Chapter 23 #2
She glances between Henry and me, sensing our fear and desperation, then realization quickly settles in. “You’re in trouble?”
I nod.
Hastily, she goes to the display window and peeks from side to side, ensuring nothing looks amiss. Pleased with the lack of commotion outside, Evangeline locks the door and turns back to us, gesturing to follow her.
“Come upstairs. I’ll make you both a hot cup of tea.” Then, looking over her shoulder, she adds, “You look like you need it.”
Relief washes through me as we follow her to the back of the shop, climbing a small staircase to the flat above.
Discreetly, I take the dagger from its hiding spot in my sweater’s sleeve and pass it behind me to Henry.
He can safely hide it in the waistline of his pants, keeping it out of harm’s way and also ensuring no questions are raised.
Being here is already putting Evangeline at risk, but keeping her ignorant of what’s truly going on will ensure her safety.
We sit at her kitchen table while she puts on the kettle and places a plate of biscuits in front of us.
“Who’s your friend, dear?” Evangeline asks over her shoulder, pouring the hot water into teacups.
“Henry Ashford, ma’am,” Henry replies. “I’m one of the archaeologists from the expedition.”
“Pleasure to meet you, Henry. I’m Evangeline, clothing designer and apparent harbor for those in distress.” She places the cups on the table and takes a seat before glancing between us, assessing, then down at her teacup enclosed in her hands.
“How much trouble are you in, dear?” she asks. For the first time in my life, I hear fear in her voice.
“The worst kind imaginable,” I respond.
She takes hold of my hand, looking into my eyes. “Are you in danger?”
I nod, wanting to give her as much of the truth as I can.
“How can I help?” she asks.
Her question catches me off guard, as I was expecting to be interrogated first, not instantly receive assistance to aid us, which is how I know I made the right decision coming to her. Evangeline knows better than to ask me questions that I cannot answer.
I emit a fatigued sigh, not knowing entirely what the plan is besides running and hiding. “For now, we just need a place to stay for the night.”
We can figure out a solution to our problem in the morning, when my brain isn’t fried and my body is less sore.
Evangeline gives us a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, dear. You both can stay here. Unfortunately, I don’t have a spare bedroom, so the settee and floor will have to suffice.”
After we profusely express our gratitude to her, Evangeline prepares the living room for us to bunker in for the night, then turns in herself, needing to rise early to open the shop. Despite the late hour of the day, Henry and I remain in the kitchen in heavy silence.
Sounds of the city are heard in the distance. Every now and then, my head perks up from a sound that makes me question if we’ve been found. But once my mind has been put at ease, another sound comes along to continue the cycle.
I certainly will not be sleeping tonight.
Before going to bed, Evangeline made us a fresh kettle, sensing that our unease would keep us up tonight.
Reaching for the pot, I refill our mugs and ponder where we go from here.
Evangeline is only a temporary option—a place for us to catch our breath while we continue our sprint tomorrow.
We need to find somewhere we can hide safely until Grandad and the others can make their way back to us, with a way to break the connection.
But where can we safely stay for a long period of time?
“What are you thinking?” Henry asks.
“Everything,” I sigh. “Where do we go in the morning? If Dr. Richmond and my father are working together, and if so, for how long? If they are now teaming up to get the artifacts from us. How worried Grandad, Amina, and Dr. Alarie must be after our telegram. It appears the world is against us at every turn we make, and I’m tired of trying to outwit everyone to be shown we were always several steps behind. ”
And I’m terrified that everyone I care for will pay the price for my mistake.
“I have the same questions and worries, Clara,” Henry says.
I glance at him, our eyes locked. A sense of calm warms my chest knowing I’m not the only one losing their mind with everything that’s transpiring so quickly.
Desperately, I want to feel the comfort of his touch, either holding his hand or daringly within an embrace.
But not knowing what his feelings are prevents me from doing so, as now is not the time to cause a rift between us.
“We will find a way to outmaneuver Dr. Richmond,” Henry continues, “or whoever else may be after us. It’s terrifying not knowing what to do, but we can’t let them break us or make us yield to their demands.
We will see the others again soon. There will be a way to set you free from the artifacts, and we will destroy their powers for good. ”
“And how long can we keep running to wait for that day to come?” I whisper, speaking a truth we both are petrified to admit.
We can try to resist our enemies, but at some point, they will catch up to us if we wait long enough.
At night, we lie awake in the dark living room, pretending to be asleep.
Fear and uncertainty consume me as I face the settee’s back cushion, not knowing what the coming days will bring.
Afraid any choice I make can lead to the detriment of those I care for—of those I love.
I wish for nothing more than to see Grandad’s smile and smell his scented tobacco in a tight embrace, to have all of this behind me, and return to finding a way to get into the post-graduate program.
All of it seems like silly worries compared to now.
But overall, I want to be home.
Soon, I’m awakened by the rising sun shining on my face.
I must have dozed off for a bit, although I feel like I barely slept at all.
Tea and toast are waiting for us on the kitchen table.
Henry and I have our breakfast in exhausted silence, afraid to broach the subject of our next location, as it would mean we would have to make uncertain choices that could lead us into the hands of Dr. Richmond.
As the early morning turns into mid-morning, Evangeline pops back upstairs to check in on us after her first client for the day has departed.
“Sleep alright?” she asks, taking a seat at the table.
“Yes, thank you,” Henry says, wincing from his sore back a moment ago.
“What’s your plan now?” she asks.
I run my hand across my face. I don’t try to contain the groan from escaping me. “What we need is a place we can stay for several days. Ideally, a week or two. But Henry and I are at a loss as to where we can safely go.”
Evangeline’s head perks. “I have a cottage near Ogmore. It was my parents’ place. I never got around to selling it. You both can stay there if you aren’t too particular. The place is a bit run-down, though.”
We exchange glances, shocked beyond belief that Evangeline has a solution readily at our disposal, and all we had to do was ask.
“Evangeline, are you sure? I don’t want to impose more on you. You’ve done more than enough already.”
She waves a hand at me, thinking I’m being preposterous. “Trust me, you wouldn’t be. I haven’t visited in quite some time. And mind you, it has no electricity or a water closet.”
“Is it isolated enough that it would be hard for anyone unwittingly to find it?” Henry asks.
Evangeline nods. “It’s a decent walk away from the center of town. It’s right on the beach, the only redeeming quality, to be frank.”
“Then it’s perfect,” I say with a grin, hopeful we can win this race after all.
“Might I also suggest you dispose of your current vehicle and use a different one to get there?” Evangeline suggests. “Whomever you’re running from might have the brains to be tracking your car.”
And now I feel dense for not thinking of that sooner.
We would have left an easy trail for them to find us, simply because it didn’t occur to us that they could do such a thing, which makes me wonder how Evangeline knows how to hide from someone.
Possibly, there is more to her story than she leads on, but seeing as I’m keeping secrets from her, I’ll look the other way.
As Henry is tasked with getting rid of the car we stole from Hullbeck and finding us a new one, Evangeline writes down instructions on how to get to her cottage in Wales, while I frequently peer out the window to spot any unusual behavior outside the shop.
Soon, Henry pulls up to the curb in a black Morris Oxford. As much as I’m wondering how he managed to get another one, it’s simply one of those details I’d rather not know.
“He’s back,” I announce to Evangeline, knowing the quicker we leave, the sooner she is out of harm’s way.
Evangeline hands me the instructions, along with the cottage’s key, then pulls me in for an embrace.
“Please be careful,” she says over my shoulder.
“I’ll try my best,” I assure her as we pull away. “Thank you again for everything. Words cannot express how grateful I am for you.”
She cups a hand to my cheek, giving me a warm smile. “You would do the same for me. Now go, before I change my mind and take my key back.”
After giving her one last hug, I met Henry on Bayswater Road to embark on another long journey to what will hopefully be our last location.
Would it be foolish of me to hope for no more surprises?