***
ABI WOKE WITH A START. She had no idea how long she’d been asleep as she didn’t have a watch and there were no clocks in the room. Did they even have clocks in the fifteenth century?
She lurched bolt-upright in bed. The fifteenth century! Oh God, she was in the fifteenth century!
The realization crashed down on her. It was the year 1446. She was in the past. No matter that time travel was impossible, no matter that it was something right out of a science fiction novel, somehow she had traveled back in time hundreds of years and landed right in the middle of some medieval army.
Her heart began hammering so she closed her eyes and took deep breaths. She could feel panic beginning to build in her stomach, threatening to send her thoughts scattering with fear.
No,she told herself, gritting her teeth.You just need to figure out exactly what happened and reverse it.
Because shewouldreverse it. If she had traveled back in time, then it stood to reason that it was possible to travel forward in time too.
Like it will be that easy, she thought.You have no idea where to even start!
Panic began to take hold of her again and it took all of Abi’s willpower to push it aside.
No. She wouldnotlose it. She would not panic. She would think this through rationally.
Throwing back the covers, she swung her feet around and placed them on the cold stone floor. The cold sharpened her senses, helped push back the panic. She began pacing up and down, thinking. One, two, three, turn. One, two, three, turn.
She thought through everything that had happened to her, starting from the moment she’d arrived in Scotland. Everything had been normal, going to plan, until she’d decided to stop to pick up that hitchhiker. Irene MacAskill. That had been her name. It was at this point that everything had started to go wrong. First, Irene had said some strange things that sounded scarily like she’d been telling Abi’s fortune, then her car had broken down, then she’d been able to get no signal on her phone, then she’d made the idiotic decision to leave her car and climb that hill up to the ruin—
The ruin! That’s where all this had started! That’s where everything had changed! That’s where she’d walked through that arch and somehow ended up in the dungeon of the castle in 1446!
She paused in her pacing. The arch. Could it have been some kind of gateway? Could that have been what had brought her here? And if she went back through it, would it take her home again? She had no idea, but at least it was a chance. At least it gave her hope. She had to return to Kalmack Castle and test her theory.
Right. Get back to Kalmack Castle. Just like that. Return to a castle that was located god-alone-knew where, and which was in the hands of hostile medieval warriors.
Oh, heck.
She caught sight of her reflection in the window and paused. She was still dressed in her modern jeans, jacket and boots. No wonder Reid and his men had looked at her strangely. No wonder, in fact, that Malcolm had called her a witch. If she’d just magically appeared out of thin air in the dungeon like he claimed, then she shouldn’t be surprised he’d thought what he did.
But she couldn’t let him go on thinking it. People in this time were very superstitious and the last thing she wanted was them labeling her a witch. Didn’t they burn witches? Or did that come later? Abi’s high school history was not her strong point. Either way, she knew she had to fit in here and go as unnoticed as possible if she was to find a way home.
Her eyes settled on the trunk. The clean clothes that Thomas and Clyde had brought for her yesterday sat on it in a pile, untouched. Abi crossed to it. The dress, under-shift, stocking and slippers now made far more sense. She was going to have to wear this get-up if she hoped to fit in here.
With a sigh, she began undressing, taking off her modern clothing and folding it neatly on the bed. She eyed the medieval clothes and then gingerly began to dress, starting with the stockings and then the shift. The dress was made from a thick, heavy material in a pale green, with fancy embroidery around the bodice and cuffs. It had no zip or buttons but instead a set of bone hooks down the back.
Abi stepped into it, wrestled it on, and then spent a ridiculous amount of time with her hands behind her back trying to do the damned thing up. Her hair kept catching on the hooks and without a mirror to show her what she was doing, the whole thing took an age but finally, she managed to get it on.
Smoothing the material over her hips, she found it wasn’t the best fit. The bodice was tight and pushed her breasts up more than she would like and the long, swallow-tail sleeves that trailed almost to the ground were a little inconvenient, but Abi decided she could put up with it if it allowed her to blend in.
Her modern clothes sat in a neat pile on the bed with her cell phone next to them. The phone was useless now, of course, and would serve no purpose but to give her away if anyone should find it. How would these people react if they found her cell phone? Would they think it was some kind of evil magic?
Biting her lip, she glanced around for somewhere to hide it. Under the mattress? No, that would do no good if someone came to change the sheets. Up the chimney? No. Anyone laying a fire might spot it. She tried the floorboards and found what she was looking for under the window. One was loose enough for her to pry it up. She wrapped her phone in a pillowcase then stashed it in the small space below and replaced the floorboard, hoping that nobody would notice that it was slightly out of place.
Her modern clothes she placed in the trunk for when she would need them again. And shewouldneed them again, oh yes she would, just as soon as she’d figured out an escape plan.
Abi straightened her shoulders and let her breath out slowly. Right. The first thing she needed if she was going to get out of here was information.
She pulled open the door and stuck her head into the corridor. Thomas and Clyde snapped to attention. Hmm. Were they guarding her again?
“Lady Abigail!” Clyde said. “How are ye feeling? We were worried ye were unwell.”
Unwell?she thought.How I wish it was only a stomach ache.
She forced a smile. “I’m fine. Just got a little...freaked out. But I’m feeling much better now. In fact, I think I would like to go for a walk. Could you two fine lads show me around?”
