The Sunstone Brooch : Time Travel Romance Katherine Logan (no david read aloud TXT) 📖

But watching Remy and Austin react to the steward boomeranged all that emotion, and she shook so hard her slightly damp curls bounced against the sides of her neck.

Austin pulled her into an embrace and whispered, “Shh… I’ll explain everything later, but this could get nasty. Stay alert. Remy and I won’t let anything happen to you. But right now, you’re shaking like a two-year-old throwing a tantrum, so cup your hands over your mouth and breathe slowly.”

She was almost hyperventilating. When she didn’t cover her mouth, Austin did it for her. “Breathe.” Then to Remy, he murmured, “Pour the champagne or get the whisky.”

“Don’t leave,” she whispered into her cupped hands. “Who is that man? I need to know.” She could hear the panic in her voice, and that scared her even more. “Use the brooch. Let’s get out of here. Now!”

“Shh…” Austin held her tighter, and she was comforted by the rhythm of his heart. If he was calm, she could be just as controlled. So she allowed herself to relax in his arms and let her panic attack subside.

“Mr. Bailey is wearing a ring identical to one worn by a man who terrorized Aunt Penny. It’s associated with the Illuminati.”

“It could be a coincidence,” she said, infusing a bit of hope into her voice.

“When you see Elliott, ask him what he thinks of coincidences,” Remy said.

She crossed her arms and wondered why she should care what Elliott thought of coincidences. “So give me the Cliffs Notes version, and if I remember to ask him, I will.”

“He believes that if fate or mystery or God—or even brooches—can cause coincidences, then the cause is known, and there are no coincidences.”

She tapped her fingers against her crossed arms, thinking through what Remy said, hoping it would make sense if she thought about it long enough. “So if God causes a coincidence and you believe it was God, it wasn’t a coincidence because you know the cause. Is that it?”

“Something like that,” Remy said.

She was still trying to figure it out when Mr. Bailey returned, carrying a tray with several serving dishes.

“Would you like me to serve?” Mr. Bailey asked.

Austin laughed and stepped away from Ensley but kept his hand on her shoulder. “If my fiancée can keep her hands off me, I’ll serve us. Thank you, Mr. Bailey.”

She patted his hand that wrapped her shoulder. “Me, darling? It’s obvious it’s the other way around. What do you think, Mr. Bailey?”

His eyes flashed, and then he answered, “I never offer an opinion in matters of the heart. If you ask me if it’s going to rain tomorrow, I’ll tell you what I think.” He nodded, but before leaving the room, he pulled on a cord. “There’s one of these in every room. Pull it, and it rings in the kitchen. I’ll come immediately.”

As soon as he was gone, she whispered, “Mr. Bailey is wearing a ring with a crossed-keys insignia. Is that what you associate with the Illuminati?”

Remy put his finger to his lips as he crossed the room, looked out into the hallway, then closed the door. “Let’s fix our plates and act like nothing’s wrong. We have to assume they’re spying on us.”

“Why don’t we just leave?” she asked.

“We can’t leave yet, and we don’t know if both men are involved. Plus, our orders are to go to the farm and collect Kit and Cullen.” Remy picked up a plate and loaded it with venison and potatoes. “Excuse me while I eat. I think better on a full stomach.”

“Do you want me to fix you a plate?” Austin asked.

She sidled over to the table and poured a glass of champagne, hoping more alcohol would calm her. At least she had stopped hyperventilating. “No, I want you to be honest with me.”

Remy sat and poured a glass for himself before taking a big bite of a buttered biscuit. “These could be the same men who caused trouble for JC when he was in Asia. Or at least from the same organization.”

“How do you know?” she asked.

“I doan. I’m just guessing. But Elliott took JC home under mysterious circumstances. It could have something to do with the Illuminati. If they found JC, then they must know about you and your whereabouts.”

Dumbfounded, she asked, “How would they know that?”

“I doan know. But the Illuminati knows a lot of shit we haven’t figured out yet. The MacKlenna Clan is a small organization. The Illuminati is worldwide. We doan know how many people they have, the number of brooches, or how much they know about the stones’ history and purpose. Based on what happened to Penny, I’d guess the Illuminati have been a step ahead of us all along.”

“But the agent at the depot said they came in on the train today. So they haven’t been hanging out waiting for me to get here.”

“He said the cook and steward came in on the train from Billings. He didn’t identify them. Maybe the men who are here now aren’t the same men who came in on the train.”

“Damn, Remy.”

Tension flexed in the tendons in his neck. “I’m worried about ya, and I wanna be sure you’re aware of the danger. Stay alert. We’ll have your back. But it’s you they want. Not me. Not Austin. We’re in their way, and they’d just as soon shoot us now.”

The worry she saw in Remy’s eyes sent a shiver across her skin, and it zip-lined down her spine. She turned toward the food in an attempt to hide how scared she was but doubted she fooled anyone.

“This looks like the food I ate at the hotel. Which was not ‘comestibles for the most exacting palate.’”

“If I add some seasoning, it woan be too bad.” Remy’s voice was as bland as the food, and that sent the shiver zip-lining in the other direction.

She sat down next to him but had little appetite for what was on her plate. She pushed it away. “I can’t eat this.” She sipped more