"There's a lot to learn," Maggie said brightly. "You'd best get started."
And with that, the door clicked shut behind them, and they were alone on Maggie's porch again, clean and dry this time. But Melanie was full of even more questions than she'd had the night before when she'd crawled out of the lake. Aelfred smiled down at her, then started walking, turning left at the great tree in Maggie's front yard and heading along the winding dirt road that ran along the lakeshore.
There, in the distance, she saw the castle again. In the clear light of day, it was easier to make out the shape of it cut out against the blue sky, even the crenellations on top… it was far from an illusion, wasn't it? Now she could see that it seemed to be perched on a small island that was maybe a few hundred yards from the shore of the Loch — she wondered with a frown if they would need to get a boat to its base. There seemed to be some docks down at the water's edge around the base of the island, which was mostly rocky and sheer, the rock walls surrounding the castle giving way to cliff that dropped straight down into the water. Were there staircases winding through the stone itself, she wondered, that led down to the docks? Perhaps. She supposed she'd find out soon.
Aelfred was staring intently at the castle as they walked, too, and she realized with a shock that they'd both been walking in silence for well over five minutes now. Awkwardly, she broke the silence by clearing her throat, then asked the first question that came to her mind. "So, did you grow up in the castle?"
He smiled, though his eyes looked far away still. "No. Not that I remember, at any rate. My family … my parents lived in a village. I think we owned a tavern? I know my mother spoke of it now and again… the tavern, my father was running the tavern…" He frowned, shaking his head. "It all feels so long ago now. I'm hoping that the Grants of the Keep will be able to put me in touch with them. They might even have work for me," he added with a smile. "I've tried to learn a few useful skills in my time."
"Useful skills," she said softly, shaking her head. "I've a few of those myself. Though I'm not sure they'll transfer over here."
Were there even private investigators in medieval Scotland? Just what the hell was she supposed to do with herself in this strange place?
Chapter 7
They warmed up as they walked. At least, Melanie reflected, it was a nice day… the sun was shining, reflecting from the surface of the placid lake to their right, and the air smelled fresh and strangely… clean. Was it that she had been living in a city all her life? she wondered. Was the air always supposed to smell like this? There was a pleasant quiet between her and Aelfred, but he kept shooting sidelong glances at her, and before too long he'd broken the silence with a few questions of his own.
"So — Maggie said you come from the future."
"Yep," she said, shaking her head a little at how strange that seemed. The future. Okay. Was she just going to play along with this ridiculous scene she was in? Part of her was still howling, desperately, that all of this was an act, that she'd run into the two most dedicated method actors in the world and she was about to round a corner and find a bored-looking camera crew having lunch, or something… but she shook that thought off. It wasn't helpful, thinking like that.
"How far in the future?"
"A few hundred years, I think? The year two thousand and twenty." It felt strange, saying it out loud like that. His eyes were wide.
"How… how is it? What's it like? What happens? I mean — "
She laughed, shaking her head. "Want me to summarize four hundred years of world history?"
"If you can," he said with a shrug of his shoulders.
"Can you summarize the last four hundred years of history?"
"Absolutely not."
"Neither can I," she said with a chuckle, shaking her head. "But I can try to… tell you some of it, I guess. Unless that's going to create a time paradox?" The mystified look on his face told her that she might as well have started speaking French. "I mean… I'm from the future. But if I tell you stuff about the future, stuff you're not meant to know… won't it change the future? And maybe it'll… interfere with my life, somehow, and make it so that I never came here in the first place? And then how did I change the future to make it that way, so — you see what I mean?"
He nodded, still looking a little confused, but intrigued, nevertheless. "A strange way of thinking. I can see why the Sidhe liked you."
She fought the urge to explain that all she'd done was watch Back to the Future when she was a kid, and that if that was enough to make the Sidhe take a special interest in your life, well, they probably had their eye on more people than they could count. "Um, the future's pretty cool, I guess. I mean, we have so much access to so many things, health care, fast travel, food, all kinds of luxuries. I guess we pretty much take it all for granted though"
He looked at her blankly. "What do you mean?"
"We have major hospitals with lots of doctors and people who heal others; vehicles like cars and airplanes that allow us to go to places faraway in a matter of minutes or hours; we have large stores that carry a great many foods that we don't personally have to do a whole lot to, to prepare before eating, some can be eaten right then and there! And the technology! Don't even get me started.." She smiled for a moment and then it slowly faded as other things crossed her mind. "Of course, our air isn't as fresh as it is here." She looked around as they walked. "And we have a lot of corruption in our world, the future I mean. Sometimes I think that people have turned into a bunch of selfish jerks who are only out for their own pleasure. Maybe that's just a repercussion of the job I do, seeing the worst in people." She grew sad, but then brightened. "Maybe being here will refresh my views of humanity." She winked at him. "I might even reconsider having children."
"You had no wish to have children?"
"I mean… okay, in my time? People are pretty selfish. I just don't think I could bring children into a world like that. The corruption is unscrupulous, and I see it on a daily basis. I don't know. I just… with the job I do, I just worry that it's not a good environment for kids." Melanie shook her head. "And a lot of the corruption, comes down to money. There are people who will do anything for money and power."
"But money…" He took a deep breath, clearly very disturbed by what she was telling him.
She felt a pang of guilt for dumping such a dark subject on him. He was just being polite, and here she went telling him how corrupt some of the people of the future were.
"Money is just… a way of exchanging things fairly. Why has that led to corruption?"
Melanie said drily. "Trust me, I know how stupid it sounds. In the future, money can be wielded a very powerful tool. People who crave influence over others, accumulate money because it allows them to control those they see as less than them. I see it on a daily basis, with my clients. Men who pay their way out of things, giving their wives trips around the world, buying them off. Some of the women are just as bad, staying with these men for what they can give them. It's not a great way to live."
"I think you were very wise," Aelfred said simply, making her blink up at him. "In deciding not to bring children into such a world."
She shrugged her shoulders. "I mean… it wasn't really much more than a theoretical decision. It's not like I have a husband or a boyfriend or anything."
That caught his attention, too, and he glanced sideways at her, looking a mixture of confused and pleased. "You mean to say you're not betrothed?"
She fought the urge to laugh at that quaint choice of words. "Betrothed? Absolutely not. Betrothed to the job, maybe," she added with a grin, but the nonplussed look on his face made her grin fade a little. "I work a lot," she explained with a shrug. "With my dad. We run a private investigation company."
"Interesting," he said thoughtfully. "You seek out wrongdoers and criminals, then?"
"Something like that," she admitted. "Honestly, that's more what the police do. We look into… well, mysteries that aren't necessarily crimes. A lot of cheating
husbands," she said drily, shaking her head. "A few cheating wives, things like that. Things the police wouldn't help with."
"I'm surprised a woman like you is without a husband," he said softly, and when she raised an eyebrow at him the faintest flush came to his cheeks. "Forgive me if that's too forward."
"No, I —" She cleared her throat, feeling herself blushing, too. "I mean, I'm pretty shy when it comes to speaking to men, and all that. Unless it's for a job," she added, thinking back to the men she'd shouted down and manipulated into giving her the information she wanted. "But when it comes to men I like… well, I'm pretty useless." She wanted to get off this subject as quickly as possible. "What about you? Are you married to … to some fairy girl, or something?"
He laughed. "No, nothing so glamorous as that. The Fae… well, they found me a little strange, I think. Not exactly… in their league. More like a pet than a person." Her eyes widened, and he raised his hands hastily. "Not that they were unkind to me, or rude! Just … well, I wasn't a romantic prospect to anyone, that was made very clear to me. For the best, I think," he said softly. "If I'd fallen in love I may never have come home."
So, he'd been a child when he left… and none of the Fae creatures over there had seen him as a romantic prospect at all. Fascinating. Did that mean he didn't realize how drop-dead gorgeous he was? She felt a strange urge to run away with him, right now, before he figured out how attractive he was… maybe she'd have a shot with him if there weren't any other women competing with her… then she scolded herself for how predatory that sounded. Besides, he was going to the Keep to reunite with his family. And she was going to meet… well, allegedly, some women who'd been through what she was going through.
Somehow, she doubted that anyone was going through exactly what she was going through.
"Have you ever been in love?" he asked suddenly, glancing sidelong at her and making her heart pick up its pace a little.
Avoiding his eyes, she turned back to the road, noting that they were getting close to the castle… but not close enough that she could avoid this question. "No," she said, shrugging her shoulders. "Not really."
"Not really?"
"I mean… I've been on dates, and such. Gotten to know men, even liked a few of them. But… well, my standards are pretty high, I guess. I live alone, I take care of myself, I enjoy my own company… I don't see any need for a man to enter my life unless he's bringing a lot with him. And most men only brought problems."
He nodded thoughtfully, those brilliant eyes shining in the morning sun as he reflected on what she'd said. He was just about the best listener she'd ever met, she reflected, surprised by that fact.
"High standards. I see." And then, with a wink so casual that she almost thought she'd dreamed it: "I don't suppose I meet them, do I?"
Something took over for her — some scrap of wit she hadn't thought she had, a scrap of intelligence that kept her calm in the face of what was undeniably flirting from perhaps the most gorgeous man she'd ever met. And instead of her brain short-circuiting completely, as it threatened to do, she heard herself respond smoothly, "Hard to say. I've only known you a few hours. It takes months to vet someone thoroughly. But you're doing pretty well so far."
The smile that crossed his face was absolutely heavenly. Her cheeks burning, she turned her attention back to the road, shocked at herself for how forward she'd been with him… but secretly very pleased, too. She'd always wanted to be better at flirting. Why did it seem to come so easily with Aelfred? Was it something about where she was, about the complete madness of the situation? She supposed so. She quite literally had nothing to lose — only the clothes on her back to her name, and everything else absolutely in flux. With nothing to lose, it was easy to be a little bit forward when talking to a handsome man, she supposed.
They'd rounded the corner of the shore, now, and she was able to see just how the little island in the lake connected to the mainland. There was a narrow land bridge that ran from the island to the mainland, and at the end of it an enormous pair of iron gates set in the rocky wall that completely surrounded the island and the castle that perched upon it. Aelfred paused for a moment, gazing at the castle from this angle with a curious expression on his face. A combination of happiness at having reached it — and something a lot like trepidation. Almost like worry.
"Are you alright, Aelfred?" she asked softly when a minute or so had gone by and the man hadn't moved, his eyes fixed on the castle. He looked down at her as though he'd forgotten she was there, a mixture of confusion and consternation on his face.
"Sorry, Melanie," he said softly, shaking his head. "I just… it's a little overwhelming. I've been dreaming of this day for… I can't tell you how long. And now I'm here."
"It'll be okay," she said softly, fighting the urge to take his hand in hers and squeeze it. Flirting or no flirting; that would have been a bit much with a man she'd only just met… though something about Aelfred made her suspect that he wouldn't find the gesture strange or overly intimate in the least. "Hey — I'm totally new here, too. We're in this together, alright?"
He smiled down at her again, taking her breath away. "Thank you," he said softly, clearly meaning it. "I'm glad to be traveling at your side, Melanie."
"Maybe the Sidhe knew what they were doing," she joked. "Dumping us both in the lake at the same time…"
But he just nodded, his expression serious. "Aye, I wouldn't be surprised if that were the case. They have a sense, the Sidhe, for which people need each other, and at which times… they're very good with timing, though it may not always seem like it."
A flash of the terrible gunshot went through her mind, the feeling of dull pain spreading through her chest, of flying across the room the way she had, the blood on her hands and the way she'd lost consciousness… she shivered a little. Yes, the Sidhe sure did have good timing. She knew that for a fact… if they hadn't, she wouldn't be here in the first place. The two of them nodded at each other, then turned and set off across the land bridge.
It was a little eerie, walking across the narrow bridge. Was it naturally formed? she wondered. It must have been — unless they somehow knew how to build structures like this. The passage was wide enough for maybe four or five men to walk abreast, and it was clear from the well-worn path that horses, and carts often traveled across it, too, so she knew it was solid… still, she couldn't help worrying that the whole thing would simply crumble into the Loch and take her with it. Well, she thought, trying to cheer herself up — at least she knew she could swim out of the depths of the Loch if she needed to. If she'd done it once, she could do it again. And she and Aelfred had had practice working together. It wasn't even the middle of the night. It would be easy.
He was looking sidelong at her. "Are you alright? You look concerned."
"Just thinking about what would happen if we fell into the lake," she said, drawing a huff of laughter from him as he glanced over the edge of the land bridge.
"I suppose we'd just swim out again," he said with a twinkle in those shining silver eyes. "But I'd rather avoid it, if at all possible. Would you like to take my arm to steady yourself?"
She didn't need to take his arm to steady herself, but that wasn't going to stop her, now was it? She took hold of his courteously proffered elbow, feeling rather like a woman in some period drama being taken for a turn around the garden by a suitor. There was still a warm glow in her belly from the way he'd flirted with her earlier — she wasn't going to forget about that any time soon, even if it seemed he'd left the subject alone and they continued toward the great iron gates at the other end of the bridge.
Through the gates, she could make out a courtyard. There were dozens of men striding back and forth, a handful of them seemingly training with wooden swords in the center, most of them wearing a very particular shade of tartan that made her remember something she'd read about Scottish families having a coat of arms as well as a family shade of tartan. There was something very funny about the prospect of bei
ng in Scotland. Why Scotland, of all blasted places? No matter how realistic everything around her may have been, a tiny part of her was still fairly certain she was dreaming… though it got smaller and smaller with every fresh detail she noticed. Like the slightly wide-eyed looks of the men atop the wall, peering down at them from the gate.
"Good morrow!" Aelfred called up cheerfully, his voice effortlessly loud and carrying up to the men on the wall. "My name is Aelfred Grant! I'd like to speak to my relatives! This is my friend Melanie Orwell," he added, gesturing to Melanie, who — before she could stop herself — sketched a strange little curtsey that made her blush with the foolishness of the gesture. She felt a giddy urge to burst out laughing beginning to blossom in her chest, and she pushed it down. It wouldn't do to completely lose her mind, here outside the gates to the keep, now would it?
"Grant, did you say?" called one of the men. He was bearded and dark-haired, with a rather formidable looking sword at his hip and a bow slung casually over his back. Was the castle really threatened so regularly that he needed to be so heavily armed? Then again, Melanie thought, I often carry my pistol when I don't expect any trouble. It was that old maxim — better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it. Still, she definitely would have thought twice about invading the castle.
"Aye, Grant!"
"Well met, cousin," the man called back down, a smile crossing his bearded face. "My name's Brendan Grant. Welcome to the Keep."
And with that, the gate before them began to rise.
Chapter 8
Melanie's eyes widened as the gate slowly opened — she could hear men grunting with the effort of working whatever mechanism it was that controlled the gate, but her attention was immediately claimed by the view of the castle proper she now had. It sat on the far side of the courtyard like a great creature, made of the same sleek black stone as the walls — it almost looked wet. Spray from the lake, she wondered, or simply a shiny substance? She had about a thousand questions she wanted to ask about it, but she held her tongue as the clanking of armor signaled that Brendan Grant was on his way down the stairs. The man met them where they stood and reached out to shake Aelfred's hand, looking intently into the man's face until a smile broke out.
Trusted By The Highlander: A Scottish Time Travel Romance Page 6
