Page 35 of No Place in Time

He looked at her sleeping face for a long moment.

“Sleep, Cecily,” he said softly.

“I’ll be right back.”

Part Three

The Separation

“Now I wait for Henry. He vanishes unwillingly, without

warning. I wait for him.”

Audrey Niffenegger, The Time Traveler’s Wife

20

CECILY

1297

It was too quiet.

Cecily woke and lay still, listening. The fire had burned to ashes and the air was cold. Her arm throbbed when she shifted under the blanket.

Finn.

She looked down at the foot of her bed. He was not there.

The sound of his slow, steady breathing in the mornings had become familiar. She pictured him as he usually slept: his long body folded awkwardly on the mat, one arm flung over his eyes. But the mat was bare. No boots. No cloak.

“Finn?” she whispered.

There was no answer.

A floorboard creaked below. Someone spoke in a low voice. A kettle hissed. The house was waking. Maybe Finn had gone down early.

She pushed herself upright and waited for the dizziness. It came, but it did not take her down. Her body still felt weak, but the fever had broken. She was awake now, fully awake.

She swung her legs over the side of the bed, shivering, her good hand pressed to the mattress for balance. Her injured arm was wrapped thickly, bound from wrist to elbow.

Where was he? She could still hear his voice near her ear.

“Sleep, Cecily. I’ll be right back.”

She remembered the kiss. The way he had looked at her for a long moment before he leaned in.

She wrapped the blanket around her shoulders and went downstairs.

Master Nicholas stood near the hearth, stirring something over the fire, his sleeves rolled up and his hair uncombed. His wife was kneading dough at the table.

The physician looked up. “You’re awake,” he said. “Are you strong enough to be walking?”

Cecily swallowed. “Where is Finn? Where is my… brother?” she asked.

Master Nicholas raised his eyes. “I don’t know. He’s not in your room?”

“No.”