Part 32 (1/2)

She turned then, her smile brittle, but her eyes fierce. ”You will go when and where the queen allows you to go.” She nodded toward the guards.Archer's respect climbed a notch-a tiny one-for the fiery little woman, but his grin didn't reveal that. ”Sweetheart, you've never seen me in action.”

She flushed, and retreated.

He turned to find Talia studying the room. Only when she rubbed at her arms

did he realize she wasn't quite as cool and collected as she pretended to be.He sat next to her. ”Quite the place, huh?””It's... amazing.” She looked up at hand-painted domed ceiling far above them. ”It feels so old and historic and yet it's modern and hi-tech, all at the same time.” She looked at the doors that had whooshed silently shut behind the a.s.sistant.

Archer understood her awe. ”The castle was built on the foundations of one that was old even in your time. Over the centuries it has been the site of countless battles, the last of which occurred during the Insurrection. The aftermath resulted in the split of the United Kingdom into three separate lands, ruled by three separate monarchs.”

”How long ago was that?”

Archer shrugged. ”Long before I was born. Probably a hand more than a hundred years now.” He sat back in his chair. ”Llanfair is the capital of the

Welsh kingdom and the seat of the monarchy. The House of Dalwyn has been in power since shortly after the uprising. Queen Catriona is the sixth Dalwyn to rule.”

Talia opened her mouth to speak, but apparently thought better of it.

Archer, who was feeling proud of himself for having put together that much

factual history of his adopted homeland, realized then that she had no idea what year she was in.

”It's twenty-two-thirty-five.” She blanched and he wished he'd kept silent.

She looked at him and smiled. ”It's okay. I mean, you had to deal with this

same thing, right? When you came to my... my time.” She tucked her hair nervously behind her ears. ”You handled it fairly well. So it shouldn't be too hard for me.”

”I think the learning curve is a bit steeper on your end.” He s.h.i.+fted so he faced her directly. ”Don't think you have to be perfect here, Talia. Once we explain the situation, the queen will understand what you are dealing with. She's young, but with a wisdom far beyond her years.”

”How young?”

”Twenty-five.”

”And she rules the whole country?”

Archer nodded. ”Every last bit of it. Her father, King Cynan, whom your

mother served, was a.s.sa.s.sinated three years ago. Catriona ascended the throne very young, but she's held the place together well enough, until... well, until she grew ill.”

”I can't even imagine,” Talia whispered. ”All that and she's pregnant, too.”

Archer nodded, not knowing what else to say, already wis.h.i.+ng he hadn't said

as much as he had.

”What about the father? Is she married? Is there a king, or whatever they call a queen's husband. Prince regent or something? I was never a royal watcher.”

”She wasn't married. She's never spoken about the father.”

”I guess that's normal, even in my time.” She looked at him. ”Do people still

get married?” She hadn't put any emphasis on the question, until her cheeks pinked a bit and she rushed to add, ”I mean, I was just thinking that my mother wasn't married either and that made me wonder if-Never mind.”

Under normal circ.u.mstances, when a woman he'd been intimate with brought up the M word around him, no matter how seemingly casual the reference, Archer immediately began making his bon voyage plans. But when Talia had mentioned it, his internal alarms hadn't made a sound.

The doors slid open before he could think about that, much less answer Talia.

The a.s.sistant hurried over to them. ”Follow me. Quickly.”

Archer took his time standing. ”Now she's in a hurry.”

But Talia leaped to her feet, then smoothed her hair while taking a deep breath. She darted a look at him and murmured, ”Thanks for standing up for me.”

”I promised, didn't I?” He winked at her and placed his hand on the small of her back, beneath her bulging backpack. ”What do you have in there anyway?” he asked quietly as they crossed the room to the door.

”Just... stuff.”