Page 54 of The Girl Out of Time
“He’s what?” Theo spun around as he followed her.
“He’s got Starry Night. I saw it—itisa pendant—he has it in his study—displayed, just like that—it’s him, he’s—” She covered her mouth with her hand. “Oh, God. The duke is de Villiers.”
“No.” He shook his head. “That would be—”
“Ridiculous?”
“Incredulous. He’s the Duke of Redbridge, not some villain!”
True, he had been nothing butkind to her. But villains could be deceiving. And hejust happenedto own the only copy of the book—when Emmeline had tried to hunt down everything Miranda Stormcliffe had ever written—and hejust happenedto own a pendant that looked like a night full of stars, and …
“The scar.” She gasped. “He has a scar on his neck. An old one, healed a long time ago. Right here.” She pointed to the spot on her neck. “Where you’d hit him, Theo!”
“Are you saying that today—half an hour ago—I fought the duke?”
“Today, thirty years ago, who knows.” She shrugged.
“I did once hear the maids say …” A little wrinkle appeared between his eyebrows. “That the duke fought a duel when he was younger.”
“A duel with you! That has to be it. He connects everything! He must’ve found Starry Night after all.” Her face fell. “Oh, no. What if he killed Lady Scarlet, like he did her lover?”
“Wait, her what?”
“In the end, when the castle burned, they fought and—it’s not important.” She waved her hands. “The Duke is de Villiers! We must investigate this further. We must find out what happened to Lady Scarlet.”
“You’re not asking him, are you?”
She scoffed. “Of course not. He can’t suspect anything. What we need to do …” She twirled in a circle, pursing her lips. “Is get back there. To the night of the fire. That’s where all the answers lie. We need to go back to the ruins, and I have to figure out a way to get us to the right time.”
Theo ran a hand through his hair. “Sorry, I’m still catching up with all of this.Canyou do that?”
“I’ve no idea when the fire happened, but then, it’s not like I can consciously decide which era I’ll open a passage to, either. I guess I’ll try until I succeed.”
They walked for a bit, with Theo silent, and his head bowed.
“Why do you care so much about this?” he finally asked.
“Because she’s like me. The only one that’s like me.” She didn’t know what it was about Theo—remnants of her friendship with Leon, perhaps—that made her yearn to tell him everything. Who she was, where she was from …
But if she did, she’d also have to tell him what happened to the real Maria Grey, and that she needed Lady Scarlet, not only because she was fascinating, but because she could help Emmeline with her powers. What if he judged her? She’d made a great big mess and lied about so many things. Surely, if he knew, he wouldn’t want to be her friend—and partner in crime—anymore.
And she really, really wanted him to be her friend.
“Very well,” he said. “I’m not sure what I can do, but I’ll help.”
“Really?” She let out a happy cry and hugged him. “Thank you, thank you! We shall be magnificent partners, you’ll see.”
They separated. She held his shoulders for a second more, then stepped back. “I’ll come up with a plan. We’ll talk tomorrow.”
“As you wish.”
“Just tell me one more thing,” she said as they resumed their walk. “Back then, at the masquerade ball, did you have fun?”
He waited for a bit, then said, with the tiniest hint of a smile, “I did.”
“Good.” Perhaps it didn’t matter if he was like Leon or not. She liked him just the way he was. “Me, too.”
Dinner that night was a calm affair, allowing Emmeline to get lost in thoughts. She still couldn’t help casting several glances the duke’s way, but he only smiled back when he caught her doing it. Of course, he had no reason to suspect her.
