“Edna’s niece! Well ’tis pleased I am to meet ye,” Cormac said. If Cormac thought it odd that Maggie had arrived from twenty first century Glendaloch, he certainly didn’t reveal it.
“My pleasure,” Maggie said.
“This is Jenna’s husband, Cormac,” Dylan explained.
Maggie simply nodded her head and smiled, looking bored and uninterested.
“Did you need me for something, Cormac?” Dylan asked.
“’Tis not important, I can see that yer busy. I’ll find Cailin,” Cormac said. “I’ll see ye later, then.” Cormac walked away and left Dylan and Maggie in the middle of the courtyard.
“Shall we go in?” Dylan headed for the large wooden castle doors and Maggie followed along behind. Chester ran off after Cormac.
“Chester loves him. He never misses an opportunity to spend time with Cormac. I’m a little jealous,” Dylan joked. Maggie didn’t reply and Dylan frowned. He didn’t remember her being this quiet. On the contrary, she had been quite talkative back at the inn.
As they walked towards the castle doors, Dylan smiled and nodded at a number of women who eyed him as they passed. He had been a big hit with the women of Breaghacraig, who not only found him attractive, but also considered him interesting because he was so different from the men they usually met. Dylan took it all in stride and while he was happy to flirt with them, in the back of his mind he always knew Maggie was the only woman he wanted.
Entering the silent castle, no one seemed to be in the great hall and Dylan wasn’t sure where everyone might be. Under normal circumstances, he would have been happy to be alone with Maggie, but he was uncomfortable and uncertain with her.
“I’m sure someone will be along shortly. Let’s sit here for a while and catch up with each other,” Dylan said, as he led Maggie towards the chairs near the fireplace.
Maggie sat and glanced around the room. “So, this is the home of the MacKenzies,” she observed.
“Yes. It is. Robert is the Laird of the clan and his wife, Irene is sister to Cormac, who you just met. They have another brother, Cailin. I’m sure Edna told you all about them.”
“Hmmm … ”
Dylan wasn’t sure what that response was all about, but Maggie seemed more intent on memorizing the layout of the hall and uninterested in him or what he was saying. He was disappointed by her reaction and disappointed that the spark hehad experienced in Glendaloch seemed to be missing. In fact, it bothered him a great deal. There was definitely something different about Maggie now, but what was it?
The doors opened and Jenna and Irene made their way into the hall. Jenna hesitated just a moment, doing a double take as she looked at Maggie. “Maggie, is that really you?”
“That seems to be the question of the day,” Maggie replied.
“I can’t believe it. Where did you come from?” Jenna asked.
“And that is the other question of the day,” Maggie teased. “I’m here to see Dylan.”
“I’ll bet he’s happy to see you,” Jenna said. She reached Maggie and pulled her into a hug, raising an eyebrow in Dylan’s direction. Maggie appeared stiff and ill at ease with the show of affection, and didn’t respond to Jenna’s embrace.
After spending some awkward moments with Maggie, Dylan was relieved to see his cousin, but he was almost certain that Maggie didn’t recognize Jenna. Something about her demeanor was definitely off. By the look in Jenna’s eyes, she seemed to be aware of it, too.
“You do remember me, don’t you,” Jenna asked.
“Of course I do. I’m just nae verra good with names,” Maggie replied. Dylan got the distinct impression she was lying, but maybe he was jumping to conclusions. Since he hadn’t known her very long, it was completely possible that she really wasn’t good with names.
“Jenna. I’m Jenna,” she said, sounding confused. “Oh, and this is Irene.”
“I’m pleased to meet ye, Maggie. Welcome to Breaghacraig,” Irene said, and by the slight frown on her brow, she was picking up on Jenna’s confusion.
“Thank you and it’s nice to meet ye as well,” Maggie replied.
The atmosphere in the Great Hall was a little icy as the women eyed each other warily. After a moment, Maggie’s dismissiveattitude became apparent and she very clearly began to ignore Jenna and Irene. She behaved as if nothing unusual was happening, and appeared completely unfazed by her interaction with them. In fact, she didn’t seem affected by much at all, to this point. It was as if she was physically in the room with them, but mentally somewhere else. Dylan noted her facial expression hadn’t changed at all. Not out in the courtyard and not here in the great hall. This definitely wasn’t the Maggie Dylan had remembered. That Maggie had been warm and engaging back in Glendaloch, but here she was standoffish and cool, based on her reaction to Jenna’s hug. The Maggie he had known had been full of questions—a naturally curious person. Dylan liked that about her, because he had a similar personality. He was a geeky surfer to his friends back home, but not everyone thought of him that way. He had that laid-back California attitude, sun-streaked golden locks and a ready smile. Those were all things the ladies loved and up until this point, he had loved every lady he’d had a chance to be with. He’d never really cared too much about whether he was compatible with them or not. When he met Maggie, everything had changed and Dylan knew he’d found the girl he didn’t know he’d been searching for.
“How long will ye be staying with us, Maggie?” Irene asked.
“Oh, I’m nae sure. I thought I’d just see how things go, if that’s alright?”
Another odd response,Dylan thought. They were gradually adding up, but unfortunately, he didn’t know what the answer to the equation might be.
