Page 72 of The Runner
‘Are you sure we shouldn’t tell her?’
He shook his head. ‘We would do her no favours by bringing her deeper into this—let’s leave it and see what happens, if anything.’
Cara nodded, then pointed to where the new text now marked the faded pages.
George laid his newspaper down on the table and shifted his full attention to the book. ‘Here,’ she prompted, again.
‘It’s amazing,’ he said.
Cara stared out of the window, lost in thoughts of Georgiana. She was experiencing sporadic memory updates, but she didn’t understand what was going on, other than she had been on her way back to York to stop the house burning down.
‘What did you make of Kate’s dream? She saw the fire!’
‘Do we know what happened to Olivia?’
Cara shook her head. ‘We don’t know much at all. There are so many missing pieces to the story. I don’t even know if George and Caroline got together in the end, but I don’t suppose they would have been able to marry without bringing disgrace on the family. Imagine the noble George Cavendish falling in love with a penniless governess—just an educated servant, really.’
George peered at her over his spectacles, which rested on the bridge of his nose. ‘I know it’s difficult, but it might be best to do nothing… at least for now.’
‘But I’m worried about Olivia and the countess. Not to mention the rest of the household. What if someone gets seriously hurt? Every time we tinker with history by going back to relive it, we risk making things worse.’
George reached for her hand.
‘Kate’s dream was either a karmic memory update or she had a premonition of what is about to happen,’ said Cara. ‘We just have to hope Caroline gets back in time to stop George setting fire to the house.’
George looked startled. ‘What? No matter how much whisky the eighteenth-century version of me drank, I find it hard to believe I would actually destroy my own house.’
‘Me too, but that was what they told you in Victoriana, remember? The legend is that the earl was heartbroken and tried to burn the house down after losing the estate in a card game.’
‘Let’s hope you get there in time to stop the game, so you can save him from his drunken idiocy!’
Cara rose from her seat. ‘I can’t wait around like this doing nothing. I’m going to call Sylvia and see if she can fit me in today.’
George studied his wife’s face. ‘What are you hoping to find out?’
‘Sylvia has a way of seeing things and I think the more we understand about what’s going on, the better.’
‘Would you like some company, darling? I worry about you when you’re like this.’
She leant over and kissed him. ‘No, I’m okay. Nothing to worry about. You stay here and keep an eye on Kate. Who knows what she’ll remember next? You’re in charge of keeping her off the scent, at least until this thing plays out. You’re right—if we were to tell her what’s going on now, we’d only scare and possibly even endanger her.’
‘Okay,’ he said. ‘No problem.’
Cara blew him another kiss and slipped out the door.
That afternoon she settled into a chair opposite Sylvia and told her the latest about the book updates and asked for guidance.
‘My intuition tells me this is not a day for Tarot, but we must seek assistance from the ascended masters.’Sylvia shuffled the oracle cards and signalled for Cara to tell her when to stop as she placed them on the table, one by one.
‘Now,’ said Cara, her heart drumming so loudly she heard it ringing in her ears. Her eyes moved to study the card Sylvia flipped over.
‘Ah, the ascended master, Saint Germain, is with us.Let me see what he may tell us about the book,’ said Sylvia as she rested her hand on the card, closed her eyes, and began to sway gently from side to side.
The room grew warm, and Cara studied Sylvia’s face and waited as the psychic sank deeper into one of her trances.
Patience, Cara, patience.
Willow Wick,York - Georgiana
