Page 94 of A Spell of Midlife Mayhem

‘My dearest confidante and companion, Anne, and I art forever bound together within these walls and places nearby. We spend time together. We wast fated, for in the end, our heads wouldst both roll beneath the executioner’s blade. Alas, nay matter one’s rank or station in life, one cannot escape the reach of Death.’

‘Yes. How terrible.’

‘I wast but a tender age when the headsman’s blade befell upon my neck. ’Twas not my wish to ever don the crown, yet I didst. Sixteen wast my piteous years when I ascended the throne. For nine days, I reigned, until my beloved husband and I wast arrested and entrapped within the Tower. For three months, we remained sequestered in the Tower until the day of my head’s removal from my shoulders.’

I blanched at the thought. ‘That’s awful.’

She pointed at the green space before her, the infamous Tower Green. ‘Aye, ’twas right thither that my life ended.’

‘I’m so sorry to hear that, Lady Jane. What happened to you was evil and unfair.’ I glanced around. ‘Is your husband with you?’

‘Alas, nay, I hast not beheld him since that fateful day. Oh, how I wish they hadst not made me Queen.’ She put her head in her hands.

How could I comfort her? I couldn’t put my arm around her shoulders, like I wanted to. She was a ghost. Incorporeal. Instead, I said, ‘They made you Queen because of your father. He was the last man who could trace his bloodline back to King Henry the Eighth.’

‘That naughty day.’ She smiled weakly. ‘Thankee for thy kind visit.’

‘Don’t blame yourself. Nothing of what happened to you was your fault.’

I bid her goodbye and left the tower with a mixture of wonder and disappointment at what I’d seen. I caught the District Line west and changed onto the Piccadilly Line to Heathrow.

It seemed to take ages. It was easy to pick out the travellers. Several people lugged suitcases onto the train and sat with them between their knees or stood with them in the doorways. Thankfully, my luggage was already at the airport, waiting for me, having travelled via Alaska.

After a while, we emerged above ground and raced through the outer suburbs, stopping every couple of minutes. The train remained busy, and by the time we pulled into Heathrow Terminal Four, it was crowded again.

It was only mid-afternoon. I had so much time, but no wish to do anything except get to the airport.

My phone had a signal again now that I wasn’t deep underground in the tube tunnels. Terry hadn’t called. He must still be on his way here.

After some searching, I found the lost luggage office and collected my long-lost cases. They were quite battered, for which the attendant apologised. It didn’t matter. They only needed to survive one more journey before I would retire them from service for good. I grabbed a luggage trolley and piled them on it. Next time, I would travel with only one suitcase.

But there wouldn’t be a next time, would there?

The airport had many eateries, and I sampled three of them for coffee and snacks and an early dinner while waiting for Terry to call. At seven o’clock, he did.

I swallowed my nerves and answered. ‘Hello? Where are you?’

‘In the terminal building. I’m waiting at the information desk. Where are you?’

‘Nearby. I’ll come and find you.’ I disconnected.

And that was it. A ten-second discussion to determine the course of the rest of my life: a return to the same old, same old.

A prison sentence with no time off for good behaviour.

What would Aunt Ruth think of me? And Raven, after his ‘giving up’ talk yesterday?

Heat rushed through my face. I’d avoided speaking to them this morning. I’d run away. I had given up.

Was that who I was?

More importantly, was that who I wanted to be?

I got to my feet and leaned against the luggage trolley. Maybe I was overthinking everything. I’d failed. Time to go back to my old shitty life. It’s that simple, really.

I fished in my pocket for the airport terminal map I’d picked up when I arrived. Whoever heard of an airport needing its own map? But this place certainly did.

As I pulled it out, a folded piece of paper came with it. I opened it. Someone had scrawled a message on it:

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