The Next Together

by Lauren James

  When she looked down again, Matthew had a small smile on his face. “Well done. But please come down before you fall into the sea!”

  She laughed out loud, the excitement of having rescued a living creature making her dizzy – or maybe that was the height.

  It was harder climbing down, but as she reached the bottom, Matthew was there to help her the last few feet, his gentle hands around her waist. He was closer to her than she had realized, and she could see the small kiss-curls in his hair where it had dried from the rain. He didn’t pull away and she stared into his eyes, her smile dropping and her breath catching.

  A sailor let out a wolf-whistle and Matthew stepped back quickly, releasing her waist.

  “Steady there, lads,” the sailor called.

  The tips of Matthew’s ears went pink.

  “It’s starting to rain again,” he said quickly. “Shall we go back inside?”

  > Time-landscape 1854 on schedule

  Carlisle, England, 1745

  After the conversation with Matthew, Katherine had run all the way back from the stables to her bedroom. Now, she dropped onto her bed, worming her head under the pillow and pressing her face into the eiderdown. The sound of the world dropped away to a muffled dullness and she breathed in the warm, trapped air caught under the blankets. She hated herself and was angry that Matthew had made her feel this way. She pressed her knuckles into her eyelids, pushing away the bright colours of the world, until she saw white stars, wishing she could do the same with her emotions.

  She was such an idiot. Aunt Elizabeth was forcing respectable men on her almost daily and she had to choose a servant to fall in love with? She gasped and sat up. Fall in love. Was that what had happened?

  She was in love with Matthew.

  In love. With a servant.

  There was a tentative knock at the door. She flattened her hair and rubbed the tears off her cheeks.

  “Yes?”

  Elizabeth entered, looking at her with concern. “Katherine, what’s wrong? Are you ill?”

  “No. I’m fine, really.” Katherine didn’t know what else to say, but she didn’t want her aunt to leave. It was nice to have the company. It might stop her from thinking about Matthew for a few moments.

  Then Katherine’s eyes fell on the painting of her grandmother. Now seemed as good a chance as any to ask about the argument, and it would provide a further distraction from her thoughts.

  “Why didn’t you ever talk to Grandmother?” she asked.

  Elizabeth looked momentarily disconcerted and then set her jaw. “You don’t know?”

  Katherine shook her head. “Grandmother didn’t talk about it. I didn’t even know I had an aunt until after she had passed away.”

  “Oh,” Elizabeth said, quietly.

  “I’m sorry. We don’t have to talk about it if—”

  “No, I can tell you. It’s a story that you should know. It does concern you, after all.” Elizabeth brushed her skirt, picking at a loose thread of the embroidery. Katherine waited, trying not to lean forward too eagerly.

  “Do you – do you know anything about your parents?” Elizabeth asked at last.

  “I know that my mother died giving birth to me,” Katherine said slowly, unsure where this was going. “My father died before I was even born.”

  “Well, that isn’t quite true. Your mother did die in childbirth, but your father, as far as I know, is still alive.”

  “What?” Katherine cried.

  “He was a servant in our house, when we were growing up. Your mother, my sister, was seventeen when they tried to elope. They were caught and brought home. Your father was dismissed. Your mother, as it turned out, was with child, and, as you know, she passed away giving birth to you. I doubt very much your father knows of your existence.”

  Katherine was shocked. Her father had been a servant.

  Her aunt continued gently, “I had already married your uncle by then, and when I found out what had happened… Well, I was very angry with my mother, your grandmother. I felt that it was wrong not to tell your father about you, especially after your mother died. Mother disagreed. She said it was better to be an orphan than the daughter of a servant – and an illegitimate daughter at that.

  “We argued about it for months, until one day when she said that she never wanted to talk to me again. She denied me access to you too. I wanted to raise you myself, but she said that she would not allow it. She couldn’t trust me not to find your father.” Elizabeth bit her lip. “She did love you. Very much. I still think she was wrong not to tell your father, but you had a happy childhood, didn’t you? That’s what matters.” The words came out small, like she was reassuring herself.

  Katherine took her aunt’s hand and squeezed it. “I had a very happy childhood. And I’m very happy now, to be here.”

  Her aunt looked up at her, smiling weakly. “I tried to make the right choice.”

  “I think you did. It sounds like it was a difficult situation, for everyone.”

  Katherine wasn’t sure what to make of it all. Her grandmother, her lovely grandmother, had done that? She still couldn’t believe her father had been a servant. Just like Matthew.

  Elizabeth was watching her carefully, and she forced herself to speak. “Thank – thank you for telling me.”

  “I’ll leave you to your thoughts. It’s a lot to take in.” Elizabeth paused by the door. “Mother wasn’t a bad person. She just loved you too much. Her daughter had just passed away. I think she was afraid your father would take you away from her.”

  Katherine nodded thoughtfully, and then Elizabeth was gone and she was alone once more. She collapsed onto the bed with a sigh. Her father had been a servant, and he might still be alive. It wasn’t the idea of meeting her father which kept going round and round in her head, though, but the notion that she should have been raised a servant, just like Matthew. They were not so different, after all.

  CHAPTER 10

  Folios/v7/Time-landscape-2019/MS-149

  UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAM CAMPUS, ENGLAND, 2039

  “Katherine is kind of a sassy chick, isn’t she?” Kate commented. They were in Matt’s dorm room, looking through the documents that Kate had found hidden in the loft, which had included Katherine’s diaries, from when she was a teenager up until university. Kate was reading through a long diary entry about the first time Katherine and Matthew had met. Katherine had apparently fallen deeply in lust on the very spot. The entry used the words “delectable”, “buttocks” and “I want to bite them”.

  Matt and Kate hadn’t told Kate’s grandparents about the laptop or the notebooks. Nancy and Flo just thought they had found an old overlooked box of Katherine’s diaries and other letters.

  Matt “hmm”ed. “Sassy? If I didn’t know any better, I’d think she was a teenage girl. She speaks like every Internet meme combined.”

  “She is pretty awesome, I agree. Matthew must have been in constant awe of her startlingly witty repartee.” Kate grinned. There was no doubt in her mind that Matthew had been head over heels for her. Katherine, that was. Obviously.

  “I guess,” Matt said, slowly, like he was trying to work out how to explain himself properly. “But I think she just sounds … innocent, you know? In a way that no one really has been since the war. It’s refreshing, but sad. She has no idea what is waiting just around the corner.”

  “Yeah,” Kate said softly. “But we don’t know what she was messing with yet.”

  Matt picked up the laptop. “This might be able to help with that.”

  “Do you think it still works?” Kate asked.

  He frowned, brows wrinkling in a way she had to admit she found adorable. “Well, there’s only one way to find out.”

  After some research, they discovered an article online about old computer systems and worked out that the lithium-ion battery would be dead after so long. Matt said he would be able to make a rudimentary charger by removing the battery completely and connecting copper wires from a cable di
rectly into the power supply. He started work on it while Kate read through some more of Katherine’s diary entries.

  There was some dreamy poetry about a uni romance, which made Kate feel an achingly strong second-hand embarrassment. The poetry referenced chemistry for some reason and was framed with groupings of meticulously arranged heart-shaped sequins.

  Folios/v7/Time-landscape-2014/MS-12

  It wasn’t long before Matt interrupted her by calling out, “Flick the switch, Kate!” He proudly arranged his newly connected cable on the table in front of her. They both held their breath in expectation of an explosion of sparks, but the cable only gave a small flash. A blue light on the front of the laptop flickered and then stayed on.

  Kate threw an arm over Matt’s shoulder, hugging him. “Well done, clever clogs.”

  Matt looked pleased. They took a deep breath as he opened the lid of the laptop. There was some dust on the keys, but otherwise it was surprisingly clean. They weren’t actually expecting the laptop to turn on, despite their luck so far, so when the startup screen flashed on, Matt nearly knocked the laptop off the table in surprise. Kate held her breath until the login screen appeared.

  “Wow,” she said. “What are the chances?”

  “I know.” He sounded awed, slightly breathless.

  “I feel like I just ran a marathon. My heart’s racing,” Kate said.

  Their excitement was short-lived, though, because they needed a password before they could login.

  “How are we possibly going to work out what the password is?” Kate asked.

  Matt ran a hand through his hair. “We’re just going to have to speak to Tom.” He sounded annoyed, as if having to introduce Kate to his brother was the worst scenario he could possibly imagine.

  “Your brother? The hacker?” She sat up, a little too quickly, obviously showing a bit too much enthusiasm, because Matt frowned at her. “Isn’t he in Scotland?” she added, trying to sound disinterested.

  “No. He studies here too.”

  “Spartacus lives here? Like, just across campus?”

  “Yeah.” Matt didn’t look like he was going to make an attempt to move any time soon.

  “Shall we go and see him, then?” she prompted, still trying not to sound too eager.

  “Sure.”

  As Matt put on his shoes and found his keys, Kate waited for him by the door, metaphorical tail wagging, like a dog hoping to go for a walk. Finally he was ready to leave.

  Folios/v7/Time-landscape-2010/MS-6

  File note: Diary of subject allocation “KATHERINE”, aged 16

  Carlisle, England, 1745

  Katherine and Matthew were eating their lunch on the battlements in silence, while looking out over fields which might soon be filled with approaching Rebels. Earlier that day a messenger had arrived at the castle, bringing the news that there had been a battle at Prestonpans and the English had lost. Everyone had started panicking, especially as the English army wasn’t prepared for an attack yet. It needed more time to gather enough soldiers. Most people were now convinced that the Rebels were unstoppable and that the city of Carlisle should be evacuated.

  It was all anyone could talk about, but Katherine and Matthew sat in silence. Ever since their argument a few days ago, any conversation between them was almost painfully awkward. They were both unable to relax around each other and felt almost like strangers. Despite this, Katherine still insisted on volunteering at the castle and Matthew always accompanied her, although he made it clear that he didn’t want to be there – at least, not with her.

  Katherine broke the silence. “I was speaking to my aunt the other day. She told me that my mother eloped with a servant.”

  Matthew turned to her in shock. “You … your father was a servant?”

  She nodded. “They wanted to marry, but they were caught and separated. My mother died in childbirth and my grandmother raised me. My father doesn’t know I exist. I think … if they had succeeded in their elopement, I would have been raised as a servant.”

  Matthew made no answer.

  “My aunt wanted to tell my father that he had a daughter, but my grandmother disagreed. It split the family apart. I believe that my aunt still loved my mother and would have forgiven her, had she lived. Our family is more important to my aunt than respectability. I hadn’t fully understood that about her before. However, I feel sure that if I wanted to make a” – she swallowed – “less than ideal match, shall we say, she wouldn’t entirely disown me. I also think that if my mother was prepared to live the life of a servant for love, then I could too.” All the time she was speaking, she carefully avoided looking Matthew’s way.

  “I’ll bear that in mind,” Matthew said, coolly.

  “Matthew,” she said, turning towards him, “I cannot apologize enough for my mistrust of you. Please, please forgive me. I cannot bear it.”

  He shifted and his shoulder brushed against hers. Still he continued to stare across the fields. She admired the shape of his nose, the curl of hair against his forehead. His Adam’s apple moved as he swallowed. Finally he turned his head, and caught her eye. She didn’t drop her gaze.

  “Katherine,” he said thickly, voice low, with the slight hint of a warning. Her eyes flicked to his lips, which were so close to her own.

  “Matthew…” The sound was barely more than a breath in the air, but it seemed to physically touch him. He swayed slightly, then moved closer towards her.

  She could see each of his eyelashes in perfect detail. They fluttered as his gaze darted over her face, to rest on her mouth. His pupils widened. Katherine felt lit up from the inside like a beacon. She could feel his rough breath against her.

  He closed his eyes.

  “I forgive you,” he said. Then he stood up. He moved slowly and carefully as if it were physically painful, then disappeared quickly down the spiral steps into the castle gatehouse. She looked after him silently, gasping air like she’d been running, and pressed her palms against her hot cheeks to cool them.

  Near Turkey, Aegean Sea, 1854

  “Do you need some help with that?” Katy asked, watching Matthew diligently writing notes in his hammock, which was next to hers. They were the only two in the sleeping quarters below deck. After eighteen days at sea, the room was starting to smell pungent. Katy was grateful there was only a day or two before they arrived at Varna. “I could transcribe for you.”

  She had been trying to read a book that had been making its way around the officers, but she’d just read four pages discussing the financial history of the main character’s next-door neighbour and had reached her limit with authors who were paid by the word.

  “Oh – thank you,” he said, surprised. “That would be pleasant.”

  She leant back in her hammock, trying to decipher his tone. “Did you think that I wasn’t going to earn my keep any more?”

  “I actually hadn’t thought about it.” He adjusted his spectacles.

  She rolled her eyes. “Please say that I’m not a helpless female in your eyes now?”

  “Of course not! You’re probably more self-sufficient than I am. Your femininity just takes a bit of getting used to.”

  “You aren’t used to independent women? I bet all your female friends would be pleased to hear that.”

  “I’m not acquainted with many women, actually.” He looked uncomfortable. “I don’t really have many friends at all.”

  Katy was surprised. He seemed so charming, and he had made friends with a lot of soldiers – those who hadn’t taken offence at his job title, anyway.

  “Moving around so much makes it hard to keep friends. I know people all over the world, but I’m usually gone after a few weeks, and I never see them again.” He looked like he was considering it as he spoke. Katy suspected that he’d never thought about his friendships before. Matthew was the kind of man who was happy with his own company. He didn’t need people surrounding him to be content.

  “I did wonder why you hadn’t been snapped up in m
arriage yet,” Katy replied bravely, knowing what she was implying.

  “I don’t think there are many women who would have me. Who wants a husband who’s never at home?”

  “I think some women would,” she said softly.

  “Really?” His cheeks were turning red.

  “Clearly you don’t understand anything about women. A husband who’s never at home is the dream,” she teased. He relaxed, smiled a little and fiddled with his spectacles again.

  “Maybe the solution is to find a wife who would travel with you,” she added.

  He opened his mouth, closed it again. Eventually, he replied, voice strange – he sounded nervous, yet determined. “That’s a good idea. I’ll have to see what I can do.” When his eyes fell on her, she tried not to beam too obviously.

  “What will happen when we arrive at the camp?” Katy asked a little later, after they’d drafted another article. “Do you have a tent?”

  Matthew shook his head. “I’ve got a letter from my editor saying the army has to provide accommodation for me. Hopefully the officers there will do it.”

  “They wouldn’t abandon you, would they? Some of them really don’t like you.”

  “I hope not,” he said quietly. Matthew always took her opinions seriously, in a way he hadn’t when he thought she was a young boy. It was a surprising benefit to their new situation and one she hadn’t anticipated. “But if they do, I can threaten them with the full power of The Times. My editor would love a little scandal for the front page. ‘The Times’ own correspondent mistreated by Raglan.’ I’d probably get a raise.”