by Jane Stain
Luag nodded and blinked at the scorcher Katherine had just launched at him, pretending to throw pieces of it off his clothes, which made the crowd laugh.
Katherine was visibly pushing her lips together so as not to laugh herself. She couldn't verra well give Luag laughing points herself, could she? What would be the fun in that?
They were on about something else now. Luag struck a pose with his back to her and his smile winning the faces of the neighbors.
“Glad I am ye are na lost. Saves us all the trouble of trying tae find ye."
Leif hoped Katherine had a reply. He admired her ability to keep her head in unsafe circumstances, for a lass all alone among strangers. She had to be afraid, but you would never know it to look at her. She stood up straight and put her hand behind the small of her back and looked up for all the world as if she were a scholar. A lass playing at scholar! And she was convincing.
Sure enough, she did, and such a good one it was.
"None o' us is truly ever lost nor found, but thinking makes it sae."
The crowd didn't know quite what to do with this. They were looking around at each other puzzled.
But it was brilliant. Leif wanted to help her.
"Game and match tae the lady. Nae Taran tells me ye hae some colleagues temporarily sequestered in Alvin's barn."
Leif wondered if Luag even realized he was walking over to Katherine ever so slowly, and she was ever so slowly rocking off of her back leg to stand more or less straight and toward him.
Leif felt like he should avert his eyes, as if he were watching something too intimate to see. But that was preposterous. Luag and Katherine were feet apart. Howsoever, their eyes studied each other, measured each other — more like two cats about to fight than two adults who were attracted to each other. It was mesmerizing.
In a fluid movement that was slow yet graceful, Katherine turned toward Alvin's barn just as Luag arrived beside her, so that they were standing together looking the same direction. As if they had been married ten years.
Katherine spoke to Leif over Luag’s head.
"Aye, and they should verra much like tae meet ye.”
Taran gave Leif a look that said if they were going to invite the three women to stay with them, then now was the time, and Taran was game. Was he?
Leif nodded yes to his brother and then addressed Katherine.
"Taran and I should be honored if ye three lasses would bide with us while ye be here in toon. I know Senga has enough provisions on hand tae cook for eight instead o' five," he nodded to his cook, who was still doing the marketing, and Senga nodded back in the affirmative, with little Amena running circles around her. "And Luag is the eighth one, staying with us as well, and it appears he enjoys yer conversation."
Fair-haired Luag seemed to wake from sleepwalking and discover he was beside the lass. With a scowl, he dropped back beside Leif.
Katherine turned and walked backward, smiling as if she were the one doing them all a favor.
"Well then, we should be going tae meet them, ye ken?"
Without waiting for an answer, she turned around and trotted off toward Alvin's barn, apparently expecting them all to follow her.
And they did, listening to her say the most outrageous things ever.
“Aye, we come from the future. We were touring the castle over the mountain and wandered out to the grove o' trees…”
Chapter 5
Jessica followed Lauren's eyes out the window but didn't see Katherine coming, and when she looked back at Lauren with a questioning look, Lauren just smiled an odd little smile. Jessica turned back to the window, and her breath caught in her throat.
Three men accompanied their brash blonde friend, two of them pushing a cart and the other walking beside her. With them were an older woman and a small girl. These people stood out from others in the village. For one thing, they were clean. For another, two of the men wore short pants under leines made all of the same weave. The third man, blond like Katherine, wore a large suit coat over a woolen shirt tucked into long trousers that were in turn tucked into tall leather boots. The little girl’s leine was also all of one weave, and her shawl all of another. The older woman was dressed more plainly, a servant probably, but the men pushed the cart for her.
Jessica struggled to speak.
"Do my eyes deceive me?"
Lauren didn't seem worried. In fact, she sounded downright pleased.
"Yep, they’re with her all right. And they’re probably the answer to our problems."
Jessica stared through the raised window shutter.
“They’re perfect strangers. How do we know we can trust them, the men, I mean?"
Lauren got that faraway look in her eyes again, and Jessica saw now that it wasn’t calculating so much as distracted, as when talking on the phone. Weird.
"Look at the way their bodies move," Lauren said as if it were a memorized line of speech. "They aren’t threatening Katherine one bit. Rather, they’re protecting her."
Jessica put her hands on her hips, prepared to call Lauren on her BS. She had always made earthy jokes and worn odd clothes, but this was—
But Lauren was right. The three men were protecting Katherine with their company, especially the blond man, who was introducing her to passersby as if she were kin while at the same time chiding her.
“Ye hae the better o' me on that, lass,” he said to her, “howsoever, I shall take every opportunity tae get the better o' ye!”
Jessica didn’t know what that was about, and she didn’t want to know.
The other two men weren't laughing, but they looked friendly. One of them was quite handsome, with long dark hair and the deepest blue eyes… Jess found herself in a fantasy where she was about to kiss this handsome stranger. Those gorgeous blue eyes were burrowing into her eyes and getting closer and closer…
Oof!
The door she was leaning on opened with a lurch, throwing her off balance. She teetered for a moment, but then fell backward!
And found herself in the arms of the gorgeous man with the long dark hair. His penetrating blue eyes were up close for real this time. For a moment. Until he briskly set her down and put distance between them.
Katherine took a break in the banter for introductions, starting with the blond man.
"Luag, Leif, Taran, Senga, Amena, these are my friends I told ye about, Jessica and Lauren."
So his name is Leif. That’s a handsome name for a handsome man. Way out of my league, that’s for sure.
Blushing and not looking at Leif, Jessica waved a bit at the others while Lauren nodded her head the slightest.
“Hello.”
Katherine continued.
“Jessica, Lauren, this is Leif o' Cresh Manor, his brother Taran, their friend Luag, Senga their cook, and their little sister, Amena. I hae told them how we got here and whence we came.”
He has a manor, eh? Not surprising at all, the way he and his brother and sister are dressed better than everyone else in the village.
They all bowed when introduced, Senga the lowest, holding Amena’s hand.
Lauren looked likely to panic for a second on hearing these people knew about time travel. She puffed up with a swelled chest, ready to berate Katherine. But all at once she calmed down, oddly looking off into the distance she couldn’t see through the walls of the shed.
Jessica caught herself stealing glances at Leif. He really was something to look at, tall and lean, and it was plain he was accustomed to being in charge, the way he stood back observing everyone.
Taran was standing by Lauren in the now-crowded shed.
"’Tis quite a story Katherine tells us, about how ye came tae be here. She is a good teller o' tales, and the part she put in the story for ye is quite intriguing."
Jessica didn't hear what Lauren had to say in reply, because Leif was in front of her. His smile was a winning one, reinforcing the idea that he was accustomed to being in charge but hinting that he was a benevolent taskmaster. In
her time, she figured he would be an entrepreneur. She looked at his extremely fit physique and had fun imagining what he must do in this day and age.
His tone was playful, but he stood regally and addressed the whole group, as if they were at his manor and not in a hay shed.
"I hae encountered the druids before, and I am willing tae admit there are things I dinna ken."
How refreshing. She let her face show Leif she thought so.
“I admire that. Not many people are. What dae ye ken o' the druids? Some o' them called after us, wanting us to bide with them, but Lauren bade us run, saying they were evil.”
The fun was over. Leif’s brow creased, and his face clouded in sadness and loss.
“I had na put it together afore just now, howsoever some druids came tae speak with my parents a week before they took ill, which was two weeks afore they died, just a few months hence.”
Jessica put her hand on his arm in sympathy and just about fainted from the giddy feeling it gave her to be touching this beautiful man.
"’Tis sae sorry I am, for yer loss. I canna imagine how it must feel tae lose yer parents."
He looked worried about her touch, though.
She let go of him quickly.
Smiling at everyone, he raised his voice.
"Dae ye lasses care tae accompany us tae Cresh Manor? Charming as it is tae meet in the doorway tae Alvin's barn, I daresay the accommodations will be better at home."
Katherine smiled triumphantly at Lauren, who grinned in return and nodded her head yes, so Jessica smiled in gratefulness at Leif, and seeing how he was right in front of her, she figured she should be the one to speak to him.
"We would like that verra much, and we thank ye."
He gestured for her to precede the others out.
Shooting Katherine a look that said ‘I get to walk with the best one,’ Jessica got up and did just that, falling in step beside Leif as they all left the shed and wandered into the barnyard, where chickens bustled about noisily. The effect was ruined a bit when he carefully folded his arms to avoid brushing hands with her, but she already knew he was out of her league. That didn’t mean she wouldn’t enjoy looking at him, though. Wow.
The farmhouse door opened and a man who must be Alvin ran out and took up Senga’s marketing cart, pushing it for her while Leif led everyone along a path that skirted the village and the barley fields and then up the thickly treed hill on the other side toward a stately manor house. There was a small building off to the side of it, a mother-in-law cottage, perhaps.
Wondering would drive her crazy. Best to ask, before she found herself in trouble for the way she knew she was staring at him.
"So whose company can we expect tae find once we reach yer house? Is yer wife home?"
And there it was, the dazzling smile she had thought perhaps Leif was keeping in reserve for a special occasion. Nope. It was his natural look. Wow.
"None of us are married. ‘Tis just me and Taran and oor little sister Alena. Luag has been staying with us since he joined us in service tae The Wolf o' Badenoch."
Jessica flinched. If there was time travel, were werewolves real, too?
“The wolf?”
Leif laughed good naturedly.
“Ye really are na from near here, are ye? ‘Wolf of Badenoch’ is the nickname of oor commander Alexander Stewart, nephew tae Robert Stewart, the King’s regent. But yer Gaelic is sae perfectly accented.”
His compliment softened the blow of his bafflement at her ignorance, and she basked in it for a moment, but then her conscience prompted her not to take credit.
"Our accents are part o' the magic that brought us here."
He smiled indulgently at her for the briefest of moments, as if she’d said something witty, and then directed a question to his servant.
"Have we enough meat in the larder tae feed sae many?”
Senga held her place in the middle of the party walking next to Alvin and just raised her voice to be heard over everyone's chatter.
"Aye, Leif. We hae half the deer ye got the other day."
Leif looked around.
"Well nae, dinna skimp on supper. We can always get more meat. How is the root cellar?"
Senga laughed.
"'Tis a fine thing to see, Leif. Naught tae worry."
Leif smiled at Senga and then turned to Alvin, the man whose shed they'd changed in.
"From the smell o' frying coming out o' yer house, I would say ye hae already supped, sae what brings ye along with us this evening?"
There was a bump in the road here, and Alvin had to use all his breath for a moment to get the cart over it, and then he answered.
"Katherine here just bought up all o' Mauve’s extra leine. I must say they look nice on the lasses. Howsoever, she put me up to coming with ye, seeing as how yer mother’s things are na of any use tae ye, and they could be o' use tae her. Just two leine. I hae one fine gold earring I can give ye in exchange."
At this, Katherine blanched, and Jessica understood why. If Leif and Taran’s clothes were any indication, their mother's leines would be far finer than what Mauve had sold them. And Alvin would get them for the same price Katherine had paid Mauve!
Katherine spoke up.
"How about this, Alvin: ye keep the gold earring I gave yer wife and also get her leine back." She addressed Leif now. "That is, if yer mother's leine are for sale. Ye see, I hae the other earring tae offer ye."
Leif looked over at Taran with a question in his eyes.
Taran nodded, putting an arm over their little sister’s shoulders and holding out his other hand.
“Amena wull choose her own things when she’s grown, sae we may as well sell Mother’s. Let's see that earring."
After just a moment's hesitation, Katherine handed Taran the earring.
He looked it over and whistled.
"That's fine craftsmanship."
Lauren spoke up then.
"Alvin, that's such a good bargain, ye should take it. Think on what ye could do if ye had yer wife's leines back and ye kept the gold. On a grand market day ye could get a new cart or mayhap even a horse. Think o' the possibilities."
Alvin visibly thought about it for a moment and then he smiled big.
"Aye. Aye, ye hae yerself a deal sae far as I am concerned. I know it all comes down tae ye, Leif and Taran. Are ye gaun'ae sell the lasses yer mother's things?"
Leif looked again at Taran, who again nodded as he walked next to Lauren, giving her an admiring look for what she had added to the negotiation.
Leif nodded courteously at Katherine as he worked the latch on the front door of his house.
"Aye. Ye hae yourself a bargain. I will show ye up to my parents’ chamber sae ye can change before supper."
Alvin left the cart outside and everyone followed Leif through the manor house’s narrow front door, upstairs past several more narrow doors, and down the hall to one he unlocked with a huge key. When it opened, Jessica smelled the familiar stench of sickness.
Chapter 6
Plugging her nose, Jessica pulled Leif back before he could enter the room. Katherine and Lauren were plugging their noses as well, and Lauren had that speculative look on her face, almost as if she were listening to voices in her head.
But no. Lauren wasn’t crazy. She was just Jessica’s eccentric drama-club roommate from college. This was probably some kick she was on, ‘minute meditation’ or some such.
Jessica addressed her comments to Leif, the man of this house.
"Is there a window in this room?"
Leif nodded, but his face looked perplexed.
"Aye, but o' course ‘tis blocked by furs for the coming winter."
To Jessica's horror, Amena broke free of Taran’s grasp and ran into the room to rumple the furs, touching the end table to climb up on it.
"See?” said the little girl. “This is them. Father always puts them over the windows when the weather gets cold…"
Amena trailed off to silence, and her
face went sad.
Catching the panicked look on Jessica’s face, Lauren called the little girl out of her departed parents’ room.
"Amena, will ye show me where ye sleep?"
Next to Lauren, Taran held out his arms.
After just a moment of indecision, Amena ran to her brother with tears streaming down her face and was enfolded in his arms. The three of them went down the hall, with Taran carrying Amena.
Thanking God the girl had left the sickroom, hopefully in time, Jessica called after them.
"Lauren, take the furs away from her window and leave the door open sae there wull be a cross breeze from her window tae this one in their parents’ room."
Lauren turned back, answering Jessica in the slang of their time.
"I'm already on it."
Jessica turned to Leif.
"Everyone should go downstairs except one person. Since I canna reach the furs, it must needs be ye.”
She took one of PenUlt’s breathers out of her bag and handed it to him. It looked like a cloth mask, but was chemically enhanced. One of PenUlt’s most popular survival items.
He turned it over and over in his hands, marveling.
“What dae I dae with this?”
“Put it on ower yer nose and mouth, tae keep out the contagion. Here, I wull help ye. There. Now ye can pull the furs away from this window here in yer parents’ room. That’s it. Nae leave this door open, but close the door tae the stairs on yer way doon. We need tae give the upstairs a good airing out afore anyone comes in here without a breathing cloth."
Leif looked skeptical. He raised his voice to those in the other room. "Everyone doonstairs."
They all went down except Lauren, who waited by the door to the stairs.
Leif once again addressed Jessica. “Ye seen sae certain that allowing the night air intae the house wull be tae the good. Dinna ye ken o' the ill in the night air?”
Superstitious, indeed.
But she searched his face and found he wasn’t crazed about it, just incredulous that she wasn’t afraid.
“Ye hae sent Amena doonstairs. The rest o' us can fight off some airy demons, aye?”
