She gasped as the cold hit her but within seconds her body grew used to it. The chattering of her teeth slowed and then stopped.
“What do you think?” Andrew asked, swimming across to her.
“It’s wonderful,” she replied, doggy paddling slowly toward him. “Just what I needed.”
“You’ve been working too hard,” he said. “You need to relax now and then.”
“Says you. I don’t think I’ve seen you relax once.”
“I’m doing it now, am I not?”
“I suppose so.”
She caught sight of something out the corner of her eye but when she looked behind her, there was only a sheep nuzzling at her kirtle. “Leave that alone,” she shouted.
Andrew laughed. “What is that you’re wearing?”
She looked down and blushed as she realized the water was crystal clear, revealing her bra and panties. “My underwear,” she said, turning away. “And I’ll thank you not to look.”
“What is that thing around your chest?”
“A bra. You’ve seen bras before, haven’t you?”
“Only of cloth. Yours looks like nothing I’ve ever known. And you wear the smallest thing between your legs. Is that the fashion for ladies now?”
“It is where I come from. Now are we swimming or are you still gawping at me?”
“I dinnae ken why I cannae do both.”
She splashed water at him, a mock scowl on her face. Inside she could feel herself relaxing, the tension of the day fading away. She knew she should feel more shy but something about being with Andrew made her feel totally at ease.
She knew with absolute certainty that she was safe by his side, that he would do nothing to hurt her despite his enormous bulk and the hungry way he was suddenly looking at her.
“What?” she asked. “What is it?”
He swam over to her, taking hold of her hands and pulling her over to the side of the pool. Leaning back against a low hanging willow branch, he smiled. “I have something I need to tell you.”
She knew what was coming. He was going to tell her she wasn’t good enough for him, that her days as master mason were over. She winced, ready for the worst.
“I want you to stay,” he said, his face deadly serious.
She leaned against the branch next to him, turning to look more closely at him. “What, here in the pool?”
“Och, dinnae talk daft. I mean in my castle with me for good.”
“I…I can’t do that.”
“Jings, woman. Why ever not? Where else would you go?”
“I’ve told you. I need to get back to my own time. I need to find my mom. She needs me. I’m only staying long enough to get the work on the go.”
“I thought you’d given up on that nonsense. You know as well as I do that this is your time as much as its mine. There’s no portal to the future in the old hall. There’s nothing but wood and stone there.”
“Are you calling me a liar?”
“No,” he said, taking her hand in his. “I think you sincerely believe what you’re saying is true but…” His voice tapered off into nothing.
“But what?”
