“Of course you couldn’t walk away. I’m not saying bad things, horrible things even, don’t happen.” Will spoke gently, leaned toward Zani, and reached for one of her hands. “Bad things happened to me, too. I grew up in an orphanage. Believe me, I know about being miserable. But we can’t go around convincing ourselves that everything that happens results from a curse. That just keeps us stuck there, and helpless. As long as you’re living, there’s almost always a little something you can do to make things better.” He gave her hands a squeeze. Zani nodded as she squeezed his hands back. “I promise you, Zani, the minute you put your energy into the positive things you can do, instead of the negative things you don’t have control over, magic always seems to find a way.”
“You realize how pithy that sounds, right?” Zani dabbed at her eyes with a napkin.
“What can I say? I’m a porter. I have learned to let go of trying to control everything. I go with the flow.” Will waved his hand with a flourish and perfect timing.
At that same moment, Derek whisked aside the curtain. He had arrived with a large round tray that included two pots of tea and a three tiered plate stand that was laden with sandwiches, biscuits, fresh ripe berries, and cheeses.
“Thank you, Derek,” Will said when the dun-haired man offered to pour their tea, “But I think we can take it from here.”
Once they were alone again. Will sliced a chunk of Camembert, which he laid on top of a savory scone. “I’m so glad you suggested this place. I love a good tea party, don’t you?”
Zani held up a cookie and sniffed it appreciatively. “What witchcraft is this now?”
“That’s one of Minerva’s famous lemon drizzle biscuits. I think they’re the opposite of a hex, if there ever was one.” Will reached out to take one for himself. He considered the tart, sweet cookie before taking a bite. “I’d call these biscuits a blessing.”
For several minutes, they both sipped their tea and nibbled on the delicious snacks in companionable silence. They were both thinking about other, more trivial things before continuing the conversation. Zani arranged the assorted items on her plate into a neat half-moon shape. Will picked up the takeout menu again and studied it, making a mental note of which dishes he wanted to try.
Finally, Zani spoke again. “Will?”
“Mmph?” Will knew they weren’t finished, but he was still enjoying the pause. He was concerned about what came next.
“I want to go back.”
He gulped his tea and set the empty cup down before answering. “I can’t take you back to the train to prevent the theft of the bloodstone, Zani. You can’t change the past. That would be just like hexing yourself. You’d risk getting stuck in an actual time loop. Or something even worse.” He shuddered.
“I’m not asking you to take me back to the train.” Zani poured more tea for Will and stirred in two sugars. Just the way he liked it. She’d been paying attention. “I want to go back to the Court of Catherine De Medici. I want to find out what else was in that fragmented book I found and maybe speak to whomever wrote it.”
“No.” Will shook his head. “Just because you weren’t there then doesn’t mean it’s not dangerous. If you were to changeanything,the implications would be infinite. The entire world as we know it could be affected,” Will cautioned. This was all conjecture, of course. Will had not yet been able to replicate the slip.
Turn out your pockets, Porter… There has to be a catalyst…
Will didn’t need to pick through any more piles of lint now. He knew what, or rather,who,the catalyst was. And she was begging him to try it again. Wasn’t this exactly what he’d been wishing for?Careful what you wish for.
“I just think it’s too risky. I don’t want to bring about the apocalypse.” Will folded his arms across his chest.
“Do you think maybe you’re being a little melodramatic?” Zani teased.
“No.” Will shook his head.
“There’s a simple workaround to that problem,” Zani folded her napkin on the table. “I’ll ward us before we go. I can just cast a spell that stops us from doing anything that might change the past.”
“I still don’t like it,” Will said stubbornly. He leaned back in the booth. “It seems wrong.”
“What makes you so sure we weren’t already there?” Zani raised an eyebrow, challenging him. “Maybe you’re the one who wrote the notes that I found!”
“Impossible.” Will snorted.
“What makes you so sure?”
“My handwriting is terrible,” Will admitted. “Practically illegible. But…” He held the menu up. “My drawing skills are far superior to this Pad Thai pendant.” He pointed at the drawing, considering it with disdain. Even though this was a copy of the original sketch, he could tell the artist had done a terrible job of capturing the detail.
“Then prove it! Take me there.” Zani’s eyes sparkled with unfettered wanderlust as she made the request, and he couldn’t help but be a little bit affected.
“I do not know if it’s even possible, but if it were, why do you want to go to Catherine’s court? Will asked.
“Because I need answers.” Zani’s lips settled in a straight line. Her tone softened. “Please, Will, you’re the only one who can help me.”
Chapter15
