Lost in the Mist of Time

by Karen Michelle Nutt

  It had never been a secret that Fiona was free with her affections, but he was just now beginning to realize that maybe she had grander plans in mind. “Do not do this, Fiona,” he warned gently.

  “What? Don’t love ye?” Her blue eyes filled with tears. “Ye don’t love me.” He turned away from her.

  “But I do,” she insisted making him look at her again. Her golden blond hair fell over her left shoulder in a cascade of curls. The woman was beautiful, if nothing else.

  “Ye loved me so much that ye took Cormac to yer bed?”

  “Oh that,” she said like it was nothing but a mere friendship he was referring to. “I will tell him I cannot see him anymore.” It was amazing how fast the woman could dry her tears. Oh yes, she was heartbroken all right, as heartbroken as a dog in heat.

  “Do not bother, Fiona. Ye will do well to keep Cormac. He cares about ye.”

  “What are ye saying?” she snapped.

  “We have nothing together. We never had.”

  She came at him, her fists flying. “Ye used me!” She pounded her closed hands against his chest and he quickly took hold of her arms.

  “That was never my intention. I fear that I owe ye an apology, if ye thought that I wanted more from ye.”

  “An apology! Oh ye owe me much more.” She didn’t wait for him to respond, but turned on her heels and stomped away. Dougray was glad that she was gone and hopefully for good.

  Pacing back and forth, Cormac wondered where Fiona had gone. She had told him to be at the cottage before the noon meal. He had already been waiting close to an hour and was furious with himself for doing so. He was about to leave, when she unlatched the door.

  She halted in her tracks and for a fleeting moment was caught off guard.

  But before Cormac could grow suspicious, she smiled her sweet seductive smile, moving forward to greet him, slim hips swinging in a hypnotizing motion.

  “Where have ye…?” Cormac began only to be cut off by her mouth pressing against his. He relaxed, his anger ebbing away to something else. Without a word she pushed him toward the bed and ripped at his clothes, anxious to have them removed. She had always been aggressive, but this was something more. It seemed she was desperate. Cormac threw her down on the bed, not having any trouble complying.

  Fiona wanted Cormac fast, hard, furious. She closed her eyes imagining that it was Dougray, not Cormac, who was pounding against her, but when it was all over reality set in. It was Cormac’s blond hair that she saw not the dark strands of Dougray’s.

  “Ach.” Cormac chuckled. “Yer grip is tearing at me skin, love.”

  She released her hold. “Sorry.” She was gentle then, as she thought of what she could do to win Dougray back. “Ye care for me, Cormac?”

  “Ye know that I do.”

  “Enough that ye would do anything for me?”

  “I’d move heaven and earth for ye,” he answered sleepily, as he cuddled close to her. A smile spread across Fiona’s face.

  Chapter 34

  Aislinn was anxious to be on her way and didn’t have the patience to wait any longer for Teige. She grabbed her backpack swinging it behind her back then picked up her sword. “Come on, Declan.” She took his hand.

  She knew that Dougray would be angry if she just took off without an official guard so she nabbed Hamish on her way out of the keep. She refused to miss her walk with Declan just because she couldn’t find someone to go with her.

  Along the way, Grania caught sight of them and ran over to join them. Her father, the great Dubhdara, seemed to give her the freedom to do just about anything that she wished, so long as she stayed inside the castle’s grounds. Of course Grania failed to inform anyone else of her father’s stipulations.

  Aislinn had been stranded in time for almost two months, and she was yet to figure out her purpose here. Neala was not much help with her unclear statements and riddles that spoke of nothing at all. And she had so many questions. Why her? What could she possibly do here to help? She didn’t even know if she would ever return home to her family. She missed being able

  to call her parents at the drop of a hat, and longed to go on one of her father’s famous hikes. She missed Connor’s carefree attitude and companionship. He would have been the one thrilled to travel back in time. This adventure was more his style. He would have relished every minute of it. But he wasn’t here; she was and she didn’t know her purpose.

  Before all this happened, she had thought that she was in control of herself, her life. At least, this is how she perceived herself. “Self-assured” could have been her middle name.

  She felt anything but confident now. Her life was in constant turmoil. Her emotions were a mess. For though she longed for home, she would miss Dougray, his arrogance and all.

  “Ye look kind of sad today,” Grania stated not afraid to speak whatever thought came to her mind.

  “You know, Grania, I am a little bit. I miss my family. They have been on my mind of late.” They finally had arrived at the lake where Aislinn took the small wrap from her backpack so they could sit down. She glanced at Grania realizing she knew more about her future than her own. She would one day be the Pirate Queen. “A noble profession for this time.” She sighed. “What is?” Grania asked.

  “Pirating.”

  “Seems dangerous to me. My da is always telling me about his battles, and I have seen his scars. Yuck!” Grania waded into the water.

  “You’ll change your mind.” Aislinn knelt down on her haunches and started to take off Declan’s shoes.

  Grania studied Aislinn for a moment, thinking how different she was to any other woman whom she had ever met. She sensed that she had a special sight into the future. It was almost frightening, but not enough that she wasn’t intrigued. “Why do ye say things like that to me?”

  Aislinn looked at her. “Like what?”

  “I don’t know. It is like ye see the future.”

  Aislinn knew that she had to be careful here. It wouldn’t be wise to reveal too much. “I see you is all. I am anticipating what kind of woman you will grow up to be.”

  “Is it good? My mother is not so sure. She blames my da for my unruly ways.”

  “Then you should hug your father and thank him, for he is making you strong enough to survive the changes of Ireland.”

  “See there ye go again.” She looked back at Hamish. “Don’t ye hear it?” Hamish nodded. He wasn’t too talkative today for he felt that he had to be on guard since Teige was not with them. It was a great responsibility for a twelve-year-old boy to protect a lady, a young lad, and the daughter of the great O’Malley.

  “Come sit with us.” Grania tried to persuade him.

  “I feel better if I stand back here. I need to keep me eyes open.”

  “Let him guard,” Aislinn said quietly to Grania. She could see that this job was important to Hamish and she was not going to take it away from him. “Confidence builds a person’s character, Grania. It makes a man…or woman.”

  “I feel like ye are teaching me in some subtle way. Am I right?”

  Aislinn just smiled. No one could ever say that Grania was not intuitive. Roth had been good enough to pack them a parcel full of bite-size morsels, so there was no hurry to head home, and they had ended up staying later than they had planned.

  The howling of a wolf brought them back to reality, making them realize just how late it had actually become. Hamish’s eyes widened in fear, but he tried very hard not to let his voice tremble. “Milady, we must head back.” Aislinn was in full agreement and was already donning her shoes. She grabbed her sword and took hold of Declan’s hand. “Come on, let’s go.” They were on the path that led to the castle when they saw the lone wolf, its eyes glowing dangerously in the dark. “What do we do now?” Grania drew closer and Aislinn felt Declan grip her hand tighter.

  She wished that she had an answer, but she didn’t. They were alone out here and too far away to run back to the keep. All they had were two swords between th
em and she didn’t quite fancy the idea of having to ward off a hungry wolf with a blade. Why hadn’t she thought to take the bow and arrows too? Hamish was thinking along the same lines. Withdrawing his sword, he stood in front of them. Aislinn felt a sense of pride. It was hard to believe that just over a month ago the boy would have cowered in fear.

  “Milady, I’ll distract the beast, if ye will take the wee ones and head through the trees there. Keep going straight and ye will end up in front of the castle gates.

  “We’re not going without you, Hamish.” “The wolf though.”

  Aislinn wondered about that. It seemed to be eyeing them, but not making so much as a move toward them. The thought entered her mind that maybe it was the same wolf that had led Dougray and her out of the mist. It might be far fetched, but again so was traveling through time.

  Her mother’s stories of the North American Indians came to mind. She had often mentioned how the Celtic beliefs were very similar. If she remembered correctly, her mother had done her thesis on the subject. “A spirit guide.”

  “What?” Hamish questioned her over his shoulder.

  “Nothing.” But she couldn’t shake the feeling. The Cheyenne believed in them and she was sure that her mother had mentioned that the Celts…. Oh, she was being completely ridiculous now. Why was she even considering spirit guides? “Come on through the trees.” She pointed.

  Aislinn glanced behind her. She couldn’t see the wolf, but this did not ease her fear. She knew it was following them “Hurry.” She picked up Declan hoping to go faster. They came out of the clearing, nearly running into Teige and Cormac. Teige looked frantic with worry until he laid eyes on Aislinn. “Milady, I have been looking all over for ye.” If the others were not around, he might have hugged her so relieved he was that she was all right. “I’m sorry, Teige. I didn’t mean to worry you. We went down to the

  water’s edge and lost track of the time.”

  Cormac was staring back toward the woods, his torch held high. He handed the torch to Hamish and slowly reached back behind him to remove an arrow. Teige became alert.

  “What do ye see?”

  “There was a wolf out there,” Hamish offered. “That’s why we had to cross through the trees.”

  “Wolf?” Teige questioned. “Just one?” Aislinn nodded. “Is that odd to see one?”

  “Usually they run in packs, and I have not seen one so close to the keep before. Teige also removed an arrow.

  “Go that way.” Cormac motioned to Teige pointing to the right as he moved toward the left.

  Aislinn shivered. A part of her did not believe that the wolf meant them any harm. “I don’t see anything.” She raised her voice causing both men to look at her with displeasure. She didn’t care. She hoped that the wolf would hear and escape.

  “I should help,” Hamish voiced.

  “And how will ye help?” Grania’s blue eyes glared at him. “Ye only have a sword. It will tear ye apart before ye can get to it.” “Thanks for the confidence, Grania.”

  Aislinn could only listen and wait. She couldn’t believe that she was actually praying that the wolf escaped unharmed. After an agonizing five or so minutes the men returned. “Nothing.” Teige shook his head and Cormac nodded in agreement.

  “It got away,” Aislinn said with relief. Luckily no one noticed.

  “Aye, it did,” Cormac answered. “It was a big one by the size of the paws.

  It was strange though. I followed the tracks for a bit, but then they simply disappeared.”

  “How?” Teige questioned. “Wolves cannot fly.”

  The tracks were there; then they were not.” He looked out toward the forest not at all liking that a lone wolf was stalking them now that the fog was starting to roll in. “Looks like we will have a thick mist tonight.”

  Aislinn eyes darted to him. Could it be possible that it was the mist that would bring her back to her time? She would have to wait and see.

  “Come on.” Teige took the torch from Hamish. “Let’s head back. Milord was not pleased that we did not know where ye had gone.” He looked at Aislinn with a pained expression. “I wish ye did not leave without me.”

  “I was not alone as you can see. Hamish was here to protect us.” “Aye,” Teige answered and he nervously glanced at Cormac.

  Chapter 35

  Aislinn was taking a bath trying to soak away the tension and her loneliness for home, when Dougray came storming in with not so much as a knock. His mouth opened to vent his displeasure, but viewing her long, curved body beneath the water made him nearly choke on his words.

  “Yes, my lord,” she said in a mocking tone unaware that though he was standing across the room, he was tall enough to see a good deal of her bare skin over the rim of the bathtub.

  He dragged his eyes reluctantly to her face so that he could concentrate on why he had sought her out in the first place. “Ye were told to stay near the grounds, but ye continue to disobey me! Not only that ye went without an escort.”

  “I did not. I took Hamish with me and Grania and Declan went too. Did you forget that I also have a sword of my own?”

  “Oh, I feel so much better now.” He threw up his hands. “Ye have a sword and ye had a mere child to protect ye. Are ye daft, woman? I have Butler’s men lurking about, an unknown assailant, and yet ye want to play games. If ye have no care for yerself, at least think of the children. Declan has seen enough grief and still has not recovered enough to speak. Grania is the daughter of the O’Malley, King of Connaught. If something were to happen to her, it is I who would be held accountable. Do ye want to be in the midst of

  a clan war?”

  “Why are you in such a huff. No harm came from our walk. The kids were in no danger, and for your information, Hamish is very capable. As you can see, I’m here safe and sound.”

  His eyes roved over her naked form making him think to himself that she was not going to be safe for long if he had to continue the discussion in here. “Now if you don’t mind,” she broke through his reverie, “I’d like to continue my bath in peace, or is having my solitude also a bother to you?” He could tell by the spark in her dark eyes that she was quite perturbed with him. Perturbed at him, the lord of the keep! Why did she always seem to get the upper hand? “Nay, but your attitude does offend me.”

  “You’re so sensitive. Do I need to bow to you every time that you enter a room? Will that make you feel better?” Her tone was condescending, but she just waited for him to answer her as though she were completely serious.

  “That would be a start.” He decided to play her game. “Really and what would you do if I did not yield?” “Are ye challenging me, milady?”

  “Let’s get something straight. I am not your lady, and yes, someone needs to challenge your pompous ass.”

  He was about to open his mouth with another retort, but arguing with her when she was in such a state of undress was making it difficult for him to concentrate. He took a deep breath, and between clenched teeth, he spoke once more. “When ye’re finished with yer bath, I want ye to meet me in my chambers…I mean the library!” he quickly corrected himself.

  Aislinn couldn’t help but smile. Obviously the rugged lord of the keep was human after all, and she could well imagine where his mind had wondered just then. “As you wish, my lord.”

  He bowed ever so slightly and left the room.

  “Ye really shouldn’t entice him to a fight, milady.” Moira came closer now that Dougray had left. “He does have a temper on him at times.”

  “Moira please don’t fret. Your lord is as tame as a lamb.”

  Moira just shook her head wondering what kind of lambs that her lady was accustomed to in her homeland, for Lord Dougray’s roar was mighty fierce.

  How Dougray wanted her compliance to sound like she really meant it, but he supposed that this was expecting too much. He may be attracted to her, but he would not excuse her actions. It was obvious this brazen woman had her own ideas and thought that she could do as
she pleased. Well she was here now and there was no telling how long she would remain. He refused to stand by and let her dominate him a moment longer. The O’Malley’s suggestion came to mind. He should find someone to take her off his hands, and at the same time forge an alliance that would help his position.

  Aislinn was very beautiful, but he had to face the fact that she was beyond bold. She was almost uncontrollable, but maybe he could convince a man of his choosing to overlook this. She was older than most preferred in their brides, but she was strong and would most likely produce healthy children.

  He went over to the desk and sat down. Yes, he would have to choose someone and quickly before he was forced to have her in his care forever. Frankly he wasn’t sure he had the energy to continue their exhausting banters.

  She was wearing him down. God, the woman had spirit, and surprisingly a tremendous mothering nature. If she were to have a child of her own to tend to, maybe she would settle down.

  Aislinn purposely took her time finishing her bath. She wasn’t going to rush just because Dougray commanded it. “Ye should hurry.” Moira couldn’t hide her uneasiness.

  “I am not going anywhere until my hair is dry.”

  “Please, A.J., stand near the fire.” She nearly dragged her over to it. “Are

  ye going to wear yer trews?” She crossed her fingers hoping that she wasn’t. Milord was already upset with her.

  “No. Tonight I will wear one of the gowns.” “The blue one?” Moira eyes lit up.”

  “Sure. Why not?” Aislinn knew that he would still be angry, but maybe she could throw him off a tad if she wore the dress he favored.

  Once her hair was good and dry she let Moira brush it back with ribbons making her look very feminine. She then slowly made her way to the library.

  By now, Dougray was fuming. Aislinn had entered the room to see him pacing, his hands clenched behind his back.