Before the Fire Read online

  Epilogue

  “And that, my love, is the story of the ninth Earl and Countess of Blackmore, later to become the Duke and Duchess of Browning.” She smiled. “I’ll tell you another night the tale about George’s grandmother many generations removed, Elizabeth MacGregor, the third Duchess of Browning.” Mrs. Jones closed the storybook, leaned over from where she was seated next to her daughter Maya’s bed, and kissed her on the forehead.

  Her daughter’s green-blue eyes, a fleck of gold in each, widened in awe of her mother’s tale. She asked the same question every time her mother read this fable to her. “Do you weelly think Wady Bwackmore was a time twaveler?”

  Maya’s mother looked indulgently thoughtful. “That was one of the stories about her. Some in the village believed the countess to be a time traveler, others said she was a powerful sorceress.” She smiled at her daughter, ruffling her golden curls affectionately. “And all of them agreed she was a great healer, regardless to her origins.”

  Maya nibbled on her lower lip, pondering the possibilities. And then, with the astute conviction that only a five-year-old child can have, she nodded her head in the affirmative, decision made. “Yep. Wady Bwackmore was a time twaveler.”

  Her mother laughed. “Oh was she now?”

  “Yep.”

  “And why do you say that?”

  “According to Einstein, time twavel can weelly happen. Einstein bewieved it was most wikely if—”

  “Maya Jones!” her mother laughed. “You are five-years-old and already have the mind of a scientist and the vocabulary of a grown woman! Where on earth did you pick up such information?”

  Maya arched her chin haughtily. “I wed it in one of your simotific books.”

  “Scientific,” her mother corrected her bemusedly. She shook her head, not quite sure whether to be amused or a tad frightened by her child’s obvious brilliance. Mothers being mothers, she settled for amused. “And what else do you know, smarty pants?” She reached over and tickled her daughter under the ribs.

  Maya giggled. “I know I am five-years-old. I know that the pwesident of the United States is Jimmy Cawtaw. I know he wikes to eat peanuts.”

  Her mother chuckled. “So they say. And what else do you know, hotshot?”

  The little girl squinted her eyes as she tapped her cheek and contemplated the question for a long moment. Her sparkling tri-colored gaze glowed beatifically when the answer struck her. “I’m going to be a time twaveler one day, mommy.” She shook her head definitively. “Yep, I am.”

  Her mother grinned. “Just like Lady Blackmore?”

  “Yep.”

  Her mother chuckled, figuring she’d say as much. “And where would you like to travel to?”

  Maya thought that over for a moment. “Maybe Scotwand. I heard all about it fwom Aunt Celia.”

  Her mother grinned. “Going to meet yourself a handsome lord and live happily ever after?”

  At five years of age Maya already understood that a happy marriage was never to be for the woman she loved so much. She was far too young to understand why, but knew in her heart that her mother would want her to have what she didn’t. “Yes, mommy.” She grinned, displaying two missing teeth.

  Mrs. Jones hugged her tightly for a long moment. Standing, she bent over and kissed her daughter goodnight. She paused at the door as she flicked off the light switch and smiled at her little girl. “Goodnight, sweetheart.”

  “Goodnight, mommy.”

  “I love you.”

  “I wuv you too.”

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  Also by Tia Isabella:

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