Temporal Exploring 101 - Branch Cut

V.21 Prophecies gloomy and bright

During lunch break, Natty and I reported to Mallory, Nancy, Erin and Liz what we we had found in our search of Ms Delmond's flat.

"She appears to have developed a peculiar interest in early medieval Britain," Natty summarized.

"Why do you call it peculiar, though?" Erin asked. "Perhaps the study of English history in the Middle Ages is just her hobby."

Natty shrugged. "Well, she is a teacher of chemistry and biology, so I would have imagined she'd be interested mainly in her own chosen field."

"There were books about medieval plants and agriculture on her shelves, too," I pointed out. "That's related to the subjects that she teaches."

"Yeah, but there was also a book about the legendary swords and the men who wielded them," Natty countered. "There's no specific connection to biology or to chemistry in that case, or at least not an immediate one."

"It could still be her hobby, though," Erin insisted.

"Remember that she lied to Vivien's father, about a history project she was supposedly preparing for her students," Nancy interjected. "Also, why would she be interested in the Heatherston family and their genealogy?"

"Perhaps she is related to their family, after all," Liz ventured. "That would also explain her silver necklet with the pendant that resembles the Heatherston coat of arms."

Natty shook her head. "Surely, her parents would have mentioned that, especially after we asked them about that necklet."

The bell rang, putting an end to our discussion.

This night was going to be the night of the full moon. The night we had planned to hold a séance.

Since it was not really warm outside anymore, especially not late at night, at this time of the year, we had decided to sneak outside no earlier than one hour before midnight.

Natty and I were sprawled on our beds, reading, waiting for the clock to strike eleven.

"Hey!" Natty suddenly exclaimed. "Look at what's written here, Cathy."

She was holding a paperback, with a cover that looked very familiar.

"Fesnel's frenzy!" I cursed. "You took that book from Ms Delmond's apartment, didn't you, Natty?"

My roommate shrugged. "What if I did? I wanted to read it, so I borrowed it. What's the problem?"

"You borrowed it? Without asking her? You stole it, is what you did. And how exactly do you intend to return it?"

"I could not ask Ms Delmond because she had like, disappeared," Natty told me, unruffled. "As to how I am going to return it, I did not give that much thought. I suppose you could pick that lock on the door of her flat again so we can return it when I am done reading it."

I facepalmed. "You know, you are incorrigible. If you had asked me, I would have bought you that book."

"If you must know, I did not want to wait another couple of days to read it. There is no reason to make such a big fuss about it, Cathy. In any case, if I had not taken it from Ms Delmond's book shelf we would never have discovered what the author has written on the back of page one, in handwriting. Listen."

Natty cleared her throat and began to read out loud,

"Dear Irene,

I enjoyed meeting you and talking to you about my writing so much! I am honored (and flattered, too) to learn that you have chosen to teach a course based on my Worlds Between saga. As a token of my gratitude and friendship, please accept this copy of my latest novel, A Change of Worlds.