by Jane Stain
“My clanswoman apprenticed with yer lovely supper partner today, and I’ve come tae see if she can share her accommodation with her, or find her an appropriate place to sleep.”
Alfred deferred to the weaver, who smiled at Tavish again.
“I dae thank ye for bringing Kelsey tae us. She is a lot of help. My children and I still hae my husband’s house in Castleton, and I would be happy tae make a home for her while she’s here visiting ye, Tavish MacGregor. And please, dae call me Eileen.”
“Och. I thank ye sae much,” he said to Eileen, and then he spoke mostly to Alfred. “Once ye hae finished eating, will ye please come and get us? O course I will see Kelsey tae Eileen’s house safely, and I will pick her up at dawn for our trip to Bangor.”
“Aye,” said Alfred, “‘twill be my pleasure.”
“Eileen,” said Tavish, “I am sorry for the loss of Kelsey’s help on the morrow. If there ever be aught I can dae for ye, I would be pleased if ye made it known to me.”
Eileen was looking across the room when she answered him.
“Sure and I will.”
Tavish locked forearms again with Alfred.
“We will be at our table.”
“We will see ye soon.”
Tavish was almost back to the head table when he saw Kelsey and Seumas talking with their heads close together, smiling and laughing over his empty chair. The couple on the other side of Kelsey had left, so Tavish pulled out the woman’s chair by Kelsey’s side.
At the movement, she turned her head, and when she saw it was him, she turned her whole body.
“I was starting to think ye fell— I mean, that something was amiss.”
He laughed.
“Nothing so dramatic, just arranging yer sleeping quarters with Eileen. It appears I’ve missed a bunch o fun here, though.”
She smiled and glanced at Seumas.
“Yer sparring partner was just filling me in aboot the standard of entertainment in this hall. He says there is something tae see or hear or dae ivery night. Right, Seumas?”
Seumas nodded to her and then met Tavish’s eyes over her head, looking more like a doctor or a preacher than a warrior, his eyes had such softness in them.
“Aye, I did tell the lass what a fine life she might hae here, did she wish tae stay.”
Uh oh. Here it came. Tavish searched Kelsey’s face for any sign of fear at the idea of remaining here—or anger at the idea of a stranger suggesting it, but he didn’t see any. She seemed content, relaxed, and enjoying herself. How weird. He opened his mouth to ask her about that, discreetly, but she spoke first.
“Sae what sort o sums will I need tae dae for Donnell tomorrow?”
“Och,” said Tavish, “Donnell is Laird Malcomb’s steward of ships. We will take a boatload o cow leather and vellum ower, and then we will bring all manner o goods back here from the huge port in Bangor, Ireland.”
She winked at him, and smiled in amusement.
“All manner o goods, eh?”
He raised his eyebrows at her. For someone with a degree in Celtic artwork, she didn’t know much about the Celts and the extent of their trading.
“Aye, spices from India, tea from China, rugs from Persia, cedar chests from Lebanon, ye name it, he imports it. Yer task will be tae make sure everything is present after the loaders get finished.”
She wrinkled her brow and lowered her chin and dropped her mouth open in the cutest gesture he’d ever seen. She put her hand on his knee and pushed. Hard.
“Tavish. That’s a huge task ye hae signed me up for. How am I going tae get all that done?”
He tried to stop himself, but he chuckled a little at her expression. But at the touch of her hand on his knee through his kilt, he took a napkin off the table and put it in his lap, gesturing for Seumas to give him his wine.
“Thank ye, Seumas.” He drank it all down, grateful for its instant calming effect. “Kelsey, ye won’t hae tae dae it all yerself. We’ll help ye. But ye see it was a long stretch, getting Laird Malcomb tae let ye come along.” And then he stared into her eyes, willing her to understand what he meant, despite what he had to say in front of others. “And I know how ye hae always wanted tae see Ireland, aye?”
She sighed, but she popped her eyes wide open for a moment, just for Tavish to see, then slumped in her chair.
“Aye.”
Seumas spoke to her, but he met Tavish’s eyes over her head again.
“There, there, lass. Ye don’t hae tae dae it. We men can manage on our own. There will be other trips to Ireland, many of them, if ye dae stay here. Ye can go another time, when ye are more accustomed tae this place, and tae our ways.”
Tavish locked eyes with Seumas to show he meant business.
“Nay, she’s going.”
Seumas raised his eyebrows at Tavish.
“Aye? Is that the way of it, then?”
Kelsey scooted her chair back, and the wooden legs made a loud scraping noise on the stone floor. When the two of them turned to look at her, she had a twinkle in her eye and she was smiling.
“It’s all right Seumas. I dae want tae go. I’m looking forward tae it.”
Seumas kept looking at Tavish.
“Well then, things are set. For the morrow.”
Tavish nodded at Seumas, then turned to smile at Kelsey.
She gave him a hopeful smile, then followed his gaze over toward Alfred and Eileen’s table.
He was relieved to see them walking toward him.
Deich
Kelsey went to meet Eileen when she saw her coming, and she threw her arms around the woman and gave her a big hug.
“Thank ye, thank ye, thank ye!”
Eileen laughed, but she hugged Kelsey back while Alfred went over to speak with his brother and Tavish.
“Och, wait till ye see the place before ye thank me sae much. Thare are four children livin thare, ye know.”
Kelsey broke out of the hug and made a dismissive gesture with her hand, looking over to make sure the men were out of earshot and lowering her voice against those still seated nearby overhearing.
“Ay, thank ye for the place tae stay an aw, but I meant thank ye for comin along juist now.”
Eileen cast a worried glance over at the men.
“Och? What’s the matter?”
Kelsey smirked to let Eileen know it wasn’t danger she had fled, but annoyance.
“As if it wasn’t enough that Tavish was always butting intae my business, now Seumas is finding the need tae dae sae as well.”
But instead of commiserating with her, Eileen got a big grin on her face. What was up with that? Kelsey looked over at the men again.
“Canna ye dae better than Seumas’s brother? I mean, he’s handsome, but gin he’s anythin like Seumas, that’s a bit owerbearing, ye ken?”
Eileen bit her knuckle again, and only spoke once she’d contained her laughter.
“Kelsey, Alfred and Seumas are Laird Malcomb’s nephews, and the laird’s sons are marriit now. Sae thare really is na much better we could dae.”
“We?”
Kelsey looked over at the men yet again. Now that Eileen mentioned it, the brothers’ linen shirts were a little finer than those of the other warriors in the hall. Their kilted plaids were similar to the laird’s. They wore fine brooches that might even be signets of some kind. When she turned back, Eileen was smirking.
“Well, ye are in need of a husband.”
“I did na say I needed one, just that I did lose one.”
“’Tis the same difference.”
Kelsey crossed her arms to show that she wouldn’t be persuaded.
“Perchance around here it is, but not where I hail from.”
Eileen was giving her a puzzled look, but Kelsey nodded sideways, where the men were coming over.
Alfred found his way to Eileen’s side instantly and offered his arm.
“Let us gae an get yer children, and then ma brother and I and Tavish will see ye home.”
> She smiled up at him and took his arm.
Tavish and Seumas were both looking at Kelsey intently and moving forward as if they meant to come over and take charge and tell her what to do once more.
She headed them off at the pass, stepping between them and grabbing both of their arms again, just like when they came in. Acting like the three of them had been playmates since they were little, she kept her voice cheerful and light, like this was all in fun.
“Come on. I’m dyin tae see where Alfred put Eileen’s children.”
In front of them, Alfred laughed.
“Na place thon interesting, juist in the nursery with Maw. Howsoever, now I wish I had stuffit them intae one o the old castle’s dungeons.”
Everyone laughed, including some of the diners at nearby tables.
Kelsey looked into Tavish’s deep brown eyes, and they were aglow with at least as much excitement as she felt. He dropped her arm, raised his eyebrows at her, and gave her a ‘Go on’ nod toward Alfred with his chin.
Kelsey dropped Seumas’s arm, made her way to Eileen’s other side, and looked back-and-forth from Eileen to Alfred with all the wonder she could put into her expression.
“The old castle hae dungeons, Alfred? How fascinating! Will ye shew us?”
Alfred looked to Eileen.
Kelsey looked at her new friend too.
Eileen grinned at Kelsey with a look that clearly said “Thank ye” before she turned her huge charming smile back onto Alfred.
“Och, would ye?”
Alfred looked at the other men.
Tavish shrugged at him.
Seumas looked at Kelsey with a question in his eyes much like the one Alfred had asked Eileen.
Kelsey made herself maintain eye contact with Seumas and not look over at Tavish. The red-haired man was good-looking enough that it wasn’t difficult. He seemed nice enough. But she’d only just met him. Still, she and Tavish needed to get into the underground castle. She felt the lie in her smile even as she gave it to him.
Seumas clapped his brother on the back.
“Aye, let us gae and tell Maw we shall be a while longer.”
Eileen elbowed Kelsey in the ribs just then.
Kelsey broke into laughter when she saw the look Eileen gave her, which bordered between “Woo woo!” and “I thought so!” And then Kelsey did look at Tavish to see his reaction to this whole little exchange.
He moved up to the front of the group, opened a door, and went inside without looking back at her.
Alfred took the rest of them through the same door.
“Maw!”
“Maw!”
“Maw!”
“Maw!”
Eileen’s four children ran over and all found a way to hug her at the same time.
Thus encumbered, Eileen still found a way to sort of curtsy at Alfred and Seumas’s mother, a woman of about 50 who looked kind but clever.
“I thank ye sae much, ma’am. I hope they were na tae much trouble.”
Alfred stepped over.
“Maw, I’m verra happy for ye tae meet Eileen. Eileen, this is my maw, Isabel.”
Isabel looked back-and-forth between Alfred and Eileen with a calmly controlled joy. And then she put her hands on the children and patted them gently and smiled at them when their little eyes looked up at hers.
“It was nay trouble at all, dear.”
Alfred held out his arm for Eileen.
“Och good. Then ye will na mind at all watching them for a little while longer while Tavish, Seumas, and I give Eileen and her new apprentice Kelsey a tour o the dungeons.”
On hearing this, Eileen’s children piped up.
“The dungeons!”
“We want to go to the dungeons tae!”
“Och!”
“Maw, can we?”
Eileen opened her mouth to say something, but Isabel knelt down and held out her arms.
“Nah nah, the dungeons aren’t any place for children. Come on ower tae auntie Isabel. I’ll tak ye doon tae the kitchen and see if Sorcha has anything sweet we can make for ye.”
The children rushed over to Isabel and let her hug them while Eileen walked over and took Alfred’s arm, and then the two led the rest of them out of the nursery, down the corridor, down the stairs, and out through the kitchen. Just before they left the Castle, they picked up torches from a bin and lighted them in the fireplace.
There were lamps burning in all the taverns, but the vendor carts were gone for the night, and only a few people wandered the streets—most of them obviously drunk, walking arm in arm.
The whole way to the underground castle entrance, Seumas walked by Kelsey’s side. He was a perfect gentleman, never taking any liberties, but he did catch her by the arm once when she stumbled, preventing her from a nasty fall.
His attention made her self-conscious about wanting to stare at the starry sky. She did catch glimpses of the stars now and then, and there were far more than she ever knew existed. She could even see galaxies, and of course the Milky Way.
She did her best not to sigh, not to give away that she was in no way interested. Encouraging Seumas had seemed a good idea at the time, so now she needed to sleep in the bed she had made—hopefully just figuratively.
Every so often, she tried to catch Tavish’s eye. If she was honest with herself, she would admit she wanted reassurance that she was not alone here, that someone else understood how it felt to be 700 years outside one’s own time. But he was walking on the other side of Seumas and was never looking at her at the same time she was looking at him.
And then they were at this different underground castle entrance, where an elaborate trap door stood open, revealing a narrow stone staircase going down into blackness. It was much farther back from the cliffs than the ruined tower house which covered those three trapdoors in her time. She cast about for some landmarks, thinking to try and dig up this new trap door in her time.
Once she thought she had it triangulated so that she could find it again, she tried again to make eye contact with Tavish. But again he was looking instead somewhere else. She kept looking at him as long as seemed possible without it getting awkward, but he still didn’t happen to look at her.
Two kilted guards armed with claymores stood there on watch, but they nodded to Alfred as he approached.
“Evening, Sir.”
“Evening Dubh, Luthais,” he said to them, “Seumas and Tavish and I wull be taking these ladies doon tae the docks for a quick look.”
Dubh and Luthais bowed their heads toward him.
“Verra well, Sir.”
Alfred and Eileen went down the stairs first single file, holding the wall with one hand and their torches high with the other. At the same time, Seumas and Tavish both gestured in front of them for Kelsey to follow so that they could take up the rear.
Kelsey held up her torch and followed Eileen down the stairs.
It had been dark when she and Tavish left here this morning, but their eyes had been adjusted to the darkness, and they had been coming out toward the light of the sun. Now they were going down into the darkness—and it seemed foreboding indeed. Thankfully, she wasn’t the only one who thought so, or she would’ve felt really alone.
Eileen brought it up first, smiling at Alfred in the torchlight.
“Are ye sure ’tis safe down here? ‘Tis dreadfully dark.”
Alfred chuckled.
“Do ye hae second thoughts on coming doon to the dungeons, lass?”
Oh no. Before he had a chance to talk Eileen out of exploring the dungeons, Kelsey butted in.
“I know I’m havin second an e'en third thoughts aboot comin doon here, but with three strong warriors tae protect us, I know we will be fine. Aye, Eileen?”
Eileen gave Kelsey that same impish grin. And she leaned into Alfred as they all started to walk side-by-side along the corridor—which meant Seumas came up beside Kelsey and Tavish stayed by himself in the back. And Eileen winked at her before she turned to Alfred a
nd all but batted her eyelashes.
“Dinna leave my side, and all my thoughts will stay in order.”
Alfred put his arm around Eileen’s waist and turned to address everyone.
“This is where the odd parts o the corridor start.” He turned toward the wall and pointed to some Celtic runes that Kelsey could see announced a secret door. “Ivry sae often along the corridor, ye wull see these same runes. We dinna know what they mean. Several o us hae theories.” He raised his eyebrow and invited speculation.
Here, at last, Tavish met eyes with Kelsey. He raised his own eyebrow, and she knew without a shadow of a doubt what he was asking: “Is it another secret door?”
Kelsey nodded the ever slightest to him.
He pressed his lips together and looked around, and again she knew exactly what he was saying to her, they’d known each other so well: “Be ready to come back here and explore it. I’m going to cause a distraction at the first opportunity I see.”
She made the tiniest nod to him again.
Meanwhile, Eileen was gushing with enthusiasm at Alfred.
“Och, I hae heard stories aboot the things doon in these caves! The ancient druids used tae dae ritual sacrifices doon here they say! There’s supposit tae be aw kinds o secret passageways gang deep intae the cliffs! An aw sorts o secret rooms with treasure inside! Och, and dungeons as well—ye know, where they did thaes sacrifices!”
Alfred gave her an amused smile and humored her a bit.
“Forsooth, all I hae seen are these strange Celtic markings. I dinna doubt the Celts livit in these caves long ago. As for the rest, yer guess is as guid as mine.” He bowed his head to Eileen a bit, and she caressed his cheek. “Come, we must get on with the tour doon tae the dungeons if we are tae get tae bed afore the cock crows.”
Instead of letting Seumas accompany Kelsey as he had before, Tavish fell in next to Seumas and clapped a hand on his back and spoke to him uproariously, demanding all the man’s attention as they walked down the corridor.
“I’ll wager we find altars in the dungeons gin we look well enough. Whit say ye?”
Seumas was taken in.
“Och I’ll willingly take yer money! We hae been doon thare hundrits o times on the watches, and hae seen nay sign o an altar…”
