I had to spend a moment digesting that. Then I said, “It could just as easily have been you.”
“Yeah.” Gideon retreated into his side of the confessional, and I saw the flash of his white teeth in the dim light. He was smiling. “I think we’re going to have a rather exciting time in the near future.”
That gave me a warm tingly feeling inside. Presumably the prospect of more adventures ought to have scared me, but at that moment I felt nothing but wonderful happiness.
Yes, it would be exciting.
We said no more for a while. Then Gideon asked me, “Back in that coach, when we were talking about the magic of the raven—do you remember?”
Of course I remembered. Every single word.
“You said I couldn’t have that magic because I was only a perfectly ordinary girl. And you know lots of girls like me. Girls who go to the loo in groups and say mean things about Lisa because she—”
A finger fell on my lips. “I know what I said.” Gideon had leaned toward me from his side of the cubbyhole. “And I’m sorry.”
What? I sat there thunderstruck, unable to move or even breathe. His fingers gently touched my lips, stroked my chin, and felt their way up my cheek to my temple.
“You’re not ordinary, Gwyneth,” he whispered as he began stroking my hair. “You’re totally, absolutely extraordinary. You don’t need the magic of any raven to be special to me.” He leaned as close as he could get, with his head and arms through the opening of the confessional window, and when his lips touched my mouth, I shut my eyes.
Okay. So now I was going to faint.
Sunny day, 73 degrees in the shade.
Lady Tilney arrives punctually at nine to elapse.
Traffic in the city held up by a protest march: a group of deranged females demanding votes for women. We’ll be founding colonies on the moon before they get what they want.
Otherwise, no unusual incidents.
FROM THE ANNALS OF THE GUARDIANS
24 JUNE 1912
REPORT: FRANK MINE, INNER CIRCLE
EPILOGUE
Hyde Park, London
24 June 1912
“THESE SUNSHADES are really useful,” she said, twirling hers in a circle. “I can’t understand why they went out of fashion.”
“Maybe because it rains all the time here?” He smiled sideways at her. “But I agree, they’re very attractive. And white lace summer dresses suit you wonderfully. I’m even getting used to the long skirts. It’s always such a nice moment when you take them off.”
“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to not wearing jeans anymore,” she said sadly. “I miss them badly every day.”
He knew very well it wasn’t just the jeans she missed so badly, but he was careful not to say so. They walked on for a while in silence.
The park seemed so peaceful in the summer sun; the city spread out behind them looked as if it were built to last forever. But he remembered that in two years’ time, the First World War would begin, and German zeppelins would be dropping bombs on London. Maybe they’d have to retreat to the country for a while.
“She looks just like you,” she said suddenly.
He knew at once who she was talking about. “No, she looks like you, Princess! It’s only her hair she gets from me.”
“And that way of tilting her head to one side when she’s thinking something over.”
“She’s beautiful, isn’t she?”
She nodded. “Isn’t this strange? Two months ago we held her in our arms as a newborn baby, and now she’s sixteen, and half a head taller than me. And only two years younger!”
“Yes, crazy!”
“I’m so relieved that she’s all right. But Nicholas … why did he have to die so early?”
“Leukemia. I’d never have expected that. Poor girl, to lose her father so young.” He cleared his throat. “I hope she’ll keep away from that boy, my … er, nephew, or whatever he is. These family trees are impossible.”
“Oh, it’s not all that difficult—your great-grandfather and his great-great-grandfather were twin brothers. So your great-great-grandfather is also his great-great-great-grandfather.” She laughed, noticing his blank expression. “I’ll draw you a family tree sometime.”
“I tell you, no one can work it out. Anyway, I don’t like the young man. Did you notice the way he was ordering her about? Luckily she wasn’t taking it lying down.”
“She’s in love with him.”
“No, she isn’t.”
“Yes, she is. She just doesn’t know it yet.”
“So how do you think you know it?”
“Oh, because he’s simply irresistible. My God, did you see his eyes? Green like a tiger’s. I think I felt a bit weak at the knees myself when he flashed them at me, even though he was angry.”
“What? You can’t mean that seriously! Since when have you liked green eyes?”
She laughed. “Don’t worry. Your eyes are the best of all. For me, at least. But I think she likes green eyes best.”
“She’s not in love with that arrogant young man!”
“I tell you, she is. And he’s just like you when you were younger.”
“What? That…! He’s not in the least like me. I never ordered you about, never!”
She grinned. “You did, too!”
“Only when it was necessary.” He tipped his hat back on his head. “I just want him to leave her alone.”
“You’re jealous.”
“Well, yes,” he admitted. “Isn’t that normal? When I next see him, I’m going to tell him to keep his hands off her.”
“I’ve an idea we’ll be crossing their path quite often in the near future,” she said, and now she wasn’t smiling. “And I’ve an idea you ought to start polishing up your skill at fencing. There’s something in the air, and it’s coming our way.”
He threw his walking stick in the air and caught it nimbly as it came down. “I’m ready. How about you, Princess?”
“Ready when you are.”