“We hae the raincoats, we… ye will need a raincoat, as well, Sean, dost ye hae a raincoat for yer part in my surprise?”
“I was hopin’ ye had forgotten m’part in it.”
“Nae, ye are integral.”
Kaitlyn said, “Whatever is happening, I cannot figure it out.”
I chuckled, “In the light of the weather of the day tis the dumbest thing I hae ever planned, but we are goin’ tae carry on as if I am verra sensible. The sooner we go the better.”
She stuffed some butter-covered bannocks in her mouth and muttered, “You are not in charge of the weather. I’m sure it will be fine.”
CHAPTER 21
KAITLYN
I LOVE SURPRISES!
We gathered our things and went to meet our horses, Dràgon and Osna, in the courtyard. I had my skirts hitched up, a raincoat on, and boots. Magnus had on a raincoat too, our hoods covering our heads, rain dripping on my face.
I joked, “So fun!” And wiped my wet cheeks. “I love surprises!”
Sean appeared, wearing his modern raincoat we brought him years before.
He said, “Well, Young Magnus, I canna believe ye are draggin’ me out intae this.” He took his horse’s reins and climbed on him.
The rain got even worse, dumping on us as if to say,what are you, crazy?
Sean grinned down at us standing forlornly in the rain. “Tis a fine day, braw weather for a ride!” He turned his horse and headed away.
Magnus looked at me. “Ready?”
“Maybe it’s time to tell me?”
“Nae, we need tae be on the horses, so ye canna kill me.”
I laughed. And we climbed on our horses.
We rode through the gates, and far ahead of us I saw Sean going into the woods, in the direction of the clearing.
I wonder why?
He was much faster than we were. We went slowly, our horses seemed irritated, their hooves splashing in the puddles from the torrents that had been falling since before dawn and showed no intention of stopping.
Magnus rode ahead of me by half a length, on Dràgon, his modern waterproof jacket an absurd anachronism over his linen shirt and waistcoat, his boots — good rubber-soled boots from modern-day Florida were already dark with wet. I followed on Osna with my hood pulled forward against the sideways lash of it, watching the back of my husband’s head and the way he kept turning to look at the hills, the treeline, the pale smear of sky above the glen.
He said, “As ye ken, ye can see the Tay from here, when tis clear,” raising his voice above the torrent. “On a clear morn, with the sun just up, mist sittin’ on the water — there’s nothin’ like it in any century! I hae stood in this exact spot when I was just a lad, in 1710, and in my kingdom, in all those different centuries and it looks the same. It always looks the same!”
I wiped rain from my face. “It kinda looks like soup today.”
“Aye. Grey soup. Tis likely goin’ tae inspire the castle cook, as ye ken, on rainy days he loves pease pottage.”
“Let me guess, you’re already thinking about lunch?”
“Aye, ye ken how I get.”
“Will we be back in time?”
“I hope so, m’stomach is already growlin’.”
