Page 34 of The Journal of a Thousand Years
She frowned at Huon as she took a seat near him. “You didn’t think to turn her away?”
“She’s our friend and she looked like she needed coffee.” He reached across the table to take Petra’s hand. “You look beautiful, my love. I do like your hair like that.”
“It’s not done yet.”
“Undone is my favorite style.” He rose. “Help yourselves to breakfast, ladies. There’s a good selection this morning since I knew I was having a special guest stay.”
Petra patted her hair but didn’t look at me. Her cheeks flamed as she continued to fuss with her hair.
I got up and hugged her from behind. “I’m happy for you,” I whispered in her ear.
“You shouldn’t be,” she whispered back. “It’s a mistake. This is…wrong.He’swrong for me. I shouldn’t—” She cut herself off and glanced at his back as he stood at the sideboard, oblivious to our discussion.
I hugged her tighter. “Yes, youshouldlove him. He’s quite sweet and a good man, underneath it all. The war’s effects on him are starting to wear off.” I gave her shoulders a gentle shake. “Thanks to you. You saved him, Petra. Now, allow yourself to be happy. You both deserve it.”
She sighed. “Our families won’t accept it.”
“You’ll find a way to make them accept it. I know you will.”
“Daisy was right. Our situation is a modern-dayRomeo and Julietstory.”
“That was Shakespeare’s story, not yours. You have it in your power to writeyourversion.” I clasped her shoulders, turning her to look at me. “We are all the authors of our own stories, Petra. Certain twists and turns might be out of our control, but the overall tone and direction of the plot are ours to write.”
Petra wasn’t entirely convinced. “I agree about that, but there’s still the matter of Huon’s arrogance. I don’t want to give in to him or he’ll be impossible.”
I glanced at his back. “Then don’t give in easily.”
One side of her mouth lifted with her crooked smile. “I’m glad you’re here, Sylvia. You deserve happiness, too. Speaking of which, how is Gabe?” She seemed to notice my state for the first time. “You look pale and tired. And your hair is down, too. Is something wrong?”
Huon dropped the fork he was using to pile bacon on his plate. The clatter shattered my fragile nerves completely. “Help yourselves, ladies, or I’ll eat it all myself.” He turned around, a rasher of bacon pinched between thumb and forefinger, just in time to see me burst into tears.
Petra guided me to a chair. “Sylvia, what is it? What’s the matter?”
Huon patted my shoulder. “It’s Glass’s fault, isn’t it? Want me to challenge him?”
“This isn’t the Middle Ages, Huon. You can’t challenge people to duels.”
Huon handed me a napkin. “I didn’t mean aphysicalchallenge. I’ll have a stern word with him, that’s all.”
I gathered up my frayed nerves and dabbed at my damp cheeks. “It’s not Gabe’s fault, although it does concern him. It’sa rather long story, but the upshot is, I’ve come to realize I’m a danger to him. Terrible people are after him for the time magic they believe he controls. Because he’s proven so difficult to kidnap, they will come for me since he cares about me. So, I’ve decided to leave London. It’s the best way to keep him safe.”
Huon folded his arms. “That makes sense, I suppose.”
“No, it doesn’t,” Petra said. “It’s true that Gabe cares about you, Sylvia, but he cares about other people, too. Not in the same way, obviously, but there are other people in his life he’d want to protect. Willie and Alex, for example.”
“They’re more capable of looking after themselves than me.”
“True,” Huon said, nodding.
Petra shot him a glare before turning back to me. She took my hands in hers. “You can’t leave now. Everyone you care about is here. Not just Gabe, but Daisy and me, Alex and Huon, and the professor, of course. Besides, you adore your work at the library.” She squeezed my fingers. “Running away might throw Gabe’s kidnappers off for a little while, but not forever. They’ll find another way to get to him. The only way to protect him is to stop them. All running off will do is cause you both to be miserable.”
Running away…
It was what my mother had done. She believed moving from city to city had kept us safe from Melville Hendry, and perhaps it had. But it also caused disruption for James and me. We’d had no stability, made no friends, known no other family. Every time we had started to set down roots, we’d been wrenched away again. I was a shy child who took time to get to know others, so moving frequently made me withdraw further. I was the outsider at every new school and neighborhood, and my lack of confidence meant I never developed the skill to make true friends.
If Daisy hadn’t been so open and vivacious, I might never have made a single friend in London yet. I owed her a great deal for taking me under her wing. I shouldn’t abandon her now when she needed me.
A knock on the front door startled me into action. I folded the napkin up and set it on the table. “Thank you both. You’ve been a great help.”
