Into the Ether by Vanessa Barger Page B

sun warming my shoulders. He flopped down next to me . He squeezed his hat in one hand, and ran the other through his hair. The silence made the air thick around us. I bumped his shoulder. “Spit it out. You ’re making me more nervous.”
    â€œI can’t stay long. I snuck out to get some information about Elliot and Clarissa. I think I know where they are, but I’m not sure I can help them. I wanted you to know that if I disappear for a while, ” he drew a deep breath and flicked a glance at me. “If I don’t come by for a while, don’t come looking for me.”
    My fingers bit into the fraying tweed of his coat. “Don’t you dare do anything stupid, Terry. ”
    He pretended offense. “Who? Me? Never.”
    When I didn’t respond in kind, his smile faded. His green eyes held mine with an intensity that made me feel as though someone had just punched me in the gut.
    â€œIf something happens, and you don’t hear from me after four days, stay here. You’re safe as long as you stay with the curator . I’ll try to get word to you explaining what I can.”
    I sniffed. Anger and worry mixed into a churning mess in my stomach. “You don’t have to do this, you know. Heroes don’t always fare well in the stories.”
    He wove his fingers with mine and squeezed. “I’ll write my own story, thank you.”
    â€œTerry —”
    â€œHush. I’ll be back before you know it, and you’ll think this whole conversation was a horrible prank.”
    I smiled, but I didn’t mean it. Inside my heart pounded and my stomach did flips. Something was wrong. Very wrong. He was looking for Elliot and Clarissa, and it wasn’t going to end well.
    He pressed a kiss to my fingers , then bounded off the steps, turned the corner , and disappeared into the street. Four days was going to take a long time.
    â€œSo, that’s your young man then?” Walter’s voice made me jump.
    I stood, nearly tripping over my own feet in my haste. “He’s not mine.”
    Walter just patted his belly , staring over my head at the street . “If you say so.”
    â€œWhy were you spying on me anyway?” I fisted my hands on my hips.
    He chuckled. “I wasn’t spying. You just weren’t paying attention. ”
    A speculative light glittered in the depths of Walter’s dark eyes. I didn’t like it. Somehow , I’d given him something to be intrigued and amused about. While we were getting along better, we were by no means friends.
    Unease curled open in my belly and I struggled to keep it off my face. I slapped on a smile and grabbed my skirts, heading back up the steps. “Enjoy the day, Walter. It ’ s lovely out here.”
    He grunted and nodded, but didn’t move his gaze from the spot where I’d been sitting with Terry.
    ****
    It didn’t take four days.
    Two days after I spoke with Terry, Colonel Worthington and I sat down to dinner. We put our bowls of beef stew on a table I found in one of the empty rooms and scrubbed clean. It held four chairs, which hadn’t seemed unusual to me when I sat down.
    Then a knock reverberated through the room.
    â€œWould you get that?” Colonel Worthington asked. He folded his napkin in precise pleats and laid it across his lap.
    I opened the door to find Phillip standing in the glow of the newly repaired gas lamps.
    â€œPhillip!” I threw an arm around him and ushered him inside. I’d been feeling guilty and avoided his underground domain since I arrived.
    â€œ Colonel Worthington , Phillip’s come to join us for dinner.” I said.
    Colonel Worthington didn’t look surprised.
    I rushed to get him a bowl and dig out another spoon. As I sat the food in front of him, I nearly dropped the soup. In the brighter light of the room, I realized Phillip had cleaned up . He’d slicked back his dark hair and wore his Sunday best.