Page 48 of The Uprising
‘Tea, darling?’ said Cara.
‘Yes, please, and what have we to eat? I’m ravenous.’
‘Nothing new there, then... By the way, Eddie thinks you may have created a quantum time loop.’ Cara scoured the cupboards for a suitable snack.
‘Goodness...how did I do that?’ asked George, pulling a face.
‘If Eddie’s hunch is correct, then buying the Turner painting will have rewritten history.’
‘Ah yes, about the painting...’
Cara stacked a pile of crackers on a plate and set it down on the table next to a pot of hummus, for the hungry quantum-time-travellers.
‘What about it?’ she said.
‘I actually bought two paintings,’ replied George.
Eddie raised one eyebrow mid-cracker.
‘How come?’ said Cara.
Eddie’s expression was puzzled as he heaped hummus onto his cracker.
‘That’s just it. The Victoriana-you, fell in love with the other one, so we’re going to keep it and hang it on the wall of our bedchamber.’
‘I don’t know whether to be pleased or jealous,’ she said.
‘Pleased,’ he said. ‘There’s nothing to be jealous about, my darling. You have a far better life than Victoriana-Cara. That’s why I wanted her to have the painting.’
Cara looked at George, wondering what he wasn’t saying. She knew when he was holding back, but she didn’t press. Now wasn’t the moment. There would be plenty of time after Eddie went home to find out what else was going on in Victoriana. There was no need to involve Eddie in more of their personal difficulties. He took it hard when they disagreed, and it sounded as though something deeper was going on than merely gift-giving.
‘When do you want to collect the painting from the Bank of England?’ she asked.
‘As soon as I put it there,’ he replied, after crunching through a cracker.
‘I thought you’d already done it,’ said Eddie.
‘Nope. Haven’t had a chance yet. I was tearing about locating Turner and then talking to the police about Swifty’s kidnapping. And to complicate matters further, the military is on standby in London and is armed and ready for Chartist unrest.’ He shook his head.
‘I wish I could eat like you when I’m worried,’ said Cara.
‘It’s a skill,’ he replied. He spread a dollop of hummus onto a cracker and handed it to her, with a smile.
Chapter 15
Grosvenor Square, London, 1848 - Victoriana
George and Cara, who had recently retired to their bedchamber, and settled into bed, heard a loud rap from downstairs.
Cara engrossed in a new novel;Jane Eyre, raised her eyes. ‘Who could that be?’
‘I don’t know but the servants must have retired by now, so I will go down and see.’
‘Be careful,’ said Cara.
It was unusual for anyone to knock on their door at this hour.
George layered a silk robe over his long white nightshirt and walked downstairs. As he approached the front door, he called out, ‘Who’s there?’
