by Bess McBride
“Does your head hurt?” Constance asked solicitously as she sat down beside Ellie on the couch.
Ellie opened her eyes and smiled wanly. “Yes.”
“Some nice hot tea will do you a world of good.”
At that moment, Mrs. McGuire returned with a silver tea service and set it down on the cherry wood table in front of the sofa.
“I would love to sit and take tea with you ladies, but I must return to the kitchen, or I am likely to burn tonight’s dinner.” The plump woman beamed and left the room.
Constance poured some tea and gave Ellie a cup.
“You look very tired.”
“I am. I hardly slept last night, and Robert arrived back at the house before I left.”
“Yes?” Constance tilted her head inquiringly.
“I had left him a note. I wanted to leave before he came home. So, when the carriage came, I ran out the door.” Ellie remembered her flight and giggled nervously, a sound that seemed inappropriate. She certainly didn’t feel like laughing.
“You left without telling him? Why, Ellie?”
“I have my reasons, Constance. Please believe me. It was extremely difficult. Promise me you won’t tell him where I am...although I suspect he won’t want to know after the ungrateful way I left the house.”
“Oh, Ellie. I am so sorry.”
Ellie looked at her former competition. “Just treat him well, Constance. I know you will.”
Constance reddened and stood abruptly to walk to the window. “Ellie, I-I don’t know what to say. The truth is...after today, I do not think I want to marry Robert anymore. I think he is quite taken with you, and I do not want a man who is in love with someone else.”
At any other time, Ellie would have loved to hear those words, but she had burnt her bridges. There was no going back.
“I don’t think he’ll fancy himself in love with me after he reads my letter, Constance. I told him I was engaged.”
Constance turned from the window. She raised her eyebrows. “But I thought you said that was over. You are selling the ring.”
“It is over...as far as I can tell. But that is what Robert needed to hear.”
Constance approached and laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. “I cannot pretend to understand what is going on here, Ellie, but I trust you know what you are doing.” She sighed. “Let’s go up and see your room.”
Constance led the way upstairs to the second floor, where she opened a door on the right. The room was small but cozy. A small twin bed with a bright yellow coverlet rested against one wall. A highly polished mahogany dresser with oval mirror, a well-varnished night table with white glass lamp, and a small, rose velvet chair completed the furnishings.
“The washroom is down the hall. Mrs. McGuire will explain the house rules. I think they are standard. No cooking in the rooms, no men beyond the parlor, no overnight guests. That sort of thing.”
Ellie shrugged. She knew she was in the Dark Ages, and the light was only getting dimmer. When would she wake up from this dream? It held no pleasure or excitement for her any longer.
Constance wished her a good evening and said she would pick her up the following day to take the ring to a jeweler. Ellie fought the urge to beg her to stay, hating how clingy and dependent she’d become. That she was penniless and alone, without friends and family, a hundred years before her time, did nothing to make her feel better about her character flaws.
Though Ellie longed for nothing more than to curl up into a ball on her bed and go to sleep, she dragged herself downstairs at the sound of the dinner bell, thinking it better to avoid creating undue interest and suspicion. She longed for her credit card so she could book a cruise and run away to the Caribbean. In fact, she wondered where her purse was at the moment. Next to her bed in Chicago? On a train to Seattle a hundred years from now? Clutched in her lap while she rode the El and cried about the loss of a fiancé?
Mrs. McGuire had set a lovely table, with white linen, decorative porcelain dinnerware and a centerpiece of bright yellow chrysanthemums. Three other women sat at the table, all younger than Ellie. They wore conventional clothing of white shirtwaist blouses and tailored skirts. Their hairstyles were all similar, upswept Gibsons in various designs depending on the shape and texture of their hair.
They stared at Ellie in surprise for just a moment before smiling and welcoming her to the house. Mrs. McGuire made the introductions to Miss Samantha Stevens, Miss Martha Brown, and Miss Dorothy Simmons. Ellie shook hands with each of them and sat down in the indicated seat opposite Mrs. McGuire.
The young women were not much older than Melinda, and the conversation was lively. Ellie felt a sharp pang of regret. She would miss Melinda’s bubbly personality. Samantha taught school, Martha worked as a typist at the newspaper, and Dorothy clerked in a bank. They asked Ellie questions about her stay in Seattle and her future plans, and Ellie fielded the answers as best she could. Certain her lies were growing more distorted with each embellishment and that she risked exposure, she hoped she would soon wake up or return to her own time—whichever the case might be. The latter still seemed farfetched. Wouldn’t she know if she had traveled in time? Wouldn’t she feel tired? Different? Older? Younger?
As depressed as she was, dinner proved to be a soothing gathering of women. The food was delicious, though Ellie had a frustrating moment when she had to explain once again that she didn’t eat meat.
“Why not?” Dorothy asked, her fork in midair.
Ellie looked around the table at the sea of eyes that watched her curiously. The young women looked so similar in their white shirtwaist blouses and dark skirts. Only their hair color and body frames were different. Martha wore small round glasses on her pale face.
“I-I’m an animal lover, you see.” Ellie gave a helpless shrug and bit into a delicious homemade biscuit, hoping they would take her answer at face value.
“Really?” Samantha, a petite blonde, murmured. “I love animals too, but...”
“What do you eat, then?” Dorothy asked with a napkin to her rosy face.
How could she tell them about the varied inventory of delicious vegetarian foods available in stores in the twenty-first century? She thought fast.
“Well, I eat a lot of vegetables, of course. I do eat cheese and eggs. Those are just like meat, really.”
“Oh.” Samantha nodded sagely. “Yes, I can see. There really must be quite a bit to eat besides meat.”
“As you see, ladies, she has some potatoes and carrots on her plate, as well as having a glass of milk. She really has plenty to eat.” Martha, future investigative reporter, pushed her glasses back up to the bridge of her nose.
“All right, girls, let’s not badger Miss Standish any longer. Eat your dinner,” Mrs. McGuire urged with a kindly look in Ellie’s direction. “I’ll prepare something additional for you tomorrow, Miss Standish.”
“Oh, you don’t have to go to any trouble for me, Mrs. McGuire. I choose not to eat meat. I don’t expect anyone to put themselves out because of my choice. And please call me Ellie.”
“May we all call you Ellie?” Samantha asked, with a scrunched-up button nose.
“Yes, please.” Ellie felt like she was back in the classroom, calling on students who waved their hands in the air with questions.
“Wonderful,” Dorothy murmured as she resumed eating.
While the girls continued their conversation regarding the day’s events and the latest sighting of an attractive eligible bachelor, Ellie munched her food and listened with half an ear as she wondered what Robert was doing at the moment. She tried to imagine how he had handled her ungracious departure and wondered what he thought of her now. Hopefully, he would put her in the past as a temporary aberration in his world and move on, although Constance had indicated she might not be willing to consider him as a potential husband any longer.
Ellie bit her lip. She hoped she hadn’t done any irreparable damage to Robert’s life. Constance and he suited each other well, t
hough it seemed likely that if Constance had not already fallen madly in love with him, she would not be doing so in the future. And perhaps mad, passionate love did not suit Robert. Ellie had seen Robert in the throes of infatuation. He’d become moody, aggressive, and unhappy—quite unlike the confident, witty, debonair man she’d met on the train. She hardly took his crush on her as a sign of true love, having never been one to incite such passion in men. She thought it more likely his fascination stemmed from his notion that she had traveled back in time. What man didn’t like a good science fiction story...even at the turn of the century?
“Well, I am sure my boss will not say. He was absent from work for a few days and has been preoccupied since his return.” Dorothy’s words penetrated Ellie’s distracted musings.
Ellie returned her focus to her current setting. The table for six was set with white linen and dishes of simple white porcelain. The dining room was much smaller than that in the Chamberlain home, but all the more cozy because of its reduced size. A well-polished mahogany china cabinet matched the sideboard, and both stood out impressively against pale blue walls. Sheer white lace curtains hung at the windows. Ellie studied as much detail as possible, hoping to store the memories away for when she returned to her own time...or woke up. This first-hand experience in the late Victorian/early Edwardian era could only help to inform her teachings.
Dinner ended on a festive note, and they all helped Mrs. McGuire clear the table and wash the dishes. When cleanup was done, Ellie professed herself exhausted after the long day and skipped the house’s customary after-dinner tea in the parlor. She climbed the well-varnished wooden stairs to the second floor. After a brief stop in the washroom to wash her face and hands, Ellie returned to her room, shed her clothes, took down her hair and climbed into bed. She’d left any extra clothing belonging to Melinda at the house and would need to purchase a few things tomorrow once she’d sold the ring—that is unless she finally woke up in her lonely apartment.
Ellie surveyed the room in the dark, noting how the moon came through the large window and cast silver beams across the walls. And she willed herself to sleep and to wake up from her Victorian dream. She’d had enough of the past. Her present didn’t look very promising, if indeed Kyle had cancelled the wedding, but she didn’t think life would hurt as much as it did here at the turn of the century.
****
Morning brought Constance in the carriage. Ellie climbed into the conveyance and off they went in a cloud of dust...literally.
“Ellie, I must say, you have created quite the maelstrom at the Chamberlain house.”
Ellie caught her breath. Though Constance smiled, her eyes were quite serious.
“What do you mean?”
“When I arrived home last night, I had a message from Robert waiting for me. He wanted to know if I had assisted you in leaving, where you were, and if you were safe.”
“Oh, Constance. I’m so sorry to have involved you. How did he know? Did you reply to the note?”
“I am not sure how he knew. Alice did meet me at the door when I came to visit you in the morning. Perhaps he questioned the servants.” She paused and sighed. “At any rate, I did not have time to send a note around this morning before he appeared on my doorstep, only an hour ago, with the same questions.” She smiled. “I would say he demanded the answers, but he is far too well bred to be so rude.”
Ellie turned to stare out the window. The carriage rumbled along dirt roads as they passed a bevy of lovely Victorian homes which appeared startlingly new.
“I don’t know what to say.” Shame kept her from meeting Constance’s eyes.
“Well, Ellie, I think one thing is certain. You made quite an impression on Robert, one he is not likely to forget as soon as you think. I knew that from the first moment he introduced you on the train.”
Ellie turned startled eyes to Constance. “I-I hoped he would accept my thanks, take the engagement at face value, and let me go.”
Constance gave her head a slight shake and grimaced. “He might still. I assured him that you were safe, but I refused to tell him where you were. He asked me about your plans to be married, and I confirmed that I knew you had been engaged. While I did not lie to him directly, I think he believes the engagement is ongoing.” Constance bit her lip and looked at Ellie. “He seems to be very infatuated with you, Ellie. He has never looked at me like that once. Are you sure you are doing the right thing?”
Ellie sighed and brushed away an escaping tear with the back of her hand. “No, Constance, I’m not sure about anything, except that my time here is limited, and I cannot stay. I thought I should leave before we fell in love. Well, before I fell in love, I should say.”
“It may be too late. He is already in love, Ellie.”
Ellie turned stricken eyes on Constance. “Oh, Constance, surely not! It has only been a few days! If he is infatuated, I think it is only a fascination with someone from...uh...another place, from Chicago.”
Constance burst out into a surprisingly rich, husky laugh. “Chicago? Robert is well traveled. He has been to Chicago many times! No, I do not think that is it. I think it is probably you. You are quite unique, Ellie.”
“Not in my own world,” Ellie muttered with a red face. Her theory did sound silly without being able to explain “Chicago” meant a hundred years into the future.
“I beg your pardon?”
“Nothing. I was just thinking aloud.” She patted Constance’s hand. “Thank you for not telling him where I was. Hopefully, he’ll just assume I’m engaged and move on.”
“Perhaps,” Constance murmured. The carriage came to a halt in front of a jeweler’s shop, and Ellie followed Constance into the elegant establishment. Constance, an unexpected fairy godmother in disguise, expertly negotiated a hefty sum for the ring, and they sailed out of the store with enough money to buy Ellie a few clothes, some necessities, and room and board for at least a year should she need. Ellie convinced Constance that her luggage had been lost on the train, and it was under this assumption that Constance took her to a series of ready-to-wear stores to buy some tailored suits, dresses and undergarments.
With bags and hatboxes in hand, they hopped aboard the carriage once again and stopped to refresh themselves and rest in a teashop in downtown Seattle. Ellie followed Constance into the small shop on the first floor of a three-story brick building on a busy main street.
Ellie had lost her bearings and had no earthly idea where she was in the city. The streets looked completely different with hard-packed dirt instead of asphalt. Street signs seemed to be in short supply, and the absence of traffic lights stumped her. Without the view from the elevated interstate which passed through the modern city, without the Space Needle or the gleaming skyscrapers with their glass windows, Ellie couldn’t even figure out where she was in relation to the waterfront of Elliott Bay. Her world had suddenly become much smaller, consisting of a few dirt roads, forests of pine trees, a neighborhood of similar Victorian houses and the shopping and business district in which they currently drank tea.
A young waiter in white coat and black slacks seated them at a small round table, took their order and left. Ellie ordered the same items as Constance, tea and a scone—neither of which she particularly craved but both sounding like something a turn-of-the-century woman might order.
“Where are we, Constance? I can’t seem to get my bearings.” Ellie adjusted her hat, wondering if she would ever learn to ignore it as some of her fellow female tea drinkers did.
“We’re on Second Avenue. I thought you had not been to Seattle before, Ellie.” Constance eyed Ellie inquisitively as she laid her napkin across her lap.
Ellie colored. “No, I haven’t. I was just wondering where we were in relation to the rest of the city, to the bay, that’s all.”
“Ah.” Constance nodded in understanding. “I do not really know to tell you the truth. I leave that up to my driver.”
Tea arrived in a plain porcelain teapot with matching whi
te cups, along with scones on a simple white plate. Constance poured.
“I was surprised to find so much ready-to-wear clothing in the store. I thought...” Careful, Ellie. “I thought we might have to visit a dressmaker.”
Constance took a sip of tea and smiled. “This is the twentieth century, Ellie. We have a great many more modern conveniences than we did a decade ago. When I think of the fashions back then! Parting our hair in the middle? Those uncomfortable bustles and large crinolines? Do you remember? I am so grateful those days are gone. I love these sleek, modern styles.” She ran a hand down the sleeve of her emerald green tailored silk jacket, the picture of elegance.
Ellie’s eyes crinkled, and she wanted to burst out laughing, but she pressed her lips together. To Constance, this clothing was the height of fashion, and Ellie had to admit it was much more stylish than her bulky turtleneck sweater and denim skirt and clogs, now safely stowed away in her dresser at the rooming house.
Ellie murmured her assent. She gazed out the window at the busy street. Carriages and wagons passed to and fro, kicking up dust in their wake.
“Oh, dear,” Constance murmured almost under her breath. She stiffened and stared out the window.
Ellie followed her eyes. “What is it?”
“Oh, dear. I had hoped. Well, this was the only teashop near the stores. I-I hoped...”
“What, Constance? Is something wrong?”
Constance turned to Ellie, a disconcerted look in her eyes. Her apologetic smile put Ellie on the edge of her seat.
Constance nodded in the direction of the window. “I did not tell you before, because I thought he would not...that is I did not know he was at work today.” She looked back at the window. “That is Robert’s bank across the street, and his carriage has just arrived.”
Ellie’s eyes darted to the window and she froze, her heart thumping in her throat. Robert descended from the carriage and strode rapidly inside a large brick building with the name “Washington Bank” over the door. From this distance, she could see nothing more than that he was dressed well—as always—and that his stride seemed purposeful and determined—as always. However, the sight of him renewed the ache in her heart. Such a handsome man! But a much more vulnerable man than she had previously thought. Underneath that confident exterior lurked a man who longed for love, and he deserved a real live woman...not a figment of his imagination...or hers.