Fade to Grey

by Ilena Holder

  “We did it, Royce! We’re back!” With this, they hugged each other.

  “What time do you think it is?” Royce peered out the dirty windows.

  “Twilight is falling. Perfect. We can go to your cottage and I’ll change my clothes then sneak back into the house.”

  “Good. Then perhaps tomorrow morning we’ll wrap up our business here. I’m just glad nobody’s around and we can blend in to our old surroundings.”

  “Let’s get going while we have just a smidgen of light.” Donna hopped up and began dusting herself off.

  * * * *

  She changed in Royce’s cottage and had him quickly braid her hair. Then posthaste, they walked up to the Brandenton house in the gloom. They waited outside for a minute, hugging, before Royce peeked in the windows to make sure the coast was clear. The maids had gone to their cottage for the night and all lights had been extinguished.

  “Do you know the floors well enough to get up to your room?”

  “Yes, but I’ll light a candle anyway. I think it will be more awkward if they come upon me and I am walking around in the dark. Having a candle makes more sense.”

  “Good thinking. I’ll be in my empty bed tonight, thinking of you!” He brushed his lips against Donna’s.

  “It won’t be long and we’ll be together always, Royce.” She opened the door slowly and slipped inside. The smell of the evening meal, a baked roast was still in the air.

  “I’ll wait outside until I see the candle from your window. Then I know you’ll be in your room.” With this, he shut the door.

  Donna found the drawer with candles in it in the kitchen cupboard. She slipped one into a holder, and then lit it with the hot coals still red in the fireplace. Tiptoeing out into the hallway, she began her walk up the staircase. It appeared that everyone had gone to bed, all the better. Her room was exactly as she left it, even down to her bed covers being tidy. She held her candle to the window and signaled Royce. Though she couldn’t see him, she knew he was there and felt better. Unbraiding her hair, then undressing, she pulled a gown on and then slipped between the covers. She wondered what tomorrow held.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Donna was up early, hoping to get the jump on Lilly preparing breakfast and the maids arriving. She dressed quickly, and then went downstairs to see if anyone was stirring. Luckily, the household was still asleep. She peered out the windows at the sunrise, noting a heavy coating of frost on everything. Fall was always short in Michigan and winter was around the corner before you knew what hit you. As she knew the morning routine, she went to the kitchen to start the fire in the cook stove. Not that she was especially hungry, but she wanted to warm her hands.

  Shutting the stove door, she peered out the western window and saw Lilly coming up the path from her cottage, stepping quickly because of the cold air. She thought she would step outside to greet her and see if she acted strange or gave some sort of sign that she realized Donna had been gone.

  As Lilly reached for the handle to open the back door, Donna opened it. She saw the look of surprise on the maid’s face.

  “Well, uh, good morning, Miss! I see you’re back! You certainly had the household in a tizzy!!” She took off her knit cap.

  “Yes, I’ve been back since last night. I woke early from a bad dream and since I couldn’t go back to sleep I came down to the kitchen. I took the liberty of starting the fire for you.”

  “Thank you! Then all I’ll have to do is the biscuit baking and bacon frying!” Lilly seemed appreciative but still had a puzzled look on her face. “Royce was gone too. The Bradenton’s thought the two of you had run off.” She acted embarrassed to bring it up. As she busied herself cracking eggs into a bowl, she hummed nervously under her breath. “I guess I’ll just fry some up for you first, and wait until the missus and mister wake up to make anything else.” Suddenly, she dropped an egg on the counter. Donna noticed her hands were shaking.

  “Don’t pay me any mind, Lilly. I’ll just sit here and watch you make the biscuits.” She watched as Lilly nervously scooped the egg into an empty bowl.

  “They went to the constable in town. He said there wasn’t anything he could do. It didn’t appear that any laws were broken and nobody was injured or robbed. He said to wait and maybe the two of you might turn up.”

  “We had a reason for leaving. We just couldn’t tell anybody about it.”

  “I don’t mean to pry. But the Bradenton’s certainly will be surprised when they get up. Would you like me to get them up early?” Lilly appeared to relax a bit and she began frying bacon.

  “No…no. Just let them get up like they normally do. I’ll be deciding on what to do this week I guess,” Donna said. “When will Rose and Annabelle get here?”

  “Do you need them to do something for you?” Lilly was now pouring two cups of steaming coffee at the stove.

  “I thought I might have them brush up my wardrobe and do a little light mending. Then my shoes and boots could use a good cleaning.”

  “I’ll have them tend to it as soon as they get here, miss.”

  Donna sipped her coffee, smiling. “Thank you, Lilly. I’ll take my coffee to the library while you finish cooking breakfast.”

  She didn’t really need much done to her wardrobe, she simply wanted to pick up on their chatter to see how much time had elapsed since she and Royce had been gone. Lilly’s actions seemed normal enough—shock and then some general questions. So that was all well and good. If Lilly was curious about anything this morning, then Mr. and Mrs. Bradenton would probably be the same. She took a book and sat by the window to catch some of the morning rays of sunlight to bide her time until Rose and Annabelle arrived.

  * * * *

  “Yes, Ma’am, this coat needs a good brushing down. I’ll take it outside and freshen it up for you. Let me go through the other heavy things in your closet and I’ll take everything that needs it.” Annabelle was in a good mood and especially helpful, Donna thought. Rose was in her normal sullen mood, picking through Donna’s shoes and boots in the hallway. Donna thought her face looked puffy and she had gained some weight since she last noticed her. She wondered if she was coming down sick with something. She certainly didn’t want to catch it and give it to Royce with them leaving soon.

  “Annabelle, I never thought to ask you, but do you have a boyfriend in town?” Donna thought she would start getting down to business about recent events.

  “Why, yes I do. It’s a coincidence you ask me, Miss. Matter of fact, he asked me to marry him at the dance last week.”

  “Congratulations! When is the wedding?” Donna felt pleased that the dance had occurred. Though she didn’t understand how it happened, she and Royce had been gone two weeks, but only one week had elapsed here at Fallow Field.

  “In the spring. We want to start saving some money to build a house in Benton Harbor. By the time spring gets here we think we’ll have enough.”

  “I guess Missus Bradenton will be hiring a new maid then.”

  Annabelle smiled. “She’ll still have Rose in the meantime. And I’ll have plenty of time to recommend another girl before I leave.”

  Suddenly, Rose sprang up from the stool she was sitting on to run down the hall.

  “What’s wrong with her?” Donna asked.

  “I don’t know. I’m afraid she might have the flu. She’s heading to the outhouse. I’ll go check on her, ma’am.”

  Annabelle threw the coats on the bed and ran after Rose.

  Donna decided to follow the women without them knowing to see what was going on. For some reason, she didn’t think Rose had the flu.

  * * * *

  Donna burst into Royce’s cottage without even knocking. He was standing in front of the fire with his mother, showing her his good eye.

  Though it appeared to be a happy scene, Donna had some disturbing news for him. And it would involve all of them present in the room.

  “Royce, we can’t wait much longer to leave—something has come up that’s c
hanged all our plans.”

  Lilly stared at her as if she’d gone mad. Then Donna realized Royce hadn’t told his mother about the time travel. She was just admiring her son’s good eye and probably dazzled by it all.

  “Donna, Royce told me you got a surgeon to fix his eye. Bless you! I don’t know how you did it but Royce said you had it done in Chicago. Royce said that it’s fixed now and he’ll see fine.” She turned to caress his cheek.

  “Ma’am—I don’t know if you heard me or not, but Royce and I will have to flee Fallow Field—and it should be by first light.”

  Now, with both of them stood staring at her quizzically, there was another surprise. A large form appeared in Royce’s doorway and dropped a bucket he was carrying.

  “I wondered how long it would take for you two to return.”

  * * * *

  “Don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me.” Edward stood there with an empty milk pail in his hand. “I thought it best that I look like I had business here in case anybody asked later. But I doubt if they would.” Donna relaxed when he said that. So someone did notice their absence, even if it was only the farm’s dairy hand. Since Lilly still seemed surprised, it was apparent that he hadn’t spilled the beans on their departure and reappearance.

  “Lilly,” he continued. “Donna is from the future. To be more specific, it is the year twothousand and ten. And I am from the year twenty-forty.” Now it was Donna’s turn to be shocked.

  “I didn’t think you and Royce would come back to tell the truth. Usually, if a traveler sees the future, they love it and want to stay.”

  “You—you’re from the future also?” Donna couldn’t fathom that she was standing close to another time traveler. And this one was from a time ahead of her own!

  “Yes, why don’t we all sit down a minute and chat? It might make it easier for Lilly to understand.”

  Royce pulled up a bucket to sit on and gestured for Donna to sit on the bed. Lilly took a stool and Edward sat on the hearth.

  “I guess I’m one of the odd ones, I prefer it here in the past. I was having a troubled life in two-thousand and forty and found it easier to escape to the past and build a new life.” He peeked through the curtains furtively.

  “I prefer it here in the past also!” Donna spoke up. “Royce and I were having disagreements on which time we would live in. As you said, he prefers the future and all its modern conveniences.

  “Royce! Is this true what Edward is saying? That he and Donna are from the future?” Lilly jumped up off her stool.

  “I’m afraid it’s true, Mother. They really are. And I want to live there also. I will say I suspected something about Edward for a long time.”

  Lilly wrapped her shawl around her tightly. She started to say something but stopped.

  “I know it’s difficult to believe, Lilly.” Edward said. “You all can ask me questions if you want and I’ll try to answer them in terms you’ll all understand.”

  “For starters, how did you get here? Through the tack room like I did?” Donna stared in Edward’s face as if expecting some answers.

  “No, I actually use an abandoned well out in the pear orchard. It’s in the same general vicinity.”

  “Do you have to use a piece of jewelry, or draw blood?”

  “I do wear a silver chain about my neck but I time my travels to coincide with the full moon. There are many ways to make the event occur. Some are more complicated than others to explain right now, but suffice it to say the main thing is the longitude upon which we are standing.”

  “I have seen you out in the orchard on more than one occasion. Please continue,” Royce said.

  “You all have probably heard of how lightning strikes particular places in the earth more than others? And how some people say the lightning may be attracted to iron ore in the ground? That’s part of it.”

  “So there are other places on the earth that time travelers can use?”

  “Yes, many of them. And in my time they are well documented. We could go into worm holes and parallel theories of the universe, but that would take quite a long time to explain and for the three of you to understand.”

  “Yes, and Royce and I need to leave once and for all,” Donna spoke up.

  “I am well aware of your predicament, Donna. Because I come and go at whim, I knew some things before they happened. Let’s call it history.”

  “What’s the problem, Donna? I thought we would have more time to stay.” Royce looked puzzled.

  “It’s the maid—she’s pregnant and she’s going to tell everyone next week that you’re the father.”

  “That’s a bald-faced lie!” Royce shouted.

  “Yes, it is but it’ll be your word against hers. You’ll either have to marry her or flee town.”

  Royce rubbed his temples. “How did you find out?”

  “I followed the maids to the outhouse and heard one tell the other. I know it’s a nasty trick she’s fixing to play on you.”

  “I agree. We’ll wrap everything up tomorrow. There’s one thing I have to do before we leave, though. I want to find a preacher to marry us properly.”

  Donna glanced at Royce. In her heart of hearts, she knew this was the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. Marriage would be the ultimate fulfillment with him. It truthfully didn’t matter what time they were in, just that they would be together. There would be no more denying her love for the man.

  EPILOGUE

  “Donna, have you seen the claw hammer?” Royce walked around the corner of the stables, grabbed her up by the waist and planted a quick kiss on her lips.

  “Last time I saw it you were fixing the snake fence with it.” She giggled as he dropped her back on her feet. While he still had his hands around her waist, she quickly reached around him and pinched him on the bottom. They both laughed, then she watched him walk off, heading towards the driveway.

  Donna adjusted the wreath on the front door of the tack room. She loved putting the finishing touches on holiday decorating, generally getting the place ready for the next group of visitors. Tomorrow a writing group would show up for their yearly retreat. They had booked the entire house for the weekend. They loved the place last year and booked reservations one year in advance. They also promised to tell all their friends about it when they got back to Chicago. Word of mouth was always the best advertising and, sure enough, their business did pick up soon afterwards.

  She couldn’t believe how fast the last two years had flown by. Fallow Field had been renovated and refurbished once she and Royce got their lives on track. They had gone to Benton Harbor after leaving Fallow Field and Royce wanted a fast marriage, with matching gold bands bought en route. Donna agreed with him. Marrying him in the future would have been a headache, since he had no identification papers, Social Security number or birth certificate. She would have been agreeable to live with him without consent of marriage, but he was insistent. He wanted a proper and legal bride. She told him she could have purchased fake identification papers in the future, but that was something they hoped wouldn’t happen. She had more than enough money to pay for medical visits or future surgeries if they were needed on both of them. There were a lot of people in America who worked for cash and made their way in life without major medical plans. And if he never drew a penny of Social Security when he reached sixty-two, what of it? He was already one hundred and seventy-one years old.

  Just then, Lilly came around the corner of the barn, with Moira, their first born. Donna was so glad that Royce had wanted to start a family immediately. Moira was the first of many, they hoped. She felt happy and secure in her marriage and soon-to-be growing family. Matter of fact, she might even be pregnant now. The blend of their lives had been seamless. They both loved the country and running the farm was the perfect compromise.

  “How’s Moira, Miss Lilly?”

  “Just fine now that we found her doll. She’s a busy little girl and she loves being out here in the country.”

  Don
na took Moira up in a hug and patted her head full of black curls.

  “I’m so glad you decided to come with us, Lilly.” She smiled at her mother-in-law.

  “I am too. I had wanted out of that marriage for a long time. I just didn’t know how to go about it. When you and Royce left, I knew it was my chance to start a new life. I’ll agree with Royce any day. He says the future is the place to be.”

  About The Author

  Ilena Holder is a multi-published author (books, Internet, magazines) who spent her four year Navy enlistment in Rota, Spain. Being stationed at the entrance to the Mediterranean gave her and her husband, also an Aviation Storekeeper, ample opportunities to explore Europe and northern Africa during the mid-Seventies. After their enlistments ended, they both used the G.I. Bill to further their education. Ilena’s sixth work in progress is a Navy SEAL romance and in 2010 she hopes to finish her novel centering on her twenty-nine year career in the nuclear power industry. She has been married thirty five years.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  EPILOGUE