Kerry didn’t spot the cottage until they were almost on top of it. Hidden in a dip at the foot of a mountain, even the color of the walls matched the surrounding countryside, the roof made of turf with smoke rising lazily through it and drifting away into the air.
“Who lives here?” Kerry asked as they approached the cottage.
“I do,” a voice said, pulling open the door to reveal an elderly woman wrapped in a tartan blanket with a headscarf hiding most of her features. “Come in, Callum,” she said, beckoning them both over. “I see you’ve brought a wee friend with you.”
“This is Kerry Sutherland,” Callum said as they ducked under the doorway. “Kerry, this is Fenella. Kerry has a couple of questions for you.”
“It’s about the doorway, isn’t it, lass?”
Kerry blinked, her eyes adjusting to the gloom as she tried to make out the interior of the cottage. “How did you know that?”
“You are not the first to come to me. Many will come. Or have come from your perspective. Time is a strange thing, dinnae you think? North corner on the left. It’s like Podgorny, you think you have a handle on it and then it disappears out of the window and goes hunting mice for days. You’ll have no trouble, the MacIntyres are all at their castle. Apologies, I’m rambling. You wanted to ask me something, is that right? Yes I do, it’s to the north of here.”
“Sorry?”
“My fault. I get ahead of myself sometimes. Ask away.”
“This is going to sound strange but do you know of a door that can send people through time?”
“Yes I do, it’s to the north of here.”
“So we go north,” Callum said.
“Go to the old hall of the MacIntyres. The door to Andrew’s bedroom is the door you seek. Now Callum, go tend to my veggies. I need to speak to the lass.”
Callum got up and left without another word, pulling the door closed as he went. Kerry looked across at Fenella who motioned toward a couple of battered wooden chairs. “Take a seat.”
Kerry did as she was bid, feeling herself under intense scrutiny as Fenella pushed back her hood and examined her closely. “Something bad is coming for you.”
Kerry sat up straight, an image of Edward flashing before her eyes. “What? What is coming?”
“That I cannot see. I only know that if you go back to your own time it will not find you.”
“I am going back.” She sighed with relief. “So it’ll be fine.”
“I have not finished. I know you are from another time and you are not the first lass from centuries hence who has stolen a laird’s heart. Know this, Kerry. You will soon have to make a choice and the choice you make will impact more people than you know.”
“What choice? What are you talking about?”
“You must decide whether to stay here or return to your own time. Remain here and darkness surrounds you but also a bright light. Great things will happen to the clan as long as you make the right choice.”
“And what is the right choice?”
“I do not know. Only you know that.”
“But what choice do I have? I don’t belong here.”
“Dinnae be so sure. He’s the man you love, is he not? Now you should be making a move. The planets are aligning.”
She stood up and opened the door in time for Callum to walk through it. “We should be making a move. The planets are aligning,” Callum said. “No doubt you want to get going, Fenella.”
Kerry looked from him to Fenella. It was as if the old woman could see into the future. She had so many questions but no time to ask them. Fenella was already walking away up the mountain, leaving the two of them alone. “What did she tell you?” Callum asked as they made their way back to the roadside where their horse was waiting.
“That I have to make a choice.”
“Dinnae tell me. She makes us all make choices. I dinnae know why I bother going to her. Still, at least we know the doorway is real and even better, we know where it is.”
He helped her onto the horse before climbing on behind her. Slowly they continued their journey north.
