Contents (57)
- Prologue
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- Forty-Seven
- Forty-Eight
- Forty-Nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-One
- Fifty-Two
- Fifty-Three
- Acknowledgements
- About the Author
- Also by Sharon Gosling
He tried to get his head around this. ‘But no one knew about it?’
‘I don’t think so. I can’t find any mention of it anywhere outside this room.’
‘Why?’
Rachel spread her hands. ‘Exactly.’ She indicated the papers around their feet. ‘These papers were all up here. I’ve been trying to put everything in date order in the hope I might be able to work it out, but it’s slow going.’
She retrieved an envelope and held it up so that he could see what had been written on it. To You Who Finds Me, it read. Rachel gently removed the single sheet it contained, unfolding the brittle paper and smoothing it out for Toby to read. It was brief, and explained none of his many questions. It ended with a plea for secrecy and the virtually anonymous initials E.A.M.
‘I don’t know who E.A.M. is, but whoever it is seems to be the actual architect and builder of the James MacDonald Tower.’
Toby frowned. ‘Not James MacDonald himself?’
‘Apparently not. And I’m showing you all this because earlier I finally told Alan Crosswick about it, and he suggested I find someone to help me piece together… well, everything. I’ve been trying to do it myself, to work out who this E.A.M. was and why they wanted this place kept a secret. But there’s so much material and all of it takes time to decipher. We think, with your background, you might be able to help me work it all out quicker than I can on my own. And with this possible heir somewhere in America…’
‘Right,’ said Toby. ‘I see.’
‘Will you help me?’
‘Of course I will,’ he said. ‘It’s just—’
‘A lot to take in. I know.’
Toby looked up at the dome and then at the blank white circle of marble beside them. ‘Can you show me how it works?’
‘You won’t be able to see anything in the dark, except maybe the glow of the street lamps. But I can show you tomorrow.’
‘Okay.’ Toby looked around again. ‘I’m glad you told me. Honoured, really. But right now I’m exhausted and, after today, if I’m tired, you must be dead on your feet. Why don’t we call it a night for now?’
‘All right.’ Rachel smiled ruefully, looking around the small room. ‘Although, to tell you the truth, I’ve not really slept in days. Knowing this is up here… I feel a bit as if I don’t know the place I’ve been living in for years at all.’
Toby nodded. ‘I can imagine. I wouldn’t be able to think about anything else – and I know how much else you’ve got to deal with right now.’
They made their way back down into her tiny bedroom and Toby watched as she closed the hatch. Afterwards they stood together, looking up at the sealed secret above their heads.
‘Look,’ he said, ‘I don’t want you to think I’m trying anything on here, but you need sleep. Why don’t you come back to the cottage? There are two bedrooms, you can take the spare.’