Chapter 15

She grimaced, saying, “Fifty-fifty, I would say. Taking an extra day off is better than going in then being unable to attend on the day after and perhaps more. Don’t overdo things, Bob. You have basically finished school, anyway, if I understand right.”

“That’s about it, Georgie. That is why the school is not over-concerned about my non-attendance for now.”

“Then take it easy, I say. I have another half hour before lunch. Anything you need to get sorted from last week?”

“Not directly. I went and had a coffee and cheese scone at Cafe Continental, and I was served by Janet. You remember her?”

“Yes. Sandy was quite taken by her.”

“It appears to be more than that. Sandy had suggested, amazingly, that Janet might become another woman in our family; did you hear her say that?”

“Yes. I was not too sure about the idea. It seemed ... ah ... premature, for we don’t know very much about her.”

“I can see that you might feel that way. Sandy wants to finish her degree before having children, yet she knows I would love to have children. She sees you in two ways; one is to make you happy with a man to love you, the other is that you might have children to add to our family. She sees Janet in that second way, as another possible child producer, as a second string to her bow, in case you don’t catch very soon. I am more a case of, can I love another woman apart from you two? What is your general feeling about Janet?”
“You want me to explain my feelings about Janet joining us? But I am not your wife, Bob. My feelings should not come into it.”

“Georgie, as far as I am concerned, you will be my second wife, and as such your opinion matters to me.”

Georgina appeared surprised and shocked, much though the idea was not intrinsically new to her. She composed herself and gave me her immediate report. It was the reinforcement of that ‘wife’ concept that unsettled her.

“This is preliminary thoughts only, Bob, as I will have to think about this carefully. First, if that is what Sandy wants, then I don’t propose to prevent her from getting her way; it is not my judgment that counts. In this marriage, she is your legal wife and has rights and privileges accordingly. The general principle of having another woman in the family, primarily to produce your children, feels wrong, but that was exactly what happened in the Old Testament, when Rachel and Leah were sisters married to Jacob. They eventually persuaded their husband to have children by their maids, as I recall, so it is not a new idea to absorb another woman into the family that way. Not in ancient times anyway. Today is a bit iffy.

Lastly, and importantly, I think Janet must have an input into this suggestion. She may want to set her own limits on the proposal. I have no idea what these might be, but they should be respected and taken into consideration before any decision is agreed upon. She is not to be regarded merely as a child-bearer.”

“A sound assessment, Georgie. I spoke with Janet, alone, at the restaurant today, and got her to think about having children with me if she joined our family. She wants to have a think about it, and that is what should happen. I want to know how she sees her life ahead.”
“That I agree with. By the way, that phone call when you arrived? It was Mr Shetland, the solicitor who was the selling agent for the house. He said to tell you that the sheriff court has formally declared James Clyde deceased, so a death certificate will be issued and he can use that as the official proof of death for the transfer form to go through. He seemed to think you would know about a transfer form.”
“Yes, I do. That will facilitate getting ownership of company shares and other assets transferred to me. It means that in future dividends will come to me, and not to James Clyde’s estate. That means we will have regular income in future, Georgina.”
“In future? Does that mean after you are married?”
“Probably not before then, I expect; and intermittent. Dividends are paid at certain times of the year, with the final dividend coming at the end of the financial year.”
“Where did these shares come from, Bob?”
“They were bought a long time ago, as far as I can tell. Most of the share certificates are dated in the late nineteen-forties and early nineteen-fifties when companies were starting to expand their operations with new technology. This also made them more profitable, so these shares have gained in value. For some reason all the shares involved relate to successful companies; none are companies that did poorly. It appears that whoever bought these shares knew that they would do well in the years ahead. The more recent shares were obtained in the last ten years and again were companies that have done well since.”
“But for him to know that, he would have to know that they would be recorded in that way in future time? Buying shares he knew would increase in value.”
“Exactly, so what does that tell you, Georgie?”
“A time traveller?”
“And what does a time traveller need to keep his activities under the radar? Secrecy, of course. No-one should know about it or it would be a disaster for the time traveller. Why is the time traveller doing such things; buying shares that will grow in value? The answer is incredibly simple: to build up a nest egg for his future existence some time in his past; get the idea?”
Georgina gasped, “But that can’t be you! You are too young.”
“Granted”, I accepted, “but I found out something about that house, and that was why I ended up buying it. The time traveller had been preparing it for himself, including a cache of gold ingots. He intended to formally ‘buy’ the house using his new persona, and settle in as a rich man in a quiet locality. My assessment is that he came here from the year 2026, escaping from a crooked money man who bankrolled his research in a secret laboratory.”
“So where is he, this time traveller?”
“He died in Kilmacolm, is my belief; I think of a heart attack or a stroke. Both of these come on suddenly and if you don’t get immediate attention, they can be fatal. I found that there had been an unidentified man who was found dead in Kilmacolm, and Mr Shetland was able to identify him from a police drawing as the client who he met when he first started his office, and for whom he conducted occasional business. To me, it all tied in to him being the time traveller, and by beginner’s luck, I found his travel machine and took advantage of my find. That explains how I am a much richer man than I was before, and can afford an extended family group.”
Georgina was seeing me, Sandy and herself in a new light, but then got angry.
“You kept all this from me, you bugger! How could you be such a self-centred ... man?”
I was just as offended.

“Georgie, just think about it, woman. I had not met Sandy when I started to buy the house, and you were purely the member of staff whom I dealt with in this agency at the time. To begin with, I couldn’t tell anyone, or I might have lost the lot. Then when I fell for Sandy, I slowly realised I had to let her know my secret. For a while, you were not part of the picture or my plans, until Sandy told me of your misfortune a few years back and asked me to do what I could for you to stop you viewing all men as being nasty.

Sandy had sussed out what sort of man I was and reckoned you could learn about normal life from interaction with me as a semi-normal man. To me, there is no such thing as a normal man, as each individual is unique.
That interaction became much more serious than I expected, because you are admittedly an attractive woman; it was only your age that led me to expect us not to see each other as romantically inclined. Neither did Sandy, but when she saw what was happening, she told me that I should accept you for what you were, and if you accepted me in that light, we might become a wider family, with you as part of our marriage. It took me some time to see what she saw, and take it on.

She had to explain what she meant. Sandy saw that you needed love, and also needed a man to have children with, and she thought that I was apparently the only man for the job as you started with an anti-man bias. Linked to Sandy, I was now seen as different.

It all developed slowly, and was not planned or premeditated. That is why I have not burdened you with astounding tales of a time traveller in our general locality, weird though that might be. You were never kept from knowing; it was simply a question of when was the time for you to become aware of it. Knowing more about how I am now able to look after you both financially, and perhaps Janet as well, gives you the chance to view me and us in a new way.”
The idea now dawned on her that I had not intentionally deprived her of essential knowledge, but simply waited for the right occasion to pass it on, once I felt that she was trustworthy enough to share the burden. And that as a man I was now trusting her with a major secret, giving her power over me.
She took my hand and pressed it to her breast.
“Bob, I apologise for my anger. It was unwarranted. You have always acted with honour both to me and to Sandy. Thank you, my dear man. Will you be telling Janet about your time traveller, or not?”
“I think that must be left to Sandy, probably to be kept quiet until such time as Janet proves herself as fully committed to us, assuming she decides to join us. Possibly after she has my child, as that is a good sign of total commitment.”
Georgina looked me in the face, surprised again, and said, “You deserve all three of us, if it can work out. I am willing to give Janet a try, if Sandy decides to invite her. Do you want us all to share the house you bought?”
“For you, me, and Sandy, yes. Janet may or may not be invited to live in the house, as it only has two bedrooms. You and Janet might otherwise have to share a bedroom, and I don’t know how that would work. Another possibility would be to build an extension and have a third bedroom and probably a nursery as well.”
“That nursery proposal would perhaps be wise, Bob. If all three of us have children, I can see a space problem. Perhaps you ought to begin thinking about a larger house. I can offer you a choice, as I know about these things.”
She ended with a smile, to which I added my own.
“I think that is some time in the future, Georgie, but I shall keep it in mind, thank you.”
A little while later, Georgina closed up the shop and we walked slowly to the Cafe Continental, both us conscious of my still healing foot.
We chose our regular table, and a few minutes later Janet appeared beside us, a forced smile on her face as she saw Georgie, but she beamed at me, and Georgie noticed.
“Good afternoon, sir and madam. What would you like today? It is the standard menu,” she said, handing over the menus with a flourish. “No specials today; it is our chef’s day off. Everything is very good, as the rest of his team are well trained.”
I looked over to Georgina to see what she would choose for the main meal after our soup course. I fancied the Beef Stroganoff, and fortunately she chose that dish so I was able to say generously, “I will have the same as the lady.”
For now I was not using Janet’s name, as this was business. Good food deserves proper attention. I long ago made that determination, on the day that I chatted to an elderly gentleman on a train from Wemyss Bay to Glasgow. He had worked most of his life in Hong Kong, and told me that Chinese meals offered in the UK were much blander than the excellent food he enjoyed in Hong Kong. In fact, he had brought his personal chef back to Scotland with him, to permit him to eat well and also have good company to speak together in Mandarin Chinese. I took that lesson to heart, to treat good food with reverence.
Georgina and I chatted about houses while we waited for the soup to arrive. Our soup choice was tomato and basil, and I liked it. I said so when Janet brought the Stroganoff. It arrived still steaming, and Georgie thanked Janet for her rapid service.
“Bob deserves immediate attention, madam,” Janet replied, so there was a word battle going on here. I would have to stop it soon, but left it for now. Georgie gently replied with her own barb, “We both appreciate that fact, Janet.”
Which fact was not clear; the fact that Janet felt that way, or that Georgina also thought that I deserved prompt attention and thus was staking her claim on me. It was the word battle again. I wondered if Janet knew what she was letting herself in for. Georgina had more years of verbal tussles with her boss and with potential clients, where what you say can make the difference between a sale and no sale, so that using words cleverly allows for unnoticed insults. That her boss offered Georgina commission on gold conversion deals spoke volumes about her knowledge and experience at coping with clients and her boss.
The tomato and basil soup was made with both fresh tomatoes and fresh basil leaves. I was becoming a food aficionado!
The moment we finished our soup, Janet was there to replace our soup plates with the Beef Stroganoff course. I observed the pearl onions and the rice accompaniment with approval. I like rice in many courses, almost as much as I like mashed potatoes with milk, butter, and paprika. The smooth and tasty result is to die for.
In silence we attacked our main course, and with a cleared plate I sat back with a contented sigh while waiting for Georgina to finish hers. She commented, “Youth goes for speed, but maturity goes for taste.”
I absorbed that new lesson, and took it to heart, not to rush my food so much in future. Maturity means learning all the time, not simply growing older, I registered in my memory for future reference.
Once Georgie had cleared her plate except for a little rice, and laid down her knife and fork side by side on the plate, that was spotted from a distance and quickly Janet was at our table ready to clear the plates away.
“Sweet, sir? Sweet, madam?” she asked politely, but with a little more emotion in addressing me.
“Georgina?” I enquired. “What would you like, my dear?”
She slowly and deliberately scanned the menu before deciding.
“Black Forest gateau, I think. Would you recommend that, Janet dear?”
That was tantamount to offering a truce, and Janet saw the offer and ran with it.
“It is a very tasty cake, Ms Georgina. Would you think Bob might like it as well, or are you into sharing?”
Bingo! The negotiations were in full swing. I watched, fascinated.
Georgina said, “I so adore sharing in principle, but for his dessert, I would suggest apple pie, as it very simple for each to get a slice of the pie; don’t you agree, Janet?”
Janet gave a warm smile to Georgina, saying, “That is sooo right. Bob can choose whatever slice he likes at the time.”
“That is so. Bob is generous in choosing his slices, as long as they are all to his taste and don’t come back on him. I would hate for him to be upset by a slice that did not agree with him.”
I was astounded at how this discussion proceeded with not a word said about people, just food, yet coming to a conclusion that both ladies understood. Janet finished the chat with, “I would never want a customer to be dissatisfied with what was on offer, ma’am. In the long term, a satisfied customer is the final arbiter of taste.”
“Thank you, Janet. I can see that you and I are going to get on.”
“If that will be all, ma’am, might I suggest coffee after your sweet?”
“I may make time for it today, Janet. The shop can wait for a minute or two while I confirm that Bob is satisfied with what we have found here.”
“I will leave you to your sweets and coffee then,” said Janet in a conciliatory tone.
As we looked at each other across the table, I raised my eyebrows to Georgie in query, and she gave me a discreet nod.
“I think we have the matter sorted out, dear. I can now leave Sandy to make the formal offer and then arrange timing. I would expect that to be after your wedding and honeymoon.”
“That would suit,” I agreed. “Did Sandy tell you we expect you to join us for the honeymoon? Officially to give you a chaperoned holiday break from your work, of course.”
Georgie answered, “The matter was mentioned by Sandy. She thinks you need some training lessons.”
“And she would be right,” I accepted. “Your assistance will be welcomed.”
“I will do what I can for you, on this special occasion.”
“That is all I can ask and expect, Georgie. Now, while you get back to work, point me in the direction of Mr Shetland’s office.”
She gave me good directions before we parted, her to the agency and me to the lawyer’s office. It was within easy walking distance for me, and I was lucky in that he did not have a client with him, so I knocked and strolled right in. Okay, I shuffled in as best I could, for I was getting tired and my foot was sore, but the intent was there.
“Mr Shetland, may I introduce myself? I am Robert McIntyre, fiance of Sandy Thompson. She visited you recently in connection with a house I have purchased.”
“Sandy Thompson? Daughter of a fellow solicitor, I recall; nice looking girl too. You are her intended? Bit young, aren’t you?”
“Young but not stupid, sir. I gather you are in the process of transferring share certificates into my name, and also some company ownership documents. How is that going?”
“It is early days yet, Mr McIntyre. Transferring legal documents takes time, as well as some fees payable.”
“I thought that might be the case. Is there a surplus in Mr James Clyde’s account with you? If so, these funds might rightly pay the costs you mentioned. He is not going to come back for these funds, being now unfortunately deceased.”
“Ah, you appear to be well informed, Mr McIntyre. Anything else you would care to tell me of value, just between us?”
“Only that James Clyde, if that was his real name, apparently was financed by some criminal element, so it would be advisable for you to keep your relationship with Clyde a secret between ourselves. As that money man in 2026 may be looking for his missing inventor, to extract what he can in the way of assets or the invention itself, you would not want to be known as connected to him in any way. I am working on that same extremely cautious basis, and intend to block off all entry to Clyde’s laboratory in 2026.”
“Oh,” said Shetland. “Then you must have a way of getting there.”
“I do, and I intend to keep it secret and not use it except for essential work, such as blocking off a door to the outside world, because the laboratory is hidden. I should have enough financial assets for the future, with the documents you are transferring to my name.