Train Through Time Series Boxed Set Books 1-3

by Bess McBride

  Rory, taken aback at her frank comments, closed his mouth and jumped to open the door. He peered inside then stood back to allow the women to precede him, with a fervent hope that the porter was still ensconced in the small kitchen. He led the way toward their compartment and opened the door as Annie and Marie stepped inside. Following them inside, he set the basket down.

  “I am afraid they have packed my breakfast in with yours, so if you have no objection, I shall have to dine with you.” Rory, smarting just a little, pressed his lips together, unwilling to attempt a smile of any sort at the moment.

  “Please do,” Marie said. “Thank you so much for going to get the food.”

  Rory nodded. “You are welcome. I asked the porter to prepare tea and coffee as well. I hope that will suit you?”

  “Yes, thank you,” Annie said. She ran her fingers through her hair before tying it back into a ponytail again.

  “I will go get the beverages and return. Please serve yourselves.”

  Rory made his way down the passage toward the front of the car. He paused outside the kitchen where the porter was setting a pot of coffee, a pot of water and four cups on a silver tray, along with a small creamer and sugar cubes. Rory eyed the tray with misgiving. Never in his life had he served tea or coffee, nor had he balanced a tray while making his way down the hallway of a moving tray.

  “I think you had better carry that, my good man. I will surely make a mess of it.” He smiled his usual smile, but dropped it quickly, the image of Annie’s amused expression before him. The porter responded in kind with a grin.

  “Yes, sir, I was hoping you would say that. I wasn’t too keen on cleaning up the hallway when you dropped the tray.”

  Rory grinned. “Ah, I feel you must know me well.” He patted the porter on the shoulder. “Shall we?”

  Rory led the way, and the porter followed. He tapped on the women’s compartment door, and turned to take the tray.

  “Thank you, my good man. I shall take it from here. My sisters are not well and would not wish to have anyone enter the compartment.”

  The porter nodded, handed off the tray, and Rory turned as Annie opened the door. He juggled the tray inside the room and set it down on a side table. He noted with a small measure of delight that the Misses St. John had waited to begin eating until he returned.

  “These sandwiches look wonderful,” Marie said, her face pale. “Thank you again.”

  “Please eat,” Rory said. He took the bench opposite. “I hope the food helps restore your good health.”

  “Oh, I’m sure it will,” she said as she bit into her sandwich.

  “Thanks again, Mr. O’Rourke,” Annie said. She eyed him speculatively. “At the risk of telling you off one minute and then asking your advice the next—which is what I’m doing—do you have any idea what’s going to happen when we get to Seattle? It’s daytime, and we can’t really hide our clothing.”

  Rory swallowed his food and gave his head a slight shake. “Not at the moment, Miss St. John, but it is not for lack of pondering the matter. The first thing we must do is ensure that you have proper clothing. Your attire, does it have a name?” He found himself distracted by their limbs once again.

  Marie smiled, evidently feeling better. “Shorts and a T-shirt?” she asked almost as if she expected him to agree.

  “I’m wearing black capri leggings,” Annie said pointing to her legs. “They are tight, I know, especially for your time, but they’re pretty normal where we come from.”

  “Shorts and leggings,” Rory murmured. He took a deep breath. “No, these are not usual fashion for Seattle—not for women at any rate. And you say you wear these in Chicago? I have traveled to Chicago many times and would have noticed women dressed in this way.”

  “Not in 1906, you wouldn’t,” Annie said.

  Rory eyed them sardonically. “Ladies, I cannot in all conscience join in your fantasy of time travel. It is not possible. If it were, we would know of it by now. At the risk of offending you even further,” he directed a pointed look toward Annie, “I submit that you are both suffering from some sort of delusion…of time travel. I am concerned for you. I can assist you financially for a period and I can situate you in a comfortable hotel. I can even secure proper ladies’ clothing for you, but I cannot protect you from the consequences if you continue to espouse this theory of time travel. I do not wish to alarm you but feel I must speak frankly. This sort of talk will only find you ensconced in the state asylum.”

  Annie set down her sandwich and turned to her sister. “He’s right, Marie. Not about the delusion.” She threw Rory a sharp look. “But about getting us locked up. I’m not sure what’s happening, but we’re going to have to keep our mouths shut about time travel—for as long as we’re here.”

  “I just want to go on my cruise,” Marie fussed. “What are we going to do? How do we get back?”

  Annie shook her head. “I don’t know.”

  Rory’s heart melted at their obvious distress. “Finish eating, ladies. You must keep up your strength. Before we reach Seattle, I will devise a plan to get you safely to a hotel. From then on, we must decide what is to be done.”

  Chapter Three

  Annie studied the handsome, dark-haired man with startling cobalt blue eyes, who looked every bit as Irish as a man with the name O’Rourke ought to. His thick, well-groomed hair was parted on the side and trimmed evenly at the neck. He sported short sideburns, and he was clean-shaven, albeit with a bit of a dark stubble—no doubt from traveling. She had thought men at the turn of the century would look different in some way, but Rory could have passed for any regular American guy in her time, except for his more formal speech. Even his clothing—dark blue coat and trousers, white shirt and tie under a pale gray vest—could have passed for a retro look on any modern American male.

  He looked troubled, with deep creases between his dark eyebrows. She felt guilty—for snapping at him and for putting him in this position. She didn’t know anything about him—what his own worries were, what his life was like, how difficult it might be for him to help them, or even if he was married. She gulped on the last thought but put it out of her mind.

  “Mr. O’Rourke,” she began hesitantly, unsure of what she wanted to say. “I’m sorry to have put you into such a…an awkward position.” She paused, and her heart skipped a beat as he looked up at her with his incredibly blue eyes. “Ummm…what was I saying? Oh, yes! I had no idea when I asked for your help that we would become such a burden. I don’t know what I was thinking…maybe that you’d slip us a twenty-dollar bill and drop us off at the nearest…boarding house? Or something. But I can see that was a pretty simplistic plan.” She shrugged her shoulders. “Marie and I will pay you back, you have to know that. Somehow.” She looked to her sister, who nodded firmly.

  “Yes, we will,” Marie added. “We don’t exactly have our wallets, but we’ll figure something out.”

  “Please, ladies, do not add to your distress by feelings of obligation. I am happy to be of assistance.”

  He started to smile but stopped and sobered his expression, and Annie could have smacked herself. He really did have the most charming smile. Thanks to her smart-aleck comment, he was probably going to refuse to smile in her presence ever again.

  With a sigh, she placed the dishes, unused cutlery and wax paper sandwich coverings back in the basket. Rory rose to set it outside the door.

  “I have managed to give some thought to our arrival at the train station,” he began as he returned to his seat. “I think it best if I leave the train first, find my carriage and make sure my driver maneuvers as close to the platform as possible. I will return for you, and we shall boldly descend from the train and make haste to the carriage. If you are seen, it is unavoidable. Once you are safely in the carriage, no one will know, and should you meet anyone in the future who might have seen you at the train, they will probably not recognize you. I have a great many acquaintances as my father is well known in Seattle, and it i
s likely that I shall be more easily recognized than you.”

  Annie opened her mouth to ask about his father, but Rory continued.

  “The next obstacle I foresee will be getting you into the hotel. It would be best if you remained in the carriage while I register you and inquire about a back entrance to the hotel. I shall see you to your rooms and then leave to make arrangements at a women’s clothing shop so they may attend you at the hotel. You will need to order sufficient clothing for your sojourn in Seattle.”

  Annie glanced at Marie, who stared at Rory with an open mouth.

  “Gosh,” Marie said, echoing Annie’s thoughts.

  “Umm…what if we order ball gowns?” Annie said with an attempt at a playful grin. His generosity to strangers seemed excessive and unnerving.

  The right corner of Rory’s lips twitched, but he held back a smile. “You will need several dinner gowns. If you wish to order ball gowns, you may do so. However, they will do you little good as daytime wear and will make you the center of attention at any event other than a ball. Do you wish to become the center of attention in Seattle in 1906?” He raised a sardonic eyebrow in her direction.

  “Oh, heck no!” Marie exclaimed with a frown directed toward her sister. “Annie was just kidding, Rory.”

  “Yes, I suspected as much,” Rory said.

  “I’m sure Mr. O’Rourke knew I was kidding, Marie. I have to say that I’m a bit overwhelmed by your generosity—to complete strangers.”

  “No need,” he said. He checked his pocket watch and rose to peer out the window. “We will arrive in Seattle soon. I shall leave you to rest.” He opened the door, but stepped back quickly and eased the door shut.

  “Ladies, it seems we are no longer alone in the compartment-observation car. Other travelers have seated themselves in the observation room and, I suspect, on the platform.”

  “Really? I want to see,” Annie said as she jumped up and headed for the door. “Just let me take a quick peek!”

  “Annie!” Marie exclaimed.

  Rory stepped back for a moment, and Annie pulled open the door and stuck her head out. Marie, unable to contain her curiosity, joined her, peering over Annie’s head.

  Several of the previously empty chairs were now occupied by two women and a man. The women sported large straw hats festooned with a myriad of colorful silk flowers. Both wore long skirts in varying shades of beige. Black boots protruded from under the hems. The older of the two women wore a matching bolero-style jacket over her white shirtwaist, and the younger woman wore a broach at the high neck of her frilly white blouse. The man, a middle-aged gentleman dressed much like Rory did in a dark suit, tie and vest, sported a hat of white straw with a dark ribbon around the band. Unlike Rory though, he had a handlebar mustache that must have taken him hours to groom.

  Beyond the threesome, through the window at the rear of the compartment, Annie could see several people standing on the observation platform. If ever she had a doubt that she and Marie had traveled in time, a survey of the new arrivals put that to rest. She looked up at her sister, who shook her head with widened eyes.

  “This is really happening, isn’t it?” Marie muttered as Annie closed the door.

  “I’m afraid so,” Annie murmured. She turned to Rory, who watched them curiously. She opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. He didn’t believe them, and from the look in his eyes, he thought they were slightly loony. Annie had a sudden vision of Marie and her settled in a little house somewhere, long skirts draped around their ankles as they drank tea, petting a few of the hundred or so cats that wandered the house. Maybe Rory, his wife and children might stop by on occasion and leave a casserole at their doorstep.

  “Please do not leave your compartment until I return,” Rory said. As the door closed, Annie slumped down onto the bench opposite Marie, who stared unseeingly out of the window.

  “This is a nightmare,” Marie said. “How are we going to get out of this?”

  Annie looked out the window at evergreen-forested mountains as the train wound its way through a pass. “I have no idea. I doubt we’re going to find a cruise ship at the end of this train trip, though.”

  “But what happened, Annie? How did we get here?”

  Annie shook her head. “I don’t know. I mean…time travel? Seriously? I don’t blame Rory for not believing us. He must think we’re crazy. And it’s not like we have any proof or anything—no driver’s licenses, no passports. Everything’s gone!”

  “I wonder what it will be like to wear those long dresses. Those hats!” Marie shook her head.

  “Oh, gosh—don’t even go there. I doubt they’re going to be a lot of fun to wear, even if Rory really does help out in that way. Don’t you think it’s kind of strange that he offered to do all of that for us, Marie? Why would he?”

  Marie shrugged. “I don’t know. Chivalry?”

  “Maybe. That’s pretty chivalrous,” Annie said dubiously. “Some ulterior motive? We don’t know what people are like in 1906. We don’t even know the laws, but I’m pretty sure there aren’t many laws to protect women.” Annie sighed. “Well, maybe some. It is the twentieth century, after all. Barely…”

  “Well, all I know is that we can’t stay here. At least, I can’t. I’ve got stuff to do, and a fiancé who’s going to want to know where I went. Even though you’re grumpy right now, this is right up your alley, Miss Traveler. You’re the one who always wants to go on trips, to travel. Well, here you are!” Marie crossed her arms and eyed Annie with her best this-is-your-fault look.

  “I didn’t do this!” Annie exclaimed, jabbing a thumb toward her chest. “It’s not like I sat there in the observation car wishing I could travel back in time. And if I had, I wouldn’t have picked 1906. I might have picked the year I met Sean, so I could make sure I never met him!”

  “Oh, yes, your creep of an ex-boyfriend. That would have been nice.”

  “Yes, it would. I could start my whole life over again…fresh…innocent…believing in love again.” Annie smiled weakly. Having broken up a year ago from her cheating long-time boyfriend, her heart was on the mend, but she thought she would never regain her faith in the honesty of men.

  “I might have picked 2010,” Marie mused, “before Mom and Dad passed away, just to talk to them again.”

  “Oh, yeah,” Annie murmured. “That would be so wonderful.” She sighed.

  “Well, Miss Traveler, wishing and wanting are not going to get us out of this mess. Even if I don’t have to worry about believing in love at the moment, I believe I love my TV, my computer, my cell phone, my fiancé and my job at the school too much to be staying here.”

  “I know,” Annie sighed. “But I’m clueless. I got nothing. Nada. No ideas. Yet…” She grinned. “We’ll just have to wait and see what Mr. O’Rourke has in store for us. It’s two against one. We can take him if he tries any funny stuff—you know, like locking us in a warehouse and auctioning us off as sex slaves or something.”

  Marie rolled her eyes. “You are so weird!”

  Annie wagged her finger playfully. “Just you keep an eye out, Sis. I’m not sure I trust Mr. Chivalrous all that much. No one with a smile like his can be trusted completely.”

  ****

  Annie woke from a doze to feel a change in the rhythm of the train. A look out the window revealed the train was slowing. An immense snow-capped mountain dominated the horizon in the distance, seeming to float on the clouds at its base.

  “Marie! Wake up! Is that Mt. Rainier? That is one big mountain!”

  Marie rubbed her eyes and glanced out the window. “I don’t know. I’m so tired.” She started to close her eyes again.

  “Wake up, Marie. I think we’re almost there.”

  Marie’s eyes popped open, and she straightened.

  “Look!” Annie pointed out the window toward the front of the train. “Buildings!” She clamped her mouth shut. Seattle’s skyline looked nothing like it had in the photos she’d seen in making preparations fo
r the cruise. The famous Space Needle was gone…or had never been there. In fact, there were no skyscrapers at all. Since she’d never been to Seattle before, she’d had no particular expectations of the city, but the panorama before her of a sprawling city hovering close to the hills, which led down to a bay, caught her by surprise.

  “Are those tall ships?” she gasped. “Can you see them?” Though distant, the masts of the ships were unmistakable.

  “Tall ships?” Marie asked vaguely. She pressed her nose against the window. “Where?”

  “In the bay down there? Oh my gosh, Marie, where are we?” Annie whispered. “Look at them! They’re beautiful. Can you see the tall masts?”

  The train descended the hills and rumbled down toward the waterfront. Two large steamers docked at a long pier caught Annie’s eye. Black smoke billowed from their stacks.

  “Look at those,” she breathed. A knock on the door startled her, and she rose to open it. Rory, carrying an umbrella in his hand, bowed, and she stepped back to let him in, peeking over his shoulder to see that the observation car now seemed to be vacant.

  “As you can see, we have arrived in Seattle,” Rory said. “Were you able to rest?”

  “A little,” Annie said. “Is the observation lounge empty?”

  “Yes, fortunately for us, Mr. and Mrs. Washburn, and Miss Washburn, returned to their own cars.”

  “Did you know them? You didn’t mention that,” Annie said.

  Rory almost smiled but seemed as if he stopped deliberately.

  “I had not made their acquaintance before leaving your compartment, but only saw them at breakfast. However, Miss Washburn waylaid me with questions regarding the picnic, which she had seen me procure from the dining car, and I was forced to devise a story involving ‘sisters not feeling well,’ which I had previously mentioned to the porter. At that point, her parents wished to make themselves known to me, and we have been ensconced in the observation lounge sipping tea and discussing the merits of train travel on young fragile women such as ‘my sisters’ and Miss Washburn, who seems to be of a hardy sort and well used to traveling.”