Again My Love (Kaitlyn and the Highlander Book 9) Read online

  Back at the cottage I wrapped the blanket tight around my shoulders.

  “Dost ye want a bit more of the whisky?”

  “No.” I slumped onto my side in the dirt and whimpered, “I just want to go to sleep. Will you wake me if there’s a storm?”

  “Aye, Madame Hayley.”

  There wasn’t a storm all night. I could barely sleep. The breathing thing was worse. I tried to inhale and count and exhale and count but — I was stuck in the eighteenth century.

  This was running through my mind: I had a vessel, a bag of vessels, but I was afraid to touch them. Kaitlyn never showed me how to use them, and I never thought to ask. What if I was zapped to someplace else, without the hope of Magnus and Kaitlyn? But then again, was there hope? What if some shit had happened in the future-future and I was stuck here until I saved myself?

  It’s amazing how fucking awful it is to have a panic attack and not have instagram to scroll through to calm down.

  In the morning, Fraoch got up to fuss around the clearing, messing with the horse — I burst into tears.

  “Are ye well, Madame Hayley?”

  “No, I’m terrible. I don’t think they’re coming.”

  “It has only been a day.”

  “You don’t understand, it’s just numbers, a date. They know when I’m here. They can come to the day, the very next day. It’s not dangerous. They could spend two years there without me if they wanted and still come here, the same day. They haven’t.” I pulled the blanket over my head and hid down inside. “And it was really dangerous what we were doing. We had all the vessels, Magnus was in an arena battle—”

  “Och, was he winning?”

  I pulled the blanket away, to shake my head. “I don’t think so. We tried to rescue him, the arena was full of a storm and dirt and wind and this guy shoved me, grabbed my vessel from my hand, and I was running around looking for another one. It was life or death. As soon as I saw the one on the ground I jumped on it—” Telling the story, reliving that fear, was making my heart race. “I should have waited to make sure everyone else was safe but I didn’t. I left while they were in a battle and they might all be dead. I might be the only person who knows where they are, what happened to them, what year they are... and I have all these vessels and no idea how to work them.”

  “Dost ye want to look at them?”

  I sniffled. “No, they’re too scary.”

  “Maybe ye can figure out how tae work it?”

  “Kaitlyn and I have a deal, if you’re lost, hold tight, let people find you. Just hold tight. Her Grandma Barb told us that years ago, because her grandpa got lost at Disney World, and ever since we kept it as an eternal truth — if you’re lost, stay put, someone will find you. I just want to lie here for a while and feel sorry for myself.”

  “What is a disnie whirl?”

  “Never mind. I can’t possibly explain it.” I curled up in the fetal position and stared at the dirt right in front of my face. I was wrapped in Fraoch’s only blanket — he had been without one for two nights now. I said, “You were going back to Madame Greer’s house, you can do that.”

  “I canna leave ye in the woods, Madame Hayley. I wouldna be able tae return tae m’man cave after because of the wolves.”

  “Why on earth...? Oh, because they would eat me and then want more?”

  “Aye, and after they had a taste of lassie their wolf clan would come and they would all be wantin’ more lassie tae eat. Dost ye ken how hard twould be tae explain tae the wolves I daena have any more lassie? I daena speak wolf verra well. I could hunt them, but one man against a family of wolves, would be a grave battle. I would perchance have tae just give them my braw castle.”

  I said, “Ha ha, very funny. Especially the part about your castle.”

  “Tis. Ye daena like my braw castle, Madame Hayley?”

  “It’s fine.” I sat up. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, you’ve been very hospitable, but it’s really better as a wolf den than a man cave.” I listed on my fingers, “You need some food, a mattress, some more blankets and some food.”

  He stood. “I will go get ye some food.”

  “You also need a security guard. It’s really really scary when you go.”

  He accompanied me into the woods to pee, then led me into the hut and handed me the gun. He said, “Og Maggy and Madame Kaitlyn will be here verra soon, Madame Hayley, daena worry.”

  This time when he left I was thrown into a state of panic. I watched him go with tears rolling down my face.

  My back to the wall, I prayed for help. I cried. Some kind of animal rustled outside and I begged the universe to help me, please please help me — I’m not supposed to be here, this was an accident.

  Five - Hayley

  Fraoch called, “Madame Hayley?”

  I crawled from the cottage to see two horses. A woman was riding the second. She was dressed like she lived in the eighteenth century. Around her shoulders she wore a deep green wool shawl held in the front by a gold pin. Her long skirt was a deep blue wool. She asked, “Madame Hayley?”

  I stood and brushed the dirt off my cargo-pocketed pants. “Yes, um, hello.”

  Her eyes were kind, though her back was stiff. She looked imperious up on her horse, even as she swung herself down.

  Fraoch took her horse’s reins.

  “I am Lizbeth, Madame Kaitlyn’s sister.”

  “Oh, I’m her friend, her best friend.”

  The woman nodded, her brow drawn down.

  “Fraoch said ye are arrived mistakenly, that ye haena a way home?”

  My blasted chin started to tremble again like I was a big baby. “I thought Kaitlyn and Magnus would come and get me by now.” I devolved into ugly-crying.

  She said, “Och, it has been verra tryin’ on ye. Though we had Black Mac with us for some long months, twas half a year if I think on it, and he survived it. I daena think ye should worry much on a couple of days.”

  I sniffled and wiped my eyes. “I’m just scared and I’m very hungry.”

  “Fraoch, what does this mean? You have been keepin’ this young lass in a lodgin’ nae more than a pighouse, and ye haena fed her?”

  “I have been tryin’ tae discern what tae do, Madame Lizbeth. I kent Magnus was comin’ and when he came he would take her tae the castle and would make it easy tae explain her, but I dinna ken tae explain her dress and manners tae the guards.

  Lizbeth huffed.

  “I came for ye the second morn.”

  “The second morn! Did ye consider the impropriety of it?” Lisbeth leveled her eyes on me. “Are ye unharmed Madame — remind me how ye said it?”

  “Hayley.”

  “Madame Hayley, has Fraoch MacLeod, caused ye any trouble?”

  “No, not at all. He’s been... it’s okay.”

  “Fraoch, you should have come tae me as soon as ye found her. If something or someone accosted her, or she was found alone while ye were hunting — there are many things that could have happened. We would have found her some dressing tae make her presentable. She should be at the castle.”

  Lizbeth yanked open a sack tied to the side of her horse and fished out a bundle of wool cloth. She held it out for me. “You can change inside there.”

  “Oh. Thank you.”

  I went into the hut to change into the clothes. Fraoch called in, “My pardon, Madame Hayley. I dinna ken.”

  I called out. “I understand. It made sense to me at the time too.”

  I peeled off my disgusting five-day-old clothes. Actually when I thought about it I had been wearing them for hundreds of years — gross. Then I tried to make sense of the fabric she gave me. There was a big nightgown, no underwear. I pulled it over my head. The skirt had no top fastener of any kind. I had a sweat going by the time I had it on, with a great deal of it bunched in my fist at my waist with no way to proceed. “Madame Lizbeth... um, I don’t know how to?”

  She joined me inside the cramped quarters. “Turn around.” She gestured to rai
se my arms and pulled a bodice over them and tugged it around my chest and laced it up, pulling it very tight. She gestured again for me to pull my breasts up, tucked the skirt up into the waist, and then wrapped and cinched the whole outfit with a belt.

  “There! Dost it feel better?”

  “Yes,” I lied, sort of. “I am glad to be out of those filthy clothes.” She pulled my hair back and tied a string around the ends of it, then we emerged from the hut. Lizbeth had me join her on her horse.

  Fraoch strapped my bag of vessels to our horse then climbed on his own.

  Lizbeth said, “You winna need tae attend us.”

  “Madame Hayley’s bag is full of valuable things, I...”

  “Och, tis...?” She took a deep breath. “If that is the case, we do need ye tae attend us, Fraoch. I will take them intae hiding once we are in the confines of the castle.”

  So we rode to the castle and the ride was a little like being in trouble. Like I had landed in a foreign country and instead of going to the hotel in an Uber I had been sleeping in the airport. Now the police were involved and they had a lot of questions and were kind of pissed at my incompetence. Fraoch was in trouble too. His seemed to be more about not hailing me a taxi, but in some ways he and I were both in the same boat, stranded in a foreign country, unsure what to do next.

  At the gate Fraoch slowed his horse while Lizbeth kept going. She said, “Thank ye for your service, Fraoch.”

  I asked, “Will you keep watch, Fraoch?”

  “Aye,” he said, “I will tell ye as soon as I ken.” He called, simply, “My many apologies, Madame Lizbeth, Madame Hayley.”

  I called back, “No problem,” as our horse trotted through the gates to the courtyard of the castle.

  Six - Hayley

  I was inside a freaking castle. I had been in King Mags’s safe house in the future-future. I had been on the roof of the castle in the future-future. I had sat outside this castle watching the gates in the past-past-past, but right now, this moment, I was on a horse, riding through the front gates of a real castle.

  The men — scowling, menacing, unbathed — pulled the gate open and we rode through. Their gaze on me was like walking by a construction site, but with way more gaze. Way more. So heavy that gaze. I sank against Lizbeth’s back to hide.

  Her back remained straight and high though, proud and domineering. She guided her horse to a stone wall and a young man rushed up to take the reins.

  She looped an arm in mine. “We will go tae my rooms tae discuss keeping ye safe. Daena meet eyes as we go.”

  We went briskly up two levels of dark stone stairs. They were unevenly placed and worn down in the middle. I stubbed my toe on one and almost fell on another.

  She led me along long cold hallway. The floor was bare stone, but tapestries hung along the walls, but I couldn’t really see them because it was too dark. Plus Lizbeth had made me promise not to slow down and get distracted and she was frankly kind of domineering.

  She stopped at a big wooden door, opened it with a large key, and hustled me inside.

  Dropping the bag, she pulled aside a tapestry on the far wall and, using a key from a ring tied at her waist, unlocked another door. She dragged the bag into the hidden inner room, then locked the door, allowing the tapestry to cover it again. She let out a deep breath and blew hair from her face. “Explain tae me again what happened?”

  I considered. “I’m not sure what I’m allowed to tell you.”

  “I ken about my brother’s travels. I ken my sister, his wife, Kaitlyn, is from the future. I am supposing ye are from there as well.”

  “Yes, I am. I was in the future-future in Magnus’s kingdom. He was in this big arena battle and—”

  Her brow drew down. “Did he survive?”

  “I don’t know. We stormed the arena. I was with Quentin who used to live—”

  “Black Mac.”

  “Yes, Black Mac, me, another friend, and Kaitlyn, oh, and Lady Mairead.”

  “M’mum was there?”

  “Oh, that’s right, yes.” Now I knew why Lizbeth was so unsettling. I had forgotten she would be Lady Mairead’s daughter.

  She watched me for a moment, then sighed. “Are ye married?”

  “No, I mean, yes? I don’t know what the right answer is. I’m not, but I told Fraoch I was married, just in case he got ideas. He didn’t, by the way, he was very polite.”

  It was the first time she smiled, just a little, in the corner of her mouth. “Tis wise tae tell the men here ye are married and that yer husband will be comin’ tae collect ye. We will tell everyone ye are the sister of Kaitlyn, and therefore almost a Campbell, and that I consider ye a sister as well.”

  She put her hands on her hips. “Ye daena have a man with ye though, twill be difficult tae navigate ye safely through the time ye are here. Ye canna be alone where one of the Campbell men might want tae discuss yer virtues. And I think it would be best if ye remained with me here in my apartments. I will tell Liam he should go on a hunt.”

  She tilted her head. “Now, we will get ye somethin’ tae eat and become acquainted with each other.”

  Seven - Hayley

  Nearing the Great Hall we passed through a series of highly decorated rooms, each more elaborate than the last. Lizbeth slowed our pace. “This room is the Earl’s favorite.” There were long glass windows along one side. The ceiling was high and carved, the walls painted a deep red, accented with wood cornices and panels.

  Along it were large painted portraits of old men, eyeing us as we passed. “Who are they?” I asked, my voice hushed because the room was opulently imposing.

  “Some of the ancestors. There is Sir Duncan Campbell of Glenorchy, he was oft called Black Duncan. The portrait was painted of him in the year 1623.”

  “So old!”

  “Aye, tae ye it is.” She joked, “Tae us tis only a hundred years.” She gestured toward another portrait. “This is Sir Colin, and along there, m’grandfather, Sir John.” We walked farther along while I gaped at the ornately carved ceiling, the antiques, and the sculptures standing on pedestals in the corners.

  We came to the big double doors at the end of the room. A guard opened them and bowed us through. “The Great Hall,” said Lizbeth. I turned, taking in the ceiling, floors, the walls — a long table stretched down the middle of the room and smaller tables and chairs were clustered along the edges. Lizbeth said, “There are usually many people here eatin’ but now tis between meals.”

  Two large trays with meats and bread lay in the middle of the main table. Lizbeth urged me to eat directly from the tray. I did, ravenously — I was so freaking hungry.

  We made small talk while I ate. Other people came and went from the room while I ate and ate until I was able to truly smile and relax for the first time. My situation was still dire, but not nearly as much as when I woke up that morning in the dirt front yard of a hovel.

  Lizbeth said, “I have only just met ye, but I think ye have yer color back. I imagine ye might survive Fraoch’s hospitality if ye are fed enough.”

  I laughed. “He wasn’t that bad. He tried to keep me safe, he just wasn’t sure how to do it.”

  “He did keep ye alive, tis somethin’ he accomplished. Though he should ken of the devilish tongues in the village and of keepin’ your reputation. He has seen plenty of trouble since he has been keepin’ house with Madame Greer.”

  I leaned forward. “Why, what is happening?”

  “Tis nae for me tae say. He has been invited tae live in the warm home of the one widow in the entire village with the loosest tongue and the most interest in every villager’s business. I do like her, truthfully. She is funny and kind, and I daena mind she is in all the business, she means well, and someone needs tae be mindful of the mischief, but now she has Fraoch in her home.” She smiled and her eyes twinkled mischievously. “Many people are speculatin’ on them, and speaking their minds about it. I warned her twould come tae this. She dinna heed me and now Madame Greer finds it
difficult tae understand how they can be so interested in her life.”

  Lizbeth chuckled. “She daena see the humor that she is distressed by the verra meddlin’ she is usually involved in.”

  I asked, “Is there something going on with Fraoch and Madame Greer?”

  “I daena ken, might be. Twas a kindness of her tae take him in. He was grateful. For a time they seemed tae be comfortable. Now she is verra often tired of havin’ him in her house, so he comes here for meals or goes on the hunt with the men. He lives alone verra often I hear, more than he lives with Madame Greer, but still the villagers like tae tell an entertainin’ story.”

  “He does seem lonely.”

  “Och, I imagine he is. When I last conversed with Madame Greer her biggest concern was tae find him a wife. Tis trouble tae have young men about who are unmarried, they daena have the sense tae stay from deviltry.”

  Her smile widened. “Tis good ye claimed tae be married, ye wouldna want tae get caught up in that business.” Then she asked, “So how is Kaitlyn?”

  “She was doing well — but now… I don’t know.”

  “And they haena found Magnus’s son?”

  “No, not yet—”

  A large boisterous group of kilt-wearing men rambled into the room, hot but filthy, sexy despite their hobo-like appearances, how was that even possible?

  Lizbeth glanced at them and back at me.

  “Well, Sister Hayley, ye are married, thankfully, because those men will be circlin’ ye, and I daena have the strength tae fight them off yer sweet unmarried self.”

  I joked, “As Kaitlyn would say, I ain’t sweet.”

  She held up her beer mug and we clinked them together. She said, “Slainte,” as the five men came toward us, yelling, pushing and jostling. Their accents were so thick, they were talking so fast, I couldn’t tell if it was English, I couldn’t make out a word.