She stared into the middle distance as she saw it all unfolding in her mind’s eye. “I came to a door and assumed it led to the bookshop owner’s apartment. I just wanted them to let me out so I could go back to my hotel. There was this strange swirly stuff in the doorway like when you have a bonfire and the air above it goes all wavy. But I stepped through anyway. I found where they were having the party and asked this guy to show me the way out. But he didn’t do that. Next thing I know he’s introducing me as the Countess of Argyle and I’m surrounded by all these people in weird clothes like something out of a period drama. It was crazy. Just crazy.” She shook her head at the memory and looked up at Niall. “The rest, you know.”
Niall remained silent, his gaze never leaving Charlie’s face. The air felt heavy between them, as if the room held its breath.
Charlie bit her lip nervously, unsure of what to do next. Was he considering the possibility of her story or was he just figuring out how best to deal with a madwoman?
“I... I know how it sounds,” Charlie whispered. “If you want to think I’m crazy, or lying, go ahead. I can’t change what I know is true.”
“I dinna think ye are lying,” Niall said quietly after a moment, breaking the tense silence. “I’ve met enough liars in my life to know when someone’s telling the truth.” He looked at her. “Or when theythinkthey are, at least.”
“Oh, so you think I’m insane, is that it? That I’ve imagined it all?” She scowled. “I think I’d rather be called a liar.”
“Nay,” he said, holding up a hand to stave off her rising indignation. “I dinna think ye’re mad either.” He paused, staring out the window before turning back to her. “Maybe I’ve spent too much time listening to the old tales and legends of my people. Maybe I’m just desperate enough to believe in something...anything that might offer some hope.” He gave a bitter laugh. “God help me, I must be going mad myself.”
Charlie blinked at him, stunned. “You...believe me?”
“I didnae say that,” he said quickly. “But I’m willing to entertain the possibility. For now.” He studied her face. “But none of this makes sense.”
“Tell me about it,” she muttered. “It was a perfectly normal day until that old woman showed up. All the weirdness started with her.”
Niall glanced at her sharply. “What old woman?”
“One of the customers in the shop. She just appeared out of nowhere, told me I had a destiny and that I had to choose the right path—whatever that is—along with a lot of other nonsense, and then walked off. She was probably a bit cracked and I know I should have ignored her but I felt a little weird after that—and then things only got weirder. Are you all right?”
Niall was staring at her, his face pale. “Did that old woman give ye her name?”
“Irene,” Charlie replied. “She said her name was Irene—”
“MacAskill,” Niall finished for her.
Charlie cocked her head. “That’s right. How did you know that?”
Niall went even paler. He rubbed his hands down his face and blew out his cheeks. The suspicion was gone from his eyes and now he looked wary. Afraid, even.
Charlie’s heart began to thump again. She’d never seen that look in Niall’s eyes before. “How do you know that, Niall?”
“Because...” he began. He hesitated. “Because I saw her too. She was at Lady Murray’s ball and she said similar things to me.”
“That’s...that’s not possible,” Charlie stammered.
“Isnae it? Ye’ve just told me that ye are from the future. Isnaethatimpossible?”
“But...but...” Charlie struggled to process this new piece of information. It had never entered her head that the strange old woman she’d met in an Edinburgh bookshop might have something to do with her trip to the past. How could it? She was just an eccentric old lady. Wasn’t she?
Niall began pacing, his movements restless. “She was a stranger to me, that night at the ball. She approached me and said things I couldnae understand then. I thought her just another eccentric Edinburgh noblewoman.”
His features contorted with frustration, and Charlie could see him wrestling with his thoughts. “She spoke of the balance,” he finally admitted, turning back to face Charlie. “She said someone would come. Someone who would...” He trailed off and began pacing again.
Charlie swallowed hard. She felt nauseous, panic creeping into the edges of her vision. Irene had known about her journey before it even happened. Was it possible that this eccentric old woman had something to do with her time traveling? The thought was both absurd and terrifying.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked.
“Tell ye?” Niall asked incredulously. “Why would I? I didnae have a clue about any of this. Why didnaeyetell me any of this earlier?”
“Are you serious?” she asked, her eyebrows rising. “It’s hardly the thing you drop into conversation is it? ‘Oh by the way, just to let you know, I’m a time traveler from the twenty-first century. Is that okay?’ You would have thought I was delusional or worse! And besides, I barely knew you. I didn’t know how you would react. And I didn’t...trust you. Not then.”
He stopped his pacing and turned to her. There was an oddly vulnerable expression on his face. “And now?” he asked softly. “Do ye trust me now?”
His eyes were bright with reflected sunlight and his hair was sticking out in all directions from how he’d been tugging at it. Yet the sight of him was enough to stir something inside her, something she couldn’t quite explain. He’d kept things from her, that was true. But hadn’t she also kept things from him? The most important things about herself?
