Page 77 of The Uprising
Cara had been turning this quandary over in her mind for the past few days. They seemed to have reached a dead-end if George couldn’t remember what he’d done with the painting in 1848. Even if he’d managed to get it into a vault in the Bank of England, they had no details of how to claim it. Presumably they would need a key or code to withdraw it.
‘Something will come to us. I feel like this is our time, and it’s meant to be. I did a bit of research, and as far as I could see, Willow Manor hasn’t been on the market since your however-many-times removed, great-grandfather, lost it in a card game,’ she said.
‘You’re joking—what a bloody fool.’
‘I know—I only found out the other day.’
‘You kept that close to your chest,’ he said, raising one eyebrow.
‘I thought you had enough on your mind. Do you remember when you asked Kate, she said that the family fortunes had dramatically declined at the hands of one of your ancestors who had been a bit of a black sheep: a drinker, womaniser and gambler?’
‘Ah, yes, I’d forgotten about that.’
‘Well, it must be him. And if we don’t buy Willow Manor now, it’ll go to a hotel chain.’
‘I wonder why the current owners are selling it.’
‘Cash flow I would imagine; it can’t be cheap to maintain a historically listed building.’
‘I think you’re right about this being our opportunity to correct my ancestor’s screw-up, but how can we get our hands on the painting?’
‘Let’s talk to Eddie and see if he’s got any suggestions.’
Cara’s phone buzzed. ‘Hello Eddie,’ she said. ‘This is unbelievable. What perfect timing. We were just talking about calling you.’
Cara put the call on speaker, and they chatted for a few minutes. ‘We’ve just arrived at Willow Manor for a viewing,’ she told Eddie.
‘And to think in 1536, you and I were just there trying to figure out how to rescue George from St. Mary’s Abbey,’ he said.
‘Ah, that’s good—it means I’ve arrived safely with my latest updates intact. But here’s the thing Eddie, as urgent as that is, we need your help with something else.’
‘Okay...’
‘George is stuck in Victoriana and hasn’t been able to get back to reveal the whereabouts of the Turner painting. Either that, or he’s got timeline amnesia. We’re hoping it’s the former and he’ll update soon, but for now we’re in a time crunch to raise the money to make an offer on Willow Manor while it’s still on the market.’
‘That’s why I was calling you, actually,’ said Eddie.
‘Oh?’
‘I’ve got a message from George in Victoriana.’
Cara and George looked at each other. ‘This is a first,’ said Cara. ‘How clever. Why didn’t I think of asking you to be a messenger?’
‘As much as I’d love to take credit for this simple yet ingenious idea, it was George who thought of it. He visited me and asked that I tell you he can’t get back yet. We don’t know why, but the vortex seems to be out of order. He said to let you know he’s okay and that the painting is safely stored in a vault at the Bank of England. He wants you to try and get it out, so you can sell it and move forward with buying Willow Manor.’
‘That’s fantastic news!’ Cara said, beaming at George, and reaching for his hand.
‘How do we get the key or what do we need?’
‘Ah. I’m afraid that’s where we’ve run into a minor problem.’
‘I thought it might be too good to be true, it would be that simple.’ Cara rolled her eyes.
Eddie said, ‘We have to come up with a way to move the key between timelines. We’ve not done anything like that before...’
Hyde Park, London, 1848 - Victoriana
George and Edward strolled along the winding footpath between the lush foliage and tall trees in Hyde Park.
