Page 10 of See A Highlander (A Highlander Across Time #10)
CHAPTER 10
S eeing the look on Annie’s face after he said he’d tended Bella’s arm, nearly destroyed Tom. He hated seeing that hurt look on her face, but he hadn’t meant to hurt her. If he’d had his way, he wouldn’t have visited Bella at all while she was in confinement. Though he’d treated her like any other patient Bella had a very forward attitude and he hadn’t cared for it.
He supposed Annie knew that about her cousin and that was why she’d been hurt. That and the fact that he’d not mentioned treating her. Not that he was attempting to hide the fact from her. Not at all. It just never even crossed his mind because Bella didn’t mean anything to him.
Sighing, Tom made his way down to the kitchens, hoping to get a wee snack as he was feeling peckish. Entering the room, he saw Heigl and started toward her to implore her to take pity upon him. “Good morning, Heigl, how are you this fine morn?” he asked.
Heigl smiled. “Tom, I am doing quite well, and you?”
“I am well, though, I fear I have missed the breakfast meal and hoped to appeal to your womanly heart to grant me sustenance.” Tom grinned.
Heigl laughed. “Get on with you, Tom McLeod. Go see Ellie, I think she’s putting away the leftovers from the morning meal, she’ll fix you up.”
“Thank you, Heigl, you are a queen among women.”
Heigl shook her head, but she was smiling as he looked for Ellie. He found her in the pantry, putting things away. She was trying to slide something onto a top shelf but couldn’t quite reach, so he hurried to assist her.
“Oh, thank you, Tom,” Ellie said, allowing him to take the bundle from her.
“You’re welcome, lass. Heigl sent me to ask you for a week snack as I missed the morning meal.”
“Of course, we’ve got some bread and jam, and there is still porridge and honey, will that do you?”
“That would be delightful.” Tom gave her a smile.
“David tells me you’ve been working on his shoulder? How is he doing? Will he gain full use back?” Ellie asked as she began to fix him a bowl of porridge and then added honey to it.
“Aye, David has fully recovered. I still think he needs to not over strain it, but he is fine now.”
“That tis good to hear.” Ellie’s smile brightened. “I was quite worried about him.”
“I know you were. David speaks of you often.”
Ellie blushed. “Does he?”
“He does. Told me you’re courting.”
She nodded. “We are,” she replied, her blush deepening as she handed him the bowl as well as a plate with bread and jam.
“He’s a good man, David is. You’ll do well with him.” Tom lifted the meal and said, “Thank you for these. I appreciate it.”
Tom left the kitchen and made his way to his work room with his food. When he arrived he found Scot, an eleven year old boy seated on the cot waiting for him.
“Scot, are you ill? Did your mama send you?”
“My mama? No, I sent myself. I wanted to talk to you about somethin’ important.”
Tom set his food down on his desk and then pulled up a chair next to Scot. “All right, what’s troubling you?”
“Oh, it tisn’t any trouble, not really. I was wantin’ one o’ your tinctures to make one o’ the lasses fall in love with me.”
Tom laughed. “Scot, there is no such kind of tincture to do something like that. If’n there was, I am sure I’d have the guards lined up before my door all the long day.” He smiled. “You can’t trick a young lass to fall in love with you, you know.”
“You can’t?” Scot frowned. “Why not?”
“Well, how would you like it if some young lass tricked you into falling in love with them?”
Scot looked appalled.
“See? Now, if you really like this lass, I know how you might get her attention.”
“You do?"
“Aye. First, you must greet her kindly, offer her a flower, or perhaps to fetch a meal for her. Second, listen to her. Get to know her, as you would one of your friends. When you find out the things she enjoys, ask to do those things with her.”
He made a face like he swallowed something sour. “But lasses like making flower chains and doin’ silly things.”
“True, they do, but if you listen close you might find they enjoy other things, like going riding, or walking on the shore of the sea, finding shells. That sort of thing.”
Scot sighed. “You sure that’s the best way?”
“It tis the only way. Now go find your lass and get to know her,” Tom said.“I’ve got my meal to eat still.”
“Aye, very well, I’ll give it a try.” He gave Tom a nod and headed out.
Tom realized that he wasn’t following his own advice in regard to Annie as he began to eat. He was conflicted over Annie and having feelings for her when he knew he shouldn’t. She was obviously a lady, and he was just himself. He figured she’d be looking for a husband among the guards, men who would move up in rank and offer her security. What could he offer her really? Not much at this point. He made a decent wage as a healer for the clan, but it wasn’t enough to afford a family. Not yet. Over time, he knew that he’d make more, but for now, it was not enough. Not nearly enough.
Sighing, he knew he needed to put thoughts of Annie from his mind. He would bury himself in his work in order to distract himself. It was the only way not to fall even more for her.
Annie felt a little shaken after seeing Bella. It had been a nice vacation to not see her for the few days that she was on house arrest. Now that she had reappeared, Annie was just as stressed out as before, and maybe even more so.
Within minutes, Bella had managed to instill some suspicions in Annie’s heart over her interactions with Tom. She hadn’t realized Tom was tending to Bella's injuries every morning. She should have, of course, knowing it was his job, but because it was Bella, and he’d not mentioned it, she was blindsided. Knowing Bella, she would have made a move on him. Any handsome man was fair game to her, no matter if he was married or dating or single. Bella didn’t care as long as she got what she wanted. She wouldn’t care if she hurt someone else in the process.
The question was would Tom have said no to Bella’s advances?
Annie wanted to think he would, but she didn’t know him well enough to know for sure. After all she’d known Billy very well and had always thought he’d resist Bella’s flirtatious behavior and look how that turned out. Annie shook her head. She couldn’t trust her instincts on this. She’d been wrong before and it had come back to bite her in the ass. She wasn’t about to set herself up again with Bella around.
No, it would be best to just put Tom out of her mind. And of course, ignore Bella. She wasn't going to let Bella sidetrack her new mission of continuing her research into the witch of Dunscaith Castle. She put her cousin out of her mind and sat down at her table. She took out her notebook and began to look through notes she’d made the day before. Once she’d gone over those, she started to write down the new information that she had discovered while talking to others in the castle the evening before.
Doing this helped her focus and not get overwhelmed by the fact that she’d traveled a little more than four hundred years into the past. The idea of it still lingered in the back of her mind, but she didn’t pull the thought forward to pick at. She needed more facts. More information about the witch and how she managed to arrange for her and Bella to be here, and why. Then she might be able to think about it more fully without getting upset.
After an hour of working, she started to get a bit hungry. She realized lunch was still more than an hour away, but she decided to head down to the kitchens anyway to ask Heigl if she could have a cup of tea and a bit of bread and cheese.
Upon reaching the door outside of the kitchens, she found Bella standing in the Great Hall. She was flirting with two guards being overly sexual as usual. Her bosom spilled out of the top of her dress, which Annie noticed that she’d put on without several of the layers, and she made no attempt to correct the overexposure of cleavage.
Bella laughed, and swatted her hand against one of the guard’s chest. “Oh you’re just delicious, aren’t you,” she flirted.
Annie rolled her eyes and continued into the kitchen. She knew it wouldn't be long before Bella found herself in trouble again. Annie decided right then that she wasn't going to step in and help her. She wasn’t Bella’s keeper. She was a grown woman and would have to deal with the consequences of her own actions.
“Heigl, would it be too much trouble for me to have a cup of tea and a bit of bread and cheese?” Annie asked, seeing the kitchen matron.
Heigl turned, a smile on her face. “Miss Annie, good morning. We’ll have lunch prepared in an hour and a half; do you wish to wait?”
“To be honest, I missed breakfast and I’m ravenous,” Annie admitted.
Chuckling, Heigl said, “Very well then, let me see to it. Seems there were a number of you who missed the morning meal.” She shook her head and began to fix a plate for Annie.
Within minutes Annie had an aromatic cup of tea and her plate of fresh bread and cheese, as well as a piece of shortbread that Heigl thought she might enjoy. She thanked the woman profusely and then left the kitchen to head across the Great Hall to the Dining Hall. As she stepped out of the kitchen she noticed two things. One, Bella and the two guards were gone, thankfully, and two, Tom was walking toward her, a smile on his face.
Annie grew suddenly nervous, and she stopped as he called out to her.
“Annie, there you are, lass, I’ve been looking for you.”
“You have? What for?”
“I was in the library, and I came across some documents I thought you might find of interest. They have some accounts of various McLeod ancestors encounters with Scathach.”
Annie’s shoulders relaxed. She knew that Tom was interested in her research and that was probably all it was. He wasn’t interested in her, just her work and that she could deal with.
Was she disappointed it was just her work he was interested in? Yes, but it was for the best, she knew. She smiled at him brightly. “Really? That is great news. I would love to see them, of course,” she said.
“Then how about I let you eat, and then we can go together?” He snitched a piece of cheese off her plate and popped it in his mouth.
Annie gave him a mock frown. “Hey, that was mine,” she said sternly.
His smile slipped from his face, and he quickly said, “Oh, I am sorry, I didn’t mean?—”
“Tom, stop, I was teasing.” She held the plate out to him. “I’m happy to share, truly.”
“Are you sure, lass? I did not wish to offend you—” he continued, looking contrite.
Annie smiled and said, “You didn’t, I really wasn’t being serious, I promise.”
He smiled back, sheepishly. “If you’re sure, lass.” He took the plate from her and carried it into the Dining Hall.
They sat down together and enjoyed the plate of bread and cheese as Annie told him of the notes that she’d made on what she’d been told the evening before by some of the other inhabitants of the castle. Once the food was gone and Annie had finished her tea, Tom took the dishes to the kitchen for her and then they headed up to the library.
Annie was very excited for this new development. She could only get so much information from the people that she spoke to here. And they only knew as much as they were told or had experienced themselves. But she hoped these documents would have more detailed answers about what people here have experienced.
They ended the room one floor under the nursery. It had two large wooden doors that opened inward. Inside there were large tables, and rows of bookshelves. Several others were there, conversing, or carrying books around as they read. Some were making notes on parchment paper and glancing into books to verify things.
“This is beautiful,” she said with wonder. “I had no idea it was even here.”
“It is rather nice. I come here often to look at what our scholars have collected on herbs and various remedies.”
“I don’t even know where to start,” she murmured as she looked around, trying to keep her voice quiet so she wouldn’t disturb the other people working.
“Well I know these shelves here start with the building of the castle itself. Perhaps that is a good place to start seeing as Scathach is said to have built it. Perhaps there is some references to her?”
“Good idea,” she said, heading to the shelf he’d indicated.
They spent the entire afternoon reading through bound books and some older documents that were merely scrolls. Annie was amazed at how well documented things were. She wondered where these sorts of things could be found in her time. Had they survived the years? Or did something happen between now and the twenty-first century that caused them to be lost? She wondered if she’d ever have the answer to that question.
As she read more and more there seemed to be a pattern. The origin of Dunscaith Castle was attributed to Scathach, as she had known, but it seemed there was more information about her in these texts than what she’d learned before. These documents said that she was a member of the Seelie Fae. Fae was a term she’d heard before, it was a shortened version of faerie, but she was unclear what Sidhe meant.
“See-lie? What’s that?” Annie asked.
“Ah, tis pronounced See-eh-lee, and it means good or light. Scathach, according to this, was, or rather, is of the Summer Court of the Fae, those who bring renewal and growth.”
Annie stopped and looked at Tom. “So faeries are real?”
Tom chuckled. “T’would seem so.”
“That is rather unbelievable,” Annie replied, shaking her head. “So according to this text, Scathach can travel through time and dimension…”
“Dimension?” Tom said in confusion.
“Well, it says from the Fae world to our world, in my time, we call them dimensions or parallel universes. Worlds similar to ours that can only be reached through space and time. Of course, in my time we also thought it was only theoretical, not something that was actually possible to do.”
“I see. I suppose her being a magical being, would allow her the ability to do such a thing.”
Annie nodded, but then frowned. “Then that means she had to somehow be involved in my coming here. She had to have been there to make it happen, but I don’t recall seeing her.”
“You were rather involved in a battle with your cousin at the time though, perhaps you did not spy her because of that?”
“True. But why would she want me and Bella here? Why bring us both?” Annie fretted.
“Do not worry, lass, I am sure you will discover the reason you and your cousin were brought here. I have faith in you,” Tom said, making her heart warm.
“Thank you, though from the looks of it, reading through all of these is going to take quite a bit of time.”
“Aye, it t’will and I won’t always be available to join you.”
Sighing, Annie nodded. “Yeah, you’ve got patients to attend to. I hate that I’ve pulled you away from your duties today, will the Laird be upset?”
Tom smiled. “No, I left a note saying I was here, if anyone had need of me, they would know to find me here.”
“Oh, that’s good.” Annie smiled and noticed the sky was getting dark outside the windows and the others in the room were lighting more lanterns. “We should probably go. I don’t think I can read any more today.”
“Perhaps you’ll join me for supper?”
Smiling, Annie nodded. “I’d like that.”
One morning a few days later, Annie went up to the library very early. She walked in and was surprised to see that Laird Cameron was in there looking through a heavy book. She immediately felt awkward and didn’t know how to handle this situation.
In her own time this would be like coming across a president, or a king, or some other noble. That was a rare thing living in the US unless you were actively attending some function the president was at as well.
Annie wondered if she should turn and leave or if she was supposed to curtsey or something and excuse herself. She must have made a sound though, because Laird Cameron turned and gave her a curious look.
She stood frozen for a moment and then said, "Laird Cameron, I’m sorry, I didn’t know anyone was in here. Oh, crap. I'm sorry again. Am I supposed to wait to speak til spoken too? I don't know how these things work, I’ve never been around anyone of such importance." Annie knew she was rambling and stumbling over her words.
"It's alright, Miss Annie. Calm yourself, We do not stand on etiquette here, unless it tis a formal meeting of the clan or I am holding court to sort out issues among the people," he said with a smile.
“That is good to know.” Annie returned his smile.
"You have been coming here often, I understand?" he asked.
"Yes. I’ve been doing some research, you do not mind do you?”
“No, lass, you are welcome to any of our books and scrolls.” Cameron gestured toward the shelves. “Though not everything is kept here. Some of our more valuable works are in my office, though I doubt they’d be of interest to you as they are Gaelic.”
“I have found a number of the ones here in Gaelic as well and I wish I had my translator with me, so I knew what they said.” Annie smiled.
“Aye, yes, Maria has said something similar. Your hand held device, it would do that for you, would it not?”
Annie nodded. “It could, yes. I could put the words into it, and it would tell me what it meant. One of the things I have a feeling I’m going to miss having, being here.”
"Aye, I can understand that.” Cameron gave her a rueful smile. “Well, I must tell you I'm glad that someone is taking the time to look through all of these dusty books and scrolls of information. Perhaps you will find something the other ladies have missed in Scathach’s background that will tell us why she’s bringing all of you women here.”
"That is what I am hoping for. It is all very fascinating. There is so much here that I don't think I could ever read it all in a lifetime though," Annie said, looking around the room.
“We’ve had trouble in the past, of Scathach allowing someone through she shouldn’t have. I’d be interested to know if she is doing it intentionally or if there is something she is not in control of. I suspect this time was something of the same with your cousin Bella. She has shown herself not to be of good moral character and I must say I do not trust her. It is rather worrisome, and I wanted you to know that I will be keeping a close eye upon her behavior. If she continues to behave with no regard to my people, I will have to take drastic measures against her.”
Annie’s eyes widened as she looked at Cameron, wondering if she should be apologizing to him for her cousin, but not wanting to because she wasn’t responsible for her. “I—” she began, but he cut her off.
“Tis not your fault, Miss Annie. I understand from my wife and from Tom that your cousin betrayed your own trust as well before coming here and that you were engaged in a battle with her prior to coming through the door. You wouldn’t have known you’d be bringing her through to this time with you. Just know, I act as judge, and I will dole out whatever punishments I see fit in regard to her.”
Annie nodded, simmering with anger as she realizing that once again Bella's behavior was causing her problems. “I understand,” she replied.
Cameron paused for a moment, closed the book he was reading and then picked it up. “Have a good day, Miss Annie,” he said before leaving the room.
Annie moved to a table and sat down. She needed a moment to process what the Laird had told her. She actually wanted to leave the library and not come back for a few days, but considered that would be a little silly. She was welcome here and the Laird wasn’t upset with her. So setting her anger for Bella aside, she decided to focus on her research and dug into another book.
When she was done, and her eyes were tired, she left the library and went for a little walk to stretch her legs. She moved through the castle and out to the courtyard. The sun was shining bright that day and not a cloud was in sight. It was nice, but she knew come winter it would be gloomy and gray.
Across the courtyard she saw Maria walking across toward the stable. Annie wanted to speak with her because she reminded her of her own time and made her feel grounded.
"Maria," Annie said approaching her.
"Hi, Annie, how’s it hanging?” Maria asked, a teasing smile on her lips.
Annie laughed at the modern phrase in this setting. "It’s all good. I spent most of the morning in the library. Your husband was in there. He's very intense, you know?”
Maria stopped walking and looked at her. " Oh no. Did he say something to upset you? He can come off a bit of a prick sometimes, but he really doesn’t mean to be. He’s just got a lot on his plate because everyone relies on him to keep the peace and act as judge, jury and executioner."
"Well I wouldn’t have put it quite like that, but…” Annie grinned. “He did let me know that there have been some less than desirable people who have come through the door and that he’s pretty unhappy about Bella and how she’s been behaving. I really hope he doesn’t think poorly of me as well.”
“No, I don’t see how he could. You’re great, but you’re right about your cousin. She is working Cameron’s last nerve, but he’s not going to hold you responsible for her poor behavior.”
"Thanks, I’m glad to hear that. I just can’t help wondering why we were both brought here. I want to know what Scathach’s reasoning is and I’m hoping I’ll find something in the books I’ve been reading to answer that."
"I wish you luck with that. We have our suspicions, but then, we have had trouble before with as Cam said some undesirables have arrived, so it’s hard to say.”
“Oh? What are your suspicions about her motives?”
Maria smiled, a twinkle in her eye. “I think for now, I’m going to keep that to myself but ask me again in about a month and I’ll share.”
Annie narrowed her eyes and frowned. Why was it a secret? she wondered. “It’s nothing kinky or weird, right?”
Maria burst out laughing. “No. Promise. And you may guess before too long, anyway. Or maybe you’ll come across it in one of the books, either way, you’ll figure it out and probably arrive at the same conclusion as well, but we’ll see.”
“Okay,” Annie replied with a hint of suspicion in her tone. Now she’d have to double her efforts to see what she could dig up and maybe that was Maria’s desire in the first place, to get her to stay focused on her research and dig deeper. “So where are you off to?”
“I was going to ride down to the village. I like to visit with the children at the school and read to them. We don’t really have any proper books to read that are meant for kids, but a couple of us here have written out some stories and drawn some pictures to go along with them.” She patted the bag she was carrying. “Would you like to join me?”
"I would love too," Annie said. She was excited to have been asked.
They saddled horses and headed out of the gate toward the village. “There wasn’t a proper schoolhouse when I got here. Most of the kids just learned skills at home, and learned to read from the Bible, which is fine, but we thought having a place for them to go for a couple of hours each day would be good where they can learn more.”
“So… a bit like Little House on the Prairie , then?” Annie asked.
Maria laughed. “Yeah, pretty much. We have our own teacher for the kids at the castle, but the kids in the village don’t come to the castle, so we set something up here. We, all of us ladies from the twenty-first century take turns coming down here to help out.”
“That’s great. Incredible really.”
“Cameron makes sure they have the things they need to learn, and we’re always looking for new things to do with the kids. We have to be careful though not to teach them anything that goes beyond the time period. Sometimes it’s hard not to let shit slip,” Maria added.
“Oh I didn’t even think of that. Yeah, I bet it would be.”
They reined in their horses as they reached the small village and dismounted next to a cottage. Annie and Maria spent the rest of the day reading with the children, stories about bunnies and squirrels, about children learning to play nicely with each other, about manners and the like. The kids were amazed and loved the paper books with the hand drawn pictures.
By the time the afternoon was finished, Annie was both exhausted and feeling a little melancholy. She’d always imagined having kids of her own, but now, being here, she didn’t know if that would ever happen. The image of Tom floated through her mind, and she wondered for half a moment if they were to get together what their child might look like, but she quickly dismissed the thought as it would probably never happen. How could it? They were from two different worlds.
But what if? she wondered.