Page 91 of The Journal of a Thousand Years
“Sylvia will stay,” Gabe told her.
“No! Your parents are returning the day after tomorrow and you’re my responsibility. If Matt and India see you looking like this, they’ll blame me. They won’t care about all the times I saved your life, they’ll just see you looking as weak as a ghost and thinkit’s my fault. Don’t know why, but everyone always blames me when you get into trouble.”
“That’s because it usually is your fault,” Alex said. For my benefit, he added, “Almost every story from Gabe’s wild and impulsive years features Willie.”
“I’d like to hear them one day.”
Willie thrust a hand on her hip andhumphed. “They feature you, too, Alex. Just wait until I tell Daisy all about them.”
His eyes clouded, and he sighed heavily.
“When did you save my life?” Gabe teased Willie. “Strange that I don’t recall a single incident.”
I tried to get Alex’s attention, but he wouldn’t look at me. It seemed he’d made up his mind and didn’t want me to try and make him change it. He was giving Daisy up so she could reconcile with her family. It was a grand sacrifice on his part, but it was the wrong one. No amount of telling him that would make him realize it, however.
Alex took Willie by the shoulders and steered her toward the door. “He’s not going to relax with you here.”
“He will!”
“Willie, you are a distraction.”
“But I’m the best kind of distraction.”
I waited until Alex closed the door behind them, then climbed onto the bed beside Gabe. His chest was bare, since he seemed to only wear pajama pants when in bed, and I made the most of it, admiring his smooth skin with the sprinkling of dark hair. He was warm, and despite the hard planes of his muscles, I felt comfortable and relaxed, more relaxed than I had in a very long time. I closed my eyes and listened to the rhythm of his heart, still a little erratic after the events of the day.
His yawn was a sign that I should leave, too. I tried to pull away, but he refused to release me.
“Stay,” he murmured drowsily. “I sleep better when you’re near.”
“I’ll sit here awhile. Lie down.” I adjusted the pillow then stroked his hair back as he sank into it.
His eyes fluttered closed, revealing eyelids darkened from exhaustion. He drew in a deep breath and released it slowly. I felt his body relax against mine, felt the twitch of his muscles as he gave in to the exhaustion. I suspected he would sleep soundly with the knowledge that not only was Thurlow behind bars, but the threat of abduction had come to an end. Stanley Greville had made sure of that.
I leaned down and kissed his cheek. “Rest now, Gabe,” I whispered. “It’s over.”
CHAPTER 19
Returning to work in the Glass Library felt like going home. Everything was familiar to me, from knowing which step creaked, to where every book was shelved. I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed it over the last few days until I entered the morning after Stanley’s attempted suicide.
I placed my bag on the front desk and was about to call out to Professor Nash when a clock chimed. It wasn’t a chime I’d heard before. It was musical, yet quite loud. It would have been heard even in the furthest nooks of the library.
I entered the main part of the library through the marble columns and studied the large clock above the fireplace. It was nine o’clock according to the brass hands, which kept perfect time thanks to Lady Rycroft’s horology magic, but I’d never heard the clock make a sound before.
Professor Nash came down the stairs. “Sylvia? What was that?”
“The clock. Has it chimed before?”
“No. Never. How odd. I wonder what it means.”
“Should it mean something?”
“Knowing India, yes.” He smiled.
It was a genuine smile that lifted my heart. Lately, his smiles had been wan and fleeting, or missing altogether. He was lonely. The loss of his friend, Oscar Barratt, seemed to weigh heavier than ever on him. I’d heard that growing older made some people melancholy, and I supposed that was happening to the professor. I wished I knew how to improve his mood, but I suspected nothing I could do would make him better. What he needed was beyond my power to give. Hopefully the return of Gabe’s parents would lift him out of the doldrums. What he needed now was old friends.
The clock chimed again, with the same musical notes. It wasn’t quite like any clock chime I’d heard before. It rose in scale, each note a little higher than the last. “Do you think it’s announcing something?” I asked.
The sound of the library’s front door opening couldn’t have been more perfectly timed. The professor and I exchanged knowing smiles.
