The Secret of the Stone House (11 page)

“Bye, Emily,” she said, stepping over to give Emily a hug.

Emily felt an overwhelming sense of tenderness that threatened to dissolve into tears.

“Don’t be sad,” Molly said. “I’ll see you again.” Then she skipped off and disappeared around the corner of the house.

“Molly, where have you been?” they heard her sister Kate asking. “You must stop your gallivanting all over. And look at you. Your hair is all undone. Come. Let me tidy your braids.”

Emily and Geordie chuckled quietly to themselves. Then they turned to Emily’s problem of whether to go home by Geordie’s proposed new way. He held out the carved bird.

Shaking off her sense of contentment, Emily wondered if taking the bird would work to get her back and forth in time, as the stones did. Or did the stones only work because Molly had grown up with them? What a dilemma! She didn’t know what to do.

“We must think this through carefully. I want to be able to come back to visit you for sure.”

She had so many things she wanted to accomplish when she came again to pioneer time. Besides seeing the stone house finished, and wanting to know more about their lives, she needed to come back to see if she could figure out where her great-grandfather might have concealed the special box. Most of all, she wanted to spend more time with Molly.

“I can’t stay any longer right now, so I’ll go my usual way,” she said, realizing that she needed to get back home immediately. “But I’ll come again as soon as I can.”

“Here, at least take the carving with you,” Geordie thrust it into her hand.

“No, I mustn’t,” she said, giving it back. Her mind seemed to suddenly clear. “Put it into the hiding place,” she said firmly. “I’ll see if I can find it when I’m home. If it doesn’t work, we’ll have to figure out something the next time I come back.”

Reluctantly, Geordie returned the carved bird into the hiding place. “You will come back for Sandy’s wedding?” Geordie asked earnestly.

Emily nodded. “I’ll try,” she said, before hurrying across the prairie.

As she ran for home, she thought again of the wedding. It would be so much fun to see an old-fashioned one. But she also wanted to attend the farm auction. It would be a farewell to her grandmother’s home the way she’d known it. How was she going to manage both? If only she could use Geordie’s carving to travel directly to the stone house.

When she returned to the farmyard, she glanced quickly about to see if anyone was around. Then she strode to the house, peering at the foundation. There they were – small round holes several centimetres apart that she’d never noticed before. These had fine screen across them, probably to keep out rodents and bugs.

Reaching the back of the house, she worked out where the hole with the carving should be, near the back door, and found it covered with plants. Kneeling in the flower bed, she pushed aside the geraniums and hollyhocks to reach the foundation wall. The hole was there.

“What are you doing, Emily?” Her mom startled her, coming around the corner.

Emily let the flowers go and jumped to her feet.

“You’ve either taken a very sudden interest in gardening, or you have a weird fascination for stone walls,” her mom continued.

“Uh, I was just looking at the construction,” Emily said quickly, brushing the dirt off her knees.

“And you’re in the flower bed because?” Kate asked, perplexed.

Emily ignored the direct question. “Did you know this house has rough-faced walls? They weren’t all built the same.”

“I never thought about it,” Kate said matter-of-factly.

“Some of them were built with smoother surfaces,” Emily edged her way past her mother, hoping to lead her away from the special hole in the foundation.

“I suppose Donald’s been filling your head full of stone building facts!”

“I’m just interested, is all,” Emily said, hoping to avoid any further discussion.

“Well, I guess it can’t hurt,” said her mom.

Emily tried to change the subject. “Can we call Uncle Ian now?”

“We already did,” said her mom. “We couldn’t find you when we came back. I thought I told you to stay put!”

“I was here all the time,” Emily said, crossing her fingers behind her back as she told her not-quite lie. She really had been here at the house, so that part was at least true.

“Well, we couldn’t find you!”

“I was probably just poking around somewhere,” Emily suggested.

Kate shook her head. “You must stop gallivanting all over!”

Emily walked ahead with a hint of smile on her face as she recalled Kate in the past saying the very same thing to Molly. “So what did Uncle Ian say?”

“He wasn’t there. I left a message,” said her mom.

“Then, can I call Dad now?”

“Give it another hour – until after six – so it’s cheaper,” her mom called out to her retreating back. “You can help get supper on!”

Emily let the screen door slam as she entered the veranda. Do this, do that; her mom was always so bossy! Her scowl disappeared when she remembered the exchange between Kate and Beth in the past. Things didn’t seem to have changed much from one life to another.

When she at last telephoned her dad, Emily found him in a good mood.

“We just heard that we’ve secured some substantial grants for our new research project,” she heard him say.

“Wonderful, Dad,” Emily responded. “Does that mean you’ll be home more, so I can visit?”

“Well, sorry pumpkin, but I’ll actually have to travel more often for a while, gathering all the samples and materials,”

“When will I see you, then?” she asked, feeling a lump growing in her throat.

Hesitantly, he answered, “I’m not sure, Em, but as soon as I’m done the bulk of the exploration, I could take some time off. We could take a little holiday together, say in a couple of months. How would that be?
”

A huge disappointed sigh escaped from Emily before she could stop it. She felt her eyes watering, and she clutched the phone.

“Okay, Dad,” she said, trying not to let her voice crack.

“Great!” Apparently he hadn’t noticed the sigh.

“I have to go now, Dad,” she said quickly. “Aunt Liz needs to use the phone.” She gave him the first excuse that came to her mind.

“Well, all right, then,” he sounded surprised. “I’ll talk to you again soon, okay, Emily?”

“Okay,” she said quietly.

“I love you, pumpkin,” her dad ended on an upbeat note, although she thought she detected a little sadness too.

“Love you too, Dad,” Emily said, her voice breaking. She hung up the phone and went upstairs, before anyone could see her.

She only made it to the second floor before the ache in her throat gave way. Going into the bathroom, she closed the door and burst into tears. She wasn’t important in her dad’s life. She wouldn’t see much of him from now on, she just knew it. Why did her parents have to divorce? Her whole life was wretched.

“Emily?” her mother’s voice came from the other side of the door. “Are you all right?”

Hurriedly, she mopped at her eyes with a towel.

“I’m okay,” Emily’s voice came out muffled.

“Are you sure?” her mom asked quietly. “Can I come in?”

“I’ll be out in a minute.”

“Let me see you,” persisted her mother.

“Just give me a couple of minutes,” Emily turned on the tap and splashed her face with water. “I’ll be right down.”

“Okay, then.”

She heard her mom going downstairs.

When she stepped into the kitchen, her mom and aunt looked at her with concern. Emily grabbed a tea towel and began drying forks and knives. She fumbled them into the utensil drawer, unable to see clearly. She kept her head down as she worked, letting her hair fall into her face.

“What did your dad say?” her mom asked from across the kitchen, obviously trying to decide whether to come to her or not.

“He’s too busy to see me.” She took a deep breath. “He’s going on a research trip for two months.”

As Emily brushed past her mom, she struggled to keep her emotions in check. Her mom reached out and put her arm around her shoulders, holding her close. Emily tried to think of other things, looking out the window at the sun lowering on the horizon, looking at the clock ticking, anything to keep from breaking down again.

Emily felt her mom’s chin resting on the top of her head, as she whispered, “I’m sorry, Em.”

“I’m okay, Mom,” she said, breaking away and returning to dry the glasses sitting on the drainboard.

As Aunt Liz washed the plates in the sink next to her, Emily felt her nose begin to run. She swiped at it with her hand, struggling to keep her mind occupied. All of a sudden, tears blinded her and she couldn’t see the plates she was reaching for.

“Aw, sweetie,” Aunt Liz grabbed the tea towel and quickly wiped the suds off her hands, then gathered Emily into her arms. She hugged her tightly.

Emily blubbered into her aunt’s shoulder, as her mom snatched up several Kleenexes and pressed them into her hands. She dabbed at Emily’s eyes, and brushed her hair soothingly out of her face.

“Come sit down,” Kate tugged her gently towards the table, and hastily drew a chair out for her.

Emily let her mom and aunt coddle her. Her mom pulled out another chair and sat close to her, while Aunt Liz brought her a glass of water.

“Just because he’s got work to do, doesn’t mean he doesn’t care,” Kate said softly.

“I know,” Emily nodded her head and blew her nose. “I just wanted to see him.”

Kate gave her some fresh tissues. “I know, Em, but you can phone him lots.”

“Okay,” Emily said, knowing it wasn’t the same thing, but that it was the best that could be done.

Feeling more subdued, she wiped her eyes, gave her nose another blow and took a long sip of water. Then she smiled at her mom and aunt. “I’ll be fine.”

She stood up.

“That’s my girl!” her mom patted her on the shoulders.

Aunt Liz handed the tea towel back to her with a grin.

“Sympathy doesn’t get me out of the dishes, huh?”

“Nice try,” said her aunt, laughing.

Although Emily still felt a deep sadness, she also felt comforted by the closeness of the three of them as they worked in the kitchen together.

“Guess we’ll have to be up by dawn to make sure everything is ready for the auction tomorrow,” her mom broke the silence.

“Not a problem,” said Emily, glad to be thinking of something else.

“Could you be the gofer between us all tomorrow?” Aunt Liz asked kindly.

“Uh, I guess so,” Emily said, half-heartedly. How would she ever escape to the past if they kept her constantly busy? She wanted to go to Sandy’s wedding. “What would I have to do?”

“Just make sure the women serving the lunch don’t need anything, maybe run messages back and forth between the auctioneers and us,” said Aunt Liz.

“Just as long as I get to see everything going on,” Emily added, realizing that she didn’t want to miss anything, anywhere. How was she going to be in two places at once?

The ringing of the telephone cut into their conversation.

“Ian, how nice to hear your voice,” Aunt Liz said.

Hanging up the tea towel, Emily listened while her aunt explained to Uncle Ian about the key and the missing box. He was several years older than Aunt Liz and Aunt Maggie.

“You remember? Wonderful!” Aunt Liz listened some more.

Emily felt her pulse quicken. Her mom moved in closer, trying to eavesdrop.

“I had no idea!” Aunt Liz talked for a few more moments, and then handed the phone to Kate.

“There’s a loose stone in the fireplace in the living room,” Aunt Liz whispered.

Excitement bubbled inside Emily as she danced towards the hallway. Kate quickly ended the conversation, eyeing Emily and Aunt Liz as they headed to the living room.

“Wait up, you two!” Kate caught up to them just as they reached the fireplace.

“He said it’s...” Aunt Liz stopped abruptly as Emily dropped to her knees.

She’d suddenly remembered the extra space Jack and Duncan had left in the base of the fireplace as they were building it. She knew exactly which spot it should be in. Would the hidden box be there?