Chapter 6
"So that's what they were hiding," Rebecca said, slightly stunned at the abbreviated look into the future she had just been treated to.
"Saving our sensibilities, I assume," Phileas said. "France invaded, and London bombings. No good news of the future in that. That would be the reason why they were running scared out of the attic."
There had also been the news that the family was still involved in the Secret Service. Phileas knew when Lacey explained what this charitable organization did, that it was highly dangerous. At what point did it get so dangerous her brother forced her out, and then promised a university education as a bribe to keep her out?
Their coming here to this time, he still wondered at. Maybe it had something to do with Loren's wearing my coat? Phileas shook his head. I simply don't have enough information. For whatever reason, they are here, and I must deal with it.
When the twins made their next appearance, Lacey appeared to be over her burst of tears. Loren didn't look any worse for wear from getting slapped, but that didn't usually leave marks for long.
Phileas put a stop to their dancing around by coming out with their new knowledge. "The effort to save us the bad news is appreciated, but unnecessary," he said. "It could have been detrimental to getting you back to your own time."
"I'd like to go back into the attic storeroom if you don't mind," Lacey said. "Perhaps something else was brought back with us that might explain things."
"A good idea," Rebecca said. "Phileas, would you recognize anything out of place?"
"I should."
All five headed up the stairs to the attic. The door was closed and locked. Phileas opened it. The room was dark. Passepartout opened a window for light.
The room was a bit messier than Phileas had expected. There were trunks and boxes lining the walls. Canes were propped in a corner. The small bed he had replaced from Rebecca's room had been disassembled and stored here, taking up a good portion of one wall.
Lacey looked around somewhat confused. "Nothing familiar. It wasn't like this when we were here last night," she complained. "The bed wasn't here. There were fewer trunks. "What is that?"
Lying across a box top was a frame like construction of rusted metal looking like it may have been a collar with loops on either side. To Lacy, it looked like an old set of wings from an angel costume.
Rebecca followed her line of sight to the item the girl asked about. She smiled down at the rusted thing. "That is a dress hoop from last century," she said. "It held the skirts out to either side rather than in a bell. Phileas, you should really clean this out one day," Rebecca teased. "Are you planning on keeping that thing until it's old enough to be donated to a museum?"
"As I recall, you were the one who didn't want to part with all these antiques." Phileas said to his defense. "Had I been given a free hand; all this would have been carried off long ago. I don't see anything that wasn't here the last time I looked. I am afraid you and what you carried were the only things that came across."
Loren moved to the spot in the room he had stood in when Lacey helped him into the coat. "I was standing here. Lacy was to the right of me with three open trunks. We closed one for me to sit on. When we heard the planes and the air raid siren, I grabbed up the carpetbag of clothes and she made a grab for the top. I pulled her away to the door."
"I touched the toy, but it flew out of my hand," Lacey added. "We were out the door before I heard it hit the ground." She walked toward the door looking about. "One would expect there to have been something to make this happen." A time machine or a leprechaun… something.
The doorknocker downstairs sounded. Passepartout left the attic to answer it. "That might be David Stanton," Phileas said. "I was supposed to go to the club with him today." He excused himself to greet his guest. Rebecca left the two siblings alone to their thoughts a moment later when Phileas called to her to join him.
The twins heard the muffled voices downstairs but didn't think about joining them. They were lost in their own thoughts. Lacey dropped down on a crate looking dejected. Loren joined her.
"You think this might be permanent?" Lacy said.
"It might be," Loren said gently. "You think you could get used to living in this time? We will be around fifty when father is born. A good chance we'll live to see the second war start."
"Born and bounce back here again?" Lacey said.
She stood and headed to the door. She had already been forced to a nap. The situation had her feeling defeated and tired. She wanted to find Rebecca before lying down. The corset stays felt like they were imbedding themselves into her skin. Something snagged at her skirt.
"One thing is for sure;" she said to her brother, "I'm not going to get used to needing so much clearance to walk." She looked down, yanked at her skirt, and found a tall boot with a buckle caught in the flounce. She stooped to work it loose, and saw the top half tucked in a space between trunks. It was off the floor by a foot, trapped tight. "Look what made it across with us." She knelt to pull it out, finding it stuck tight. Loren had to drag one of the trunks away to free it. It was a rather plain looking thing. Lacey would have expected it to be painted bright colors. She handed it to Loren so she could stand again. He put it down on the top of a box and gave it a spin. Just like last time, it took off as if it were motorized.
"Let's go Loren," Lacey said. "I know they don't want us out, but instead of another nap, I'd like to take a walk. There is a park close by in our time. Interested?"
"Yes, let's go," Loren said.
They walked out of the attic visualizing the park, wondering what changes they would find. In the hall, they noticed it was darker than it had been before. The gas lights in the hall hadn't been on when they came up. The light from the dormer had been plenty. Loren stopped in his tracks, looking at that dormer, filthy with cobwebs and grime to the point no light would get though. The hall was dusty; the wood paneling faded looking from old dust and dirt. The hall ceiling light was back in its place and on, and the switch was to his left where it had always been. "We're back!"
Lacey turned back to the attic storeroom but didn't step across the threshold. Inside, the room was as it had been in 1865 with the top spinning on the trunk. As it lost its momentum, the room did an eerie fade, like a watercolor picture. When the top settled. The room sharpened to its 1941 look, with two trunks open. The top had disappeared. "It was the top!"
