Time Traveler to Next Door Read online

  I narrowed my eyes. "What are you gett ng at, Rupert? That I should just take a husband and be done w th t?"

  He chuckled. "Good lord, no. I was just po nt ng out how d erent t s n your world. For the better of course."

  "Mum was a nurse," I sa d. "A ward s ster. She loved her job."

  "That's probably why you're so car ng," he sa d. "I should very much l ke to have met her." I stared out to the hor zon, where the sun had shrunk to a glow ng crescent at the edge of the water. I hadn't g ven much thought to br ng ng her back these past few days. Hav ng d scovered how compl cated t was, what w th star patterns and spec al objects, t all but seemed mposs ble.

  "Do you th nk your t me travel s a one o ," I asked Rupert, "or do you th nk t's happened before?"

  He frowned. "Is th s quest on t ed n w th your theory that I m ght possess spec al t me travel capab l t es?"

  "Sort of." "To be perfectly frank, I'm not sure. My uncle m ght seem utterly barmy from what I've sa d but, he was a clever man. A man of sc ence. I can't mag ne h m wast ng years on a venture he had no pr or assurance of."

  "You mean, he m ght have had ev dence that others had travelled before?" He narrowed h s eyes. "Poss bly. I suppose h s f rst a m would have been to see f t was poss ble—or st ll poss ble f t had happened prev ously—and then the second to see f t was eas ly repeated. We're forgett ng of course that he knew t worked by the t me he wrote the thes s. Th s would have nfluenced the ent re work. T me, a er all s a loop, or so he says n those wretched papers."

  "Yes, a loop, but not the f rst t me," I po nted out.

  "The f rst t me?" "The f rst t me you travelled, the food and your possess ons wouldn't have been le n the h dden room. Because at that po nt, you wouldn't have been back to leave t. In that sense, the f rst t me you t me travel, t me rema ns a stra ght l ne."

  "You're assum ng that t was me who le t. L ke we sa d before, t could have been a wh m of my uncle's." "Okay, so let's say t was your uncle's wh m. If that's the case, then th s could potent ally be the f rst t me you travelled. Wh ch means that the past you le beh nd today w ll be d erent to the future past

  f you go back. Because you'll be back n that past but not n th s one."

  He laughed. "My bra n hurts." "M ne too. My po nt s, f t me s a loop, then that's only because t's been nterfered w th at some po nt n the past. If that doesn't happen, t rema ns a stra ght l ne. You d sappear n the twent es to come here and f you never go back then no loop s created."

  "My uncle would have adored you." I tutted. "I'm ser ous. Th s would mean that each loop holds a potent al for change. On the hundredth loop, your uncle's thes s m ght leave exact nstruct ons for how t me travel works. We're just screwed because we're stuck here e ther on the stra ght l ne or the th rd loop or someth ng."

  "Clement ne, you're marvellous," he cut n. I flushed. "I'm just rambl ng. I've probably watched Back to the Future too many t mes. But on a ser ous note, what do you th nk would happen f you used other tems to travel? Let's say you managed to get a hold of an anc ent Egypt an crown of pure gold and a s lver spoon from the m ddle ages. Where do you th nk you'd end up then?"

  "The court of Cleopatra? I'm not sure. If I had more t me, I'd be able to study t further. Of course, that leads us to my next problem, f we're correct n th nk ng that the watch and another gold object w ll open the path back. How w ll I manage to procure such an object w th no money?"

  My thoughts dr ed to Mum's s lver necklace and gold wedd ng band. "The objects stay beh nd, don't they?"

  He nodded. "It appears so." "Then I can loan you someth ng gold. My mother's wedd ng r ng. It's been handed down through her fam ly s nce the early 1900's. I'm pretty sure t's sol d gold."

  "I couldn't ask you for that, Clement ne. I've only travelled once before. Maybe th s t me the objects w ll go w th me."

  "If t does, then you can leave t somewhere I'll f nd t." H s frown deepened. "But then your mother m ght not have t for her wedd ng day, or even her grandmother come to th nk of t, because I'll have t back n n neteen twenty-s x."

  "Perhaps that's why objects can't travel. Because f the monstrance had come w th you, t would have mpacted future events. Objects must be t ed to the r t me zones n a way humans aren't. E ther way, I'm loan ng you the r ng. I'll f nd out where my mother's

  grandmother l ved n the twent es, then If t does go w th you, you can just drop t o to her n person."

  Rupert burst nto laughter. "Oh excellent. Can you mag ne how that m ght go? Hello, I'm a fr end of your future great granddaughter's and even though you probably haven't met your husband-to-be yet, here's the r ng he's go ng to propose to you w th."

  I sm led. "I've heard of stranger th ngs happen ng n the world at large."

  We chuckled and fell nto a s lence, l sten ng to the d stant waves lapp ng onto the shore.

  "So, November 2nd s the day," I sa d a er a wh le. "What's the plan exactly?" He took a deep breath. "I th nk the only conce vable plan w th the l m ted knowledge I possess s to re-enact the moment to the best of my ab l ty. I'll stand at the w ndow n the same pos t on as I d d that n ght and hold my watch and the gold object and wa t as the stars al gn."

  "What about the storm? Do you th nk that had anyth ng to do w th t?" "Poss bly. L ghtn ng h tt ng the earth s thought to shoot

  electromagnet c rad at on nto the sky. My uncle's thes s, however, doesn't ment on the weather."

  "What t me w ll Jup ter pass through Sag ttar us on that day?"

  He gr nned. "I th nk t's rather an all-day sort of event." I cast my gaze upwards, where a canopy of stars had appeared, tw nkl ng l ke fa ry l ghts n the navy-blue sky. "I've always loved look ng at the stars," I sa d, lean ng back.

  Rupert leaned backwards too, so that we were la d s de by s de, our legs dangl ng over the edge of the porch. Perhaps because I wasn't look ng d rectly at h m that I found the conf dence to say, "A funny co nc dence. The school d sco s on the 2nd of November too."

  Rupert gazed at me, propp ng h mself up on an elbow. "Why d dn't you say? We were go ng to go together, g ve those fellows at your school another chance to poke fun of my cloth ng."

  I laughed. "It doesn't matter. I never really wanted to go n the f rst place. Espec ally not now Adele has hooked up w th R ch e Donovan."

  "What t me does t start?" he asked.

  I shrugged, "About seven o'clock."

  "We must go," he sa d, st ll watch ng me n the gloom. "We'll go to

  the dance together l ke we planned. It w ll make a f tt ng goodbye."a

  The last word stuck n h s throat. I glanced across at h m. "But you need to be here. What f the portal or whatever t s opens and you're not there to leap nto t?"

  "The th ng s, I don't bel eve t w ll. I can't expla n th s log cally, but I feel l ke us go ng to that dance s fate. Does that sound bark ng mad?"

  I thought of the school d sco. Unt l now I hadn't real sed how badly I wanted to go w th h m. "No. I mean, espec ally not f we're n a t me loop. Maybe that's how t's meant to be."

  "Meant to be," he muttered. "Yes, th s feels r ght. We'll go to the dance and then I'll come back here and let fate dec de what t has n store for me."

  I reached over, cover ng h s hand w th m ne. He fl nched sl ghtly at my touch, but I d dn't draw back. I needed h m to know I was ser ous.

  "I want to be here w th you when t happens," I sa d.

  "Are you sure? What about gett ng home a erwards? If t works, you'll have to walk back n the darkness."

  "That hardly matters."

  "It m ght not work at all," he sa d gravely.

  "It w ll," I sa d, and t wasn't what I'd seen onl ne that made me certa n. I knew t n my heart.

  The way a b tter truth always s.

  Chapter Sxteen

  The follow ng weeks passed n a blur of school and Port Haven House, and before I knew t, the even ng of the school d sco arr ved; the n ght Rupert would try to travel back to 1926.

  The latter had grown ncreas ngly anx ous as the day drew nearer, pac ng up and down n
h s uncle's old study and constantly patt ng h s pocket to make sure he st ll had h s pocket watch. I was afra d too. Afra d that noth ng would happen, yet equally afra d of los ng h m.

  I peered anx ously through the curta ns as I wa ted for h m to arr ve, my stomach a t ght knot of confl ct ng emot ons. I wanted h m to both hurry up and never arr ve. I wanted to go to the d sco and yet stay here forever, locked n a moment where Rupert Holt st ll l ved w th n touch ng d stance, down by the edge of the sea.

  "Turn around then, Clem, let's see your outf t."

  Dad.

  I rolled my eyes and turned around slowly, forgett ng to marvel that he'd even not ced. The school d sco had always been a casual a a r for the boys. For the g rls, t was a pr me opportun ty to apply a year's worth of makeup and dress l ke a th rty-year-old. Wh ch s f ne f that's what you're nto. But I wasn't. At least not unt l ton ght. Not that I'd gone to a lot of trouble really. I'd just made a b t more e ort than I usually would.

  Dad's teas ng sm le faded. He'd been so much happ er lately that the shadow of sadness that fl tted across h s face took me by surpr se. But then I understood. Because, w th my ha r curled and the mascara open ng my hazel eyes, I looked l ke a teenage vers on of Mum.

  "Wow," he sa d, vo ce th ck w th emot on, "you look lovely, Clem. I mean, I'll never fully understand the urge to wear Dr Martens w th a dress but other than that, really n ce."

  I laughed, star ng down at my cherry red lace-ups. "I'll try not to wear them on my wedd ng day, how's that?"

  He sm led. "Deal. What t me s Rupert gett ng here?"

  I shot a nervous glance over my shoulder. "Any m nute now."

  Dad nodded. "I approve of Rupert. I wouldn't trust any boy w th my daughter, but I have fa th n that young man." I remembered the t me I'd pract cally had to drag h m nto my bedroom and gr nned. "I th nk t's fa r to say a g rl s utterly safe w th Rupert. What are you up to ton ght, Dad? A er you've dropped us at the d sco?"

  "I've arranged to meet a fr end n town. The rugby s on. W ll you be okay to catch a l home w th Adele later?" Rel ef flooded me. Hopefully he wouldn't get back unt l I was home from Port Haven House. Otherw se, I d dn't have the f rst clue how I would expla n be ng out so late at n ght.

  "Yep. I m ght pop back to hers for a wh le a erwards. I th nk she's hav ng a few people over." Dad nodded, obl v ous to my l e. "Just make sure her folks drop you home. Or call me and I'll come and get you. I th nk I heard on the weather that t's go ng to ra n ton ght."

  I crossed f ngers beh nd my back. "I w ll."

  The sudden shr ll of the doorbell echoed through the house and my knees turned to jelly.

  "I'll get t," I sa d, mak ng a dash for the hall. When I opened the door and saw Rupert, I d d a double take. For the f rst t me s nce we met, he wasn't wear ng monochrome brogues and be ge ch nos. He was wear ngjeans. My jaw dropped as I took n modern brown shoes and a pale blue sh rt. The only fam l ar part was the glasses.

  Before I could express my shock however, he sa d, "Clement ne, my word, you look splend d. What a pretty frock." I flushed cr mson as I smoothed down the mater al of my dress. I'd bought t about a year ago but never worn t; a brown and cream polka dot tea dress w th a sash around the wa st. The dress fell several nches above my knees, hence the need to balance out the g rl shness w th boots. My only other accessory was a del cate gold necklace Mum had g ven me for my th rteenth b rthday. I'd only worn

  t a handful of t mes before.

  "Thanks." I mot oned to h s outf t. "Where d d you get those? D d you rob Abercromb e and F tch?" He gr nned, h s eyes a fetch ng shade of blue aga nst the early even ng sky. "F rstly, I've ne ther met anyone by the name

  Abercromb e or F tch, and secondly, please do not be concerned, I have not turned to a l fe of cr me." He peered over my shoulder to make sure no one was l sten ng and wh spered. "It transp res that my tenn s racket s cons dered someth ng of a rare object at the pawn shop. The fellow sa d he's never seen one n such pr st ne cond t on. He gave me three hundred pounds for t. So, I brought these." He plucked at the sh rt. "I d dn't want to show you up n front of those heathens at your school."

  I sm led and reached up to brush an mag nary speck of l nt from h s shoulder. "Th s s probably not what you wanted to hear, but you could eas ly pass for one of them."

  H s gr n w dened. "That s exactly what I wanted to hear."

  Dad emerged nto the hallway, jangl ng h s car keys. "Rupert, you're look ng very dapper th s even ng. All set?"

  "Thank you, Mr Hardy, and yes, ready when you are." I grabbed my coat and keys and followed Dad out onto the dr veway. I was grateful that the journey to school was short. By the t me Dad dropped us o at the gates, my palms were sweat ng, and my mouth had turned bone dry. I d dn't even know why I was so anx ous.

  The d sco took place n the ma n hall at the front of the bu ld ng. There were several half-deflated balloons t ed to the propped open double doors and from ns de a pulse of mus c dr ed out nto the ch lly autumn a r.

  Several students were s tt ng around the ma n entrance, but I d dn't know any of them. No one took much not ce as Rupert turned br ght red and o ered me the crook of h s elbow. But I not ced. I suddenly couldn't help but not ce everyth ng about h m. I placed my arm tentat vely through h s as he led me nto school.

  A makesh coat check had been set up ns de the doorway, manned by two s xth form g rls. I thanked the stars there wasn't a teacher n s ght who m ght remember who he was.

  Ins de the hall, we were saved by d m l ght ng and flash ng l ghts. I laughed as Rupert gazed around n awe. On a ra sed platform at one end, Mr Deveron the Drama teacher was act ng as DJ, a tr lby hat pulled low over h s bald ng head. A few students were danc ng w th v gour,twerk ng and gr nd ng to the mus c. Rupert looked su tably horr f ed.

  "Grac ous me. Is that g rl n the wh te dress qu te alr ght? It rather seems as f she m ght be hav ng a convuls on."

  I chuckled aga n. "I'm afra d those are the latest dance moves." He swallowed, h s Adam's apple bobb ng n the smooth column of

  h s throat. "I daresay they won't be play ng a waltz anyt me soon." a

  "I dare say not."

  Suddenly, a pa r of hands covered my eyes. "Guess who?"

  I wh pped around to f nd Adele gr nn ng at me, a rather unsteady R ch e Donovan sway ng at her s de. "Adele, h !" I leaned n to hug her and she caught me n a f erce gr p, screech ng n my ear, "Oh my God, he looks so hot. I told you he would."

  It d dn't take a gen us to f gure out she d dn't mean R ch e.

  "Hey, R ch e," I sa d, glanc ng at her date. Adele rolled her eyes. "He's been dr nk ng. Lev B ckersta 's parents have gone away for the weekend and they managed to f nd the alcohol stash. I w sh I'd just come w th you l ke we planned. He threw up n someone's front garden on the way over."

  I stared at R ch e's ashen face. Several beads of sweat had formed on h s brow. He was not n good shape.

  "What do you th nk of the d sco so far, Rupert?" Adele asked. Rupert cast another perplexed glance at the g rl n the wh te dress. "It's certa nly nterest ng. Clement ne has been expla n ng about these new dance moves."

  Adele laughed. "Do they not twerk at Eton?"

  "Not n publ c, no."

  Adele and I burst nto laughter.

  "I can teach you f you l ke?" Adele o ered.

  Rupert's eyes w dened. I could p cture the cogs n h s bra n turn ng, scrambl ng for a pol te excuse.

  But Adele was determ ned. "Come on, t's easy. Hold my bag a sec, Clem."

  I took her bag as R ch e Donovan mumbled someth ng about gett ng a dr nk and shu led o . Adele barely seemed to not ce.

  "Okay, so f rst you need to squat w th your legs apart and hands on your knees."

  "Oh, er okay."

  Adele demonstrated and Rupert followed su t. I covered my mouth to conta n my m rth.

  "Now us ng your h ps, sw ng your butt back and forth. Sw ng, Rupert. Squat and sw ng."

  Ever obl g ng, Rupert followed her commands unt l they were both twerk ng to the mus c. I d
oubled over n laughter.

  "Yes, well. That's qu te enough of that for one even ng. But thank you very much for teach ng me," Rupert sa d, stra ghten ng up. Adele stopped her twerk ng and took her bag from me. "No problem. L sten, I'll catch you guys later. I'd better go and make sure R ch e sn't puk ng on a teacher somewhere."

  Even a er Adele le us, I couldn't stop laugh ng. It grew even worse when Rupert asked nnocently, "What's a butt?" When I f nally calmed down, we walked over to the long table wh ch had been set up as a refreshment stall and got a couple of dr nks. Cradl ng our fru t punch, we found seats at the edge of the room where the mus c wasn't so loud and sat down to watch the danc ng. The number of students had swelled s nce we'd arr ved and there were all k nds of h gh j nks go ng on, nclud ng, rather horr fy ngly, several couples mak ng out.

  We both pretended not to not ce.

  "What would you be up to f I wasn't here?" he asked suddenly.

  I sm led. "I'd be at home watch ng TV and eat ng snacks. I'm not really nto carnage on a grand ose scale."

  He chuckled, gaz ng at the dance floor. "Gosh, Clement ne. What on earth would have happened to me f I hadn't met you?"

  I shrugged. "I'm sure you'd have f gured t out. It m ght have taken you a b t longer, but you'd have gotten there n the end."

  He shook h s head. "I don't mean n the log st cal sense. I mean, w thout you and your fr endsh p. Where on earth would I be w thout t?" Just then the tone of the mus c changed from fast to slow. Mr Deveron must have needed a bathroom break because he put on Ed Sheeran'sPhotograph and d sappeared through a door at the back of the hall.

  The e ect on the dance floor was mmed ate. L ke a kale doscope sh ng to a new pattern, half of the dancers scarpered wh lst the rest formed couples.

  Rupert turned to me and cleared h s throat. "Would you perhaps care to dance? Th s tune seems a l ttle more my style.

  I d dn't th nk on t for a second. "Okay."

  We stood up, and n my heart, I knew that I was about to exper ence the most awkward and yet beaut ful moment of my l fe so far. A couple of my classmates watched n confus on as we jo ned the throng of dancers. They were clearly try ng to remember where they'd seen Rupert before. Luck ly no one sa d anyth ng as he led me onto the floor.