Her job. She was supposed to be stealing Gavin’s knife and then returning home. That was all. It was a simple enough task yet she’d managed to screw it up pretty well so far.
She held the key in her hand, turning it over slowly. She could put the key in the door and go home at that very moment. Forget about the knife and just leave. Sure, she might lose her chance at promotion, but was that more or less important than the fact that the castle might be overrun and she could be killed anyway?
She’d seen men die. The image of it would stay with her forever. Did she really want to hang around to see more deaths?
She walked over to the door, looking at the lock. One twist of the key and she’d be home. With quite the story to tell too, not that anyone was likely to believe her. Maybe she could take something from this time with her, something that would prove she’d been here.
Yeah, she thought, like the knife you were meant to get.
The key was in the door. How had that happened? One twist of her wrist and she’d be back. All this would be behind her. Gavin would be back in the distant past where he and all his people belonged. She didn’t belong here, she belonged in her own time.
She took one last look behind her. It was time to go home, forget about all of this. Put the laird and his castle and his soft gentle kiss far behind her where it all belonged.
She sighed. That thought made her hand hesitate. There were things about this time she was enjoying, weren’t there?
It would be a shame to never see this room again. It fitted perfectly her dream of the life of a medieval princess. No one else could say they’d seen a room like this. Tapestries on the wall, a desk and quill pen over by the fireplace, lit by a single candle in a silver candlestick. The rugs, such primary colors amongst the sheepskin. The bed, so much more comfortable than it looked.
Beside the bed were her clothes. How had she forgotten them? If she was going to go home, it might be best to change back into her jeans first. What would the people of 21st century Scotland make of a dress like this?
She pulled the key back out of the door, keeping tight hold of it as she crossed to the pile of clothes. She stopped dead as she saw what had been left on top. That reminded her of something Susanne had said. She’d been too distracted at the time to notice but she remembered all of a sudden. Found some of your things. Put them on top.
On top of the neatly folded jeans was the item that explained Susanne’s tone of voice. It was her cellphone.
What had Susanne thought of it? Mercifully it was turned off. Had she just thought it was a strange black box or were rumors of witchcraft already circulating?
She pressed the power button. The cellphone lit up, coming to life. No signal, of course. No way of making phone calls. She was about to put it down when something occurred to her. The Kindle app.
She loaded it and there in her library was the most useful book she could imagine having at that particular moment.
She turned the cellphone off again as the door unlocked behind her.
She was still cramming it into the bundle of clothing when Susanne walked in carrying a loaf of bread and an apple. “For you,” she said. “I will have wine sent up once the stores are unlocked.”
“You don’t have the key? You seem to have all the others.”
Susanne frowned at her before smiling, something flashing in her eyes for a brief moment before it was gone. “During a siege there is a risk people might try to grab all the food. It must be rationed and only Gavin keeps the key during such times. He gave me these items for you. Do you need anything else?”
“A hot bath and the wine you mentioned would be a good start.”
“The kitchen fires are dead but I may be able to procure hot water in the morning. I will fetch the wine presently.”
“Do you know anything about the siege? You don’t seem too worried about it.”
“Don’t I? I suppose we’ve been besieged so many times over the years, you just get used to it. Everyone comes together, all arguments stop. It’s very peaceful in its own way.”
“Have you ever had anyone break through your defenses?”
“MacGregor Castle is the strongest fortress by far in these lands and it has had extra defenses built in the last few years. I’ve no doubt that rabble out there will give up soon enough. Dinnae worry, lass. You are perfectly safe here.”
Heather knew that. She was safe because she could go home any moment she chose.
Susanne left and once again she was alone, She found it hard to be as calm as Susanne. Despite knowing she was safe, she could not help feeling nervous about the siege. She had no idea how it would go.
There was an easy way to find out.
She listened at the door to make sure there was no one out there. Once she was certain she was truly alone, she dug out her cellphone and switched it on. The battery would not last forever but it should last long enough for her purposes.
A History of Scotland and the Clans.
