Scarlett waved them off, but couldn’t as easily dismiss the small group of tourists amassed behind the museum employee. Already they were fanning out, phones at the ready. So, the fracas began, and sooner than she’d anticipated.
“Who are these people and why are they in my home?” Laird whispered under his breath, his stance protective.
“Museum, remember?” she murmured gesturing around them. Donell had dropped them into the same spot they’d left from, except now the great room was bare of its tapestries and furniture and lined with empty display cases. “She works here.”
“M-Miss Thomas, what are you doing here?” The woman’s gaze roamed over them all, filled with surprise that rapidly faded to curiosity. The faces not already hidden behind their phones, snapping pictures—or God help them, video—wore the same expression. “I didn’t see you come in. Or leave the other day, for that matter.”
“Other day? How long ago…?” She bit back the question realizing how insane she would sound. Asking ‘what’s the date?’ had gotten her a few incredulous stares from Rhys when she’d first arrived in the past.
Just as they were all getting curious and confused looks at the moment. Oh, Laird and Rhys in their kilts might mingle satisfactorily in this historical setting as if they were costumed players for the tours, but she in her medieval gown and Emmy and Connor in their Victorian garb made little sense.
It made Scarlett self-conscious in a way she hadn’t been for years. She’d forgotten what it was like to have eyes constantly assessing her. Gathering her plaid in the front, she hoped to hide her bulging belly as much as possible.
Then another contraction hit and she didn’t care so much what anyone else thought anymore. Only years of playing a role both in movies and in front of strangers allowed Scarlett to hide the flash of pain. Though her skills were rusty. Laird winced as she squeezed his hand.
“Are ye well?”
“We should hurry this along,” she whispered back.
He nodded and strode toward the main doors, thinking he’d need no directions in what was once his own home. Nor did he feel any of the same compulsion she did to make excuses to the attendant.
“Wait, Miss Thomas!”
Scarlett searched her memory for the name of the friendly clerk who’d worked the castle all those endless days she’d held vigil there, waiting for Donell to make an appearance and send her back to Laird.
Mary? Marion? No, something more unique. “Marius? Right?”
The clerk nodded with pleasure. “Aye, Miss Thomas.”
Scarlett beckoned her closer and the woman unclipped one of the velvet ropes cordoning off the area and stepped in, securing the clip once more.
“You’ve been so helpful these past few weeks.” She tried to keep the inquiry out of the statement, unsure whether the timeframe was accurate. “I wonder if you can help me one more time?”
“Of course.”
Scarlett’s mind raced, searching for a reasonable explanation to encompass them all. “My friends and I were just working on a play nearby—dress rehearsal, you know—and they wanted to stop by to see where my movies had been filmed. Since we were so close. A bit of sightseeing, so to speak. I didn’t wish to create a scene what with this being a busy…”
She left the statement dangling and thankfully Marius filled in the answer. “Sunday.”
“Right. So, I had someone let us in the side door.” A twinge of remorse hit her for whoever was about to lose their job over the fib. “I’m so sorry for the disruption. Would it be possible to just sneak out again without making a fuss?”
The woman hesitated, torn between duty and the desire to please Scarlett. “I guess you could stay a little longer and look around some more, if you like.”
“No, no. They’re all good. Aren’t you?”
Everyone nodded obediently.
“I could take you out the side then, if it would help?”
“I wouldn’t want to take you away from your tour group. Did you get a promotion?”
Marius’s face glowed as she nodded.
“How lovely for you. You deserve it.”
“I guess I can at least swipe open the door for you.”
Scarlett breathed a sigh of relief. “That would be wonderful. Thank you, Marius. You’re a life saver.”
