Obviously, as Will mentioned, they could search for more holy water. Maybe eventually they’d discover more original ampullae. If she lived long enough, maybe she’d benefit from the earthquake opening the wellspring at St. Sepulchre—if that’s indeed what happened.
But even if she found more holy water, would Ellen and Harrison look in the hiding place in the crypt periodically? Or would they give up?
With the falling of darkness, she rose and allowed one of the maidservants to tend to her needs. Even though she’d dozed from time to time throughout the day, the events of the past week had caught up to her, and she wanted nothing more than to lie down and sleep.
As she climbed in next to Will, gone were the reservations she’d had about sharing his bed. The fact that he was her husband was more real than anything else. She loved him, and since she was staying in the past, she would willingly give herself to him once he was strong and well again.
She propped up on her elbow and allowed herself the pleasure of taking him in, the light of a single candle on the bedside table casting a glow over his face. His expression was almost peaceful, as if his slumber was so deep it allowed him a respite from his regrets over Thomas.
Perhaps he would never fully recover from the loss of his brother. But she loved him all the more for how much he cared about what had happened. She leaned down and brushed a kiss on his scratchy cheek. The warmth of his exhale bathed her skin, and before she could stop herself, she shifted her lips to his. She closed her eyes at the sweetness of the contact.
As she skimmed his full bottom lip, her body froze. A gust of wind swirled around her, and an instant later Will disappeared. Instead, a sturdy mattress supported her weight and elevated her head. The steady beep of monitors sounded nearby.
She’d slipped into the present somehow. Had the time continuum overlapped as it had previously? Or when she’d kissed Will, had she come in contact with a trace of the holy water on his lips?
Whatever the case, she had to use the opportunity to wake up and give a message to Harrison and Ellen that she was fine.
Wake up, Marian, she inwardly shouted at herself, attempting to lift her head from the pillow. But for as much as she tried, she couldn’t move, which was no surprise since she hadn’t been able to during her last vision. She could only conclude her coma was making the movement impossible, unlike during her first sightings of Will.
“They’ve both gone out,” came a man’s hushed voice across the room. A familiar voice. Was it Jasper?
“They’re at St. Thomas’s again,” he continued.
It was Jasper. From the one-sided conversation, she guessed he was on the phone. She pictured him with his brown hair and athletic frame standing near a window, likely dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt.
He must have flown over when he’d gotten news about her being in a coma. The gesture was sweet of him, but after being with Will, the slight interest she’d once had in Jasper slipped through her fingers like fine dust, blown away by the merest puff of breath.
The truth was, no other man could ever compare to Will. Not even a little bit. Will was so passionate about life and those he cared about. He felt everything intensely, including his affection for her. Perhaps he hadn’t fallen in love with her in the modern sense of the word, but something deep and real existed between them.
“No, they’re still as close-lipped as ever.” Jasper’s tone was laced with frustration.
She should have told Jasper before she left Connecticut that she didn’t see any hope for their future together. Of course, Jasper had always known how to deflect her concerns and insist they were just friends. But she could have been more direct. Then perhaps he wouldn’t be here now, wasting his vacation and holding out hope.
“I have been trying with Ellen. But she’s as cold as Marian was.”
Marian’s rambling thoughts converged and tumbled over one another. Jasper considered her cold? What did he mean by that? And what had he been trying with Ellen?
His voice dropped. “I can only do so much before they start to suspect something—if they don’t already.”
Marian felt her blood begin to run cold. She was suddenly glad she couldn’t move, that he didn’t realize she could hear every word of his clandestine conversation.
“No, I won’t threaten Ellen or resort to violence,” Jasper spoke even lower. “At least not yet.”
Threaten Ellen? Violence? What was going on? From the sound of things, Harrison and Ellen were safe at the moment, which was a relief after the uncertainty of the past days. But for how much longer would they be able to keep out of danger?
She waited for Jasper to say something else, to divulge his plans, but the room was suddenly silent—so much that she knew she was back in 1381. She opened her eyes to find she was lying next to Will.
He was still slumbering, the candle stub at nearly the same place it had been before she lapsed into the present time. Only a minute or so had passed, but her thoughts were vibrating like a dozen electrons.
She crawled out of bed and began to pace the length of the room, the rushes muting her footsteps. Jasper thought she was cold and he hadn’t liked her as much as she’d assumed. Had he only been pretending to like her? And if so, why? What if he’d cultivated a friendship with her for other reasons, like to keep tabs on what she was doing. Or to discover her father’s secrets.
She paused by the open shutters and shuddered, even though the night air was warm. While the idea of him using her was appalling, it wasn’t out of the question. She’d already considered the possibility of an insider spying and funneling information to other drug companies, especially a company like Lionel. If they couldn’t get details from her dad, then the next best option was to go through his scientist daughter.
She’d assumed Jasper’s transfer to the Groton, Connecticut, lab at the same time she’d started working for Mercer had been coincidental, as had his placement at the desk across from hers. But in thinking back, she could see now that his attention had been too quick and too calculated.
Marian resumed her pacing and tried to recall all the things she’d told Jasper about her dad’s research. She certainly hadn’t used any discretion in what she’d shared, had answered all his questions, and probably divulged much more than she should have.
She wanted to deny that Jasper was capable of duplicity. But how else could she interpret the phone call she’d just overheard?
Apparently, he hadn’t traveled to Kent to visit her out of concern for her well-being but to continue prying. And apparently, his numerous phone calls to her after she’d arrived in Canterbury had been for the same purpose. He’d even called her when she’d been at the bank checking Dad’s safety deposit box. Had he alerted Lionel to her whereabouts? Was that why she’d been attacked after leaving the bank?
If so, then Ellen and Harrison were in very real danger. And they had no idea of the threat he posed, not only to their safety but to the safety of the ultimate cure.
Marian paused in her pacing and turned to stare at Will. Maybe if she kissed him again and ingested more holy water residue, she could travel to the present again to warn them. But even if she managed to do so at a time when either Ellen or Harrison was in the room, she’d still be helpless to communicate with them.
No, she’d have to try to send them another message in the crypt. But when?