An arm flopped down off the cart. That had been a person a few minutes ago. Now it was just another load to be taken off and dumped somewhere.
She sank into a chair, putting her head in her hands.
It was too much to take in. She’d seen people get killed, actually watched as arrows pierced them.
Don’t think about that, she told herself. Think about something else.
All right, how about the fact she had just time traveled?
It was possible. She was in the distant past. How often had she dreamed of a chance like this when she was younger? A shot at seeing how accurate the history books were? Ask Gavin MacGregor why he stabbed her ancestor.
She should be excited to get some answers at last. Instead, all she felt was fear. It was a pit of dread that sat like a hot heavy ball deep in her stomach.
She wanted fresh air, she wanted to try and clear her head. And they wouldn’t even let her have that. All because the laird had decreed she be kept safe up at the top of the keep.
The laird. Without realizing, the heavy weight inside her had lifted. She closed her eyes and there was his face.
Her hands started shivering, her heart pounding in her chest. She really needed air. She crossed to the window, taking gulps of highland breeze as it blew in from across the mountains.
Why was she reacting this way? Sure, he was handsome but he was also a brute. He’d grabbed hold of her like she was nothing but a piece of meat, dragged her into the broch and shoved her into the arms of one of his men.
Then there was the horse ride to the castle. She should have hated it but the way he’d held her closely to him made her feel so safe she trembled.
Stop it, she told herself. He was Gavin, laird of the MacGregors. He was the man who was going to ruin her family. She was only here to get the knife and get home.
She knew that of course, but it didn’t change the way her body reacted to him.
What was it that lab tech had said? He said when she went back there’d be a maximum of a month until the peace negotiations began. How long did she actually have?
However long it was, one thing was certain. He hadn’t stabbed Mungo Frazer yet. The act she despised him for, he hadn’t yet carried out.
If she could get hold of his knife and take it back to the present he wouldn’t do it at all. He wouldn’t be a murderer.
What did that mean?
Steal the knife. Use the silver key. Unlock any door. Go home. Done.
The key!
What had happened to the key?
She checked her pockets. Nothing. With a horrible sinking feeling she realized she’d probably lost it at the broch. That was not good.
She would have to find it. How else could she get back to her own time? She shuddered at the thought of being trapped here forever. The thought of never being able to return home was far more terrifying than anything she’d experienced so far.
“Relax,” she said out loud, taking several deep breaths. “First chance you get, you go find the key. It’ll be all be fine.” She groaned. If only she could believe that.
The door opened, interrupting her thoughts. She was expecting to see a guard but instead it was a young boy carrying a tray of food in one hand, a bag slung over his other shoulder.
“This is for you,” he said, placing the tray on the table by the fireplace. “With compliments of the laird.”
“What’s your name?”
“Keith, my lady.”
“Thank you, Keith.”
He passed her the bag. “Clean clothes for you to wear, Susanne said she’ll wash your muddy things for you if you leave them outside the room.”
