“Move him to another bedroom?” Faith asked.
“He moves back,” Amy said.
“A dog?”
“He says they snore and keep him awake.”
“A guard at the bedroom window?”
“That makes him triple angry,” Amy said.
“Well,” Faith said, “it looks like you’ve tried quite a few things.”
“If either of you have any new ideas, let me know.”
“I’ll bet you won’t hesitate to try them,” Zoë said.
“No, I won’t,” Amy said firmly. “He’s my husband’s ancestor and I want to help him.”
“Your husband’s ancestor?” Zoë asked.
“I think so,” Amy answered. “Tristan is a lot like Stephen. All right, that’s it. I think we’re done examining my motives for today. Do you two have plans for tomorrow?”
“I’d like to look in on the uncle,” Faith said. “Is it William?”
Amy nodded. “I’ll have to get rid of his nurse. She’s like a bulldog standing over him.”
Faith looked at Amy. “A touch of orris root?”
“My thoughts exactly.” They smiled at each other.
“Oh great,” Zoë said. “Herb bonding. If it’s okay with you two, I think I’ll go to bed. We don’t have to sleep on a blanket on a stone floor, do we?”
“How about a feather bed? But you have to share it,” Amy said.
Zoë looked at Faith.
“Sorry I’m not Mr. Johns,” Faith said.
“Me, too,” Zoë said, and the three of them laughed.
“Did he really ask you to marry him?” Faith asked as they followed Amy up the stairs.
Zoë only smiled, then gave a big yawn. “Tomorrow we’re going to draw some of the people around this place. I wish I had a digital camera and fifty charged batteries. What I could take back to our time!”
“Who knows?” Amy said. “Maybe your drawings will survive the ages, and when we get back, they’ll be in some museum.”
“What I wonder is why Russell’s paintings aren’t in books.”
They had reached the top of the stairs and they looked at one another for a moment. It was likely, even probable, that Russell hadn’t lived long enough to make enough paintings, or that his work had been destroyed.
“I think you should make sure that his name does live,” Amy said, and Zoë smiled.
“Good idea. So where is this feather bed? I have to be up early to—”
“Go out with—” Amy looked at Faith and they said in unison, “Russell.”
“Grow up!” Zoë said, but she was smiling.