Page 203 of Feathers in the Wind
I glanced at my watch. The digital face had gone blank. I took it off and shook it, annoyed that the new battery I had just put in it had failed.
Knowing the habits of Alan and his comrades I said, ‘They’ll all be well into their cups by now.’
‘I’m still not sure that I understand why they do it,’ Nat said, ‘but their attention to detail is impressive.’
He bent down and collected his sword and my handbag. I slung the incongruous twentieth century handbag across my shoulder as he buckled on his sword.
He took my hand and raised it to his lips.
‘Come with me, Jessie. It’s time to go back.’ He caught my face in his free hand and kissed me. ‘Jessie, my witch,’ he whispered.
We walked through the orchard, arms around each other. Nat pushed open the door in the wall and stood aside for me to enter.
The moment I stepped through the door I knew that time had turned its circle. I recoiled into Nat’s arms, desperately scanning the surroundings for a familiar landmark. The car park had gone and the garden had disappeared. Only the house, basking in the late afternoon sun was still recognizable, except for an additional wing, the missing west wing.
I caught my breath and turned but Nat had closed the door and stood blocking my way. I tried to go around him but he caught my arms, pulling me in close to him.
I struggled in his grip. ‘Let me go. I don’t belong here. I have to go home.’
He held me firmly by the forearms, looking into my eyes, willing me to trust him. ‘You can’t go back. Not yet. You are here for a reason. Grandmother was insistent. We must trust her judgment in this.’
I shook his hands off and took a step back, looking at him as the truth of my situation dawned on me. I had been kidnapped and transported to somewhere my family and friends would never find me.
‘You knew? You knew when you were returning? You knew all about it?’ My accusing words sounded shrill to my own ears.
He ran a hand through his hair. ‘Not all of it,’ he said. ‘Grandmother only told me this morning.’
‘But when did you speak to your grandmother?’ I stared at him in disbelief.
If his appearance in my garden had turned my world on its head, this new development had shaken me to the core. I wanted to cry, pound my fists against his chest but most of all, I wanted to go home.
He looked away. ‘Jessie, you will return to your own time. Trust me.’
I rushed at him, pushing him hard enough for him to take a step away from me. ‘I don’t want to be here, Nat. I don’t want to watch you die.’
As I pushed past him, my hand reaching for the gate, he caught me by the waist. He wrapped his arms around me and kissed my forehead.
‘It’s too late,’ he said. ‘The gate is shut. You can’t go back.’
‘But I must! I don’t belong here. This is your time.’
He closed his eyes and took a breath. ‘And for a little while you will share it with me.’ He tilted my chin up, forcing me to look up at him. He smiled. ‘Grandmother will answer your questions in good time. She said she must speak with you.’ He released me and held out his hand, palm up. I laid my hand over his and his fingers curled over mine. ‘Now, let us make the most of what little time we have. Come and meet my family, Jessica Shepherd.’
Chapter 6 - NO SPAGHETTI FOR DINNER
Even if I had closed my eyes as I shut the door in the orchard wall, I knew I had come home. The smell is different. Jessie the Witch’s time smells of the potions that run the motor carriages. Even here in the country it hung like a miasma in the air.
Now I can smell the wood smoke from the kitchen and other less pleasing smells from the dog kennels and the farmyard. Strange, that I had never noticed them before. I wonder what else will not sit well with me, now I have seen another time?
To begin with, I must explain my polled head.
And Jessie the Witch.
Her fingers, clasped in mine, tighten as we approach the house, betraying her fear. How do I explain this beautiful woman with her strange speech and stranger ways?
* * *
Nat held my hand as we walked down a narrow path toward the house. A maid carrying a basket of washing rounded a corner of the house and seeing us, gave a sharp cry, dropping the washing in the dust. The noise drew the attention of the household and we were surrounded by men, women and children all clamoring their welcome to their lost master.
