Page 66 of No Place in Time

She studied him for a moment, then nodded and went back to her stirring.

∞∞∞

The walk to the cave taxed his strength. His body was stronger, but his ribs still ached. By the time he reached the hidden entrance, his breath was coming short.

The machine sat where he’d left it, covered with branches. He pulled them away and stared at it. This was their only way out. The machine was Cecily’s only hope to avoid marriage to Julian de Veyron.

He ran his hands over the timing mechanism, checking for damage that might have occurred while he was at Alys’s cottage. The gears were dusty but intact.

“Alright,” he said aloud. “Let’s see if we can fix you.”

He fashioned a crude sled from branches and rope, tied it to the machine’s base, and began dragging. Every pull sent pain lancing through his chest, but he gritted his teeth and kept moving.

Halfway back, a thin voice called out from behind him.

“What is that thing?”

Finn turned. Wat stood on the path, staring.

“What are you doing here?”

“I was checkin’ the snares.” The boy came closer, eyes wide. “What is that?”

Finn hesitated. “Something I need to repair.”

“Can I help?”

His ribs hurt, and the cottage was a long hike away.

“Alright,” Finn said. “But you don’t touch any of the parts.”

Wat nodded eagerly and took hold of the rope.

Together, they dragged it back to the cottage.

∞∞∞

Alys met them at the door, her gaze fixed on the strange contraption. Her expression was unreadable, but her voice was not. “What is that thing, Finn? It looks like trouble.”

“It’s my way home,” he said, deciding on a partial truth. “But it’s broken.”

Her eyes narrowed, filled with a concern that bordered on suspicion. “And what sort of trouble will it bring to my door while ye’re fixing it?”

He couldn’t tell her the truth. But he couldn’t lie to her either, not after everything she’d done for him.

“It’s a device that helps me travel,” he said carefully. “I need to repair it, if you have some tools. It’s dangerous, Alys. No one must touch it but me.”

“And then ye’ll leave?”

“Yes.”

Alys studied him for a long moment, then nodded. “Bring it inside. Ye can work by the window, where there’s light. I’ll take the children to help old Angus with the plantin’. Give ye some peace.”

“Thank you.”

She disappeared into the cottage and returned with her late husband’s tool roll. A hammer, a rusted file, a pair of thick smithy’s tongs, a handful of bent nails. It was a poor collection, but it would have to be enough.

“Will these help?”