Page 23 of Promises to Keep

Magnus nodded. “Aye, all the art is destroyed, and when I say the museum building is gone, I mean the first buildin’ was completely gone. The one ye went tae had a large sculpture garden in the back, ye ken? That building wasna there at all,insteadthere was a tall buildin’ and the art was up at the—”

Lochinvar said, “The twelfth floor, I ran up all those stairs.”

Magnus said, “The second building was exploded.”

“Is that why Fraoch is coated in black soot?”

Fraoch said, “Aye, I had tae run through a fire.”

Lochinvar said, “Twas nae easy at all, after I ran up, I had tae run back down.”

Quentin stood with his hands on his hips. “So that sounds like a disaster. You blame the fact that it was a modern plan? How would the historic alternative have gone?”

Magnus said, “We ought tae hae run in fightin’. I daena ken if it would hae worked but—”

Fraoch said, “It couldna hae been worse.”

* * *

We loaded up all their gear and began walking across Central Park headed to the hotel, but then Magnus stopped walking. “Where are we goin’, Colonel Quentin?”

“To the hotel.”

I asked, “Did you forget the way?”

His face drew up in a question. “What hotel, what are ye talking on?”

“The Park Lane hotel.” Quentin squinted his eyes. “What areyoutalking about, Boss? Where did you think we were staying?”

“The Elmwood.” Magnus gestured north. “Lady Mairead’s house. We were there, we...”

Quentin shook my head. “Nah, are we doing this again? There is no safe house, you lost that bet, fair and square.”

Magnus looked distressed, Fraoch and Lochie did too.

I said, “When we drove into New York we went there first, but it wasn’t there, my love, just a tall glass building. You don’t remember that?”

Magnus turned tae Fraoch and Lochie, “Do ye remember the house — Elmwood?”

They both nodded.

Lochie asked, his voice in a whisper, “What is happenin’? The house is gone?”

Magnus asked, “Fraoch, we were there, right? In the house?”

“Aye, m’stuff is still there.”

I said, “Ihatewhen this happens.”

Quentin shook his head. “We rolled up into New York, rolled up to the house, it wasn’t there. I danced around because that meant I won our argument. Then we checked into our hotel: The Park Lane. We’ve been there ever since.”

Magnus exhaled. “How did I get the letter from Lady Mairead, the one that started this whole thing?”

Quentin said, “You went to the bank, you said it was in the safe.”

Magnus said, “Nae, there has been yet another time shift. I had hoped we were done with them.” He looked at me. “Where did ye get the dress ye wore tae the party?” He dropped all his bags, reached in his pocket for my phone and scrolled through for a photo, he turned it around for me, “Where did ye get that dress?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know.” I scrolled through photos, “Not sure… the whole timeline seems messed up.”

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