My Heart Stood Still by Lynn Kurland (best book club books of all time .TXT) 📕

She looked at him miserably. "But I've no coin."

"I have plenty for the both of us. Please, please just let me buy you a few things."

"I'd listen to him, lovey," the saleswoman said with a knowing nod. "Be grateful for a man who's willing to treat you to a few pretty things."

Iolanthe relented, reluctantly, but at least Thomas had something to put in the trunk. He wished, absently, that Megan had been around to show Iolanthe the ropes.

He especially wished it when he realized he would probably have to hit the intimate apparel store with her.

He stood on the sidewalk and pointed toward the door.

"I draw the line here," he said.

"Afeared, are your? "

"Damn right," he said, leaning firmly and immovably against the window. "I'll be right here. I'm sure someone inside will help." He pulled out his wallet and handed her a hundred pounds. "That ought to cover it"

She put her shoulders back, took a deep breath, and marched inside. Thomas resolutely refused to speculate on the potential for odd conversations inside or about the directions those conversations might take. He concentrated instead on the rain that was starting to fall in a typically misty way and the way his hands were so comfortable inside the pockets of his leather jacket. He wondered if it might be possible to find such a coat for Iolanthe.

He looked across the street and saw just the kind of shop he was looking for. He leaned his head into the lingerie shop and looked around for a salesperson. He saw one, told her where he was going and to tell Iolanthe the same, then ducked across the street. He found her a coat and bought it in record time, but still he wasn't fast enough. He stepped out onto the sidewalk and saw her across the street, looking as if she'd just lost her last link to civilization.

He walked across the street, keeping his eyes on her, just in case she decided to bolt. She saw him the moment he put his foot on her sidewalk.

The relief on her face almost brought him to his knees.

"Oh," she said, flinging herself into his arms. "I thought ye'd left!"

He wrapped his arms around her and enjoyed for an eternity the feel of her clinging to him. He knew it couldn't last for long.

"Oh, Iolanthe," he whispered, "where would I go?"

And for a brief, heart-shattering moment, she stayed in his arms as if she wanted to be there.

Then she stepped back, and smiled up at him with watery eyes.

"I'm a fool," she said with half a laugh. "They told me you had gone, but didn't tell me where. I should have trusted that you'd come back."

He wanted to say, I always will, but he didn't want to ruin whatever kind feelings she was having for him at the moment, so he kept his mouth shut, took her arm, and steered her toward the car.

The drive back to the inn took far less time than he would have liked. Iolanthe was silent. She wasn't even praying as she stared out the window. Thomas kept to his plan and didn't disturb the peace.

They had almost reached the inn when she spoke.

"Thomas?"

"Yes."

"When can we go?"

He didn't have to ask where. "Whenever you'd like."

"Tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow it is, then."

Let her go, came Duncan's advice in his mind. Ambrose's suggestion of Give her time came hard on its heels. Thomas didn't like either one, but he realized he didn't have much choice.

Besides, what was a month or two in the grander scheme of things? Or a year. Or two.

After all, Iolanthe had waited six hundred. What was a couple of years when compared to that?

Chapter 39

Iolanthe stared at the clothing she had laid out on her bed. On the right was her own poor dress, having been cleaned and mended by Artane's skilled seamstresses. Alongside it was the finery she'd been gifted. She shuddered to think what the material alone had cost. Mayhap Lord Roger was so rich that a pair of gowns to a stranger troubled him not.

But if those things had come so dear, what was she to say about what she saw to her left? Jeans, tunics, sweaters, things to go under the lot, as well as shoes. Dresses too, of course, but hopefully more modest ones than she'd seen sported by the wench who'd served them tea. Iolanthe reached out and touched the coat Thomas had bought her. The leather was black and so fine, she was sure she'd never seen its like.

She closed her eyes and swallowed with difficulty. She could never repay him for any of it, not if she worked a lifetime. That he should give her so much when she had so little to give him in return was truly shameful. The least she could have done was return his love.

Yet how was she to give herself to a man she didn't know? Never mind her dreams of him. Never mind the times she looked at him and felt as if she had truly passed half a lifetime with him. The stirrings of her heart were overwhelmed by the churnings of her mind. How could she give her heart, when she was so unsure of it? Would she be loving him for what he'd given her, or for what he was?

She wrapped her arms around herself. There was only one way to find out. She reached over and began to fold up the things she'd brought from the past. Once she had carefully tucked them into her satchel, she turned toward the clothing of the Future. Her past was behind her, and there was no turning back now—not that she would have wanted to. There was nothing in 1382 for her. She would have to make herself a place in 2001.

And hope that Thomas could be patient whilst she did so.

She dressed herself in underclothing as the women had shown her, then took a deep breath and put on