Page 42 of Promises Made at Midnight
Her footsteps faltered only a moment before she continued forward until Godfrey bowed before her. “Sir Godfrey,” she began with a small measure of concern, “you asked me to join you?”
“Lady Bridgette,” he said taking her hand and raising it to his lips. “Thank you for seeing me.”
“To be honest, I did not realize ’twas you who was asking,” she replied while curious as to his reason to see her. “What do you wish to discuss?”
“My lady… I wished to make amends for my earlier behavior upon your arrival at Berwyck. ’Twas not the conduct of a knight under the supervision of our liege lord and I must needs ask your forgiveness.” He motioned toward the bench and they sat.
“There is nothing to forgive and perchance I must also ask your forgiveness for my conduct.” She watched him intensely, but she no longer saw the lust or hunger lingering in his gaze. “You reminded me of someone from my past, you see. ’Twas not a good memory.”
“Mayhap this is why I also felt drawn to you,” he replied with a slight smile. “I cannot explain my initial reaction to you, but I felt this overpowering urge to make you mine. Such a feeling made no sense and the more you withdrew the more I needed or wanted to be near you.”
Bridgette had a sense ofdéjà vuand her time with Brad. He had always been possessive of her time, expecting her to put everything from her life aside to spend every waking moment with him. He had been obsessed, not only with her but with his own good looks, as though he was God’s gift to women. It hadn’t taken long for Bridgette to realize their relationship was unhealthy. Perhaps this initial meeting with Godfrey had somehow overflowed into the modern-day reincarnation of the knight now sitting beside her. She could in no way dismiss they were somehow related, although many generations apart.
“Mayhap we can start anew,” Bridgette said with a smile. She could not fault the man before her for her past relationship with his descendant. If Godfrey was honestly seeking her forgiveness, then she could do the same.
“You honor me, Lady Bridgette,” he replied. “My thanks for accepting my apology.”
“And I as well. I should also offer my thanks for assisting me after the battle. I must admit I was in a bit of a daze afterwards and was mainly going through the motions of tending the wounded.”
A chuckle left him. “You have no notion how shocked I was when Sir Ulrick called out for me to help you during the fight. You are a rare woman, my lady. ’Tis no wonder Ulrick is in love with you.”
“I am in love with him as well, which is why I had to do all in my power to save him, even if it cost me my own life,” she replied, with eyes downcast.
“He is lucky to have such a steadfast woman at his side. My prayer will be to find one for myself one day with the same conviction as you show to Sir Ulrick,” he said, but then gave a short laugh. “However, I am not of the mind to wed as yet. Plenty of time for all that later in life. I wish to now fulfill my obligation to prove my worth to Lord Dristan and become one of his knights.”
“I am certain you have already proven you are worthy, Sir Godfrey, if not in the battle then on the training field.” She could tell her words pleased the young man before her, as he appeared to puff up with pride. He reminded her of a peacock shaking his feathers to attract a mate and she did all in her power not to laugh at him and spoil this fragile newfound friendship.
“Your encouraging words and praise will provide the inspiration for me to do all in my power to prove you are correct,” he beamed before rising from the bench. “Now I have taken enough of your time, and I am certain you are busy now that you have two children under your care. I bid you good day, Lady Bridgette, and again my thanks for your graciousness.” He bowed once more before her and at her nod, he left.
Bridgette felt a fair amount of satisfaction with his parting. She hoped that maybe the future version of this knight would perhaps benefit from the understanding that Godfrey and Bridgette now shared. She was about to rise when Lady Ella entered. Wife to Killian of Clan MacLaren who was like a father to Lady Amiria, Ella was one person she had been meaning to speak with since Bridgette found herself in twelfth century England. Since today was a day of apologies and a hope for the future, there was no time like the present to have a talk with the woman. After all, she, more than anyone else here at Berwyck, knew a thing or two about traveling through time.
“Lady Ella… might I have a word,” Bridgette called out and watched the middle-aged woman approach.
Ella sat down next to Bridgette and took her hands. “Please… just Ella, my dear. I still cannot get used to being called lady even after all this time.” She squeezed Bridgette’s hands before continuing. “What did you wish to have speech about?”
Bridgette stared at the woman whose soft brown eyes twinkled in unsuppressed merriment. “I must apologize for not reaching out to you sooner. If I had done so, then perchance you might have answered some of my original questions.”
Ella patted her hand. “Time travel takes a bit of getting used to, does it not?” she laughed quietly. “Take it from someone who has done it a time or two.”
“More than once?” Bridgette gasped. She had known Ella had travelled through time but to go through that more than once? Unbelievable.
“’Tis a long story, as was my journey to finding my true love and my reason for slipping through time in the first place.”
“Will you tell me? That is… if you would be so kind?” Bridgette asked, settling herself back against the stone wall behind her as if she needed the extra support.
“Since you, too, have traveled from another place in time, I know my secret is safe with you,” Ella began closing her eyes as though reliving it all over again. “It all began on a hot summer day in St. Augustine, Florida…”
As Ella began to weave her tale, Bridgette considered herself lucky to have not had to go through all that the lady before her had. Imagine falling through time and finding love, only to lose that love and slipping through time again and reliving your entire life all over again. Bridgette wasn’t sure she could accomplish such a feat.
“So, you see,” Ella continued, “my story had a happily ever after with Killian who was right before my very eyes for years. I was so blinded by my determination to return to Henry that I completely forgot why I ran from him in the first place. I thought I could change my past when really, I needed to change my future. My son Conrad is a result of my time with Killian. I would do everything all over again in order to have my son.”
“It was worth it in the end?” Bridgette asked softly.
“Aye, of course. Love is worth everything we do in life and what give us purpose. And I heard all you had to do was make a wish… if only I could have been so lucky,” she murmured. “But I suppose I had more of a lesson to learn from my experience than you.”
“Amiria’s grandmother played matchmaker between me and Ulrick. She told us we will still be tested.”
“Then hold strong to the love you have between you, Bridgette, and never forget the binding tie that brought you together in the first place. Miracles do not happen every day, but they do seem to occur more frequently with the knights of Berwyck.”
