“That should do it, my dear. It will be safe enough to leave it like that until I use it to go back. I won’t be here long.” Darcy started towards the edge of the woods, clearly walking a path he’d trodden before. “How about you make me a cup of your wonderful coffee? I swear I dreamt about it last night. Elliot, come and talk to me.”
Fifteen minutes later, back in Ramona’s apartment with the coffee made and all the formalities out of the way, Darcy surveyed both Elliot and Ramona from the other side of the table. “I’m glad for the opportunity to speak to you both at once. As you know, we have experienced a few issues with the infinity devices lately.”
Elliot interrupted immediately. “Infinity devices. I’ve been unable to get a straight answer from anyone on this. Is there more than one time machine?
“There are very few things in this world or the next of which only one exists,” Darcy said cryptically. His feline green eyes twinkled. “Elliot, I’m sure you’re aware by now that too many questions of the wrong nature are frowned upon by the corporation. I can assure you that there is further work ahead for you to make use of your numerous talents. Your work has found favour with the senior committee and they’re looking forward to a long and mutually satisfying business relationship.”
“That’s all very well to say, but I’d appreciate it if at least some of my questions were answered,” Elliot argued.
“All in good time. We have something far more important to discuss.” His jovial expression faded and his voice became grave. “A rather complicated issue has arisen.”
“I thought as much,” Ramona said softly. “After what happened on Thursday…” She darted a quick glance at Elliot and clamped her mouth shut.
Darcy nodded. “Thursday was not a good day, not now and not then.” He shifted his gaze to Elliot. “The Knave contravened our rigorous security measures and managed to access a time machine.”
Ramona’s mouth drooped forlornly. “It should never have happened. The corporation is in an uproar.”
Darcy took a deep breath. “This is where it becomes even more complicated. Due to the fluidity of time, we’re beginning to think that the Knave and Jack the Ripper might be one and the same.”
Elliot’s heart skipped a beat. His mouth was suddenly so dry he could barely shape a word. “What? How can that be? It’s impossible!” I refuse to believe that I sat in a public place and held a civil conversation with Annie’s killer.
“It should be impossible but evidence exists that suggests this might not be the first time the Knave has utilized an infinity device. As you must know by now, he is a highly intelligent, albeit an irreversibly damaged, man. Staying one step ahead of such a man, even with the amount of resources at the corporation’s disposal, is not always possible.”
He was going to be sick. He couldn’t stomach the smell of the coffee wafting up from the cup that sat beneath his nose. He jumped to his feet and paced with great agitation around the room. “You’re telling me that the Knave killed Annie,” he said flatly.
“We’re still working on the finer details but yes, it is possible.”
“Elliot, we’re doing all we can to get this sorted out,” Ramona put in. “Rest assured that the Knave will be stopped, one way or another.”
Elliot stood with his back to the table and stared out across the rooftops of London town, at a landscape he used to know so well. He’d had a chance to stop the Knave himself and he’d missed that chance. He could have silenced that jeering, self-satisfied voice forever. He should never have listened to the ‘rules’ of the corporation. His stake in this was far too personal for that.
Darcy pulled a timepiece on a golden chain out of his trouser pocket and flipped it open. “I have to go. I have a meeting elsewhere in fifty years and thirty minutes.”
Ramona went to stand up but Darcy motioned for her to stay seated. “I’ll make my own way back.” He gave her a pointed look. “I’ll leave you two alone to talk.”
Elliot nodded dumbly, barely able to summon up enough strength to say goodbye. Darcy walked across to where Elliot stood and laid his hand heavily on his shoulder, pressing down firmly to drive his meaning home. “Ramona is here for you to talk to. We will do our best to make sure the Knave can’t leap back across the decades and return to the current year, if that gives you any peace of mind.”
Elliot could no longer ignore his growing nausea. He had to get out of this claustrophobic room and out into the fresh air. He needed to be alone. “I have no wish to talk to anyone.” He ducked out from under Darcy’s hand and ran for the door. “If I should ever chance to see you again Darcy Darcel, I hope the news you bring is kinder for a man who has already been through too much.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
Elliot had spent several sullen days in moody introspection. In many ways, it felt as if he’d suffered through Annie’s death all over again. He’d battled anger, grief, and regret, furious at both the corporation and the Knave for their unnecessary and jarring impact on his life. The corporation had used him as a pawn, withholding important information while they allowed the Knave to continue to walk around as a free man. They should have permanently stopped the man in his tracks from the outset instead of blindly blocking his numerous attempts at murder. If the corporation really was all powerful and omnipotent, such a task should have come easily to them. Yes, he knew Ramona had said it was complicated to retract events and change all aspects of the future but their collective intelligence should have been able to find some way around it. And now, it seemed the Knave had fooled them all and used their own infinity device for his evil and selfish means.
Elliot lay on his couch in the swathe of sunshine that shone through his windows, staring up at the ceiling. Ramona had tried to follow him when he stormed out of her apartment several days ago but he’d refused to listen to her pleas to come back and talk. He knew he needed time to himself to come to terms with everything and he was glad he’d taken that time. His anger with the corporation and the Knave had gradually reduced to a low simmer, allowing space for other musings to creep in. With the Knave now back in the 1800s, presumably trapped there and with the corporation doing their utmost to thwart his killing spree before any other women lost their lives, he should put the man out of his mind. Darcy had said there was further work ahead for him and he already knew he enjoyed the comforts and benefits of this era.
He’d spent time thinking of his friendship with Amy, his intrigue for the ingenuous workings of this century, and of all the things he’d learnt since his arrival here. He’d chewed through countless thoughts over the past few days and he had made up his mind on one important matter, a matter that remained at the forefront of his mind despite his other concerns. Over the past few weeks, he’d battled against developing feelings for Ramona and she continued to step unasked and uninvited into his thoughts and dreams. It was becoming a real problem from his point of view but he’d come up with a way to solve it.
Ramona and her cool demeanour both intrigued and captivated him. Against all odds, she’d managed to create a space for herself in his heart. He’d decided he would woo her into revealing more of her softer, more carefree side, the side that she’d only shown him brief glimpses of until now. Elliot Cinder was a man capable of much charm and persuasion, and he had allowed himself to forget that since Annie’s death. Ramona, with her rare grins and beguiling stare, made him remember the man he once was. He wanted to find that man again and he was positive the key lay behind her smile.
Someone knocked on the door, tipping him out of his musings. He rolled off the couch, wondering if Ramona had decided to pay him a visit. They’d spoken twice on the phone since he left her apartment but on both occasions the conversations had lacked both warmth and length, largely on his part. Her arrival here now, just when he’d made his momentous decision, could be timely. He hurried into his bedroom to check his reflection in the mirror, giving into vanity as the person outside the door knocked again, harder this time.
; Elliot pulled the door open with his most charming smile poised ready on his lips, but the person standing outside was definitely not Ramona. His visitor was an older man who Elliot had seen around the apartment block with his wife, a man with greying hair, worried eyes, and quick, anxious movements. He greeted Elliot nervously, shuffling his feet and glancing behind him as if he thought someone might sneak up and grab him at any moment. “I’m sorry for leaving it so long to drop this off to you, but my wife has been very ill. Someone left this in our letterbox in error about a week ago, maybe a little more, and I’ve been meaning to deliver it to you. Time seems to have gotten away on us lately.” He held out his hand and Elliot noticed for the first time that he was holding a plain, buff-coloured envelope.
“It’s no problem at all. I wasn’t expecting any mail so the delay isn’t a bother. Please give my best wishes to your wife, along with my hopes for a speedy recovery.” Elliot thanked the man and took the envelope, looking at it with detached curiosity as he shut the door. He’d cleared junk mail from his mail box several times since moving in here and he suspected that this was yet another generic community flyer or a piece of advertising for some local tradesman’s home maintenance services.
Elliot carried the envelope over to the bench, where he left it while he filled the kettle and pulled the canister of coffee out of the cupboard. His thoughts drifted back to the pleasant subject of wooing Ramona. He decided he would make himself a cup of coffee and then he would phone her and invite her out to dinner. He smiled to himself, imagining her protests or excuses, but he wouldn’t take no for an answer. Somehow, he would find a way to persuade her that a genuine Victorian courtship was exactly what a thoroughly modern woman needed.
He poured the hot water into his cup and swirled the spoon through the brown liquid, sending the robustly seductive fragrance curling upwards. A bonny wench. Feeling buoyant, he dropped the spoon into the sink and idly picked up the envelope to inspect it again. His name was written on the front in curling handwriting but there was nothing else, no stamp nor logo. He lifted the flap and pulled out a small folded sheet of paper covered in the same curling handwriting. There was no salutation or greeting and the words began abruptly, right at the top of the page.
‘Elliot,
Think of me on a night black. I am at the heart of the creeping shadows, I am the unknown sound from within the entrails of a building, I am the unexpected footsteps behind you in a darkened alley, and I am the lone flicker of a cold breeze to raise the tiny hairs on your neck.
Watch your step, Elliot Cinder. Watch every single step you make and measure every single breath you take. Heed my warnings well because no man can never know for certain when he’ll find himself walking on the wrong side of trouble.
Jack.’
Elliot snorted with derision, annoyed that the Knave had the audacity to write him such a note before he left. He screwed up the note in his hand, watching with satisfaction as he reduced the sheet of paper into a tight ball of nothing before dropping it into the small rubbish bin in the cupboard under the sink, where it lay with the potato peelings, burger wrappers, used tea bags, and other unwanted trash. He had no further interest in either Jack or the Knave and he would not allow the man’s idle threats to disrupt his life. The man was not worth wasting any more of his thoughts or energy upon. He deserved no consideration and if he thought Elliot was scared of him, he needed to think again. The Knave had stupidly trapped himself in Victorian England and there was little to no chance that narcissistic, murderous deadbeat would ever make his way back to modern times.
Tossing aside all thoughts of the Knave and feeling confident and sure of a positive reception, he picked up his phone to call Ramona. Now he could really begin to sit back and enjoy the myriad pleasures the 21st century had to offer, and he knew exactly where he wanted to start. It was a man’s responsibility to lay down his intentions in a clear and true manner when it came to the delicate business of winning a woman’s heart.
The End
Look out for On A Night Black, the next book in The Cinder Chronicles series, which is due for release in October 2019 and will continue Elliot and the Knave’s story.
The third and final book in the trilogy, No Regrets, will follow shortly after (at this stage, the release date is mid to late October).
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