Page 49 of The Runner
‘I don’t think so—unless you can talk some sense into the former version of yourself. Honestly, I wish I could shake him and wake him up to the truth,’ said Cara, biting her lip.
‘Can’t you tell him what’s really going on and explain that he mustn’t marry Charlotte?’
Cara sighed. ‘If only—but what would I say? “Oh, by the way, I’m your wife from the twenty-first century, and if you don’t marry me instead of Charlotte, we’re going to lose our future together?” He would probably think me quite mad with jealousy and I’d only drive him faster into her arms.’
‘I see the difficulty—although didn’t you tell me we had a similar conversation when George was getting into all sorts of trouble during the Pilgrimage of Grace?’
‘Yes, but I was your wife then, not a lowly governess in your household. You trusted me—it was different, and you still assumed I must be a witch!’
George wrapped his arms around Cara, and she leaned on him and relaxed into his solid warmth.
‘So, what are you going to do, darling?’ George said.
‘Well, I am not letting that bloody karmic warrior get the better of us. He predicted he would rewrite our destiny and I’m beginning to fear he pulled it off… We must find a way to stop him.’
CHAPTER21
Willow Manor, York - Georgiana
Caroline stirred at first light,groggy from a night of fitful, anguished sleep. Anxiety had overcome her, and she could not drift into the usual vivid dreams of her other life with George, such was her apprehension about meeting the woman he would surely marry.
The fear of falling short in her efforts to conduct herself suitably in society with his dark, all-knowing eyes upon her plagued her, and she could get no respite from her cascade of troubling thoughts.
Rising early, washing, and dressing hurriedly in the cold early morning chill, she went down to the kitchen for breakfast, meaning to avoid the house party and disappear before they arrived. After barely touching her meal, she sought Olivia out to excuse herself from greeting the party on the grounds of being unwell. She hastily retired to her room before anyone could question her further.
Her body was fit, but her mind and spirit were bruised to the core, and she didn’t know how she would muster the strength to get through the coming days.
During breakfast, the servants had been all a-chatter, like excited birds at feeding time. The thrill of imminently having such esteemed guests in the house was palpable and they questioned how many of the party would bring their personal entourage. Harriet and the other young maids whispered and giggled about the possibility of meeting a handsome beau from one of the London households. Their wild imagination soon had them swept away into wedlock and moving to the big city with their new loves.
Their whispers and giggles grew louder until Cook tut-tutted and called for order. ‘Hush, you silly lasses. We’ll have no more of this nonsense, or whatever will they think of us?’
Caroline watched discreetlyfrom the safe harbour of her chamber window as the house party swept down the majestic willow tree-lined drive, in a parade of impressive coaches and carriages, and halted in front of the Tudor-style country manor house.
As soon as Caroline lay eyes on the beautiful young lady in a sumptuous golden gown, her red hair curled and pinned elegantly beneath her lace cap, and elegant backless mules peeping from beneath the hem of her gown as she descended from the coach, Caroline knew with sickening certainty that she must be Charlotte, George’s prospective wife.
She knew even before George appeared and advanced towards the coach. Her insides lurched as he bowed and kissed the young beauty’s hand. They then turned as one when he gallantly offered her his arm and escorted her into the house, gaily chattering and laughing as they walked; a trail of finely dressed figures following closely behind the couple. George cut a dashing figure in his long, fitted coat and fashionable wig, and Caroline withdrew from the window, a sharp pain eviscerating her heart, and a sickness pervading her entire being.
Sylvia’s Office,York - Present Day
Cara satin Sylvia’s room in her usual spot, watching her flip through the heavy buckram bound volume.
‘So, this is supposed to cover the Georgian period, but there’s nothing legible after around the time when the karmic warrior intervened?’
‘That’s right,’ said Cara.
‘Hmm,’ she said, holding the faded text up to the light in an attempt to decipher some of the words. ‘It’s almost as if your permission to access the book has been revoked. I wonder whether it’s a result of the timeline reset from when he hypnotised you.’
‘I thought so too, but George thinks I’m overreacting. I don’t know if it’s logical, but it just seems like too much of a coincidence that the text on the pages I most need to read now to find out what happened immediately after that time, has disappeared.’
Sylvia studied Cara over her spectacles. ‘My instincts tell me something isn’t right. Would you like to ask the cards for guidance?’
Cara nodded. She coughed to clear her dry throat and then rose to pour herself a glass of water before they began. She had mixed emotions when it came to the cards—they had guided her correctly and helped her profoundly in the past, but she found the readings nerve-wracking as she never knew what outlandish thing she would be called to do next in her quest to fulfil her Twin Flame mission.
‘Are you time travelling again?’ asked Sylvia.
‘Yes, and no… not in the usual way, but I am having incredibly vivid dreams and I know things about Caroline’s life I couldn’t possibly know any other way. . . So, if there is such a thing, I seem to be time travelling through my dreams as I told you last time. I think I travelled on demand via the priest hole too, when I did the experiments with Eddie, but we can’t be sure.’
‘Every time I think your story can’t get any more intriguing, you come in here and casually drop something like that into the conversation.’
