Chapter 9
Or perhaps longer, given that Etta had clearly stayed at least long enough to jot down enough information to set her descendants up financially.
She examined her golden bracelet forensically for any warping, any loose links in the chain which might indicate it had been broken once and then mended. Nothing so far, but then again she was no jeweller.
The grey clouds began to gather again. Hetty wondered if she’d ever escape the darkness that had started to envelop her life in childhood.
She could barely recall when it had first begun to creep up on her.
Sometimes it felt as though she had been sad forever, but she knew that had not always been the case.
No, once she had been like any other child – and then inch by inch, as she slowly left her girlhood behind, a terrible mantle of despair had settled over her.
But no, she would not let sadness ruin her trip. Not today. This day could be all she had. Time to get started on her list.
She was pleased to find a water closet in an adjacent room with a huge freestanding bath, which was a very welcome upgrade. She climbed back into bed to await … To await whom, really? Bessie was left behind, along with Nanny. And her mother.
Before she could worry too much about what Bessie and Nanny and Mama must be thinking about their new arrival, and just in time to stop her from missing them, she heard the sound of pounding feet along the corridor.
Hopefully it was Aggie and Jemima bringing tea and toast, to draw her a bath, to help her into her clothes for the day. Anything, really. She could do with a distraction – any distraction – from the gathering darkness. Perhaps they could even help her shake it off?
The anticipated knock had hardly sounded before Jemima’s face peeked around the opened door.
‘Oi-oi! Morning, Hetty!’
She opened the blinds and they both blinked at the dim light pouring through the windows. It was raining.
Jemima put voice to what they were both thinking. ‘Nice day indoors for us, then.’
Hetty examined the grain of the kitchen table. She wondered idly if it was the same one their chef had worked at two hundred years before. Probably not, she decided, but it was certainly well-worn. It looked how she felt.
‘So come on, then. You’re here – you’ve made it. So what next?’ Jemima asked.
Hetty glanced up, then gripped her mug of what had turned out to be coffee. It was a most odd vessel. It had the words ‘Sexual at 60’ on the side and chips around the rim.
‘I have a list. A statement of my heart’s desires.’ Hetty felt a thrill of excitement, of daring as she uttered the words out loud. ‘I must admit, I have focused primarily on getting here,’ she continued. ‘But I do have a few things I should like to experience during my time here.’
Aggie was leaning forward in anticipation. ‘Do go on, dear. I do love a wish list. I can’t wait to hear it.’
Hetty bit her lip, delighted to share her plans with somebody at last.
‘I should like to learn more about the nature of time, and what has been discovered in these intervening years. How time can be bent and travelled through. So much progress must have been made.’
The way her aunts looked at one another made Hetty begin to feel uncertain.
‘Have scientists not yet learned to travel through time?’
Aggie winced. ‘Not quite yet, as far as we know, dear. I’m sure we can try to find out though. What next?’
Hetty sighed. The next, at least, would surely be achievable on some level.
‘The second on my list is to be able to converse with fellow students. To learn from others. To create bonds. As a young woman in my past environs, I was very much discouraged from academic exploration with peers.’ She hesitated.
‘Although, I suppose if humanity has not yet discovered time travel, my options might be limited?’
This time, both her aunts winced. ‘You might need to catch up on your studies,’ explained Aggie. ‘Nowadays, you have to get quite a few exams out of the way to get into those circles.’
‘But we can try and help you,’ added Jemima. ‘It’ll take a few years, but I’m sure you can manage it. A very smart girl, you are.’
Hetty continued, trying to stay positive. She blushed furiously, but forced herself to press on regardless.
‘Finally, I should like … Please do not suppose that I lack a moral compass, but I should like very much …’
Jemima and Aggie leaned in, gripping their mugs tightly.
‘If it is not too outrageous, I should like to experience my first kiss.’
The aunts leaned back again.
‘Yes, I reckon that one’s doable,’ said Jemima.