Page 65 of The Uprising
‘I’ve got a feeling something’s changed, but I don’t know what or why. All I know is when I began travelling to Victoriana again, I bounced back and forth frequently, but it’s been more than a week since I woke up with anything new in my head.’
She reached out to touch his arm.
‘Let’s hope I’ve got it wrong and something comes to me soon, so we can retrieve the painting,’ he said, kissing her hand.
She nodded. ‘It would be a shame not to be able to get Willow Manor back, but if you have stopped travelling permanently, that would be exactly what we’ve been hoping for, wouldn’t it?’
Wait until you hear about the other problem...
‘You’re right. I’ve been so focused on our plan, I forgot that.’
He rubbed his hand across his stubble. ‘How was your visit to the archives?’
Cara’s heart lurched—she couldn’t avoid telling him any longer. He had been at his meeting when she’d returned to the hotel, head spinning, not knowing what to make of the strange experience at the archives.She had taken a nap, followed by a hot shower, and tried to calm down, but she dreaded the impending conversation.
How can I tell him I know the date of his death?
He had exploded into the room in enthusiastic George-style, sharing the latest news from his meeting, and she hadn’t wanted to pierce his bubble by telling him what she’d found. She could barely believe what had happened to the paper in front of her eyes, and she regretted her over-zealous probing and wished she hadn’t insisted on going.
‘Darling, I’m not sure how to tell you this, but I think we have bigger problems than funding the purchase of Willow Manor...’
George’s liquid brown eyes moved to meet hers, and intense emotions bubbled in her chest. He still had that effect on her, even though they were together continuously; in one life or another.
This must be what soul mate love is: a never-ending feeling of being in the right place at the right time with the right person.
Cara shook herself out of her daydream.
‘I’m almost afraid to ask. What did you find?’ he said, pursing his lips.
She took a few calming breaths. She didn’t want to alarm him more than necessary.
‘You’ll probably tell me I went against your advice and shouldn’t have gone to the archives,’ she said.
George reached out and covered her hand with his.
‘No, I won’t. What would be the point? As you have often said—sticking our heads in the sand doesn’t change reality so it’s better we know what we’re up against. And if I have gone and changed the future with my impetuous actions, then we must find a way to change history back to what it’s supposed to be.’
Cara released her pent-up breath.
George continued to prompt her gently. ‘Go on, please tell me, darling. There’s nothing we can’t handle together.’
‘I love you so much. Thank you for being so solid,’ she said.
George pulled her against him, his arms holding her cocoon-like. The stress and tension of their recent comings and goings between timelines and trying to figure out what was going on had eroded her resilience. And then the incident in the archive room had pushed her over the edge.
‘It will all be okay. I promise. Now please tell me what happened.’
Cara hugged him and then drew back into her chair, and took a sip of her wine, before she began to recount the strange events she’d experienced.
When she paused, George sat quietly for a few minutes as he held her hand and then he said, ‘I think this is our cue to pay Sylvia a visit. Let’s see what she can tell us about this man and the shifting date.’
Cara nodded. ‘Okay. But hang on—I didn’t tell you the most disturbing thing about him yet.’
George waited.
‘Well, I only saw him for a minute, but he came from the past.’
‘What do you mean?’
