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“My Dearest Sister…” she read out loud.
I can only hope that this letter finds you well. You cannot imagine the joy I felt when I was informed that you are still alive. I also hope you will forgive me that I have blamed our mother for your disappearance at first, which as you might already assume, she did not take too fondly.
I have spent many years looking for you. I have traveled the world, following one lead after the next… I was blaming myself, going mad! ‘Mad George’ is what society called me behind closed doors over a cup of tea and a piece of lemon cake. But please do not be alarmed, as fate has its own way of jesting, and in this case, the rumours about Mad George ultimately brought me peace—in the form of Lady Emma Washington, an American woman claiming to be from the future and insisting I use her maiden name to write to you. She stated that she’d heard about Mad George’s tragedy at a dinner party and knew instantly that the two of you must be connected in some way. After more research, she came to know that the two of you somehow traded places. At first, I thought her just as mad as myself, but after she presented me with the most marvellous device, named cellular phone, I believed her every word. She also brought a newspaper boy with her that bore witness to your disappearance in the middle of the road like magic.
I have left careful instructions for my descendants to guard this letter, tying my estate and fortune to a trust fund. Its inheritance is based on the condition that this letter will be passed down and stay in the family until it reaches you safely, or the entire estate shall be gifted to the veteran’s fund. And there is much to give away. Fate has favoured me again… Although I never found gold, I did find love, Isabella. She is wonderful; you two would get along splendidly. She is American and the heiress of an oil empire. Mother was very pleased as you might already have guessed. Not so much about the part of the small cottage we exiled her to, as well as a more than adequate allowance, but mother will always be mother, and I had no intention of letting her spend us into ruin ever again.
My dear sister, although I am deeply relieved, I am also deeply worried at the same time. What if you are struggling in this strange new world? From Lady Washington’s description, it sounds rather overwhelming. What if you want to come home, scared and all alone?
Lady Washington agreed with me that you should at least have the chance to return to your home in 1881, if you so choose. Therefore, she offered to try to trade places again. Her plan is to replay the events of that fateful night on this upcoming Thursday, which should be exactly a month from when you arrived in Philadelphia. At exactly 23:35 your time, she will be bending over for a Victorian shilling, right where the newspaper boy claimed you have disappeared. She did refuse to tell me if she wanted to return home to the twenty-first century or not, stating that she did not want to influence your decision to remain or return. She is a kind and admirable lady, Isabella. I am shocked as to how much she reminds me of you.
With this being said, my dear sister, I will wait for you on Thursday, December 17th, at the 23:35 hour.
With all my love,
Your Brother George
For how long Isabella stood there, staring at the letter, no one could tell, since everyone was as stunned as she was. Isabella finally managed to tear herself away from it, looking at Henry who was patiently waiting for her to take it all in.
“He never gave up,” she almost whispered.
Henry wrinkled his forehead. “Gave up? Did you not read the letter? The whole estate and Aberdeen fortune is tied to you, to this day. Everyone after George was entrusted with this family secret. It was like an oath. Honestly…” he scratched his head, “I couldn’t even begin to tell you what would have happened to the estate if I haven't managed to finally find you.”
“Well, maybe you shouldn’t have stalked her like a creep and just talked to her, like a real man would,” Dan sneered.
“You mean missing out on weeks on the streets, chased by cops and drug dealers, beaten up by army boy here while constantly lingering around 5thStreet like a pervert in the cold?” Henry sneered back, sighed, then focused his gaze back to Isabella. “It’s not like I didn’t try. The night Isabella arrived, I was ready. But then Rambo here took me out. All of this had to happen quietly, without anybody involved. Isabella was supposed to stay with me, hidden, until she returned back home. Number one rule of time travel, leave no imprints behind. Unless you want to alter world events into unpredictable and catastrophic proportions.” Henry looked up into the clear dark sky like he was trying to find something from the great void up above as he cleared his throat. “But that's all out the window now. Everything just went horribly wrong. I’m revealed and Isabella now walks and talks like a modern lady.” Liam moved closer to Isabella, leaning closer toward her. “What if it doesn't work? How would the Duke know she received the letter but couldn’t travel back for whatever reasons?” he asked Henry. Isabella lifted her head curiously, immediately understood what Liam implied but was more anxious of Henry's answer, if there was any.
“He had a piece of paper with the answer to a question only the two of you would know. He locked it away in a bank security deposit box. If this letter reaches you but the whole-time travel thing doesn’t work, then I can still prove that I did my duty by providing the answer to this question correctly. The bank will then release the estate from all conditions.”
Dan seemed amused by this. “And if you fail to have the answer, then all your bling will be gone?” It was very obvious on Henry's face that he didn’t like where the conversation was heading. He stared at the ground and nodded, before staring Dan in the eye. “Every last cent of it. My bloody great-great-grandfather made sure we wouldn’t neglect trying to find his long-lost sister. That itself is for sure.”
As everything slowly settled in, Isabella was overcome by a sudden feeling of great joy. The sparkle in her eyes returned, and her face lit up like a light bulb. Her brother was well, he had fallen in love, had children! He didn't spend the last of his days looking for her in utter misery like she feared he would. She felt bubbles fill her stomach with an uncontrollable upturned face. She was so elated that she threw her arms around Henry, who flinched a few steps back with a curled shoulder, thinking he was being held into another choke hold.
“All of this is so wonderful!" Isabella was laughing and crying at the same time. "I can’t thank you enough!” She looked over to Liam, wanting to tell him how happy she was for her brother. That the feeling of guilt that she’d carried for such a long time had evaporated in a single instant. That maybe now that she knew her brother was okay, finally she could st—
“I agree. It’s great that you can finally go back home tomorrow, and everything goes back to normal,” Liam said in a cold voice. Isabella slowly let go of Henry. Her smile vanished into a blank empty stare as she unknowingly took a few steps back. What did he just say? Did Liam really want her to go back? Granted, it would give him his old,normallife back. And now that he had his company to return to, it only made sense that he would want to dive back into the work that he loved so much, surrounded by people that he cared for. She had been and still was new to this world. Even without the whole time travel drama, Isabella was still a high maintenance person to have around. Just until yesterday she didn’t even know that Burger King wasn't owned by actual royalty. She turned away to hide her face, not wanting her tears to be seen, as they were no longer tears of joy.
“Back to normal, that would be lovely,” she responded trying to keep her voice from trembling.
“Splendid,” Henry echoed her pretend happiness in innocent ignorance. “I’m pleased to hear that everybody believes in her return.”
“I don’t,” Dan threw in her two cents. “Why can’t she choose to stay?”
“Well first of all, she obviously doesn’t want to,” Henry countered firmly but in a kind tone. Dan frowned at him, unconvinced in the least. “Then there is also the case with the other girl, Emma. She wouldn’t tell us about her, so how do we know that she is not trying desperately to go back home?” he added. Dan opened her mouth ready to defy Henry, but Isabella interrupted her. “He is right, Dan,” she said in a soft, yielding voice. And with Liam who seemed to agree with her leaving, and the several good points that Henry had made, it seemed to be the only choice. What if Emma was as desperate as her when she first arrived in this strange world, eagerly waiting at the agreed location tomorrow, wishing her heart away to return home? She didn't belong in this world. None of this was supposed to happen. She was never supposed to meet Dan, or Jerry or… Liam. After all, she was never supposed to be here.
“Tomorrow I shall return home,” Isabella spoke under pursed lips, looking up from her downturned gaze to take a quick short glimpse from where Liam stood.
“Well in that case, let’s go back home and get your things packed and what not.” Liam walk off toward the car.
“Actually…” Henry interrupted, “Isabella should come with me. There is much to discuss regarding tomorrow. And some other important things we need to go over. In private of course. None of this was supposed to happen this way in the first place. She was supposed to leave no footprints behind in this world…” Liam threw a quick glance at Isabella, hiding away his clenched jaw that throbbed under his cheek. “Yes, that makes sense.” They both looked away, not wanting to see the face of the other. Not wanting to make guesses on how the other one felt. “Just call me later and keep me posted. I’ll meet you at the location tomorrow and bring your things if you want me to.” Dan looked back and forth between the two of them, throwing a sharp gaze at the brief moment that unfolded in front of her. She could tell how incredibly awkward they were.
“Yes, of course,” Isabella said.
Liam finally directed his gaze back at her, almost as if something had nailed him to the floor and he was unable to leave without looking at her one more time. For that brief moment, it was as if time had stood still for him, forever imprinted into his mind and his heart. He shook his head and turned around to get back in the car. And just like that, he drove off.
Dan grabbed Isabella’s hand and squeezed it gently, leaning over to whisper. “Tomorrow we’ll talk to him. It’s not what it seems like. I’m sure.” She was obviously trying her best to comfort her. Isabella’s sadness and desperation must have been written all over her face. How did Liam not notice that?
Her gaze followed him. Her legs beneath her slowly carried her toward the direction the car had taken off, until they stopped, refusing to take another step until he was out of sight. What if he wouldn’t even show up tomorrow? Would he just abandon her? What if this was the last time she would ever get to see him?
There was no doubt in her mind that her broken heart would never mend.
