by Lora Edwards
Teagan nodded again, not knowing how to respond.
“Thank you, Dean Thomas, I will represent Duke in the utmost professional manner.”
“I have no doubts you will Teagan. I assume we can count on you to delay your trip until the end of the semester? You will not want to run out on your newly formed special topics course.”
“Of course not. I will complete the courses that have started and take the summer and possibly the fall semester in England.”
“Keep me apprised if your plans change.”
“Yes, Dean Thomas.”
At this he turned back to his workstation, and Teagan took this as a dismissal. She hustled her way out of his office, waving at a disapproving Mrs. Adams on her way out.
She grabbed her phone and dialed. “Vid, I got the sabbatical! You ready for castles, Ripper walks, and cute Brits?”
Teagan hurried across campus to her first class of the day. The meeting with Dean Thomas had been short but if she didn’t hurry, she would be late for her first class.
“The question is, are you ready,” Ovidia asked, her voice sounding strangely grave.
“What the heck is that supposed to mean Vid? Of course, I’m ready! This is the chance of a lifetime! You know how I feel about the mysteries of history, and this is as close to going back to Victorian England as I am going to get.”
There was a strange silence from Ovidia.
“Vid, are you okay?”
“Yes, yes, I’m fine, just concentrating on what club full of gorgeous British men we will hit as soon as we get there. It will be fabulous—oh, and all of that sightseeing and historical stuff you want to do will be great.”
Teagan could almost see Ovidia rolling her eyes; she hated it when Teagan went on and on about some historical mystery or another.
“These few months cannot go fast enough! Gotta run Vid, talk to ya later.” Teagan pressed end on her phone and ran up the steps of the building to her first course of the day, another section of 101.
Teagan slumped in her office chair. It had been a busy day filled with classes, meetings with students, and a phone meeting to discuss a possible paper on the Ripper for the Smithsonian’s magazine. She had stuffed a salad in her mouth during the phone meeting, hoping the sound of chewing didn’t carry across the line. She was tired, starving, and in real need of a glass of wine.
With the thought of takeout from a local Italian bistro and a large glass of pinot in her future, Teagan gathered the work she needed for home. After dinner, it would be time to start grading the first assignment from the Ripper class, and she was interested in the preliminary theories her students had come up with after their first reading assignment.
The tones of a popular Welsh drinking song rang out from her phone, causing her to grin. Picking up the phone and sliding the answer button across the picture of the handsome older gentleman, she said,” Grandpa, how are you?”
“Girl, I am as fit as ever.” Teagan felt her smile widen as the gruff voice of her grandfather came through, tinted with the Welsh accent that was as much a part of him as his blue eyes and silver hair.
“I hear you are coming across the pond to see me, maybe help me with a bit of research?”
Teagan sat back down, the excitement of the find causing her to forget her hunger and desire for wine. “Yes, I cannot wait. You know how I feel about the mysteries of history, and this one has always been my favorite.”
“Aye girl, that is the truth. You may get more than you bargained for with this one, so I hope you are ready.”
“Why does everyone keep saying that?” she asked as she put the phone between her shoulder and cheek and completed the tasks of turning off her computer and packing away her things.
“I only meant that it is a lot of work here at the museum and you will have more research to do on the Ripper. I’ll work you to the bone, I will.”
Turning off the light in her office, Teagan smiled. Her grandfather was always saying things like this. He was a sucker for her and all she had to do was mention a book or a source she would like to have a better look at, and it would arrive via email or UPS within a few days.
“Okay, I am ready to work hard.”
“See that you are, my girlie. I have surprises in store for you.”
“You always do Grandpa, you always do.”
“Can’t wait to see you. I have been waiting for this day since you were a small child. It was my fondest wish that you come back here and work with me on my projects.”
“Soon your fondest wish will be a reality Grandpa. I am excited too—I have always wanted to work with you.”
“Then what are you waiting for? Hop on a plane and get over here—I have plenty for you to do.”
“You know I have to finish out the semester. I cannot leave my students and the university in the middle of the semester.”
“Aye, you are so like your father, always the responsible one.” The tone in his voice suggested that he might not be giving her a compliment.
“Grandpa, you know my dad’s sense of responsibility is a good match for Mom’s impulsiveness. They work well together.”
He grunted. “He stole my baby girl.”
Teagan laughed, exasperated by the familiar conversation. “He married her, not stole her, and without that, you would not have me.”
“Aye, that is true my little lass, and for that, I will tolerate him.”
“Oh Grandpa, you know you like him.”
Another grunt sounded from the other end of the phone. “All right my girl, you know how I feel about these infernal cell phones. I cannot wait to have you by my side and to teach you all you need to know, to teach you about your heritage.”
“I can’t wait. Love you Grandpa.”
“Love you too Girlie.”
Teagan ended the call and sighed. She loved her cantankerous grandpa and couldn’t wait until they could work side by side on the mysteries they both loved.
It had been her grandpa who had inspired the love of history and lore in her. Her parents, who were world-renowned antiquity dealers, were always off on this trip or that trip, and she with her nanny. They loved her and always made time for her, but it was her grandfather—either through Skype, phone calls, or his frequent visits—who had given her books, taken her to museums, and fired up that love of history and mysteries that had led her to where she currently was.
Climbing into her car, Teagan tried to calm down the itchiness to just hop on a plane and go. She felt as if something profound waited for her in England, something other than her research. It was elusive, just there on the edge of her consciousness, something once known and waiting to be discovered again. Forcing her thoughts back to the present, Teagan made herself look forward to a night of going through the students’ theories and eating delicious Italian food.
It was finally the last day of semester, the day Teagan had longed for and dreaded at the same time. She loved her job and her students, but the itch to get to the journal and work with her grandfather had been getting too strong.
She had packed her office earlier in the day, and now she looked around at the room, which would be used by adjunct faculty in her absence. Some of her things would stay, but the important personal things she took with her and would leave at her apartment, or possibly take with her to London if she had an office there.
Teagan looked around one last time. She didn’t know why, but she had a strange feeling she may not be back, that this may be the last time she viewed this office as hers. Shaking off the strange mood and hefting the box, she tucked it under one arm and multitasked, calling Ovidia with her free hand.
After a few rings, it went to voicemail. “Okay Vid, I am done packing up. I need to run these boxes to my place and then I will be over to help with your packing. I’ll grab Chinese and wine. See ya in a few.”
Teagan shoved her phone in the back pocket of her jeans and hoisted the box again. Opening her tiny trunk, she shoved the box in the back and climbed into the ca
r, revving the engine and reaching for her phone at the same time. She sat, motor idling for a few moments while she ordered Chinese for her and Vid. That chore done, she drove to her apartment, parking the car in front of her apartment. She jumped out and grabbed the box, running up to her place to drop it off and grab the wine to go with the takeout.
Britney Spears blared from her bag, and Teagan snatched up her phone in the middle of “Gimme More”.
“Teag where are you? I am starving and in serious need of your organizational skills—it looks like a fashion tornado hit my bedroom!”
“I’m on my way! I dropped the things from my office off at my place, and now I need to stop to grab the Chinese then I will be right there.”
“No need to stop, my neighbor Gerald mentioned he was going to the restaurant to pick up his dinner. I knew you had called in our order and he offered to bring ours as well. Just get here before I starve to death or have a heart attack from the stress of packing,” Ovidia said, causing Teagan to roll her eyes.
That’s Ovidia—all chaos and drama, she thought as she chuckled to herself.
Pulling up in front of the sleek modern building, Teagan stopped at the curb. Almost immediately, the doorman came out and opened the door. “Miss Faelyn, nice to see you again.”
“Thank you, Sean, you as well.” Depositing her keys in his hand for the valet to park, Teagan winked at him and headed into the building.
The building reflected Ovidia’s taste and personality—all flash and modernity—where Teagan’s building was old-world charm, more of a cozy book by the fire place.
Pushing the chrome button for the elevator, Teagan looked down at the fingerprint she left behind. Was it someone’s job to go around and polish all this chrome? Teagan chuckled at her wandering thoughts and pulled the swipe card out of her bag—Ovidia lived in one of two penthouse apartments on the top floor of the building which required a key.
Teagan stepped off the elevator into the hall between the two penthouses. The door to the one opposite of Ovidia’s opened and a handsome older man stepped out. “Hello Gerald, that was kind of you to pick up our food along with yours,” Teagan said, taking the bag from him.
“It was my pleasure. You ladies have a nice evening.” He smiled again as he returned to his apartment as she turned to the door to Ovidia’s.
Teagan paused, hand on the knob of the door, enjoying the last minute of peace before she entered Storm Ovidia. She had always been a terror when she had to pack to go somewhere, terrified that six pairs of Jimmy Choo sling-backs would not be enough.
Teagan looked down at her worn ballet flats; it really was strange they were such good friends. Ovidia had always been one for dress-up clothes and jewelry. When they were children, she had always told Teagan to get her nose out of a book and play with her. Ovidia was a conundrum, even then, like when she had wanted to play fashion ninjas where they dressed up fancy and kicked butt.
Teagan laughed at the memory as she pushed the door open to reveal Ovidia with her hands on her hips. “What took you so long?” She grabbed the bag of Chinese and the wine bottle from Teagan then turned around, chattering her way into the kitchen.
Ovidia’s penthouse matched the building: bold and splashy. A large red couch snaked its way around a massive living room, looked over by a huge modern painting in the Jackson Pollock style, all bold colors and drama. Chrome and glass tables held vases full of red roses, their scent perfuming the air.
Ovidia’s heels clicked loudly on the hardwood floor as she stopped and set the food down. She returned carrying two pair of onyx chopsticks, handing one set to Teagan and dipping into the Chinese with the other pair, a loud groan of appreciation escaping her lips.
Teagan smiled and more demurely picked up the other set of chopsticks then dug into her broccoli beef.
“Teag you are a lifesaver! I am sure I would starve to death and never get packed for this trip without you.”
“You would have muddled through without me and looked fabulous in London, as always, but I’m glad I am here to help.”
Ovidia’s face sobered. “Teag, you know I love you right? That is real, no matter what—I want you to know that.”
“Umm…okay. I wasn’t doubting your friendship because you asked me to bring you food and help you pack.”
“I know, I… Forget it, let’s get to packing!” The hand holding the Chinese carton in the air rose in a salute then Ovidia made her way to her bedroom and her monstrous closet.
What was that all about? Teagan thought to herself as she followed in Ovidia’s wake. Teagan soon forgot about the strange comment, immersing herself in her love of organization and, curbing Ovidia’s need to bring, “just one more pair, come on Teag!”
With Ovidia packed and ready to go, Teagan crawled back into her car and tried to stay awake as she drove the short distance home. Upon arriving, she could barely stay awake to climb the stairs and unlock the door. Taking her clothes off by the bed and slipping into the old t-shirt she slept in, Teagan was asleep almost before her head hit the pillow.
Chapter 3
“Teag, it’s your first visit to London—are you squirming with excitement?”
Teagan looked over at Ovidia and glared at her with tired eyes. “Yes Vid, I am very excited, but as you know, I am not a morning person, so ask me again in a few hours.”
Ovidia just smiled, taking another drink of her mimosa.
Who in the hell is that happy at 5 AM? Teagan thought to herself, grabbing her noise-canceling headphones and slipping them over her ears. The soothing sounds of Beethoven flooded in and Teagan closed her eyes, lulled to sleep by the music along with the slight vibrations from the plane. Teagan snapped awake as Ovidia put a sharp elbow to her ribs. “Ow Vid, what the hell?” Teagan rubbed her side as she glared at the happy face of her friend.
“Teag we are descending—you freaking slept the whole way here. You missed the lunch service and everything!”
Teagan sat up, blearily looking around at the other passengers who were gathering the items they had taken out during the flight. She had slept for seven hours? Sitting up a little straighter and looking out the window: she saw a sight that was familiar from pictures and postcards she had seen throughout her life, including Big Ben and the Eye. Teagan stared out at the landscape and, deep down, a small part of her took a sigh of relief at being home.
“Okay, so there is a driver that will be here to pick us up and take us to the hotel to meet your parents. We can unpack and freshen up, and then we can do some exploring!”
Teagan cringed at the enthusiastic tone of Ovidia’s voice. For Ovidia, exploring did not include all the historic sites Teagan longed to visit, but more of the history of shopping the different boutiques scattered all over the city. Teagan nodded wearily in her direction, just ready to get off the plane and get a bead on her surroundings. The two of them piled off the plane with the other passengers and found a man holding a sign that read Faelyn-Valkyrie.
Ovidia skipped over to him while Teagan lagged behind, still trying to clear the lingering fuzziness from her brain.
“Hello, we are Faelyn and Valkyrie. Let’s get this party started!” Ovidia exclaimed, showing the driver her passport and following him out to the waiting town car.
Teagan slid in next to her and the driver pulled out into the brisk traffic. Teagan craned her head to take in the sites that she had heard and read so much about. She could not wait to dig into the history, both ancient and recent. A Ripper walking tour was one of her top priorities; the idea of seeing the streets the killer had walked, where he’d stalked and killed his victims, gave her a thrill of anticipation. What would it have been like to see it in its prime?
“Teag, are you going to be this spacey the whole time?”
Teagan pulled herself back at the sound of Ovidia’s voice and realized they had arrived at their hotel. Shaking off the last remnants of sleep, Teagan responded, “No Vid, I’m just gawking and thinking about all the history here th
at is waiting for me to discover it.”
Ovidia rolled her eyes. “Of course, you are, now let’s go get settled and get some of that dusty history stuff out of the way so we can hit the club tonight! Think of all the sexy British men we will find!” Ovidia punctuated her statement with a wide smile and a flutter of her eyelashes, dragging a smile out of Teagan.
“I like the sound of dusty history stuff…” She said, laughing, when Ovidia turned around and gave her a narrow look. “I also like the sound of dancing with sexy British men.”
This brought out a dazzling smile on Ovidia’s face. “Tonight, we party, for tomorrow it is back to work for the both of us.” A shadow seemed to pass over Ovidia’s face for a moment and she gave Teagan an impromptu hug.
“Just remember Teag, we all love you very much.”
“Why do I feel like you guys have brought me to London to give me a death sentence?” Teagan said, only half joking as she and Ovidia were assisted out of car by their driver to make their way to the front desk.
“Welcome to the Savoy, ladies. How may I assist you,” the desk clerk asked in his crisp British accent, his fingers poised over his keyboard.
“We have reservations,” Ovidia said with a smile. “One room under the name Faelyn and one for Valkyrie.”
Upon hearing the names, the desk clerk stood up straighter. “Yes ladies, your suites are ready.” Reaching under the desk, he slid over two thick ivory envelopes, each with their name and room number handwritten. “The keys to your suites as well as pertinent information about the hotel. Your luggage has been taken to your suites. If there is anything we can help you with, please dial zero.”
“Thank you.” Ovidia took the cards and handed Teagan hers.
As they walked toward the elevators, Teagan took the time to take in the old-world elegance of the famous Savoy. Large crystal chandeliers spilled soft light onto the black and white checkered floor, and everywhere dark wood was reflected in elegant tables topped with fresh flowers in crystal bowls. “When should we meet up again? I only need about an hour to unpack and freshen up.” She smiled, knowing Ovidia would need more than an hour.