Ellen Blake Destined To Return

59 - Two little boys

Warmed by the sun, Marianne walked arm in arm with Ellen. A little further ahead the boys and Brook were still discussing, passionately, the England of the future with wonder and excitement.

This was the happiest Marianne had felt in a long time and yet she knew she only had minutes left, maybe an hour or two, before her life would return to what it was before. She decided to enjoy the moment whilst she still had it. Here was this girl beside her, whom she had grown incredibly fond of in a remarkably short period of time and yet she felt she had known for a lifetime.

Ellen was someone, she believed, that if they had more time, could be her best friend. Someone she could confide in, share her worries and concerns with, as well as enjoy the good times with. Before Billy's visit to the past and his revelation, Marianne couldn't understand what it was about Ellen, and Aaron to a lesser extent, that was different. Joking about being cousins, for the benefit of officials and strangers, was one thing, but to discover the reason behind this enigma of a bond had eased her, even if she didn't fully understand or believe it. Here she was, Marianne Hunter, strolling arm in arm with a female teenage relative, who just inexplicably happened to be her Great-Niece, and doing so along London's prestigious Embankment, of all places. Life's good, she thought.

'Hey, I just thought,' said Ellen, stopping abruptly. 'We told that young woman at the Wrens that we didn't want to have to come back tomorrow because that would mean we'd have to find somewhere to stay overnight.'

'Yes,' said Marianne, encouraging Ellen to continue walking and keeping within a reasonable distance of the other three.

'This is so selfish of me but I hadn't once considered, that if this works in St Paul's, what would happen to you ... and Billy. You wouldn't be able to get another train home today and that's assuming you even know where St Pancras is from here; we now know Brook won't be much help with the directions. That would mean you'll need to find somewhere to stay. Have you got enough money to pay for accommodation?'

'You're right,' sighed Marianne. 'It hadn't occurred to me either. I did have a fleeting worry about it when you said it to that woman, but I just assumed we'd all be together and we'd find some way, like we've been doing all along on this journey. But to do it without you and here in London, that is a bit worrying. Although, as long as Brook stays around she might be able to help. She's much more experienced and does have some money with her.'

'Well I do think that once we get to St Paul's and Aaron and I get changed into our own clothes, that you use the time to get Brook to agree that she'll help you overnight and to get home to York again. I'd like to know before we touch this memory gateway that you're going to be alright.'

'Okay,' said Marianne, 'I'll do that.'

Just then Billy left the others and ran back to the girls, waving and pointing his arm to the rooftops of the buildings in front of them.

'Can you see it?' he called, still running. 'Can you see the dome?'

As they took a few more steps and looked around the green leaves of a tree, they could see, peeking through the branches, a gleaming cream shape.

'Is that ... is that it?' smiled Marianne, tilting her head a little to see around the tree.

'Sure is,' confirmed Billy. 'It looks just like the dome of the Council building in Nottingham, only this one is much bigger and brighter. It's almost glowing in the evening sunlight.'

'Wow, if it looks this big from here,' said Ellen, 'then imagine what it must be like close up.'

'Right,' said Brook, once the girls and Billy had caught up. 'We'll start heading towards the cathedral. Bear in mind that if we can only see this much of the dome, above the buildings, whilst standing on a wide road, then down these narrower streets we might lose sight of it altogether. So we'll need to try and make sensible judgements of our route, especially if we're faced with lots of choices.'