by Bess McBride
“Do you get sick on trains then?” Macy asked, wrinkling her nose. “I am prone to motion sickness myself.”
“That must be it,” Gem said, hoping she hadn’t said more than she should. “Motion sickness.”
“Well, you won’t have to travel much longer. Is this your first time on a train?” Martha asked.
“No, but it’s going to be my last.”
“We have acquaintances who will not ride trains as well, don’t we, Martha? You remember? Robert and Ellie Chamberlain. They will not ride the train either. I am not sure I know why though.”
Martha drew her dark brows together. “I don’t think I know why either. Maybe one of them falls prey to motion sickness as well.”
“Ellie is such a delightful character, Gem. Actually, now that I think about it, I wonder if you know her. They live in Seattle? On Queen Anne Hill?”
She turned to Martha.
“You’ll think this is so foolish, but she reminds me of Ellie in a way. I cannot say why. Do you not think so, Martha?”
“No, surely not,” Martha said with a firm shake of her head. “I do not see a resemblance.”
“It is not a resemblance.” Macy turned to look at Gem, who kept the wet cloth to her forehead. “It is her mannerisms, I think. Or speech. I’m not sure. Ellie is a very unusual lady, quite the character, really. So very modern!”
“She does enjoy all the newest things. That is true,” Martha agreed.
“Is she from Seattle?” Gem asked more to distract the attention from herself than out of curiosity.
“Well, that is another thing,” Macy said, her tone almost conspiratorial. “I do not believe that she is. I am not really certain where she is from. She does not appear to have any family. Her origins are really quite a mystery. She just appeared one day, as it were. So the rumors say.”
Gem blinked and stared at Macy.
“Appeared?”
“People always gossip, Macy. Especially if they sense a mystery. There is nothing to it. Robert met Ellie on a train. They fell in love, married and had children. Nothing mysterious about that.”
“They met on a train?” Gem repeated with widened eyes.
“Yes.”
“Robert and Ellie Chamberlain,” Gem murmured.
“Yes, a lovely couple. Are you certain that you do not know them?” Macy asked again.
Gem shook her head, wondering, wondering...
“How do you feel now, dear?” Macy asked.
“Better,” Gem said. “Do you mind if I have a little bit more of that tea? I could use the caffeine.”
“There! See now? Caffeine. That is something Ellie would say!” Macy chuckled. “Well, of course, dear.” She poured out another cup for Gem who lowered the cloth to accept the cup.
Gem wasn’t sure she would ever have a chance to meet Ellie Chamberlain, not if neither she nor Gem refused to ride a train. Plane travel was a long way into the future, and Gem wasn’t sure she would consider a plane either—not if there was a chance it would thrust her into a different century.
Still, she had a feeling that she and Ellie might have a lot in common.
Gem remained with the ladies until the train slowed to a stop in Livingston. The closer they came to Livingston, the louder her heart pounded.
Please, please, please let John be there, she pled silently. She couldn’t shake her newfound realization that he could have traveled in time with no way back.
At the last squeal of the brakes, Gem dropped the cloth and jumped up.
“Well, I’d better go! Thank you so much for the tea, ladies! It was so nice to meet you!” Gem spoke hurriedly. Every nerve in her body jangled as she anticipated the next few moments.
“A pleasure, my dear,” Macy said, rising. “It was lovely to meet you. Best wishes on your upcoming marriage. Is your affianced awaiting you at the station?”
Stars floated in Gem’s eyes, and she blinked them away. She was definitely not going to faint from a standing position. She released the breath she had been holding.
“I hope so! Oh, I hope so!”
Martha rose and patted Gem’s back awkwardly.
“I am sure he will be there, Miss Holliday.”
Gem reached the door to the compartment and turned, a last thought on her mind.
“Say hello to Ellie for me. Tell her I’ve done some traveling in my time too. Gemima Holliday. Hopefully, Gemima Morrison someday soon. Livingston, Montana! Tell her!”
Gem gave the bewildered ladies one last smile and whirled away to hurry down the corridor. The conductor barely had time to open the door at the end of the car before she burst through and trotted down the stairs.
She looked up from managing her skirts and the stairs to scan the wood platform for a tall, handsome, dark-haired one-armed man. But John was not there.
Gem let out a small moan and hurried into the station. She paused, scanning the small room. Against hope, she hurried up to the ticket agent.
“Yes, ma’am?”
“Do you know Mr. John Morrison? Is he here? Did he come through here? Did he buy a ticket? Did he arrive? Are there any messages for me?”
The short mustached agent blinked.
“Mr. Morrison? I don’t know anyone by that name. I’m new here though, just transferred in from Missoula.”
Gem nodded and turned away. With a last check of the station, she hurried out the door. She ran across the street to John’s office building and hurried up the stairs, hoping to find him there. The door was locked with a notice stating that the office was closed for lunch.
Lunch!
Gem wondered if John had gone home for lunch or if it had been Cedric who had locked the office. Too anxious to wait around and find out, she clattered back down the stairs and hurried down the street toward John’s house.
Her chignon loosened as she flew down the street, and she tucked it back in without breaking stride. She slowed only to return the greetings of several passing ladies who hadn’t lost their hats. Hurrying past Nancy’s Fine Apparel, she didn’t want to waste valuable time popping in there to apologize to Nancy for her failure to show up for work.
Out of breath by the time she reached John’s house, she lifted the knocker and banged on the door repeatedly, desperately hoping that John would respond.
She had just lifted her hand to knock again when Sally opened the door.
“Gem! What are you doing here? Where is John?” Sally looked beyond her, as if to see John.
“He’s not here?” Gem cried out.
“No, he’s not. He took you to the train station, didn’t he?”
“Yes, yes, he did. But I lost him.”
“What do you mean...you lost him?”
Gem swayed, blackness clutching at her.
“I lost him,” she whispered. “What if I lost him in time, Sally? What if I lost him in time?”
Sally reached out and grabbed Gem around the waist.
“Come inside. You look like you are about to faint.”
Gem let Sally support her into the house. The housekeeper led her to the parlor and settled her on the divan.
“Oh, Sally, where is he?” She looked up at Sally, as if she had the answer.
“Wait here! I’m going to get you something to drink. Then you can tell me what this is all about.” She strode out of the room, and Gem leaned forward to bury her head in her hands. She hoped and prayed that John had just gone on to Seattle and that he would return the following day. Her stomach knotted at any other explanation for his absence.
Sally returned and handed her a glass of cold lemonade.
“The sweet sugar will do you good,” she said. “If you do not mind, I will take a seat while you explain what has happened.”
Gem, gulping the refreshing lemonade, paused and watched Sally seat herself in one of the chairs.
“Of course I don’t mind,” Gem said dully. “You’re not really just the housekeeper, right?”
Chapter Twenty-Three
S
ally’s normally pale cheeks reddened.
“Well, I have been ‘just the housekeeper’ for all intents and purposes. John told me that you had your suspicions and that you shared them with him.”
“I did. I still don’t know if that was the right thing to do.”
The women eyed each other.
“He wants me to leave.”
Gem gasped.
“Oh, Sally! I’m so sorry. Why would he want that? What happened?”
“Nothing really. He does not think I should keep house for him anymore. To be fair, he wants me to have my own house.”
Gem relaxed. She thought she might have been the cause of a rift between them, and she was thankful that she wasn’t. Her gratitude was short lived.
“He is also unhappy with me regarding my treatment of you,” she said flatly.
Gem’s face drooped. “I am so sorry, Sally. I didn’t mean to come between you.”
“I do not believe that you did, entirely. I bear some responsibility. It is true. I have resented the women who have come into John’s life. That Cassandra was just a silly, shallow girl who would never have made John happy, even had he not been maimed. She went on to marry a young man with two arms and a great deal of wealth. I knew then what she had wanted with John. His money, his position as a prominent attorney. Some people thought he was in line for a judgeship, you know...before the accident. But he left all that. He has no real ambition now.
“Then there was that foolish widow Sarah Stewart, who has been chasing after him for some time. She is a calculating woman. I should think she gained enough money from her husband’s estate, but no, she must pursue John!”
Gem stared at Sally, startled at the vehemence in her voice and the length of her speech. She hadn’t spoken so openly in Gem’s presence before.
An image of John’s handsome face materialized, the elegant way he carried himself, his beautiful thick, wavy dark hair, the occasional softness in his blue eyes. She loved and admired him, and Gem doubted that she was the only one.
“Sally, it is possible that women are attracted to John. He’s awfully handsome, intelligent, dependable, kind, considerate, sweet...injured.”
Sally threw her a narrow-eyed look.
“That is how I see him,” Sally said, her face softening. “I am surprised to hear you say so.”
“Why?” Gem said.
“I thought you too were after his money. I still do not understand how you are related to Amelia, but I can see that you love him.”
A sob erupted from the depths of Gem’s core. “I do,” she whispered, nodding vigorously. “Very much.”
“Good,” Sally said. “Then I can move, and you can take over running the house after you get married.”
Gem fell apart at that. The tears streamed down her face, and she couldn’t wipe them away fast enough.
“I don’t know if we’ll ever get married,” she sobbed. “I lost him! I don’t know where he is.”
“There now, Gem,” Sally said, crossing over to sit beside her on the sofa. She put a thin arm around Gem’s shoulders.
“What is this about? You said you lost him. What do you mean?”
“I lost him in time. He followed me on the train, and I fainted, and when I woke up, he was gone.”
“Gem,” Sally said, bending her head close. “I do not understand what you mean. Where is he?”
Gem heard a note of rising worry in Sally’s voice. She drew in a deep breath to stop the sobs that racked her body. Wiping her tears, she faced Sally. His mother was entitled to know about her son.
“I don’t know. I woke up in my own time, and he was gone. I don’t know whether he went on to Seattle or traveled through time to the future or the past.”
Sally withdrew her arm and stared at Gem.
“Whatever can you be talking about?”
“I traveled through time, Sally. I’m from the future, from 2017. That’s how I knew that John was ‘adopted,’ though I didn’t know the identity of his mother. You. I’ve always loved him, Sally. Always.”
“2017,” Sally repeated faintly.
“Yes. I know it’s hard to believe, but it’s true. I was on the train heading east and was planning to get off and come down here to Livingston to visit John’s grave—Harvey’s too. I fell asleep on the train and woke up in 1905, way down here in southern Montana. Fortunately, this is where I was headed, because they threw me off the train anyway. John, of all people, found me at the train station...the very guy I’d come to see. His grave anyway. But there he was, alive and well.”
Sally shook her head and looked away for a moment.
“That awful clothing of yours...”
“Not awful, Sally, but yes, my clothing from the future.”
Sally turned back to her. “Does John know?”
“Yes.”
“Are you really from Seattle?”
Gem nodded morosely.
“Then when you ‘left,’ you were actually going to return to the future? How?”
“I had hoped by reversing the process, by falling asleep on the train. But I didn’t really want to go. I love my time, the twenty-first century. It’s much more convenient, and we have a whole lot more medical knowledge than you all do right now, but...” Gem drew in a shaky breath. “John is here.”
“Then why did you leave?”
“John wanted me to...or he thought I wanted to go. It was a bit of a misunderstanding.”
“And he followed you onto the train?”
Gem smiled crookedly. “He did.”
“I find that very difficult to imagine,” Sally said with a shake of her head. “He despises trains. The notion of riding a train makes him almost ill. He has never told me that, but I heard him tell Harvey one time.”
Gem nodded. “I don’t blame him. He looked a bit queasy the first time I saw him at the station. And then again when he dropped me off.”
“He must love you very much if he was willing to get on a train to follow you.”
Gem swallowed hard, trying to stem a renewed bout of crying.
“And I love him very much. Wherever he is.”
Sally rose, as if restless. She paced for a few moments before turning to Gem.
“What shall we do?”
“I don’t know,” Gem said. “Is there another train today? Maybe tomorrow?”
“Yes, there is another arrival this afternoon, if I recall, but I could not say whether it is an eastbound or westbound train. I have not been on a train in several years myself.”
Gem shook her head in frustration.
“There are trains tomorrow too, right?”
“Yes, I believe so.”
“If John didn’t travel through time, he would probably just get off the train and catch the next train back, right? But then again, I guess he could have gone on to Seattle, especially if he was looking for me.”
“I do not know what to think,” Sally said. “If only Harvey had not left town, we could turn to him for help.”
“I don’t think anyone else should know about the time traveling for now, Sally,” Gem murmured.
“But if John is lost in time, as you fear, if he never comes back—” Sally stopped short. “What am I saying? No!”
“He’s supposed to live a long life,” Gem muttered. “A long life. If I’ve done anything to change that, I’ll never forgive myself.”
Sally sank down on the divan again.
“We can only wait, at least through tomorrow. If he does not return by then—” She dropped her eyes to her lap as she laced and interlaced her fingers.
“I’ll go back through time again...if I can. I’ll go find him somehow. If I return to the future, I can find out where he went...unless he went further into the future.” Gem rubbed her forehead. “No, I can’t think about that.”
“How will you find him?” Sally asked. “The world is not a small place.”
“I can search through historical records to find him if he landed in another time. If he
’s in Seattle in my time, I’ll haunt the train station. I know he’ll return there once he finds money for a train.”
“Does he not have his wallet? What happened to his wallet?”
“I’m sure he does, Sally, but I doubt if his money will work. I’m sure it’s out of date.”
“Out of date?”
“Yes,” Gem said. “I can’t imagine him standing around a train station begging though.”
“I should think not!” Sally exclaimed.
Gem fell silent, brainstorming ways to find John. She didn’t want to wait to find him. But there was little she could do. At the moment, she desperately longed for a computer, a phone, anything to help her search for him. All she could do was sit and wait until the next train arrived.
“What time does the next train come?” she asked.
“At about four o’clock, I think.”
“I’ll head back down to the train station at 3:45, just to be in plenty of time.”
“I will go with you this time. Meanwhile, get some rest. You look exhausted. Do you want something to eat?”
Gem shook her head. “No, I’m not hungry. I’ll just sit here and wait.”
“Very well. I will go to the kitchen and start dinner...if only to keep myself busy.”
Gem nodded, and Sally left the room. Gem rose to cross over to the window. She pulled up a chair and sat down, hoping time would pass quickly.
As she stared at the street, she almost imagined she could see John walking down the sidewalk, turning up the path toward the house. She blinked and looked again.
No. He was not there. Wishful thinking had conjured up a mirage. She resumed staring at the quiet street, exhaustion draining her of energy, lack of sleep dragging her eyelids closed. Her chin dropped to her chest several times, and she jerked and pushed herself upright in the chair. Too tired to pace the room, she remained seated, and her eyes closed despite her best intentions.
Sometime later, Gem felt a hand on her shoulder, shaking her gently.
“Gem,” Sally said. “Gem, wake up! It is 6:15! The train must have come and gone hours ago. I am so sorry. I fell asleep myself at the kitchen table! I did not sleep well last night.”
Gem jumped up groggily. “What? No! I can’t believe I fell asleep!” she said, rubbing her eyes.