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Quinn paled at that but no words would come especially since she could see how hard Gabriel was fighting what he was feeling. The tears were there but she wasn't about to show them so instead she jerked free of his hold, turned without a word, and walked away.
She managed to tuck away her emotions by the time she reached the castle. She just needed to get through this meeting and then she could go home and deal with everything she was feeling. She reached into her saddlebag and grabbed the folder and journal and headed into the castle.
She had spent much of her time in the past in Archer's solar so she knew the way. She pushed the door open and her eyes landed on the man sitting behind Archer's desk. Damn those Scarcliffs for all looking the same. Nicholas' eyes weren't that beautiful green, they were more hazel in color like Archer's mother's, but the bone structure was exactly the same. Hell, even his black hair was long enough to brush against his wide shoulders. He rose from his spot at his desk with that same easy but deliberate stride that his ancestor had mastered, he came from around his desk and reached for her hands. The look on his face, the one that held not just welcome but confirmation, gave Quinn a moment's pause.
"It is my very great pleasure to finally meet you, Quinn," he whispered as he lifted her hands to his lips and kissed the top of each. By the sudden arctic blast that caused a chill down her spine, she knew that Gabriel had just stepped into the room and witnessed Nicholas' very friendly welcome. Nicholas led Quinn to a chair then turned to Gabriel.
"Gabriel, so good to see you again."
Gabriel stepped forward to shake Nicholas' offered hand then took a seat. At least he was on the other side of the room, Quinn thought, though that didn't stop her from experiencing the laser-like burn from his stare. His anger at her was unfounded and as she brooded over that fact, she nearly missed Nicholas' inquiry.
"So what is it you wanted to share with me, Quinn?"
Quinn handed the journal to Nicholas then turned to Gabriel. She held out the folder to him which contained a copy of the journal. He hesitated a moment before he took it.
"Read it," she held his angry stare a moment then turned back to Nicholas.
"Please read it."
And with that Quinn left the room. She wasn't really sure where she was going but she knew she couldn't stay in that room. It felt too much like the past and the present colliding, what with Nicholaslookingso damn much like Archer and Gabrielbeingso much like him.
She moved through the castle and eventually found herself in Nickie's nursery. How many Scarcliff children had seen this room? The furniture was the same, a few additions like a rocking chair and changing table for the newest Scarcliffs, but the old bed and the dresser were the ones Nickie had used. The walls were different, though it looked to be an old mural painted on them. It was a very elaborate painting, wrapping around the entire room, and Quinn took a step closer to study it.
It took no time at all for her to realize what she was looking at and the knowledge nearly made her cry. Her fingers reached out and touched a painted Archer perched on the bench of the dunking tank and, as it had been, she was painted standing before him. They were staring at one another with the ball frozen in the air headed toward the target. That ball had sent him for a swim. Just behind her, Nickie and Thaddeus stood, their faces painted in laughter.
Her dearest wish was that her life had played out with them and that she had been there to watch as Nickie grew into a man. To watch as Archer's sisters married and had children, to witness Thaddeus falling madly in love, to grow old with Archer. It hurt, still it hurt, the magnitude of what she lost and she allowed herself a moment to mourn what had been taken from her. She started from the room but stopped suddenly when she felt the icy touch again on her cheek.
"Archer," she whispered as she closed her eyes to the ghostly caress that ran along her jaw and down her neck. She gasped when she felt her hand being held in a cold grip. She was led to the closet in the back of the room and there, carved in the wooden baseboard, were the letters A and Q. Quinn knelt down and worked the small piece of wood free and reached her hand into the space it exposed. She pulled out a small burlap bag. She opened the bag and gently pulled out what was inside: a small wooden horse, clearly carved by a child, and a scrap of paper. Quinn examined the horse and on the belly were the initials: "N.S."
"Nickie, it's beautiful," she whispered and held it to her heart. The note was smudged and smeared from age but she was still able to make out Archer's message, "Quinn, my love, be careful, he's here. Archer"
Her heart skipped a beat at the warning but she already knew Derek was here. He'd left before she had, but she supposed Archer had been worried since he was helpless to protect her. She tucked her finds back in their bag and slipped them into her jacket pocket. She returned the wood trim before she left the room.
Gabriel had no words, couldn't form a single thought, after reading what Quinn had handed him. They were linked, Quinn and he. He always knew that but what he just read shook him to his very core. When he looked over at Nicholas, he saw that his friend didn't look as disturbed by what he read as he should have.
"Nick, why aren't you in shock from what you just read?"
Nick closed the journal but kept his hand on it for a moment as a smile touched his lips. "I've heard it before, have been told this particular bedtime story since I was a babe."
Gabriel looked over at Cole and Charles to make sure he had heard Nick correctly and, yes, their looks of shock mirrored his own. He turned his attention back to Nick.
"Come again?"
"At first, I thought the story was a fairy tale but I've found things through the years and know that as unbelievable a story as it is, it's real. Every word."
"Found things?" Charles asked.
"Yeah, things hidden by Archer and Nickie for Quinn. They're easy to find when you know what you're looking for. The letters A and Q carved throughout the house, it's pretty obvious what those letters stand for after hearing the stories I've heard since childhood."
"Does Quinn know?" Cole asked.
Before Nicholas could answer a hauntingly bittersweet melody filled the silence. Gabriel watched his friend and the strange look that came over his features. When he closed his eyes, seemingly lost in the music, Gabriel felt another tug of temper because his reaction to the music was almost identical.
He snapped, "Nick, what's gotten into you and who the hell is playing the piano?"
Nicholas' eyes popped opened and Gabriel could see his surprise. "You can hear that?"
Gabriel glanced at Cole and Charles before he replied, "Yes."
