Christmas Present

Book : Part of: Chronicles of St. Mary's

by Jodi Taylor

Genres: Time Travel; General Fiction

Synopsis

It's Christmas Eve at St Mary's. And all through the house. Nothing is stirring.... Except for Max, Peterson, and Markham, sneaking out at midnight for an assignment that is very definitely off the books. It was ten years ago tonight that senior historians Bashford and Grey went missing in 12th century Jerusalem. So how did they end up in AD 60 Roman Colchester? Max has a theory. Peterson has a plan. Markham has bacon sandwiches. Colchester has Boudicca and her bloodthirsty Iceni hordes. And then there's the giant pig...the enraged, giant pig.... Jodi Taylor is and always has been a history nut. Her disinclination to get out of bed for anything after 1485 can only be overcome by massive amounts of chocolate, and sometimes, if it's raining, not even then. She wanted to write a book about time travel that was a little different and, not having a clue how difficult this would make her book to classify, went ahead and slung in elements of history, adventure, comedy, romance, tragedy, and anything else she could think of. Her advice to booksellers is to buy huge numbers of her books and just put one on every shelf.

Release date: January 1, 2019

Publisher: Audible Studios

Print pages: 320

Sample

I thought it was a dream. To this day, I’m not convinced it wasn’t. It felt like a dream. There was the same lack of reality. Although, at St Mary’s, a lack of reality doesn’t necessarily mean you’re dreaming. And since I wasn’t being chased by giant scissors through a world suddenly turned to custard, maybe it wasn’t a dream.

But it probably was.

I wouldn’t go so far as to describe Mrs Partridge as a nightmare – not if she was within earshot, anyway – but there she was, standing at the bottom of my bed, regarding me with that expressionless stare that never, ever, bodes well for me and I should know. I’ve been the recipient of that stare on many occasions.

We looked at each other for a while. She was wearing the full formal attire – Greek robes, silver diadem, sandals, and a stern expression. Only Kleio, Muse of History could brandish a scroll as if it was a heat-seeking missile.

I, on the other hand, was not only in my PJs, but further disadvantaged by the presence of a heavily slumbering Leon Farrell beside me. The only good thing about this situation was that she hadn’t turned up twenty minutes earlier. By unspoken but mutual consent, we ignored him.

I struggled to sit up. ‘Mrs Partridge?’

As if there could be any doubt, but it was the middle of the night on Christmas Eve. It was freezing cold – I could see frost on the window – and St Mary’s was officially on holiday.

We work for the St Mary’s Institute of Historical Research. We investigate major historical events in contemporary time. We do not call it time-travel. The Boss, Dr Bairstow, detests that phrase. ‘This is not Science Fiction, Dr Maxwell!’

I knew he was in Rushford tonight, dining with a bunch of civic dignitaries, and wouldn’t return until tomorrow, just in time to preside over Christmas lunch. If he wasn’t here and St Mary’s was on holiday, what could she possibly want? And how had she got in? Leon, wisely, always locked the door. I mentally kicked myself. She was Kleio, daughter of Zeus and immortal Muse of History. She could go anywhere she damned well pleased. And, apparently, she had.

She said, ‘Get up, please, Dr Maxwell. I’ll wait outside,’ and turned to go.

‘Wait! What’s happened? Is someone dead?’

But she’d gone.

I grabbed my dressing gown.

She was waiting for me on the dark landing. ‘Please, come with me.’ She took my hand.

‘No. Wait. What’s going on?’

Too late. She never likes to spoil the surprise with anything as mundane as an explanation. The ground disappeared beneath my feet and we whirled away into the air, as directionless and weightless as two tiny snowflakes in a blizzard. We landed, light as thistledown in her case, and like a small sack of coal in mine.

I picked myself up, dusted myself off, and started all over again.

‘Mrs Partridge, please, just tell me. What’s this all about?’

She gestured ahead of us. We were in Hawking Hangar. But not the Hawking I knew. This one looked really rough. Primitive, even. For a start, the lighting was terrible. Eye-wateringly bright in some areas, but dangerously dim in others. A bit like our Technical Section, actually. The central area was taken up with long metal benches, smothered in tools, cables, and equipment. The floor and walls were of rough concrete and the whole place echoed like a cathedral. Huge, rubber-sheathed cables trailed across the floor; not tidily bundled against the walls as they should be, but snaking around the place in giant loops, seeking to trip the unwary.

Busy techies were moving around us. . .