“No.”
“What happened to them?”
“Ihappened to them,” Octavia said. Again, she inclined her head toward James. “He took care of the Xenocanns who were trying to follow you.” She sighed. “One feeder made it through, though.”
The doctor visibly gulped. She ignored that—for now. They didn’t have all the time in the world. The three dead soldiers on the other side of the door would be noticed sooner rather than later, she supposed.
“Where are we?” Octavia flatly asked. “Or should I say when are we?”
The doctor slowly nodded. “We’re exactly where we were.” He nervously cleared his throat. “But the year is 1301 A.D.”
Octavia sighed as she briefly closed her eyes. She was afraid he was going to say something like that.
“We better get going,” James muttered. “We can process this shit later, somewhere safe.”
“Do you know where we can hide?” Octavia asked. “Assuming we let you out?”
The doctor shook his head. “I ended up in this prison almost immediately after I was shoved through the portal.” He pointed to the big man again. “But I’ve a feeling he knows where safety is.”
Octavia rolled her eyes. “He’s in a dungeon. I highly doubt—”
“—Because of me,” the doctor quickly reminded her. “I know he was planning to escape and I’m certain he would have. Look at him for the love of God!”
She permitted herself one brief glance. Again, that unnerving stare followed her every word.
“Ask him if he’ll hide us,” Octavia instructed the doctor before she changed her mind. “We need some place safe to talk. I’ve got a lot more questions. Starting with, how the fuck do you even know what your cellmate is saying?”
Angus kenned the wench was avoiding his stare a’purpose. He didn’t like it, but there wasn’t much he could do about it as things stood. Now when he was free…
“She wants to know,” Doctor translated, “if you can take us somewhere safe?”
One of the laird’s eyebrows rose. “Safe from the English?”
“Yes.”
It pleased him that she was looking to him for safety even if she was doing her damnedest to avoid looking at his person. “Aye. I can do that this verra moment. I but need my sword and my horse.”
“Do you know where they are? I mean to say, I saw where they put them, but I don’t know my way around here.”
Angus slowly inclined his head. “Aye. I ken exactly where the bluidy English put them both.”
“Okay,” Doctor said. He seemed pleased by the laird’s answer. “Then let’s get out of here.”
Angus looked to Colban and back to the bewitching beauty. “Aye. Let us be gone.”
Octavia made short work of picking the lock on the cell. She removed the rusty padlock, threw it aside, and moved out of the way. Remembering the stolen cloak she’d pilfered from the dead soldier and thrown to Lieutenant Bellamy, she instructed James to give it back to the doctor.
“It’ll help you blend in more,” she said as the cell doors swung open and James handed the robe to the doctor. “I get the impression they think we’re highborn because of them.”
“You’re likely correct,” the doctor confirmed. He sighed. “That didn’t save me from the dungeon, though. But then again they likely saw me as the enemy because I was accompanied by Highlanders.”
Octavia’s gaze clashed yet again with the giant’s. Said Highlander was still watching her, assessing her. The knowledge caused her heartbeat to speed up. Maybe it was because he was so huge; maybe it was simply because he was virility personified. Whatever the reason, she didn’t have the time or inclination to ponder her bizarre reaction to the strange man who’d been dead for over seven hundred years in her time.
“We should get moving,” Octavia told the doctor as she tore her gaze away from the barbarian. “Tell your friend here to lead the way.”
Chapter Four
“I don’t know how,” Octavia admitted to the doctor, her face heating.
