Timekeeper (27 page)

“That hasn’t been easy,” she said quietly. “My mom was my best friend.”

“I understand. But you know better than anyone that Time and Death are ultimately illusions. Those we’ve loved and lost can never truly be gone when the past still exists. It’s just another layer of the universe.”

Michele was silent, contemplating Ida’s words, when a question occurred to her.

“Do you have any idea what happened to Millicent’s key? Philip and my grandparents all saw it sail into the air as Rebecca fell … but they didn’t see where it went.”

“We don’t know either,” Ida admitted. “We’re assigning nearly all of our Timekeepers on missions to different places to try to locate it. But the most important thing is that it’s no longer with Rebecca.”

“You can say that again,” Michele agreed.

“I’ll see you soon, I hope. Are your wounds patching up all right? If not we have a couple of incredible doctors in the Society—”

“I’m fine,” she giggled. “As much as I’d
love
a time traveler operating on me, my abdomen is thankfully starting to heal, and my jeans caught the brunt of the fire—I don’t have any permanent burns.”

“Glad to hear it. And congratulations, Michele. You’ve proven yourself a very special and capable Timekeeper.” With one last smile of approval, Ida was out the door, followed shortly by a red-eyed Caissie Hart.

“Hey,” Michele greeted her, taken aback.

Caissie burst into tears.

“It’s okay, I’m alive.”

“No, I’m
so sorry
,” Caissie cried. “It makes me sick to think I
helped
that psychopath. If I’d only known … but either way, I was wrong. I just wish we could go back to being friends.”

“Maybe we can. I don’t know,” Michele said honestly. “But I believe you that you didn’t mean for anything like this to happen.”

“I’m going to make it up to you,” Caissie vowed. “Somehow I will.”

Philip finally stirred. “Oh, hey, Caissie,” he murmured through a yawn, before turning on his side and falling back to sleep.

Michele and Caissie glanced at each other and laughed.

“He’s keeping quite a vigil,” Caissie said with a grin.

“He’s been amazing,” Michele agreed, “especially considering he saved my life. And the most unbelievable part of all is that it
was
him all along … the same Philip, in a new lifetime.”

One week later Michele was home from the hospital, and with the exception of a giant bandage still covering her abdomen, was nearly back to normal. She lay on the couch in her sitting room with her head nestled in Dorothy’s lap while they watched a soapy BBC miniseries. Walter sat in the armchair beside them, next to the silver-framed photo of Irving Henry that he and Dorothy had gifted to Michele while she was in the hospital. As the end credits rolled on the TV screen, Michele heard a familiar knock at the door.

“Come on in,” she called, her spirits instantly lifting. Philip walked into the room, and Michele’s face lit up. Despite the wreckage Rebecca caused for her family, and the hurdles she knew that still lay ahead, Michele felt like one of the luckiest girls in the world. The boy she loved, the boy she had followed across time, had come back to her and was ready to face this new future together.

“I think we have some business to tend to with Annaleigh,” said her grandmother, rising. “Right, Walter?”

“Um, right. We’ll see you two later, then.”

Michele and Philip chuckled as Walter and Dorothy strode out of the room.

“They think they’re being so smooth,” Michele said fondly, stepping closer to Philip. “So, what’s up?”

“I have something to give you,” said Philip, and with a smile he slipped the signet ring off his finger. “I think this belongs to you.”

Michele looked up at him, her eyes shining. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Then don’t say anything,” he murmured, his face leaning closer to hers.

Michele closed her eyes, her body tensing in anticipation as slowly, gently, he brushed his lips against hers. She felt herself gasp and suddenly they were kissing, his lips caressing her neck and collarbone while she ran her fingers through his hair. He pulled her closer, and as their lips met again and again, she longed to capture this moment forever.

When they finally managed to break away, Philip clasped her hand. “Are you ready?”

She knew what he meant. Was she prepared to assume the life of a Timekeeper, while also juggling the roles of Windsor heiress and high-school student? Was she ready to face her destiny—past, present, and future?

She looked up at him, her eyes bright.

“Of course … I’m with you.”

AUTHOR’S NOTE

While I was writing
Timeless
, my historical research was all consuming—I felt like I was traveling back in time with Michele! When I began this sequel, I revisited my previous research and explored some new areas. Below are my resources.

OLD NEW YORK AND GILDED AGE LIFE

As in
Timeless
, the ever-changing New York setting is a constant theme in
Timekeeper
. I rented an apartment in Manhattan while writing
Timeless
, and the greatest research truly was just living and breathing the city, exploring all the neighborhoods and landmarks, and learning New York inside out. Especially helpful in my research were the New York Historical Society, the Museum of the City of New York, and the New York Public Library.

Much of
Timekeeper
takes place early in the Gilded Age, in 1888—more than twenty years before Michele’s time travel destinations in
Timeless
. To immerse myself in Gilded Age New York, I reread several books written about or set in this era. Some of my recommendations:
A Season of Splendor: The Gilded Age in
the Court of Mrs. Astor
by Greg King;
Consuelo and Alva Vanderbilt: The Story of a Daughter and a Mother in the Gilded Age
by Amanda Mackenzie Stuart;
Fortune’s Children: The Fall of the House of Vanderbilt
by Arthur T. Vanderbilt II,
When the Astors Owned New York: Blue Bloods and Grand Hotels in a Gilded Age
by Justin Kaplan;
The Custom of the Country
by Edith Wharton; and
Prelude to the Century: 1870–1900
, part of Time-Life’s
Our American Century
series. I also studied the excellent documentary
New York
, directed by Ken Burns.

THE WINDSOR MANSION

The Fifth Avenue mansions of old New York are unfortunately no longer standing, but you can catch a thrilling glimpse of what those homes were like by visiting Newport, Rhode Island. The Preservation Society of Newport County saved and fully preserved some of the most jaw-dropping summerhouses owned by New York families such as the Vanderbilts and the Astors. I took a research trip to Newport while writing
Timeless
, and I based the Windsor Mansion on two different Vanderbilt homes there: Alva Vanderbilt’s Marble House and Alice Vanderbilt’s The Breakers. Both Marble House and The Breakers were designed and built by America’s king of Gilded Age architecture, Richard Morris Hunt, while Jules Allard and Sons were in charge of interior decoration. The Windsor Mansion’s Grand Hall was inspired by a similar entrance vestibule at The Breakers, while I based the mansion’s exterior on that of Marble House. I highly recommend a visit to Newport, but you can also visit the sights from afar by checking out the Preservation Society’s books and DVD on the mansions—and check out
newportmansions.org
!
A&E’s
America’s Castles
DVD series also has a great episode on the Newport Mansions and their illustrious owners.

THE OSBORNE

A good deal of action in this story takes place at the Osborne, a designated landmark apartment building in New York City. My mentor, composer Maury Yeston, lives in the Osborne, and every time I visited, I was always in awe of the building’s grandeur and history. I’m grateful to Maury for inspiring me to incorporate the Osborne into the story, and for introducing me to the building’s historian, Lester Barnett. I’m so appreciative of Lester’s sharing his extensive knowledge of the Osborne’s history with me, and showing me his preserved Victorian-era apartment! Further information and photos of the Osborne are available online.

ORIGINAL MUSIC

In
Timeless
, Michele and Philip fall in love while writing music together. They collaborate on two songs in the book, “Bring The Colors Back” and “Chasing Time.” Being a singer/songwriter myself, I was inspired to write and record their songs, to give readers the full experience! I wrote the lyrics first, and then composed the music with songwriters Heather Holley and Michael Bearden. Michael then produced the tracks. I was so fortunate to be able to record these songs with the most incredible ten-piece orchestra!

In
Timekeeper
, Michele and twenty-first-century Philip write a new song together, called “I Remember.” I wrote and recorded this song as well. You can check out all songs from the Timeless
series on iTunes and at my website,
alexandramonir.com
. I hope you enjoy them!

For more reflections and updates on the series, stay in touch with me on my website, on Facebook (
facebook.com/Timeless-Series
), and on Twitter at
@TimelessAlex
. Thank you so much, and happy reading!

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

It’s been an incredibly special two years since
Timeless
was first published, and I have so many people to thank! My love and appreciation first and foremost go to all the
Timeless
fans. Thank you for embracing this story, and for your sweet messages that have brought me so many smiles! I wrote this book with all of you in my mind and heart.

To the best publishing team an author could ever wish for, Beverly Horowitz and Krista Vitola: You’ve made big dreams of mine come true, and I am so grateful for you both. Beverly, thank you for taking me under your wing. Your guidance and belief in me means the world! Krista, thank you for being a brilliant, wonderful editor. Working with you is such a joy!

I couldn’t have asked for a more romantic cover, and for that I have to thank Vikki Sheatsley for the gorgeous design and Chad Michael Ward for the beautiful photography. Amanda Hong and Colleen Fellingham, I’m in awe of your copyediting skills—thank you for all your great work! Many thanks to the sales, marketing, and publicity teams at Random House; I so appreciate all you do!

Thank you to my agent, Andy McNicol at William Morris Endeavor, who encouraged me to write
Timeless
back when I first came up with the idea and quickly found it a home with Random House. You changed my life in the best way! Special thanks also to my foreign rights agent, Laura Bonner, and my film agent, Eric Reid.

Colleen Houck, thank you for your wonderful support and blurb; I’m honored! And thanks for all the awesome things you do for the YA community.

Michael Pietrocarlo, you are a truly great artist and friend. Thank you so much for bringing my vision of the Time Society Headquarters to life with your fantastic map illustration!

Kelly Rutherford, thank you so much for your enthusiasm and support of
Timeless
. Ann Marie Sanderlin, I so appreciate your passion for this project.

Brooke Kaufman-Halsband, thanks for all your love and for believing in me when I cold-called you at seventeen years old! Thanks also to everyone at HK Management.

To all the foreign publishers of the Timeless series, thank you for introducing my books to new audiences and making it possible for them to be read in other languages!

So many thanks to all the booksellers, librarians, bloggers, teachers, and everyone in the book community who helped get the word out about this series. I truly appreciate your enthusiasm and support!

I’m forever grateful for the best parents in the world, who made all of this possible: my father, Shon Saleh (who inspired the character of Irving Henry!), and my mom, ZaZa Saleh. I love you both so much.

ZaZa, aka Mommy, you are my best friend and my guardian
angel on earth! You’ve always championed my dreams, and while I wrote this book you outdid yourself with your kindness and generosity. From being my beta reader extraordinaire to whisking me off on a writing trip when I was under a deadline, you’ve been the most incredible support, and I am truly blessed!

A huge thank-you and lots of love to my spectacular big brother, Arian Saleh. Your thoughtful, intelligent feedback was so helpful and pushed me to make this story the best it could be. And thank you for introducing me to the books, movies and songs that have spurred on my creativity ever since we were little.

So much of being a writer is having a rich personal life to draw from, and that leads me to a very special acknowledgment. Thank you to my
, Chris Robertiello, for always making me laugh, giving me butterflies, bringing the greatest people into my life, and making every day feel like a wonderful adventure!