“Ah didnae kill her.”
“This must be a dream. It has to be.”
“You’re no dreaming, lass.”
“I am. How else can I be talking to Tavish Sinclair next to a vanished guesthouse? Wait, what year did you say it was? 1290?”
“1300.”
She spoke more to herself than him. “I’ve gone back in time.”
“What?”
“If I’m not dreaming and you really are Tavish Sinclair, then I’ve gone back in time.”
“What are ye blethering about?”
She grabbed hold of his arms. “I’ve gone back in time. Don’t you get it? It must have been the mist. Or when I fell out of the boat. That’s why the guesthouse isn’t here. It hasn’t been built yet. Oh, my goodness. You really are Tavish Sinclair. This is insane.”
She moved away, running her hand through her hair. “I’ve gone back in time.” A thought struck her. She fell to the ground, landing heavily on the grass.
“How do I get back?” she said, laying on her back and staring up at the sky. “I’m stuck here forever.”
A shadow fell across the sky. Tavish was standing blocking out the light, looking down at her. He was nothing more than a silhouette with the sun behind him. “This isnae your time, is it?”
“You got that right.” She closed her eyes. “I’m stuck in 1300 with Tavish Sinclair. You know, it’s funny. My mom would kill to be in my place right now.”
“Why’s that?”
“She loves you.”
His brow furrowed. “How does she ken me?”
“Never mind. It’s not worth explaining.”
“When are ye from?”
“I’m not born until about seven hundred years from now. Which is a bit weird when you think about it like that.”
“Ah might be able to help you get back.”
She shot upright. “What? You can get me back to my own time?”
“Not me. The island.”
“How?”
“We’ll swim across.”
“I can’t swim.”
“Ah.”
“Any idea where I could get a boat?”
He held her gaze for a moment before answering. Should he tell her about his secret? His one memorial to his mother, the boat he’d carved and hidden away and vowed never to use, ready for her journey across the river to the everlasting sea. He had no reason to share it with her.
“Aye,” he said at last.
