Chapter 21

The sun began to set in the west as they rounded a curve in the road and Samantha’s breath caught in her throat. They entered an open valley that faced the sea. Situated in the middle and facing the ocean was a large white, two-story house. Fenced fields and pastures and groves of trees surrounded the house and marched to the foot of the mountains that ran into the central part of the island.

The sound of thundering hooves drew their attention as half a dozen horses raced across the pasture until they reached the fence where they stopped and stared as John and Samantha approached along the road. When they passed the watching eyes, the animals whirled and raced away.

John halted the team in the drive that curved and disappeared behind the house. He and Sergeant jumped down and moved around the wagon and waited for Samantha. She didn’t move, but let her eyes take in the white clapboard jewel before her. It was the house she had imagined in every fairytale she’d ever heard. A round turret stood like a sentinel at one corner and rose an additional story above the main house where it gave access through a doorway to the railed widow’s walk that ran the length of the roof of the main house. A railed porch wreathed the front and sides of the house while wide sweeping steps flowed down to a stone walkway, its length flanked by flowers, in turn, flanked by a carpet of grass so green that it seemed to glow.

“Come on, Sam.” John waved his hand at her.

She took it and climbed down, turning in a full circle to take in the valley. Once again she looked to where the valley floor seemed to fall away into the sea. With the setting sun the sea had turned from a brilliant amethyst to a strange, dark onyx.

“Samantha? Jonathan?”

Together they turned toward the warm, soft voice. A slender woman stood in shadow on the porch, looking down at them for a moment before she came down the steps and followed the paved path to where they stood. As she approached, Sam stood open-mouthed and stared into her own face. A sensation of time rushing forward overwhelmed Samantha and she reached out to John for stability. The slender frame, waves of long, flowing honey colored hair and the oval face set with green eyes were Samantha’s own. As she drew closer, Samantha realized it was her face 25 years into the future. The fine lines at the corners of her full mouth and her eyes and the glints of silver in the hair were all visible, even in the growing dusk.

Isabel stopped next to John and took his hand, smiling up, into his face. “Hello, John,” she said, her voice warm and low. She stood on tiptoe and John lowered his cheek for her kiss. “I’m so glad you came.”

John nodded toward his sister. “Aunt Isabel, this is Samantha.”

Her smile widened and she laughed. “I don’t think there can be any confusion on that point. Hello, Samantha.”

Samantha couldn’t speak. She felt if she opened her mouth the world would explode and be blown away on the wind. Anger flashed through her, sharp and hot and she looked at John. He’d had known.

Isabel reached out and took Samantha by the hand. “It’s all right, my dear. Take a breath. That’s it. Now, let it out.”

Only then did she become aware that she had held her breath. As she drew in a deep cleansing breath, the feeling of telescoping time subsided and the anger cooled to manageable proportions. “I’m sorry. No one told me. . . I didn’t know. . .” she said, her voice a whisper.

“Of course you didn’t. Now, why don’t you both come in. I’ve just got supper ready and was about to put it on the table.”

“I’m sorry we didn’t let you know in advance that we were coming. It was a spur of the moment idea.” John said, allowing them to move ahead of him.

Isabel laughed again, a bright, young laugh. “Oh, John, there are no surprises in my life. You know that. I’ve made plenty for the two of you and your furry companion.” She reached down and scratched Sergeant’s ears. “How are you my old friend?”

To Samantha’s amazement, the dog licked her hand and walked with her the rest of the way into the house, hugging her leg and pushing against her hand with his head, demanding a rub. Sergeant never made friends on a first meeting but from her comment, Samantha was certain it wasn’t a first meeting for either of them.

They moved quietly up the steps, across the wide porch and into the house. The high ceilings and arched doorways to the common rooms gave an open airy feel to the house and allowed warm lamplight to spill into every room. Dark wood floors and furniture reflected the warm glow of the lamps. Isabel ushered them through an archway on the left and into a large dining room dominated by a large oval table. As they entered, the three people seated there rose.

Isabel did the introductions, “John, Samantha, this is my family. My husband, Loren Duran, my son, Ian and my daughter, Alanna. Family, I’d like you to meet Samantha, my niece. And surely you remember John, although it has been ten years.”

Loren said, “We welcome you to our home, John and Samantha.” He waved to chairs on either side of the table, “Please take a seat and join us for dinner. Samantha, you next to Ian and John, next to Alanna.” He moved to the other end of the table to seat Isabel.

Ian held Samantha’s chair and said, “Very pleased to make your acquaintance, Samantha.”

John followed his lead and seated Alanna with virtually the same comment. Once seated however, the room became strangely quiet and Samantha studied her long lost relatives.

Loren Duran was the most attractive man Samantha had ever seen. He was taller that John’s six feet with strong muscular arms and broad shoulders. His Island blue eyes were set deep in a darkly tanned face and seemed as if they could see beyond the mist. Dressed in dinner jacket and white shirt, he appeared very sophisticated but the picture was pleasantly skewed by the unruly black hair that tended to curl.

On his right was Ian Duran looked vaguely familiar but she couldn’t make a connection as to why. He appeared to be about her own age and his resemblance to his father was striking, right down to the muscular build, piercing blue eyes, and tan. His hair, however, was the same shade that Samantha shared with his mother, a golden honey. He too, wore dinner clothes but unlike his father, his hair was neatly combed, tamed by some pomade.

To Loren’s left was a young woman that Samantha gauged to be younger than Ian and his alter in looks. Her fair skin rarely saw sun and her long, sunny blond hair was a mass of curls, pulled back from her face by a sparkling clip. Although she was taller that Sam, she was not as tall as the males. Alanna was stunningly beautiful but when she looked at Samantha, something about her eyes set Sam’s teeth on edge. They were not the blue that predominated in her family, but a strange golden color that were almost cat-like.

A squeaking noise drew all eyes to the door where a serving cart was rolled in by a very large woman in an apron. Her grey hair was captured, for the most part, beneath a cap and a white apron enveloped the rest of her. She began to put bowls of food around the table, placing a roast chicken in front of Loren and handing him a carving knife and fork.

It was an uncanny meal. The food was delicious, the table set beautifully with china and silver and crystal. The windows overlooking the porch on two sides were open and allowed a gently evening breeze to drift through. Everything was perfect. . . except for the profound silence of the participants.

No one talked. Loren passed the plates back and everyone helped themselves to the food and then he said grace. Ian and Alanna kept their eyes on their plates. Not until the dessert cart was rolled in and slices of coconut cake was placed in front of each person did anyone speak. Samantha nearly jumped out of her chair.

“I understand you had a bit of trouble on your trip.” Loren picked up his fork and lifted a bite of cake to his mouth. He chewed thoughtfully, not looking at anyone.

John and Samantha looked at one another across the table. “Yes,” John answered, “We had to stop in a village but no one was seriously hurt.”

“Hmmmm. They arrested one of the Green Men.”

Again, Samantha and John exchanged looks. John frowned, “Yes, that’s true.”

Silence fell. He still did not look at them, just continued to take bites of his cake and look down the table. When he finished the last bite he lay his fork across his plate. Then, he turned his gaze to John.

“Why?”

It seemed a stupid question in light of his apparent knowledge of what happened. Even son and daughter were looking at him now and Samantha could see that John was getting annoyed. She quickly stepped into the gap carefully recounting what had happened.

“That’s impossible.”

Both Samantha and John looked open-mouthed at him.

Finally, Samantha was able to speak. “I beg your pardon?”

“Loren, stop.” Isabel said, drawing all eyes to her. She smiled at them, “Don’t mind him. He’s upset that it was one of the militia.”

John picked up his coffee and said sharply, “We weren’t pleased either.”

Isabel blushed and dropped her gaze.

“The Green Men volunteers are the guardians of the Outland. Their jobs are to protect the inhabitants of the Outland. They don’t go about attacking innocent travelers.”

Samantha marveled at the conversational tone while he basically called them liars. She clenched her fist underneath the table, wadding up the napkin in her lap.

He continued, “They insure that those entering the Outland behave themselves and that travelers are not molested. They don’t carry clubs, either.”

“Really?” Samantha said. She drew out the word, making her disgust evident.

“Samantha!” John hissed at her across the table.

She ignored him and careful placed her tightly twisted napkin beside her plate. “Well then, it was a most interesting hallucination, one I’d rather not repeat. The imaginary Green Man is currently in residence in an imaginary cell in custody of an imaginary Constable Smoot who is also in possession of an imaginary club. I’m sure if you try, you might summon up enough imagination to see it all.”

Loren Duran blinked and finally looked at Sam with evident surprise. He opened his mouth but, before he could respond, Isabel stepped in. “Loren, I think I’ll take John and Samantha for a walk before turning in.”

She rose in one fluid motion and held her hands out to Samantha and John. “Come my dears, its time we get better acquainted.” To her husband she added, “I’ll be up in a bit, Darling. Don’t wait up.”

With that she lead Samantha and John from the room, leaving her husband staring, the look of surprise still on his face. Samantha decided that very few people talked back to Mr. Duran.