Chapter Fifteen
Ben groaned and opened his eyes, then rubbed his head.
Night had fallen.
How long had he been out? Fable.
He remembered her in the clutches of a man fitting the description of the man who was chasing her.
The culprit had found her.
He’d taken her.
Ben’s belly twisted and doubled him over where he lay crumpled against a boulder behind a stand of trees. He’d been away from her, just as he’d been away from his mother.
“Fable,”
he groaned out.
She was gone.
Into the future where he could not go.
He closed his eyes, unable or unwilling to rise to his feet, feeling the weight of an entire life without her. But wait–
He pulled himself to a sitting position.
Where was his horse? What force had flung him out of his saddle and into a boulder? What were those lights beyond the darkened treetops?
Rising to his feet, he squinted into the darkness of the forest.
But…it wasn’t so dark.
He could see high poles stuck into the ground.
On top of each pole was a lantern.
There was no flame, he realized as he walked under one.
Where was he? He didn’t recognize the trees.
These appeared in the dim light as though they had been planted intentionally in certain groups and in rows along a neatly paved road.
He wasn’t in a forest.
The tree line ended too abruptly just there, beyond another pole with a round lantern at the top.
He heard the blare of some kind of horn somewhere ahead.
He moved toward it and came to a short stone wall almost hidden by the thick bushes and tree trunks blocking it.
He jumped over it and landed on the other side on both feet.
Then backed up and fell on his arse when he looked around him.
It was chaos.
Mayhem.
Horseless carriages filled the streets in two rows.
One going one way and the other going the opposite way.
They looked more like giant, armored beetles with eyes that lit up the street.
Lights like the ones atop the poles. There were colored lights built into metal encasements and suspended in the middle of the streets. Green lights, yellow and then red lights. Red caused the metal beetles to slow their speeding and stop.
He watched while the opposite rows increased their speed when the lights turned green.
It was fascinating, mesmerizing.
The carriages moved with no outside help.
He finally tore his gaze away and looked up at the high structures taking every foot of the other side of the wide street.
He tilted his head to see the tops of the buildings.
They reached the heavens…and there were even taller fortresses in the distance.
His blood raced through his veins when he realized where he was.
The future.
Her future.
She was here! He’d followed her and made it through with her! Hope wasn’t lost! But where was she? How would he ever find her in the checkerboard rush of the future population?
“Fable,”
he said softly.
“Which way should I go?”
He looked at the other side of the street, and then looked back toward the small forest.
He glanced up and saw a sign high up on the same pole that housed the light.
110th Street/Central Park North.
North.
He remembered what Fable had told him about where she’d been before being taken back to the past.
46th Street and 9th .
If this was 110th Street, then he needed to go south. South was back through Central Park.
Wasting no time, he leaped over the short wall once again, this time, to enter the park, not leave it.
He ran away from the wall and the mayhem and went deeper into the woods.
While he ran, he wondered why the time-traveler brought Fable forward.
How did he pull her back without the pocket watch? What did he want with her? Ben prayed it was nothing nefarious.
But as the moments passed, he grew more anxious.
When he found them, and he would–he was going to kill the time-traveler.
He didn’t worry about getting back. He wouldn’t even think of home until he found Fable.
He hurried past gated enclosures of what appeared to be places to play for children, with swings and colorful climbing structures.
He kept going.
Thankfully, there were signs in the park that told him he was going in the right direction.105th Street.
103rd, 102nd…he kept going.
She might not be at 46th Street and 9th, but it was all he had to go on in a completely different world.
He broke through the park on 60th Street and 5th and kept going.
There were very few people around to stare at him while he ran.
He finally reached 49th Street when the sun began its ascent, casting the city in a golden-purple hue.
But when Ben stopped it was to stare at the maze of streets with tall buildings on every side.
He’d passed a cathedral with tall, jagged steeples, a building with hundreds of flags on poles jutting out of it.
It seemed a bit quieter here, with clear glass windows, clearer than he’d ever seen, without a hint of green.
He shook his head at himself, refusing to get caught up in the fascination of this place.
He had to get to 9th.
He turned in the direction of what he hoped was west, and hurried toward the wide road.
Were these the streets on which Fable had slept her whole life? He wondered how she got any sleep at all with all the lights.
The sky was starless but the city was bright like the day.
He’d seen giant words strung up in lights and flat, moving images of people tall as the buildings.
He felt a new wave of pity for her at having grown up here, right here on the noisy, bright, dangerous streets.
But when he found her, he wouldn’t let her know about his pity, lest she scold him.
He smiled at the thought of her.
Which way? Which way?
He stepped off the little edge, in a hurry to find her.
The blaring of a horn rang through his ears.
He turned and was blinded by a pair of lights.
He didn’t remember the carriage hitting him or anything else for three days while he lay in a hospital bed with a concussion and two broken ribs.
He learned dozens of new words, medical and non-medical, from the people who cared for him.
If the urgency to find Fable wasn’t driving him, he would have stayed around his hospital room marveling at all the different wonders of the twenty-first century, though his physicians and nurses told him it was his hard head that saved him when it hit the pavement.
His caregivers wanted him to stay to perform more tests, especially after he told them his name and date of birth.
But he had to leave the wondrous hospital and find Fable.
How? Even if she’d gone to her previous “home”
on 46th and 9th, it didn’t mean she was still there.
Chances were, she wasn’t.
He left the hospital, dejected and more than a little lost.
It had been night when last he walked in Fable’s future.
But now, the sun shone down on a sea of people walking to and fro with their faces bent to small, hand-held devices.
He’d never seen so many people–and none of them saw him despite his attire being a bit…outdated, and his face and form being a bit outstanding compared to the other men around him.
He’d been walking aimlessly and was surprised when he looked up to find that he’d gone the wrong way, taking a wrong turn somewhere and found himself on Madison Ave.
Madison.
Madison where? His left side hurt and made walking more strenuous. He removed his coat while he walked and wiped his brow with his sleeve. He stopped when he came to a crossing and looked out at all the–what had the physicians called them? Cars. He had to wait, along with a dozen other people, for the cars to stop before he could walk.
He looked up.
97th and Madison Ave.
He watched the image of a red human in a circle with a line through it flash from a small box affixed to a pole.
For the briefest of moments, he wondered how the people of this time shaped light in the image of a person.
His heart thumped.
Don’t walk.
Was he going the right way? He wanted to call out. How many people were in this city? Fable!
The light changed to a green human walking.
He stepped into the crossroads with the others.
Why was he moving this way? Was he simply following his feet? He looked into the distance.
He could see the next sign.
96th Street.
South-toward 46th. Right.
When he saw the small tavern-type of establishment on the corner of the street, he thought about having something to eat.
At the thought of something nourishing, his insides grumbled.
He wondered how a person paid for a meal here.
He checked the pockets sewn into his coat tossed over his arm.
He had a few coins, two guineas in gold, and some bank notes.
He doubted any of it was of use here.
Maybe the gold had some value. Could he get a meal for a little gold?
He made his way to the establishment and stepped inside.
Opening the door, a little chime sounded when he hit it with his head.
“Welcome to Tess' Diner.
How many? Ben stared blankly at the woman who greeted him.
“How many what?”
She tossed him a well-practiced smile.
“How many in your party?”
He thought about it for a moment then blinked. “One.”
“Right this way.”
Her tone softened, along with her gaze when she turned to have another look at him.
“Are you visiting the States or do you live here?”
He remembered Fable telling him about the country where she came from and the physicians confirming that the States was where they were.
“I’m visiting.”
She led him to a table near a window and handed him a certificate of sorts with lists of the foods they served.
He smiled at some of the descriptions and then remembered the only way he could pay.
“My lady,”
he said, “I’m afraid all I have to pay for my meal is this.”
He produced a guinea and held it up to her.
“It’s gold.”
“What’s it worth?”
she asked, holding it up to examine it.
“More than a meal, I suspect.”
She shrugged and handed it back to him.
“Today’s meal is on me.
Take this to Able’s Best Jewelry on 84th and Madison and tell him Bernie sent you.
He’ll tell you what it’s worth.
He’ll even buy it from you.
He’s very fair.”
“I can’t accept your gracious offer.
I will repay you for today’s meal.”
“Fine,”
she grinned at him.
“Have a look at the menu.
I’ll be back in five to take your order.”
He looked over the booklet, marveling over the colorful images.
Golden pancakes served with his choice of meat.
Something called Challah French Toast that looked especially appetizing in the image of it.
He touched it half-expecting to touch the food displayed.
There were a variety of eggs served with dozens of different side dishes.
Tea and coffee.
He was still looking everything over when she returned.
He told her what he chose; a three egg vegetable omelet.
“Would you like home fries or french fries with that?”
Ben gave her a curious look.
“Since I’ve never heard of either, I’ll have both.”
Her expression didn’t change while she wrote in a small pad with a quill-less quill.
He waited a moment.
She looked up and smiled at him.
“Hash, bacon, sausage, plant-based?”
He looked at her the same way the physicians and nurses had looked at him when he told them how he traveled here from the past.
“Plant-based…meat?”
She nodded but said nothing.
“I have never heard of hash or plant-based meat.
Is it any good?”
She nodded.
“I’ll bring you sausage. Hmm?”
He nodded his head.
“Oh, and could you direct me to your restroom?”
He was thankful for his brief hospital stay and for learning some twenty-first century words from the staff.
She pointed to a door to his right and then smiled when he rose to go to it.
He disappeared into the restroom as the chimes sounded over the front door.
#
Bernadette’s smile faded as she turned away and delivered the order to the chef.
She looked toward the patrons who had just entered the diner.
“Welcome to Tess' Diner.
How many?”
“We are not here to dine,”
said a man with a British accent.
Bernadette took in the sight of him in the same antique style of dress as the man in the bathroom.
He was older but just as handsome.
But it was the girl that captured Bernadette’s attention.
Fable Ramsey, what was she doing here with the Lt.
Colonel? Were they connected? Gran had told her a little about Fable.
Not why she was important, but that she needed to survive and that Bernadette should feed her when she could.
Bernadette found it to be a pleasure.
Fable was grateful for every thing.
Bernadette liked her. She looked around the diner now with the barest amount of interest. She wanted to be somewhere else. Her loose hair was painted in orange and red, splashed with bronze and traces of gold. It fell all around her shoulders, drawing every eye to her.
“I’m looking for someone,”
the man said.
Bernadette looked over her shoulder at the door to the restroom.
“Is the Renaissance Fair going on in the park?”
another customer asked the medievaly looking man after coming close and checking out his attire.
“Yes,”
Fable, who was dressed in modern clothes, answered.
“Near Belvedere Castle.”
Bernadette was finally able to greet Fable when the man interrupted them again.
“Dorothea West,”
he said, looking rather tortured.
“Is she employed here?”
When Bernadette began to shake her head, he continued quickly.
“I’m her husband, Richard West.
Lieutenant-colonel Richard West.”
At his introduction, the Fable Ramsey went still as death.
In fact, Bernadette asked her if she was all right.
The girl nodded but her stunned expression hadn’t changed.
“No, sorry,”
Bernadette said, turning back to the man.
“Your wife isn’t here.”
He went pale and gave her a stricken look.
“Are you certain?”
When Bernadette nodded, he turned to the girl.
But she was no help, staring into his eyes with tears in hers.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
she asked him in a soft voice.
Tell her what? Bernadette wondered.
What was it about her that was drawing the woman who was more than a waitress closer to her? Something—Bernadette wasn’t sure what it was, laid buried deep in Fable’s consciousness.
“Miss!”
the patron at table six called impatiently.
Bernadette nodded to him then turned back to the couple.
“Don’t go away.”
she said before hurrying to the customer at table six was waving his hand at her.
After she handed him his bill she returned to the renaissance man and the redhead, but they were gone.
To her right, the handsome patron who ordered the three egg omelet left the restroom and returned to his table.
Bernadette gave the front door a regretful sigh then looked around as if she expected someone to appear.
She lowered her voice.
“What’s this all about? I expected the Lieutenant Colonel, but why was Fable with him?”
Her gaze settled on the patron who’d just taken his seat again.
She considered his clothes, his British accent… “Does he have something to do with the man who just left?”
She hurried to bring his coffee and set it down before him.
“You look a bit pale,”
he noted.
“Are you unwell?”
“There was a guy in here a minute ago with clothes like yours,”
Bernadette answered.
Were they connected? And why hadn’t her gran filled her in on the extra details? “He had a sword–
“A sword?”
he asked, suddenly very interested.
“Was he alone?”
Bernadette shook her head.
“He was with Fable.
A girl I know.
He was asking me about–
The patron sprang to his feet, almost knocking over his table.
Yes.
There was definitely a connection between them.
“Where did they go?”
“They left, Please sit!”
she called out as he took off, leaving the chimes ringing.
She wanted to ask him if he knew Dorothea West.
“There is something I need to tell you.”
#
“Why didn’t you tell me the truth?”
Fable demanded again while she hurried to keep up with the traveler’s steps.
Oh, he couldn’t be Ben’s father, she lamented.
Ben’s father was killed–seventeen years ago.
“Now you know it,”
he replied impassively.
“But how?”
she asked, following him into a building on the other side of the street.
“I told you how.
The pocket watch brought us to the future–to this time.
Our disappearance, according to what you told me, was believed to have been caused by the Jacobites.”
“So you didn’t die,”
she said, following him into the lobby.
“We did not die,”
he agreed.
Fable thought she must be going mad.
Was any of this even real? No one ever proved to her that it was.
No one but Ben by making her fall in love with him.
Love was the proof.
And if it was all real, then this was the man who had written his last wish into his will.
A wish Ben might have granted out of his deep love for his father.
“Your alleged deaths put your son on a death-defying path.
He lives his life with regrets and guilt no little eleven-year-old boy should have experienced.
I think he misses your wife as much as you do.”
She sniffed and wiped her tears from her cheeks.
She didn’t realize that he stopped moving and turned to stare at her.
“I can’t imagine the joy you’ll bring him when he sees you and his mother alive.”
“You seem to know much about him.
Did he tell you these things?”
She nodded.
“He told me what you wrote in your will.
Don’t be so terribly disappointed, Your Grace.
You’ll be happy to know that your daughter is desperately trying to see that your will is done and making your son miserable in the process.
But your son loves you and without me there, he won’t deny your last wish.”
His gaze on her grew warm for an instant.
“Since I live, that is no longer my last wish.”
He turned away from her before she could ask him what he meant.
He walked up to the concierge and paused.
Fable hurried forward and grabbed his sleeve, stopping them from probably getting arrested.
“I wonder if you can help us,”
she said quickly, turning to the stern-faced, sixtyish-looking man behind the desk.
“Do you know the people who live here?”
“Of course,”
the concierge replied.
“Can you tell me if Dorothea West lives here? She may…”
Fable let go of Ben’s father and moved closer to the concierge “...go by another last name.”
The concierge typed something into his computer, waited a moment spent staring at Fable, then read.
He shook his head.
“No one here with that name or any other variation.”
His smile lingered on Fable until she cringed in her skin and turned away.
The lieutenant followed her out and to the other buildings in the four corners, checking everywhere for Dorothea.
No one knew of her.
When night came, Fable made enough for a cheap dinner from a nearby fast food place.
They walked to the park and sat on a bench to eat.
She picked at her fries and remained quiet while he scarfed down two burgers.
How could she eat when this man, this kidnapper, was Ben’s father? She almost laughed and turned away to cough into her hand instead.
Could it really be possible that his parents had traveled through time and have been lost ever since?
“Are you crying for him again?”
Lt.
Colonel West asked with a sigh.
“I’m crying for you,”
she told him truthfully, “striving to find her must have been very hard all these years.
But look, you did it.
She doesn’t live on the corner or work at that diner.
That doesn’t mean she won’t visit there.
That is where you were led, Lt..
I think we should stay around there and wait.”
“Very well,”
he answered without hesitation, and dug into his burger again.
Fable knew he had no other choice really.
His dreams hadn’t told him what to do if his wife wasn’t found immediately.
“But I’ll have you shed no more tears over me, do you understand?”
“I’ll cry for whom I please.”
“You are quite a belligerent little thing.”
“If your wife has spent seventeen years here, you better prepare for belligerence by the handful.”
Despite the sunset’s deep golden light, she caught his smile as he looked away.
Like a blanket of gloom covering her, she remembered this man’s wish for his son.
Now that he was alive, he would, no doubt, enforce it.
She shouldn’t help him, but he was the only way back to Ben.
Her stomach dropped.
Why would he bring her back to his son when he didn’t approve of her? She had begged for money in front of him, she’d shopped for thrift shop clothes, she slept with other homeless people without fear.
She didn’t want to know what he thought of her.
“Eat.”
He handed her half of his burger.
“You must keep up your strength.”
She took his offering when he shoved it at her.
He watched, waiting for her to eat.
She took a small bite and then another.
There.
She was sure of it.
He smiled at her with the fading sunlight in her eyes.
“What are you called, little one?”
“Fable.”
She decided not to tell him her last name since Lady Prudence had thought her a Jacobite because of it.
The lieutenant-colonel studied her with his smile deepening with amusement.
“Fable, I can see why my son has been enchanted by you.”
Funny, his daughter had said the same thing to her.
Was that all it was? Ben was charmed by her? It would fade.
Love lasted.
It lasted seventeen years without a shred of evidence that Dorothea West even lived.
She could give up, jump over the wall and disappear inside the park.
Let the Lt.
Colonel and his wife return to Ben without her.
But she didn’t believe she was no good for Ben.
She didn’t believe he’d be happy if she left him and stayed here.
Alone.
To die alone.
Giving up was not an option.