“But she was so spirited when we met her, why did she give in?”
“Yeah, she was,” Damien agreed. “But she also had help… from us. Spunk only gets you so far. She may have resisted. With no one there to help her, he may have harassed her for hours or days until she finally gave in. The only reason he didn’t have that opportunity the last time was because we were there to help her.”
“Okay, good point.”
“Okay, continuing, no one helps her, she gets stuck married to this guy. And by the appearance of it, it’s a decent marriage in terms of her position. She wants for nothing, she’s sought after in society, it is a good match for her. After twenty-some odd years, someone shows up and blows up her world. Tells her the man she’s married to is responsible for her father’s death. Even if she is questioning everything, she’s got to be unsure, perhaps even scared. What will become of her? What if we’re lying?”
“Okay, that seems reasonable enough. It’s just weird imagining Celine scared and clinging to… that bastard.”
“I agree, but we need to be sensitive to her uncertainty. We don’t realize what she’s been through in this version of events.”
Michael nodded in agreement. “So, what do we do?”
“We tell her the truth. All of it. But we highlight the good parts like how strong she is and how much good she’s done as the Celine we know.”
Michael nodded again. “Right, okay. So, leave out the part about how the Duke made her life miserable for centuries.”
“Perhaps not leave it out, but I wouldn’t dwell on it. She needs to realize what she’s in for, but let’s not make it sound so horrible.”
“Agreed. Okay, we have our plan. We tell her the truth, sort of,” Michael responded.
“And hope it corrects everything and we can go back home to normal Celine.”
“Yeah, fingers crossed. This version of Celine is kind of… terrifying.”
“Tell me about it. All I could think about when she was doing her thing with that criminal was what she might do to us if it didn’t work out the way we thought.”
“Yep,” Michael agreed. “I do not have any desire to get on this Celine’s bad side.”
“Me either. So, we tell her the truth… sort of.” Damien grinned.
Celine’s carriage pulled up the drive to the Buckley country estate late in the afternoon. She glanced out the window at the modest estate. Marcus would follow her here tomorrow. She hoped to have learned everything she needed to by then. What she learned while here would dictate her next move. In addition, she hoped to learn more about the Carlyles. Who were these strange men and where had they come from? How were they aware of so much about her life? She hoped to have all these questions answered this evening.
The carriage wound to a halt outside the front door. Four men waited to greet her. She waited inside the carriage until the coachmen opened her door, extending his hand to assist her as she exited. She stepped from the carriage, adjusting her dress before greeting her hosts.
“Celine,” Alexander greeted her, stepping forward. “Welcome.”
“You are alone,” Gray noted. “I was under the impression Duke Northcott would travel with you.”
“Duke Northcott extends his apologies. He will arrive tomorrow in time for dinner. He had pressing business that did not allow him to leave London just yet,” Celine explained.
Damien could have leapt for joy. It was only one night, but still, it was twenty-hour hours that they had alone with Celine to convince her of the mistake she made on her sixteenth birthday.
“Either way, we are pleased to welcome you, Celine,” Alexander reiterated.
“I am pleased to be here, Alexander,” she answered.
Gray offered her his arm to escort her inside. She accepted, smiling at him. The group made their way inside the house and Alexander led the way to her bedroom. “I hope you will find it suitable,” he commented as she entered.
“Most suitable, thank you. If you do not mind, I should like to rest before dinner.”
“Of course,” Alexander answered.
“I look forward to seeing you at dinner, Celine,” Gray told her, closing the door behind him as he and Alexander exited.
They met Michael and Damien in the foyer. “It appears we are in luck. Celine traveled alone, so we have free access for the time being to discuss her husband with her,” Alexander stated.
“Yes, one day is better than none, I guess,” Michael agreed.
“I’m still uncomfortable with the idea of that man being in this house,” Gray said, crossing his arms.
“With any luck, he won’t be here that long,” Damien answered.
“You really imagine she will leave him?” Gray questioned.
“I’m not sure, but if she wasn’t considering it, why would she have come here?”
No one answered for a moment. “Perhaps,” Gray said, “she merely wants to learn what kind of man she is married to and has no intention of acting on the information.”
“To what end?” Damien inquired. “Who would want to know their husband is a complete bastard so they could keep on living with them like nothing happened?”
“Perhaps she’ll confront him about it, and they’ll have a row and put it behind them,” Gray suggested.
“Your husband ordering the death of your father isn’t something you have an argument about and then leave behind,” Damien argued.
“I agree. Plus, the way she looks at you,” Michael said to Gray, “I think we stand a good chance.”
“At me? You must be joking,” Gray answered.
“Yes, at you,” Michael responded. “It’s the same look she gives you where we’re from.”
“And in our reality, she’s been married to you for over two centuries,” Damien said with a coy expression.
“It’s true. The only genuine
