Sheena listened to them chatting while she sipped her morning drink. Angus and Erin were obviously impressed with the improved amenities available here, which included their “tea” served in beautiful cups instead of the AAS airship standard issue. Nate really should attend to making his current Matchmakers more comfortable. Their appreciation of little things like nice serving ware might increase their overall happiness in their work.

Erin came out of the bedroom and smiled at Sheena. “It’s like staying at a fancy hotel in London. Not that I ever stayed at one, but I did read about such things a lot. It was always a wish of mine to see more of the world outside Lisdoonvarna. Of course, I never dreamed I’d be doing it on an alternate version of the planet.”

“Do you miss your real home, Erin?” Sheena asked.

Erin pondered the question for a moment and then shrugged. “Not in the way yer probably imagining I do. Oh, I miss certain creature comforts, for sure. I miss things like walking outside and feeling the ground beneath my feet. At the rare moment, I miss a few of my old friends, but that passes quickly too. I have Angus in my life now. He makes up for the rest.”

“It took me a hundred years to learn what you’ve learned in a few short months. You can’t replace a person. All you can do is find substitutes.”

“Yes. Angus is truly one of a kind… well, at least my version is. Though from all I’m learning, the original Angus was pretty unusual himself.”

“Yes, Dad was special,” Sheena said quietly. “Both my parents were.”

Erin bent to hug Sheena. “And so are their daughters. I’m proud every day to be a part of yer and Brianna’s lives. I never had children of my own. The two of ya fill that gap for me.”

Sheena chuckled as Erin poured herself a cup of tea. The Universe 6 Matchmakers still couldn’t grasp the chronology of her and Bri both being far older than the two of them.

“Erin…” Sheena paused in her revelation, trying to find the right words. Unfortunately, all she had was the blunt truth that she felt sure now no one had told them. “You and Angus… well, you’re technically still very young by our universe’s standards, and well…” Sheena drew in a breath and leaned forward to shift into doctor mode. “You and Angus can still have children, Erin. There would be nothing preventing it if Angus got his anti-fertility implant removed.”

Erin’s cup clattered into the saucer. “Beg pardon… I don’t think I heard ya correctly.”

Sheena laughed and groaned. “Damn you, Nathaniel,” she said fiercely, closing her eyes as she shook her head.

She opened them to stare at a shocked Erin. “All males here in our universe get a simple implant that keeps their sperm count low enough not to impregnate the women sharing their beds. Most get the implant put in as teenagers. It doesn’t affect growth, virility, or normal aging. With so many open marriages in our culture where a man or woman can have multiple partners simultaneously, it’s considered socially responsible for every man to keep an implant in place until he commits to helping raise children with just one woman. I take it Nate never said anything to either of you about any of this.”

“No. He most certainly did not. Where we come from, I’m in the late middle of my life and Angus was in his waning years. I thought we were both fecking past all that. I’m sure Angus has assumed the same,” Erin said, shocked. She lifted a hand. “Oh Goddess, I’ve not taken a single precaution. Not for an instant did the idea of babes even cross my mind.”

Sheena reached across the table and grabbed Erin’s hand. “Calm down, Erin. It’s truly okay. The implant works gently with the male’s body in a very normal, natural way. Neither of you would have known anything was being prevented. There’s absolutely nothing to worry about.”

“Goddess,” Erin said, her face dropping into the hand Sheena wasn’t gripping tightly. “Angus will not handle this well when he learns of it. He’s too old-fashioned in his thinking, especially about his manhood. He’ll be dwelling on it until the fecking thing’s removed. I’ve waited nine years for him to be with me, Erin. I couldn’t bear it if Angus turned away from me now.”

Sheena nodded, let go, and leaned back in her chair. “Then I suggest we not tell him about this until such a time as you decide you’re ready to start a family with him. It was Nate’s job to tell Angus what was done to his body while he was being rejuvenated. We’ll have Nate tell him during one of his annual check-ups.”

“What bothers me is that I never gave getting with Angus’s child any thought. I was the same way with the first man I let inside me,” Erin said, drinking tea. “Where I come from, a woman getting her needs met led to children nearly every time. Our bodies ruled our fate. It certainly ruled mine. I got with child just a couple months into our relationship.”

“It doesn’t work like that here, I promise.” Sheena sighed with gratitude over it. She couldn’t imagine not planning such things. “So you once had a baby?”

Erin shook her head. “I carried a child inside me for a while, but I lost the child before term. It was probably for the best because I lost its father long before that came about. Instead of marrying me like he promised, the fecking jack left me to go fight in a bloody war. Shortly after I lost our child—a child he never even knew was conceived—I heard he died from combat injuries. This all happened a decade before I stupidly set my sights on the widowed Angus MacNamara.”

“Wow. I keep forgetting Angus was chronologically a lot older than you in your universe,” Sheena said.

“He and I forget it as well. After Nate got through cooking him in the box, he’s like me or I’m like him… however ya want to view the matter. Yer revelation about children has given me something deep to think about, Sheena. Would ya mind terribly if I one day made another replica of ya?”

Sheena smiled. “So long as it’s what you and Angus want, you can make all the replicas of me and Brianna you wish. My parents did a good job of raising us. I’ve just never felt like I could spare the amount of time of energy it takes to raise a child myself. Bri and I had full-time nannies our entire childhoods. We did fine, but we missed our parents when they were away from us.”

“Did ya grow up in the castle?”

Sheena chuckled. “No. I grew up in a large, pretentious estate home. It wasn’t as big as the castle, but we had lots of servants. I remember having to be good constantly because important people were always coming to dinner. Dad built the castle just before I went to college… or the first part of it. Brianna was raised there completely. To her, the castle is home.”

Erin sighed. “That’s right. I forgot ya were a fully grown woman when she came along, weren’t ya?”

Sheena nodded. “I was also a doctor and assisted in her conception and birth. After Bri arrived, I took temporary jobs instead of focusing on a career. The variety suited my inquisitive nature and it allowed me to go stay at the castle as often as I wished. I suppose for me it was a little like having my own child to watch Brianna grow up. Eventually, she became untamable. She got sent away to a school where her energy was put to more productive use. We grew apart during those years.”

“I can’t even imagine how that must have been for you or your parents.”

“Dad sent Bri away with the best of intentions. She kept coming to the airship and had decided to dedicate her life to tormenting Darcone. She was very good at it. Mom wasn’t happy about the boarding school, but in the end, it was for the best. By the time Bri was twenty, she was pretty much like she is now—a controlled troublemaker. My sister hasn’t changed much in eighty years.”

“I like her, even when she’s being sassy and combative. I hope yer sister never changes anything about herself except her relationship with Darcone. Ya can tell they’re meant to be. Goddess, she’s been waiting for that alien for over sixty years, hasn’t she? And here I thought waiting nine for Angus was torment.”

Sheena laughed and held up a hand. “Sorry. I’m not laughing at you waiting for Angus. I’m thinking about all the compromises Bri and Darcone are going to have to make for their relationship to work. She’s nothing like his people expect him to take for a mate.”

“Oh, I know,” Erin said. “I’ve been reading about his planet. Did ya know he traded places with his brother? Apparently, Darcone didn’t want to mate the woman his family had chosen for him. His brother didn’t want to mate an Earth woman. They talked their parents into letting them switch places. I think Bri’s secretly been his dream woman all along.”

“Erin, you’re certainly talking like a Matchmaker. My mother would have been very pleased with you.”

Shrugging, Erin finished her tea. “I guess yer Da was right to fetch us, though I’ll always believe it was the hand of fate that brought Angus and me both here. They meant to take only him, ya know. I’ll not ever be thinking too light of my own presence here.”

“Let’s go, ladies. It’s time for our meeting with the Guardians,” Angus bellowed, walking out of the bedroom in his formal kilt suit.

Erin turned and looked him up and down. “Is the whole Prince Charlie really necessary for this meeting?”

Angus tugged on his jacket. “It’s a simulation, not a real fecking Prince Charlie, so I can wear it whenever I want. I needed to feel like myself when I met the people responsible for us being here.”

Erin sighed and rose. “Then let me go get the sash yer kilt makers gave me. I’ll wear yer colors as a show of support for our cause.”

“Ya have the right to wear my colors any time for any reason, woman. Yer my wife in every sense of the word except one. I’m ready to make it official whenever ya wish.”

“Don’t start, Angus. We’re not talking about this now.”

“When then?” Angus demanded, stopping Erin from walking by him.

“When we get the castle business settled. When we know what we can and cannot do, then maybe I can think about it. I don’t know why yar in such a hurry. It’s not like either of us is going anywhere.”

“Because I want to own the whole coo and not just be sampling her milk all the time. It’s the way I am.”

Erin shoved his arm as she stormed past. “Calling me a coo is so fecking romantic. I don’t know how I keep finding the strength to turn down yer charming proposals.”

Sheena giggled as she watched Erin stomp into the bedroom she and Angus shared last evening. What the hell was a coo?

She’d insisted on staying with Angus and Erin thinking to be their protection. Instead, they were her entertainment, especially Angus’s continued insistence that they formalize their relationship with an ancient marriage ceremony. The man never let it rest more than a few hours before bringing it up again.

She grinned when Angus turned a bright smile her way.

“I think I’m finally wearing her down,” he said cheerily.

“If by that you mean Erin might eventually give in just to get you to shut up about it, then I agree with that statement. However, that’s not the same as her giving you a whole-hearted yes to your offer. If that’s how you intend to get your way, Erin will always have the upper hand in your relationship. Is that really what you want for the next hundred years, Angus?”

He straightened as he considered her words, looking impossibly taller than any normal man in his kilt. Sheena laughed as she watched her logic take root in his mind and understanding bloom across his handsome face. Being with Angus was like getting a chance to see her father in his youth. It made her respect her mother even more for having had to deal with him like this. She didn’t envy Erin having to put up with Angus and his persistent pressure.

“I can see yer point about pushing my case too hard,” Angus said, rubbing his chin. “Perhaps I’ve been using the wrong approach.”

“Perhaps,” Sheena agreed, tilting down her chin to hide her smile.

Awestruck, all she could do was stare when Erin walked out of the room with a MacNamara sash wrapped over one shoulder. The plaid picked up the best hues in her skin and hair. Erin’s eyes sparkled. Sure it was with irritation at Angus mostly, but his possessive, loving gaze roaming up and down her body probably made up for some of the grief he caused. Sheena sure was enjoying the show. Her smile was full of pleasure and pride for her new family.

Without saying a word, Erin walked to stand in front of Angus. She reached out and swept his fly plaid off his arm and back into place over his shoulder. She tugged on the front of his jacket and then nodded. “Now we’re fit to see them. I’m ready if ya are, Angus.”

Angus reached out a hand and cupped her cheek. “Yer a beautiful woman, Erin O’Shea. I should tell ya more often. I swear to yer Goddess it’s true.”

Erin snorted. “Oh, go on with yerself. Save that flattery for the Guardians.”

“It will all be wasted on them,” Angus said sadly, letting his hand drop gently away. “Sheena tells me they’re all elderly, even the women among them. I’ll have to use my greater wit instead.”

“May the Goddess help us then,” Erin said, rolling her eyes as a laughing Sheena rose from her chair to join them.