“Caroline,” Sarah said, turning to her. “Will you please send a message to Carter for us? I would like him to come for me and Father. Ask him if he would please take us to James’ house? We need to tell him about the fire and about Cass. We will stay there tonight.”
“Are you sure you will not stay here?” asked Caroline. “It is getting late, and you have had a hard evening.”
Cassandra held her breath. She did not want them to stay; she wanted to take Nick and Evie and go to the portal exit tonight. She didn’t want Nick hovering around these people any longer.
“No, James keeps a room for us there, and he will want to know as soon as possible what has happened. It is better if the family is all there together. In the morning we can decide how we will proceed.”
Reverend Williams sighed. “It will be a huge expense to rebuild. I do not see how the church will manage it. We may have to plan to live here or with James from now on.”
“That discussion is for tomorrow, Father,” said Sarah. “Let us rest while we wait for Carter, and let our friends do what they have to do.”
Caroline hurried out the door.
“I have some things to attend to,” said Cassandra. “Do not leave until I have a chance to say goodbye.”
“Of course not, my dear,” said Sarah. “Please let us know how Miss Bay is doing.”
“Yes, I will.” Cassandra said with a sad smile. “Nick, will you come help me?”
They found Evie in her room, sitting on the bed.
“We are leaving tonight.” Cassandra said.
“Yes, of course,” Evie replied sullenly.
“I think that’s best,” responded Nick.
“I only have a few items of clothing left here,” said Evie, “but I would like to leave them for Caroline.”
“I am sure that would be fine.” Cassandra turned to leave. “By the way, Sarah and Reverend Williams are leaving very soon. Do you want to say good-bye to them?”
Evie’s eyes filled with tears. “Will you do it for me, Cassie? I just cannot bear it.”
“Of course. I understand.” Cassandra beckoned Nick out of the room and into her own. Once there, Nick moved to embrace her but she backed away.
“What are you doing here, Nick?” she asked.
“What do you mean? I came to find you! You were almost a week late.”
“Almost a week. Not quite a week. I do not think that warranted you coming to look after us. We got back here, didn’t we?”
“Yes, but…what happened? Who is this Caleb that Evie got involved with and what about,” he stopped.
“What gives you the right to be my interrogator?”
“Cassandra, I love you. We are together. I suppose that gives me the right.”
“When I left, things were not good between us, Nick. We are not together anymore. I did not mean to tell you like this, but there it is.”
“Cassandra!”
“We are professionals on this project and nothing more. You are not my knight in shining armor.”
“I did not mean to be; I was just worried. Please, do not let it end like this.”
But she had turned from him and was pulling out the suitcases she’d mostly packed up before they’d left the house the week before.
“I cannot believe that Professor Carver approved you coming.”
“Well, he did,” replied Nick defensively.
“Unbelievable. At any rate, I will do my explaining to him and the others when we return. I am going to get my things together. Once the reverend and Sarah leave, we will get to the portal. Why don’t you go downstairs and keep them company since you seem to be such good friends?”
“Cassandra,” Nick pleaded. “I cannot believe you are reacting this way. I care about you and was simply afraid for your safety.”
She was looking through a suitcase for something, and didn’t answer him.
“Maybe you could tell me about this Evans character,” he said suddenly.
She stopped dead and looked at him, her face coloring. “There is nothing to tell.”
“That is not what your expression says.”
“Nick,” she sighed with exasperation, returning to her suitcase. “We will talk about it later. Please. Let me finish up here. I will be down soon.”
“Fine.” He went to leave the room, then turned back and grabbed her arm. “I just want you to know that I do not appreciate being treated like a fool.”
“What are you talking about?” she said as she tried to wrench away.
“I know you were with that man,” he whispered.
“You do not know anything,” she spat, pulling her arm free.
“You would be surprised,” he said, his face close to hers.
“Get out of here!” She took a step back.
He looked her over slowly and she felt a cold, unreasoning fear creep up her spine. He turned and walked away.
She went to the basin and washed her face. She did not want to take the time to change clothes, although hers were smudged with soot. She dug around in her suitcase for the latch in the false bottom. She extracted a key from her pocket, unlocked it and took out all of the money. With a piece of paper and a pen, she scratched a note to Reverend Williams and inserted $4,500.00 into the envelope. She thought it would be enough to rebuild. She didn’t know why she did it—it was contrary to all her training as a chronologist, but she knew the rectory was standing in 2122, a historic and revered building, and that the church must have escaped much harm from the fire. She could only figure that the Vanderhoff gang was responsible, and that they would have done it whether she and Evie had been involved with the family or not.
She wrote Reverend Williams’ name on the envelope and stuck it in her pocket. She had a few other details to attend to, and when they were done, she closed her suitcase back up and went down the stairs.
Sarah met her at the bottom. “Oh, I was just coming up to find you. Carter is here with the carriage. When do you depart for Boston?”
“First thing in the morning if possible,” she lied, “so let me say my goodbyes now, and thank you for all the kindnesses you have shown us.”
“Oh, we cannot leave without saying goodbye to Miss Bay!”
“Please,” Cassandra hurried to say, “she asked that I say her good-byes for her. She has said too many today. I will pass on your love to her.”
“Anyway,” Sarah remarked, “it is not forever, am I right? You will come back to visit us. Boston is not so very far away. Will you write, and ask Miss Bay to?”
“Certainly,” said Cassandra quietly.
“And leave your address here with Caroline. We will write you as soon as we hear news of Cass and the others.”
“Yes, of course.”
Nick and the reverend shook hands, then came to join the two women. Nick kissed Sarah’s hand in farewell, and Cassandra embraced Reverend Williams as they said their goodbyes. Soon the father and daughter were out the door and gone. Caroline, who had been standing near, began to take off her bonnet but Cassandra stopped her.
“Caroline, I have one more favor to ask of you tonight, and it is a big one.”
“Anything, ma’am, I am at your service.”
“Can you find me a hackney coach?”
“But Carter is just now leaving. Why don’t you have him come back for you?”
“No, I do not want to bother Carter again. Miss Bay, Mr. Stockard, and I are going to leave tonight. If the coach driver is amenable, we will pay him to take us all the way to Boston. If not, he can take us to the post house, and we will hire a carriage there.”
“But Mrs. Reilly, why tonight? I do not understand.”
Nick jumped in. “Because they are already so very delayed. They have obligations, people who expect them. I must get them back.”
Cassandra tried not to glare at him.
“I understand. I will go right away. Probably I can find one on Fifth Avenue.”
“Shall I go with you?” asked Nick.
Caroline pulled up her skirt immodestly to mid-calf and showed them a sheathed knife stuck into a garter. “In Ireland, I lived on the streets where I raised myself and my brothers and sisters. No one is going to bother me, I can promise you that.”
“Very good, Caroline,” Nick said with a laugh.
Cassandra said, “Thank you. I will make sure Miss Bay is ready.” She issued Nick a cold stare and went back up the stairs. She knocked gently on the door of Evie’s room, but didn’t wait for a response before she eased it open.
The woman was sitting on the bed, waiting for her, wearing her diamond earrings.
“Are you ready?” Cassandra asked.
“Yes,” she answered quietly.
“Very well, then. Meet me downstairs.” Cassandra went to her room, grabbed her two bags, and hauled them down the stairs. Nick and Evie were waiting for her in the entryway. She took the envelope out of her pocket and set it down on the letter table inside the front door. She knew Caroline would not fail to deliver it to Reverend Williams.
“What is that?” asked Nick.
“It does not matter to you.”
“What, exactly, is your plan?” he asked her.
“Just let me handle it.”
She heard a carriage come rattling up the street and stop in front of the gate. A moment later, Caroline opened the door and reported breathlessly: “He said he would take you all the way to Boston for fifty dollars, but I got him down to forty-five!”
Cassandra smiled at her. “Very good.”
Nick picked up one of Cassandra’s bags, grabbed Evie’s off the porch, and took them out to the carriage.
Anna Mae came hurrying out of the kitchen. “Where do you think you two are going?”
“We are leaving, Anna Mae, we have to,” said Cassandra.
“Without a basket of my victuals to take along? Oh, no you are not!” She ran back into the kitchen as fast as her girth would allow.
“Anna Mae, no! We do not have time!” Cassandra called after her. Evie just stood there, gazing at Caleb’s painting in the parlor, which was visible from the entryway.
“Won’ take but a minute!” the woman called from the kitchen. Cassandra sighed and heaved her other bag out to the street, Evie following. The coachman was putting the other bags on the roof.
Anna Mae appeared with a covered basket.
“Just some ham biscuits I already had made up, apples, cookies, and a jug of cider.”
Cassandra smiled at her warmly. “Thank you Anna Mae. You are truly wonderful, and I will miss you.” She gave the woman an affectionate hug.
Anna Mae followed her out to the carriage and grabbed Evie in her arms. “You take care of yourself, darlin’ girl. You are gonna be alright, I promise. You!” She pointed at Nick while still embracing Evie. “You get these ladies back safely, you hear? They are two awfully precious gals.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Tears ran down Evie’s face.
“Shhh, hush now,” Anna Mae continued. “Get on up in that coach.”
Evie hugged and kissed Caroline and did as she was told.
Cassandra embraced Caroline as well. “I think Miss Bay left some clothes for you,” she whispered. “And the earrings on the dresser in my room are for you as well. I left a little box for Anna Mae with some nice items that she might like: handkerchiefs, bonnets, and such, but do not tell her yet, or she will not accept them.”
“Oh, ma’am, you should not have.”
Cassandra put her fingers on her lips. “It is our secret. There is also an envelope for the reverend inside on the table. See that he gets it, will you?”
“Of course.”
Nick nodded to Caroline then helped Cassandra into the coach, and got in behind her. The driver urged the horses, and they took off down the street. Once they turned the corner, Cassandra stuck her head out the window. “Driver, stop please.”
He brought the horses to a halt and Cassandra got out, while Nick looked at her, perplexed. She went to speak to the man, who regarded her with surprise. “We are not going to Boston,” she said. “I will give you one hundred dollars to take us to Broadway between Eleventh and Twelfth Streets. Leave us on the sidewalk with our luggage and never utter a word about it to anyone.”
The driver just looked at her, mouth open.
“You got it?” she said.
“Yes, ma’am!”
“All right, let’s go.” She got back in the carriage, closed the door, and they drove off in the direction of Broadway.
Within ten minutes the vehicle arrived at its destination. The women and Nick emerged and the driver flung their bags off the roof and onto the street. Cassandra extracted the promised money from her bag and gave it to the man, who drove away.
“Go on,” said Cassandra to Evie, indicating the alleyway. It was so late, the street was virtually empty.
Evie took in her surroundings once, deeply inhaled the pungent air, then heaved her heavy bag up with both hands.
“I will bring it with me, Evie, don’t worry about it,” said Nick.
“No! I want to.” She lugged it into the alleyway.
Cassandra watched her while simultaneously keeping an eye out for passersby. She looked down Broadway once, and when she looked back, Evie was gone.
“You go now,” she said to Nick.
“No, I will go after you,” he replied.
“Nick, this was my journey, I am responsible. I will be the last one to go.” Her determined gaze met his.
He sighed and picked up her bags.
“Don’t you have a bag?” Cassandra asked him.
Nick looked like he had just remembered it. “Yes, I do. It is in my room at the Dylan Hotel. There is nothing of value in it though, nothing that would cause a problem. The hotel can keep it. There is some money in it, but not so much. It will be their pay for my keeping their room key.” He fished the key out of a pocket and showed it to her with a wan smile.
“Go on,” she said.
Checking to see that no one was watching, he moved into the alley. Cassandra kept an eye on the street, until a thud from behind made her turn around and look. Nick was still moving into place, but then he disappeared.
She looked up the block. It was empty. With Anna Mae’s basket hanging from the crook of her elbow, she walked into the depths of the alley. A glint of metal caught her eye, and she thought she saw the shape of a gun lying among the trash bins.
She was plunged into blackness. When she opened her eyes, a soft green light glowed before her. The door of the chamber slid open, and the first face she saw was her son’s. James grabbed her into his arms while tears slid down her cheeks.
Chapter Seventeen
“What took you so long to get back, Mom?” James asked. “We were getting really worried.”
“Yes, I am sorry,” Cassandra replied. “We have a long story to tell, but what matters is that both of us are fine.”
Jake hovered anxiously near Evie, who was pale and quiet. Shannon stood near him, her hands on her hips, looking from one woman to the other. Nick had moved away to the lounge.
“They will have their debriefing in the morning,” commanded Professor Carver. “The travelers need to rest.” He put an affectionate arm around Cassandra. “I am so glad to see you.” His warm, brown eyes were full of tenderness. “I am so glad you are both okay!”
“I apologize that we worried all of you,” Cassandra said, returning his squeeze with an arm around his waist. She put her other hand out to grasp James’ shoulder. “I promise it will all be explained tomorrow.”
“Nick!” Professor Carver called out. The man jerked around to look at him. “You can decontaminate and go on to the hotel with the rest of the team for the night.”
“Where are your other clothes, Nick?” asked Shannon with some irritation in her voice.
“I had to leave them there,” said Nick. “Sorry.”
Shannon sighed. “Well, get decontaminated at least, so I can attend to these ladie
s.”
After Nick, Jake and James had gone through the process, as everyone coming in contact with the travelers was required to do, they left the two women alone with Shannon and Professor Carver. While the travelers had been gone, the lab had been reconfigured to include two small sleeping pods, where they would spend their first night back. Shannon first took Evie into the decontamination room, essentially a shower stall, where cleansing light rays eliminated any diseases or parasites that she might be bringing with her from the past. She was then told to shower with water and soap, and given pajamas. Shannon gave her a mild sedative; then left her to the privacy of her pod.
Cassandra followed the same routine. Their suitcases were left untouched, the basket from Anna Mae decontaminated as well, and then stored in the fridge, after which Shannon left for the night. Professor Carver slept on the sofa so the women would not be alone.
In the morning, Cassandra awoke to the smell of coffee brewing. She emerged from her sleeping chamber to find the professor preparing a pot. She let him pour her a cup and sat down with him at a small table with two chairs.
“Elton,” she said quietly, so as to not wake Evie. “Why did you let Nick come for us?”
“I knew you would be unhappy about it, but he felt so very strongly, and, you know, after the trouble you had in England, we were all nervous.”
Cassandra felt a wave of aggravation. The trouble in England had not been her fault. But she forced the feeling aside. “Well, I understand the concern, but it was not necessary. I will admit that things got out of control for a bit, but ultimately, we handled it. We would have been back last night with or without Nick. He could have messed things up further, you know. As it is, I still do not know what he said to the people he encountered or what he did while he was there.”
“You haven’t asked him about it?”
“I am too angry with him. I think it was jealousy that made him come after me.”
“I’m sorry I gave into his concerns. I didn’t realize he was acting solely on emotion.”
“He has changed, Elton. Anyway, there is a lot to tell, but Evie needs to be part of the telling.”
“Very well. Let’s have some breakfast.”
The Time Heiress Page 26