Page 8 of All In Good Time
Chapter 3
As the sunbegan to sink behind the rocky crags surrounding Glendaloch, Maggie and Sara made their way back through the doors of the inn.
“Ah, there ye are,” Edna called from behind the reception desk. She shuffled some papers around and then stacked them neatly before coming around to meet the two young women. “Did ye enjoy yer day with my sweet Maggie?” she asked Sara.
“It was lovely. Thanks so much, Maggie.” Sara hugged her. She felt a connection to her, just as she had to Edna.
“Yer verra welcome. I’m going to go upstairs for a bit before Dylan needs my help in the kitchen.”
“Go on ahead. I must speak with Sara,” Edna said, kissing her niece on the cheek before sending her off upstairs.
“Have you come to a decision?” Sara asked. Her hands began to shake and her stomach turned.
“Not quite. I wanted to have a little chat with ye first. Come. Let’s sit here by the fire and have some tea.”
Sara noticed that there was a teapot ready and waiting for them, along with some small sandwiches and cakes. “This looks really good to me right now. I’m more than a little hungry.” She sat opposite Edna, who was busy pouring them both some tea. Sara added a little cream and sugar to hers and helped herself to the tea sandwiches.
“Sara, I’ve been thinking long and hard about your request. There are some things I must be certain of.” Edna gazed across at Sara, taking a moment before continuing. “Ye ken there are nae guarantees that yer Logan will be happy to see ye.”
“I know, but I can’t imagine why he wouldn’t be happily surprised to see me. After all, he wouldn’t have been expecting to ever see me again.”
“That’s the problem, lass. There are some things happening at Breaghacraig, but they arenae clear to me. I usually have much greater clarity where the MacKenzies are concerned. So, I’d be blindly sending you into the unknown.”
“I’m okay with that,” Sara quickly assured her.
“I ken yer okay with it, but I’m nae so sure I am. Ye see, I dinnae wish to have yer broken heart on me hands.”
“Why would I have a broken heart. If you can’t see what’s happening with Logan, then why do you think I’ll have a broken heart?” Sara could feel her blood starting to boil. Was Edna being purposefully unclear? Was she trying to scare her?
“Calm yerself, lass. I’m on yer side. I just want to be sure ye understand all of the things that could go wrong fer ye.”
“And what about all of the things that could go right?” Sara put her tea cup down and considered what to say. “I’m not a negative person, Edna. I like to think positively about every situation and I’m positive that Logan and I were meant for each other.” She was saying the words, but doubt had begun to creep into her mind. She quickly pushed those thoughts aside, instead focusing on only good things.
“Being positive is a good quality, my dear. But being blind to all the possibilities could harm ye. Let me ask ye this. If Logan accepts ye, and is happy to see ye, are you ready to stay there in the sixteenth century? To live there and leave everything in this century behind, including your brother?”
Sara really hadn’t thought about it before now, but she realized that maybe she should have. What if Logan didn’t wish to return with her? What was she thinking? If Logan had wanted to stay in the future, he would have stayed when she asked him the first time. No. If this was going to work, she was going to have to stay with him.
“I can see that ye havenae given that part of it much thought,” Edna observed.
Sara took a sip of her tea and stared into the fire. “Edna, I have no idea how I’d feel about that, because I’ve never lived there. I need to see for myself what life is like in 1517. If I don’t, I’ll always wonder what could have been. I don’t want to live my life with any regrets and if I can’t go back and find Logan, I will regret it.”
Edna seemed to be weighing Sara’s words very carefully. It seemed as if she were never going to speak and then, “Alright. Ye can go back, but ye must ken that I cannae help ye with Logan. This is yer match to make. The only thing I can help ye with is yer safe travel to the past and possibly yer return to our time.”
Sara was so excited she almost spilled her tea as she jumped up to hug Edna. “You won’t regret this. I promise.”
“I ken I willnae. My hope is that ye dinnae.” Edna accepted Sara’s hug and returned it.
Sara could see that Edna was uncomfortable with all of this. Her eyes and smile were sad as they gazed at Sara. “Thank you, Edna. Thank you.” She meant it with all her heart.
“Yer welcome, dear. Please remember that ye arenae in yer own time while yer there. Be verra careful at all times. I’ll send fer someone to meet ye at the bridge. They’ll see to it that ye get to Breaghacraig safely. After that, ye’ll be on yer own.”
“When can I leave? Should I get ready now?” Sara was bubbling over with excitement. She could hardly wait to get started.
“’Tis best nae to start yer journey after dark. Tomorrow morning will be soon enough. Remember I must arrange your transportation.” Edna seemed to relax a bit now that she’d made her decision. She took Sara’s hand in hers and squeezed. “Yer a lovely lass and I wish ye all the best. I hope things work out the way that yer hoping they will and that ye’ll have a happy life with yer man.”
“Thank you, Edna. I appreciate that.” “Let’s finish our tea, shall we?”
Relief swept over Sara as she helped herself to more of the little sandwiches and refilled her cup with tea.