Through Each Tomorrow, page 34
It would be many centuries before photographs were invented, long after I was gone.
The smell of the soup hit me again, and I had to turn away from it, afraid I might gag. “Could you please take that downstairs?” I asked, grimacing. “’Tis a wretched smell.”
Andrew frowned as he lifted the tray and brought the soup up to his nose to sniff. “It doesn’t smell spoiled.”
“I don’t think ’tis spoiled,” I said, “but the smell does not agree with my stomach.”
He placed a kiss on my temple before leaving the tower room to return the tray to the apartment.
Our lives had slipped into a familiar and comfortable pattern. During the day, as I painted, Andrew spent his time studying the medical textbooks he’d found in the castle library. He was anxious to leave house arrest and find a doctor to apprentice with so he could begin his work in earnest. In the evenings, we would sit by the fireplace and talk for hours. There was so much I didn’t know about his other path, and so much he didn’t know about mine. And, at night, we would lie in each other’s arms, dreaming about an unknown future.
Though it was just the two of us, I loved married life, and I woke up excited to spend another day with him. Somehow, each day was better than the last.
The smell of the soup still lingered in the air when Andrew returned, this time with a serious look on his face. “Kat is here.”
I turned from my painting and slowly stood. We hadn’t seen Kat since the day she’d brought us together. “Why?”
“The queen is summoning us to her Privy Chamber.”
A cold sweat broke out on my brow as my stomach turned again.
Andrew stepped forward and placed his hand under my elbow. “What ails you, Cecily?”
I put my hand to my forehead. “I know not.”
He studied me with a critical eye, but we didn’t have time for him to do a medical assessment.
“The queen will be waiting,” I said.
We walked down the stone steps and found Kat in the outer chamber.
She looked me over and nodded once. “Marriage becomes you, Cecily Bromley.”
My cheeks grew warm as I glanced at Andrew. He smiled at me and placed his hand on my waist.
“We should hurry,” Kat said as she motioned to the open door. “The queen is waiting.”
It had been strange to live in the castle and watch the activity on the North Terrace but not know what was happening within the castle walls. We hadn’t spoken to anyone and didn’t know any of the news that had transpired. We’d been sheltered away in our own little world for the past five weeks, and I didn’t mind in the least.
Although I couldn’t escape, Andrew still spent a day in 1883 while I slept. He told me about his time there and all the things he was doing to prepare for his departure. Evelyn had embraced her role in the family company, and his mother was thriving as a widow, though she was being persuaded to consider marriage again.
We left our apartment and entered the hall, following Kat down two flights of stairs to the main level of the castle. Though I hadn’t disliked our seclusion, it felt good to be free of the same four walls.
Andrew slipped his hand into mine as we walked, and I glanced up at him. His brown eyes were so gentle as he regarded me. And though he had proven his love to me, every day, the way he looked at me left no doubt or hesitation in my heart.
We entered the Queen’s Ballroom, and it was bustling with activity as tables were being set up and decorations were being hung.
“Is there a celebration happening?” I asked Kat, eager for a little news.
“Aye.”
I waited for her to say more, but she didn’t.
Aveline was among those decorating the ballroom, and when she saw me, she hastened to my side, giving me a hug as we moved through the room.
“Cecily!” she said. “I have wanted you to know but had no way of telling you.”
“What?” I asked.
“The queen has made me a maid of honour, to take your place.”
I smiled—a wide, heartfelt smile. “I’m happy for you.”
“Thank you,” she said as Kat gave us a look that suggested we needed to move on.
“I’ll talk to you later and fill you in on all the news,” Aveline said as she waved and was off.
“Come,” Kat said. “We don’t want to upset Her Majesty.”
Andrew and I followed her into the Presence Chamber and past the ushers.
Kat opened the door, and I took a deep breath, nerves twisting my stomach.
Andrew’s hold on my hand tightened as Kat crossed the threshold into the Privy Chamber and we followed her.
Queen Elizabeth sat at a table with a quill in hand. She looked healthier than ever and was dressed in a stunning gown, with her red hair twisted at the back. Her painted face was white, and her lips were red. When her gaze swept over me, I lowered my eyes and offered a deep curtsy while Andrew bowed next to me.
“Rise,” she said as she left her chair and walked closer to us.
Kat stepped into the corner, but there was no one else in the room.
I’d missed Charles and hoped he would be there, but he was nowhere in sight.
The queen inspected us, looking at us up and down, though I wasn’t sure what she was trying to find.
“How have you enjoyed your honeymoon?” she asked.
I glanced at Andrew and felt my cheeks growing warm again.
“’Tis been the happiest month of my life,” Andrew said.
“And you, Cecily?” the queen asked. “Have you been happy with Muscles?”
Hearing her use Andrew’s pet name again was a good sign that she was in a favorable mood and that she was no longer angry at him.
“Excessively, Your Majesty.” I smiled. “Thank you for allowing us to share an apartment.”
“That must be our little secret—one of several, I fear.”
“Secret?” Andrew asked.
“We must let the others believe you’ve been in separate apartments, in isolation,” she said. “Because you married without my consent, it would only be natural that I punish you, which was exactly what I did.” She smiled. “In a way.”
Andrew took my hand in his and said, “It was far from punishment.”
“As I suspected.”
The queen’s spirits were high, and my heart raced with hope.
“I believe Kat explained the other reason for your house arrest,” the queen continued. “It was a warning to both of you. Especially you, Cecily.”
I nodded. “I understand.”
“Doctor Bromley was under oath to me the whole time and never once broke his vow of silence on the matter.” She crossed her arms, and I saw a hint of regret in the depths of her eyes. “He knew immediately the condition I suffered and was loyal to the end.”
Andrew dipped his head in deference to her.
“But I needed to be certain of you,” she said to me. “And I still do. Though I believe five weeks is long enough to keep up pretenses. My favor has been returned to you, and I am hosting a wedding celebration tonight to honor your union. However, before we can proceed with the festivities, there are a few things I need to do first.” She motioned to the paper on the table where she’d just been sitting. “As a gift to Doctor Bromley for saving my life, I am bestowing upon him a barony and the gift of land near Guildford in Surrey.”
My lips parted at the news. A barony was a noble rank—one of the lowest, but nobility nonetheless.
Andrew’s face lifted as he stared at the queen.
“There is an old castle in Guildford,” she continued, “used until the fourteenth century by the King of England, and more recently as a hunting lodge. I have no use for it, and it is falling into disrepair. I will gift it to you and your heirs, along with a thousand acres of land to do with as you will.”
I was speechless as I grappled with the news.
“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Andrew managed to say. “I am not worthy of your gift.”
“Perhaps you aren’t,” she agreed, “but I want to keep you close at hand to serve as a royal physician, and I cannot have your wife serve as a lady in waiting if you are not nobility. You’ve given me no other choice.”
“You want us to remain at court?” I asked, stunned. “And you want me to be a lady in waiting?”
“You are a favorite, after all.”
I had never been called one of her favorites, and it brought more joy to my heart than I realized it would.
She went back to the table and picked up the quill again. “Guildford is close enough to London that you will be allowed to return home whenever needed, though I must insist that you and your husband stay close. You are both indispensable to me.”
She scratched out a signature on the paper. “I am finishing this letters patent, and with my signature, it is binding.” She looked up at us. “You are now nobility, Lord and Lady Wharton.”
Kat smiled in the corner of the room.
“Thank you, Your Majesty,” I said as I curtsied again. “I cannot begin to—”
“Then don’t try.” She rose again, and her face became serious. “All I ask in return is that you swear fealty to me.” She approached and laid one hand on Andrew’s shoulder and one hand on mine. “To the world, this gift is given because Andrew saved my life. But to me, personally, it is because of the kindness you both showed to me on the worst night of my life.” She lowered her hands and pressed her lips together as tears filled her eyes. She blinked quickly and took a deep breath, lifting her chin again. “Now, let us speak no more about it. We have a wedding to celebrate, and I intend to enjoy myself.” She motioned to Kat. “Let us remove to the bedchamber to give Lord and Lady Wharton a moment of privacy.”
As the door closed behind them, I turned to Andrew, shaking my head.
He grinned as he lifted me in a hug that brought my feet off the ground.
“Did you hear that?” he asked.
I laughed. “Yes.”
He hugged me close before setting me down. “God has answered our prayers, Cecily. He’s made a way where there seemed to be no way. And though we suffered, He was faithful.”
Tears gathered in my eyes as I nodded. Just when I thought all was lost, God had brought Andrew back into my life. And when I thought I’d lost Andrew again, God had shown me that He had other plans. The trusting and waiting had been almost unbearable, but the reward was priceless.
The queen did not spare any expense or extravagance for our wedding celebration that evening. The ballroom was filled with food, dancing, music, and laughter. Andrew and I sat at the head of the table, on either side of the queen, and enjoyed the entertainment.
My stomach was still unsettled, though it felt better than it had earlier in the day, and I started to suspect that I might be pregnant. When I glanced at Andrew on the other side of the queen, his smile was so warm and full of promise that I knew he’d be as thrilled as I was.
Having the barony, with lands and a home, made all the difference. We would still be required to live at court with the queen, but many of the queen’s ladies in waiting had large families, and it did not deter them from serving faithfully.
As long as Andrew and I could be together, I didn’t care where we lived.
Yet, how would we convince the castle that we had been separated for the past month when a baby would appear in only eight?
I smiled to myself, not worried in the least.
“Ah,” the queen said as the maids of honour finished their dance and the musicians played a song to fill the space. “There is my Eyes.”
I glanced in the direction that she was looking and found Charles entering the ballroom.
My heart leapt with joy at seeing my stepbrother. “May I be excused, Your Majesty?” I asked. “I’d like to speak to him.”
“Of course.” She waved us away. “You both must go.”
Andrew rose and helped me from my chair. He offered me his arm as we rounded the large table and approached Charles.
He stood near the door, waiting for us, his expression difficult to read.
My heart started to beat hard, wondering what he might tell us. “Have you spoken to him in 1883?” I asked Andrew.
“Not since he left New York last month.”
“Charles,” I said, wanting to run to his embrace but uncertain of my welcome.
He opened his arms and smiled—banishing all my fears.
I went into his arms and gave him a tight hug before letting go. “’Tis been too long.”
Andrew and Charles shook hands, and though they’d been friends for a long time, I knew the trouble between them had changed things.
“Can we go somewhere to talk?” Charles asked us.
I nodded and then took Andrew’s hand as we followed Charles out of the ballroom and into an alcove in one of the corridors.
There were wall sconces, but it was still dim. I stood close to Andrew as we faced Charles.
“Congratulations, Lord Wharton,” he said. “I’ve heard the queen has given you a noble title.”
“Aye.” Andrew nodded. “I don’t deserve it, but I will do my best to please the queen. She has requested that I remain on as a royal physician.”
“Does she know that you did not apprentice?” Charles asked.
It was my own fear, but Andrew put that to rest.
“She knows that I did not acquire my knowledge in the typical fashion, but she does not care. She trusts me, and that is all that matters. I will do my best to continue my studies.”
“Evelyn told me that you are planning to stay in 1563.” Charles smiled. “I could not be happier to hear it.”
Andrew put his arm around me and nodded. “Then you’ve spoken to her.”
“Aye.”
My heart filled with warmth as I watched Charles’s expression transform to pure joy.
“Did she show you the papers?” Andrew asked.
I turned to my husband. “What papers?”
“Whitney Shipping is investing in Charles’s family farm,” Andrew told me. “And, if my suspicions are correct, Evelyn will be living on the farm sooner than later.”
Charles’s smile turned into a grin. I’d never seen him look so happy or carefree. But it slowly faded as he said, “Evelyn no longer has a father, so I am asking for your blessing to marry her, Andrew.”
Andrew let go of me and clasped hands with Charles as he put his other hand on Charles’s shoulder. “I give it without hesitation.”
“Thank you.” Charles nodded and then looked at me. “Will you be fine without me?”
I smiled as I went into his embrace once again, thinking of the possibility of a baby, and a castle in Guildford, and a lifetime with Andrew. “I will be better than fine. And I wish you and Evelyn all the happiness in the world.”
Yet, sadness started to weigh upon me as I thought about never seeing Charles again.
He must have known what I was thinking because he said, “There’s no reason to be sad. I have several months before my birthday, and I’m not going away any time soon.”
I smiled, blinking back my tears.
“Let’s return to the celebration,” Charles said as he touched my shoulder. “We have much to be thankful for.”
“You go ahead,” Andrew said. “I need a little privacy with my wife.”
Charles winked at us and then disappeared into the ballroom.
Andrew turned to me and took my hands into his, bringing them up to his lips. “Are you happy, Lady Wharton?”
“Exceedingly.” I echoed what he had told the queen earlier. “Are you happy, Lord Wharton?”
“My heart could not be fuller.”
I lowered his hands and placed one on my stomach. “Is there enough space in your heart for a child?”
A grin lit up his face, and he gathered me into his arms. “That’s the beauty of a heart, my love,” he whispered. “It never runs out of room.”
I wrapped my arms around him and reveled in the gift of our family.
A few months ago, I thought I had no room in my heart for anything other than grief, yet God had brought Andrew back into my life to prove me wrong.
Epilogue
CHARLES
JUNE 10, 1914
NEW YORK CITY
The RMS Olympic was docked in the New York harbor as I stood near the gangplank. Sunshine glistened off the gently lapping waves of the East River below us as the stretcher was moved through the passengers who were waiting to disembark.
“Please make way for the stretcher,” I asked a woman in a fur coat who gawked at the patient. “We must get Mrs. Wells to the ambulance.”
The patient’s daughter, Libby, stood nearby, clasping her hands as she watched her mother being removed from the ship. She was a beautiful young woman I’d met on the voyage home from England. We’d spent hours conversing at the captain’s table over meals, and earlier that day, before she’d learned her mother needed an ambulance, I’d discovered that she was a time-crosser.
A time-crosser who went between 1914 and 1774—the same years as my son, Henry.
“Thank you, Congressman Hollingsworth,” Libby said as she approached me. “I don’t know what I would have done without your help.”
“Let me escort you to the ambulance,” I said, offering her my arm.
Her green eyes were filled with concern as she nodded and took my assistance. Her maid followed behind us as we trailed after the stretcher, down the long gangplank to the waiting ambulance.
“Do you need assistance at home?” I asked. “My wife and son are coming to the harbor to fetch me, but we are at your disposal.”
She shook her head. “Thank you for the offer, but I believe our family doctor is meeting us at the ambulance, and my father was notified of our impending arrival. He should be waiting for us at home.”
“If there is anything I can do for you,” I said, “please don’t hesitate to call on me. I live in Virginia, but we are in the city often for business.” I didn’t bother to tell her that the RMS Olympic was owned by Whitney Shipping, right here in New York. Evelyn still held stock in the company and was on the board of directors, which brought us to the city several times a year.
