Prologue
The truth was, Helena loved Charles. The two siblings had the kind of relationship that does not require words to communicate; that is not to say that Helena did not adore hearing Charles' gentle voice talking about his thoughts on history, society and the human condition in general. Helena herself was always the more outgoing one, the problem solver. Her childhood room was literally littered with the fruits of her technical mind, meticulously sketched out on yellowing pages: detailed designs of queer contraptions, carefully cut out articles from science magazines with her own added scribbles and notes, little prototypes and knickknacks made of wood and string and wire. Charles loved sneaking into his sister's room when she was working on her ideas, many times she would lift her eyes from a project to find him quietly staring at her while she tinkered; she'd smile at him – sometimes give him a little wave – and he'd smile back. He never bothered her.
When Helena was nine and Charles was eight he told her that he'd kissed Hennery Parson, the local baker's son. The next day Hennery's older brothers grabbed Charles and threw him out of the bakery's second floor window; Charles injured his leg severely and was bedridden for almost half a year. It was Helena's turn to sneak into his room where they would read and discuss the books their father brought Charles from the local library. For the entire duration of Charles' incapacitation, all of the barker's children found themselves the victims of odd little pranks from seemingly innocent looking traps or unexplained technical failures around the bakery. Helena would like to think that the entire Parson brood had grown up to have a lingering sense of paranoia forever itched into their psyche.
When Helena was fifteen she started fooling around with girls, she was very good at it. All her conquests were attributed to Charles, a factor that suited them both. They stayed close even after they left their childhood home; if they didn't live in the same house then they arranged to be at least next door neighbors, that way they could cover for each other in case anyone got a little too close to discovering the true nature of their affairs. But mostly they just really loved each other.
Christina was born unexpectedly; Helena was having one of her rambunctious flings, this time with a man, and was not careful enough. Helena's temperament and hectic work schedule meant that for the longest time she was completely oblivious to anything amiss. By the time Charles noticed his sisters impending condition, she was already 3 months pregnant. Helena was floored.
This time they got out of the mess with the help of Lady Luck more than any sort of 'Wells wits'. An acquaintance of an acquaintance of Charles' knew of a dying old geezer that would gladly wed any woman willing to withstand his many cats. The wedding was set up immediately; Helena didn't even have to change her last name before the ancient old hooch wheezed his last breath. Helena was an instant widow; her unborn child however would not be labeled a bastard.
After Christina's birth they moved to the countryside, Charles taught at the local university for fun since his rising status as a prolific writer meant that they could both live quite comfortably. It was a wonderful era for Helena; to her astonishment, she discovered that motherhood was the most fascinating and fulfilling endeavor she had ever partaken in. Christina was a wonder, every day was a new discovery: sometimes comical, sometimes difficult, sometimes peculiar, always amazing.
Charles was devastated when Christina was murdered; he had been an active influence in his niece's life; his grief was inconsolable. What made it worse was his inability to stem his sister's spiraling decent into self-destruction. His prophetic mind could see it happening right before his eyes, but he was utterly powerless to influence the outcome.
At least not at the time.