“Let’s go inside where we can talk.” Struan opened his front door. “Where are you staying while you’re here?”
“We’ve not yet made arrangements. Our primary goal when we set out was to hear news of our daughter,” Connor rasped out. “I was there when she was taken from us.”
“You’re welcome to stay in my camper. I have an outlet so you can connect to electricity, but I don’t have a way to hook up the camper to a water source.” Struan turned to Michael. “Do Ma and Da know the McGladreys are here?”
“Yep. Mom already invited them to dinner. They stopped at our house first, and I brought them here.”
“Good.” Struan ushered all of them inside. “Whiskey or ale?”
“I believe a dram or two of whiskey would serve,” Connor said, his voice hoarse. “Katherine?”
“Yes, thank you.” Katherine ran her fingertips under her eyes. “Whiskey would be most welcome.”
“Do you have wine?” Sky asked.
“No wine, sorry.”
“Ale then, if you please.”
Struan and Michael left to fetch their libations, and Sky studied the chamber. Struan’s cottage boasted a floor of wooden planks that shone with some sort of polish. A jewel-toned floor rug covered the area where comfortable seating had been arranged in a U shape. One wall of his small living room, as the Gordons referred to such a chamber, held a variety of swords, shields and daggers. Struan’s cozy home so reflected his personality, she had to smile. Hopefully she’d have the chance to explore the rest soon.
Another wall held pictures, and she moved closer to take a look. Many of the framed images were of Struan and the Gordons at various Renaissance fairs. Some were taken on the inside of the Gordons’ home with the family grouped together. One frame held what must be a wedding picture of Ethan and Carol. Carol held a bouquet of flowers and wore a long white gown and veil. Ethan stood proud and tall beside her, with Struan and Michael beaming by his side. Struan’s contentment with this time and place came through so strongly, she couldn’t help but feel a bit envious.
“So, you’re related to our daughter?” Katherine came to stand beside her. “She’s truly OK?”
Sky bit her lip and nodded, nearly overcome with the strong emotions coming from Meghan’s mother. “Aye, she married my foster brother, the baron DúnConnell. He is the man who took her from you. Hunter believed the battle he saw was real, and that he was snatching away a young knight who would surely have been killed.”
“I figured that much the day it happened,” Connor rasped out. “I can’t fault him for his actions. Under the circumstances, I would have done the same.”
“Hunter and Meghan have a fine, braw lad, whom they named Connor, after you,” she told them. “Erin and Robley also named one of their sons Connor. We view you as kin to us.”
Katherine brought her trembling hand to her mouth for a moment, struggling to contain her emotions. “You said bairns,” she managed to whisper.
“Aye. The day I left, Meghan was due to give birth at any time. Erin is with her, my lady, and she’s very skilled at midwifery. She saved my mother’s life when my twin brothers were born. Your daughter is in good hands.”
“I have grandchildren I might never get to hold,” she choked out. “I might never even see them.”
Connor turned his wife into his arms. “Someday, my love. We’ll find a way.”
“Think you ’tis possible to come and go at will?” Sky’s eyes widened. She’d been so disappointed not to find Madame Giselle at the fair, and now her hopes soared once again.
“It may be.” Connor led his wife to the couch. “We’ve been doing a lot of research since the day Meghan disappeared.”
Struan and Michael returned and handed out their drinks. “Let’s all sit,” Struan suggested.
Once they were all settled, Connor asked her to tell them everything that had happened that day, and Sky repeated her story, leaving nothing out. Mayhap the tale held some clue she didn’t see.
“Were there any fae involved in your coming here?” Connor asked. “Did you have any contact with one of the ancient ones before you came forward through time? Was the one called Madame Giselle anywhere in the vicinity?”
“Nay. As I said, I was riding through the forest, and I came across the wavering lights in a clearing. My mount balked and threw me, and I tumbled through.”
The McGladreys exchanged a knowing look. Connor set his whiskey down and rose to his feet. “I’ll be right back. I left something in the car you need to see.” He strode across the room and out the front door.
“This is a beautiful valley,” Katherine commented. “And your home is very nice, Struan.”
“Thanks. I like it.”
Sky watched the door for Connor’s return whilst Katherine, Struan and Michael spoke of inconsequential matters. What could he have to show her? She’d felt his excitement and anticipation. Even without her gifts, his tension was a tangible force in the small cottage.
Connor returned carrying a tube of some sort and a leather satchel. “Do you have a place where I can lay out a couple of maps?”
“Sure. In the kitchen.” Struan got up and led them into a chamber resembling the Gordons’ eating hall, only without the hearth. One end was for cooking and held his pantry cabinets, and the other end was where a trestle table and several chairs stood. Like the Gordons’, Struan’s eating area also had sliding doors leading outside to what they referred to as a patio.
Michael hurried over to the table and cleared the surface, while Connor set the satchel on one of the chairs. He removed a cap from one end of the tube and removed a roll of some material akin to parchment. “Do you have something we can put at the corners to hold these maps down?”
“Sure, we can use coffee mugs.” Struan went to one of his cabinets and started handing mugs to Michael.
Once the maps were laid out flat, Sky drew closer to take a look. One was of Scotland, the other of Ireland. Both had clusters of red dots in specific areas, and the areas were scattered over both maps. “What do these red spots mean?”
“Since Meghan’s disappearance, Katherine and I have traveled to Ireland and Scotland looking into local legends and tales—stories about people who have vanished, or folks who have suddenly appeared decades after having gone missing.” Connor reached into his satchel and pulled out a laptop. “I’ve scanned a lot of the stories if you want to read them.”
Struan had gone pale, and his eyes were riveted upon a particular place on the map of Scotland. “What . . . uh . . . I don’t know what to make of this.” He touched a spot with several red dots. “This is near Berwick where I fought at Halidon Hill in 1333. This . . . this has to be where I came through to this century.”
Struan’s eyes sought hers, and the disquiet, the deep fear she sensed caused a lump to rise in her throat. She wanted to put her arms around him, comfort him, but ’twas not her place.
“You are from the past as well?” Conner frowned. “Why did you not say so when you called?”
Struan shook his head, his expression dazed. “It didn’t seem relevant at the time.”
“Sit, laddie,” Connor commanded, pulling out a chair. “You look about to drop. Michael, fetch your brother’s whiskey for him, and bring ours as well, if you would.”
“Sure.” Michael scurried off toward the living room.
“I’ll have your tale before we leave, boyo.” Connor shot Struan a determined look. “I noticed the building behind the house. You’re Sutherland Forge, I take it?”
Struan nodded.
Connor slapped Struan’s shoulder, sending him pitching forward in his chair. “I’ve a few of your swords. Ordered them online, I did, and fine weapons they are, too. Do you wield a blade as well as you forge one, I wonder?”
Struan recovered himself, and rubbed his forehead as if it pained him. “Well enough.”
“We’ll have a go to test your mettle before my wife and I leave.”
Struan’s eyes nar
rowed, and Sky sensed the mixture of anticipation and dread coursing through him. Why dread? He engaged in swordplay for the fairs, and she’d seen the lists with the quintain behind the Gordons’ house. Surely training with Connor was no cause for concern.
Michael returned with his hands full of glasses, and Sky helped him get the drinks to their rightful owners. Then she took a seat and pointed to a place on the map of Scotland. A dozen dots were so close in proximity they nearly formed an island of red. “This is very near Castle Kildrummy. ’Tis certain this is the clearing in the wood where I came through. If there are so many stories, surely the Erskines ken the tales well enough.”
“Aye. Most likely.” Connor pulled out a chair and sat. He thrummed with excitement. “There are two kinds of time travel stories. Those in which a mortal has come into contact with one of the Tuatha Dé Danann and disappeared, and those in which no contact took place. In the latter, some hapless soul stumbled across a spot where a portal opened, and they were taken to a different place and time.
“Katherine and I have searched for some kind of pattern, maybe a specific time of year when the occurrences happened, but we can’t find any rhyme or reason for when a passageway opens or closes.” He looked around the table at each of them.
“In my case, I followed one of the ancient ones through time. In your mother’s case, Sky, she was sent to the past by Madame Giselle, who also provided Robley with the means to travel back and forth at will with the use of uncut diamonds.” His eyes met hers. “I suspect you happened upon one of the gates just as it opened, as did you, Struan.”
“Madame Giselle was responsible for sending my brother to the fair where you and your daughter were putting on an exhibition,” Sky added. “She chose Meghan for Hunter, because of her strength and her fighting skills.”
“I had wondered, and now I know for certain.” Connor’s expression hardened for a moment. “We know the fae travel through time, and to do so, they open these . . . corridors through the centuries. We believe a number of their passageways have been abandoned or forgotten. They’ve been left in an active state, and unfortunately, the unsuspecting wander right into them.”
“Are there any of these dot clusters in the US?” Michael asked.
“I couldn’t say. We haven’t been able to find any stories here involving sudden disappearances, appearances or reappearances other than those involving Sky’s kin, and they are fairly recent. It’s entirely possible that the people who are indigenous to this land have legends of such, but the stories have most likely been lost. We couldn’t find anything on the Internet, in books of folklore or any hint of such in our visits to museums and history centers.”
Sky’s heart stuttered. The implications were overwhelming. “You believe I can go back, don’t you?”
“I do.” Connor tensed. “What’s more, I believe anyone can travel back and forth once they discover the key to when the portals open and close.” He glanced at his wife. “We hoped to find a way to bring our daughter back home. That’s why we began the research. Robley told us that Madame Giselle instructed him to keep his heart and mind fixed upon the time and place he wished to go, and that doing so would get him there.”
“Och, but it didn’t,” Sky cried. “Not exactly. Robley meant to arrive on the exact day my mother left, and at the exact same fair in New York where she worked. Instead, he landed in Minnesota and at a different fair.”
“Aye, but he said he believed your mother’s birthplace was also fixed in his mind, since she’d told him so many stories about her life there.” Connor shook his head. “Until now, we had no idea what time or place our girl had been taken to. Thanks to you, now we know.”
Katherine tossed back her whiskey in a single gulp and slammed the tumbler down on the table. “When you go back, Sky, we’re going with you.”
“What?” Struan shot up from his chair. “Are you crazy?”
“Nay, you canna risk such a thing.” Sky looked from Connor to Katherine. “Your son’s in Minnesota. You have grandchildren here, and extended family. What of your fencing club?”
“You can’t go back alone, Sky. If your betrothed suspects you know of his plans, you’ll be in danger.” Connor’s jaw tightened. “If you are to prevent a clan war, you must try to return to the very spot and time from which you left, but as you pointed out with Robley’s case, you can’t count on ending up exactly when and where you wish. We can only hope to get to your kin before they fall into the earl of Mar’s clutches. If possible, we need to go back to the moments before you disappeared to avert disaster altogether.
“Should something go wrong, you’ll need protection, which is where I come in.” Connor reached for his wife’s hand. “I will guard you, and in exchange, you will take us to our daughter. We’ll bring the maps with us, and if we cannot locate Madame Giselle to beg her aid in returning home, then we’ll seek another portal and camp there until the way opens.”
“I wanna go too,” Michael cried. “This would be the adventure of a lifetime.”
“Absolutely not, Michael,” Struan shouted. “What the hell are you all thinking?” He glared. “There are no guarantees that you’ll be able to go where you want to go, much less that you’d be able to return. I won’t allow it.”
“In my time, I was heir to a chiefdom, laddie, and you’ll not be telling me what I can and cannot do.” Connor glared back.
“I meant that for my brother,” Struan gritted out. His chest worked like the bellows in his fire pit, as if breathing had become a struggle, and the muscles at his clenched jaw twitched.
Struan growled deep in his throat, strode to the patio doors, shoved open the screening and stomped out.
Sensing the internal battle waging within him, Sky started after him. Surely he realized his parents would never allow Michael to go anywhere. So what had stirred him into such a state?
“Don’t, Sky,” Michael warned. “When Struan gets like this, we’ve all learned it’s best to leave him alone until he’s cooled down and worked things out for himself.” His phone chimed from his back pocket. Michael pulled it out and checked his text messages. “Mom says it’s time to head home for dinner. Dad’s grilling.” He grinned the grin of a hungry adolescent. “He’s a gourmet griller.”
She and the McGladreys followed Michael out the front door and down Struan’s driveway. Katherine walked beside her. “We’ll talk more about our plans tomorrow morning, Sky. There are things we must do to prepare, and we brought along a few things for you to help the process along.”
“Aye, we’ll talk tomorrow. Will you stay the night in Struan’s camper?”
“Perhaps, if we’re still welcome. If not, we’ll find a nearby hotel.”
“Och, I dinna believe Struan to be the kind of man to rescind his welcome,” Sky said. “My sudden appearance in his life has been difficult for him, and I’m sure the thought of his brother’s wish to accompany us was too much for him to bear. Like Michael said, once he’s worked things out for himself, I’m sure he’ll be fine.”
Katherine’s expression smoothed. “I’m sure you’re right.”
All the way to the Gordons’, Sky scanned the valley for any sign of Struan. Mayhap he walked through the forest, hidden from her view. She still longed to comfort him, and ’twas difficult to keep from setting out to find him.
Gene was outside his garage with his grill as the four of them walked up the driveway.
“Glad you could stay for supper,” he greeted them, waving a pair of tongs in the air.
“Thank you for inviting us.” Connor put his arm around Katherine’s shoulders. “I’m afraid we’ve upset Struan. He took off on foot.”
“Oh?” Gene looked to Michael, who launched into a brief description of what had transpired.
“Ah, well, you’re not going anywhere, son, so don’t even think about it.”
“I know, Dad. I was just saying it would be the experience of a lifetime. Epic.”
“You know what would really be epic?�
� Gene flashed a pointed look Michael’s way. “Seeing you graduate from high school next spring, and then packing you off to college to get a four-year degree. Now that would be the experience of a lifetime, for your mother and me, anyway.”
Michael let out a purely put-upon groan and skulked off into the house.
Gene turned to the McGladreys. “These steaks will be done in a few minutes. Go on in. It’s just us tonight. Lindsay is out with friends, and Ethan and his family had plans for the evening.”
All through supper, Sky watched the door, hoping Struan would return. He didn’t, and concern for him gnawed at her like a hound with a bone.
“Do you know of a hotel nearby where we might stay the night?” Katherine asked.
Marjorie waved their request away. “You’re not staying at a hotel. We have room here, and you’re welcome to stay.”
“We don’t wish to trouble you.” Connor leaned back in his chair. “Struan offered us the use of his trailer, but . . . after the way we upset him, my wife and I think it would be best if we stayed in town.”
“Oh.” Marjorie’s eyes clouded with concern. “Struan can sometimes be a bit reactive, but he’ll be himself again once he’s had time to work through whatever’s bothering him. If you’d prefer to stay in town, there’s the Inn at Gristmill Square. It’s a lovely historic bed-and-breakfast.” She slid her chair back and rose from her place. “The owners are good friends of ours. Let me give them a call and see if they have a room open.”
Marjorie left the kitchen to make the call, and Sky began to clear the table. “If you will teach me how to put the dishes in yon contraption, Gene, I’d like to clean up this eve.”
“I’ll help.” Katherine joined her. “Gene, you sit and keep my husband company. I can show Sky how to load the dishwasher.”
She and Katherine worked side by side and made quick work of cleaning the Gordons’ kitchen. All the while Sky’s mind went over the day’s happenings, especially Struan’s kiss. Where was he, and what had upset him so? Was it the daunting realization that traveling through the centuries at will might be possible? Mayhap like her, he both feared and longed to go back to prevent the disaster befalling his father and clan. That would explain his sudden burst of anger, followed by his equally sudden departure. After all, he believed her presence in his life signaled the approaching end of his. He had naught to fear. She would not allow him to leave his valley or his family.
The Highlander's Vow (Loch Moigh #4) Page 11
