Before the Fire Page 14

  George smiled at the memory. “I daresay, it was one of the few times I’d ever seen mother at a loss for words.”

  Chester laughed heartily at that recounting. He saluted Kane with his snifter and winked at her. “I should pay a pretty pound to see that wonder of wonders.”

  Lady Julia rapped her fan against the viscount’s chest and frowned. “Are you saying that I talk too much?”

  Chester grabbed his intended viscountess’s hand and drew it to his lips. “Never, my dear.”

  The dowager countess blushed, appeased.

  “So,” Alex stated, suddenly excited to hear more, “now that my uncle and myself have calmed down a bit, mayhap you will regale us with more stories of your adventure, milady?”

  Kane laughed, shaking her head to and fro in mirth. “I fear there isn’t much else to tell. You know the majority of it.” She shrugged her shoulders and smiled at her family and friends. “I fear that I must excuse myself, my lords and lady, for the events of this day have brought to mind the fact that I need to try and establish contact with the Houston colony. I’ve been out of contact for so long that I fear they will believe the worst.” She stood up on tiptoe and kissed her husband on the cheek. “If you will excuse me.”

  The smile George had entertained for the past hour evaporated at his wife’s words. It was one thing for her to recount her stories of her former time, but an entirely new thing when she wished to contact her old home. It dredged up every fear he’d carried inside of him the last sennight. It was a pointed reminder that he might still lose the only woman he’d ever truly loved to an unknown future. Indeed, if she returned to the Houston colony with her kabitross plant, she might not make it back to 1776 again.

  George grabbed her hand and held it tightly. “Kane,” he whispered thickly with emotion, “please do not.”

  Kane’s eyes flew up to meet her husband’s gaze. She knew after only a second of perusal what his fear was. She smiled up to him warmly, needing to dispel him of his faulty notions immediately. “It’s all right, George,” she promised, stroking his arm as she spoke. “I swear to never leave without you knowing of it. All I’m going to accomplish tonight is an establishment of contact.”

  “Kane please,” he insisted, not able to shrug off the ominous feeling overpowering his constitution. “I beg you, please do not.”

  She wished there was more she could do to assure him, for she had to make contact. She had put it off far too long as it was not wishing to waste precious fero-nitrum. “I’m sorry, George, I truly am. But I have no choice. They must know that I’ve made no progress as of yet. I do not want my commander to place all his hopes for Egis’s recovery on my mission.” She took his hand and squeezed it gently. “I may never find the kabitross.”

  Alex raised a golden eyebrow as he glanced from wife to husband. “I don’t understand why the fear, George. How does she establish contact?” He took a sip from his brandy, then muttered, “though I do shudder to ask.”

  “I’ve no notion,” George readily admitted, his earlier megrim coming back like a battering ram. He closed his eyes for a brief moment as he rubbed his aching temples.

  “Oh heavens!” Lady Julia announced with bated breath. “I should love to witness your making contact, daughter.” She clapped her hands together in glee. “Can we not watch?”

  “Is that possible?” Chester inquired, plopping down next to his nephew on the sofa. “If it is, I too should like to see this.”

  Kane bit her lower lip, tapping her finger against her cheek in thought. She studied her husband, hating how depressed and out of sorts he looked. “Would it make you feel better if I made contact here in the library, George? That way you’ll be with me the whole time.”

  “You can do it right here?” Alex asked, clearly as captivated by the notion as he was confused by it. “What must you do? Enter into some sort of wicked trance, waiting for the spirits of the future to speak to you?” It was obvious to all parties present he was hoping it was so.

  Kane couldn’t help it. She laughed. “By Saturn’s rings, no!” She giggled uncontrollably, clapping her hand to her mouth. “The communicator is contained within my laser-c.”

  “You can do this in front of us?” George asked wearily, knowing he would have to give in on this issue. He didn’t want his wife contacting the future at all, but if there was no choice in the matter, then it would have to be in his presence.

  “Certainly.” She glanced around the room, taking in everybody’s varying expressions. “If there aren’t any objections?”

  “No!” everyone cried, part from fear, part from curiosity, and part from excitement.

  She shrugged. “Can everyone take a seat, then?”

  Kane had never seen her mother-in-law scurry so quickly—not even in a fighting stance when attempting to kick ass. She sat down on the sofa next to Chester, George moving himself on the other side of it next to Alex.

  “Now what do we do?” the marquess asked in fascination. “Hold hands and chant?”

  George rolled his eyes, his headache forgotten in his exasperation. He rapped Alex upside the head with his knuckles. “She just said it would be done through her laser-c. My wife isn’t a high priestess of the Black Arts, you lackwit.”

  The marquess appeared to be mildly disappointed by that news, but he took it in stride. “Fine. Let us begin then, milady.”

  “Yes,” Chester beamed, rubbing the palms of his hands together eagerly, “I cannot take the suspense a moment longer.”

  Lady Julia giggled.

  Even George was feeling the anticipation.

  Kane raised her laser-c, pointing it in the direction of the earl’s desk. She touched a tiny mechanism on it, inducing a rectangular, mirror-like image to shoot out and form in front of the desk. The group gasped in awe.

  “Communicator, engage.”

  At Kane’s command, the area around the mirror-like image lit up, framed by hundreds of pulsating lights of assorted colors.

  “’Tis beautiful,” George whispered, unable to say more.

  “Yes,” Alex agreed wide-eyed. “It is.”

  “Communicator, this is Dr. Kane Edmonds, planabotonologist of NASA currently in England, planet Earth, 1776 AD. Scan for Commander Linder, Chief Director of NASA in colony Houston, planet Earth, 2429 AD.”

  After a few moments, a male-like voice spoke back to Kane, causing another round of gasps to rise up from the audience. “Greetings humanoid Kane. This is droid Farja, assembled in 2320, planet Zyphon. Scan is negative.”

  Kane growled her frustration.

  George lifted a brow and regarded his wife. “What’s wrong, my dear? What did the gentleman mean when he said ‘scan is negative’?”

  “Gentleman?”

  The earl pointed toward the mirror-like image, which was rippling like waves of water in the ocean. “The man who spoke.”

  “He’s not a man. He is a droid, which is a machine built by men.”

  “Truly?” Lady Julia breathed out. “Men can build other men?”

  “Fascinating,” Alex murmured.

  “Well what did the machine mean, my love?” George was clearly becoming more and more enthralled.

  “He can’t find Linder.” She shook her head. “I know how important this mission is to him. One would think Linder would be waiting for me to establish contact.” She waved her hand tersely through the air, not caring to waste any more time pondering that thought. “Droid Farja, scan for Melea, Warrior Woman of NASA, Houston colony, planet Earth.”

  Alex clapped his hands together like a child waiting for a glimpse of Santa Clause on Christmas Eve. “Oh my, a warrior woman! This grows more intriguing by the moment!”

  George rolled his eyes and chuckled, though he had to admit this was exciting business, establishing contact with future people.

  The droid’s voice returned a few minutes later, bearing news. “Humanoid Kane, I have located humanoid Melea. She wishes to establish visual, audio, and sensory contact. Do
you concur?”

  “I concur.”

  “What is sensory contact?” Chester asked.

  Kane glanced over to him briefly, then flicked her gaze back to the image that would soon contain Melea. “It means that in addition to seeing and hearing her, we’ll also be able to touch her and smell her scent, as if she were truly here.”

  “Truly?” Lady Julia gasped.

  Kane nodded in the affirmative.

  “Fascinating,” Alex murmured.

  A moment later, the figure of a tall, well-formed woman with long, black hair and tawny gold eyes appeared within the mirror-like image. She was dressed in the same scandalous garment Lady Julia and Lady Kane had been wearing when happened upon in the gardens. Alex fell instantly in lust.

  “Kane, where in Jupiter have you been?” Melea shouted. “I’ve been worried to death I’ll have you know. And who are those humanoids sitting with you? Are the primitives holding you for ransom?”

  “Primitives?” George spat, rising to his feet in agitation. “Now wait one bloody moment!”

  Kane held up a silencing hand. “It’s alright, George, let me handle this.” She turned back to the image and frowned. “Melea, best friend of mine or not, you will apologize to my husband immediately.”

  Melea scowled, crossing her arms over her chest. “What is a ‘husband’ and why should I bother?”

  Kane reached out and gently grasped Melea’s hand. “You should because you care for me and a ‘husband’ is this world’s version of a permanent companion.”

  Melea’s eyes widened at that announcement. She released Kane’s hand, allowing her own to drop to her side in amazement. A smile of disbelief and congratulations smothered her face. “I apologize—George—I believe it was?”

  “Yes,” he nodded, accepting her words.

  Melea smiled at him, shaking her head. “I never thought I’d live to see the day when a humanoid man would capture my Kane’s fancy. And to file for permanent companionship no less.” She eyed the earl up and down, nodding to herself. “You are, however, a prime specimen of humanoid male.”

  George blushed pink from the tips of his toes to the roots of his hair.

  Kane smiled, nodding her head up and down in agreement. “He is, isn’t he?” She held out her hands and pointed toward him, showcasing him like a new spacecar on the auction block. “George, twirl around so Melea can see all of you.”

  The earl’s face flushed from pink to red faster than the speed of light raised to the eleventh power. “I do not twirl, madam.”

  “Oh Georgie,” Lady Julia smiled, stifling a giggle, “do twirl for the gel.”

  The earl shot his mother an indignant look meant to make her cower. She simply laughed instead, then looked back over to Melea.

  “Melea, I almost forgot to introduce you to everyone else,” Kane remembered, deciding from the look on her husband’s face that a shift in topic was probably for the better. “This lovely woman here,”—she pointed to the dowager—“is my mother within the law, George’s mother, Lady Julia, the Dowager Countess of Blackmore.”

  Melea inclined her head graciously, still grinning from ear to ear.

  “And this,” Kane announced as she pointed toward the viscount, “is—hopefully—Julia’s soon-to-be permanent companion Chester, also known as Viscount Blake.”

  “How do you do, milady?” Chester smiled at Melea, bowing his head deferentially.

  “Well, thank-you.”

  “And lastly,” Kane proceeded, waving her hand in the direction of the marquess, “we have my husband’s best friend and Chester’s nephew Alex, also known as the Marquess of Asherby.”

  Alex rose to his feet, bowing his head toward this woman who had garnered his undivided interest. “Hello,” he offered in a low, seductive voice that made Kane lift a brow.

  Melea sat up straighter in her sensory chair, as riveted by the marquess as he was by her. “Hello,” she offered in return, eyeing him up and down in the bold manner she had about her. She turned to Kane and winked. “Does this one twirl?”

  Alex made a strange gurgling sound, accompanied by a swift change in coloring. He and George now looked like two bright red peas from the same pod. Kane grinned. “Afraid not, Melea. The humanoids of this world do not speak of intimate things as freely as we do. I’m afraid you’ve shocked the poor man.”

  “A pity.”

  “Yes.” She sighed. “It took me almost two full weeks to bed my husband. It was exasperating to no end.”

  Now it was the earl’s turn to gurgle. Unfortunately, Alex was still gurgling, so the two of them sounded like a duo of frogs trying to croak out a word or two.

  “But I digress.” Kane sighed deeply, then waved a hand toward Melea. “Where is Linder?”

  Melea slouched into her seat once again and folded one leg over the other. “Off planet. When we didn’t hear from you right away, he had the good sense to go exploring. He’s still hoping to find the kabitross plant in another solar system.”

  Kane nodded her approval.

  “Speaking of which,” Melea continued, “have you located it yet?”

  Kane shook her head and sighed. “No, but not from lack of trying I assure you. Unfortunately, the search continues.”

  “Do you need assistance?”

  “Are you offering?”

  “Yes.”

  Kane glowed, loving the idea of having her best friend join her in eighteenth century England, if even for a little while. “There is something you should know, Melea. A couple of things actually.”

  “Such as?”

  Kane glanced over toward her husband who, thankfully, was gradually returning to his normal coloring. “I’m returning to the past when this is over.” She looked back to Melea. “I will come back to my husband.”

  Melea nodded, already having arrived at that conclusion on her own. “I figured as much.” She squinted her eyes as she contemplated the matter further. “Perhaps I should travel to you. That way when we find the plant, I can be the one to bring it back so you risk nothing.”

  George’s ears perked up at that notion. Feeling more upbeat and hopeful than he had in ages, he walked toward Melea’s image and halted in front of it. “Would you really do that for us? It is much to ask, I realize, but I cannot live without…” He looked at his wife and smiled in resignation. He then returned his gaze to the Warrior Woman. “I would be forever in your debt, Melea.”

  Melea smiled warmly at the earl, pleased with Kane’s choice in a mate. “Consider it done, my friend.”

  “Melea wait!” Kane exclaimed, her hands wringing together. “I cannot let you do this without knowing all the facts beforehand.”

  Melea arched a black brow, but said nothing. Kane sighed and continued. “We know from my example that the transport works when going from future to past, but…” she sighed again, regarding her friend in honesty. “We can’t know until the time comes whether or not it works in reverse.”

  George’s gaze shifted toward the ground in despair. It was too much to ask of anyone, facing the possibility that they might never be able to return to the only world they’d ever known. And yet his courageous wife had done so. He didn’t think it possible, yet his opinion of her soared to an even greater height. Still, he could not ask it of Melea. “Mistress Melea, as much as I would like for you to come here, I cannot in good conscience…”

  “I’m thinking, George,” Melea admitted. “Give me a moment.”

  His hopes returned. She was still considering! “Of course. And should you decide to come to us I will, of course, be responsible for you should you find yourself unable to return home.”

  She lifted a bemused brow. “Responsible?”

  The earl shifted on his feet, afraid he’d offended her when he was trying desperately to gain standing with her. Lord, but future women were a trial to a gentleman. “All I meant was that I would see to it that you always lived here in luxury. You should never want for anything.”

  Melea nodded, under
standing his meaning. “I am grateful.”

  “It is I who would be grateful.” George took his wife’s hand and kissed it, smiling lovingly at her all the while.

  Melea knew then and there that she couldn’t and wouldn’t refuse the couple’s chance at happiness. She sighed in resignation. “Oh alright,” she conceded. “But on one condition.”

  George turned on his heel to face Melea, his countenance soaring blessedly. “Anything. You have but to name it.”

  Melea grinned, then touched her tongue to her upper lip mischievously. She pointed to Alex and nodded. “Make him twirl.”

  Chapter 20

  “Of all the indignities!”

  Alex plopped down into his chair at his usual table at White’s, seething with mortification. George and Chester assumed the seats at his either side. The ladies had decided against attending the Walcott's ball this eve, wanting instead to prepare for Melea’s arrival in a few days. The gentlemen had decided to visit their clubs and enjoy a game or two of whist in their absence.

  “Come, come,” the viscount chuckled, “it wasn’t so bad as that. And the lady did appear to be impressed with your arse. Even had George hold up your coattails to get a better look.”

  Alex merely glared.

  “I apologize for forcing you to twirl, Alex, but I was desperate.” George tapped his fingertips together and grinned. “Truth be told, I’d have done anything to gain the Warrior Woman’s favor. Had she asked me to paint your face and dress you up as a courtesan whilst you sang a bawdy tavern song, I’d have seen it through.”

  Alex continued to glare, throwing in an indignant grunt lest anyone question his disapproval.

  “Come now, my boy,” Chester argued, “you know how important it is to the earl to keep his lady wife here. Certainly one teensy twirl was worth it?”

  Alex relented on that point, but continued to carry on as he had throughout the entire carriage ride to White’s. “Of course it was worth it! It was quite an indignity for a man of my station to submit to, however.” He studied his fingernails, blushing to the roots as he spoke. “I felt like a piece of horseflesh at Tattersall’s being examined by the mistress for purchase.”