Close to noon, I woke to the sound of a paw scratching at the doorway. Eager to see Tink, I slipped out of bed, threw on a robe, and hurried to answer the door. She jumped into my arms as soon as she saw me, and I stood and scrunched her up against me for a snuggle while she panted and licked the side of my face.
“Where were you last night? I’ve missed you.”
Ross heard the commotion and sleepily lifted his head to speak. “Sydney offered to take her so that we might have some time alone. Bring her to the bed, lass.”
Tink let out a small yip, seemingly eager to see her master as I returned to the bed and set the dog onto the mattress. She bounded over to him and smothered him in kisses.
He laughed and turned his head away from her to speak to me.
“How are ye feeling? Any more rested?”
I nodded. A night of sleep, followed by a shower and morning sex had done wonders for me. “I feel great. I’m ready to go and explore the castle, I think.”
His expression changed strangely, his brows pulling together as if that were the last thing on earth he wanted to do. Confused, I amended my words.
“That is, if we have time to do that before we leave for your mother’s.”
He gave his head a slight shake and then forced a smile. “Aye. O’course. We shall stay one more night here before we begin the journey. Lass, I need to speak to ye about something, just to prepare ye for the rest of the day.”
“Okay?”
I stood long enough to lift the covers and slip back inside the bed. He scooted closer to me and leaned in to kiss my cheek.
“I’m sure Gillian and Orick told ye, but the castle has been overrun by guests. ‘Twill be many introductions today and more conversation that I care to have. I’m worried it might be overwhelming for ye.”
I cocked my head to the side and lifted a brow in confusion. “Why?”
Still laying down, he pulled his shoulders up in a half-shrug. “I just have a sense that ’twill be, lass. I know all the people here. They can…they can be a lot to handle.”
I reached to kiss him in reassurance. “When I’m not sleep-deprived and upset about lost luggage, I truly am pretty good with people, Ross. I’ll be fine. In fact, I’m pretty excited to meet those who’ve known you forever.”
He shook his head again, and I could see the worry lines in his forehead deepen. “Only a few in the group have known me forever.”
“Okay.” I pulled away from him and rose from the bed, moving to my suitcase to pull out some fresh clothes. “Don’t worry, Ross. It’ll be fine. We will socialize today, and then we will have the whole drive tomorrow for the two of us to talk on the way to your mom’s. I’ve never seen you like this. I had no idea you had such social anxiety. Just take a breath.”
I couldn’t understand his hesitation and worry. Nervous energy rolled off him like the smoke from a steam engine. I bent to pick up his jeans at the foot of the bed and tossed them in his direction.
“Come on. Let’s go. I’ve never explored the inside of a castle before.”
In response to my enthusiastic ‘let’s go,’ Tink tore away from Ross and leapt off the bed in her eagerness to set out on an adventure. Glancing over at Ross, who had pulled the covers up over his head, I rolled my eyes and opened the door to the bedroom.
“Fine. You sleep all you want. I’m going to stretch my legs for a bit.”
With Tink setting off at an incredibly quick trot, I hurried after her, barely registering Ross’ plea that I wait for him. I ignored him and continued on.
Groaning, Ross listened to the sound of Allanah continuing down the hallway after Tink. He knew she’d ignored him, not that he could blame her. How could she possibly understand his desire to keep her away from everyone at the castle as much as possible?
Eager to catch her, Ross pulled himself from bed and yanked on his pants before reaching for the shirt closest to him.
He had to find her before she spoke to anyone. Sydney and Silva knew better than to spill his secret. But there was no telling what Morna would do. She was always a wild card.
Tink seemed to know exactly where she was going, which made me wonder if perhaps the pup had stayed here at the castle with Sydney while Ross had gone to visit his mother before my arrival.
Of all the people here at the castle, I was most looking forward to meeting the mysterious Sydney. Ross spoke of her often, and always with such admiration that I, on occasion, found myself feeling slightly jealous of her. There was a reverence in his tone when he spoke of his dear friend, and more than once he’d mentioned that he owed her a great deal. Why? I hadn’t the slightest clue, but I hoped that simply being around Sydney might give me a little more insight into all of the parts of Ross he still refused to let me see.
Just as Tink reached the front door and twisted her head to look back at me expectedly, I remembered something that Ross had mentioned about Sydney. She was a cook. Perhaps, I could find her in the castle’s kitchen. With no real knowledge about castles to pull from, there was still some small part of my mind that seemed to believe kitchens were often found in the basements of such magnificent structures. I’d probably seen it in a movie or television show. With that in mind, I gave Tink a slight shake of my head, urging her to follow me instead as I wandered around looking for steps downward.
It didn’t take long, and the moment I stepped down into the stairwell, I knew I was headed in the right direction. Wonderful, spicy smells were wafting up toward me, a sure sign that someone was cooking below. As I continued downward, I could hear a set of mumbling voices. Not wishing to appear as if I was eavesdropping, I intentionally made my steps slightly louder until one of the strangers called up toward me.
“Callum, is that you? Are you back with the groceries for tonight?”
Reaching the last step, I rounded the corner of the doorway and stepped onto the landing of the basement floor where three women—two near my age, the last much older—stood in a half circle smiling at me.
“No.” I waved, nervously. “I’m…” I hesitated. I didn’t need to introduce myself as Sue here. Among these strangers who were unlikely to bump into anyone that had known me growing up, I could use my given name. I smiled, happy to be able to say the name that felt so much more like me. “I’m Allanah.”
The older woman approached first, her eyes bright and friendly, as she walked forward with her arms spread wide. Rather than shake my hand, she pulled me straight into one of the biggest and warmest hugs I’d ever received in my life.
“I’m Morna, lass. ’Tis a pleasure to meet ye.”
She pulled away and turned to introduce me to the other two women. Following Morna’s lead, they stepped forward to greet me.
They both had long, dark hair, much like my own, but one wore an apron, and she moved in to hug me first.
“I’m Sydney. I’m so glad you finally made it here. Lost luggage is the worst.”
“It really is.”
As she stepped away, the last woman moved forward. Her gaze was direct and odd, and I couldn’t help but feel like she was thoroughly looking me over. Unsure of how to proceed, I slowly reached out my hand as I wondered if maybe she didn’t wish to be as familiar as both Morna and Sydney had been.
Seeing my hand move toward her seemed to pull her out of whatever zone she’d been in. I saw her give her head a gentle shake before she waved my hand away and leaned in for a hug.
“I’m Silva. It’s nice to meet you.”
Morna spoke up from behind Silva’s back, pointing to the table in the back of the room.
“Come and sit with us, lass. We shall get a treat for the wee pup, and ye can join us for a cup of tea.”
Where could Allanah and Tink possibly have wandered off to so quickly? The tower was empty. The sitting room and dining hall were, too. As he moved toward the castle’s front doors, the sound of laughter reverberated up from the basement.
The kitchen. Holy hell.
Five minutes apart from him, a
nd she’d already been thrown in among the group.
With anxiety building, he headed toward the kitchen, eager to steal Allanah away from the woman he knew was most likely to say too much.
He could tell who was there with her before he entered the room. The voices of Sydney, Silva, and Morna were each as distinct as Allanah’s. Dread settled into his stomach as he made his presence known.
Morna beamed at him, hopping up from her seat at the table they were gathered around and moved toward him at an astonishingly fast pace. Rather than hug him, she surprised him by reaching for his arm and pulling him back up into the stairwell, her voice low as she whispered. “I’ve been working on a spell to make this all easier on ye and the lass. She’s just consumed it in the tea Sydney brewed for her. She will fall asleep at the table within the next minute. Best ye carry her up to bed and let her sleep for a time.”
Horrified, he stared at the old witch. “Ye drugged her?”
Morna glared at him and shook her head. “No, lad. I doona drug anyone. Ever. I spelled her. She will dream of all that she needs to know and wake knowing of the magic and the time travel as if there was never a time when she dinna know it. Ye willna need to explain a thing.”
His eyes wide, Ross continued to stare, the possibility of how wonderfully easy it would all be if Morna’s spell worked, settling in his mind.
He could see no reason why it wouldn’t. She was as powerful a witch as he’d ever seen.
“Will she know that something has happened to her? That her reality has changed?”
The old witch scrunched up her nose and gave a slight nod. “Aye. ’Tis likely she will know something, but I’ve added a calming tonic to the potion. She will accept it all easily.”
“I…” He stuttered, unsure of how to continue. Having her sleep all day had multiple advantages. Not only would it keep him from having to convince a panicked and disbelieving woman that magic and time travel were real, but it would also dramatically cut down on the number of hours she would have to interact with the guests of the castle.
Morna laughed, patting his arm as she spoke. “Just say thank ye and get ready to catch her as she slumps over in her chair. Ye are due an easy break, lad. ’Tis the least I could do.”
Chapter 37
Had I suffered a stroke? An aneurysm? Confused, yet puzzlingly calm, I blinked my eyes and stared up at the ceiling of the bedroom Ross and I had slept in the night before. One moment I’d been sipping tea, chatting about Sydney’s baby with Morna and Silva, and the next moment I was flat on my back wondering what the hell had happened.
Slowly, I moved my hands and patted myself all over. Everything felt fine. Nothing hurt. I could move everything. I didn’t feel nauseous. My head wasn’t aching. Slowly, I pushed myself up, twisting to look out the window next to the bed.
Dark.
How had a whole day passed in a second?
Had Ross’ magic returned?
What?!
I scrunched my brows together and closed my eyes as the original thought, and my question of it after, surged through my mind at once. Why had anything to do with magic crossed my mind?
Because it exists. Because Ross used to possess it. Because the old witch downstairs still does. Because everyone under this castle has been touched by it.
The thoughts coursed logically and surely through my mind as I sat there.
Did I know all of that this morning?
No. I was certain that I did not.
Did I doubt any of it now?
Also, no.
Never in my life had two different belief systems combined so succinctly in my mind. I knew that all of this knowledge was new. I knew that for the majority of my life, such a possibility had never crossed my mind.
At the same time, I also knew that for whatever reason, it absolutely did now. I knew that magic was everywhere. That somehow, I was now a part of it, that my boyfriend had been born hundreds of years before.
The strangest part of it all, I was weirdly okay with it. It didn’t feel as if my world had been upended or like the foundation of my existence had somehow been shaken. It just seemed as if some barrier in my mind had been suddenly stripped away, and a whole new realm of knowing existed.
Had I dreamed it all? If so, I didn’t remember my dreams. The timespan between sitting at the kitchen table and now truly felt like seconds.
Was this what happened to whatever cognizant part of our souls remains after we die? I was pretty sure I wasn’t dead.
Dozens of questions coursed through my mind as I opened my eyes again and gazed around the room.
Oddly, even as more questions began to build, an even greater realization occurred to me. None of it really mattered. The truth was the truth, and that was enough.
I looked over to the bedside table and reached for my phone, shooting out a quick text to Ross as I rose from the bed and walked toward the bathroom.
“Get up here.”
By the time I made it out of the bathroom, he was sitting at the end of the bed, his brows furrowed and his arms crossed as he looked at me anxiously.
“How do ye feel, lass?”
I shrugged. I wasn’t sleepy, but I had never felt more relaxed in my entire life. “Like I just left a day at the spa.”
He laughed and pulled me to him. “Good.”
I could sense that he wanted to ask me something. While I didn’t know the question, I had a sneaking suspicion of what it was about.
“So…you were born in the seventeenth century, huh? That’s pretty interesting.”
He leaned away from me just enough to look into my eyes. “Aye, lass. Ye are truly fine?”
I nodded. “I’m not sure exactly what happened to me today, but yes, I feel fine.” I stepped away and stretched my arms over my head. “Would you like to tell me what happened?”
He stared at me hesitantly, and I could tell by his expression that he wasn’t entirely sure either.
“What…what do ye know now, lass, that ye dinna before?”
For the next half hour or so, I told him all of the newfound knowledge that had suddenly been dumped into my mind: his former magic, Morna’s current magic, time travel.
When I finished, his gaze was still apprehensive. “And that is all, lass?”
I nodded. “Yes. I don’t know the specifics about anything. It just feels as if I was given the cliff notes on some other dimension I didn’t know existed.”
He laughed. “I suppose ye have. As for what happened, ’twas Morna’s doing. ’Twas in the tea ye drank this morning.”
I nodded. “Ah. I’d begun to suspect as much. So, what’s the plan now?”
“Well...” Ross stood and moved toward the doorway. “If ye are up for it, everyone awaits us at dinner downstairs. After that, we should get a good night’s rest, for the journey to my mother will take us days, and I am sorry to say that the road there shall be quite unlike anything ye’ve experienced before.”
I grimaced. Thoughts of horses and sleeping on the ground filled my mind. “I don’t suppose there’s any sort of magic that will make that a bit easier, is there?”
He laughed again. I could see relief that I now knew about the magic in his softened expression, and I wondered if this was the big secret—the huge thing he never wanted to talk about. While I knew it had to be part of it, I suspected there was more to it—more that he still didn’t believe I should be privy to.
“No, lass, though I will make it as easy for ye as I can. Come morning, I will rise before dawn and journey back with Callum to prepare everything for our journey. While I’m away, ye should call yer family, mayhap Caleb as well, and tell them that we will be out of touch for some time. That is why I couldna call ye. ’Twas not really a lie when I said her village was verra remote.”
I snorted. “That’s for sure. Okay. Sounds like a plan.”
He reached for my hand to lead me downstairs.
“If it’s all the same to you, I don’t think I’ll be accepting any more
offers of food or beverage from Morna.”
He winked at me and paused in the doorway to kiss my hand. “I would advise ye to do no less, lass.”
Chapter 38
By some grand stroke of luck, I managed to call Gramps while both Georgie and Caleb were with him. It hadn’t taken long after Ross and I had walked in on them for Georgie and Caleb to make their relationship more public—at least where Gramps was concerned.
I spoke to Gramps, trying to get his attention among the raucous voices around him.
“Hey…Hey, listen to me. I want to talk to you guys a minute. Why don’t you all gather around the table and let me video chat all of you real fast?”
That seemed to get the attention of the group, and they quickly agreed before hanging up to reconvene at the table. A handful of minutes later, the sound of their video call came through.
I happily answered, eager to see their faces for the last time in what I knew might be months.
“Sue!” Georgie’s expression was elated. “How’s it going? Turn your phone around and give us a quick glimpse of your room in the castle.”
Tapping the button that would switch directions of the camera, I panned up to show them the tall ceilings and the intricacy of the design in the room. When I flipped it back around, all three of their jaws were slightly open.
“It’s gorgeous.” Gramps grinned at me. “You finally got your luggage, I see.”
For the first time, the irony of my panic over the lost luggage crossed my mind. I would have no use for any of it in a matter of hours.
“Yes, I did. Hey, I don’t have a lot of time, but I wanted to call you guys and let you know that I probably won’t be able to talk to you for a while. We are leaving for Ross’ mother’s today, and apparently there’s no cell reception where she lives—no internet either.”
Georgie frowned at me. “What? Sue, are you sure? I’ve traveled all over the world, and there are very few places anymore that don’t at the very least have internet.”
Love Beyond Boundaries (A Scottish Time Travel Romance): Book 12 (Morna's Legacy Series) Page 19
