Page 19 of Time for You
“My idea is pretty good too, though. You’ve got to admit it,” Ellie said. Everyone kept looking at her, and she sighed. “But yes, I do know a lot about it, so let’s see what we can figure out.”
“Any chance you like, pissed off a witch?” Brittany asked Henry, who was sitting at the kitchen counter, eating a piece of toast. (He had been very enamored with the efficiency of the toaster, not to mention the refrigerator, which he called “absolutely ingenious.” His cautious, newfound enthusiasm for certain modern appliances was rather charming, Daphne had to admit, if only because he would probably yelp in fear a lot less if he found them exciting rather than terrifying.)
“How would one do that, Miss Spiers?”
“You can just call me Brittany.”
“He really can’t,” Daphne replied. “Trust me.”
Henry drained his orange juice—his third glass, as apparently this was a wildly luxurious drink in his time—and shook his head. “Miss Griffin is correct: Remembering the correct forms of address is challenging for me. But no, I have not ‘pissed off a witch,’ or at least if I did, I did so unwittingly.”
“Okay, but like, do you have enemies? People who might hate you?” She stole a look at Daphne. “Jilted lovers, perhaps?”
“I have no paramours, and despite my mother’s best efforts, neither am I engaged.”
“Let’s dig into that,” Michelle said. “Were there women who wanted to be engaged and you turned them down? Maybe someone with an interest in the occult?”
“My mother had hoped to secure a betrothal with a woman whose father owns a railroad, believing that would aid our family business.”
“And how did you feel about that?”
“I found Miss Mary to be a steady, companionable presence.”
“That doesn’t sound like you wanted to, um, you know,” Michelle said, and Henry raised his eyebrows.
“She means it doesn’t sound like you wanted to fuck her,” Daphne translated.
Either Henry was getting used to her “vulgarities” or he was simply better at hiding his shock. “I did not,” he confirmed. “However, it was she who opposed the marriage, as I believe she was—I’m not sure how to put this—not interested in the male species romantically?”
Brittany grinned widely. “Good for her. Anyone else?”
Henry hesitated, then shook his head. “No one who would bear me ill will, no.” Daphne suspected that wasn’t the whole truth, but she didn’t think now was the time to push him on it.
While Michelle interrogated Henry on possible magical enemies, Vibol, Daphne, and Brittany were using a legal pad Michelle had retrieved from her apartment to make a detailed list of movies.
Research
Back to the Future(no plutonium in 19th c)
Back to the Future II(about future, not past)
Back to the Future III(right year????)
The Time Traveler’s Wife(not a chronic illness unless onset was yesterday)
