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Empty.  Where was he?  She could have sworn she heard him go up the stairs.  Maybe he went out to the privy.  She was too tired to go searching for him.  She’d speak with him in the morning.  She had to admit that she wasn’t angry with him anymore.  He was a sixteen-year-old boy.  He was practically required to cause some mischief. 
    Valerie shut the door to her bedroom and sat down on the bed, pulling off her mobcap and releasing her hair from its pins.  She was just about to untie the laces o f her bodice when there was an urgent knock on the door.  Alec knocked sometimes, but this wasn’t his soft knock.  Valerie jerked the door open to find Mr. Taylor outside, pale and sweating, his eyes full of panic. 
    “Valerie, something’s happened.  You must come with me at once.  Please!” 
    Valerie forgot all about her fatigue and ran up the stairs to the attic after Mr. Taylor.  “What is it?  What’s happened?”  Her heart was hammering in her chest, her breath ragged.  Mr. Taylor stopped on the landing by the little table and turned to Valerie.  Louisa came running up the stairs, her hair tumbling around her shoulders. 
    “I left the watch by my bed when I went down to supper.  I didn’t want your husbands to see it and question its purpose.  I’d locked the door behind me.  I am fairly sure of that.  When I came back up just now, I saw the watch on this table on the landing.  It was on.  The time was set to 177 5.  Someone is gone.”
    Valerie slid down along the wall, little bursts of color exploding in front of her eyes.  Louisa was saying something, her mouth opening and closing, but Valerie couldn’t hear.  Her ears were ringing, her hands cold as ice.  She knew exactly who was gone.  It was Finn.  Everyone else had been downstairs except for Bridget, and she was in her bed, most likely asleep.  Her son was gone.  Valerie looked up as Alec lifted her off the floor, his face full of concern. 
    “Alec, he’s gone.  Finn is gone,” she whimpered. 
    “He’ll be back, sweetheart.  He’ll be back.   Now, let’s get you to bed.”  Alec looked into her face, trying to determine if she felt ill. 
    “You don’t understand,” she screamed.  “He is GONE!  He went to 177 5.  This man is Mr. Taylor.  MR. TAYLOR, Alec!  The one whose clock sent me to the past.” 
    “Oh, dear Lord,” Alec groaned, letting go of Valerie and grabbing onto the table.  “What’s to be done?”
    “What’s amiss?”  Kit appeared at the top of the stairs, taking in the scene.  “Is someone ill?   Valerie, are you all right?”  He held out a hand to Valerie but became distracted by his wife’s wail.
    “It’s all my fault!”  Louisa sank to the floor, her hands covering her face.  “It’s all my fault.  I asked you to let him stay.  Oh, Valerie.  I had no idea this would happen.  What have I done?” 
    “Alec, we must go after him.  I won’t lose him.  I won’t!”  Valerie screamed.  “We must go now.  He can’t be far.  He ’s probably lost and confused.  He’ll be somewhere close to the house.  We must go NOW!”
    “Will someone tell me what’s happening?” roared Kit over the din.  “Who’s gone where?”  He pulled Louisa to her feet, searching her face for answers.  “Louisa, what is it?  Who is gone?” 
    “Kit, Finn has gone to the year 1775.  Please, don’t ask me to explain now.  I just can’t put it into words.  Just believe me.”  Louisa averted her eyes from Kit’s, unable to face his disbelief. 
    “Darling, allow me to escort you to bed.  You are obviously unwell, and you must feed Evie.  She ’s crying.  Can’t you hear her?  We’ll sort everything out in the morning.  Finn will be back from 1775 or from wherever he is.  Come, dearest.”  Kit was trying to maneuver Louisa toward the stairs, but she wasn’t budging.
    “Don’t speak to me as if I’m insane.  I am telling you the truth.  Just ask