3. Chapter 3
Chapter 3
“ W ell, butter my butt.” Emily’s lips spread in a wide smile, and she gave her three-times-great-grandfather a tight hug. “It really is you! Does that mean …”
“I fixed the watch,” Will squeezed out and freed himself of the hug. Judging by how his eyes danced, he was just as happy to see her as she was.
“You did? Of course you did, or you wouldn’t be here. How? When? And how did you find me?” She cocked her head to the side. “You don’t look much older. Maybe a few years. Gramps, why did you leave me hanging for so long? You could’ve shown up a day after DC—hell, you could’ve shown up in DC—”
“Calm down.” He took her hand and led her across the street. As they walked, he continued, “It’s been four years for me. I hadn’t found a way to fix the watch until a few days ago. When I did, I realized it was better to give you some time to breathe. I caused much trouble for you, in school and at home. I wanted to contact you at a time when I’d be less of a distraction. ”
“You know you’re not a distraction. Well, not a bad kind of a distraction.” In fact, he couldn’t have chosen a better time. It’s as if he knew what she needed most—that part of her life back. Time travel. “So why now? How did you know I’m in Boston?”
“You told me.” Will bobbed his head. “You will tell me.”
Emily smiled. “I missed time travel manipulations.”
Will gave a bashful quirk of the lip. “I was hoping I could ask you something.”
“If that’s your hope, who am I to squash it?”
A laugh finally broke through for him. “Have you had a good year, Emily? I know I’ve left you in some disarray. I didn’t even get to explain everything.”
“Don’t worry, I’m all good. See, I even moved up North so I can follow my Yankee roots.”
Will stopped in confusion.
“I’m pickin’ with you, Gramps. I just hitched a ride with Sarah because she’s staying with her grandma, and I could use being away from my aunt. I’m going to college in the fall, and she’s a little … intense about it.”
“No harm done?”
“None by you.”
“Good. Because that wasn’t the question. Well, it was, but the real one is—do you think you could come back with me?”
“To your time?” Her heart skipped a beat. Could this be true—an adventure? She’d lost count of how many times she’d dreamed of exploring some other place and time. Once the bad side of DC faded—the memories of being trapped, of thinking she’d never get out—she realized how much she missed time travel and how much she wanted to do it again. Any time, anywhere .
Okay, maybe not the dinosaurs. That would be terrifying. And not any time that included the plague.
“Yes,” Will said. “And here, to Boston.”
“So that’s why you found me here!” She stopped and put her hands on her hips. “It was convenient for you.”
“It is. But also for you. Will you deny it?”
“No, I guess not.” She resumed walking. It was rather nice of him—a whole lot better than saying, “Listen, I’ve got a great adventure waiting for us, but you have to fly to Australia first.”
“I brought you a new almonite barrel.” Will opened his jacket—the same old-fashioned one she remembered, though it filled his shoulders better now—and showed an almonite bag, empty save for an outline of a small, sharp object. “Do you have your watch with you? I can replace it right away.”
Emily pulled it from the pocket. At Will’s raised eyebrow, she said, “You never know when I’m gonna need it. Like right now.”
“Then let’s find a place where I can fix it.”
“And it will work? For real?”
Will hesitated. “There is a catch. The new almonite barrels only last for a few trips. One to three, as I’d found out in testing. It is slightly inconvenient, but I can make you a supply.”
“A supply of almonite barrels? You know, made from the material that doesn’t exist anymore?” She narrowed her eyes. “Gramps, what’s going on?”
“A lot,” Will admitted with a heavy sigh. “I think it’s best if I show you.”
By the time Will had fixed Emily’s watch and showed her a good place to travel to the past—a nook between two houses on a street near where Fenn lived—it was late, and she had to get back to Sarah to avoid suspicion or worry. Luckily, her friend believed Emily would have to pay another visit to the old cat lady tomorrow.
Emily was jittery from expectations throughout the next day, constantly checking for the watch in the pocket of her shorts. Funny, how even without time stopping, the minutes and hours could drag like molasses. She itched to try traveling but didn’t dare to, in case her false almonite piece would only last for one trip.
By the time she made it to the designated travel place, the sun was casting long shadows over the row of houses. The street was quiet, save for an occasional stroller or cyclist who paid Emily no attention. She slipped into the nook and dragged her old traveling clothes—a loose shirt and baggy pants—over her regular clothes. Then she sat down and put her Converse shoes into the bag Will had brought for her.
Finally ready, she brought out the watch. Did it feel different? Like it was alive again. She opened it and gently slipped over the delicate hands. So many times in the previous year, she’d randomly tried the sequence, just in case something had changed overnight and the watch was working again. It never did.
Until now.
Emily checked her phone for the calculations, adjusted for this day and the date Will told her to go to—June 17, 1889. Her fingers tingled as she performed the well-known procedure. Wind up the watch. Set the hands. Pull the crown up … She closed her eyes and breathed in, a sliver of fear from all the failed attempts still remaining. But this time, she wasn’t counting on a magical overnight solution. This time, it would work.
She snapped the crown down .
For a breathless second, she waited. The tingling in her fingers spread, changing to a gentle vibration, intensifying—an invisible force hit her forehead—and snap !
Emily opened her eyes to a brand new world. The two houses still towered on each side of her, but the glimpse of the road showed paving, not concrete, and the air smelled grimy and smoky, with just the hint of horse manure.
Ah. I’d missed the horse manure.
Outside the nook, someone moved, shadowing the light. “Emily?”
She put on her shoes, stood up, and shook her body as if preparing for a run. Legs—work. Arms—work. Brain—as good as it gets. “Hey, Gramps.” She stepped into the light and checked her guard. Something about Will was different. The clothes! She’d never seen him in his casual clothes in his time. A shirt with a gray tie, a striped black vest, black pants, and a gray twill jacket—he didn’t look bad at all.
“You’re staring,” he said.
“You didn’t have to dress up for me.”
“I didn’t—” He shook his head. “You’re teasing me again, aren’t you?”
“I’m getting predictable. I’ll have to change my tactics.”
He looked down. “What are those?”
“My shoes.” She wiggled her feet. “I’m not wearing yours until y’all realize your shoes should differentiate between the left and right foot.”
Will lifted an eyebrow. “We already do.”
“Oh. Well, then, it’s a fashion choice.” She cleared her throat. “Now, where to?”
He smiled. “My lodgings aren’t far. Come.”
Will resided in a townhouse one street over. He’d gone quiet and moved silently once he’d unlocked the door, and as per an unspoken agreement, Emily stayed quiet, too, as she followed him up the narrow staircase.
He opened the first door in the hallway upstairs and let her into a quaint bedroom, perfect for the morning light. A neatly made single bed occupied one wall, a dresser the other, and a slightly worn writing desk was positioned by the window.
Emily inspected a row of toilet items—a comb, a few cans, shaving soap—arranged on top of the dresser. “Your room?”
“Yes. I brought you some clothes, so you’ll need privacy.”
Privacy from whom? Did he have roommates?
“They’re nothing special, but they’ll do.” He pointed at the heap of clothing on the bed.
“So you live in Boston now?”
“I’m starting work on a research team at Boston Tech soon. So, yes, I’m staying here for the foreseeable future.” He grimaced. “Not that I have personally seen the near future.” He moved back to the door, a whole three steps. “I’ll let you change.”
Left alone, Emily examined the clothes he’d gotten for her. A simple charcoal skirt, a cream-colored blouse, and an undershirt. She happily exchanged the latter two for the itchy almonite shirt but dragged the skirt on over the pants, since her underwear was nonexistent. The skirt looked decent enough, even if it draped a bit weirdly in the back.
Five minutes later, a soft knock sounded, and Will entered at her summons. He crossed over to the writing desk and set down a wooden box. Emily came to stand by him as he opened the box and revealed a brass object the size and shape of an ostrich egg. A flattened bottom allowed it to sit on the desk. Emily leaned down and squinted at it. “Cute? ”
Will flipped a latch on the side and rotated the egg, splitting it into a bottom and top half. The inside of the bottom hosted an intricate mechanism, not unlike that of a pocket watch, with a cylinder-shaped mold in the center. The top had several covered radial compartments, meeting at a blueish-black metallic ball in the middle.
“Oh, Gramps, what did you make now?”
“I didn’t make it,” Will said. “This device is based on a Watchers’ design from the eighteenth century. They called it the Alembroth Essentic Diffictor.”
“The wha—you know, never mind. What does it do?”
“The intention was self-repair of almonite barrels. Instead of turning them over to the Science division, the members could do it themselves. The device would recycle the existing barrel and make a new one. The process didn’t work as intended, though, and there were concerns about how safe it was. Eventually, they disassembled them.”
“And yet one of them is here.”
“Not quite. This is a new model with a slightly different function. It can create almonite barrels.” Will met her eyes. “From nothing.”
“Oh.” Emily peered closer, her nose almost touching the device.
“The key, I think, is in this ball. The secret ingredient. The rest is simple. You add a few chemical substances to the compartments here.” He pointed around the ball. “Close the device, pull the trigger, and let the chemical reactions do their thing. And you have a new almonite barrel. Well, a substitute for almonite.”
Emily looked at him and smiled. “Fauxmonite?”
The corner of his mouth twitched. “I suppose. ”
“That’s awesome! Sure, it’s not ideal that it has a limited number of uses, but you can make me a bunch of them.” Her smile spread wider. “Looks like time travel is back on the menu.”
“Well, it’s not that sim—” Will twitched, glancing at the door. Outside, the stairs creaked. “She’s awake. Come.”
“She? Awake?” Emily followed Will to the hallway. “Who’s she? What’s going on?” Down the stairs. “I see you’re still as mysterious as a teaser trailer.”
He stopped in front of a door. “She doesn’t know anything about time travel, so be careful. Other than that, follow my lead,” he whispered, pressing the door in.
Emily had no time to rant about the lack of information. With a hand on her back, Will led her into a small, cramped living room. Soft, if worn carpet; a few half-filled bookshelves, and mismatched chairs and sofas wherever one could fit them. On one of them sat a young woman about Emily’s age, with a round freckled face and fiery red hair. Her petite form was clad in a dark brown velvet jacket with a high collar embellished with bronze lace, and an artfully draped skirt in a floral pattern of browns, reds, and oranges.
Will didn’t have to worry Emily would say something wrong—she simply didn’t know what to say.
“Emily, this is Lady Sylvia Ross,” Will said. “Lady Ross, as I’ve mentioned before, this is Emily Willburne.”
The woman stood and gracefully extended her hand. “Pleasure, Miss Willburne,” she said in the poshest accent Emily had ever heard. And yet, as her eyes slipped over Emily, she didn’t sound that pleased.
Emily blinked, dropped her jaw, blinked again, then finally remembered to shake the woman’s hand. “Uh … howdy? ”
Lady Ross’ elegant eyebrows drew together in the smallest of frowns. “May I ask, what is your pedigree?”
“My what now?” Emily looked from her to Will, and back. “I’m not a dog.”
Will cleared his throat. “Miss Willburne is my cousin. Our families might not be prominent, but I assure you, she’ll make a suitable companion.”
“Com—companion?” Emily looked at Will. “Gram—ahem, cousin , would you mind explaining?”
Will gestured for all of them to sit. “Lady Ross owns the device.”
“Eggy is hers?”
“If you are pertaining to the egg-shaped object, then yes,” Lady Ross said. “Or rather, my husband’s. But I will allow Mr. Marshall to take possession of it as long as he delivers me to my brother.”
“I’ve had a long day—”
“It’s ten in the morning, Miss Willburne.”
“Treat me as if I’ve had a long day.” Emily turned to Will. “And explain really simply.”
“Lady Ross came to Boston with her husband. He had some business, she wanted to visit her brother. Unfortunately, there has been a situation with the husband, and Lady Ross is … on the run,” Will said. “She doesn’t feel safe alone. So we’ll accompany her to her brother, and then we get the device.”
There was obviously more to it, but Emily knew how Will worked—he’d explain when the time came. She nodded and gave him a conspiratorial wink. Then his words caught up to her. “Wait. That brother guy—”
“James, Lord Haverston,” Lady Ross corrected her in a clipped tone.
Emily snorted. “Who names a kid Jameslord? ”
“Lord Haverston is the title,” Will murmured under his breath.
“My brother is the eighth viscount Haverston,” Lady Ross continued, blue eyes scrutinizing Emily. “You’re rather dark.”
Emily stared at her, mouth agape. She thought she was getting the hang of Will’s speech, but this girl—
“She means your tan,” Will whispered to her.
“My tan ? The thing I got from the sun? You know, the large bright ball in the sky?” Actually, looking at Lady Ross’ ghostly complexion, she wasn’t sure she did know. “You should try it sometime. It’s pretty beneficial.”
“Can’t be that beneficial if that is the result.”
Emily attempted to rise from her seat, but Will pulled her back down. “I understand you’re tired and … upset from your journey, cousin,” he said, then turned to Lady Ross. “She’s just arrived from Georgia, and they lost her luggage on the train.”
Emily silently fumed. Why did she need reprimands when Miss-Posh-Judgemental-Lady was the one with the insults?
Relax. Will said she owned Eggy, and they needed it, so probably he didn’t want to upset her. Which led her back to the point—
“The brother—if he’s in Boston, why are you making such a fuss about it?” Emily turned to Will. “Couldn’t you accompany her yourself?”
Will shifted in his seat uncomfortably. “That is the issue. I’ve spent the last three days searching for him. After following all the leads and tracking down the former landlady of the boardinghouse where he should’ve resided, I found out he had left. A while ago. For Denver.”
“Den—” Emily stood and yanked Will to his feet, then dragged him to the door. “If you’ll excuse us, Lady,” she threw over her shoulder. Out in the hallway, she slammed the door shut. “Gramps, I thought we had this cleared up. I can’t hop planes across the country willy-nilly. Do you know where Denver is?”
“There will be no such issues this time,” Will said. “I do not require you to travel in your time. In fact, the very nature of the job requires you to do it here. You’ll travel with me. And Lady Ross.”
“Lady—are you insane? No, wait. You’re not. But she is! Did you hear the words coming out of her mouth?”
“Like her or not, if we want to get Eggy, we’ll be traveling together.”
“You don’t have to phrase it like that. Of course, I don’t like her.” She glanced toward the closed door. “But at least it’s mutual.”
Will sighed.
“So, you want me to come with you, in this time, all the way to Denver?”
“It’s not that bad. The journey by train will only take a few days and is relatively comfortable.”
“Oh. Okay.” Maybe she could survive with Lady Ross for a few days. She just needed some earplugs.
That, or plug her mouth.
“And that’s it? We find that guy, and we’re done?”
Will nodded. “And we have the device, and I can make you as many almonite pieces as you need. For now, I have one spare. It will allow you to go back and bring with you a few supplies you might want on the journey. I’ll make you more once we’re in Denver.”
“Can’t we wait and make more here? Or on the road? What if I have to time travel?”
“It’s best you don’t. When you’re outside your lifetime, time travel works differently for you. If you try to travel even just a bit back or forward—to any other time outside of your lifetime—you’ll get thrown back to your present. ”
“Back to where I’m currently unconscious in Boston?”
“Exactly. Which means if you do it while on the road, or in Denver…”
“I’ll have to make my way to you by myself, again. Not ideal.”
“There’s no need to worry,” he said. “I don’t think any time travel will be required during the mission.”
Emily swung her head left and right. “Yeah, we just need to get to Denver. And if anything is required, you can do it, right?”
Will coughed as if he had a scratchy throat. “Yes. Anyway, the device needs to be stable while the procedure commences, and it takes over a day to make one. That eliminates making the barrels on the train. And I’d like to get Lady Ross out of Boston as soon as possible.”
“Why? Is she such a menace to the city?” Emily snickered. “Someone threatening to throw the tea into the harbor?”
Will remained serious. “Her husband killed someone. Over the device.”
“Oh.”
“Emily.” Will grabbed her by the shoulder. “It’s imperative he doesn’t get the device back. Once we fulfill our part of the bargain, we can figure out what he intended to do with it. But first, we must make sure she is safe, and the device is in our hands.”
“But what could he do with Eggy? Produce hundreds of almonite barrels so people could time travel again? We’re gonna do that for us. It’s not exactly world domination.”
“I can’t trust any man who’d kill over time travel technology. I assume Ross had a meeting scheduled in Boston with people who used to be Watchers or know of them. Lady Ross says he’s a scientist, a member of the Royal Society in London—they’d even given him a title for his achievements. He’s likely too young to be a Watcher, but he could have heard of them. And if he crossed the ocean with the device, if someone here contacted him, or he contacted them, that means something is brewing. Another, likely former member, found out about it and confronted Ross. Ross killed him.”
“And you know all of that? Or are you just filling in the blanks?”
“I know how they were.” Will’s voice was an urgent whisper. The words and the intent look in his eyes were enough. Of course, he knew. His mother almost died because of Watchers’ conspiracies.
“Okay. We’ll do it. We’ll go to Denver, we’ll get the device, and show them bad guys who’s the real boss. And I’ll play chaperone to Her Majesty in there, even though I’m the least appropriate person for it.”
“Thank you.”
“You don’t have to thank me, Gramps. Saving our family is my business.” Emily squared her shoulders, nodded to Will, and opened the door. “All right, Lady,” she said as she strode in. “You’ve got yourself a companion. Let’s get this show on the road.”