CHAPTER 71 - Plans for the future
ANLISE SMILED WITHblinding charm. “It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Your Grace.” She gave a curtsy as awkward as her brother’s bow had been. “I already met Alasdair in the gardens.” She offered Alasdair a sugary smile.
“A pleasure, Miss Anlise.” Dale replied. Charmed by the young woman. “Why don’t you and my cousin both join us? We were about to discuss the plans to transport me to Olivia’s time.”
“Oh, so you are going to Olivia?” Anlise replied excitedly. “Mother was right about the meaning of the message!”
“Of course she was right. Did you ever doubt it? The woman has an uncanny ability to always be right. It is most annoying.” Roys grumbled.
“In that case, Roys, we will need to create an identity for him. You can concentrate on the time travel part, and I will hack the databases as needed to create the pertinent records.”
“We are not going to do anything, Anlise. You will wait for me here, and I will continue the mission by myself as planned.”
“But you know I can help!”
“Listen, sister,” he continued in a reasonable tone, “I don’t do this to be mean to you. You know I could get in trouble for what I’m about to do. My career is on the line if anyone finds out what I’ve been up to while in the past. This way, if I get caught, at least I would go down by myself. No need for both of us to run that risk.”
“What risks?” Dale asked, not liking the possibility of any consequences for Roys if he was discovered.
“I am not authorized to transport people in time. Much less hack into primitive systems to change things. We still don’t know the consequences of interfering with events in the past. For now, we are only allowed to observe and carry out very selective and small changes to study their impact. I would say taking you to the twenty-first century does not qualify as a ‘small change’”
“I don’t want to cause any trouble for you.”
“I have been preparing for this my whole adult life, Avondale. I have a good plan, and I think I won’t get caught, but nothing is a hundred percent sure.”
“I am honored and humbled by your dedication to my predicament.” Dale said feelingly.
“Yes, yes, but enough of that. We need to get to business.” Anlise rolled her eyes.
“She is right. For once,” Roys admitted, throwing an annoyed look in her direction. “We will travel to Olivia’s time, but it is more complicated than simply transporting you there. I cannot just drop you off in the twenty-first century with no papers and no records of your existence. I’m thinking we need to create a lineage for you, complete with a birth certificate and other pertinent documentation.”
“Olivia lives in America. Can’t we just say I’m from England and therefore my documents are on that side of the Atlantic and go from there?”
Roys smiled indulgently, “Not quite. It doesn’t work that way. You would need a passport in order to even enter the United States. But don’t worry. I have it figured out.”
“What’s your plan, Roys? Run it by me. Maybe I can help...”
Roys shot his sister a warning glance.
She held up her hands, palms flat. “Without going with you. I get it. I’ll just help you revise and polish the plan.”
“Father helped me plan the entire mission. First, we need to land in the year Avondale is supposed to have been born if he were to be the same age he is now in the year Olivia traveled back. Once there, create hospital records and a birth certificate. I also looked up the last of the line of the Avondale dukes. He was a bachelor who died a few months before Olivia's time travel. He didn’t leave any descendants. Never married. I was thinking of creating a marriage certificate to a lady who died shortly after Avondale’s ‘birthdate’. One who didn’t have family or close friends. I have researched a few and have some prospects. She would be his mother and the secret wife of the last Duke. That way you could claim your title in the twenty-first century if you so desire.”
Anlise nodded her agreement. “That would establish his lineage and inheritance.”
Avondale didn’t like this. “What you are suggesting sounds highly illegal and dangerous, not to mention fraught with potential pitfalls. We are talking about falsifying documents, creating records. Basically lying and stealing.”
“C’mon Avondale. This is unfamiliar territory we are covering here.” Roys said defensively. “Nobody has ever traveled in time with the intention of actually staying in that other time period. There aren’t any laws that cover this. Besides, we would not be stealing anything from anybody. There’s no heir to the Avondale title in 2022. And we are not lying either. You are the rightful Duke of Avondale. We would just be relocating you within the lineage.” He added with an impish grin.
