‘Can you tell us what’s going on now?’ Tilly said, the reality of what they were doing sinking further in with every mile that they got from Pages & Co.
‘I think it’s time that we trust your instincts about the Archivists,’ Bea said. ‘There has to be a reason you can do the things you do, Tilly, and there has to be a reason why you’ve ended up with all those clues. Bookwanderers treat the Archivists as wishful thinking, but it makes sense to me that there are people somewhere who could stop Underlibraries doing such terrible things. I trust you, Tilly. And so does Oskar.’
‘He does?’ Oskar said in surprise. Tilly and Bea stared at him. ‘I mean, of course I do,’ he said. ‘In a general sense, at least.’
‘I’ll take it,’ Tilly grinned. ‘I trust you too … in a general sense.’
‘And anyway,’ Bea went on, ‘I for one am not just going to sit around, waiting for the Underwoods to do even more damage to bookwandering, and goodness knows what other problems they’re causing. They clearly don’t give two hoots about the impact of their actions. However –’ she paused – ‘I could not get your grandparents to agree. I tried one last time this afternoon, and they’re convinced it’s not worth the risk. But this isn’t the time to be sitting around: we have to stand up to the Underwoods. Have you two ever heard the saying, “If not us, who? And if not now, when?” That’s how I’m feeling. Tilly, if you think the start of the map – or the treasure hunt or whatever we want to call it – is at the Library of Congress, then that’s where you need to begin.’
‘Hang on,’ Tilly said as Bea’s words sank in. ‘We’re going to America?’
‘We’re going where?’ Oskar repeated incredulously. ‘Does my mum know?’
‘Sort of,’ Bea said, looking sheepish. ‘She knows you’re going abroad and that you’ll be looked after. You’ll meet one of my old university friends, in fact! He owns a bookshop and his husband is a librarian at the Library of Congress and I’ve filled them in on what’s going on. They’re both bookwanderers, of course. Tilly, I put your clues in your backpack – double-check you have them all?’
Tilly looked inside her backpack and made sure everything was there: the slim book, the key, the thread and the breadcrumbs.
‘Got them,’ she said.
‘Good,’ Bea said. ‘Now I’ll take you into the airport and get you to security, and Orlando will meet you at the other end.’
Tilly stared at her mum in horror. ‘You’re not coming with us?’
‘I can’t, I’m sorry. But I’ll text you a photo of Orlando so you know who to look for when you get there, and I’ve given him a codeword too. Make sure he says “Hermia” to you.’
‘Why Hermia?’ asked Tilly.
‘She’s a character from A Midsummer Night’s Dream.’ Bea smiled. ‘Another character says about her “though she be but little, she is fierce”, and it’s a line that makes me think of you.’
‘That’s very lovely and all,’ Oskar said, ‘but could we focus on the fact that you’re sending us to America by ourselves? Why can’t you come with us?’
‘I have something I need to take care of here,’ Bea said,
ea refused to explain more about why she wasn’t coming with them, which worried Tilly more than the trip itself.
‘Does my mum know you’re just putting us on a plane and leaving us?’ Oskar said.
‘Not in so many words,’ Bea said. ‘But I’m sure she’d understand.’
Oskar’s face suggested he felt otherwise.
‘I’ll deal with your mum,’ she promised. ‘And you’ll be totally safe in DC – you’re being picked up by Orlando. He’s one of the very best people I’ve ever known, and he knows exactly what’s going on. And, crucially, his husband Jorge works at the Library of Congress and they’ll go with you.’ She took a deep breath.
‘We need to let you two have the space to find the Archivists,’ she said. ‘The clues – the map – have all ended up with you, and the Underwoods know that you’re the key to all of it, and you two working together clearly terrifies them. It’s not just your blood they want, Tilly: they want to stop you doing anything to get in their way, because they know that you two are the greatest threat to their plans. It’s why we have to do it this way.’
‘But surely you can come with us?’ Tilly said, feeling incredibly overwhelmed.
‘I need to stop them coming after you,’ Bea said, and wouldn’t go into any more detail. ‘Come on, we’re here.’
Tilly had never been to an airport before, let alone on an aeroplane. Bea made sure they had everything they needed, including texting them both photos of Orlando and all his details. She wasn’t allowed to come through security with them, but presented a form to a security person and Tilly and Oskar were given ‘Unaccompanied Minor’ lanyards and told someone would help them find their gate, and that someone else would take them through customs once they landed in America.
‘Stay together,’ was the last thing Bea said to them. ‘Trust each other and take care of each other. If anyone can find the Archivists, it’s you two.’
Then she stood and watched them, until Tilly and Oskar had to turn a corner and were out of sight.
The two of them sat, a little shell-shocked, next to each other on uncomfortable plastic chairs in the huge terminal at Heathrow airport. People kept glancing at them, but no one stopped and asked if they were okay, and Tilly wasn’t sure what she would say if someone did.
‘Oskar,’ Tilly said, very quietly. ‘What if all of this is just wishful thinking? What if the things I’ve gathered aren’t clues? What if Grandma and Grandad are right and it’s just a pile of junk that I’ve convinced myself means more than it does?’
‘I’m going to be blunt, Tilly,’ Oskar said. ‘One minute you’re absolutely dead certain, and the next you’re not sure at all. I get why you’re worried, but now is the time to decide, one way or the other. I’d really rather not go to America unless you’re, let’s say, at least eighty per cent sure you’re right.’
‘That’s fair,’ Tilly nodded. ‘And I reckon I am eighty per cent sure – just. And that twenty per cent means you don’t get to say I told you so if I’m wrong.’ She was aiming for a joke, but Oskar didn’t laugh; he was still obviously finding it a little difficult to believe that his best friend’s mum had just dropped him off at the airport with no warning.
‘Is it weird to say I feel like I’ve just been kidnapped?’ Oskar said.
‘No,’ Tilly said. ‘I feel the same, and it’s my mum. I’m sorry she didn’t tell us what she was doing. I know this is … extreme. You don’t have to come with me. We can call Grandma and Grandad and they’d come and pick you up straight away and you’d be home before your mum realised anything weird was going on.’