Page 10 of Proven By The Highlander (Highlander Forever #15)
CHAPTER 10
L eanne barely remembered the walk back to her room. The other women said their goodbyes at the dining hall, and she and Nancy made the trip back to her little room together, Nancy occasionally steadying her when her exhaustion made her stumble. It was strange how quickly the exhaustion had hit her, how overwhelming it was. She almost felt drunk as Nancy helped her into her room and unlaced her dress for her, taking off the extra layers until she was just wearing the long shift. Then she climbed into the little bed, feeling the clean sheets against her skin, and sighing a little with relief. She opened her mouth to thank Nancy for getting her here safely, but before she could summon her voice, she was falling into a deep, deep sleep.
When she opened her eyes again, it was dark. She was alone and utterly disoriented, and when she sat up in bed, she felt a stab of pain shoot through her head. Still half asleep, she felt panic shoot through her. The thought of her father rose to her mind unbidden, the stroke that had killed him… was that what was happening to her now? Another lurch of pain, then another… she blinked her eyes hard, heart pounding, cleared her throat and felt a coughing fit overtake her. On her bedside table was a glass of water, and a full pitcher of water behind it, and she sipped it gratefully, feeling a rasp of pain in her throat and another sick stab of pain in her head.
The panic eased, slowly but surely, as she sipped the water and caught her breath. What she was feeling wasn’t a stroke, it was dehydration… and judging by the slight sheen of sweat on her forehead, that might have something to do with the fever she was feeling. She coughed again, feeling the rasp in her throat again, and then dropped herself back against the pillow, groaning softly as she put the pieces together. Her night in the lake, then sleeping in the woods by a fire… it seemed she hadn’t gotten away with it unscathed. So much for her record run with not getting sick.
She drifted back into a feverish sleep, and by the time the morning sun was peeking over the window ledge, the sickness had set in well and truly. She’d had nasty colds before, but this one had come on with a particular vengeance. It was Nancy who came to her door first, inviting her along to breakfast, but one look at her lying miserably in her bed made it clear that that wasn’t going to happen. It wasn’t exactly how she’d wanted to spend her first proper day at a medieval castle, but she felt so unwell that she could hardly imagine doing anything but lying there and waiting it out.
The fever broke after a day or so, to her relief. But the respiratory symptoms persisted, a nasty cough that left her lightheaded and a great deal of congestion that was only aided a little by the fragrant herbal teas that the other ladies brought to her every few hours. For all that it was unpleasant to be unwell, she did feel well taken care of. It seemed like every few hours there was a gentle tap on the door, and someone was bringing some new remedy, or simply checking in to see how she was.
By the third day, she was still feeling too weak to do much walking around, but when Nancy asked if she was up to entertaining visitors she was more than happy to do so. There was only so much time she could spend sleeping and feeling sorry for herself… being sick was boring even in the twenty-first century. But instead of having bad daytime television to flip through, she had visits from the other women who’d come to the Keep the same way she had.
Leanne wished she’d brought a notebook or something with her – she wanted to keep all their names and faces straight in her mind, but it was difficult when there were so many of them. She met the fierce, capable Lady of the Keep, Anna, the first of them to have come through the Burgh. Anna promised that she’d have an audience with the Laird as soon as she was feeling well enough to get out of bed – her husband was the leader of the Keep and, from what Anna said, very keen to welcome her personally.
She met Elena, too, who Nancy had mentioned being especially close with – the gray-eyed, quiet woman had been a homicide detective in Baltimore before an accident working a case had caused the Sidhe to bring her here. After Elena’s visit, she met Mary, whose thick Brooklyn accent made her smile. The woman was the most recent addition to the Keep, and the story she told about her arrival here, her encounter with a goblin who stole her identity and then with Nessie, made Leanne grateful that the worst she’d experienced were some cold feet and a chest infection. She met Callie, who like Anna hailed from a military background back in the States, and Helena, who was a child psychologist. There were quite a few women with medical backgrounds, too – Karen was an epidemiologist whose arrival here had been perfectly timed to take on a disease outbreak in the village, and Kay was a veterinarian who’d helped with some animal-centric Fae mischief.
Every woman had stories to tell of adventure on their arrival here in Scotland… and every woman seemed to have arrived with exactly the skills and competencies that they’d needed to face that challenge. She found herself wondering about it one afternoon, sitting with Nancy by the window in an attempt to get a little sunshine and fresh air.
“I mean, Karen could have arrived at any time, right?” Nancy was saying with a shrug of her shoulders. “I don’t think it was a coincidence that they dropped her off right before the cowpox outbreak.”
“But how do they know?” Leanne said, troubled by the idea. “Like – how do they know what’s going to be needed?”
“They don’t see time the same way we do,” Nancy said with a shrug. “I mean, look at it from their point of view. They can see you in the twenty-first century, so clearly that they grab you just before you have a stroke. So why wouldn’t they know when there’s going to be a disease outbreak here and now?”
“But – that means history’s all pre-determined, right? If I was always going to be dropped back here, then I was always going to do… whatever I’m about to do.” She waved her hand to demonstrate. “That was always going to happen.”
“Maybe. So what?”
“So that means there’s no free will!”
Nancy considered this for a moment, a slight frown on her pretty face. Then she reached over and tickled Leanne under her ribs. It was such an unexpected motion that she doubled over with shock, half-screaming, and half-laughing as she warded Nancy off. “There.”
“What?”
“Did you see that coming? Did you expect that to happen?”
“No, but?—”
“Neither did I. Free will, baby.”
“You’re saying the illusion of free will is as good as the thing itself?”
“I guess so.” Nancy stretched, glancing at her sideways. “I’m surprised that this is the part that worries you, and not that every single woman you’ve met so far has the same last name.”
She tilted her head, considering that. Now that Nancy mentioned it, it did seem a little strange that all of the women she’d met seemed to have married into Clan Grant. “Yeah, what’s up with that? Is it just — is it an arranged marriage thing?” She lowered her voice a little, not wanting to sound like she was being rude. “Like, it’s hard to be a single woman, so?—”
Nancy laughed. “No, it’s nothing like that. Though it’s not exactly easy to be a woman alone… but no, all of these marriages are first and foremost for love. Especially mine,” she added, her eyes bright.
Leanne had to admit, that certainly seemed to be the case for all the women she’d met. She found herself frowning.
“So — what? Is it just a coincidence?”
“I don’t think so,” Nancy said with a shrug. “I mean, the Sidhe are insanely clever, right? And they’ve got access to the whole world. I have a feeling they choose women who they know are going to get on well with Grant men.”
“You mean like… supernatural matchmakers?” She wrinkled her brow, feeling a little unnerved by the idea that she’d been brought here for such a strange purpose. “Weirdest dating show I’ve ever heard of.” A chill ran down her spine. “They don’t… bring about the accidents, do they?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean — oh, here’s a young lady who’d be perfect for what’s-his-name, let’s make an accident happen that we can ‘save’ her from…”
Nancy was giggling, one hand over her mouth. “That seems like a lot of effort. If they were going to do that, why bother engineering an accident? They’ve made it clear they can just snatch people out of their own time regardless of whether they’re in danger or not. No, I think the accidents come first. Falling in love is an added bonus.” Nancy smiled softly, her blue eyes suddenly far away. “I know meeting Malcolm was the best part of coming here. Meeting Nessie was a close second.”
Suddenly, Nancy’s eyes narrowed, and she looked hard at Leanne. “What?”
“I can’t believe we haven’t talked about this. Who do you think it is?”
“Who do I think…?”
“Of the Grant men. Who do you think the Sidhe had in mind for you?”