Charles said, lining up his putt. “That is, when they weren’t taking telephone messages for their roommates.”
“The lab called?”
“No, Props. They said to tell you they can’t have your papers ready till next Tuesday.”
“Next Tuesday?” Mike bellowed. He called, told them in no uncertain terms that he had to have them by Friday at the latest, and slammed down the phone. It rang again immediately.
It was Linna. “Good news,” she said. “We’ve found you a drop site.”
Which meant Dover wasn’t a divergence point after all. Thank God. “Where is it?” he asked. “In London?”
“No, it’s just north of Dover, six miles from the docks. But there’s a problem. Mr. Dunworthy wanted to move one of the retrieval times up, so we gave them your Saturday slot.”
Great, Michael thought. This’ll give me a couple of extra days. I’ll be able to memorize that list of small craft. And get some more sleep. “What day did you move it back to?”
“Not back,” she said, “forward. You go through Thursday afternoon—tomorrow—at half past three.”
To the Trenches
—SIGN IN LONDON, 1940
Oxford—April 2060
“IN TWO DAYS?” EILEEN SAID, LOOKING OVER LINNA’S shoulder at her console in the lab. She’d gone to see Mr. Dunworthy as soon as she came through from Backbury and then come back to the lab to schedule her return. “But I need to learn to drive. What about next week?”
Linna called up another schedule. “No, I’m sorry, we haven’t anything then either.”
“But I can’t possibly learn to drive in two days. What about the week after next?”
Linna shook her head. “That’s even worse. We’re totally swamped. Mr. Dunworthy’s ordered all these schedule changes—”
“Were they ones historians requested?” Eileen asked. Perhaps if she asked Mr. Dunworthy—
“No,” Linna said, “and they’re all absolutely furious, which is something else
the lab’s had to deal with. I’ve done nothing but—” The telephone rang. “Sorry.” She crossed the lab to answer the phone next to the console. “Hullo? Yes, I know you were scheduled to go to the Reign of Terror first—”
The door of the lab opened and Gerald Phipps came in. Oh, no
, Eileen thought, just what I need
. Gerald was the most tiresome person she knew. “Where’s Badri?” he demanded.
“He’s not here,” Eileen said, “and Linna’s on the phone.”
“I suppose they’ve changed your date of departure as well,” he said, waving a printout at her. “Is this for that silly VE-Day assignment you’re always on about?”
No, I’m not going to VE-Day. Not unless I can persuade Mr. Dunworthy to
change his mind
. Which seemed unlikely. When she went to see him, he’d refused not only to let her go, but to even listen to her worries about her evacuees all returning to London.
“No,” she said stiffly to Gerald. “I’m observing World War II evacuees.”
He laughed. “Are that and VE-Day the most exciting assignments you could think of?” he asked, and for a moment she actually wished Alf and Binnie were there to set him on fire.
“The lab rescheduled your departure date?” she asked to change the subject.
“Yes,” he said, glancing impatiently over at Linna, who was still on the phone.
“No, I know you were supposed to do the storming of the Bastille first—” Linna said.
“But it can’t be changed,” Gerald said. “I’ve already been through and made all the arrangements. And got my costume from Wardrobe. If my arrival’s changed from August, I’ll need a whole new suit of clothes. I’m certain when I explain the circumstances, they’ll change it back. This isn’t an ordinary assignment where one can waltz in anytime. It was difficult enough getting it set up in the first place.” He launched into a long explanation of where he was going and the preparations he’d made.
Eileen only half listened. It was obvious he’d pounce on Linna the moment she got off the phone, and by the time he finished shouting at her and Eileen got to speak to her, Linna would be in no mood to move another departure date. And in the meantime, her two days were ticking away, and she hadn’t even been to Oriel yet to sign up for lessons with Transport. “I think I’d best come back later,” she interrupted Gerald to say, and started for the door.
“Oh, but I thought we could get together after this, and I could—”
Tell me more about your assignment? No, thank you
. “I’m afraid I can’t. I’m going back almost immediately.”
“Oh, too bad. I say, will you still be there in August? I could take the train up to—where is it you are?”