawling space and the stones all looked rather new. They walked along, hand in hand, until they reached the marker withMorgan O'Cuinnon it.
"Do you suppose that this is still here in the future or are people of your time not so concerned with the spirits of the dead?"
"Graveyards are still sacred in my time."
Archer turned to Quinn. "I have loved two women in my life and soon I will have lost them both. Morgan died bringing my child into the world and I mourn the loss of her, but losing you is going to feel as if my very soul is being torn from my body. This is real, Quinn. I so fear when you go back you'll forget and believe it was all an impossible dream. That's why I want to leave something for you here, protected by the first woman I loved for the last woman I'll love. It is you, Quinn. For me it is, and will always be, you."
Quinn wiped at her tears and held his gaze. "For me, it's you. I came across time for you."
Shaking, Archer lifted Quinn's hand, and took the betrothal ring from her finger. When she looked up in puzzlement, she saw his tears.
