Rowena Through the Wall: Expanded Edition Read online

  How can you explain cruelty? Steve was my ex. Or would have been, if I'd actually married him. Two months before the wedding, I saw him kick a stray cat across the pavement at the Biltmore Shopping Plaza, and that was it. I left the ring on the restaurant patio table. It was a full carat and it killed me to leave that ring.

  I shook my head firmly. "No, that's over for good. He's a jerk."

  "Too bad." Debbie sighed. "He sure was gorgeous. Are all investment bankers rich and handsome?"

  Handsome maybe, but in light of the men dominating my mind lately, Steve was scrawny. He was probably still sane, though, and I wasn't so sure about myself. Had I been daydreaming? Were the heat and the disappointment getting to me? Did I imagine those guys walking through the wall of my classroom? Or―

  I shook my head. Of course I imagined it. I was just feeling deprived. No more Steve in my life. No new man on the horizon. No sex in forever.

  Besides, gorgeous men don't walk through walls.

  Debbie was looking at me funny. "What did you say?"

  "Nothing."

  "You said something like 'gorgeous men don't walk through walls.'"

  I said that out loud?

  "Wouldn't it be grand if they did though?" Debbie mused.

  As soon as I fell asleep that night, my eyes opened to the azure sky and to a man with his hungry mouth on my breast.

  "Please," I whimpered. "Please don't."

  Jon raised his head. I held him in my gaze for a long time until he moved off me and sat down at my side, a dazed expression on his face.

  "Forgive me," he said hoarsely. "God forgive me. I can't imagine what came over me."

  I made a small sound of relief and tried to straighten the bodice of my Natori. Once adjusted, I glanced anxiously at Jon. He sat with his knees drawn up, his head resting against them.

  "Rowena Trefusus, can you ever forgive me?"

  I sighed. "Actually, it's Rowena Revel."

  "Not here. We take the mater's name, if it be the greater. Though Rowena Revel is pretty. And maybe safer." He lifted his head, gazed at me and started to shake.

  I said nothing and he looked away.

  "I am bewitched," he said in a bitter tone.

  I waited, not moving.

  He leapt to his feet and held out his hand. I took it and he pulled me up. "Are you sure you are not a witch?"

  "Not even a bit," I replied. "I'm a vet."

  "And what is this vet?

  "The full word is veterinarian. It comes from the Latin. I help animals that get hurt. I also teach younger students how to help animals."

  "Ah, a healer," he said, nodding in comprehension. "You use spells?"

  "No. I use medicine."

  "Potions?" That seemed to upset him.

  "No, no! More like…" I searched for the word. "Elixirs."

  Time to change the subject.

  "But tell me, sir, what you were going to tell me before. Who am I to you and to this place?" Good grief. Where did that stilted language come from?

  Jon had moved down to the stream and was cupping water into his hands. "Your grandfather and mine were cousins. That makes us distant kin. Your mother disappeared many years ago―when I was a babe―never to be seen again."

  "Ah," I said softly. So that's the connection. I was missing my mother again and it was showing up in this subliminal way in a very weird dream.

  "Her father―your grandfather―is the Earl of Huel. He lives still."

  I'd never known any of my grandparents. "And my grandmother?"

  "All the women of Huel are dead."

  That can't be good. "What happened?"

  Jon left the riverbank and returned to my side. "A witch put a curse on the land, that all babies of my generation would be male. It didn't seem so bad at the time because all the families wanted male heirs. They didn't think it through to the next generation."

  No female children. Therefore, no fertile women.

  "Holy crap," I said. "That's slow suicide."

  "Yes." His expression was bitter. "And so we die out."

  I didn't know what to say. We sat in silence as I tried to imagine a world with no children and few women.

  "You can't get the witch to take back the curse?"

  "No, she's dead. We burnt her."

  Well that's pretty final, I thought. Of all the stupid things to do.

  "Wait a minute," I said. "Surely you could intermarry with females from other lands."

  "There aren't many on this island. In war, the weak are vanquished. And women are weak. We've been at war for decades and there's been retribution. Hardly any have survived, and none with royal blood."

  He paused and I could feel his sadness.

  "The last great battle was four years ago. Now, there is nothing left to fight for. If you don't have women and children, nothing else matters. Who cares about grabbing more land?"

  This was definitely a horror story for the men of Huel, I realized. Good thing it was only a dream.

  "Jon, what about me?" My stomach turned over in knots. "Tell me. Did my mother leave Huel before the curse?"

  He looked away.

  "Is that why Tunic-man and his blond brother were scoping me out?"

  "I don't understand you. What is this scoping out?"

  I took a deep breath. "Two men―very big and blond, wearing tunics just like you do―popped into my classroom. They seemed surprised that I could hear and see them. I think one was named Janus."

  "Dear God in Heaven." He stood suddenly. "I need to get you to your grandfather."

  Panic rose within me. "They wondered if I was fertile."

  "I expect you are." Jon helped me to my feet. "You smell…intoxicating. That's what drove me crazy."

  It was half-past three in the morning when I awoke. Piper slept soundly beside me. I stayed in bed for awhile. Then I slipped on the matching sapphire dressing gown and went to the bathroom.

  When I returned to the bed, I stripped off the dressing gown and tossed it at the end of the bed. I lay down on top of the covers, amazed at how deliciously cool the desert could be at night.

  I closed my eyes.

  "Is this yours?" Jon held my dressing gown in his hand.

  "Where did you find that?"

  "On the grass, over there. Put it on, please. Somehow, I've got to get you to Castle Huel without starting a battle." He scowled. "Where are your sandals?"

  I looked down at my bare feet. "Is it a long way?"

  Jon sighed. "Maybe I should leave you here. I can be quicker on my own. Look, stay right here, below the crest of the bank. Don't move. I'll only be a short while."

  I nodded like a good girl. Really, what choice did I have?

  Jon moved swiftly along the riverbank. When he was out of sight, I sat back in the clover and opened my mind.

  A squeak sounded beside me. It was my squirrel friend.

  "Hello, little one. Can I hold you?"

  The squirrel scrambled into my left hand. I stroked it gently.

  It was warm under the orange sun, with the babbling of the river behind me. What a lovely, perfect place to sit and escape from the world. Maybe doze off.

  Hoofbeats warned me of Jon's return. He wasn't alone. Four horses galloped toward us at a breathtaking pace.

  Holy crap, I've walked right into a Bonanza rerun―only with better clothes. Any minute now, the theme song would start to pipe through hidden speakers in the hills.

  Idiot.

  I rose to my feet with as much grace as I could manage. The squirrel scampered away.

  The first man to dismount was Jon. With ease, he swung off the side of a big bay. "Sorry to leave you this long." He pointed to the man on the black. "This is your grandfather, the Earl of Huel. And these are my cousins, your distant kin, Ivan and Richard."

  The sun was in my eyes, but I could see a tall, elderly man flanked by two larger riders.

  "Rowena, you've come home?" the old man asked, a tremor in his voice. The earl stared at me as though he could
n't believe what he was seeing.

  "I think you mean my mother." I paused. "My name is Rowena though."

  "Rowena's daughter?" the older rider said in disbelief. "Can that be?"

  "It might be a trick," the other said.

  "Silence!" The old man dismounted stiffly and approached me. "Look at her. She's Rowena through and through. Where did you come from, child?"

  I nearly said Kansas, but that would have been too wicked.

  "Scottsdale, sir. In Arizona."

  I watched him mouth the word Arizona. "And is your mother there too, child?"

  This part I didn't like. I shook my head slowly and fought tears. "My mother is dead. She died when I was sixteen."

  The old man sagged, his hopes dashed. I felt awful. When he moved closer to peer at my face, I saw the lines on his. They were deep and vertical along his cheekbones. His hair was white and coarse, and his eyes were the same color as mine. He was thin now, but I could tell that he had been powerful in the past. He had the family shoulders.

  He reached out to touch my hair, as if to prove that I was real.

  "What is this you are wearing, dear one? It seems inadequate."

  "It's a Natori," Jon announced.

  "Ivan! Your cloak."

  Immediately, one man slid off his black steed and was at my side in four strides. He carefully wrapped a short black riding cloak around my shoulders and fastened it at the neck. Then he moved back and I was able to study him. Ivan was a good-looking man with thick black hair and warm brown eyes. Damn, he was big. He towered over me―and I'm not exactly a peanut.

  The earl stepped closer and reached around to lift my hair on top of the cloak. It was an intimate thing to do and oddly familiar. That surprised me.

  "And how did you come to be here, child?"

  "I don't know. I went to sleep and awoke in this forest. I walked down to the river and Jon found me."

  "Did he guard you well and with respect?"

  I sought Jon's eyes and saw the fear there. "Yes."

  The earl turned to Jon. "You did well, Jon. I am in your debt."

  Jon looked relieved. He owed me one, that's for sure.

  "Maybe there's a portal?" the younger man―Richard―said.

  I looked at him for the first time. He had the appearance of a young Greek god. He was tall like his brother Ivan, but much thinner, with dark golden hair.

  "This may be," the earl said. "But we can look for a portal later. It's not safe for her here." He turned to me. "Rowena, we must take you back to the castle. You can ride with Ivan." He touched my cheek with the back of his hand. "Do not be afraid of us." With that, he returned to his horse.

  Ivan mounted the black stallion, prodded it forward and leaned down. In one swift move, he grabbed me under the arms and swept me up in front of him, sidesaddle. He kept one arm around me and then nudged the black with his boot. We shot forward to a gallop, and I was very glad that he held me so tightly.

  The experience was exhilarating. I wanted so badly to hike up my gown and ride the black between my legs. But that wouldn't have been a good idea at all in this company. As it was, I was battling a cadre of feelings. My face was only inches from Ivan's chest and the strong scent of male was inescapable. It made my brain foggy. I wanted to distance myself. At the same time, I wanted to close the distance. In the back of my mind, I wondered if Ivan was equally bothered.

  When we slowed, I tried to make conversation.

  "Grandfather seems a good man."

  "He's clever and ruthless. But fair."

  I thought about that.

  "I should warn you," Ivan said. "He will want to marry you off quickly. You have royal blood and we need an heir."

  "Good thing I'm not married already then."

  "I didn't think of that."

  I could sense there was more to come. "Will I have a choice?"

  "Probably." He paused. "He will want to keep it in the family. There's me and Richard, although he's rather young. You've already met Jon, though I don't know if the earl will include him.

  And there is Cedric, the oldest. He's scouting down along the southern border right now."

  I sensed that Ivan didn't like his older brother.

  "What's wrong with Cedric?"

  "He's even more ruthless than your grandfather."

  I shivered and wrapped the cloak tightly around me. Something told me I wasn't going to like Cedric at all.

  But before I could analyze those feelings, the dream began to fade.

  Chapter 4

  The next day after class, I stayed late. I waited until the last student had left and then walked to the back of the room. I felt along the wall, starting at the top left, moving down in a grid pattern and shifting slowly to the right. I had covered about five feet of wall when I heard a noise.

  "What are you doing?"

  Kendra stood in the doorway, staring at me.

  My mouth shot open, then closed again. I could tell her that Tunic-man walked right through that wall and I was trying to find out how he did it. Or if he did it. Or if I had only imagined it. I could tell her that, but it probably wouldn't improve my reputation.

  So I lied. "I was doing balance exercises."

  "Wicked," she said, nodding her spiky head. "I do that all the time in martial arts." She left me to my balancing.

  I found nothing but a damn wall.

  When I got home that night, the answering machine was blinking. I listened to the messages.

  "Rowena, it's Steve. I want to see you. Call me." Click.

  "Rowena, Steve here. Call me as soon as you get this." Click.

  "Rowena, I know you're there. Stop acting like a child. Call me." Slam.

  Delete, delete, delete.

  I went to bed feeling powerful.

  Under a night sky, we rode over a dry moat, then through iron gates into an empty courtyard. The castle was gray stone and quite pretty with turrets on all four corners. Later, I would come to know that rounded turrets were harder to knock down than walls with sharp corners. I would come to know a lot about war.

  As I entered the great hall, an enormous Irish wolfhound rose to his feet and moved forward to greet me.

  "Duke, halt!" Grandfather commanded.

  The beast ignored him.

  I held out my palm and Duke walked right up to me. He sat and I scratched his ears.

  "You're a gorgeous fellow," I murmured. "I'm sure we will get along just fine."

  Duke rolled on his back so I could scratch his belly.

  My companions were stunned into silence.

  "She has her mother's gift with animals," Grandfather said.

  I heard the satisfaction in his voice. There would be no doubting who I was now.

  I took a moment to survey the cold hall. The walls were dull gray stone, as was the floor. Tapestries of red and gold lined the inner walls, and a great wooden staircase rose up to the right, leading to another floor. In the middle of the hall, a long wooden table was ready to seat forty. Candles lit the room like a hundred stars as a fire blazed in the huge fireplace at the far end of the room. I could have walked into the hearth, it was so tall.

  "Are you hungry, child?"

  I shook my head. "Just weary."

  "Let me take you upstairs. You will have your mother's room. Ivan, Jon―wait here."

  He took a lighted candle from the table and I followed him up the staircase and along a long corridor. He led me to a corner room at the end and stood back so I could enter.

  The first thing I noticed was the windows. Two on each exterior wall. And they were open. Heavy draperies were pulled back to each side. A high wooden bed stood in the center, its head against one wall, a tapestry above it. The bed was already made up with fresh linens. Across from it, an unlit fireplace segmented the wall.

  It was as if my mother had left for a long weekend and was expected back at any moment.

  "I have always kept it waiting for her," Grandfather said, facing a large oak wardrobe. "I've left al
l her garments as they were. They can be yours now, if they fit." He opened the wardrobe doors and I fell in love.

  First, there was my mother's sweet scent. It drifted from her clothing and enveloped me in the tenderest of memories. Tears came to my eyes. I missed her now, even more than in those early days after her death.

  Then―those clothes. All her favorite colors. Greens and burgundies, silks and velvets.

  I pulled out a beautiful ivory form-fitting gown. My heart broke. There was no way I would fit it. Back it went.

  There were a few exquisite formal gowns in a different style that I thought might work. I pulled out an emerald green silk with a high waist and fully gathered skirt. The bodice might need letting out, but the skirt would be perfect for my generous hips.

  "I remember when she last wore that," Grandfather said. "It was a feast night not long before she left."

  I could feel his sadness all about me.

  "Goodnight, dear one," he said from the door. "I hope you'll be happy here."

  I hoped so too.

  It was a warm night and my poor nightgown had gone through enough. I pulled down both straps and let it slide to the floor. Naked, I reached to pick it up and felt a little puff of air sweep past me.

  "Is anyone there?"

  No one answered.

  With a shrug, I moved to the window and peered outside. How strange and yet how beautiful the evening was in this world. Two moons dazzled against a cloudless black velvet night sky. For several moments, I was transfixed by the twin moons. This is what my mother had seen every night of her young life.

  At last, I pulled away. Leaving the window open to let in fresh air, I blew out the candle and climbed into bed.

  Sometime in the night, I awoke. It was still dark and it took me a moment to take in the stone walls and the tapestry―and to place where I was.

  Ivan was sitting in a chair by the door. A striped orange tabby lay curled on his lap.

  I sat up in surprise, holding the bed linens closely to me.

  "We're taking turns guarding you," he said. "I have tonight." He calmly stroked the cat.

  Ivan seemed to be the most stable of the three boys who would be my suitors. The middle brother, he was built like a chariot and I didn't doubt that he could protect me very well. His arms were knotted with bulky muscles and I could see scars running down both forearms. He had a clever wit, and in the great hall, I had concluded that he seemed very in control of himself―which only goes to show how wrong a girl can be.