WendyPan's Wonderland

Just One Kiss

Chapter 9

“Ah, my good friend, welcome!” I heard Malcom exclaim. I could tell how heavy his accent was just by that one statement. This was going to be a challenge to understand him. After the horse came to a stop, Liam dismounted and approached Malcom. They took each other’s hand and embraced in a hearty hug. “And who be this lovely?”

Liam turned to me and helped pull me down from the horse. Once I was on the ground, he presented me to Malcom. “This be my guest, Lady Kate.” He paused. “She is from the far future and is American.”

Malcom took my hand, and in a bowing gesture, kissed the top of my knuckles. “Welcome m’Lady. I am honored to have you as my guest. I be Malcom.”

“Thanks. It’s good to meet you too Malcom.” I could tell that he slowed down his words just for me. I wondered what he knew of America and my time. His gracious smile faded as he turned back to Liam. He spoke so quickly with Liam; I didn’t catch a word he said.

“Come, come inside so we may speak more comfortably.” Malcom said aloud and came to take my arm in his to lead me indoors. Liam followed us.

It was a warmly lit place. The space wasn’t big but it held a welcoming feel. To the direct right of the door was a small eating area with a fire burning stove that had a pot hanging in it.

Whatever was cooking in that pot smelled absolutely delicious and it perked up my stomach. The widest expanse of the room looked like Malcom’s lab, so to speak. The counters along the walls were littered with jars, vials, bowls, and other containers. A large table sat in the center with a very thick book at one end and more assorted clutter at the other end.

There was two other doors in the space that was located on the wall directly across from the front door, probably one of them was his bedroom.

“Well, now,” Malcom spoke. “Come have a seat. I’ve not had my supper yet, so you’ll have to forgive me.” Both Liam and I took a seat at the dining table while Malcom filled a bowl from the cast iron pot. “Would you care for some stu, m’Lady Kate?” I so did but I didn’t want to offend Liam and his cook who had worked so hard on that supper. What I had eaten of the food wasn’t nearly enough to fill me. I’ve never been the type to eat like a bird but I’ve learned to not pig out anymore either. Perhaps I’d just have a little. It smelled so good. I looked over at Liam to judge his reaction. He nodded and I hoped that meant it was ok.

“I would love to have some, thank you.”

Malcom smiled as he placed the bowl he had filled in front of me with a spoon sticking out. “Enjoy. ‘Tis an old family recipe.” I dug in and put a scoop of vegetables and broth in my mouth.

It was simply wonderful as I knew it would be from its smell. I emptied the bowl in no time.

“That was fantastic Malcom, thank you.”

“But of course.” He took both mine and his bowls and set them on a nearby counter. Liam had sat across from me, sipping a mug, probably filled with ale.

Now, I was full. “Please, tell me m’Lady Kate, what has brought you back to this time with Lord Sir Liam?” He asked as he folded his arms across his chest.

“Well, he asked me to come back and help him because I look a lot like Lady Juliet and because of my last name, Harlow.”

“Ah, now I see. And how can I be of help?” Liam saw this as his time to respond.

“We wish to learn if her family name is due to her linage to mine uncle.”

“Do you honestly think that she and he would-“ Liam’s glare cut Malcom’s verbal thought off.

“Not willingly but there is the possibility of by force.”

“That be true. All right then, let’s to my work.” Malcom went over to his lab table while Liam and I followed. “I be needing something from you m’Lady Kate, just a small sample.” I froze, crazy thoughts running rampant through my mind. “A few strands of hair, if you would oblige me?”

I breathed a quick sigh of relief. “Oh, yes.” I began picking off stray hairs from my shoulders.

I still found a few hairs even though Collum had wound it upon my head. “Have as much as you’d like.” I handed him several of my gathered hairs.

“I thank thee.” He said with an impish smile. I didn’t noticed how he looked earlier. I was too distracted by my new surroundings. He wasn’t a bad looking guy at all. He had a strong jaw, a button nose, and adorable spiky brown hair. He didn’t look any older than me and I’m 22. But yet, his demeanor conveyed a different story, one that included experience and wisdom. He had turned around and began selecting things to mix.

“Are you going to test my DNA? You know about that?”

“Oh, aye. I’ve seen a bit of the future myself.” Liam looked lost.

“DNA, what be that?” I had to think of a simple explanation.

“DNA is a detailed list of what makes you, well you. You can learn everything and anything about someone by studying their DNA. Like, in just one strand of my hair, you can know my age, what I look like, and to our benefit and need, who I’m related to.” He nodded in response.

“I see.” He said.

“All right.” Malcom chimed in. “This is what the test will be. I still have the sample from Lady Juliet for the sleeping potion I won’t be making any longer. So, in this dish, the mixture I’ve made will tell us officially who you share a bloodline to, m’Lady Kate. If the direct link is there, the mixture will turn a deep blue. But if there is no relation, then nothing will occur. And so, I first add a strand of Lady Juliet’s hair. Next, I add one of your strands m’Lady. Now, we swirl it.” I watched him preform his experiment in great curiosity. The liquid in the dish did indeed turn a dark blue. Everyone’s suspicions were true. Lady Juliet was my ancestor. Now, it was time to answer the deeper unknown question; was I related to Liam’s uncle too? Malcom conducted the same experiment with a strand of Liam’s uncle’s hair which he wouldn’t say how he got and another of my hairs. However, after the swirl, the mixture did something unexpected.

“What does clouded mean?” Liam asked. We all stared at the new test, puzzled at the results.

“Um,” Malcom began. “This is bizarre. I must say, I honestly do not know what this means or how it could have gone wrong. Let me try something.” He reached over and plucked a few strands of hair from Liam’s head.

“Ouch! Why did you not ask?”

“This be more fun.” He said with a smirk. Liam rubbed the spot on his head where Malcom had stolen his hair. In another dish, Malcom combined another hair from Liam’s uncle and one of Liam’s strands, swirled the dish around, and the result was clear, no change. Malcom then tried another test but this time, between Liam and me. There was no change in color as the result, no blood relation between the two of us. My brain did a happy dance. Ok, so I didn’t actually think we could have been related but now I had proof.

“Let’s try this again.” Malcom said, not letting the odd result of the one test get him down. He tried Liam’s uncle and my hair again but the result was still the same as before; cloudy. Malcom scratched his head. Liam sighed in mild frustration.

“Maybe it’s a distant relation?” I offered.

“Perhaps, this is the answer but then I would think it would still turn blue. I’m sorry my friends, but I have no solution for you. ‘Tis still a possibility that she’s of his blood but I’m not absolute certain.”

“It matters not to me.” Liam spoke up with a serious nature. “He will not succeed at his efforts to steal my home.”

“Here, here!” Malcom raised his mug of ale the he’d had brought over with him from diner.

“Malcom, my friend, you’ve have given me some needed answers, so I thank you.” Malcom nodded and took a drink from his mug. “’Tis late now and the day has been long. So, I must say good night to you sir.” Malcom set down his mug and came around to the other side of the table to embrace Liam as they had done when we first arrived. Malcom then approached me and kissed my hand once again.

“M’Lady, ‘tis been a pleasure indeed. It was most lovely to have met you.” I smiled at his flattery.

“Thank you for your help and your amazing stu.”

“I shall have some sent to the castle for your supper, if you’d like.”

“That would be great, thanks.” He smiled and nodded. We left his humble abode.

“Safe journey my friends!” Malcom called out as we rode off back to the castle.

Liam’s body felt warmer against my back than when I had sat behind him earlier. I sat in front of him for a change. He’d help me sit across the horse this time so I wouldn’t have to ride sidesaddle again, thankfully. He flexed his hand across my waist. I felt like I should say something.

“So, you and I aren’t related.”

“’Tis true.” I waited for him to say more but when he stayed quiet, I couldn’t endure it.

“You can tell me what you’re thinking, you know. Who else would I tell?”

He gave a heavy sigh. “I be thinking that I wish Juliet would tell me the truth and be honest. If she does not wish to marry me, she should say so.” He went silent, maybe trying to contain himself. I wasn’t expecting that these were his current thoughts but I wanted to know what was going on anyway so I asked him the millions of questions I had about him and Juliet.

“Why would you think she wouldn’t want to marry you?” I hoped he wanted to talk about all of this. He sighed again.

“We have never been…close. Our fathers arranged for us to be wed. And I felt her desired distance this evening. I did not wholly believe that she had been too tired to speak with me. She seems to wish to run from me. She will speak plainly with me but the very moment I speak of needed plans for our marriage next month, she shirks away, claiming to be too exhausted to discuss things further.”

“Maybe she just didn’t want to think about things then. Sometimes, getting married puts a lot of pressure on the bride- to-be.”

“Perhaps.” That was his only reply. A question I couldn’t stop myself from asking entered my mind.

“You don’t love her, do you?” He didn’t respond immediately.

“No, I do not. I have never known love.” He paused. “Have you?”

“I can’t say that I have. I mean, I thought I had once before but that turned out to be nothing but then there was another time but I’m just not sure about it.”

“Tell me, of the one you are not sure that you loved.” It was my turn to sigh. What I was about to tell him, and I couldn’t believe I was, would be difficult to really say.

“The one that I’m not sure of…well, I thought about him all though I shouldn’t like that and as much as I did. He’s sweet, charming, and kind. Makes me laugh now and then, mostly unintentionally. But I don’t think it’s love. I mean, I hardly know him but he dominates my thoughts. And I don’t want to let him go.”

“You speak as if this is a current relationship.” I had gotten lost in my thoughts, not remembering to add past tense to my words.

“I, uh, yeah, no, this isn’t something that’s going on now.” I muddled through.

“Ah, well. I understand this though. I too have been entrapped by such thoughts. I am not sure what it was that I had felt then. Perhaps it was a need or a want for her. That I was drawn to her.” He was speaking close to my ear now. “But, I know I could not have her as my own, no matter how much I wished that were so.” God, how I wished he was talking about me. After all, he was the one I was talking about. He was the thought I couldn’t banish, couldn’t destroy. But somehow, I had to. We weren’t meant to be together. 556 years divided us. I had to say something.

“Well, maybe if you ask Lady Juliet how she feels and if she really wants to marry you or not, then you’ll know the truth.” He gave a brief laugh.

“She would not tell me such things. She was raised by honor and duty. And as such, she will carry out with our marriage regardless. I suspect her mother wishes for this union more than she. And I know for certain she would not want to disappoint her mother.” He really was stuck in this marriage.

“And you don’t think she loves you?”

“I do not. The most amount of time we spent together was in our childhood but she is seven years my junior. I highly doubt it is possible for her to have any such feelings for me.” She was only just 18? Wouldn’t have guessed that but then again, I was looking at her from quite a distance away. And I knew he was 25 by what his tomb had said. We were not far from the castle now. I could see the clouds of smoke coming from the many chimneys of the castle. The ride back didn’t seem to have taken as long as the ride to Malcom’s. I wanted to know more.

“But you don’t have the control to end this engagement?”

“Yes I do but not unless she confesses her true wishes towards me. It is not that I would be loath to marry her, it be just not my choice. But then, I do not have another choice-” He seemed to have cut his words off mid thought. “We are approaching the gate. You must put the hood up.” I did as he instructed. “Enter through the rear door as you had left and I shall see you in my chamber.” I nodded.

“Yes sir.” We rode the rest of the short way in silence. And in a matter of minutes, we were both back in his room. As soon as I had hung his riding cloak back in his wardrobe, I went to the bathroom to get ready for bed. When I returned, I noticed the cot that had been set up by the fireplace.

This rustic, wooden, essentially a box with a sad looking mattress, would be my bed for however long I was going to be here. I knew I was going to need a chiropractor when I got home. He was sitting up in his bed, watching me, the fire reflecting marvelously over his hard, naked chest. I had so missed the sight of his naked chest and torso.

“Do you require assistance in removing your kirtle?”

“No, but maybe in getting this corset off.” He nodded and I began fumbling with the front ties of the gown. I soon had it off and draped over my arm. “Where should I put this?”

“Place it on the chair.” He motioned to the table and chairs in the corner and I followed his orders.

He was behind me before I knew it, tugging on the laces of the corset.

It didn’t take long for him to loosen it enough for me to be able to remove it. I also hung that on the chair on top of the kirtle. He had gone back to bed even before I turned around. I now had seen what his braies where supposed to look like compared to what I had seen after I first woke him. They were long, draped, wrapped on shorts. Early version of boxers, I mentally mused. I walked back to the cot and slipped off my shoes after I assumed that I would have no other option for pajamas.

“Kate?” He called out.

“Yes?” I responded as I looked at him.

“That cot won’t be very pleasant to lie on by the looks of it. But if you wish, my bed has plenty of room for me to share. I promise I will not touch you should you choose my bed over that miserable cot.” I still stood by the cot, thinking to myself that I’d made his words up. He wasn’t actually inviting me to sleep in his bed, was he, I thought. “You will sleep much more soundly and you will not even notice that I am here.”

After a few more random thoughts, I heard myself say ok and padded over to his bed. He pulled back the covers for me with a lovely smile on his face. I climbed in next to him but he cautiously kept to his side. A part of my brain begged for him to touch me, to reach out for me but he assured me that he would not do such a thing. I let out a big yawn.

“Sleep well, Lady Kate.”

“Thanks. You too Liam.” And with that said, I closed my eyes. I saw his face in my mind’s eye. His smile ran through my dreams.