Page 105 of The Uprising
‘Don’t you see? If you two don’t fall in love in the eighteenth century, perhaps you won’t meet in Victoriana either. And we have no idea what the knock-on effects will be.’
After the call, Cara was exhausted and went to take a bath. Her senses were still on high alert. When she came back downstairs, she sat staring out of the window watching daylight steadily creep into night. She turned to George, and said, ‘There’s only one way to fix this.’
Sylvia’s Office, York - Present day
Sylvia came out to meet George and Cara as soon as they stepped through the door. ‘Here you are, my loves. You’ve been on my mind since our phone call.’ They took a seat in Sylvia’s office. ‘So, tell me what happened,’ she said.
Cara said, ‘Willow Manor has disappeared. It’s as if it never existed. We’ve got the funds lined up and we’re ready to make an offer, but we can’t because it’s gone.’
‘And you think it’s to do with the man I saw in my vision during your last reading?’
‘Yes, exactly,’ said Cara. ‘In Tudorville, he hypnotised me to rewrite our future so that I would marry him. George and I were in love in the eighteenth century too. What we want to know is whether you can reverse what he did.’
They talked a while longer as Sylvia quizzed them for more details, and then she said, ‘Okay, there’s no time to waste. If he’s a karmic warrior, there are powerful, evil forces at work.’
‘What can we do?’ Cara asked.
‘We will play him at his own game, but we must regress you, so you go back to the past; back to when you were Caroline.’
Cara’s stomach churned. ‘I didn’t like being hypnotised —I was terrified.’
‘Yes, it can feel scary, but do you trust me?’
‘You know I do.’
‘There’s nothing to fear. In the worst scenario we won’t manage to regress you enough to rewrite the timeline,’ said Sylvia.
‘That’s what I’m most afraid of. I don’t want to imagine a life where I bounce about from timeline to timeline, never knowing when I’m going to arrive in the eighteenth century where I’ll be married to a karmic warrior who I detest,’ Cara said.
George captured her hand, ‘Coming here was the right thing to do. Sylvia is our best chance at reversing what he did.’
‘You’re right. I’m being so feeble—I’ve got a bad case of cold feet,’ she said, squeezing his hand and mustering a weak smile.
‘Are you ready to begin?’ said Sylvia.
Cara nodded.
‘Take several deep, slow breaths, and try and relax. I am going to count backwards as you enter the trance. We know you are receptive to hypnotism or he wouldn’t have been able to put you in that state. Follow me, and we will restore the timeline and undo what he did,’ said Sylvia.
George watched, fascinated as Cara fell into a hypnotic trance and Sylvia guided her back to her eighteenth-century life. ‘After a few moments, Sylvia asked, ‘What’s your name?’
‘Caroline, my name is Caroline,’ Cara replied, softly.
‘Where do you live?’
‘I live with my father in the village, but I’m soon to be married to my betrothed, Ralph Knight.’
Sylvia glanced over at George and they exchanged a meaningful look, as Cara said, ‘Caroline, can you tell me what year it is?’
‘Yes,’ she giggled, touching her hair. George gasped. Cara was behaving like a giddy young girl.
‘The year is 1729.’
‘And how old are you, Caroline?’
‘I’m nineteen.’
Sylvia continued to pull Cara ever deeper into the trance as she established a stronger connection with her hypnotic subject. George stared at them both, transfixed; unable to move.
