“You’d never believe me.”
“Try me.”
“No. Listen, where’s MacGregor Castle?”
“About thirty miles that way,” he said, pointing past her.
“Then that’s where I’m going. I have to get my key back.”
“Haud on a wee moment. You think you can just walk in there? Get in without the steward’s men approving it at the door? If you could just saunter inside I’d have moved home years ago.”
“They’ll let me in. They have to.”
“The only woman they’d let in without question would be the princess come back from the dead.”
“What?”
“Never mind.” A thought. That was where he knew her face from. An idea began to form.
“Then what the heck am I supposed to do?”
She looked just like the Laird’s wife. Rachel. It had been a long time since he’d seen the Laird and Lady and that was what had thrown him. If she looked so much like the Lady then could she possibly be…?
“Is your name Morag by any chance?”
“Not you as well. No, my name’s not Morag.”
“What did you mean by that? Not you as well?”
“You’re the second person to think I’m this Morag. Who is she?”
“The Laird and Lady’s missing daughter. You’re a spitting image for the Lady, you could be her child.”
“But she went missing when she was a little girl. I’ve just been reading about that.” All of a sudden her face turned ghostly white. “Hang on. Are you telling me you think I’m Morag? The girl who went missing in the thirteenth century?”
“It is the thirteenth century.”
“Oh God, I had a horrible feeling you would say something like that. What year do you think it is?”
“Twelve - oh - eight, praise the Lord.”
“Twelve - oh - eight. Oh is right. Oh indeed. Oh heck, what is going on? I must be dreaming, that’s it. This has to be a dream.”
“You almost died a minute ago. That wasnae any dream.”
She managed a wan smile. “You would say that if this is a dream. Well, if this is a dream, I should probably just go with it until I wake up. How do you propose I get into MacGregor Castle?”
Eddard didn’t answer at first. He was listening to something. Suddenly he grabbed her and yanked her backward. A second later the rock she was sitting on was covered in fresh rubble from the top of the pile. “How did you know?” she asked, looking down at his hand holding hers. “That it was about to fall, I mean.”
“I heard it shifting. Did you nae hear it?” He let go of her.
She shook her head. “Thank you, for saving me. Twice, I mean. I guess I could be a bit more grateful.”
He shrugged. “I cannae get over how much you look like Morag.” He grinned, the idea fully formed. “You need to get the key that’s in the castle, right?”
“Yes.”
“You get the key and use it to open your magic door and go home?”
