Timeless: Through Time - Garcy

The Capture of Benedict Arnold (2)

Benedict Arnold wasn't an enjoyable companion. He watched her through narrowed eyes, unblinking and silent. She almost felt bad for him, but not quite; he had already betrayed Washington, and now he was prepared to betray Rittenhouse.

"Is what you said about Peggy true? Washington plans to kill her if I don't return?" He croaked.

Lucy swallowed, her throat suddenly dry. She had forgotten her lie about his wife. Arnold took her silence for confirmation and sagged against a tree. "I left her there and he's going to kill her for it."

"If you help us, we help her." It wasn't strictly true, but his wife was going to join him soon anyway - from Rittenhouse's death onwards, history would simply run its course. Anything more would wreak even further havoc, and the future was already uncertain. Rittenhouse was responsible for so much in history that until the moment they stepped out of the Lifeboat, they would have no way of knowing how the world would be changed. She might find Amy and her job waiting for her at home, or she could be thrust into a completely new world, and the four of them would be the only people on earth who knew what happened. It was a terrifying thought to contemplate.

Lucy stared up into the clouds and sighed deeply. Would this be the day that changed her life forever? For a moment of such importance, it felt remarkably serene. The sky was tinged with soft pink, and the breeze blew lazily through the branches, bringing with it the last of the autumn leaves. Lucy let her eyes flutter shut. She could have stood there forever, enjoying the gentle wind cool her face, but Flynn and Wyatt were back too soon.

She peeked open a reluctant eye to see the two men climb their way back up to the cover of the trees with bundles of clothes bunched up in their arms. They dumped them unceremoniously at her feet.
Wyatt dug through the pile and pulled out a garish looking green suit.

"This is yours," he tossed it to Arnold, who looked at it with immense distaste.

"I think I'll stay in this, thank you."
Lucy privately agreed. Wyatt, unfazed, kept burrowing through the clothes. He pulled out a monstrosity of a dress. It was a pale shade of pink and covered with frills.

"You're kidding," Lucy put her hands on her hips. "I'm not Bo Beep."

"Who?" Arnold frowned. He went ignored.

"Well, it's the best we could get, so go get changed, Bo Peep," Wyatt grinned, earning a dirty look. She took the slippery abomination in her arms and retreated behind a thick cluster of trees with it. Putting on an 18th-century ballgown was a terrible chore, and without any proper undergarments to wear under the dress, she had to fasten it over her current one. She felt a sudden rush of sympathy for the women who actually had to wear these in their day to day lives - wearing this in a hot ballroom sounded like an utter nightmare.

Lucy found her way back to them, clumsily piling her hair up as she did so. It was a good thing she would never have to see these people again because, in 18th-century terms, she was a fashion disaster.

"How'd you get such nice clothes?" Lucy emerged from the trees and stared at Flynn's new suit peevishly. Wyatt was nowhere to be seen - he was presumably away getting changed.

"Ah, come on, you don't look that bad," Flynn looked her over with a comical wince.

"Ha, ha," Lucy droned. "Seriously, you couldn't have gotten a better dress?"

"Blame Wyatt. Here," he held out a small, gilded ceramic mask. Painted flowers seemed to grow from the eyes. She found herself strangely drawn to it.

"Where'd you get that?"

"Stole it. Apparently, people around here really like their masks."

"Tie it for me?"
Flynn obliged. The mask fitted her face like a glove. He pulled the ribbon snugly around her head, pushing up her precarious updo as he did so. Goosebumps raced up her neck. It was the same feeling as what she had experienced back in Bonnie and Clyde's hideout before they had almost... Well. Lucy shook the thought away. She promised herself she would never be so stupid again.