26. Mina

Three men slept peacefully. Heathcliff's arms wrapped around me, holding me against his chest, his breath warm against my neck. On the other side of him, Morrie snored, his arm draped protectively across both of us. Quoth perched on top of the metal wall sculpture hanging over the bed, occasionally letting out a little croak as he dreamed his bird dreams.

Even though I was bone-tired, I couldn't sleep.

As soon as we finished with Marjorie, Quoth rushed off to see about some last-minute secret wedding stuff. I didn't have time to resent that, because I was in full-on wedding mode. I'd packed up my dress and makeup so Heathcliff could transport them to the Lachlan Hall bridal suite. I had a nail appointment (red glitter. If I hold them really close to my face in the right light, I can see the sparkles), and I'd been practising my dance moves and welcoming our out-of-town guests. The entire downstairs of Nevermore Bookshop was a sea of mattresses and cots to sleep our friends who'd come in from all over just for our big day.

Every time I closed my eyes, I remembered that tomorrow I'd be walking down the aisle to a cello version of Metallica's ‘Nothing Else Matters,' on my way to marry three men who I trusted would always have my back.

Men who took up way too much space in the bed with their heavy arms and their breathing right in my ear.

Sigh.

Nope, sleep definitely wasn't happening. Might as well get a drink and read a little beside the dwindling fire.

After a bit of wrangling, I managed to drag myself out from beneath Heathcliff and Morrie. I grabbed my phone from the charger on the dresser and shuffled toward the bathroom. One great thing about going blind is that you stop needing to turn lights on in the middle of the night.

I did my business and washed my hands, noting with a giddy feeling in my chest that Morrie's expensive bath products were gone from the sink. He'd moved them up to Lachlan Hall, where we'd get ready tomorrow.

I stepped out of the bathroom. My foot scuffed something on the floor. It crinkled like a piece of paper.

Quoth must have dropped a page from his sketchbook again. He's always doing that.

I bent down to pick it up, and my fingers brushed over familiar, thick, ancient paper, and a wax seal.

A letter.

A letter that had fallen on the carpet directly outside the time-travelling room.

It could only be from one person.

I raced back to the bedroom and flicked on the light. "Wake up!" I yelled.

Quoth shook out his wings, sending feathers flying. "Croooak?"

"Who's there?" Heathcliff grabbed for the long sword he kept in the corner of the room, nearly squashing Morrie in the process. "If you're the saboteur come to hurt Mina, you have to get through me first."

"The saboteur?" I asked.

He rubbed his eyes. "Just…a bad dream. Ignore me. Why are you awake? Is something wrong?"

"Everything's okay." I held up the envelope. "At least, I think it is. My father sent a letter. I thought we could read it together."

Heathcliff took the letter from me. The three of them curled around me, and Oscar jumped up and settled on my lap. Heathcliff broke the wax seal and began to read.

Beloved Mina,

I know that you didn't expect to hear from me again, but a father cannot ignore his daughter on her wedding day.

I want you to know that I am so proud of you. You are everything I could have ever wished for in a daughter – brave and wise and kind and loyal. It has been an honor to be your father from afar, and to feel the ripples of your legacy throughout time and space.

You are special, Mina Wilde. May all your dreams come true.

I have got you a wedding present. I know that you can't afford a honeymoon, but if you and your husbands open this door at precisely 10:17AM on the morning of the 22nd, you'll have an experience you'll never forget.

Love, Dad.

"Dad got us a honeymoon? We're going, right?" I grabbed for the letter, wanting to touch this object that my father had touched, wanting to deepen my connection to him.

"Do you not recall the calamities that have befallen us when last we used that room?" Heathcliff folded his arms.

"A little calamity never hurt anyone," Morrie said. "I hope it takes us to a beach on a tropical island, with trees filled with magical alcoholic coconuts."

"We couldn't afford a honeymoon otherwise," Quoth said. "I say that we should go."

"Or an opulent hotel room with 400-thread-count Egyptian cotton sheets." Morrie rubbed his fingers together. "Or on board the Orient Express right in the middle of a perplexing murder?—"

"We're unlikely to end up on a train, or a beach," I reminded him, "since the room will only take us to the shop during different periods in history. But still, I think it could be fun."

"If we all get eaten by dinosaurs, I'm blaming you." Heathcliff slid back into bed.

"Fair."

"And I'm taking my sword." Heathcliff pulled me against his chest, tucking the blankets around us. "We don't know what we might find on the other side."

He kissed the top of my head. I reached out and hit my phone, which read out the time. 3:15AM. "Hey, we're getting married today! It's our wedding day!"

"I know, which is why we're going to enjoy the peace and quiet while we still have it." Heathcliff nuzzled my neck. "I spent far too long today breaking up arguments between Sherlock and David Winter. And Lydia's arriving on the early train, may the Old Gods preserve us. So why don't you close those pretty eyes of yours and try to get some sleep?"

"Only if you tell me what you meant before, about a saboteur?"

"Oh, that. Like I said, it was a bad dream." He pressed me deeper into his chest. "Go to sleep, woman. Don't try and wriggle out of this now. Later today, you are going to be my wife."