Page 47 of The Girl Out of Time
Her eyes grew large as she continued to walk backward, treading a fresh path through the field. “Oh, what? I won’t tell. I promise.”
He claspedhis hands behind his back. “I’m only half French. My mother was English.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “Thatisscandalous! One could say you’re at war with yourself.”
One could, indeed, say that.
They continued the walk as Theo shared more details. Not that he knew much himself; only what Father had written to Uncle before he died. Mother came from a well-regarded family and, while accompanying her father on a business trip to France, met a revolutionary in Paris, and they fell in love. Emmelineooh-ed andaah-ed and picked up a flower and twirled it in her hand. It wasn’t just her lively countenance that lifted his mood, though. Like that night when he told her about Jean-Baptiste, something about her made him want to talk to her, confide in her. All the little spillings of his soul would be safe with her.
Soon, the dark silhouette of a ruin rose on the horizon, perched precariously at the edge of a cliff. They picked up their pace until they reached a half-collapsed entrance.
“It looks beautiful,” Emmeline said.
The scorched stones, overgrown with ivy and moss, were indeed hauntingly pretty. Looking far up to the tallest tower still standing sent a shiver down Theo’s spine. It must’ve been glorious once.
“Come.” Emmeline grabbed him by the hand and entered.
The small central courtyard was surrounded by arched hallways, some of them half-collapsed. A black trail led across one side, stretching toward the sky—the path of the flames. A fountain, set in the center of the courtyard, was overgrown in weeds, once painted stones weathered and patchy from age.
“This way.” Emmeline led him away from the courtyard and through a corridor until they found a long, spacious room. Part of its ceiling had given in, now lying on the ground in a heap of rocks.
“Careful,” he said. “The structure might not be stable.”
She nodded, stepping lightly as she inspected the room.
The walls were strange here, with large, lighter patches in symmetrical shapes. Perhaps paintings or mirrors had once hung on them? And the little metal bits sticking out—they must’ve been used for sconces. It would’ve been a grand room back then; a reception room, or a ballroom, perhaps.
Emmeline returned to him, pouting, as if unsatisfied with their discovery. “Let’s check some other places, too.”
“Check for what?”
“I mean, go see them.”
They found a solid enough staircase leading up, and they climbed. “You seem to be quite adept at finding good views,” he said as he looked through a slit, revealing the ocean beyond.
She paused and whipped back.
“What?”
“Nothing.” She shook her head. “You reminded me of … someone.”
Upstairs, they found another hallway and checked more rooms—a continuous stream of bare walls and leftover broken or scorched furniture. While Theo was examining the remains of a massive bed, he heard Emmeline gasp, and he stepped back into the hallway just as she slipped into another room. He followed. The room she’d found had wooden flooring that had partially given in, with the rest looking no sturdier. Across the room, past a few planks, an untouched corner remained, with a small metal chest lying on the ground.
Emmeline was going straight for it.
“No!” he yelled.
She turned around. “It’s fine, I’m light—” And then the rotten wood beneath her feet gave in.
Theo lunged forward, interrupting her scream as he caught her hands, flattening himself on the floor.
“Theo!” She swung wildly beneath him.
“Hold on. I’ve got …” His eyes darted around. There was nothing he could use for support, to push himself off and raise her up.Damn.“Hang on.”
Her fingers were so slippery. He grunted, trying to readjust and hold her by her wrists instead.
The wood underneath him creaked and groaned as if growing tired of holding them. Emmeline continued to hang above at least a two-story drop over the ruined ballroom below, the hair escaped from her bun whirling around her face. Inch by inch, Theo slipped toward the precipice.
