IV. DEPARTURE

Leopold finally got to Kate's room, but only to find her gone. She was gone, no note, no nothing, just...gone. A wave of sadness washed over him. And then, it was all impotence, and anger. How could his uncle do this? What had he said to Kate that made her go?. He felt the urgent need, like an inner fire, to confront his uncle, and so he was going to do. Leopold headed to his uncle's studio.

Millard was in his studio. He knew the girl would leave, which pleased him, and he knew that after she left everything would go back to the way it was. Just like it should have always been. But then, a strong knock on his door stopped his reasoning.

Millard opened the door, and saw a very angry Leopold by the doorway. "Just out of curiosity, uncle. Do you happen to have a high educational degree on how to make people miserable or do you just find delight in making me miserable?" shot Leopold.. "I did what I did to protect you, Leopold, to protect our family. One day you'll realize it" responded Millard. "What did you say to her, uncle? What did you say that was so hard she had to leave?" said Leopold, keeping his questioning. "It doesn't matter what I said Leopold. She is gone and that's what matters" answered Millard calmly. "Be a man and tell me what you told her. Tell me to my face!" challenged Leopold, who was starting to become impatient. "Right. If you must know" said Leopold's uncle "I told her that she wasn't worthy of you. I told her that you deserved the best, and the best is definitely not her. I told her that my nephew deserved better, and that she should leave. That's what I told her."

Leopold's heart sank at hearing this. "Why uncle? Why is it always like this? Why do you have to be such a heartless bastard!" yelled Leopold. Millard was furious, so furious he slapped Leopold across his face with such force his nephew was off his feet. "Don't you dare disrespect me again, you ungrateful brat. You'd be rotting in the streets right now if it wasn't for me! Your worth would be nothing if it wasn't for me!".

Otis had listened to everything. He had been there, in the room, the whole time. He had been Leopold's caretaker since Leopold was a child, and he loved Leopold as his son, and so Leopold loved him as a father . Otis had been witness of Kate's arrival, and of everything going on in the house. He didn't have anything against Kate, on the contrary, he liked her, and felt very sorry when he found out she was gone. He knew she made Leopold feel alive. He could see in his Master's eyes, that he was in love with her, and now she was gone. He really hated seeing Leopold like this: so sad, so vulnerable. He went to help Leopold up. Once the duke was on his feet again, he said the last words he would be saying to his uncle in a long time "I'm sorry if I was ever a burden to you, uncle. But believe me, I would gladly bring my parents back if I could. A part of my heart died when they were gone. And now that Kate is gone, I feel that the part of the heart I have left is dying. Maybe someday you'll learn to think with your heart too, and not only with your head." With those words, and his emotional pain, Leopold left, not bothering to look at his uncle anymore.

Leopold could feel that Otis was following him. "Don't worry about me Otis, I will be fine. I just need some time alone" assured Leopold. "Your grace, I won't be leaving until I give you something to help your injuries. It won't take long" persisted Otis.

"Nonsense Otis, I'm fine. It's just a small bruise" insisted Leopold. "And we wouldn't want it to get infected now, would we?" asked Otis sternly. "Otis, you have always been good to me. You're a saint, and I will forever love and cherish you., but right now I need to be alone, please" requested Leopold, smiling at his persistent caretaker. "Very well your grace, but please at least wash up your bruise" said a rather defeated Otis. "I will Otis, I promise you. And please, stop calling me Your Grace, I hate it and you know it". "Very well, Master Leopold." replied Otis "That's much better" smiled Leopold, who started walking away. "Master Leopold!" called Otis. Leopold stopped in his tracks and turned to see Otis "Everything will be fine, you and Katherine are meant to be together. You will find your way to each other once more. Just don't give up on one another, and all will be fine. I really do believe that she is the woman for you" assured Otis. "You do Otis?" asked Leopold. "Yes, I do. And I have no doubts that you are the man for her"

Hearing this, he knew it was time to tell Otis the truth about Kate. He knew that it was very possible that Otis would believe him. "Otis, I need to tell you something, would you please come with me?" requested Leopold "Certainly, sire" said Otis, as they both headed to Leopold's room to talk.

They arrived to the room and Leopold closed the door behind him. "Otis, I know I can trust you" affirmed Leopold "but I really must ask you not to tell anyone anything regarding what I am about to say". "Master Leopold, I swear I won't tell one single soul. My lips are sealed" assured Otis, which made Leopold relax. "Alright, Otis, what I am about to say might be hard for you to digest, and even hard to believe. I want you to know that if you don't believe my words, I'll understand.".

Those words left Otis to be all ears. "As you know, Otis" continued Leopold "Kate is from New York" Otis nodded "but, Otis, you don't know the truth of how Kate and I met, which is the interesting part of all of this. You see, the day I was to announce a bride, I saw a man, at the science convention in which Roebling's erection was presented. I didn't recognize him, but he seemed very odd to me,. Still, I decided to pay no importance to him. However. when we came back here, I saw him again, at the ball. I knew he was the same man I had seen earlier that day, so I followed him throughout the house, without him noticing. Finally, he went into one of the house's rooms. I tried to talk to him, but he didn't seem to want to talk. I suppose he was a little bit scared, because he ran out of the house. I followed him. I did until he stopped in the exact place where Roebling's erection is. I wanted to catch up with him, but suddenly he started climbing his way to the top of the construction. He seemed willing to jump, all the way down to the river. I didn't want the man to commit suicide, so I went after him. I climbed as I was trying to talk to him into stopping, but he didn't. By the time I reached the top the man was on the edge of the construction, ready to jump. He jumped, but I was on time to take a hold on his hand. I tried to bring him up again, but the edge of the construction didn't support the weight of both of us, so it collapsed. Then all I remember is that we were on mid air, heading very vigorously towards the river. Then, I remember waking up. Waking up in some unknown atmosphere. I realized that I wasn't in New York anymore, at least not in the New York I knew. Soon after, I also found out, that the man I told you about, had discovered a crack in time, a crack that allowed him to come to our time and go back again to his own time: the 21st century. The only problem was, he hadn't gone back alone. I was stuck in his time too: the New York of the 21st century." Otis stood there for a moment, eyes wide as saucers. "Otis, I know it's hard to believe, but I will continue, ok? " Otis nodded. "Well, the place I was in was full of unknown gadgets and devices. Things I've never seen, people I had never seen or met. But anyway, after a while, this man I'm telling you about, whose name is Stuart, received a visitor. That visitor was Kate. I was mesmerized by her since the first time I saw her. I started treating her as a person, and I found out what kind of person she was. She was a woman that expressed herself, a fighter, a sincere woman, an honest woman, a loving woman…a beautiful woman, and it wasn't until I made something that upset her, that I realized I was not only mesmerized by her, but I was truly in love with her. I even wrote her a letter to apologize, asking her to dinner. We spent a wonderful evening, a wonderful weekend. After that, we had another disagreement, but this time we couldn't talk it over. I had to come back to my own time, or else I was going to be trapped in that New York for a long time." "Holy Lord. What happened then Master Leopold? How did you come back" asked Otis, who was still very amazed "You see, Otis, this crack in time Stuart found, opens and closes, depending on factors like weather. So, while it was still opened I jumped my way back, just the same way Stuart and I did the night I followed him." "That's an amazing story, Master Leopold" "It is Otis, but things didn't end there. What I didn't know, was that Kate would come back too, and that she would come back because of me. That was the first day you saw her here. That's why neither of you had seen her before, because she had never actually been here." "It makes sense to me, Master Leopold…. I believe you." "I'm glad it's not some deranged story to you Otis, because what I just told is how Kate and I really met. It was not at the university, like we have said before. These are the real happenings. That's how it really happened" "I don't know what else to say, I am still so impressed!" "Yes Otis, and it's normal. I know I would be if I hadn't seen it myself" said Leopold.

Otis began wondering, about what had happened to Kate. "Master Leopold, when Kate left, do you think she went back to her own time?" asked Otis, still in curiosity "I don't know Otis. She probably knew how to make the calculations in order to know when the crack would be opened. I don't know if she went back to her time, but I do believe that if the crack was opened, she most likely did" replied Leopold sadly. "Do you know how to make the calculations, Master Leopold?" asked Otis. "I guess I could figure out the formulas in short time, and that's what I plan to do. Otis, I don't care what it takes, I need to go back and get Kate, and I will not rest until I do so" finished Leopold. "I will support you in anyway I can Master Leopold, please let me know if you need anything" said Otis, supporting Leopold in his decision. "Thank you Otis. I will be in Kate's room, I need to know if she left something that might help me calculate the openings of the crack" "Very well, sire". "Thanks again Otis, and thanks for believing me and not thinking I was a crack case". " I will always believe in you. You are like my son, and I will always stand by you, Master Leopold" replied Otis. Leopold smiled at this and gave Otis an affectionate tap on his shoulder. "Thanks Otis. You know I will stand by you also, always. You are the father I never had. Thanks for being there" there was a small silence then "You know where I'll be Otis. Thanks again" said Leopold as he was heading to Kate's room once again.

Once in Kate's room, Leopold started searching for clues, for the calculations he needed to do. He didn't find any guiding clue on the calculations, but he did find something. A device. Some device he had never seen before. He took the device in his hands, and noticed that the device had some sort of a headset, like the talking telegraph he saw on Stuart's home, but smaller and lighter. He decided to bring it to his head. Some kind of music was playing, a song. A beautiful song. A song that Kate liked or so he thought. A while after he figured out how to use the device.

He headed to his laboratory, device in his hands, and totally determined to work out the calculations. That night would be a long one……

The night was through already and Leopold hadn't slept. It was the morning after Kate had been gone, and he already had the calculations: It was very probable that Kate was in her own time, according to the results of Leopold's investigation. However, there was still hope, for in a week's time the portal would be opened again, and he would jump off the bridge, to get to his Katherine.