Beth released a watery chuckle. “R-Robert.”
When Josh reluctantly let her draw away, she sat back on her heels and smiled over her shoulder.
Robert offered her a sheepish grin. “Forgive me. I knew not how much longer you would be and”—he shrugged—“the temptation proved too great to resist.”
“W-Well, you lasted longer than Stephen would have,” Beth said wryly.
Robert laughed. “Stephen would never have ceased.” He started toward them.
Josh rose and helped Beth to her feet.
“Josh,” she said, “this is Robert, Earl of F-Fosterly. Robert, this is my b-brother, Josh.”
Robert tendered him a friendly smile. “’Tis an honor to meet you.”
Eyeing him warily, Josh turned to Beth. “Is this the man who abducted you?”
“No. He’s the one who found me. And I don’t know what I would’ve done without him.” She smiled up at Robert.
Robert brushed her hair back from her face, his friendly smile turning tender.
“Where did you find her?” Josh challenged. “And why are we speaking Middle English? Why don’t—?”
“Josh,” Beth quickly interrupted. “It’s a really long and truly bizarre story. I’d rather not tell it on an empty stomach.” As if on cue, a low growl emanated from her midriff. “Could we call out for pizza or heat something up first? I feel like I haven’t eaten in a week.”
Robert laughed. “You ate more than I did yestereve.”
She grimaced. “I know, but it came right back up again as soon as I left the great hall.”
He sobered. “What?”
“I didn’t want to tell you because I knew you would worry, but my stomach has been so queasy the last few days that I haven’t been able to keep anything down.” She hadn’t been sleeping well, either, which might explain her new tendency to cry at the drop of a hat. She had been pretty stressed of late.
Robert frowned and gently pressed the palm of his hand to her forehead. “Are you ill, Beth?”
“No, I’m fine. It’s just nerves. We were waiting for Seth to come. And then, when he did and said he would help us, I was afraid it wouldn’t work, or that something would go wrong and we wouldn’t make it back here, or that—”
“Make it back from where, Beth?” Josh demanded, his patience visibly fraying. “Where have you been all this time? How did you survive your wounds? The detectives said—”
“The man who took me healed me.”
“What man? Was he in league with Kingsley and Vergoma?”
“No.”
“Was it Robert?”
“No.” She held up a hand, forestalling further questions. “Josh, I know these last two months have been difficult, but if you would just—”
“Two months,” he practically bellowed. “Two months?”
She glanced at Robert uneasily. “I know it’s been a little bit more than that, but…”
Disbelief, fury and confusion clouded Josh’s features. “Beth, you’ve been gone for two years!” he shouted, abandoning Middle English entirely.
Beth gaped up at him. “What?”
“Two years! I’ve been looking for you for two years! What happened to you? Did the man who took you…?” He swallowed hard. “Did he hurt you, Beth?”
“No,” she assured him, reverting to modern English. “No, he didn’t. Actually, he helped me. I never would have survived if he hadn’t healed me.”
“Well, did he hold you captive or something? Where have you been all this time?”
She glanced uneasily at Robert.
Robert watched them with furrowed brow.
“He didn’t hold me captive,” she told Josh. “I wasn’t a prisoner and wasn’t mistreated or anything. But I couldn’t contact you or come home. Not until today.”
“I don’t understand. What the hell does that mean? Were you in witness protection or something?” He motioned to Robert. “And why is he dressed like that? Why does he speak Middle English?”
She bit her lip. “Okay, here’s the thing. I’m going to tell you exactly what happened, beginning in the clearing when you passed out and ending with my coming here today, but it’s going to sound really unbelievable, and you’re going to think that whatever happened to me made me lose it mentally, but it’s all true, I’m completely sane, and I want to say right now that I have the pictures to prove it.”
Josh stared at her, then looked at Robert, who shrugged, not understanding.
Beth nodded and returned to using Middle English. “Robert, please hand me my cell phone.”