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“ A faire? When?”

Claire’s face showed her excitement. “Oh, how exciting! We haven’t had a faire in years!”

“When?” Reilly repeated.

“It’s truly the most exciting thing that happens here,” Brianagh explained to Ellie and Gwen, as the foursome blatantly ignored the basket of mending in the middle of their circle of chairs.

“People come from all over. Goods, everything from jewels and cloth to spices and food, are bought and sold. There are usually horse races, and sometimes even a small tournament!”

“Don’t forget about the midsummer fires!” Claire added enthusiastically.

“Midsummer fires?” Ellie asked, eyeing a particularly filthy piece of cloth in the basket.

“Still waiting for an answer,” Reilly groused.

“It starts tomorrow, you big oaf.” Bri gave him a slight push on the arm. “If you took any time to visit the village, you’d see they’ve been preparing for days. Now go away. We ladies have much to discuss. ”

“Why are you so anxious to get rid of me?” Reilly pretended to pout. “I’m being the perfect gentleman by not pointing out how you’re not doing anything even remotely lady-of-the-castle-esque.”

“That’s not even a word,” Bri said.

Reilly stretched his legs out in front of him and clasped his hands behind his head. “Perhaps not in your limited vocabulary.”

Ellie watched them, fascinated. The entire family bantered like this in private; she and Gwen had been invited into Bri’s solar each of the last few days they’d been here, as they waited for some battle between neighboring clans to blow over before they headed home.

As Colin liked to remind her, protecting the clan came before all else.

“Oh. Well, in that case, stay if you like,” Bri replied breezily. “As I was about to say, carrying on from our earlier conversation, when the baby is just about to crown—”

“I’ll leave you to it, then,” Reilly interrupted her, though it was hard to hear the words as the door to the solar slammed shut.

Claire let out a sigh of relief. “Well played, Mama.”

Bri grinned at her daughter, then quickly bolted the door.

“It’s too easy with that one. He’ll never change.

” She walked to a large wooden wardrobe set against the wall and opened the bottom door.

She withdrew four goblets, holding them by the stems in one hand, and used her free hand to pull out an uncorked bottle of wine.

“You have a hidden stash in here?” Gwen exclaimed with a laugh.

“Learned from the best,” Bri returned, saluting her with the upside-down goblets.

“Reilly?” Ellie guessed.

“Oh, absolutely not. He was incredibly overprotective,” Bri replied. Her eyes twinkled. “I had a good time at university.”

“I loved college,” Gwen added. She turned to Ellie. “Remember the time we went to that club in London, and I ended up almost getting arrested?”

“You were spared only because a policeman recognized my face from the papers,” Ellie groused.

“Hey, at least something good came of all that press.”

Ellie wrinkled her nose. “The only thing. And then I went into hiding after that, spending my time in a lonely flat, licking my wounds.”

Gwen stared at her in surprise.

“What? It’s true, especially after Andrew. I wasted a lot of time on feeling sorry for myself.”

“Grieving and feeling sorry for yourself are two different things, El.”

“Of course they are. But I haven’t been grieving for ten years.

I’ve been hiding.” Ellie looked to the window, through which she could see that low, gray clouds hung.

“There’s a whole world out there, and I’ve recently come to the conclusion that it may be better experienced in person, rather than through the pages of a book. ”

“Books,” Claire sighed. “I adore books. They’re the only way I’ll ever experience anything outside these walls.”

Brianagh rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. You’ll have many adventures, I’m sure of it.”

“I’ve just got to get married first,” she muttered.

Bri groaned. “Not this again.” She filled one of the goblets to the top. “Sorry, ladies. But sometimes, no matter how much you love your children, they will absolutely force you to drink.” She took a large swallow, and even Claire chuckled.

“So, truly, a faire is coming to the village?”

“Yes, my dear, there is a faire coming to the village.” Bri turned to Ellie. “It’s one of the best ones, too. Midsummer celebrates the solstice, one of the most sacred holy days in our year.”

“I thought it was early summer.”

Ellie agreed with Gwen. Maybe time travel wasn’t linear with the seasons…?

“Midsummer is actually the middle to end of June,” Bri explained.

“I know when we’re from, it’s usually thought of as July, but that’s only because of the school schedules.

Here, it’s based on the seasons. There will be merchants, bakers, butchers, brewers, and master craftsmen, all showing their best wares and work for purchase.

There’s music and dancing, and, of course, the midsummer fire and offerings to the Irish goddess of summer, áine. ”

“Isn’t she the faerie queen?” Ellie exclaimed. “I read a really interesting book about pagan Irish deities last year. It was fascinating. And, of course, Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream is one of my favorite plays.”

“Shakespeare?” Claire asked, intrigued. “What a name. Is he also American?”

“Oh, no, he was British. The most famous playwright to ever live,” Ellie replied, her eyes alight. “In the late 1500s…” Her voice trailed off as she realized what she was saying.

Shakespeare hadn’t been born yet. Wouldn’t be, for another century.

Brianagh sympathetically handed Ellie a goblet. “Strange, isn’t it, how things work?”

Ellie murmured her agreement. She felt oddly off-balance as she realized the magnitude of what her life was at that moment. One hundred years from Shakespeare, five hundred plus years from her own birth.

She stared at the deep garnet liquid in her cup and took a steadying breath.

Life was indeed strange.

They’d been at the castle for four days, and while he always enjoyed a good visit with Bri, Colin needed to get back to his life. His normal, everyday life, where he had more distractions at his fingertips. He needed distractions.

Here, there was nothing for him to do but watch Ellie.

He didn’t trust himself to be alone around her; he might start talking, and who knew what would come out of his mouth?

Four days of watching her transform from a quiet, timid woman with two left feet into a medieval goddess was tearing him up inside.

If he was being perfectly honest about it, watching other men see Ellie as he had since the moment he met her was tearing him up.

Whereas back in London she wore mostly depressing browns and grays, here she wore Claire’s gowns, as they were of about the same size.

The deep O’Rourke red seemed to be her favorite, though she wore the MacWilliam blue just as brilliantly.

Her eyes shone brighter, her hair gleamed, and her waist was perfectly accentuated by the cuts of the gowns.

Of course the men of the castle couldn’t help but notice. Every time she entered a room, Colin was hyperaware of her, from the hairs on the back of his neck to the direction in which his feet forced him to turn.

The other men in the castle were not immune to her—or to Gwendolyn, either. That woman was all Irish fire, with her bright red hair and bold laugh that ensured she stood out in the best way.

The women had, most definitely, made a mark on the men in the clan. Had they been born into this time, Colin was certain they’d have their pick of eligible warriors for husbands. The men would indeed consider themselves fortunate to have such beautiful, intelligent, sparkling women as their wives .

Could Ellie live with him as he was? If he wasn’t in one of his Celtic Connections offices, he was most likely to be found in a different century. His last vacation had been over ten years ago, and he hadn’t had a serious relationship since—

Well, ever.

There wasn’t enough of him to give to a woman, and he recognized that. He also knew it was unfair to even ask it of Ellie, but she made him want things he never before even dared to think about. Home. A family of his own.

Love.

Reilly smacked Colin on the forehead. “Christ, O’Rourke, your attention span grows shorter as you grow older!”

“Not all of us are as fortunate as you are with your aging secrets,” Colin muttered, rubbing his skin. He rubbed a little harder than necessary, hoping to dislodge the disconcerting thoughts bouncing around his brain.

“I’m fairly sure as to why you can’t leave,” Reilly continued.

“Do tell.”

Ry snorted. “Ah, you’re such a fool, O’Rourke. You can’t leave until you figure it out yourself.”

Colin wiped the sweat from his brow and adjusted his léine.

He hopped from foot to foot, testing the balance of his sword, as men trained around them in the lists.

“There’s been no attack on the castle, and no word from either the O’Rourkes or the O’Connells of an upcoming battle.

MacWilliam scouts have come back without word as well.

Seems strange that you were called back. ”

“There’s always a reason,” Reilly murmured, his typical response when Colin questioned the Fates. “I do prefer training here than in your pathetic excuse for a garden, though.”

Colin raised his sword and snickered. “You like it better here because the women are so accommodating to your needs. ”

Reilly flashed him a mischievous smile. “You know it, cousin. Tell me, what’s it like, when you’re parched from training, but all the serving wenches are bringing drinks to me?”

“Wouldn’t know,” Colin returned, with a thrust of his blade against Reilly’s. “I don’t have a proper training partner, so I’ve yet to need a drink.”

Ry threw back his head and laughed heartily. “Oh, you’ll pay for that insult!”

Colin ducked and narrowly avoided losing his head. He turned and swung, his blade meeting Reilly’s in a bone-shaking clash.