36
CECILY
Finn. Alive. The chapel ruins. His arms around her, his mouth on hers. It had all been real.
Cecily woke with the phantom taste of his kiss on her lips. He was coming for her. They would take the machine, he’d promised, and vanish where Julian could never find them. All she had to do was survive the waiting.
The morning passed slowly. Cecily tried to focus on the seamstress who came to adjust her wedding gown, standing still while the woman pinned and tucked the blue silk.
Her uncle stopped by to tell her Julian would visit in a few days to finalize arrangements.
She nodded, smiled, and said all the right things.
All the while, her mind was elsewhere. With Finn. Wondering if he was working on the machine right now. Wondering how long it would take him to fix it.
By afternoon, restlessness had taken hold. She walked the halls, looked out every window that faced the path to Malethurst Hall. There was no sign of him. No message.
She told herself to be patient. He needed time to repair the machine, but doubt was harder to silence than she expected. What if something had happened? What if Finn had changed his mind?
She was standing at the solar window when she heard a carriage. Her heart leapt. But when she looked down, it wasn’t Finn. It was Isabel.
Cecily hurried downstairs. Isabel was already in the hall, speaking to Uncle Stephen. She looked pale and drawn. When she saw Cecily, she looked like someone who had come to deliver bad news and hadn’t yet decided how.
“Lady Isabel,” Stephen was saying. “What a pleasant surprise. Will you stay for the evening meal?”
“No, thank you. I need to speak with Cecily. Privately, if I may.”
Stephen looked between them, then nodded. “Of course. Use the library.”
Something is wrong, thought Cecily as she led Isabel to the library. Isabel wouldn’t have come all this way without good reason.
Isabel closed the door behind them and turned. “You need to leave. Now, if you can.”
Cecily stared at her. “What is it?”
“Last night, Benedict came to Julian. I was in the next chamber. I overheard everything.” Isabel’s voice was low and urgent. “Benedict followed you. To the chapel ruins. He saw you with that man, that soldier who was helping the widow Alys.”
Cecily’s legs suddenly felt weak. She held onto Isabel’s arm to steady herself.
“That’s not all of it,” Isabel continued. “Then Benedict followed the soldier to Alys’s cottage. Benedict watched through the window while the soldier worked on something. A machine of some kind.”
Panic coiled inside Cecily’s chest. The time machine.
“Benedict was close enough to overhear him muttering. He heard your name, and then something about the machine, something about the future.” Isabel took Cecily’s hands. “He knows you plan to escape with him.”
Cecily pulled away and sank into a chair. “What did Julian say?”
“He said they had to take it. The machine. They talked for hours about what they could do with it. Investments. Lands. He needs your marriage money. He thinks with the machine he could have even greater wealth. And Benedict is pulling his strings.”
The machine. Finn. Julian. Benedict. The words kept colliding in her head.
They knew about the machine. Which meant they would try to take it. Finn had it, so they would have to get rid of Finn.
“Where is Finn, the soldier, now?” Cecily asked.
“I don’t know. I suppose he’s still at the widow’s cottage,” Isabel said. “But Julian is sending men there today to get the device.”
“And Finn? What will they do to him?”
Isabel’s silence was answer enough.
Cecily stood. “I have to get to him.”
Isabel studied her for a long moment. Then she nodded. “My carriage is outside. I’ll tell your uncle you’re coming back to Veyron with me. To learn your duties as future lady of Veyron Hall.” Isabel moved toward the door. “Meet me downstairs. We need to leave now.”
Money—she would need money. Cecily’s hands trembled as she fumbled through her things to find her coin purse.
She grabbed it and turned to leave. Her gaze caught on the blue silk of her wedding gown, a shroud draped over a chair.
A final, desperate hope surged through her: if she could reach Finn, she would never have to wear it.
She met Isabel in the hall. Her uncle was nodding along to whatever Isabel had told him.
“I think it’s an excellent idea,” he said to Cecily. “You should see what you’ll be managing. Isabel can teach you everything you need to know.”
“Thank you, Uncle.”
He kissed her forehead. “You’re a good girl, Cecily. Julian is a fortunate man.”
She forced herself to smile, then followed Isabel outside.
The carriage lurched into motion. Cecily gripped the seat, staring out the window as her home faded away behind them.
“Why are you helping me?” Cecily asked her.
Isabel was quiet for a moment. “I know what it’s like to be forced into marriage. To have no choice.” She looked at Cecily. “I won’t help him destroy another woman’s life the way he and Benedict destroyed mine.”
“Benedict,” Cecily whispered, understanding dawning. “It was him.”
“It’s always him.” Isabel’s voice was bitter. “Julian is just the puppet. Benedict holds the strings.”
They rode in silence for a while. Then Isabel leaned forward.
“The cottage is near the forest on our land. I’ll bring you close, but you’ll need to walk the rest of the way.”
Cecily nodded.
“What will you do?” Isabel asked.
“I don’t know. Finn has a plan. We’ll use the machine, maybe go forward in time. Somewhere Julian can’t follow.”
“Are you telling me there really is a machine that can travel through time?”
Cecily didn’t answer.
“And all this… you would leave it?”
“This was never my life to have,” Cecily said, her gaze fixed on the woods ahead. “Not with him.”
Isabel nodded slowly. “I hope you find what you’re looking for.”
The carriage slowed. They were on Veyron land now, the fields spreading out on either side. In the distance, Cecily could see the forest.
“We’re close,” Isabel said. “Best step off here.”
Cecily climbed down. The afternoon sun was already sinking toward the horizon.
“The path is there.” Isabel pointed. “I pray you find him.”
“Thank you, dear friend,” said Cecily, embracing her.
Isabel pressed a handful of coins into Cecily’s hands, then pushed her away. “Go. Quickly.”
Cecily gathered her skirts and ran.