“It’s those damn MacKenzies. Every time I close my eyes, I see them,” he explained, sounding distressed. “I see all of the terrible things I’ve done to them, one after the other and the memories repeat themselves, over and over again. I feel so guilty and I don’t know how to make it stop. Every night for the past week, I’ve been having horrible visions of my past.” He lowered his voice to a whisper as he continued. “The young Lady Ashley, she haunts me more than the others. I struck her, mother. I feel I was possessed by a demon. Perhaps I am a demon.” Richard searched his mother’s shocked face for an answer. She had always been there for him and had been more than patient with Richard in the past, but she also never let him get away with anything without giving her opinion. Lady Catherine had been very unhappy with his behavior regarding the MacKenzies and she’d been quite vocal in her disapproval.
“Guilt can only be relieved by taking actions to correct the error in your ways, Richard.”
“What do you mean? How can I possibly make anything I’ve done in the past right?” Richard pounded his fist on the table in frustration.
“Richard, you were such a good boy when you were young, but you have let your emotions rule you as you’ve gotten older. This vendetta you have against the MacKenzies is foolish. You needto stop it before it is too late, before you do something you will regret forever.”
His mother was a wise woman, but he hadn’t truly listened to her in years. She had always told him to forget about Irene and to go on and live his life. She had told him he would never find anyone to replace Irene in his heart, until he had truly let her go. Richard had turned a deaf ear to her all along. Instead, he’d spent all his time thinking of ways to exact revenge on Robert MacKenzie. He had begun to believe that he was losing his grasp on his sanity, but maybe the exact opposite was happening. Perhaps his mother had been right all along and perhaps these nightmares were the key to him reclaiming his future.
“What is it you have done this time, Richard? What is it that is giving you nightmares so horrible that you cannot sleep?” Lady Catherine seemed to see right through him. She stood and placed her hand on his shoulder. When he didn’t respond to her questions, she said, “I love you so very much, my son. I want nothing more than your happiness, but you will never find happiness until you make your peace with the MacKenzies.”
Richard was embarrassed to tell Lady Catherine what he had planned with the witch, Brielle, but she was the only person whom he could trust. The one person who would always love him. He wished he were a young lad again, so that he could seek solace in his mother’s arms. He was too old for that though, or so he told himself. “Mother, I’ve…” he began to speak and then hesitated. Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to continue. “There’s a witch named Brielle. I’ve sent her to Breaghacraig, disguised as someone they know, to destroy the MacKenzies. She’s there as we speak and I don’t believe I can stop her… not now.”
“I don’t understand,” Lady Catherine said. “Why wouldn’t you be able to stop her?”
Richard took a moment to gather his thoughts. “You see, Brielle has her own reasons for wanting to destroy the MacKenzies. She’s not doing it solely for my objectives. She wants the bridge.”
Lady Caroline frowned. “What bridge are you speaking of?”
“The bridge through time, mother. Have I not told you about it?” Richard suddenly remembered that he had never mentioned it to her. “It’s a bridge that allows certain people to cross from one time period to another.” Catching sight of his mother’s incredulous expression, he explained further. “I did not believe it possible myself, to begin with, but I have travelled across it, mother, to a time far in the future.” His mother was staring at him as if he had lost his mind. “It’s true. I know it sounds absurd, but believe me, it is true.”
Lady Catherine eyed her son sadly. “Richard, you are truly suffering from lack of sleep. That is all. There can be no such thing as a bridge that spans time, but if what you say is true about this witch, you must stop her.”
Richard thought about this for a moment. He’d give anything to stop the nightmares. They played out continually in his mind, not only when he managed to snatch a few minutes of sleep, but also when he was awake. He couldn’t seem to escape them. Perhaps his mother was right. He should ride to Breaghacraig and alert them to Brielle’s presence, and beg their forgiveness at the same time. The thought of begging forgiveness from anyone galled him, but he knew in his heart that his mother was right, in fact, had been right all along. If he was ever to be happy again, he was going to have to humble himself in front of Irene and Robert. More than anything, he wished to apologize to Ashley. She undoubtedly hated him and Cailin would wish him dead. It mattered not if they were to forgive him, he would do it and if he lived through it, he would leave them alone and in peace from that moment forward.
“You are right, mother. I will take your advice and I will stop Brielle. It is the only way.”
His mother seemed satisfied with this agreement and coaxing Richard to stand, she wrapped her arms around him, “I am proud of you, Richard.” She held him close for a few minutes, and then slipped out of the room, leaving him alone with his thoughts.
Suddenly feeling lighter in mood, Richard found his appetite, eating and drinking like a starving man. In truth, he actually was starving. He hadn’t eaten more than a few bites since the nightmares began, but it wasn’t merely food he hungered for. He was hungry to unburden himself from the guilt, which over the years had become his constant companion. He was hungry for the love and approval of his mother; although he knew he had always had her love, he found that he also hankered for her approval. He decided there and then, he was going to be a changed man beginning immediately.
***
The inner courtyard was filled with people getting ready for the orchard visit. Carts were loaded down with baskets for the apples they would pick and filled barrels of honey, which would be brushed onto the trunks of the apple trees to feed the faeries. Three apples would be left on the branches of each tree for the Fae, in hopes that it would please them and ensure a good harvest the following year. It was an ancient custom and Maggie was fascinated by it all. Her love of ritual, myth and magick was being fed right along with the faeries today. She could hardly wait to get started.
“Do ye think we’ll see any real faeries today?” Maggie looked up expectantly at Angus.
“Nae. They dinnae want to be seen. They’ll be hiding and waiting for us to leave before they venture out. We can only hope they’ll be pleased and bless the MacKenzies with another good harvest next year.”
The procession to the orchards began. Robert and Irene struck off first, their children tagging along beside them. Next came Cailin, Ashley, Cormac and Jenna. Ashley and Jenna looked beautiful as always as they laughed and teased with their husbands. Dylan and Brielle were followed by Helene and Dougall, Sophia and Latharn. Watching all these happy couples was hard for Maggie to bear. She’d hoped to find her happily ever after in the arms of Dylan Sinclair and instead she was alone. Knowing that her self-pitying thoughts would not change anything, Maggie pulled herself together and followed Angus as he joined the others. After the last of the clan had fallen into line to begin the walk, the carts, filled to the brim with their cargo, followed behind. It was a lively, fun atmosphere and it couldn’t have been a better day either. The sun was shining brightly and while the air was crisp, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. Luck was on their side—it didn’t appear that it would rain and ruin their fun this day.
***
The group reached the first orchard and everyone joined in a song of praise for the apple trees. When they were done, baskets were retrieved from the carts and set at the base of each trunk. The couples paired off and found trees with plenty of apples they could gather. Cormac hoisted Jenna up onto his shoulders, so that she could reach high up into the branches. She handed the apples down to him and shrieked every time he dipped down to put them in the basket. Dylan chuckled as he watched them, amazed at the transformation Jenna had undergone sincemarrying Cormac. Before their marriage, she had been difficult at best and often prickly, as Cormac liked to say, but she had really settled in here and was obviously very much in love with her husband. She was much more relaxed and the prickly Jenna was nowhere to be found. He smiled thinking about it. She had fought against her feelings for Cormac, tooth and nail, and when she’d finally given up the fight, she was the happiest he’d ever seen her. Her playful side came out whenever she was around Cormac. Dylan was happy for her and for his friend Ashley. She had also found love here at Breaghacraig. Her husband, Cailin, doted on her and the expectant parents were excited about their future family. Even Sophia, who had unintentionally found herself here in medieval Scotland, had found her place among the MacKenzies. She worked in the kitchen every day and seemed to love learning about the way things were done here. She had a special relationship with Mary, the cook, who had taken Sophia under her wing and treated her as if she were her own daughter. Latharn was clearly smitten with Sophia and the feeling was obviously mutual. They spent as much time together as possible and Dylan was happy that despite the way she had arrived, Sophia was content. She wasn’t even angry with Dylan anymore and the two had developed a nice friendship, which would never have been possible back in San Francisco. Now if he could only get his own love life straightened out. With a sigh, he glanced around the orchard. Maggie had disappeared on him again. He didn’t know where she had gone off to this time, but it seemed as if he was always trying to find her. There were so many people wandering through the orchard that it made it difficult to see her through the crowds, but at last he found her, seated beneath one of the trees, staring up into the branches.
“Hey, there you are. I’ve been looking for you,” Dylan said as he approached her. He sat down next to Maggie, searchingher alluring face, hoping to see the old Maggie again and disappointed when he didn’t.
“Have ye?” Maggie asked, continuing her perusal of the tree branches.
“Do you want to pick some apples? Looks like we’ve got this tree all to ourselves.” Dylan waved his hand in front of her face to get her attention.
Maggie blinked and her eyes finally focused on him. “I’m sorry, what did ye say?”
“Let’s pick some apples!” He stood and put his hand out for her, helping her up.
She gathered apples from the bottom branches and placed them in the basket. “This is fun,” she said, sarcastically rolling her eyes.
Dylan sighed heavily and decided to broach the subject he’d been avoiding for days now. “Maggie, is something wrong? You seem so different from when we first met.” She didn’t respond, and Dylan tried again. “Have you changed your mind about me… lost interest?” he asked.
