Enchanted - The Dressing Room Affair [Time Travel Historical Romance Novella] (Entwined Together Forever) (5 page)

~*~

When they arrived at the library, they were greeted by a lovely lady with silvery lavender hair and prominent cheek bones. She was the librarian. She was sitting quietly, reading behind an antique desk.

“Hello girls,” she said as she looked up from her bifocals. “How can I help you?”

Katie smiled back. “Do you have any historical books on Lord James Walsh of the 19th Century? He is known as the Lord in the story called…”

Before Katie
could finish, the librarian did. “The Time Travelling Love Affair?”

K
atie was surprised as she glanced at Chloe and back at the librarian. “You know the story?”

“Very well,” the l
ibrarian replied. “It is part of my heritage. My name is Abbey Walsh-McMullen. I’ve been researching my family tree for the last thirty years. It was only in the last five that I was able to trace my ancestry back to the 19th Century Walsh family and then back even further to their 18th Century family heritage of Irish Lords and Ladies. Fascinating time. Just fascinating.”

A surge of excitement coursed
through both Chloe and Katie. They could not believe their luck. They had not only found someone who knew about the history of the Walsh family, but someone who was actually related to them.

Abbey folded her slender arms.
“Outside of antique dealers and collectors, I’ve never had anyone come in wanting to know about the Walsh family. Why are two young lassies like yourselves interested in an 19th Century Lord anyway? Are you doing a project on the Walsh family? Is that why you’re here?” Abbey asked inquisitively.

Katie was hesitant to give the l
ibrarian too much information before finding out a little bit more.

“Do you know anything about the time travelling br
acelets that Reid Walsh wrote about?” Katie asked. Katie had the bracelet on her wrist, but it was hidden under the sleeve of her jacket and she wanted to keep it that way. She liked to wear it as often as she could. It made her feel close to her mum, wherever she was. Somehow, she knew the bracelet was linked with her disappearance. Until they solved the mystery, she wanted to make sure it was always with her just in case.

“Ah. The bracelets. So many antique dealers and collectors have come here looking for the same information. I’ve heard that they are
worth a lot of money,” the librarian said as she got up from her chair. “Come with me, lassies. I have a whole collection of books from the 18th and 19th Century about the Walsh family and their relatives. Maybe you can find what you’re looking for there. I like to read them on slow days. Hobby of mine,” the Librarian confessed in a very friendly voice as she continued on.

“When I first started looking into
my family tree, it was just for a bit of fun really. I was studying to become a librarian as part of my university degree. I had to do a genealogy project for one of my assignments. At that time, I had no idea that I had any connection to the Walsh family, but the more I researched, the more secrets unfolded from my family’s past. I’ve been studying it ever since.” The librarian chattered happily. She carried on talking as she guided them towards a small room at the back of the library. Chloe and Katie were enthralled by her level of knowledge on the Walsh family history.

“From what I read and researched, the bracelets are supposed to have a time traveling ability. They allow the wearers of both brace
lets to travel back and forth through time. Personally, I think that’s all hooey – old wives tales and such – but it keeps the story alive. Those who believe in the bracelets are prepared to pay a pretty penny to own them.” She guided them into a room that was full of books.

“Wow!
These books must be worth a fortune,” Chloe said as she looked at the dates gold-leafed into the covers of the books.

“Are these the actual original b
ooks? Not reprints?” Katie asked as she looked at the rows and rows of beautiful books lined across the old antique bookshelf.

“Yes, th
ey are,” the Librarian grinned. “I found many of them in an old trunk that belonged to my great grandfather. He had it stowed away in his attic. His grandfather was the brother of James and Reid Walsh’s, great grandfather Lord Grayson Walsh who married Lady Bella Rose. Apparently Grayson Manor, where the artists paint and they hold functions on the other side of  Carrowbeg River, was named after him. Others, I acquired from relatives, antique stores, and people peddling them at garage sales and such. Most folks have no interest in or idea of their worth. Because it was part of my history, I decided to collect them myself.” The girls started to browse, perusing the impressive collection. “Sadly, I have never been able to find the original book,
The Timeless Love Affair
. It’s the only one I’m missing.” The Librarian bent down towards the bottom of the bookcase to grab a later edition of the original book.

Chloe chanced
a quick glance at Katie to see if she would mention that she had it, but Katie shook her head and Chloe thought better of telling her. There must be a reason she was keeping it to herself and she would ask her about that later. Right now, they were more interested in the Walsh family and the history of the bracelets and antiques, all eerily similar in their craftsmanship.

As she bent over to grab a book, Chloe and Katie happened to glance down
together. They both gasped. There, along the bottom of the antique bookcase, were the exact same carvings - jewels and words that they had found on both the mirror, the antique chair in the dressing room, and also on Katie’s jewelry box. ‘Entwined together forever’.

“What’s the matter?” Abbey asked, snapping back up and pressing her hand over her heart. She quickly searched the floor, presumably for bugs. “You look like you’ve just seen a ghost!”

“Where – Where did you get that bookcase, Mrs. McMullen?” Katie whispered.

“Please. Call me Abbey,” t
he Librarian replied.  “Oh, that. It’s beautiful isn’t it? This bookcase was also stowed away with the books in my great Grandfather’s attic. I fell in love with the rose wood carvings. The jewels, to my surprise, are actually real. I thought about selling it, but it’s such an irreplaceable heirloom… I’ve had it ever since. Why do you ask?” Abbey looked inquisitively at the girls as they bent down to inspect the jewels sparkling back at them from the handmade antique bookshelf.

“No reason,” Katie scrambled to
say, giving Chloe a gentle prod with her elbow to remind her to pick her jaw up from the floor. “I’ve never seen such a beautiful bookcase in all my life.” It was only half a lie, she decided. Quickly, “It reminded me of the antique nightstand my mother has. That’s all.”

All of a
sudden, someone rang the bell at the front of the library. “Oh, gracious. That will be a new customer. I have to get back to work, lassies. Feel free to stay in here as long as you like. Let me know if you have any questions. I’ve read most of these books several times over. Know them like the back of my hand, I do.”

“Thank you,” the girls chimed in together. Abbey headed back to her
desk. Katie and Chloe quickly grabbed a couple of books and started reading. With the amount of material to cover, it was quickly stacking up to be a long day.

“There’s no way this could be a coincidence, Kate,” Chloe whispered.

“I know,” Katie agreed, her brows knitting together. “But what does that mean?”

~*~

~*~

After hours of fruitless scouring through page after page, Chloe looked up. “Katie, you know it could take you weeks to go through all these books, if not months. Most of them are history about buildings, wars, and battles that existed in the period, not the family themselves… let alone their decorating habits.”

Katie sighed in defeat
. “I know, Chloe. This will take forever,” she agreed. She pouted, propping her elbow on the table and her cheek on her fist. “Do you think we should just tell Abbey what we are looking for and see if she can help us?”

“I think that is a great idea. You keep looking
. I’ll go and see if she’s free!” Chloe got up from her seat to stretch her legs. Chloe walked out of the room and up to the front of the Library where Abbey was closing up shop.

Abbey smiled at C
hloe. “How did it go, lassie? Did you find what you were looking for?”

C
hloe wrung her hands. “Not really, Abbey. We were actually wondering if perhaps you could give us some help.” Chloe’s smile pleaded with her.

“Sure thing. I’m just about to shut up the Library for the day. Give me a minute and I will meet you at the back,” Abbey obliged as she hung the closed sign on the front door.

Chloe and Abbey walked back to the room where Katie was tirelessly sifting through more books, trying to find something about the bracelets. 

“Anything?” Chloe asked. Katie shook her head.

Abbey narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips, the expression casting a whimsical shadow over her friendly wrinkled face. “What are you really looking for, lassie?”

Katie knew if she was going to find out about her mum in this lifetime, she needed to trust people. She believed that
Abbey was a good woman to start with.

“I have something to show you,” she admitted nervously. Katie rolled up the sleeve of her jacket.

Abbey looked at Katie’s wrist and gasped out loud. “My god, the bracelet!” Chloe, quickly grabbed Abbey before she toppled over. 

“Pretty crazy, huh? Here sit down,” Chloe coaxed as she guided Abbey to a chair close by.

“Is it… Is it real?” Abbey managed in her wonderment.

Katie and Chloe exchanged glances.
“It’s real,” Katie answered. “We confirmed it recently at the antique shop.”

“Landsakes… Where did you
find it?” Abbey asked, bristling with excitement. “Do you mind if I have a look? Do you have the other one?”

“No, this is the only one. We found it hidden in my mum’s nightstand when I was clearing away her things,” Katie explained.

“That same one you mentioned earlier? What happened to your mum, if you don’t mind me asking?” Abbey asked gently as Katie handed over the bracelet for her to take a closer look.

Katie told Abbey the whole story. She went on to explain that she also had the original
Timeless Love Affair
book that she would read to her mother most nights when she got sick. She told her about the funny noises in the costume shop and the strange locked dressing room. Finally, she came to the antique mirror and chair plus her jewelry box with the exact same carvings, jewels and words ’entwined together forever’. The bookcase too.

Abbey listened
attentively.

Katie then went on to explain that she believed that the bracelet and the costume shop had something to do with her mother’s sudden disappearance and that she hoped that within the pages of one of these books, she would be able to find the answers.

Abbey sat back and stared at the girls in awe. She inspected Katie before continuing. “I have two books at home that are not here in the Library. I keep them at home because I love to read them over and over again. They are the only books that I have that reference specific family members, so they are very dear to me. But, I think they may hold the answers to what you are trying to find out. One of the books is about the history of the bracelets and how the Walsh family inherited the magic that lay within them. The other is the story of how James Walsh supposedly disappeared for a short time only to come back home with a women by the name of Isabelle… whom no one had met or heard of before. I think that was the last book written on the Walsh family history, outside of James Walsh’s memoirs, which is the well-known
Timeless Love Affair
story that his brother Reid Walsh penned for him. After many years of research, I learned that most people thought the
Time Travelling Love Affair
was the last book written by Reid Walsh about his brother James’ life. I later found out when doing my genealogy, and after speaking to my grandfather, that there is believed to be one more unfinished manuscript still floating around out there. Apparently, it is supposed to be about James and the love of his life Isabelle and how he talked her into going back in time to the 19th Century to become his wife, unfinished and unfound.”

The girls were glued to her every word.

Katie could not believe what she was hearing. Abbey had two books that could finally flesh out the connection between the bracelet, James Walsh, her mother’s disappearance, and the antique furniture from the 18th Century. What luck! But what she found most interesting was the unfinished manuscript and more importantly what that had to do with the handsome 19th Century author Lord Reid Walsh. None of this was adding up, but the mystery was becoming even more deliciously intriguing to them all.

“Abbey, I know how precious these books must be to you and I don’t ask this lightly. Do you think I could borrow them? Please
? To see if I can makes some sense out of the last two and a half years of my life?”

“I’ll make you a deal,” Abbey offered, looking just as excited as the girls were.  “You tell me where you live, and I will bring the books over tomorrow. You can show me the dressing room and the other antiques, plus the original
Time Travelling Love Affair
book. How does that sound?”

“I have a better idea,” Chloe proclaimed
. “Come over for lunch and Katie and I can show you everything over a bottle of wine.”

Katie beamed at the idea. “We’ll make an afternoon of it. What do you think?” They had taken a real shine to Abbey.

“It’s a date!” Abbey said as she looked at both girls’ beaming faces.

Chloe checked her watch. “It’s getti
ng late, Katie. We’d better let Abbey finish closing up.”

Katie and Chloe thanked Abbey for her generosity and booked a time to meet up the following day for lunch at the costume shop.  Katie dropped Chloe off at home and went back to the store to have s
ome dinner and try and get some sleep. 

Fat chance of that,
she thought. Tomorrow couldn’t come fast enough.

~*~