Hearts Out of Time (4 page)

True to his word, Garrett showed her the white-and-gold American Dining Room located right off the main lobby, followed by the spacious ‘Grille Rooms,’ one for ‘Ladies’ and another for ‘Gentlemen.’

Even if she hadn’t studied art and history, the place was fantastic enough to fill anyone with wonder.

They moved on to the Maple Hall available for receptions, the Tapestry Room accommodating private dinners, the three ‘Louis Quinze’-style ‘Parlors,’ and the Colonial-style Billiards Room providing a place for gentlemen guests to relax, as did the magnificently appointed bar.

Like a fairytale princess escorted by her dark prince, she climbed the impressive staircase leading to the second story. She darted her gaze around, wanting to see everything, taking in the smoothness of colors, the richness hanging in the air and the feel of the handrail under her fingers.

When they reached the landing, a well-mannered attendant ushered them into a private dining room while pretending not to notice her dirty jeans and sneakers. Eccentricity must definitely be tolerated among rich patrons.

The same atmosphere of luxuriousness reigned inside the room. When Garrett released her arm to indicate the table, a cold sensation overran her.

Why did she feel abandoned? Doing her best to ignore the hole in her stomach, she glanced at the severe man she’d met a few hours ago and swallowed the lump in her throat as he suddenly brought his hands up to cup her face.

Chapter 4

Tracy froze, heart pounding. Stretched out toward her, Garrett’s fingers seemed to approach in slow motion as he brought them ever closer to her cheeks. What was he doing? Attempting to kiss her?

Heat burned inside her while she stayed rooted to the spot, the walls and furniture receding in the background, the tips of his thumbs invading her field of vision. She parted her lips, pulse vibrating, legs tensing as though braced against starting blocks before a hundred-yard dash.

“I’d love to leave you two alone but I’m famished.”

Weedon’s comment shattered the awkward moment. Her thighs turning to jelly, she took a step back as a weird expression crossed Garrett’s features. What the heck almost happened? He didn’t touch her face but tangled his fingers into the strands of hair framing her cheeks before gently pulling on them.

“Sprigs,” he explained.

Oh, really? He let her amble around the whole Palace with twigs in her hair but now that they stood in a private room the unseemly sight bothered him?

She didn’t need to glance at Weedon to see a grin stretching his mouth. A second later, he slumped onto the nearest armchair. “Sure, old chap. Did you take Tracy to a forest before meeting me? I want to know all about your little adventure in the woods.”

Brow furrowed, Garrett shot him a dark look but remained silent. Had Garrett truly meant to kiss her? Why now, in front of his friend and a waiter?

Her pulse slowed, yet the hunger in her belly didn’t abate. If she could just eat something, she might fill that emptiness gnawing at her guts.

The attendant drew back an armchair with an expecting air. Fingers twitching, Tracy sat down slowly before she smiled to thank him.

He then turned to Garrett still standing next to the table. “Sir?”

“The usual, please. For the three of us.”

“Right away.”

The waiter took off, the sound of his shoes hardly noticeable on the thick carpet, while Garrett sat down.

Beside her, Weedon poured water into her glass. “I never realized before how grand this hotel is. Thanks for initiating this very interesting tour, Tracy.”

“You’re welcome.”

His offhanded comment cleared the air despite the fact that her stomach hardened when Garrett chose the seat to her left. She needed to trust him, like her dad asked. If he did, so could she. Yet how was she supposed to do that when the man’s mere presence raised the fine hair on the nape of her neck? Why did she desire this snobbish stranger who didn’t appear to think a lot of her?

When her companions started a casual conversation, she stayed out of it, letting her gaze drift around the room, relishing the sensation of breathing in a supposedly inaccessible time and place.

She dug in as soon as the waiter came back to place three plates in front of them. Meat laden with a rich, brown sauce along with crispy, fresh greens and a spoonful of rice. Delicious meant little compared to the awesome quality of the food but when the three of them finally sighed with fulfillment, she couldn’t hold her questions any longer and tilted her head toward Weedon.

“How did you meet my dad?”

“Through my friend here, but I’m certain that’s not what you want to hear.”

Weedon raised his glass while jabbing his chin at Garrett, who took a deep breath before beginning his tale.

“I was born and raised in London, where my family still resides. I came into the company of your father five years ago, a few months before I graduated from Cambridge. During my last year in residence, William expressed his desire for a new assistant. He was exploiting the resources of the University, pursuing extensive scientific research.”

The muffled sound of a wailing siren outside interrupted his telling for an instant, but Garrett soon resumed.

“He dismissed his former assistant for incompetence. I studied mechanical sciences and physics, therefore this open position proved a splendid opportunity for me. I believe I was worthy of his trust for he quickly revealed to me he worked on the possibilities of time traveling.”

That must have happened when her father went mystical for a while, and left on a religious retreat. He didn’t contact them with any news for almost a year, and her mother worried for weeks on end. He had dared lie to his wife and daughter. God had never been in his life, only work.

Since he obviously couldn’t keep in touch with his family from the nineteenth century, he didn’t have any choice but to cut himself off. And lie. Nevertheless, he’d distressed them for twelve long months without suffering from a guilty conscience. Damn, she could have wrung his neck.

“I can’t believe he was showing off in nineteenth-century England while we thought him locked in a cell in some drab monastery.” She shook her head in disgust.

Having folded his napkin in a neat square, Garrett inhaled sharply and fixed a stern gaze upon her. “I beg your pardon, Miss Richardson. A daughter has no authority to pass judgment on her father’s actions.”

“Hey, Mister Stuck-up is back,” she couldn’t help but bite back. Disregarding his cold eyes riveted to her, she winked at Weedon. “I kinda missed him for a while there.”

Weedon didn’t hide a smile while he signaled to Garrett to carry on with his story. Garrett scowled at him then continued.

“William spent fifteen years of his life attempting to create a time-travel machine, but he had been unsuccessful thus far.”

“Are you kidding me?” Although a little surprised at her own defensiveness, Tracy felt prompted to wave her hands at Garrett. “Hello! I’m living proof he made it, all right.”

“Would you please stop interrupting and heed my words?” Garrett frowned and tapped his fingers on the tablecloth.

Quick to the rescue, Weedon clapped his hands lightly. “All right, you two. If you want some privacy, just say the word and I’ll take White Fur for a walk.”

“By all means,” Tracy said, shooting Weedon a dark look, “do go on, Mister Burnes.”

Garrett gave her a brief nod, yet she knew her sudden formal manner didn’t deceive him in the least. “As I was saying before being interrupted, William worked to a standstill. Time traveling would mean breaking immutable laws of physics. However, prior to his arrival in England, he had learnt about a many-worlds interpretation of quantum physics he named ‘the Everett Theory.’”

Tracy snapped her fingers, recalling how the name rang a bell when she initiated her father’s program on the computer. “Small wonder Dad used this name for his program.”

Garrett slowly took a sip of water, set his glass down on the table, and continued as if she hadn’t butted in.

“Based on this interpretation, William’s work took on a very different direction. He’d already created a telepod in the basement of his Sausalito residence, and finalized another one in Gold Run.”

“Really?”

Her father always acted like the busiest person on the planet, but now she understood why. Still, he abandoned his family for too long to expect forgiveness simply because he might be a genius. Pushing the upsetting thoughts away, she concentrated on Garrett’s voice.

“As I was free and idle at that time, he offered me the opportunity to meet up with him in San Francisco, after he’d had a chance to see his family. I was to assist him in building a third telepod.”

“So you two built the lab I found myself in this morning? The place where you were waiting for me?”

She didn’t mean to sound awed, yet the hint of a proud smile danced on Garrett’s extremely kissable lips.

“Precisely.”

Her dad wouldn’t have let anyone else but himself manipulate the telepods at that early stage of his work. If she judged the situation right, Garrett had journeyed from England to America by boat.

“So you crossed the Atlantic to pursue a dream?” she asked.

“Not a dream at all, as you seem to imply so offhandedly, for William made a breakthrough and created the first dimensional travel device. You didn’t go back in time, Miss Richardson.” Garrett paused.

Tracy felt her stomach spin with anticipation when he leaned a little over the table to stare at her. “You travelled into a parallel universe.”

What? “Are you telling me I’m not back in
my
1899?” She straightened up in her chair while observing him, her mind buzzing with excitement. Garrett nodded.

“After testing his first telepod and recognizing he hadn’t traveled in time, William set up a bridge connecting your twenty-first century world to ours. As you may have noticed, there’s a significant gap in time, over a century. He hasn’t discovered the reason yet, however I’m confident he shall do so promptly.”

“Oh my God, this is all so . . . so . . .” She fell silent, at a loss for adequate words. If time traveling astonished her, actually being in a different world proved downright awesome. Her belly tingled with expectation when Garrett continued.

“According to your father, our universes appear rather similar: the original creation, the evolution of mankind, the history. There is no notable difference to this day. At times, however, he’d muse over unexpected discrepancies. He called them ‘weird robotics’ and ‘unlikely characters.’”

She dropped a hand to White Fur to stroke the silky patch at the back of his ears. The wolfdog stretched under her gentle touch. Here was one creature who would never fret about time travel or wacko kidnappers.

She didn’t have a clue about the weird robotics her dad mentioned, and the allusion to unlikely characters was also unclear. Whatever happened, she needed to learn more about this place.

“How did you know I was coming today?” she asked.

“I wasn’t privy to that particular knowledge until this morning,” Garrett responded. “A week ago, William informed me he had left instructions for you. He thought someone might have discovered his invention, an unidentified person whose motives were, as yet, ill-defined.”

“That’s not good,” she conceded, “but what can I do about it?”

“He believed himself at risk, and, drastic situations calling for drastic measures, he relied on you. Should the situation deteriorate, he made it explicit that you had the means to find him and save both our worlds.”

“Are you sure he said ‘save’? What the heck was he going on about?” She searched deep into her memory for any recollection of a particular conversation with her dad. Try as she might, nothing came to mind, and the letter she found in the garden didn’t contain any clues. He never talked about her having special skills or saving whatever he needed her to save.

Across the table, Weedon passed a hand through his hair. Garrett dropped his napkin beside his plate and pushed a crumb with his finger before shrugging. “Regardless, when I received the anonymous message this morning saying that you had been contacted, I inferred you might make an appearance. Thus, I went presently to William’s laboratory, hoping to be right. I’m not a patient man, and I anticipated delay. However, I dare say you made haste.”

“Huh.” She scrunched up her face at him. A compliment? No, that couldn’t be right. This high-and-mighty man would burn his lips rather than praise her.

“When I saw you come forth, looking bemused, I imagined you had no idea as to your whereabouts.” Garrett tilted his head at her. “Nevertheless, you took the risk of entering the telepod. For a woman, I have to say your brave attitude does you credit.”

There it was, the knife in her back, and she didn’t care much about the
for a woman
part. Not much at all. “You know what, my dear, dear Mister Burnes? I can also cook, iron, vacuum, and clean up with great courage. Isn’t that swell?”

Playing the sweet and honeyed 1950’s housewife to the hilt, she placed her hand on Garrett’s and heard his sharp intake of breath. He reacted so strongly to her simple touch that she, in turn, felt something funny in her stomach. Like a wild inner call. Yet she kept the sweet smile plastered on her face when he retrieved his hand.

“I fear I’m not familiar with your different way of life,” Garrett said.

“I’ll teach you,” she replied.

He appeared taken aback this time, and right after he cleared his throat, his words came out stiffly. “However, let us not diverge from our present occupation. How were you informed of your father’s abduction?”

“I got a very brief and baffling phone call. I didn’t recognize the voice, but it was a man telling me to bring him a Christmas gift or my dad would die.”

Her new companions definitely knew a lot more about the situation because they exchanged a curious glance.

“Not stupid in the least.”

Before Garrett could fill her in, Weedon pushed his chair back and stood up, White Fur alert beside him.

“I’m sorry to cut this interesting gathering short, but I have an engagement elsewhere that I can’t postpone. Don’t worry, Tracy, you’ll soon learn everything we’re aware of.”

God, she’d have to wait again. Why didn’t these people just get out with it and be done? Still, she managed to keep her mouth shut while he concluded his apology.

“At any rate, you won’t notice my absence as I’ll be back in no time to resume our conversation. If we are to help you in your quest, I wouldn’t want to miss the tiniest development.”

Once more, his teasing tone made her wonder if he itched to participate in the search for her dad, or to watch his friend banter with her.

The buddy in question also got to his feet and checked his watch. “We’ve been here long enough in any case. Miss Richardson needs to freshen up and change her garments. Evening is nigh so we shan’t be conspicuous outside now. I’ll take her to the mansion.”

She looked out through high windows adorned with beautiful wood carvings. Gray, heavy clouds hid the sun and it was pretty dark already. Following both men to the door, she puzzled over the hazardous situation her father had flung her into, dreading whatever was in store for the both of them.