Page 8 of Proven By The Highlander (Highlander Forever #15)
CHAPTER 8
I n the end, she wasn’t waiting long. A few minutes after the guard had left, he returned with a few people in tow… but these, Leanne realized to her surprise, weren’t more guards as she’d expected. They were women, dressed in rather beautiful medieval gowns, all around Leanne’s age… and all four of them were smiling brightly when they came through the gate to greet her. She fidgeted at the clothes she was wearing, again feeling entirely out of place compared to the well-dressed women who’d come to meet her.
“Welcome to Castle Urquhart,” said one of the women, a petite blonde with a bright smile. “I’m Nancy Grant — this is Julia, this is Melanie, and this is Ivy.”
Leanne’s eyes widened a little. That wasn’t a Scottish accent, as she’d been expecting… Nancy’s voice sounded like home. “You’re American.”
“We all are,” said the tall, redheaded woman Nancy had introduced as Julia. “At least, all of us time-travelers.” Her accent, too, was American.
Leanne was surprised by how relieved she felt to hear those familiar vowels. As lovely as Caelan’s Scottish accent was, hearing people talk like her made her feel a little less crazy.
“Time travelers,” she repeated faintly, struck by the expression. She hadn’t thought of it like that yet. Somehow, the practicality of the phrase made her feel better about it. “I guess that’s what I am, huh?”
The third woman was looking at her intently — Nancy had introduced her as Ivy. Her auburn hair had been beautifully pinned into a braided updo, and she looked every bit the picture of the medieval lady… but when she spoke, the twang of her vowels was unmistakably Midwestern. “So you know where and when you are?”
Leanne nodded, suddenly grateful for the conversation she’d been able to have with Caelan the night before. This welcome wagon would have been a rather overwhelming prospect to someone who had no idea what was going on. Hell, it was almost too much for her as it was. “I’m getting the idea, yeah. Sorry,” she said quickly, shaking her head. “How rude of me. I’m Leanne Orbach.”
“It’s good to meet you, Leanne.” Ivy smiled, her expression warm. “All of us — we’ve been exactly where you are. So we understand if it all feels a bit ridiculous.”
“It really does,” she said faintly, rubbing her forehead.
“How are you doing, overall?” That was Nancy again. “Like, how are you feeling? It’s not an easy journey to make, I’m guessing you’re pretty tired.”
“Not the best night’s sleep I’ve ever had, no,” she said faintly. “I, um, woke up underwater.” The nods that she got from the group of women almost made her laugh. “That happened to all of you, too?”
“Yeah, nearly drowning seems to be part of the deal,” Melanie said drily. “With the exception of Nancy, here.”
The blonde woman grinned. “I was scuba-diving when the Sidhe saved me,” she explained to Leanne. “Cave diving in North Carolina, trying to get around a cave-in… I’m guessing they saw I was close to drowning, then just dropped me in the Loch instead.”
“I would have drowned,” Leanne said softly. “But there was this… thing.” She hesitated, feeling suddenly ridiculous. But she needn’t have worried, it seemed. Nancy’s face lit up with delight and she surged forward to grab her by both arms.
“Do you mean the Monster? Did you meet Nessie?”
The woman’s delight was infectious — and Leanne could tell by the exasperated but fond looks on the faces of the women around her that this wasn’t the first time Nancy had gotten excited about the monster. “I guess so? It looked like a plesiosaurus. Carried me up to the surface, then gave me a ride to shore.”
Nancy’s eyes were as round as saucers. “She let you ride her?”
“Not exactly. I was in shock, I think — I kept nearly sinking into the water again. So I sort of — held onto her neck and she brought me close enough to the shore than I could stand.”
“That’s amazing,” Julia whispered, her eyes wide. “She doesn’t usually hang around for that long. She keeps an eye on people, but we rarely actually see her.”
“Speak for yourself,” Nancy said, raising a challenging eyebrow. “She and I still see each other reasonably often.”
“Only because you bring whole roast chickens down to the docks at sunset,” Melanie put in with a roll of her eyes.
Nancy scowled… then shook her head quickly, reaching out to grab Leanne’s hand again.
“I’m so sorry, Leanne — we should get you inside, you must be freezing.” And with that, they were on their way through the gates, the guards atop the wall giving the little group friendly waves as they headed through. Leanne stared curiously around the enormous courtyard she found herself in as the smaller gate clanged shut behind them. The Keep loomed at the far end of the courtyard, dominating the space, but she could make out a few low buildings over to one side that seemed to be stables. And there were more people here, too… men in uniform like the ones on the wall, but other people, too, all in strange medieval clothing. More and more, she was finding herself believing that she was really here, that everything Caelan had told her was true. And she was a little surprised by how readily her mind was accepting the impossible. Was that shock? Or was it simply common sense?
“Sorry to leave you waiting at the gate like that,” Ivy said to her gently as they headed across the courtyard. “The last woman who joined us ended up having her likeness stolen by a goblin, so the locals have been a little restless since then.”
Leanne considered this for a moment, thinking back to the sharp way the guard had looked at her when she’d touched the iron blade of his dirk. “I understand,” she said with a shrug. “I mean, I don’t understand in the least, but… I’m just happy that I’m not drowning in a lake, I guess.”
Ivy chuckled. “That’s the spirit. Now — what’s the more pressing need?” she said briskly as they climbed the steps to the Keep itself. “A change of clothes, or something to eat?”
Leanne considered the question for a moment, surprised to realize that she hadn’t given a thought to her appetite since she’d woken up in the lake. Ivy was looking at her, a faint smile on her face.
“Yeah, I thought that might be the case. High pressure situations like this one tend to make us forget we’re flesh and bone. Food will help you get settled in, I promise.”
“A lot of us get sick when we first get here,” Julia contributed now, looking worried. “Might be better to get you in some warm, dry clothes before we organize lunch…”
“That sounds great, actually,” Leanne said gratefully, feeling a strange mixture of shyness and gratitude for these women. She’d never been the kind of person who made friends particularly quickly, but there was something about the kindness of these women that made her feel like she could trust them. Maybe it was just her own vulnerability and the shock she was in, but she felt tears prickling at the backs of her eyelids when they led her through the winding corridors of the Keep… and when they opened a door to show her the room that had been prepared for her, she felt a tear spill over one eyelid and dashed it away. There was a neatly made little bed in the corner, a bundle of clothes laid out on the end of it… even a brush and a comb set on the side table for her. And there was a basin of water there too, steam rising from its surface.
“Thank you,” she said weakly. “This is — thank you.”
“Like I said,” Ivy said softly, touching her shoulder. “We’ve all been where you are — it’s the least we can do to help out in turn. We’ll leave you to bathe, okay?”
Promising they wouldn’t be far, her new friends stepped out into the corridor and closed the door behind them. Leanne took a deep breath… then gratefully stripped off her pajamas, wrinkling her nose as she peeled the fabric from her skin. The little fire in the grate had done wonders to warm the small, cozy room, and she only shivered a little as she stood naked by the basin, a little unsure how to proceed. It was easy enough once she saw the cloth that had been set by the warm water, and she gave her body a quick wash, grateful to wipe away the grit and sand from her adventure in the lake. Finally, she dipped her head in the water and ran her hands through it, rinsing sand and grit clear before rubbing her head briskly with a towel. The benefits of short hair.
In the end, she had to call for help when it came to the clothing that had been laid out for her. It was Nancy who came in to help her, bright and cheerful as she showed her the order in which the various parts of the dress went on, helping her cinch her waist. She was surprised by how warm she felt… and how easy it was to move, despite the unfamiliar feeling of skirts swishing around her ankles. She’d always imagined period clothing to be heavy and unwieldy, but she felt surprisingly nimble as she took a few practice steps around the room.
“Looks great,” Ivy said brightly once they’d stepped back into the hallway together. “Did you find a pair of shoes that fit?”
“These are perfect,” Leanne said gratefully, gesturing down to the shoes she’d selected from a collection in the wardrobe that ranged in size and style. “You guys thought of everything, huh?”
“Well, you’re number fifteen,” Nancy said with a shrug of her shoulders. “We’re getting good at this.”
“Fifteen?” Her eyes widened. “You’re telling me there are fifteen of us?”
Nancy grinned back at her. “Let’s get some food into you first,” she said firmly. “Then we’ll get into all the stories we have to tell you.”