“I don’t know what to do and I’m not sure why she’s so different. It’s as if she’s someone else.” Dylan stood to his full height and waited for Cormac to do the same. “What would you do?”
“Me? Well, ye ken yer cousin was a might bit prickly when I first met her, but I remained patient, showing Jenna that I was the right man for her. It took a while, but she came around and now look at us.”
“Yeah. You’re both nauseatingly in love,” Dylan joked. “Maybe you’re right. I’ll try to be patient with her and we’ll see if she comes around. I just don’t know why she bothered to come here, if not to see me.”
“Mayhap ye should talk to her about it. It might help, especially if things are as bad as they seem to be.”
“I think I will. You’re right, it can’t hurt.” Dylan made up his mind he would confront Maggie about her behavior. Maybe she’d open up to him and explain why she was acting so badly.
***
Dylan found Maggie up on the battlements, staring off into the distance. “Maggie, I want to talk to you about something.”
“Talk to me? About what?” Brielle questioned sharply, looking suspicious.
“About us. I’m not sure why you’re here. I thought it was to see me, but you don’t really seem that interested in spending any time with me. I’m always having to search for you and you’ve been rude and unfriendly to everyone here at Breaghacraig and well, I’m not sure I want you to stay any longer.” There he’d said it. He didn’t want to hurt her feelings, but she needed to know what he was thinking. Tears welled up in her eyes and Dylan immediately felt terrible. “I’m sorry, Maggie. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings, but I don’t know what’s happened to you. Youseem so distant and different from the girl I left in Glendaloch. I’m feeling really confused about us.”
“I’m so sorry, Dylan,” Brielle said. “I didnae mean to behave so badly. It’s just been a difficult time for me.”
“What’s wrong? You can tell me.” Dylan wrapped her in a hug. She was apparently having some sort of problems and he’d made her feel bad. Now he felt like a complete ass.
“I don’t want to talk about it just yet.” Brielle snuggled a little closer to him and tentatively put an arm around his waist. “Can ye forgive me? I’ll behave better. I promise.”
“Everyone deserves a second chance. Of course you’re forgiven.”
“Will ye tell me when I’m being rude or unfriendly, so I’ll know?” she sniffled. “Everyone must hate me.”
“No one hates you. They don’t know you, that’s all. Whatever you’ve been going through, I hope you know that I’m here for you.” Dylan knew the others didn’t hate her, but he was reasonably positive that they didn’t like her. Hopefully, with his help, she would show them the real Maggie and they could be convinced to change their minds.
Chapter 4
Maggie and Angus approached Breaghacraig around midday. They bid goodbye to Ewan soon after sun up and they’d all agreed once again that Ewan and the family would come to Breaghacraig once the danger had passed. Maggie was happy Angus would finally get to meet his grandsons and reunite with his long absent daughter. She only wished Edna could visit with them, as well.
“Uncle, will they know who we are?” Maggie asked as they reached the gates. Her fingers instinctively went in search of her hair, for a bout of anxious twirling, but much to her frustration ’twas out of reach, neatly tucked beneath her cap.
“Ye’ll need to call me sir, Maggie, and I’ll need to call ye Alec, if we’re to make this work.”
“Yes, sir,” Maggie snapped a salute in his direction and they both laughed.
“To answer yer question, even though this is my time, Robert & Irene willnae ken who I am as I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting them, even though I did know their fathers. I’ve not metCormac either. Jenna, Ashley and Cailin, however, have all met me at The Thistle and Hive, so they will no doubt recognize me.”
They drew their horses up at the gates and Maggie admired the completely intact castle. There were hundreds of castles dotted around Scotland, but not many looked as fresh and new as this one did. She realized, of course, that ‘new’ was a relative term, because even in 1514, this castle was more than likely already a few hundred years old. Still, it was a thrill to see it in daily use and occupied by the MacKenzie clan—instead of operating as a museum, open to the public and manned by employees who sold tickets and souvenirs.
“State yer business,” the guard called down from the barbican.
“Me name is Angus Campbell—an old friend of the laird’s father and this be me companion, Alec,” Angus called back.
The guard continued staring at them for a moment longer, before giving the signal to open the gates. Angus and Alec passed through and into the very busy courtyard, where they were met by boys from the stable who waited for them to dismount and then took their horses.
Maggie was fascinated by it all. She’d heard so much about this castle and she’d been excited about being able to see it firsthand. It was pleasing to discover it was everything she had expected and more, and she was not disappointed in the slightest. Everything about it seemed larger than life and it met all her expectations. Maggie couldn’t believe she was actually in medieval Scotland, and that in her time, these people were all long dead. Or were they? She’d have to ask Edna about this question, wondering whether it could be possible that they were all living at the same time, just on different planes of existence? She was going to give herself a headache if she kept thinking along those lines, but for some reason, it was easier to believe that, than to believe she’d actually travelled back in time five hundred years.
“Try not to seem as if this is all brand new to ye lad,” Angus cautioned quietly, as they headed towards the heavy wooden doors to the castle. “Not everyone here knows about the bridge.”
“Right.” The word ‘lad’ got Maggie’s attention and she knew that from this point forward she had a job to do and that meant she could not let her guard down—ever.
Angus was just about to reach for the doors, when they practically flew open, knocking them back a pace. His facial expression changed from serious to delight in a split second. “Jenna! Ashley!” he crowed.
“Angus?” Both women spoke at once and then ran into his waiting arms. He kissed the tops of their heads, first one and then the other, and held on to them tightly. “What are you doing here?” Ashley asked. “Did you bring Edna?” She peeked around him, searching for Edna and her gaze landed briefly on Maggie.
