Page 41 of Twin Flames
‘Where’s Eddie?’ asked Cara, looking at Thomas and then at May. ‘How awful of me. In the excitement of seeing you both, I forgot all about him. How clever he is to have brought you here so quickly. We must thank him.’
‘Eddie,’ said George. ‘Who’s Eddie?’
‘Oh, silly me, I mean Edward, of course.’
The children giggled and nudged each other at the ridiculous notion of their tutor being called Eddie.
‘How quaint,’ George chuckled. ‘What brought that on? But yes, indeed, you’re right, we must thank him and decide what he should do next. I’ll ask him to join us shortly. I imagine he’s dining in the servant’s hall along with Swifty. It will be good to see Edward and to hear the latest news from Willow Manor. It seems like forever since I saw my parents.’
London, present day
Cara’s phone rang and jolted her out of her daydream and back to the dregs of her cold latte. She couldn’t avoid speaking to George any longer. ‘Hi, how’s it going?’
George filled her in on the details of his business in London and then asked how she’d got on with her meeting. ‘Did you make the progress you wanted?’
When she’d texted him, Cara had been deliberately vague about the purpose of her trip. She didn’t want to lie but also didn’t want to tell him the real reason for her meeting with quantum time traveller, Eddie Makepeace.
‘Yes, he’s a brilliant fellow. I think he’ll be a good contact, so it was worth the effort.’ She could sense his curiosity, and purposely changed the conversation.
‘It sounds as though you’re very busy. I think I’ll head back to York shortly.’
‘Oh, okay. I thought I might see you,’ he said, after a short pause, sounding disappointed.
‘It’s been a long day. I left York so early to make the appointment with the professor.’
Cara yearned to see him, but it was all so awkward, and she didn’t want to get in the way of his work commitments.
‘How about you join me for the visit to Hampton Court? Would you come for the interview? I could do with a quick consult with the pre-eminent expert in Tudor affairs. I’m a bit nervous, Dr Bailey.’
‘Don’t be silly. You know everything there is to know about that manuscript,’ she laughed.
She knew from previous discussions that he was a pro at dealing with the media, but she felt a warm glow at his persistence. His charm was impossible for her to resist. She would love to be with him at Hampton Court.
I’d love to be anywhere with him.
He continued, ‘I’m at the company apartment in Knightsbridge. Why don’t you come over and stay here tonight? We can grab something to eat, and if you’re free, we’ll drive to Hampton Court together in the morning.’
Cara was silent for a few seconds before saying, ‘How could I resist the temptation of Hampton Court? It’s such a wonderful place. I did the research for my doctorate there.’
He let out a low whistle, ‘I’m relieved to hear it, although I confess my ego is a little wounded that it’s only Hampton Court you can’t resist.’
Cara laughed again, ‘Don’t push it, Cavendish.’
‘Fair enough, after our last call I thought you might not pick up the phone today, never mind accept an invitation, so this is promising.’
‘By the way,’ he smoothly changed the subject, ‘I meant to tell you, I was reading some archive papers and discovered something quite bizarre.’
‘Oh, really, what?’ Cara’s heart thumped as she wondered whether he could possibly have found out about their past life together.
‘Well, it’s strange, but it seems as though George Oliver Cavendish, you know, the one who was in charge of theTudor Kings’ Manuscriptfor the king. . .’
‘Yes, yes,’ said Cara, unable to stop herself cutting in, what did you find out?’
‘His wife was called Cara: Countess Cara Cavendish! I nearly choked on my tea when I read it. I couldn’t believe it. Isn’t it a weird coincidence? It’s not as though Cara is or was a particularly common name. It is delightfully serendipitous.’
‘Gosh, that is incredible!’ She laughed, ping-ponging between being nervous and ecstatic that he was beginning to see their connection went deeper than anything he had previously imagined.
‘My ancestor’s work was acknowledged by King Henry VIII, and that’s why he was made Earl of Gloucester. I wanted to call you immediately to tell you about Countess Cavendish, but you were so angry with me, I didn’t.’
