Rose levered herself up from the stool. “I’ll be back to check on you later,” she said to Drew. “Try to get some sleep.”
Drew’s hand snaked out from beneath the sheet and found hers. His grip was weak but insistent. “It was ye, wasnae it?” he whispered. “I heard yer voice. Ye were calling me from the darkness! Ye brought me back!”
Rose smiled. “I’m just glad I could help. Rest now. I’ll see you later.”
She patted him on the shoulder and turned to leave. She stumbled, her legs weaker than she expected, but Cailean caught her arm and steadied her.
“Easy, lass. We dinna want to have to put ye in the bed next to Drew’s, do we?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” she said with a smile. “It might be nice lying in bed and having someone look after me.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Trust me, ye donotwant Maggie and Beatrice looking after ye.”
“We heard that!” Maggie snapped.
Cailean winced. “Come, let’s make our escape while we can.”
He led Rose out into the cool afternoon. The wind had changed direction again, this time blowing from the sea, and the salt-laden breeze was invigorating. Rose took a deep breath through her nostrils and allowed it to settle all the way down into her lungs.
Her exhaustion dissipated just a little and she turned to face seaward, squinting against the wind, and gazed out over the vast expanse of ocean to the horizon. What lay beyond that horizon? she wondered. What new experiences and adventures awaited someone with the courage to look? She had never had that sort of courage. Her life had revolved around her small community, her husband, her sister and niece, her patients. That was it. She’d never wanted more.
But now look at her. She was many miles and many years from home, surrounded by people she didn’t know. She tried not to think about it. If she did, she might pass out again.
“I’ll need to see Drew again first thing in the morning,” she told Cailean. “And I’d like to sit down with Maggie and Beatrice and make some notes on what they’ve found so far.”
“Aye. Tomorrow.” He glanced at where the sun was dipping towards the horizon. “The evening meal will be served soon. I can have it brought up to yer room if ye would like some privacy. Or ye can join us in the great hall and meet my people if ye’d prefer. But I warn ye, ye will likely be stared at like some wonder at a fair. Anyone would think they’ve never met a woman from the future before.”
Rose snorted. “The coward in me would like nothing more than tohide in my room all night. But if I did that, my sister would never let me live it down. I think I’d quite like to meet the rest of your people.”
“Ye would? Well, dinna say I didnae warn ye.” His expression was mock-serious, his eyes flashing with humor. She found she quite liked this more playful side to him.
“I’ll take my chances.”
“This way then.”
Together, they set off back to the keep.
Chapter Five
Cailean’s instinct hadproven to be correct when he’d thought the great hall would be busy tonight. In fact,busywas not the word.Packed to the rafterswould be a more apt description.
Word of the arrival of a MacFinnan spellweaver had spread across the island like wildfire and everyone it seemed, from toothless old grannies to rough-mannered sheep farmers, suddenly had business in Dun Mallach.
Every bench was full, every table laden with food, and the great hall echoed with the clamor of excited chatter, good-natured banter, and the occasional argument. He had not seen the great hall so busy in years, nor his people so full of excitement.
He glanced to his left where the source of that excitement was sitting. Rose MacFinnan was listening patiently as Catriona kept up an endless stream of chatter about things that a nine-year-old found extremely important. The dressmaker’s cat was about to have kittens. A lad down in the village had given her a bouquet of daisies. The hilarity when Malcolm Tanner had fallen in the river and had to be rescued by his da.
Rose listened to it with infinite patience, exclaiming in all the right places and sharing Catriona’s outrage that Malcolm Tanner had accusedherof pushing him in the river. Cailean suspected there might be a bit of truth in that.
Catriona had taken to Rose immediately, seeming not the least intimidated by the fact that she was a terrifying MacFinnan spellweaver out of legend.
The same could not be said of his people. Just as he’d warned her, they’d gawped when he’d introduced her and even now covert glances kept being aimed in her direction. If she was bothered by it all, she didn’t let it show.
A small black nose suddenly appeared from beneath the table and Patch darted out, snaffled a bit of chicken that Catriona held out for him, then darted back under the table.
“Catriona,” Cailean said, turning a stern gaze on his daughter. “What have I told ye about feeding that dog at the table?”
She had the decency to look abashed. “I tried to leave him in my room, Da, but he kept crying and scratching at the door.”
