“Chieftain Teague.” He lifted his eyes to hers. “He knows we lied about the duke and my parents.”
“I know.” She rubbed her forehead, trying to recall her latest tale word for word. “I had hoped ye eavesdropped and overheard the new lie.”
“Ye told me eavesdropping was rude.”
“And since when do ye listen to everything I tell ye?” She scooted up in the bed and leaned back against the headboard. “I told him I was the child of the duke’s father’s mistress. That’s why I lied about being the duke’s sister.”
“Why would that make a difference?”
“Out-of-wedlock children are not well thought of in this era. Especially not the children of extramarital affairs. And most especially not daughters.” She waited for him to sort through all that before continuing. “I also told him the duke’s friends were verra attracted to yer mother and me.”
“And?”
She shrugged. “I was vague after that. Mentioned something about the kill-or-be-killed theory.”
He wrinkled his nose and rubbed his forehead. “So what am I supposed to say happened to my parents?”
“Same story there. Both were killed while we fought off the fictitious men who wanted yer mother and me. Then I took ye and ran.” She gave a decisive nod. “I couldna verra well leave ye there with yer parents murdered.”
He stared at the ceiling and blew out a heavy sigh. “It would be so much easier to tell him the truth.”
“That a thunderstorm carried us back in time three hundred years?”
“Well, of course it sounds bad when ye say it like that.” He hopped off the bed, went to the window seat, and plopped down on it. He propped his chin in his hand. “What are we going to do here, Mi?” He cast a despondent look back at her. “I mean, after we keep Chieftain Teague from getting killed?”
“Live, I guess. What else is there?” She offered him a teasing grin. “At least until ye figure out the quantum physics of this mess and discover how to reverse the effects of that storm.”
“His journal said this is May 1722. Same day as in our time, I think.” He hugged his knees. “It’s like the centuries run parallel.”
“So we were thrown into a different time loop?” She closed her weary eyes and rubbed them. “How do we hop back to ours?”
“I dinna ken that part yet.” His sour expression hardened even more. “And dinna get yer hopes up, either. Even Einstein was still refining his theory when he died. His equations proved we could travel forward. They hadn’t worked out the back-in-time part yet.”
“Then we should concentrate on saving Chieftain Teague for now and worry about the rest later. Agreed?”
“Agreed. But I sure dinna want to give up my trainers. I love those shoes.”
She gave a jaw-creaking yawn. “We will have to come up with a story about them, too.”
He pushed up from the seat and blew out the candle. “Sun’s up enough to see.” He frowned. “Did ye not sleep well?”
“Am I that bad?” She pulled up her knees, folded her arms atop them, and rested her forehead on her arms. The lad never lied. At least, not about that. She could always count on him for an opinion, no matter how abrasive. “Ye could lie to save my feelings, ye ken?”
“I would rather not, and ye know it.”
She lifted her head and glared at him.
A wicked grin tugged at his mouth. “Ye could pack a week’s worth of clothes in those bags under yer eyes.”
She pointed at the door. “Out. I am going to try for a little more sleep.”
“Better try for a lot more from the look of ye.” He sidled toward the door. “Can I go downstairs? I can snoop around more if not too many are up yet.”
“Watch what ye say and to whom ye say it, aye?” She slid down into the bed and burrowed under the covers. “And if ye hear anyone mention Jacobites, eavesdrop like ye have never eavesdropped before. The Jacobite cause was the reason for Teague’s arrest and execution.”
“Aye, Mi.” The door clicked, but then it clicked again and creaked back open.
She lifted her head enough to see what the lad wanted.
