“Well then, aren’t you lucky you came to me,” Mrs. Hedley said. “Come along to the kitchen and I’ll get you something to eat. Your poor father. I do hope he’ll recover soon. But I’m so delighted to get to meet his lovely daughter!”
Mrs. Hedley rambled on as Ariana followed her downstairs. When she had a bowl of steaming chowder in front of her, she tentatively began questioning the kindly housekeeper.
“I was supposed to meet someone,” she started, crossing her fingers under the table. When Mrs. Hedley didn’t jump in with any names, Ariana sighed. “Unfortunately I seemed to have been rattled quite badly with my first trip through the portal.” She shrugged and tried to look like a lost lamb, all the while inwardly cringing at the act. “I can’t remember the name…”
Mrs. Hedley tutted and refilled her teacup. “Yes, that’s the way of it. Wicked portal. I would have preferred it was closed but at least it’s being guarded. Are you certain you’re ready for this, dear? How old are you?”
Ariana frowned. “I am certainly ready. I’m sure I’ll recall who I was supposed to meet with. Perhaps you could say off some names of anyone my mother met with when she was here last?”
There, that couldn’t be too suspicious. At least Ariana didn’t think so until Mrs. Hedley scowled darkly and shook her head.
“Your mother was in terrible trouble last time she came through. Lost as could be. But, wait a tick. Farrah had been meeting with someone who your mum seemed right interested in. Ach, what was his name?”
Ariana choked on her tea. “Did you say Farrah? Not Miss Farrah Bixby?”
Mrs. Hedley nodded.“You know her? She stayed in your time, then?”
“She’s our governess,” Ariana ground out.
Farrah was part of it as well? For some reason this seemed an almost worse betrayal than her parents lying to her.
“Well, that’s marvelous,” Mrs. Hedley said. “Poor dear was so battered and lost when she first came through. I’m pleased to hear she found her path with your family. How lovely.”
Ariana forgot she was supposed to know everything already. “Farrah came through?” she sputtered. “She’s not from this time and just went back with my mum?”
Fortunately, Mrs. Hedley seemed to be enjoying herself so much with the gossip that she didn’t notice the slip and rattled on with her story.
“No, no. She was from ages into the future. The 1980s? I forget the exact year but almost a hundred years from now, if you can believe it. Well, of course you can. I’m sure you’ll end up going much further in both directions now you’re in charge of the portal.”
Ariana’s head clouded with swear words. She clamped her mouth shut to keep from accidentally spewing her rage in front of Mrs. Hedley. Had every single person who was important in her life lied to her? She stared at her soup until she was able to form a thought that didn’t involve obscenities.
“You were saying about someone Miss Farrah met with?” she asked, trying not to crack her teeth.
“Ah, let me see if I can recall. It was something like a wee animal. Perhaps Stoat? No, that wasn’t it.”
Mrs. Hedley tapped at the table, trying to think of the name. Ariana foggily remembered that something was supposed to happen to her in the future. Something that had scared her mother badly. Ariana knew if she wasn’t so angry she’d probably get back up to the portal room and do her reverse spell. Get home where it was safe. Safe and full of deceit.
Her family, even her governess, had the ability to travel through the ages. If something was truly supposed to happen to her, why hadn’t they taught her how to protect herself? Taught her how to control her powers? Then they wouldn’t have had to worry. She wanted to shake the name out of the older woman.
“I’ve got it,” she finally cried. “Ermine. Yes, Mr. Ezra Ermine.” Mrs. Hedley frowned. “But now I’m not so sure if he’s the one your father would have sent you to. I think there was some trouble— no, no, the trouble was with a woman, I’m sure of it. I’ll admit, they didn’t share overmuch with me.”
Nor me, Ariana thought bitterly. She forced a smile. “Ezra Ermine! That’s it. I’m positive you’re right. And I can find him…”
“He runs an apothecary quite a ways from here.” Mrs. Hedley glanced out the window. “I daresay it might be too late to set out now, but not to fret. Our Lord Ashford is at his club and shouldn’t be home until dawn if that. I’ll set you up in a room and he’ll never be the wiser. And you can take the carriage in the morning.”
Ariana felt the time dragging at her. Her confidence in her spell working to return her only ten minutes past the time she left drained away. If it didn’t work and she was gone for a whole night her parents would have the entirety of London searching for her. The thought of the trouble she’d be in made her think seriously about staying in 1889 for good.
“I’ll go now,” she said forcefully. “It’s a kind offer, but I really must meet with Mr. Er- Ermine. My father has important, urgent news for him.”
“Well then, if that’s the case you must let me have Robbie run out and hire you a carriage at least. The neighborhood you’ll be going to isn’t good. Perhaps Robbie should go along with you.”
Ariana wanted to stamp her foot under the table. She was positive Robbie wouldn’t have gone along with her father on all the mysterious errands he used to undertake in this time.
If she wasn’t so angry she’d be dying of curiosity to know what he used to get up to. But she was angry and didn’t see it abating any time soon. She only wanted to meet her goal of finding other people who had powers like her and Owen. People she could trust and who weren’t ashamed of their gifts.
“I’ll be fine on my own, Mrs. Hedley,” she said. She used the tone she often heard Maria’s mother use with their servants. She hated it, but it worked. “Just have him hire the cab and that will be all for now.”
She determined to make it up to the kind woman when she found what she was after, but now she had to meet this Ezra Ermine. See if he had the answers she sought.
The ride did take quite a while. When Ariana finally reached the street in which the apothecary shop was supposed to be, she had second thoughts about refusing the offered escort. The street was dreary and deserted. Mrs. Hedley had been right about running out of time. The sun was almost below the buildings. It would be dark for the trip back to the house. Possibly dark when she came back out of Ermine’s shop. What if the driver didn’t wait for her?
Perhaps it would be better to accept the offer of a room — it was technically her home, after all. She could come back to the shop tomorrow, pray her spell worked so she could get back without being caught.
Don’t be a coward, she told herself.
She wanted more than anything to find others like herself. The desire made her itch all over it was so strong. If she didn’t see this through, the trip would be wasted. If she ever did tell Owen about it, he would be so ashamed of her. He’d never let her live it down if she didn’t get out of the carriage, go into the shop, and start asking questions.
She barely glanced in the display window, only making sure she was at the right place. She glimpsed a tower of small, colored glass bottles and stacks of books as she pushed open the door. There was another customer huddled in the corner holding a large paper parcel. His back was to her, but he had long gray hair tied neatly with a dark blue ribbon. She scowled at his back and moved to the counter.
Bits of herbs were strewn on a piece of paper. She immediately felt greedy for knowledge, wondering what the plants were. What they might accomplish if used properly in a spell. This Ezra Ermine had to know something. He just had to.
She waited as patiently as she could and finally cleared her throat. A skinny man with bulbous, watery eyes came from the back room and smiled at her.
“Welcome to Ermine Apothecary. I am Ezra Ermine. How may I help you today, good miss?”
Her mind went blank. She spent half the ride over stewing about her parents and Farrah, the other
half worrying about the increasingly seedy neighborhoods. She should have been devising what to ask the man.
“Do you know anything about time travel?” she blurted, leaning across the counter so the other patron wouldn’t hear.
Mr. Ermine’s smile grew wider and his buggy eyes twinkled with delight. “Wonderful.” He clapped his hands and hurried around the counter. He gathered an armload of books and placed them in front of her, beaming. “Every one of these ancient texts mentions something about the art and science of traversing time. Of course they’re all fiction, but one never knows, does one?”
He bobbed on his toes and opened one of the books to a drawing. It was of a contraption that had a person hanging upside down while several other people waved what looked like large feathers. He immediately opened another book to a long poem about a man making a deal with the devil in order to go back in time and save his lost love. It was all hogwash.
“Nothing else?” Ariana asked. “Nothing that might have been tested? Nothing real?”
Tears prickled the backs of her eyes. A dead end. A waste of time. Worse, Mr. Ermine looked at her pityingly.
“Nothing that I have in my shop,” he said slowly.
“Can you refer me to someone who might have something?” When his pitying look grew absolutely unbearable, she begged, “Do you know of my father, Lord Ashford?”
The man’s big eyes grew even bigger. “I have heard of a Lord Ashford, certainly. But I didn’t know he had children. I thought he was rather young to have a grown daughter.”
Of course. He was speaking of the current earl. But not who she wanted information about.
“No. I was wondering about the second earl, Julian … he would have been …” She had to stop talking. The man’s look of pity was rapidly changing to one of concern. She barged into his shop and asked about time travel, then demanded to know about someone from the past. She should turn around and flee back to the hopefully still waiting carriage. She decided to make one last-ditch effort. “Do you know of someone named Matilda Jacobs? Perhaps Farrah Bixby? Both young ladies, maybe a bit older than me.”
She imagined that was true, if her mother had been here before she was married to her father. Mr. Ermine shook his head and looked past her as if he wanted nothing more to do with her. She nodded and choked out her thanks, then hurried from the shop. To top off her crushing disappointment, the carriage was no longer at the corner.
A hand grabbed her shoulder and she whirled around, ready to use the self-defence moves her mother had been teaching her since she was five. It was the customer from the apothecary, his hands raised to show he meant no harm. She managed to stop her low kick before it landed behind the man’s knees.
“I almost sent you to the ground,” she said, grabbing the corner of the building to regain her balance.
“I thank ye for allowing me to stay upright,” he said.
A grin revealed shining, pearly white teeth, half hidden behind a long, grizzled beard. His Scottish brogue tore at her heartstrings. It had only been a few hours and she missed Owen desperately. She still felt guilty for her terrible attitude and leaving him behind.
“If ye’ll allow me to introduce myself, I couldna help overhear the name of your father.” She nodded eagerly and he continued. “My name is Drummond Donaghue, and I’ve known Julian since he was a wee lad on his mother’s farm. I suppose she woulda been your grandmother. A shame ye never could ha’ met her.”
“No, she died long before I was born,” Ariana said.
She gaped at the man. There were only two ways he could have known her father. Either Drummond Donaghue had traveled back in time or he had met him while her father had traveled to this time. The first one seemed likelier, since he mentioned knowing her grandmother as well. Which meant this man knew about magic. She continued looking at him slack-jawed.
“So. A daughter,” he said. “Taking over the family business, are ye?” He frowned. “Is it the portal or a spell, then? Your father never could do a spell to save his life. That was all wee Camilla.” He frowned. “I do hope they’re still alive and well.”
She couldn’t help but scowl at the mention of the family business. What had her father been doing before she came along?
“My father is well. My Aunt Camilla passed away before I was born,” she said. “I never met her. The portal is what got me here. Though I have a spell I think will work to return me to a time of my choosing.”
“That’s a shame about dear Camilla.” After a short pause he nodded appreciatively. “But that’s fine work, lass, if ye can do the spells. Your poor da had to rely on an intricate schedule he’d worked out from that daft portal. Whenever we crossed paths I offered to help him out, but he was squeamish about incantations. As ye probably know.”
Oh, she knew all right. Squeamish enough to keep his entire life a secret from her. Well, those days were over. She intended to find out everything she could. Take over the family business? Stuff that. She would start her own business. An empire, even.
“My first hope when I arrived was to find anyone else who can do magic,” she said. She gasped and dropped a quick curtsy. “I apologize. My name is Ariana, sir. I’m ever so glad to meet you. I’m bursting with questions if you don’t mind.”
“Just call me Drummond, young lassie. And dinna burst. I’ll be happy to answer your questions. Come along and I’ll introduce ye to a few other people who’ll be tickled to meet ye. I never thought your father would get married, let alone have a child. It warms my old heart. Such good luck, this is.”
Ariana followed him as they wound their way along the city streets. The ill-planned trip through the portal hadn’t been a waste. She was finally going to get what she’d been wanting since she and Owen found the spell book. Answers. Validation. A chance to be with people like herself. To learn everything she could about the only thing she’d cared about for so long. Magic. Her heritage.
It turned out her heritage resided in a rather grotty, small apartment atop a cobbler’s shop. As she followed Drummond up the stairs, she wondered if anyone ever lent the shoemaker any magical assistance like in the fairytale. She couldn’t help smiling and was about to ask when Drummond swung open a creaky door and motioned her inside.
The house wasn’t filthy, but it wasn’t clean either. There was a distinct smell of old pork and onions. He led her into a tiny sitting room and lit a few dusty lamps. Motioning for her to have a seat on a bowed settee, he hollered, “Come out, she’s all right.”
A tall, thin man with not a single hair on his head appeared before her eyes. He was hunched over a scrying bowl in the threadbare armchair next to her. She was positive the chair or the man hadn’t been there before.
“A cloaking spell?” she asked, both delighted and a little put off. “I’ve never been able to do one. Oh, how handy it would be.”
The bald man scowled at her and she tried to keep her eyes from his head, tried not to count the small pink moles that dotted his glistening dome.
“This is Lady Ariana Alexander, daughter of … oh I suppose ye never met him. But he was in charge of that old portal that used to be active in Belmary House.” Drummond turned to Ariana. “This here is Milo. He came along after your father retired and closed up the portal.”
She half-curtsied and forced a smile. “I’ve reopened it and mean to—”
Before she could finish, Drummond let out another holler which reverberated in the tiny room. “I said to come out. She’s one of us, I tell ye.”
Instead of another person appearing out of thin air, a woman with a kerchief covering steel gray hair scurried from another room. She stopped short at seeing Ariana and blinked several times. She looked at Drummond, her mouth agog, and he calmly introduced her.
“It’s her first time through the portal, so let’s make her welcome, aye?” he told the woman. “Lady Ariana, dear, this is Mrs. Gimble. She’s a great cook and not bad at transporting if your return spell should go awry.”
“You don
’t need to call me lady,” she said, anxious for them to like her.
“Nonsense, lass,” Drummond said. “Your father’s an earl, so ye’re stuck with it, same as him.”
Mrs. Gimble managed to close her mouth and tear her eyes off Ariana. “You have to call me Gloria. I insist.”
She offered to get them some tea before disappearing back from whence she came. Ariana smoothed down her gown, feeling not only out of fashion for the time but completely overdressed for the place. She’d remember to dress simply the next time. Perhaps have Mrs. Hedley order her something more appropriate to the current style.
She forced back her distaste as Milo motioned for her to have a peek at the scrying bowl in front of them. The pork and onions smell was coming from him— apparently odors couldn’t be cloaked— and the table the bowl was on had a layer of grime on its chipped wood surface.
But what she saw in the water made her forget her squeamishness at the unpleasant surroundings. She gasped as the water in the shallow dish went from clear to black, then winked into a woodland scene. A young boy tore across a clearing and out of view. A moment later, an older man chased him with a stick until he was also out of sight.
“That’s wee Carver, about to be thrashed if that farmer catches up to him.” Drummond looked over their shoulders and clucked his tongue with worry. “I told the lad a thousand times not to go there.”
“Shouldn’t you go catch up to him?” Milo asked. “Gloria can get you there in a trice.”
“Ahh.” Drummond looked like he was torn. Ariana realized he felt he should stay because of her.
“If that boy needs your help, you should go,” she said hurriedly. She pricked up her courage. “I’m quite good at healing if you think I could be of any assistance.”
“That’s a kind offer, lass, but if I get there in time, there shouldna be any need for healing. Wee, daft idiot lad. Haven’t we all of us told him to stay off that curmudgeon’s land?”
“We have,” Milo agreed.
Gloria returned with a rather sad, mismatched tea service. Ariana started to feel like she might have lived quite a sheltered, pampered life for continuing to notice all those little things. She tried to feel ashamed for it, but instead she starting wondering how she might help these people live more comfortably.
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