Page 12 of All In Good Time
“I can see by the smile on yer face that yer happy to be here. I hope ’tis nae because yer tired of me company,” Wallace said.
“Of course not.” Sara turned her beaming face towards him. “I’ve loved spending time with you. You’ve been such good company and I felt very safe knowing you were with me.”
“’Tis good to hear. I’ve enjoyed yer company as well, lass. I’ll miss ye on me long trek home.”
Sara leaned over and gave him a hug and a quick peck on the cheek. As they approached the castle, they both noted a group of men riding off away from Breaghacraig. She wasn’t sure, but it looked like Dougall was in the lead, but they were too far off to tell. This was all so exciting. Here she was approaching a real sixteenth century castle. They’d traveled past several small cottages and then through a small village.
“The village is new. Only finished a short while ago. I may stay at the inn tonight rather than head straight home.”
The people in the village and the cottages were curious to see who was in the wagon and Sara smiled and waved at some of them, who either returned the wave or looked at her as if she had two heads. She felt like she was in a parade.
Through the castle gates and into the courtyard, she couldn’t believe her eyes. There were several buildings behind the walls of the outer courtyard. She had no idea what they all were, but she guessed that each of them had something to do with the running of the castle. The wagon pulled up in front of the castle doors and Wallace dismounted and came around to help Sara down. She took his hand, gawking at everything in sight.
“Careful, lass,” Wallace leaned in close so only she could hear. “Ye dinnae want everyone to suspect yer from a different time. Fer while there are some here who have time traveled, not all have nor do they believe it possible.” He took her hand and led her to the castle doors, which he opened and then led her through.
“Good morn to ye, lass. We’re here to see the laird and his lady.” Wallace greeted the young girl who’d been by the door. She nodded and scurried off in search of them. “Come. Let’s go into the great hall.”
Sara’s eyes couldn’t have been wider as she took in all the sixteenth century finery that filled the hall. She’d never been to a castle, but from her reading, this surpassed even her wildest imaginings. “It’s so beautiful,” she said, wonder filling her voice.
The stone walls were covered with beautiful tapestries that she imagined might be in a museum somewhere in her time. Everything looked fresh and new, even though in her mind it was five hundred years old and should maybe be dusty and falling apart. Servants were busy cleaning the long wooden tables at the center of the room, sweeping the floors and lighting torches along the walls. On the other side was an enormous fireplace with an opening so tall a man could easily stand up inside of it. In front of it were a few beautiful, ornate chairs. The pleasant scent of lavender and fresh herbs greeted her with each inhalation, but she couldn’t see where it might be coming from.
“Wallace is that ye?” A woman entered the room. She was quite beautiful with jet black hair and the bluest of blue eyes.
“Aye, Lady Irene. I’ve brought ye a visitor. Edna asked me to escort her safely to Breaghacraig.”
“And I can see that ye’ve done just that.” Irene turned to Sara. “Who do we have here?”
“I’m Sara Barrett, ma’am.” Was that how she should address her? She hoped she didn’t say or do anything stupid.
“Good day to ye, Sara. I be Lady Irene MacKenzie. Ye are welcome in our home. What brings ye to Breaghacraig?”
“I’m here to visit with my friend Helene. Is she here?”
“Nae. Helene is at her own home. She and Dougall… do ye ken Dougall?” Sara nodded. “She and Dougall have their own home now and she spends most of her time there. Come. Let’s sit for a moment.”
“I’ll be leaving ye then,” Wallace said.
“So soon,” Sara said. She felt comfortable with him nearby and hated to see him go.
“Aye. ’Tis been a pleasure spending time with ye, Sara. I hope all yer dreams come true.” He bowed in her direction and then to Irene. “Lady Irene.” He turned to leave and Sara wanted to run after him, but instead stood fidgeting with her cloak and feeling at a complete loss for words.
“Here, come sit by the fire and warm yerself. I’ll see if I can find Lady Ashley and Lady Jenna. I think ye’ll have much in common with them.” Irene led Sara to the chairs by the fire and indicated she should sit. “I won’t be but a moment.”
Doubts about the sanity of what she was doing began to creep into Sara’s mind. Here she was in a strange place, about to meet more people she didn’t know and all she could hope was that they would be as kind to her as Wallace had been. Maybe if she ran she could catch him and he’d take her back to the bridge. She turned to face the entrance when two women around her age entered the room.
“Hi, I’m Ashley and this is Jenna. It seems you’re joining us from the future.”
Sara wasn’t quite sure how to respond. She was shocked to hear them mention time travel so casually, but also ecstatic to meet these two women. They might be the only one’s present who knew what she was feeling and thinking right now.
“Hi. I’m Sara Barrett.”
“Welcome,” Jenna said as they approached her. “I’ll bet you’ve got lots of questions and I know we’ve got lots of answers.”
Sara was feeling a little tongue tied as she glanced from Ashley to Jenna, both of whom were very obviously pregnant. Jenna carried a small dog in her arms and Sara reached out to let it sniff her hand before petting it.
“Shall we sit,” Ashley suggested.
The three women sat by the fire and all Sara could think to say was, “Wow! This is so surreal.” Sara glanced around at the great hall.