AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The boys in our class didn’t think Mr. Whitman was so great. Gordon Gelderman, in particular, couldn’t stand him. Because before Mr. Whitman came to teach in our school, all the girls in our class were in love with Gordon. Including me, I have to admit, but I was only eleven at the time and Gordon was still quite cute. Now, at sixteen, he was just stupid. And his voice had been in a permanent state of breaking for the last two years. Unfortunately, the mixture of squealing and growling still didn’t keep him from spewing nonsense all the time.
He got very upset about getting an F on the history test. “That’s discrimination, Mr. Whitman. I deserve a B at least. You can’t give me bad marks just because I’m a boy.”
Mr. Whitman took Gordon’s test back from him, turned a page, and read out, “Elizabeth I was so ugly that she couldn’t get a husband. So everyone called her the Ugly Virgin.”
GUE
Hyde Park, London
8 April 1912
AS SHE FELL to her knees and burst into tears, he looked all around the park. Just as he’d expected, it was empty at this early hour. Jogging wouldn’t be fashionable for a long time yet, and it was too cold for the beggars who slept on park benches with nothing but newspaper over them.
He carefully wrapped the chronograph in its cloth and slipped it into his backpack.
She was huddled beside one of the trees on the north bank of the Serpentine, on a carpet of faded crocuses.
Her shoulders were shaking, and her sobs sounded like the desperate cries of an injured animal. He could hardly bear it. But he knew from experience that it was better to leave her alone. So he sat down beside her in the dew-covered grass, gazed at the smooth surface of the water, and waited.
“Have tissues been invented yet?” she finally sniffed, turning her tearstained face to him.
“No idea,” he said. “But I can offer you a monogrammed hanky—dead right for this period.”
“G.M. Did you pinch it from Grace?”
“She gave it to me, don’t worry. You can blow your nose on it all you like, Princess.”
She smiled wryly as she handed him the handkerchief. “Now it’s ruined. Sorry about that.”
“Oh, never mind!” he said. “Just so long as you’ve stopped crying.”
Tears shot straight back into her eyes. “We shouldn’t have abandoned her. She needs us! We’ve no idea if our bluff will work … and no chance of ever finding out now.”
“We’d have been even less use to her dead.”
“If we could only have hidden away with her somewhere far off, under other names, until she was old enough to—”
He interrupted her, shaking his head firmly. “They’d have found us anywhere we went; we’ve discussed that a thousand times already. We didn’t abandon her. We did the only right thing: we made it possible for her to live in safety. At least for the next sixteen years.”
For a moment she said nothing. Somewhere in the distance a horse whinnied, and voices drifted over from West Carriage Drive, although it was nearly dark now.
“I know you’re right,” she said at last. “It just hurts so much to know we’ll never see her again.” She gently rubbed her red-rimmed eyes. “At least we’re not going to be bored. Sooner or later they’ll track us down, even here, and set the Guardians on us. He’s not about to give up either the chronograph or his plans, not without a fight.”
He smiled, seeing the light of adventure come back into her eyes. “Maybe we’ll outwit him after all. Either that, or in the end the other device won’t work. Then he’ll be finished.”
“Right. But if it does work, we’re the only ones who can stop him.”
“That’s just why we’ve done the right thing.” He stood up and brushed the earth off his jeans. “Come on! This damn grass is wet, and you’re supposed to be taking things easy.”
She let him pull her to her feet and kiss her. “What are we going to do now? Look for a place to hide the chronograph?” she asked, looking undecidedly at the bridge separating Hyde Park from Kensington Gardens.
“Yes, but first let’s raid the Guardians’ deposits and stock up with cash. Then we could take the train to Southampton. The Titanic leaves on Wednesday. For her maiden voyage.”
She laughed. “So that’s your idea of taking things easy! But right, I’m with you!”
He was so glad she could laugh again that he kissed her once more. “I was really thinking.… You know that out at sea a ship’s captain can marry people, don’t you, Princess?”
“You want to marry me? On board the Titanic? Are you out of your mind?”
