Beth held her breath, awaiting Robert’s reaction.
He said nothing. He made no sound at all, offering not even a grunt of acknowledgment.
Did he not understand?
“What I’m trying to say is, I’m not only from another continent, I’m from another time. I’m from eight hundred years in the future.”
Robert just stared at her, unmoving.
The silence stretched.
Her anxiety mushroomed.
Just when she thought she would scream from the tension of it, he leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees.
Tugging her hands free, he clasped them in his own and locked gazes with her. “Beth, I wish to ask you a question.”
Just one? Were she in his place, she would ask hundreds. “Okay.”
“In the other clearing you spoke of, the one with your brother…”
“Aye?”
“When your wounds felled you, did you strike your head when you hit the ground?”
A laugh full of despair tumbled from her lips. “Oh, Robert, don’t you think I wish it were that simple? Yes, I bumped my head on the ground, but not hard. Or rather not hard enough. It didn’t give me amnesia. I know damned well who I am and where I’m from, even though I know how crazy it sounds.”
Rising, she began to pace the large chamber. “It didn’t give me a concussion either. And even if it had, a concussion couldn’t explain this.” She gestured to the room around them as well as the world outside the windows. “Concussions may cause confusion or make it difficult to think clearly, but I’ve never heard anyone mention massive hallucinations. And this is way too detailed, not to mention historically accurate, for a delusion or a hallucination anyway.” She shook her head. “I thought it was a delusion when I saw your castle and the village for the first time. I mean, it felt real. But I just couldn’t believe that it was, because it didn’t make sense and shouldn’t be possible. Then you brought me here and I couldn’t deny it anymore, because people just don’t live like this in my time, Robert. I know there is hunger and poverty every damned place you go, but let’s face it. Anyone who could afford to buy or build a castle this size could also afford to install electricity and indoor plumbing. And their servants would all be paid by the hour.”
“By the hour!” He looked astounded.
“Yes, by the hour.”
“I have not the coin to pay all those who work for me so richly!”
“Look, I didn’t say that to insult you. It’s just… feudalism ended a long time ago. This way of life no longer exists in my time. Not in America, where I’m from. And not in England.” She frowned. “Not that I know that much about England, in all honesty. But I guarantee you no one over there, or rather here, but in the future, would be willing to labor for nothing.”
Robert stiffened. “My people do not toil for naught. Though recent events may have made it appear otherwise, I offer each and every one of them my protection.”
Beth abruptly stopped pacing. She hadn’t meant to upset him. “I know you do.”
“And they may have starved under the rule of my predecessor. But since Fosterly came into my possession, not one of them has gone hungry. I—”
“Robert, I know.” She gave him a smile full of the tenderness she felt for him, hoping to eradicate his belligerent expression. “I know. I’ve watched you with them. I know how much they love you and how well you care for them. You almost treat them as if they are part of your family.” Again she frowned. “Which is really weird. You aren’t at all what I expected a medieval nobleman to be like. I thought they were mostly narcissistic jackasses who treated peasants like dirt and ran around molesting and forcing themselves on all of the women and girls who weren’t born with a title. And in some cases, I’m sure, the boys.”
His eyes widened. Because he had never heard of noblemen behaving so vilely? Or because he was shocked that she knew of such things? Was Robert the exception to the rule? Or had Hollywood and some of the history programs she had watched gotten it wrong?
“Is your brother like you?” Beth didn’t realize until the question popped out that she was curious about Robert’s family.
“Hmm?”
“Your brother. Is he like you? Does he treat his people like family the way you do?”
“Nay, though I often think he would if given the chance.”
She didn’t bother to hide her distaste. “So, he impregnates all of his serving girls and—”
Robert released a short bark of laughter. “Nay. Not Dillon. His desire lies only with his winsome wife. And I can say with nigh absolute certainty that my squire has bedded more women than my brother had ere he wed.”
Beth stared. “You mean Marcus? He’s just a boy!”