“Still—there’s something about it…” Aurelia didn’t finish that thought. If it worked and they could finally see the characters, she knew it was worth a try. “No, let’s do it.”
“Good. Oliver, you said you could borrow a camera from your brother?”
“Yeah, I’m sure Jack has one from his theater projects.”
Aurelia thought she saw a droop to his shoulders. That heaviness was back.
“Why don’t I walk over to his flat with you to pick it up?” she offered.
“No, you need to work on your edits,” he reminded her with a quirk of a smile. “Don’t make Louisa scold me again for distracting you.”
Aurelia smiled back. She wanted time alone with him to check in, but he was right; her deadline was once again looming. They’d make time for checking in later—she’d make sure of it.
“Saturdays are always busy in the shop, so you and Julia can stay here, and Oliver and I will go to Jack’s,” Antonia instructed them. “We’ll set up the camera after dinner and have everything ready before the characters arrive.”
Julia caught Aurelia’s eye and opened her mouth to speak, but Aurelia shook her head once and Julia closed her mouth over a frown.
Oliver and Antonia left on their errand an hour later, and as soon as the shop door closed behind them, Julia started in.
“Can’t you talk to them and tell them no more experiments?”
“No,” Aurelia said firmly. “I want them to be able to see the characters. Don’t you?”
“I do, but Sergeant Cuff said they can’t—and so far they haven’t been able to, so… Shouldn’t they stop trying?”
“We have to let them keep at it. If we were in their place, I think you and I would try hanging from the rafters to spot them.”
“There aren’t any rafters in here,” Julia said saltily, though she eyed the ceiling to confirm.
“No, but you know what I mean.”
“Alright… What should we tell the characters about trying to film them?”
“Hmm.” Aurelia wrinkled her nose as she thought through their options. “Well, most of them wouldn’t even know what a camera is, for one thing. It feels sort of creepy, like you said, but I don’t think we should mention it to them. It’d be too hard to explain, and they might want to watch the footage back… It could get very complicated.”
“Actually,” Julia said, reconsidering, “if we show them the camera footage, then I could show Kitty her movie.”
“I don’t think so, Julia,” Aurelia said, her nose wrinkling again. “I haven’t shown them my laptop, or the internet—I think some things are just too outside their norm to try and explain. Some characters might be interested,” Aurelia added, thinking of Count Vronsky and his love of new technology. “But others might actually get scared to see their lives on film. Or to see moving pictures in general.”
“And the phone? What are you going to do when they call the shop?”
“I guess we do need to prepare the characters for that one. Why don’t I explain it to Cuff while you keep the others occupied?”
“Okay.”
Julia picked up the duster and began listlessly moving it along the bookshelves. Aurelia was flipping through her notes about the last few chapters of her book, ready to get back to editing, when Julia spoke up again.
“Maybe I shouldn’t have told Mum.”
“Hmm?” Aurelia asked absently, still flipping through the notes on her desk.
“Maybe I shouldn’t have told her,” Julia said again, this time catching Aurelia’s attention. “Mum can’t see or hear them… Maybe it would have been better—nicer—if I’d just kept it to myself.”
Julia swiped the duster at another shelf, but Aurelia could see her head was bowed with worry. Aurelia let out a heavy sigh, wanting to take her time finding the right words to reassure her niece.
“I’ve been keeping this secret for years, lying and hiding the truth from your mum and Oliver. It took a toll on me—and on my relationships with them. I don’t think I’d really understood how much until these past few days. I thought it was for the best, for me and for them. But now… I’m glad they know. And I’m glad you know, too.”
Julia had drifted over to Aurelia’s desk, and Aurelia turned in her chair to take Julia’s hand.
