Page 71 of Strangers in Time

“Yes. It’s in the north. Quite far away, nearly to Scotland, in fact. It’s the largest county in England. So large, in fact, that it’s divided up into all sorts of boroughs andridingsand the like. It’s quite famous. It was where the War of the Roses took place.”

Charlie gave her a confused look. “Eh? Blokes fightin’ over flowers?”

“No. The House of York versus the House of Lancaster. The red rose was part of the Lancaster coat of arms and the white rose that of the House of York. They were fighting for the throne of England.”

Charlie shook his head miserably. “Where did fightin’ get anybody, eh?”

“I read up on it after Mrs. Pride told me my mother was from there.”

“Hang on. Mrs. Pride told you? And not your mum?”

“That’s right. The Tinsdales. That was their name. They were apparently quite well off.”

“You reckon you still got family there, Miss?”

“I might.”

“You could go and see ’em then.”

“Why would I do that?” she said, glancing sharply at him.

“If they got money they might be able to help you and your mum, that’s why. And they even might be able to help find your dad.”

Molly pondered this for a few moments as Charlie watched the fire.

“And yet if I traveled to Yorkshire and Father came home, or perhaps a letter would arrive about Mother, then that would not be good.”

“You could write to the place where your mum is,” Charlie suggested.

“That’s right. Perhaps I can have Mr. Oliver help me word the letter properly. He seems very smart and informed. And very kind.”

“Y-yeah, I guess,” mumbled Charlie.

She looked at him. “Is something the matter?”

He shrugged.

“Charlie, tell me.”

“It’s just that I seen Mr. Oliver doin’… well, doin’ quite odd stuff.”

She frowned. “What do you mean?”

He told her about the man and the packet of pages. “He said it was a man-u-scrip or some such.”

“Amanuscript. Like a book before it’s a book. Well, that seems perfectly normal for someone who owns a bookshop to be receiving manuscripts.”

“But then I seen Mr. Oliver go to some place in an alleyway and he come out with papers. And the same man was there.”

“Was it a publishing house?”

He shrugged again. “Dunno. It were just a door in an old buildin’. And he looked sort of, well, nervous while he was doin’ it. And so did the bloke that give him those papers. He looked, I dunno, shifty, like he knew he were up to somethin’ no good. And it was long after midnight when I seen ’em the first time.”

Molly looked disturbed by this information. “That is not when one would expect to drop off a manuscript. Do you remember where this other place is?”

Charlie nodded and picked up his cup. “Yeah, I think so.”

Molly thought for a moment and then came to a conclusion that astonished her. Well, not exactly. She was feeling she had no control over her life right now. She was sick with worry over a mother she couldn’t visit. She felt abandoned by a father she had adored. But with this she could take charge, even if it meant finding out that Oliver was simply visiting a friend.

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