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I WOKE with a start. It took me a moment to figure out where I was. I pushed aside the frilly pink bedspread and sat up. The bed I was on was in an actual bedroom, so I knew that I wasn’t at Edgar’s workshop in the woods.
I padded across the floor to a window draped in ruffled pink fabric and looked outside. This bedroom was on the third floor, too high up to be Enta’s house, but just far enough above the grounds for me to be able to see a workshop nestled behind the main house. Edgar was there. I could see him through the wide rectangular window that overlooked his lab sink. He wasn’t the Edgar I’d left at Enta’s, but a younger version, the Edgar that existed pre-travel glasses.
Multiple memories returned from the night before, flooding my muddled brain. Shirlyn had taken one of the Halls’ many guest rooms for the night, giving me her own bedroom so that I could take my time in finding something to wear when I woke up. I knew this would be awkward since Shirlyn was much taller than me and pencil thin. But I’d given in because I hadn’t had time to wash any of my own clothes since I left Enta’s home.
I couldn’t find anything close to a pair of jeans in her closet or chest of drawers, so I settled for a simple blue A-line dress and a white cardigan sweater. After washing my face in an adjoining toilet room, I went downstairs and found Shirlyn and Romaso in the dining room where Mona had set out fruit juices and an assortment of pastries.
Breakfast was also awkward. Edgar and his wife, Elizabeth, were not there, and I was surprised that no one tried to wake me up earlier. Shirlyn and Romaso looked at me with curiosity as I sat down at the table and helped myself to a crumpet. Both were silent.
After a few moments Shirlyn cleared her throat. She sat there looking at me, her lips pursed, her eyes blazing indignantly. At first I thought that maybe she wanted to be alone with Romaso, that I was intruding on their couple’s moment or something. But then Shirlyn asked me a strange question.
“Excuse me, but, where did you get those clothes?”
I looked at her blankly. “From your room.”
“What business did you have in my room?”
My eyebrows twisted together. “Last night you told me to stay in your room so that I could find something to wear when I woke up.”
“Ah,” she said, looking thoughtful. “I wondered why I woke up in a guest room, and then I found Romaso wandering around in the hallway.”
I nodded. No doubt all of this was even more confusing for Romaso. Confusion seemingly didn’t prevent him from making kissy faces at Shirlyn, though. Before long, Romaso and Shirlyn seemed to have tuned me out in favor of flirting with each other. Romaso charmed her with dimples and compliments. She responded with lash batting and giggles.
I retreated to the comfort of my own thoughts. I needed to speak with Edgar, but I hadn’t been able to contact Old Edgar and wasn’t sure how to approach Young Edgar under the circumstances. I had so many questions and was unsure where to go from here. Before long, I felt two pairs of eyes watching me again.
“Will you join us?” repeated an impatient Shirlyn, her nose twitching.
“Yes? Sorry. What was the question?”
Pastry crumbs escaped Romaso’s mouth as he laughed. “Siora does not hear. She is not with us.”
“We were talking about how I was going to take Romaso for a tour of the house and gardens. I asked if you would like to come along.”
“Yes I would.” My smile was sincere. There was a lot of research to be done. I was eager to find anything that could help me figure out some way to permanently escape Valcas.
Just as we got up to leave the table, Young Edgar entered the dining room followed by Elizabeth. Shirlyn hugged her parents, explaining that we’d just finished breakfast and that she was going to take us on a tour of the Halls’ estate.
“Your guests may also like a tour of the harbor,” suggested Edgar. “I’ll be in my workshop most of the day. Several of my projects are starting to come together. An extended holiday was precisely what I needed—refreshment and a clearer perspective.”
“I’ll see to it that you aren’t disturbed.” Elizabeth smiled.
“Very good,” Edgar said as he sat down and unfolded a napkin.
My neck prickled as I walked away from the table with Shirlyn and Romaso. Young Edgar didn’t appear to be the slightest bit concerned about anything I told him last night. Valcas was still on my trail. Old Edgar wouldn’t have let me go anywhere that morning without having first formulated a plan. He would have been actively helping me prepare my next move. The plan would have been in motion before breakfast. Yet, there sat his younger self eating crumpets unarmed after a full night’s sleep.