Page 11 of The Journal of a Thousand Years
None of the theories we’d come up with painted the Hobsons in a good light.
I hadn’t realized how frayed my nerves were until Gabe opened the door to the Glass Library and I entered my sanctuary. I’d never used that term to describe it, but I now realized that’s precisely what it was. My little piece of paradise. The library felt more like a home to me than my room at Mrs. Parry’s boarding house. I breathed deeply, drawing in the familiar smell of old books. Perhaps it was my magic responding to all of the paper within the books, scrolls, correspondence,and other documents housed across two levels. Or perhaps it was because it was the first place in London where I’d begun to feel like my true self. Whatever the reason, I felt at peace in the library.
That peace was shattered by the fury of one small but fierce middle-aged woman dressed in trousers, waistcoat and man’s shirt. “Where have you been? Why didn’t you stay here, like I told you?” She didn’t wait for an answer. Instead, she pointed a finger at me. “This is your fault!”
I didn’t snap back. Her trembling finger was a sign that she’d been sick with worry over Gabe’s safety, and that was an emotion I understood well.
She stood in the entrance to the main section of the library, the two black marble columns framing her like a painting. Her arms were at her sides, neither loose nor rigid, and her right hand hovered near her hip. She looked like she was about to draw the gun that I knew to be tucked into the waistband of her trousers. I couldn’t entirely dismiss the idea. She certainly seemed angry enough to threaten to shoot someone, most likely me. At least I could be sure it would only be a threat and she wouldn’t actually go through with it.
Most likely.
Gabe pushed past her. “I don’t need coddling, Willie.”
She opened her mouth to offer a retort, but Alex got in first. “But if you do want to coddle him, then you should be here instead of gallivanting off with your latest petting pal.”
She stiffened. “The airman and I are friends, nothing more. I’m with Tilda now, and even if I weren’t, he’s too much like my second husband to tempt me. I loved Davide, but we should never have married.”
“Davide was Lord Farnsworth?” I couldn’t resist asking. “Why shouldn’t you have married him?”
She looked at me like I was stupid. “Because he was a lord. He should have married a proper lady.” If any other woman had said it, I’d have thought she was fishing for compliments, but not Willie.
She charged after Gabe and Alex, heading for the reading nook. She still sported a furious expression, so I tried to distract her to save them. “How did you meet the airman?”
“It was during the war.”
“Yes, but how exactly did you meet?”
Her pace slowed to an amble. I was surprised to see her sporting a lopsided grin rather than a scowl. “His Sopwith was downed not far from where I was stationed. Stretcher-bearers carried him to my ambulance, and I drove him to a field hospital. When he recovered, he wanted to thank me, so sought me out. We shared a drink—actually it was several—and have been friends ever since.”
“Did he suffer terrible injuries?”
The smile inched wider. “It wasn’t as terrible as it sounds. He got shot.”
“How is that not terrible?”
“In his left ass cheek.”
“Even worse!”
She shrugged. “It’s the most padded spot on him, and not an uncommon place for airmen to get shot.” The smile slipped, replaced with a frown. “Stop distracting me, Sylvia. This is your fault.”
“That your friend was shot in his arse? I don’t think so.”
She huffed. It was almost a laugh. “There’s a word I never thought I’d hear from your prim mouth.”
“I am not prim.”
She snorted and walked off. She had Alex and Gabe well and truly in her sights again. “What was so important that you had to leave the library without me?”
“We found Sylvia’s father,” Gabe said.
Willie’s jaw dropped. I’d never seen her look more stunned. She recovered quickly, however. “You still shouldn’t have left the library without me.”
Alex dragged a hand down his face in exasperation. “If you wanted to be his escort, you shouldn’t have left.”
Willie ignored him. “Was I right? Is it Hendry?”
“It is,” I told her.
