A Trail Through Time by Taylor Jodi

Author:Taylor, Jodi [Taylor, Jodi]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Historical, Time Travel, Science Fiction & Fantasy
ISBN: 9781783753093
Publisher: Accent Press Limited
Published: 2015-01-15T08:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Whatever I’d been expecting, it hadn’t been this. I’d never given it a thought … It had never occurred to me … The shock nearly knocked me over. The world blurred again and I would have gone down with a terrible crash if Ellis hadn’t seized my good arm and pushed me into a nearby chair. Things whirled sickeningly, and for one moment I hung helplessly over an abyss. I gulped for air, desperately struggling against the overwhelming panic. I’d never thought … Why would I …?

There was no Mrs Partridge.

I stared in disbelief. I’d fretted over just about everything else, but the one thing I’d never, ever considered, not even for a moment, was that there would be no Mrs Partridge in this world. To guide me. To give me some sort of clue. To give me her familiar exasperated stare.

Her desk was occupied by Rosie Lee and, trust me, an unexpected encounter with Miss Lee should not be on any invalid’s list of Things To Do Today.

She stared curiously. She wasn’t tall and her hair waved around her head like Medusa’s snakes. The tailored suit was unfamiliar but the intimidating attitude was spot on.

‘Dr Bairstow is not available at the moment.’

‘Got a message to see Colonel Albay,’ said Ellis, trying to step past her. I could have told him he was wasting his time.

‘Why?’

He seemed confused. I was guessing this was their first encounter. ‘Why what?’

‘Why does the colonel want to see you?’

‘How should I know? I’d like to find out, though.’

Silence.

He shifted impatiently. ‘Should we go in?’

‘How should I know? I work for Dr Bairstow.’

‘For the time being.’

She snorted. He was going to have to do better than that.

I don’t know whether she’d done it intentionally, but their brief interchange had given me the time I needed. I sat up and stared around.

The battered furniture was the same. Everything was the same except for the sign on the wall behind her.

Lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part.

That figured.

A light flashed on her phone.

She made no move.

I watched, cutting my eyes from one to the other, waiting to see what would happen next.

The silence dragged on. Miss Lee had once been my assistant. I’d actually found our daily battle of wills quite stimulating, but it was fun to see someone else on the receiving end for once.

Ellis caved first. ‘Should we go in?’

She smirked with satisfaction. ‘Obviously.’

I heaved myself to my feet and followed him in.

Dr Bairstow’s room was as I always remembered it. There was the scuffed parquet floor and the square of faded carpet. The colours had once been red and gold, but now the pattern was only discernible around the very edges.

The only difference was that his desk was now occupied by that sensitive and sympathetic people person, Colonel Albay, while the Boss himself sat at his briefing table, a little way off. Under arrest he might be, but the colonel was wisely keeping him under observation.

Ellis took my arm as we marched in.

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