Page 26

LEXI

I stuck my head back in. “Torin, what kind of ice cream? Chocolate, or cookies and cream?”

He said, “Aye.”

I said, “And don’t find out too much, Coop, I’m totally invested, don’t want to miss anything.”

I returned with two gallons of ice cream, a spoon, a bunch of bananas, chocolate sauce in a squeeze bottle, a stack of bowls and spoons, and a jar of cherries. “I’ll make them here while you talk.”

Cooper pointed at the computer screen. “First question, ‘biggest political issue’. I looked it up, yes, Mary gets married, but Queen Mary also dies in 1558, you didn’t mention it.”

Torin’s face went pale. “Och nae, the young queen has passed! Nae, this is terrible news. Did it happen while I hae been gone?”

Cooper said, “You tell me — it says here that Mary died and Elizabeth took her place.”

Torin said, “That is odd, who is Elizabeth…? Och nae, Master Cooper, dost ye mean Mary Tudor dies? The Queen of England — when? She is replaced by her cousin, nae,” he shook his head, “this is not a good thing, but ye are discussin’ England, nae Scotland — we hae been at war with them.

Our Mary, Queen of Scots , is bonny and fair.

She is now married tae the dauphin of France, as ye ken, Scotland will hae the assistance of France in our war. ”

I put two scoops of ice cream in a bowl and dripped chocolate sauce on it.

Cooper read the screen and said, “Fine, yeah, you’re right, thought I had you. It says here that Mary Tudor dies in November of that year.”

Torin’s face screwed up. “I daena like tae ken the future, tis distressing, but I am glad tae hear the English Queen will die, good riddance on her…”

Cooper reached across for the bunch of bananas right before I did, and tore off one, and passed it to Torin. “While Lexi serves our ice cream, how about you get the banana ready.”

He directed his focus back at the laptop yet I could see he was pretending to look at the screen while watching Torin peripherally.

Torin picked up the banana, honestly looking at it as if he had never seen one before. He peeled off the sticker, and flicked his hand having trouble getting it off his finger. Then he wiped it onto his pants.

He grasped both ends of the banana, pulling, squeezing, and attempting to break it in half, but instead causing it to split open and the ripe banana to squeeze out all over his hands.

He frowned.

Cooper’s eyes were narrowed.

I picked up a banana and peeled it. Torin wiped his hands on his napkin, grimacing. “Och nae, I did not do this right.”

I said, “Dump yours here in his bag, don’t worry about it.” I cut the banana in half and put it in his bowl and passed it to him.

Cooper said, “Am I to understand that you’ve never seen a banana before? You have no idea what it is and how to peel it?”

Torin asked, “This is a bana? Then, aye, I hae never seen one before.” He used the spoon to take a bite of banana.

“Tis verra good!” Then he took a taste of the ice cream.

“Och aye, this is delicious!” He took another bigger bite and another, with his mouth full, “Och, I need tae slow down. I will become ill.” He took another bite.

“How dost ye keep it cold when the weather is so fair?”

Cooper narrowed his eyes even more.

Jen said, “The freezer, in the kitchen, makes ice too. It’s glorious in the height of summer.”

“Tis glorious!” Then he added, “But, tae return tae our challenge, Master Cooper, daena tell me if something terrible happens tae Mary Stuart, our queen. I canna bear the idea of her coming tae a poor end.” He swept the spoon out in the air, dismissing the thought.

“She is too bonny tae hae a poor end. I am certain she will lead Alba tae peace and prosperity now that we hae the royal intermarriage. Likely we will hae a union of crowns, twill be verra good.”

Cooper chewed his lip.

Jen asked, “So, Torin, when did you leave, what month was it?”

“A’ Chèitean.”

“Say what?”

“Ye ken, Maius mēnsis?”

Cooper tapped his pen irritatedly. “Are you saying ‘May’?”

Torin nodded.

Jen pointed at the laptop. “See, Coop, you thought you caught him in a lie, but he has a good explanation. The Marys are not the same Marys, and the other one died after he left. Proves it?”

“None of this proves anything, at all — he studied up. He’s a good actor. He’s a talented liar.”

Torin said, “Och, now we hae reached the moment in the challenge where ye are callin’ me a liar. Tae lie is a sin?—”

“On that, you and I agree?—”

Torin tossed his napkin onto the table. “Ye ought tae prove I am wrong, on anything at all, afore ye accuse me of lying — or shall I go?”

I held up my hands. “No, please, that’s not necessary. I know it’s getting tense, it doesn’t need to, everyone just chill, right Cooper? Be polite and let’s enjoy the rest of our dessert, finish our drinks. We can keep going down the list, no one needs to be mad.”

Cooper said, “I can be cool.”

Torin said, “Aye, Mistress Lexi, the challenge over the feast ought nae turn intae a battle in the Great Hall, that is an important rule.”

Cooper drew the list closer and typed on the laptop. “It’s harder to find a good list of tavern food in the sixteenth… hmmmm, you said, Muthill?”

“Aye.” Then Torin asked, “May I hae more, Mistress Lexi?”

I scooped more ice cream into his bowl.

Cooper continued, “There doesn’t seem to be much about Muthill… a mention on this blog, but in passing. Hmmm….” He kept reading. “What was the other place you mentioned?”

Torin gestured to the laptop as if he had just noticed it. “What is it…?”

“A laptop, a computer, it looks up information.”

Torin looked very confused but said, “We rested overnight in Moulin.”

Cooper typed.

Torin leaned to look at the screen. His face screwed up. He added, “M’home is Castle Glume.”

“That’s good…” Cooper typed, “Because nothing much about Moulin and Muthill.”

He added, “Now I’m searching for Castle Gloom.”

Then he turned the screen.

Jen and I both leaned closer to look. There was a name at the top of the website, Campbell Castle, and a photograph of a ruin.

Torin’s face darkened.

I said, “Are you sure this is the same place?”

“Formerly called Castle Gloom, situated above the town of Dollar, Clackmannanshire?—”

Torin said, “Aye, tis the same place. Tis a ruin... what happened tae it?”

Cooper’s eyes scanned the page. “Looks like, in July 1654, Royalist rebels attacked and burned Castle Campbell over two nights.”

I said, “Wow, that happened three hundred and fifty years ago.”

Torin looked down at his empty ice cream bowl. “That is long after m’life, almost a hundred years past.” He exhaled. “Tis unsettling.”

Cooper turned the screen away. “Okay, here’s a question: someone fairly famous visited your home in 1556, two years before you?—”

Torin said, “Famous, what dost ye mean?”

“Someone important. Someone who would be historically significant.”

Torin nodded. “Ah, yes, that would be the journeyin’ poet, Gavin Duggie, then. Och, he enthralled us with a ballad about…” His words trailed off as he watched Cooper.

He asked, earnestly, “Is he not who ye mean? Everyone agreed he was the best journeyin’ poet who visited the castle in years.”

“No, I meant John Knox.”

“Knox, the preacher ? Aye, he came around that time, m’laird the Earl invited him. I found him tae be like a rooster in a flock of grouse. His sermon was loud and impressive and the Earl is a great admirer, but nae one else seemed tae care about it much. Knox is famous?”

Cooper closed the laptop. “Yep, very famous.”

Torin looked back at his empty bowl. “Maybe I daena understand the meanin’ of it.”

I said, “Torin, do you want more ice cream?”

“Nae.” He stood, almost knocking his chair over, holding his stomach. “I think the bana dinna agree with the beers.”

I said, “You can use the bathroom if you…”

He headed for the door, holding onto the wall for balance. “Och nae, I over gorged m’self on the sweet fare. Tis fine, Mistress Lexi, I will retire and be well when I need tae get up for guard duty.”

I said, “I’ll walk you down to the?—”

Cooper stood. “Nah, I’ll walk him down, no worries.”

“But—”

“But what? If he needs a shoulder to lean on heading down, are you going to hold him up? He’s twice your size.”

I said, “I guess not.”

He met Torin down the hall.

We heard Torin saying, “I daena mean tae put ye out, Master Cooper.”

“No worries, I ate a lot of ice cream too, and drank a lot. I could use a little fresh air before bed.”

I went to the hall and caught a glimpse of Torin’s face, green, as he went through the door, calling over his shoulder, “Thank ye kindly for the meal, Mistress Lexi.”

And they were gone.

Jen said, “Damn, should we be worried that Cooper is walking him home?”

“Probably, he was in no mood.”

We began clearing the table.

She asked, “What did you think about the test, did Torin pass it?”

I was quiet for a moment. “I mean, I think so? I already sort of believed him, even without the test. I mean, just watch him, no one can keep a character that well, for that long.”

She said, “There was a moment when he didn’t seem to react about the computer and I was thinking, aha! You say you’re from the past but you’re going to take a computer in stride? But then he asked what it was.”

“Yeah, if he was pretending wouldn’t he just ask, ‘What is this, what is that?’ Instead it’s as if he doesn’t see it until he notices it. Then he asks about it. It seems legit. I believed he’d never seen a banana before.”

She carried all the ice cream stuff on the tray. “Truth. That was wild. How can you never have seen a banana?”

“Yeah. If he is from the past and this is all completely new, everything would be confusing. The room would be chaotic and you’d recognize nothing. I feel like that’s true. Then suddenly he’s like, ‘What’s that laptop thing?”

“So you believe him.”

I said, “I don’t not believe him... you know? He hasn’t given me any reason to doubt him. ”

We carried all the stuff into the kitchen and looked through the window to see Torin and Cooper were almost all the way to the back-shack.

She asked, “Want to go down there? See what they’re talking about?”

“Totally. I’ll do dishes when we get back.” We left for the lawn, with Dude following behind us.