Page 75 of The Uprising
Carlos entered the room, and George rose to greet him with a bright smile. ‘How wonderful to see you,’ said George, and they shook hands enthusiastically.
‘I can’t stay more than a minute, but just wanted to say a quick hello. It’s good to see you out and about. We must all get together for dinner again soon and please give my best to your lovely wife,’ said Carlos.
‘Does he still not know anything about the other timelines?’ George asked after they heard the front door shut with a resounding slam and saw Carlos’ upright figure striding down Park Lane.
Edward shook his head, slowly. ‘No, nothing at all as far as I can tell.’
‘How extraordinary. I suppose I would be best to take a leaf out of your book. How do you stay so calm about it all? Doesn’t it bother you not being able to talk to him about your other lives?’ George asked.
Edward continued staring out of the window as Carlos’ back receded from view and he considered George’s questions. ‘I suppose I’m used to it. I’ve been handling it for quite a few years now, you know. You are reasonably new to the back-and-forth of it all, and I was terribly lonely in the early days. But now that you, Cara, and Carlos are with me so much of the time, it’s much more fun.’
‘I was doing all right until I got stuck here. But now I can’t stop thinking what a terrible thing it is to be trapped in the wrong time,’ said George.
Edward nodded. ‘The only thing I can tell you is that thisisyour time. All the timelines are our lives but by some strange turn of the wheel we get to revisit them. I try to see time travel as a gift rather than a curse, otherwise I would probably have gone quite mad with all of this time-hopping.’
‘A sense of doom creeps over me—it’s as if I know a clock is ticking somewhere in the cosmos and I’m not doing what I should be doing. I’m running out of time,’ said George.
‘Time is but an illusion, my friend,’ said Edward, sounding just like his twenty-first-century professor-self.
‘It doesn’t feel like it. I’m letting Cara down when she needs me most. I messed things up in Tudorville after she warned me. And the worst thing of all is I feel so lost without her,’ said George, bowing his head.
Edward reached out and gently patted George’s shoulder. ‘I understand how difficult it is. Try not to worry about Cara; last I heard, you were both doing well, but I promise I will get your message to her. Remember, she’s in a slightly easier position because the future you is aware you are both time travellers. And remember; she isn’t alone—she has you for company.’
‘True. I detest being so down in the dumps—sorry for offloading this onto you. It’s the sense of uselessness that’s getting to me,’ said George. ‘How do I avoid getting other people into dangerous situations?’
‘I don’t have all the answers you seek—yet—but if there’s one thing I do know, it’s that nothing stays the same for long. It will all change in a flash. The best way I’ve learned to tilt the odds in our favour, is to stop fighting so hard against what is,’ said Edward, sipping his tea.
George nodded.
‘Mother time is more powerful than us and she will always have the final say, no matter what we do. I suggest you relax because there’s absolutely no way of knowing how long you’ll be here, so you may as well make the most of it,’ said Edward.
‘You have a point. But what about the dreaded quantum time loops?’ asked George.
‘They’re not in our control, either. You can only do what’s in front of you to the best of your ability, with the information you have. As long as you don’t consciously try to change past events, the odds are we will all be okay. Things have a way of working out just as they are meant to. In that way, time is always on our side,’ said Edward.
George looked into Edward’s kind, wise eyes and it was as though an enormous weight slid off his metaphorical shoulders and for the first time in days he felt buoyant.
‘Thanks for the reminder, Edward. You are a dear friend—I feel so much better for speaking to you. I’ll let things unfold, just like Cara says. You’re right—there’s no point driving myself mad over things that are completely beyond my control.’
Chapter 23
Rose Cottage, York - Present day
Cara heard the insistent ringing of her phone over the radio playing in the kitchen and dashed across the room to answer it.
‘Good morning, Mrs Cavendish. This is John from Exclusive York Property.’
‘Oh hello. It’s great to hear from you—is there news on Willow Manor?’
‘Something’s come through from an American investment company showing interest on behalf of their international hotel chain.’
‘Thank you so much. Do you know when they intend to view?’ Cara twirled a lock of her hair around her finger as she spoke.
‘They haven’t moved to that step yet, but you asked me to give you a heads up if there were any serious enquiries.’
‘Have you any indication of their budget?’ Cara asked.
‘I got the impression money isn’t the deciding factor, and as you know, it’s on the market for offers around the twenty-million-pound mark. It’s rare to have an estate of this quality come up for sale and when they do, in my experience they’re snapped up in a heartbeat.’
