Page 24 of See A Highlander (A Highlander Across Time #10)
CHAPTER 24
T he next morning, Annie went with Tom to see the Laird. She was nervous because she hadn’t had much interaction with him, and she found his slightly intimidating. “Do you think he’ll believe us?” she asked.
“There is no reason for him not to, love. He knew what we were planning, though I doubt he suspected Bella would attack us with a knife.” Tom knocked on the door and waited for Cameron to bid them to enter. Once he called out for them to enter, Tom opened the door and escorted her in.
“Ah, Tom, Miss Mills, do come in and report to me what has occurred with your cousin.”
Tom gently settled Annie in a seat, and she gave him a tender look. He was so caring it blew her mind. “The plan went well, Bella did follow us, but that is where things went a bit wrongly.”
“Oh?”
Annie nodded. “My cousin managed to get a hold of a knife, and she attacked me with it.” She held up her arm for the Laird to see.
A cross look passed over his face. “Then she needs to be brought before me and face punishment. I will not have anyone attacking people here and causing harm. Where did you leave her?”
Annie smiled. “I appreciate you saying that, Laird Cameron, but I’m afraid she’s already been given a punishment. Scathach appeared and sent her back through the doorway.”
“You saw this happen?” he asked, a look of surprise on his face.
Tom looked at Annie and smiled. “Aye, we did, and we spoke to the witch. We’ve some information for you about her, and about the door.”
“Something new we did not know?”
“Aye. The witch explained that while she can move between times, she can only bring others backwards in time. So when she sent Bella through the doorway, she was sent back one hundred years.”
Cameron’s brows raised. “The selfish woman with the oddly colored hair…” he murmured.
“Aye.” Tom nodded.
“I begin to see. Did she say why she brings you ladies here?” he asked.
Annie opened her mouth to answer and then quickly shut it. She hadn’t asked. “No, I’m afraid I forgot to ask her why she did it. She did say that I was the one meant to go through the door, and that Bella interfered. And she called me her ancestor.”
“Then it seems you’ve more research to get on with,” Cameron said with a chuckle.
“It does look that way, but it may have to wait for a bit.” She put her hand on her stomach and looked at Tom.
Cameron looked between the two of them and asked, “Should I take this to mean that I should wish you happy?”
“Aye, Annie agreed to be my wife.” Tom nodded, a wide grin on his lips.
“Congratulations. I shall announce your engagement at tonight’s feast, as well as Bella’s departure.” He smiled.
“Thank you, Laird.”
“And I’ll have those chambers readied for you, as I think you will be needing them much sooner than you anticipated, Tom.”
Tom chuckled. “Indeed I will.”
Tom hugged Annie as they left the Laird’s office. She was happy that the meeting with the Laird had gone well, and that they appeared to have his blessing for their upcoming wedding.
As they walked, Tom sighed. “I’m afraid I will have to leave your side for a bit. I’ve got to check in on the guards, and make sure no one needs to see me.” "I understand. I want to go see Maria anyway. I love you, Tom."
"I love you, Annie."
They kissed and parted ways in the great hall. Annie went to Maria's chambers and knocked on the door.
"Hey, Annie. I was just about to have tea. Will you join me?” Maria led Annie to the table.
"I would love to, thanks.”
They both sat down, and Annie told Maria everything. She told her about Bella attacking her and being pushed further back in time. Maria listened with astonishment. And then Annie said, “And I have other news.”
Maria arched a brow. “What news might that be?” she asked, her eyes sparkling as though she might have guessed.
“Tom proposed, and I said yes. We’ll be announcing it at tonight’s feast.”
“Oh, that’s awesome, congratulations,” Maria said and leaned over to hug her. “When are you thinking?”
“Soon. Really, really soon so this baby isn’t born out of wedlock,” Annie said with a laugh as she patted her stomach.
Maria gasped. “You’re pregnant? But how? I mean you haven’t even been here but maybe a month! Is it Tom’s? It is Tom’s, right? Not that asshole’s you told me about?”
Annie nodded. “Absolutely is Tom’s and we only know because Scathach did some sort of magic on me, well on us,” she said, a fierce blush heating her cheeks. “She pretty much confirmed it when we spoke to her after she tossed Bella back in time.”
“That is amazing. She’s beautiful, isn’t she? I saw her once as she was passing through the door, it was just for a second, but she really was.”
Smiling, Annie replied, “Yes, and very nice too. Well, at least to me and Tom she was. Not so sure about Bella.”
“Oh, yeah, probably not to her.”
Annie giggled. It felt good to sit with Maria and chat and not have to worry about Bella anymore.
That evening, Annie and Tom entered the Dining Hall together, holding hands. After leaving tea with Maria, Annie had gone for a walk and then spent some time with Cara discussing the paranormal. She’d returned to her room after the mid-day meal and taken a nap, then feeling refreshed, she’d dressed for dinner.
The room was decorated and lively, with the musicians playing and everyone laughing and talking, some were even dancing. Annie loved the atmosphere here. They moved further into the room and then Tom said, “The Laird is calling us forward.”
Annie followed his gaze and noticed he was waving them to join him. They headed for the big table and once they reached it, the Laird directed them to sit with him and Lady Maria.
Cameron stood then and tapped his glass, calling for attention. “It is my great honor to announce our healer, Tom has asked Miss Mills to be his wife, and she has accepted him!”
The room cheered and there were congratulations shouted to them. The other women came over and hugged Annie, wishing her and Tom well.
“I’ve one other announcement. It seems that Scathach has done us a great favor, though I am sure our ancestors did not appreciate it. She had taken Miss Mills’ cousin Bella Grantham back in time. She has become the woman of legend, the selfish woman with the oddly colored hair who went mad,” he said as he looked around the room. “While I am glad that we are free from her machinations, let us take a moment to remember those who had to put up with her in their time.”
There was a moment of silence and as Annie looked around the room, she saw nothing but relief on the faces around them. It seemed Bella had caused grief for more than just herself.
“Now, let the feast begin! Heigl, bring forth the food!” Cameron said.
Annie looked at her future husband. He met her gaze with a smile. They kissed and enjoyed the evening to the fullest. They had much to celebrate. They were getting married and having a child together. The one nuisance that had been making their life unbearable was gone. It would all be well and the future looked bright.
The next day Annie woke up feeling light and happy. She was still adjusting to not having Bella lurking at every corner, but she was getting used to it. She went to the library room to look at one of the books that mentioned the witch. Now that she had seen Scathach with her own eyes and spoken to her, she wanted to compare it to what had been written about her. She spent many hours in the library going through very old and delicate books deciphering what was written as much as she could since much of it was written in Gaelic, a language she had yet to learn.
Frustrated, Annie flipped through the book and stuck between the pages in the back was a small portrait painting on a card. There was a story written in Gaelic that she couldn’t make out much of, but she did recognize three words, boireannach cuthach fèin-thoileil. She’d seen them before in another book with a translation that read, selfish mad woman. It made sense that the small portrait would be tucked in with this story. The painting was undeniably Bella. She had brown hair at the roots and red hair from her jaw line down to her waist. It was her face, and it was unmistakable. This story had to be the legend of the selfish woman, and this card was a painting of Bella. It cemented in Annie’s mind that Bella had indeed been sent back in time and continued to be the selfish woman causing problems who went mad. She knew that she had to tell Jacob, since he was the first one to tell her of the legend.
She put the portrait back in the book and made her way back to her room to take a nap. Annie thought back on how it had all started. Her paranormal vlog seemed like a world away.
Then a thought hit her that actually shocked her. She didn’t want to go back to her own time. If Scathach could even give her a choice she would choose to stay with Tom. She was deeply in love with him and looked forward to having a child with him and living their life at the castle. Although it seemed like an awful place to be stuck in in the beginning, now it truly felt like a fairytale to her with magic, intrigue, and the love of her life.