From: Matthew <gallows@hotmail.co.uk>
To: Katherine <KitKatherine@gmail.co.uk>
Subject: Stop running away! How did we get engaged?
Folios/v7/Time-landscape-2019/MS-161
They were nearly back at the university before either of them spoke again. Kate kept staring down at the vial that was still tightly clasped in her fist. She carefully released her grip, putting it in the cup holder.
“How are we going to reveal this? What if they stop us, like they did last time?”
Matt had been staring fixedly at the road, but he risked darting a glance at her. His hands had remained firmly at the ten and two positions for the entire journey. She’d never seen anyone use an indicator with such determined terror before. He shrugged, and then winced when it jolted his shoulder, injured from ramming the door.
“Last time we didn’t know how seriously they would take it,” he said. “We can be more careful now, and this time we’ve got Tom to help.”
“Excepting that this time we’ve stolen a military vehicle and probably have a whole army squadron after us. And they are going to be ready this time. They’ve had twenty years to prepare for another leak.”
He paused. “We’ll go to Scotland,” he decided abruptly. “We can’t trust anyone here. Wherever we go they’ll find us, but we have a better chance if we are out of the country. They’ll try to kill us to keep this a secret, but we don’t want to make it easy for them.”
Kate nodded, tense. “I’m scared,” she admitted, quietly. “I don’t want to die for this, not again.” Again? What was she saying? It wasn’t them who had died twenty years ago. It was Katherine and Matthew.
Matt hadn’t noticed her slip-up. “Me neither,” he said. “But I don’t regret this – even if we are going to die – because it led me to you.”
She stared at him, wide-eyed. “Nor me. I can’t imagine my life without you, Matt. You are … everything.”
“I love you,” he said in an undertone and actually released a hand from the wheel to take hers, pressing the words into her palm with a kiss.
“I love you too,” she replied, her breath catching in her throat. She realized then that she always had. She couldn’t remember falling in love with Matt. She hadn’t had the butterflies in the stomach, the giddy absorption of falling in love. It hadn’t been like that. She’d just seen him, and suddenly it had all clicked into place.
She’d always been in love with him, and had been quietly, patiently, waiting for him to turn up. Perhaps once there had been a time when she wasn’t tied to him with every molecule of her being, but it was so long ago it was impossible to remember.
The castle was heavily guarded. Katherine had to talk their way inside using a degree of slyness that surprised even her. She made up an excuse for why they hadn’t joined the defence with everyone else the day before, saying that Matthew had been injured and hadn’t been well enough to re-join the fight. Once the soldier had recognized him as the man who’d been shot, they were allowed in and taken to see Durand, who wanted to meet him. The soldier kept giving Matthew sideways looks, as though he couldn’t believe his eyes. Most of the crowd from the cathedral had been too far away to see Matthew’s miraculous recovery, but clearly word had spread among the soldiers.
Durand, too, looked shocked. “But your injuries…” he stammered.
“I’m quite all right,” Matthew replied. “It looked much worse than it was. It was just a flesh wound. I’ve only got a slight fever. It’s nothing to worry about. We came here to tell you that you were right to hold out. The city and the castle can still give a good fight to the Rebels.”
“Thank you for your support, although I don’t know how much longer it will be of any value,” Durand admitted. “The city is determined to surrender, and more and more of my garrison think we should join them.”
“But I heard that the English army isn’t prepared for an attack,” Katherine interjected.
“It’s true that the army hasn’t arrived from the continent yet, Ma’am,” he conceded, smiling weakly.
“So surely the best thing to help England is to delay the Jacobites and make sure the English army has enough time to prepare,” Katherine said. “Even if you eventually surrender, the longer we hold the Rebels here, the more likely the army is to win any subsequent battles.”
Durand nodded thoughtfully. “That’s a good point, Ma’am. I’ll take it into consideration. I don’t believe the consequences would be hugely negative if I were to think for a few more days before coming to a decision over whether to surrender to the Rebels or not.”
Katherine sighed. “Thank you, Sir. I know you’re much better informed than us, so I appreciate you taking the time to consider my advice.”
Durand held out his hand to Matthew. “I am glad to see your injuries are not as bad as I expected.” Durand still looked dazed, as though he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. “And thank you again for your support. Will you be staying in the castle?”
Katherine spoke once again, seeing how exhausted Matthew looked. “Mr Galloway is still a little weak, Sir. He needs a proper night’s rest, so we will return home.”
Durand nodded again and turned away with a final goodbye.
The minute Katherine and Matthew were outside the castle, Matthew vomited into the gutter. He rested, gasping for air, eyes closed tightly against the light. She stroked his hair back from his forehead, testing how hot his skin was. It practically burnt.
It was only when they were walking back to the house with Matthew leaning heavily on her arm that she noticed the clumps of hair twisted around her fingers. It took her a moment to realize they were Matthew’s. She looked at him, his eyes half closed as he focused all his effort on walking, and back at the hair, a thick mass of lifeless brown twisted against her skin. She swallowed, and quickly pulled the hair off her fingers and then threw it away. What kind of sickness did he have? Why was his hair falling out like that?
> ALERT: Subject allocation “MATTHEW” in time-landscape 1745 in critical condition
> Effects of radiation were not considered. Subject may not be able to survive the transfer between space threads
> Similar interventions not recommended in other time-landscapes
> Advice requested
> … waiting …
> … waiting …
> Advice not received
> Surveillance will continue without intervention until input is given