"There were soldiers in your regiment who witnessed you going down in battle."

"I did. My horse was shot and we went down together, but unlike so many others, I was not crushed by my mount. There was mass confusion following the battle at Waterloo, thousands of dead and wounded soldiers everywhere. I managed to escape, slipping my timepiece under the body of a dead soldier I knew no one would ever be able to identify."

He squeezed Austin's arms, then sat back. "I returned to Claudine and Josette. I knew Gaspard would be searching for them to take revenge for my double-cross… if he had survived. We had to go into hiding until I knew if Gaspard was still alive. I soon discovered he was."

"How did you meet Claudine?"

"She'd saved my life two years earlier. I'd taken a bayonette in the leg. The next thing I remember was waking up and looking into the kindest, gentlest eyes I'd ever seen. She said she'd found me in the woods, about two miles from the battle site. I suppose I must have dragged myself there, although I don't recall doing so. She nursed me back to health."

"Why would she help a British soldier?"

"She told me she'd just lost her younger brother to the war. Even though I was British, she didn't want to inflict the pain of losing a loved one on someone else and she didn't want my death on her conscience. She decided to do what she could to help me recover, then send me on my way."

He clasped his hands in front of him on the table. "We never intended to fall in love, but we did. After two weeks, I was healed enough to rejoin my regiment, but I couldn't leave her. She refused to marry me, fearing the danger I'd be placed in by having a French wife, but I was stubborn. We traveled to a village several hours away and were secretly married.

"After that, I settled her in another village, under a different name. I wanted her away from Gaspard, whose vicious hatred of the British had turned to madness after Mien's death. The need to keep her safe became even more crucial once I learned she was with child."

His gaze drifted briefly to where his wife and daughter slept peacefully. "Gaspard found the church where we'd been married and he came after me. He was going to kill me, then find Claudine and kill her. I managed to convince him I was sympathetic to the French-after all, I had a French wife-how loyal to the English could I be? To prove my loyalty, I promised to provide him and his men with weapons."

"Which is what you were doing that night on the docks," Austin said. "Only the weapons were useless."

"Yes, except for the top several in each crate in case he tested them, which he did." He dragged his hands down his face. "When I saw you there, I panicked. I couldn't explain things to you, and I couldn't let Gaspard see you. Both of our lives were at stake."

"I want you to know how much I regret that night, William. Branding you a traitor, disavowing you as my brother-"

"You had no way of knowing, Austin."

"I should have trusted in you, known that you would never commit treason."

"You believed what I wanted you to believe. I could have confessed what was going on when we spoke, but I couldn't risk that someone might overhear, or question you. I would have said anything-anything-to protect Claudine and Josette, even if it meant pretending to my own brother that I was a traitor."

Austin looked over at Elizabeth. Yes, he could understand that depth of love.

"I'm sorry that I've had to allow you, Mother, Robert, and Caroline to mourn me this past year," William said in a quiet voice, "but until I took care of Gaspard I couldn't risk returning to the family. By killing him, you've set me free."

A shudder passed through Austin. "That bastard almost killed my wife. I would kill him again if I could."

"She is very brave, your wife. Have you been married long?"

"No. But she's changed my life." He looked at William and understanding flowed between them. "You understand."

"Perfectly. Claudine changed mine."

Silence fell for several seconds, then Austin said "The first night I met Elizabeth, she told me you were alive. I didn't believe her."

William frowned. "How could she possibly have known I was alive?"

Austin gazed at the cot by the fire, at the woman who held his heart and soul in her hands. He would not dishonor her and what she'd done for him and his family by hiding the gift of her visions… for that's exactly what they were. A gift. Returning his attention to William, he explained just how extraordinary his wife really was.

When he finished, William simply stared at him. "That's incredible."

Once again his gaze drifted to Elizabeth. "Yes, William. That's exactly what she is. Incredible."

And the moment she awoke, he would begin convincing her she was just that. And that she belonged with him.


i

Chapter 27


Elizabeth came awake slowly, gradually becoming aware of her surroundings. A dull, relentless ache throbbed in her shoulder, but it was a vast improvement over the inferno that she recalled burning there earlier. She breathed deeply and the savory aroma of something delicious cooking filled her nostrils. Her stomach instantly tightened with hunger.