Separated By Time: Book 3 of The Thistle & Hive Series

by Jennae Vale

  His next area to search was the kitchen, where he found his cousin, Jenna, Mary, the castle cook, and Sophia - a girl from twenty first century San Francisco, who found herself unwillingly brought back to medieval Breaghacraig by Jenna’s crazy ex-husband. Mary was teaching Sophia how to heat up the bread oven, by starting a fire inside it first with small pieces of kindling, and then adding bigger pieces of firewood.

  “Once the bread oven is good and hot, ye’ll sweep the burning embers out into the hearth and then place the bread inside to bake,” he heard Mary explaining.

  Cooking in medieval times was a challenge and since marrying Cormac, Jenna had made it her mission to try and help Mary find ways to make her job easier. She also wanted to try to replicate some of the dishes they all missed from the twenty first century. Mary had been skeptical at first, but eventually she had warmed to Jenna and they had developed a friendship of sorts. Dylan had been surprised at how well Jenna fit in at Breaghacraig. She had always been a take-charge kind of girl when they lived in San Francisco, which tended to rub some people the wrong way. She had been quite the accomplished chef herself – not a professional, but Dylan had always suspected she could have been if she’d wanted. Jenna had been responsible for running her parents charitable foundation, arranging for the collection of excess food from local restaurants, which was then distributed to the homeless shelter. Consequently, Jenna was generally busy all of the time and had been searching for things to keep her equally busy in medieval Scotland.

  “Hey, Jenna… Sophia,” Dylan greeted them as he entered the kitchen. “How are you today, Mary?”

  “I be fine, Sir. Jenna is trying to teach me to make pasta.” Mary screwed up her face and pronounced the word with something close to disgust.

  “Mary, we have to try. Cormac loves it and I want to make it for him,” Jenna said.

  Dylan laughed at Mary’s comical expression. “It’s very good, Mary. I think you’d like it. Of course, I’m not sure Jenna will be able to get all the ingredients she needs to make it.”

  “I’m improvising,” Jenna said. “We’ll work with what we’ve got here.” She examined the ingredients she had set out on the table and he could see her calculating in her head just how she was going to manage this task.

  “Have any of you seen Maggie?” Dylan asked.

  Three heads bobbed up to stare at him and Mary spoke. “Have ye looked behind ye?”

  Dylan turned to find Maggie standing there, smiling at him. “How long have you been there?”

  “Not long,” Maggie replied.

  “I’ve been looking all over for you. Where were you?” Dylan couldn’t seem to read Maggie’s mood. She was smiling at him, but he didn’t think it was a genuine smile.

  “Oh, wandering about. No place special. I just needed some breathing room.” Maggie surveyed the room and its occupants. “Do ye mind if I sit down for a bit?”

  “Nae. Of course not, lass. Please join us.” Mary said, as she began kneading some bread dough. She had several loaves set out and waiting to go in the oven. “Sophia, is the oven ready yet?”

  “I’ll check for you,” Sophia responded.

  “Sophia,” Maggie said, and she sounded as if she were testing the sound of the name on her lips. “You arrived here around the same time as Jenna and Dylan, didn’t you?”

  “That’s right.” Sophia was bent over the bread oven and nodded, seeming satisfied with the heat. “Mary, I think it might be ready now. Do you want to check it to be sure?”

  “Aye. Let me look,” Mary said. She stepped closer and put her hands near the opening of the bread oven. “Very good, Sophia. You’re learning, lass.” Mary patted Sophia on the back and handed her a small shovel, which was kept by the stove for this very purpose. “Be careful now. We dinnae want to set the place afire.” Mary returned to her kneading and Sophia began carefully clearing out the oven.

  Dylan stood behind Maggie, placing his hands on her shoulders. When he had touched her in Glendaloch he’d experienced a rush of heat, but here, he didn’t feel anything. Maggie didn’t seemed impressed by his touch either. If anything, her posture had grown more rigid, as if she was uncomfortable with his attention. Dylan removed his hands and sat down in a nearby chair. Strangely, now that he was in the same room with Maggie, all he could think about was getting as far away from her as possible. He took a deep breath and forced himself to stay put.

  Mary and Jenna had their heads together over the pasta dough and Maggie seemed mesmerized by Sophia’s actions as she carefully brushed the burning embers out of the oven and into the hearth. She had a very strange expression on her face and Dylan was just about to ask her what was wrong, when Sophia screamed. All eyes turned towards her in horror as they realized her gown had caught fire. Jenna and Dylan sprang into action, pushing Sophia down onto the floor and rolling her back and forth, until the fire was out.

  “Oh my God,” Jenna cried. “Are you alright, Sophia?”

  It was apparent Sophia was in shock – her eyes were wide and her body shook uncontrollably.

  “Fire! Fire!” Mary yelled. Everyone’s attention was immediately drawn to the hearth. The fire seemed much larger than it should be, and was leaping dangerously towards the wooden furniture and beams in the kitchen.

  “Hurry! We need to get out of here,” Dylan called. Mary was trying unsuccessfully to put the fire out, even as she continued to shout for assistance.

  Mary’s shouting drew Latharn, Cormac and Angus’s young companion, Alec, to the kitchen; they appeared in the doorway and surveyed the situation swiftly, concern visible in their faces. The room was quickly filling with smoke and it was apparent everyone needed to get out before it was too late. Latharn ran to Sophia, picking her up in his arms, and battled his way through the thickening smoke and fire. Cormac grabbed Jenna under one arm and hurried her to the doorway before he turned and headed back for Mary, who was still trying to extinguish the fire single-handedly. “Mary, we must leave,” Cormac shouted, picking her up and sprinting out of the kitchen.

  “My kitchen!” Mary cried, trying to wriggle out of Cormac’s firm grasp.

  Dylan couldn’t believe his eyes. Everything had been fine and then out of nowhere, they found themselves in the middle of a huge blaze. There was something strange about the way the fire had jumped out of the hearth and it had him concerned. To his shock, Maggie was still sitting in exactly the same spot. The fire seemed to be dancing around her as if she were cocooned inside a protective bubble.

  “Maggie, come on! We’ve got to get out of here.” Dylan put his hand out to take hers and was confused when his fingers seemed to hit something solid, as if there was an invisible wall between him and Maggie. He tried a second time and Maggie reached for his hand and took it. He dragged her out of the chair and ran toward the doorway, shocked to see Alec standing just inside the entrance of the kitchen, completely immobile. While Cormac and Latharn had immediately sprung into action to rescue the women, Alec seemed dazed and he stared at the fire, as though in a trance. “Alec, let’s go!” Dylan shouted, but Alec remained focused on the fire.

  In the split second that Dylan and Maggie stood waiting for Alec to react, the fire disappeared. Without any warning, it was completely gone. The kitchen was damaged, but there was not one lick of flame to be seen. “What just happened?” Dylan demanded.

  “I dinnae ken,” Alec replied, and the strange trance he seemed to have been held in disappeared as abruptly as the flames had. “’Tis odd. The fire’s gone.” Alec turned to Dylan. “We should all get outside in the fresh air. We’ve breathed in much smoke.”

  As if on cue, Maggie began coughing and Dylan gently guided her outside into the fresh air. ‘Alec’ followed along behind them, filled with annoyance because she knew Brielle had started the fire on purpose.

  * * *

  “I TOLD ye to be careful, Sophia, didnae I?” Mary was saying. Despite the fact she was yelling, it was obvious that she was very concerned about Sophia’s welfare.


  “I don’t know what happened. I did everything the way you showed me and it all looked fine and then next thing I knew, my dress had caught fire.” Sophia sat cradled in Latharn’s arms.

  “Ye scared me good, Sophia,” Latharn said as he stroked her cheek and planted a kiss on her forehead.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to. It all happened so fast,” Sophia said.

  The real Maggie knew exactly what had happened and she knew Brielle was to blame. She had rushed into the room with Cormac and Latharn when they heard Mary screaming and there sat Brielle, as calm as could be and not worried in the slightest that the fire would touch her. Thank God, Maggie’d been able to put the blaze out. If this was an example of the kind of magic Brielle was capable of, Maggie was going to have her hands full. And now, to add insult to injury, Brielle was sitting all wrapped up in Dylan’s arms, seeming as innocent as a newborn babe. Maggie was seething with anger and jealousy. How dare Brielle steal her man? Maggie was typically a mild-mannered lass, but she did have a fiery temper when it was needed – one matching her flaming red locks, and seeing her rival with Dylan was enough to cause an explosion.

  Angus approached the group from the Great Hall. “What happened, Alec?” he asked quietly.

  “Brielle,” was Maggie’s one word response.

  “I dinnae like this. We’re lucky there wasnae any loss of life.”

  “Aye. Luckily I was able to put it out before it spread.” Maggie was staring at the back of Brielle’s head as Dylan hugged her close. Latharn and Cormac had risked their lives to save the women they loved. And so had Dylan. . Knowing how much he actually cared for Maggie should have warmed her heart, but the knowledge that he was being tricked by Brielle pretending to be herself was a horrible thing to endure. Maggie didn’t think she could take much more of this. Watching him with Brielle every day was almost too much to bear.

  Angus seemed to read her mind. “Come, Alec. Let’s take a walk. Clear yer head.”

  With a sullen nod, Maggie agreed and they headed through the gates to the outer bailey and as they walked, Angus kept up the conversation.

  “I ken ye feel betrayed by Dylan, but ye must ken that he is under Brielle’s spell. He believes her to be ye.”

  “But it’s not me,” Maggie protested. “How can he look into her eyes and not know that?”

  “I dinnae ken how it’s possible, Maggie. But I’m asking you to be patient with him. We have much work to do here to rid the MacKenzie’s of Brielle and until we do, ye cannae let anyone here know who ye be, just as ye cannae allow them to distract ye from yer task.”

  “I don’t understand why. Wouldn’t it be better for them to know who Brielle truly is and who I really am?” Maggie was confused by the whole situation. She stopped in her tracks and stared up at Angus. “It’s just not fair!”

  “I’m sure ye’ve heard it before, lass, but life isnae fair. We all have to learn to deal with it. And until yer Aunt Edna gives us clearance to tell everyone what’s really happening, we must do as she asks and keep your business here a secret. We must trust that Edna knows what she’s doing.”

  Maggie nodded grudgingly. “Okay. I don’t like it, but I’ll do as she said.”

  “And dinnae worry yerself, yer time to find love will come. I promise ye.” Angus patted her on the back. She guessed he had gone with that more manly gesture, because he couldn’t hug her without drawing suspicion to them. He had to treat her as if she was a lad, but Maggie needed a hug more than anything else right now.

  “I dinnae think so, Uncle. I dinnae believe love is possible in the twenty first century.” She knew she sounded pathetic, but it was how she really felt.

  “Why on earth would ye say a thing like that?” Angus appeared completely bewildered by her statement.

  “Look around ye. Jenna and Ashley had to come to the sixteenth century to find love.” That was a fact and it merely proved her point. “Everyone I know is in love with someone from the past.”

  “That pout yer wearing is most appealing,” Angus teased. She thought it was sweet that he was trying to lighten her mood. “’Tis simply nae true. What of yer Mum and Da?”

  “They arenae in love anymore. They’re divorced, you know that.”

  “Aye. They are, but that doesnae mean they dinnae love each other. They still work together every day and I believe that if they stopped being so stubborn, they’d be back together again in no time.”

  “Do ye really think so?” Maggie looked hopefully at Angus. Her parents did work at the teashop together. She had always thought it was just because they both owned it and had to be there. Now that she thought on it though, they were always very sweet with each other, except for those times when they werenae and then they wouldnae speak with each other and aye, their stubborn ways kept them like that fer days.

  “Aye. I do. So dinnae give up on love just yet. There may be some surprises in store for ye just around the corner.”

  Maggie loved Angus. He was one of the best men she knew and his words had weight to them. When he said something, it was good to listen, because he always knew exactly what he was talking about and when he chose to speak, it was usually important.

  As they made their way back to the inner bailey, they saw workmen carrying charred pieces of furniture from the kitchen. Every available person seemed to be congregating in the area. Some were going inside to help and others stood around outside, speculating about what had happened. Maggie knew that she had put the fire out completely and before leaving the kitchen, she had done her best to fix the worst of the damage, leaving only a charred table and benches among the ashes.

  “The damage doesnae appear to be too bad,” Cormac was saying to his brother Cailin. “We should count ourselves lucky that it didnae spread outside of the kitchen itself.”

  “Aye. What do ye think caused it?” Cailin asked. He was surveying the charred remains of the kitchen table and other, unidentifiable wooden objects.

  “From the sounds of it, I’d almost believe magick was involved. Jenna said that the flames seemed to be leaping out of the fireplace towards anything made of wood.” Cormac shook his head as if he were trying to come to terms with the thought of it. “We have Maggie to thank for putting it out.” The immediate family were well aware that Maggie was a witch and were not in the least surprised by this information, after all, her Aunt Edna was a witch.

  Maggie, who was standing nearby with Angus got some satisfaction from knowing that they realized she had put the fire out and then just as quickly, she recalled that Brielle was the one they thought responsible for saving them from a disaster because they thought she was Maggie. The next words she heard set her teeth on edge and had her balling her hands into fists.

  “Maggie thinks that young Alec is the one who made the fire go out of control.” Cormac said.

  “Alec… how would he do a thing like that?” Cailin asked.

  Maggie looked up at her uncle, panic in her eyes. “They think I did it!”

  “Calm yerself, lad. We’ll straighten this out.” Angus assured her. “Cormac, Cailin could I have a moment of yer time?”

  “Aye. Of course, Angus,” Cormac said. The brothers eyed Alec warily as they approached.

  “I heard what ye had to say about Alec and I believe Maggie was mistaken. Alec arrived after the fire started. He was right behind you and Latharn. You recall that, dinnae ye, Cormac?”

  “He was,” Cormac pondered that information for a moment and then laughed. “I be sorry for accusing ye, Alec, I forgot ye were not even in the room at the time.”

  Maggie nodded her acceptance of his apology.

  “I wonder was there a wind blowing at the time?” Angus questioned. “Mayhap it blew into the hearth and sent the flames flying through the kitchen.”

  “I don’t recall,” Cormac said. “But I wasnae paying attention to the weather. Ye could be right, Angus. Magick, for better or worse, is always the answer when one doesnae ken how something has happened. Maggie
is the only one of us who is capable of magick and she’s the one who put the fire out. She was very suspicious of Alec, though.”

  “I will speak with her. She doesnae know Alec and so I understand why she might suspect him. I will set her straight.” Angus assured them. Cormac and Cailin went back to helping with the kitchen and Angus winked at Alec. “Ye see? We’ve averted their suspicion.”

  “Thank ye, Uncle.” Maggie was grateful to have Angus with her. He was the voice of reason in this whole crazy mess.

  “I believe it would be a good use of yer time to head out to the practice field and work on the things I’ve been teaching ye, so ye don’t get rusty.” Angus nodded towards the area where the men of Clan MacKenzie could be seen sparring with one another.

  “Are ye sure, Uncle?” Maggie wasn’t sure at all. “Won’t they be able to tell that I’m not a lad? I’m not verra good.”

  “They won’t be able to tell anything of the sort and ye are good. Mayhap not verra good, but that will come.” Angus started walking and Maggie had no choice but to follow. She nervously cast her gaze around the field. Shirtless, well-muscled men were everywhere and she couldn’t have felt more out of place. “Ye’ll spar with me. Just like we did back home.” Angus grabbed a practice sword and dirk and handed them to Maggie before arming himself. “Remember what I’ve taught ye. Try to anticipate my moves and counter them.” He found a clear area where they’d have enough room to work, while Maggie was busy gawking at what was happening around her. “Alec… Alec!”

  It took Maggie a moment to realize that Angus was talking to her. “Aye, Angus.”

  “Pay attention, lad,” Angus demanded.

  “I’m sorry. I’ll pay attention.” Maggie was embarrassed at her behavior. She knew she was going to have to work hard in order to better herself and she was determined she would.

  They were just about to get started when Dylan arrived on the practice field. He threw his shirt off and stood there, looking utterly amazing to Maggie’s eyes. She couldn’t help staring as he sauntered up to them.