The History Channel

by S G Read

  ‘Nary a one, but I guess we are going to find out, one way or the other. She was dead once because of you and now she is alive, I would be dead if it were not for my friends but that was all your fault as well. Making this door, portal, opening, whatever you want to call things has changed things but how much more it will change things, we will find out, unless you are going to turn it off for good?’ James answered.

  ‘I did consider that but only if I was turned down when I asked for Sarah’s hand in marriage. If I do marry her she will certainly want to go into the future and explore, so all things considered I think I will go back and ask them.’

  ‘Mind if I tag along, there is likely to be a party afterwards.’ James asked.

  ‘Come if you like, you seem pretty sure they will say yes.’ William answered.

  James said no more but Goliath had overheard Gus and him talking about it and admitted that he was expecting Sarah to say something about it. She was not as reserved as a young Victorian lady should be.

  William hailed a taxi and they were soon on their way back to the flat. William disappeared through the television and James followed after a few seconds. He followed William across Tooley Street. When they walked into the tavern, James sat down at their usual table, while William chose to walk through to the kitchen where Mary was working. He nodded to Goliath as he walked past him and Goliath poured James a pint, took it over to the table, then followed him into the kitchen. William waited until Goliath walked in before he spoke. Mary saw him and stopped cleaning, she was still standing with the cloth in her hand when Goliath arrived.

  ‘You know I admire Sarah and have done for some time, she is seventeen now and I come seeking your permission to ask for her hand in marriage.’ William announced.

  Goliath waited for Mary to speak.

  ‘I know she likes you William but as to her marrying you, you will have to ask her yourself, she is very headstrong, not like a young lady at all. What do you think Husband?’

  ‘I think he should ask her and then we will know what she thinks.’ Goliath answered.

  ‘Yes.’ Sarah exclaimed from the doorway.

  All three turned to look at her.

  ‘Yes?’ William asked.

  ‘Yes.’ Sarah answered.

  William looked at Mary then Goliath.

  ‘Shall I ask her then?’ He asked.

  ‘I think you just did.’ Mary answered.

  ‘I pictured myself doing it slightly different when I thought of it.’ William admitted.

  ‘I said she was headstrong, you will have you hands full when you are married.’ Mary reminded him.

  ‘I find that a plus rather than a minus,’ he walked over to where Sarah stood, ‘so when do we get wed then Sarah?’

  ‘As soon as possible, William.’

  William Kissed her, this time on the lips, the first time he had done so.

  ‘I warn you I want children.’ He said as they parted.

  ‘So do I William, I have a lot to teach them and to show them.’ Sarah answered.

  ‘We will have to talk about that later, Sarah.’

  ‘Do we get to celebrate now?’ James asked from behind them.

  ‘We do.’ Goliath agreed.

  William and James spent another night in the tavern, slumped on a bed upstairs. James had no idea what a Victorian wedding was like so he found Gus in the morning to ask him what to expect. Was it to be a church wedding or something different, if there was something different.

  ‘It has to be in a church doesn’t it?’ Gus answered.

  ‘I have no idea, I have not seen one yet but that is about to change.’ James answered. ‘I just thought I should find out what is expected.’

  William arrived. He had heard some of what James had asked.

  ‘Is it going to be a big church wedding?’ He asked.

  ‘Ask Mary, better still ask Sarah what she wants.’ Gus suggested.

  ‘That worries me.’ William admitted.

  ‘Tell me about it, you never know what to expect from her, she does come out with some strange things some time and she spends a lot of time with that inventor who lives down the road.’ Gus declared. ‘I did wonder why she was helping him when she had the time.’

  ‘She is interested in his idea of horseless carriages.’ William explained.

  ‘What am I supposed to do if they have horseless carriages?’ Gus complained.

  ‘Well you don’t have to feed your horse anymore so you can sell Bella and rent out your stable.’ William answered.

  ‘Sell Bella,’ Gus spluttered, ‘she is one of the family.’

  ‘Well horseless carriages, by their name won’t need horses.’ William explained.

  ‘A pipe dream if you ask me.’ Gus mumbled.

  For William it was the start of a new era, he was looking forward to marrying his Victorian bride and settling down to married life in the nineteenth century. He had money and had no need to work, as long as he spent some time in the twenty first century to keep abreast of the next sports results. That way, when he returned to the nineteenth century, he could add to his fortune to make sure he could live a good life and his children could have the best education being offered, even if he did it himself.

  Sarah and Mary started going out during the days to find things to go toward the wedding, Sarah wanted a dress that was out of this world and she had seen twenty first century wedding dresses. Mary found it hard work to get the dress maker to make something Sarah liked but she was going to make sure Sarah had the dress she wanted. She wanted the wedding to be over with before the new baby was born.

  William was not allowed anywhere near Sarah so he ended up working in the tavern when he was in the nineteenth century. Goliath was glad of the help as Gus was taking Sarah and Mary wherever they wanted to go. The tavern was getting busier and busier as Mary had changed things inside to draw the customers inside and it was working.

  For William the wedding could not come soon enough, even if it was only because he wanted to stop working in the tavern every day, to help out Goliath. They still had to decide on a time and place for the wedding, even that had not been decided yet. William was not worried about cost, he just wanted Sarah to be happy. He knew it would be difficult for Sarah to settle down to married life in the nineteenth century and when they had children she would have her visits to the twenty first century cut dramatically. There was no way they could take their children into the future, while they were young, they would not be able to keep it a secret like Sarah could.

  When Sarah and Mary returned they did not stay downstairs, they hurried upstairs with Gus following loaded down with the things they had bought. A few minutes later Gus came back down for a drink and something to eat, they had worn him out.

  ‘Do you want to drive the chaise tomorrow, Goliath,’ he asked idly, ‘it would get you out of the tavern and into the fresh air?’

  ‘The answer is no,’ Goliath answered, ‘I am a man behind the bar, not a cabby, it will soon be all over Gus.’

  ‘I hope so, Goliath, they are wearing me down.’

  William was pleased, he knew there was no way he would be allowed to drive the chaise with Sarah and Mary in it. Gus could not ask him and he knew it. He carried on cleaning the bar without saying a thing but his face said it all.

  A week later they set the date for the wedding, they had also chosen the church. William had thought about causality and interfering with time lines but he loved Sarah and that was the deciding factor. It had not been love at first sight for either of them but as they grew to know each other they fell in love, without letting the other know how they felt.

  With the date set it was time for William to go out and buy a suit for the wedding, this time it was the girls turn to run the tavern while the men went out. William not only bought a suit for himself but also bought suits for Goliath and Gus. He wanted them to look their best on his big day, whether they wanted to wear a suit, or not.

  Unlike the girls, when the suits wer
e finished they walked into the tavern wearing them. The girls were impressed and that pleased both Goliath and Gus. They were still sent upstairs to change as soon as the girls had looked at them closely. Mary wanted them clean for the wedding.

  Chapter 11

  The day of the wedding arrived and William was sent from the tavern, to make sure he did not see Sarah in her wedding dress. He walked round to his house and started to dress, Gus arrived to do the same, as he was the best man. William had pondered for a long time who he should ask to be the best man and in the end he asked James about it. Goliath was going to give the bride away so he was off the list of possible contenders but it still left Gus and James. James chose to let Gus do it, just in case someone wrote it down and his name ended up in a book in the nineteenth century. He was worried about changing time lines as well, as he had been part of a redundant time line. He could still remember nothing about it, even though by now he knew all about it. It was a strange feeling.

  Gus and William changed and then Gus hailed a cab as Goliath was using the chaise to take the girls to the church. William wondered if the wedding would be the same as Goliath’s and Mary. He was about to find out, although they had talked to the vicar at the church they were to attend but it was not a dry run, like they seemed to have in the twenty first century, just a talk with the vicar to find out what the order of the service was and where William should stand during the service. When Goliath wed he did not take a lot of notice of where the big man stood.

  The cab arrived at the church before Goliath and the girls did. William took up his position with Gus by his side. He was told not to look to the back of the church in case he saw Sarah as she came in. Gus looked for him and tapped his arm when he saw goliath at the back of the church, he knew that Sarah had to be there as well, unless she had changed her mind. That was one worry that would not go away. But he had no need to worry, Sarah wanted this wedding as much as he did.

  From then on it was as if William was in a dream and he feared he would wake before they were married. The vicar was very fond of his own voice and droned on but even he had to finally pronounce them man and wife. William was now looking forward to the gathering at the tavern and the night, which would follow. Like a good Victorian, he had had no intimate moments with Sarah at all. Tonight he hoped to change all that but there was always the chance that their children alone would change the future, as, by rights, they should never have existed.

  They walked out of the church together and Gus drove them back to the tavern while Mary and Goliath travelled back in the other cab. James was riding a horse back, it was something he had always wanted to do, and doing it in the nineteenth century was even better. Goliath had hired two people to look after the tavern during the wedding and to help in the tavern during the celebration, as he intended to enjoy himself. They had prepared the tables and they cooked the food to coincide with the arrival of the wedding party and the guests. For William the celebration was like any reception he had been invited to, with the exception that he was the bride this time. Goliath stood up and spoke of his happiness, he was also glad that William had seen fit to hire Mary as a cleaner. Without that he might not be married to Mary now and who knows what could have happened to Sarah where they lived before.

  William reflected on that, without seeming to try, he really had changed history, or was it possible that Mary would meet Goliath some other way, after all it was Goliath who suggested that he hired her. Had he changed less than he thought he had, the twenty first century had not seemed to suffer because of it, would it now?

  Gus stood up and spoke but he was not a man of many words, he passed the buck and James stood up. They had colluded and James had a speech prepared. He made it a proper best man’s speech but without dishing up too much dirt. He did thank him and the other two for their timely intervention when he had been a captive. He gave no more details than the story which had been told before, not mentioning the house where the perpetrators were buried.

  Like all celebrations there was dancing, some tables were moved to make room and musicians took their cue from that and started to play. William took Sarah’s hand and led her onto the floor. They danced the first dance together and then Mary and Goliath joined them, followed by the other guests. James sat watching but a woman who was all alone invited him to dance with her. He accepted and they danced together on and off all evening and into the night. It was the start of a new friendship, she was a widow and he was a widower and they were to become an item.

  That night Gus drove William and Sarah to the house William had bought earlier and William carried Sarah over the threshold. He did not know if that was done in Victorian times but he did it. Sarah laughed and ran upstairs, she had her man and she intended to enjoy her wedding night. William followed at a respectful speed, he had never seen Sarah naked or she him but that was about to change.

  When he finally dressed the next morning he took the time to investigate his house fully, something he had not done since he moved in. There was a cellar and he walked down the stairs into it to see what it was like. With a little work it could be made into a proper study and if he bought the same house, or whatever was on the site in the twenty first century and made sure there was a corresponding cellar, he could install the larger television in the cellar and travel to and fro when he wanted to without leaving the house.

  ‘If I buy a the house on this piece of land, I can make sure there is a door to the future in the cellar, we will just have to make sure we keep it locked when we have children running about.’ He announced when Sarah joined him in the cellar.

  ‘After last night I can believe we might manage a child or two husband,’ she answered, ‘and before they are here you can show me the world in and at any time I want to visit.’

  ‘I think we will stay out of the Jurassic era though Sarah, I don’t want you eaten.’ William replied.

  ‘I wonder how Marge is.’ Sarah mused.

  ‘It is hard to know without going back and looking, we interfered once, should we do it again?’

  ‘James did the interfering.’ Sarah retorted.

  ‘But would either of us have not done the same?’

  ‘Then I would have wanted to but I would have been unable, now that James has taught me to fire the rifle I might.’ Sarah answered.

  ‘Is that why you asked him to teach you?’

  ‘Oh yes, if anyone is in trouble now and I can do something about it, I will.’ Sarah explained. ‘You rescued James with Goliath and Gus but my day will come.’

  ‘I do believe it will. If I do get myself into trouble I won’t have to worry, you will come to my rescue.’

  ‘If I can get someone to mind the children,’ Sarah replied with a smile, ‘talking of children shall we go upstairs again, before we go house hunting in the future?’

  William did not argue so it was an hour later when they walked down to the, now, fully repaired house, by the tavern and climbed through into the flat. They used the shower and then changed before they went house hunting. They had to pinpoint the exact spot the house was on and then either use what was there or have a house built to their specifications. It had to have a cellar and it had to be exactly in the right place or it would have to be knocked down and rebuilt in a different location and William was hoping to avoid that happening.

  They spent several hours in the area their house was in without coming to any conclusion, the house they lived in the nineteenth century no longer existed but to work out exactly where it stood was not an easy task. To take satellite positioning equipment through would be a waste of time as there were no satellites yet.

  It took several journeys and lots of measuring before they worked out what was in place of the house, it was a road, now they had to move, to make the plan possible. The next time they went through into the future they had a list of possible houses to see if any of them were still there. They travelled from place to place looking for the right house and finally found it but it was a short ride fr
om Tooley Street. It was the place they wanted so now all he had to do was to persuade the owner that he wanted to sell, that he did by offering a price that the man would be a fool to turn down and the man was no fool.

  It pleased Sarah when William returned with the news that the offer had been accepted but the man and his family had to find somewhere new to live, that took time. William allowed them a month than the price he offered would be no longer available. He returned to the twenty first century and started negotiations for the house in the twenty first century. It was already up for sale and in need of a great deal of repair but William made sure he bought it.

  The people in the house in the nineteenth century, moved within two weeks and William and Sarah were able to walk into their new home. The first port of call was the cellar so that William could see what work had to be done, to make it into a study. It had to be comfortable as he would seem to be down there sometime if he wanted to go through to the twenty first century, it did not matter with Sarah above but if they had visitors and she needed to fetch him, it would look odd if the cellar was uninhabitable.

  A month later they moved in, all the work had been completed by George Yeoman and the cellar was just how William wanted it. They took possession of the same house three weeks later but in the twenty first century. James moved the television to the new house in the twenty first century and they were able to walk through into the nineteenth century two hours later. Now they were ready to live life how they wanted to.

  William dealt with things in both centuries and Sarah went with him until she became ill, she went to see Mary, when William did not know what was wrong with her. Mary just smiled.

  ‘You are going to have a baby.’ Mary explained.