“There isn’t,” Eileen said. “Binnie’s growing up far too fast as it is, and by next year England will be overrun with American soldiers. I can’t abandon her—or Alf—in the middle of a war.”

Which they might not live through even if you do stay, Polly thought. Neither Alf nor Binnie had been with Eileen on VE-Day in Trafalgar Square. But if she told her that, it would only make her more determined to stay and try to protect them.

“And if Alf’s left on his own,” Eileen was saying, “he’s likely to end up destroying the entire space-time continuum.” She smiled. “Don’t you see? I can’t leave them. There’s still a war on. And they saved my life.”

And mine, Polly thought. And England’s. And knew there was no way to talk Eileen out of this.

“But you hate it here,” she said tearfully. “The raids and the rationing and the dreadful food. You said believing you’d be able to go home someday was the only thing that kept you going.”

“I know, but wars require sacrifices. And this spot in history’s not so bad. It is, after all, England’s finest hour. And I’ll get to see VE-Day, which I always wanted to go to.”

“But—”

“Please try to understand,” Eileen said, taking Polly’s hands. “You’ve done your job by saving Sir Godfrey. My job’s not finished yet, and I can’t do it unless I stay here.”

“That isn’t true. Colin, tell her she has to—”

“He can’t,” Eileen said. “He knows I stayed.” She looked at him again. “Don’t you?”

Colin didn’t answer.

“Mr. Dunworthy knows it, too,” Eileen said, turning to him. “That’s why you risked your life coming back here to the theater with Colin instead of staying at St. Paul’s and going through to Oxford, isn’t it? To say goodbye to me?”

“Yes.”

“But … I don’t understand,” Polly said, looking helplessly from one to the other. “What’s she talking about?”

“I was the one who told Colin where we were,” Eileen said. “Wasn’t I?”

And when he didn’t answer, “He found me after the war, and I told him where you were. He’d never have been able to find us otherwise. So you see, I’ve got to stay. I’ve got to be here when he comes to look for me.”

“Is that true, Colin?” Polly said. “Did Eileen tell you where we were?”

He still didn’t answer.

“Did she?” Polly demanded. “Tell me. Did she stay here in the past to tell you we were here?”

“Yes,” he said. “She did.”

She turned on Eileen. “You sacrificed yourself to save Mr. Dunworthy and me?” she said angrily. “How could you do that? How could you think I—?”

“It wasn’t a sacrifice. Polly, you have no idea how much I’ve despised being helpless, how much I’ve hated knowing you and Mr. Dunworthy were going to die and not being able to stop it. You saved my life that night at Padgett’s and, oh, dozens of times since then—especially after Mike died—but I couldn’t do anything to save yours.”