But time wore on, and Una didn’t appear. Elena was shivering now — she wished she could do star-jumps to warm her body up, but she didn’t want the sound it would make to alert the guards. They’d be sure to tell Brendan about that, and then she’d have to explain why she was out in the middle of the night. But why was she out in the middle of the night? Una was nowhere to be seen. Elena frowned, scanning the horizon — there was the Lake, calm and peaceful under the light of the half-moon in the sky, there were the jetties, sticking out into the lake waters, a few boats tied up at the ends of a couple of them… but as for the tall woman in the long dress, there was no sign.
“Una?” she breathed, wondering if maybe the woman just couldn’t see her. She took a few steps toward the jetty and peered up at the wall, locating the guards’ torches — she had just enough time to dart down to the end of the jetty and look around. Maybe Una could only see her when she was at the end of the jetty? She might have a little hiding place somewhere around the side of the castle, or something? Elena stood at the end of the jetty for as long as she dared — then darted back to the shadow of the wall, frustrated.
“Una, where are you?” she whispered to herself, feeling oddly betrayed. Hadn’t Una said she’d always be there for her? What had changed?
Was it Brendan?
Chapter 34
Elena waited another fifteen minutes or so in the cold, but she was losing hope fast that Una would turn up. Could it be that the woman was angry with her for kissing Brendan? How had she known? Did she live in the forest, perhaps — had she been lingering in the trees, watching them? A shudder moved through Elena at the thought — it was an odd violation — but somehow, that didn’t seem right. Una only moved around at night — she always left at dawn, never appeared before sunset. Wherever she went during the day, it seemed highly unlikely that she’d be spending her time spying on Elena and Brendan. And surely if she’d seen them kissing she’d have done something about it? Wouldn’t she have assumed Brendan was forcing himself on her? That seemed to be about in line with her politics regarding the interactions between men and woman, after all.
No, it didn’t make sense. Elena chewed on her lower lip as she finally gave up and turned around to make the trip back up the stairs, still moving as quietly as she could. Sure, it would be easier to explain a solo trip outside the walls than it would if she was caught actually talking to Una, but she’d still prefer to go completely unseen. Easier that way. She stole across the courtyard again in the shadows of the walls, tugging her jacket tighter around her… and as she did, she felt a strange pressure against her waist, almost like a button pressing into her skin. But the loose tunic she was wearing was fastened with a sash, not a button… what could that be?
She stepped inside the castle where there was a little more light to see by than moonlight, frowning at this odd wardrobe malfunction. She’d thought she was doing a lot better with the clothes, now that she’d figured out how to use sashes like ad-hoc belts, but clearly something was wrong. She wriggled a hand under her clothing, searching for the cold, hard thing that was pressing against her — and her eyes widened as something cold and flat fell into her hand. But the distant sound of footsteps startled her — she shut her hand tight around the strange round disc she’d found in her clothing and bolted for the stairs, not wanting to be discovered in the entry hall in the middle of the night. Not until she’d figured out what was going on with her clothing, at any rate.
Back in the safety — and the very welcome warmth — of her own little room, she sat on the edge of the bed, unfurling her fingers from around the strange disc she’d found. It looked exactly as she’d expected — a disc of cold metal, round and smooth, with a familiar symbol embossed in its surface — a symbol she’d seen Brendan, as well as the rest of the men of the Castle, wearing on pins, brooches and badges. It was the symbol of the Clan, she was fairly certain, squinting down at it. But what was it doing here, tucked under her sash? She certainly hadn’t put it there — and it wasn’t stitched or fastened in place, either, so it didn’t make any sense at all that it had managed to stay on her person since before she’d inherited the tunic.
No — someone must have planted it on her. But what on earth for? A bizarre kind of reverse-pickpocketing exercise, maybe? Was she being very gently hazed, some kind of strange initiation ceremony for people who lived in the castle? Not likely — she’d barely spoken to anyone from the castle that day. She’d slept through lunch, she’d spent the whole afternoon out, and at dinner she’d only spoken to Brendan…
Could it have been Brendan who’d planted the disc on her? He’d certainly had ample opportunity, she thought, blushing a little as she remembered the way his hands had roamed across her body as they’d kissed at the cottage. Had he had an ulterior motive in mind — the planting of a little metal coin on her? Why on earth would he have felt the need to do that? She felt a little betrayed, almost. She’d certainly had no time to think about anything else other than kissing him… how had he managed to plant a metal coin on her? She supposed he could have done it later, when he’d kissed her goodnight — she did remember the light touch of his hand on her waist then.
But the real question was — why? Why would Brendan want to put a coin on her person? Was it a gift, a sign that she was welcome here in the castle, that she was one of them? Perhaps it was an invitation to join the guard, she thought with a shock of pleasure — but that didn’t make any sense, either. She couldn’t ride a horse, he’d learned that today — and he already knew that she had no idea how to fight with a sword. She really needed to get around to asking Anna for some lessons, she thought with a frown. So what else was the coin?
Something Brendan had said about the sick men chimed distantly in her head. They’d gotten better when guards had been posted on their doors… guards who were wielding cold iron weapons. She thought back to the tour he’d given her on her first, overwhelming day here in the castle, to their visit to the armory — hadn’t there been something about iron then, too? A set of weapons that were cast from cold iron? The disc looked like it could be made of iron — she was no expert on metal, but it made sense, didn’t it? And cold iron… cold iron protected from the Fae.
Suddenly, things were clicking into place. No wonder Una hadn’t come to meet her — she’d sensed that she was wearing a protective token, a piece of cold iron tucked close to her body. Elena bit her lip, suddenly terrified that Una had gotten the wrong idea about the iron. What if she thought Elena was planning to hurt her? What if she thought Elena had turned against her? She frowned, halfway intending to leap to her feet and run back down to the docks now, without the token… but would Una even come to see her?
No, she decided — first she needed to talk to Brendan about just what it was he’d been thinking when he’d planted the disc on her — and, for that matter, she needed to make sure it was him who’d planted it. It wasn’t as though other people didn’t have access to her room. It could have been a well-intentioned servant, tucking it into her clothes... she crossed to her chest of drawers and rummaged through the rest of her tunics, searching for more coins the same as the one tucked under her sash, but there was nothing there but clothing.
Well, she’d speak to Brendan in the morning, she thought — then frowned, realizing he had guard duty all morning. Well, she could be patient. She’d have breakfast with Anna and Nancy, maybe talk to Anna about giving her a few sword fighting lessons… and once dinner came around and Brendan’s shift was up, she’d confront him about the token. It would give her a chance to cool down, too — she could feel her heart pounding and a mixture of anger and fear settled in her chest like lead. It was mostly concern for Una — worry that the woman had gotten the wrong idea about her from the token. All Brendan’s fault. Did he know about her meetings with the woman on the docks? Surely not… he was probably just trying to keep her safe in a more general sense. Right? But then why hadn’t he just given her the token, advised her to wear it? Could there be
another reason?
She lay down in bed, her thoughts seething. When she confronted Brendan, she’d need to keep the anger out of her face and voice, no matter what. If he sensed she was getting defensive about the iron, he could leap to some conclusions she’d really prefer he not leap to. Damnit, this was so complicated — even with the few small steps their relationship had taken beyond the platonic, she was already having trouble thinking objectively about him. Well, she’d just have to try harder, she supposed.
She slept badly, woke just before dawn feeling distinctly unrested, and dressed slowly, irritably yanking a new tunic over her head… and checking it carefully for unwanted additions like cold iron tokens that scared her friends away. After a moment’s thought, she grabbed the token and slid it into the pocket of her breeches. She’d keep it on her — a reminder of the conversation she intended to have over dinner.
But to her surprise, a familiar voice called out to her as she was striding across the foyer toward the dining hall. Brendan was emerging from the staircase, his guard helmet under his arm, fully decked out in his armor. He looked almost exactly the way he had the first day she’d met him — but she steeled herself against that feeling of nostalgia. She’d been intending to wait until that evening, but this was as good a time as any, wasn’t it?
“You’re up early,” he said, looking surprised.
“Yeah, I slept pretty badly,” she said, slipping her hand into her pocket and withdrawing the token. She held it in front of his eyes, scrutinizing his face — sure enough, a look of surprise and recognition flicked across it. “You recognize this, then?”
“Aye, that’s a coin with the sigil of the clan on it,” he said, looking a little guarded.
“I found this under my sash last night. Any idea how it got there?” She tried to sound more curious than annoyed, but some sign of her resentment was clearly shining through on her face — Brendan sighed, looking chastened.
“It’s cold iron. Keeps you safe from the Fae. I brought it along to give to you, since we were heading outside the walls and it’s not unheard of to run into goblins, but then I just… slipped it under your sash when we were —”
“Yeah, I think I figured out when you planted it on me,” she said, annoyed. “Why?”
“To protect you from any Fae that might —”
“Not why did you plant it on me, I get that, Fae are scared of iron, blah blah blah. Why didn’t you just ask me to carry it with me? Why did you have to … reverse pickpocket me?”
He sighed. “I probably should have asked, I’m sorry. I just … I was worried that someone like you, someone from the future where such silly superstitions are a thing of the past, might not take the request seriously.”
“You didn’t trust me,” she said, frowning. “Brendan, I came through a magical door to medieval Scotland. Huge, glowing figures saved my life. I met a goblin yesterday. What on earth makes you think that I’d be stupid enough to distrust you about iron?”
He opened his mouth, closed it again. “Well, when you put it that way.” God, why was that sheepish look so disarming? She could barely hold onto her anger with him when he looked at her like that, even though he’d all but admitted to assuming she was stupid. “I’m sorry, Elena. I should have trusted you.”
“Yes, you should have,” she said primly.
“I have to get to the walls,” he said apologetically. “Can I make it up to you? A riding lesson, tomorrow morning? I could take you down to the village, finally. Maybe a little faster than a walk, if you’re feeling up to it.”
She hesitated, torn between her annoyance… and her keen desire to see the village. “I suppose I could clear my schedule,” she said loftily, winning a laugh from him.
“And — the coin. Will you carry it with you? To keep you safe?”
She rolled her eyes. “I can take care of myself, you know.”
“I know, I do. Truly. But — as a favor to me? To put my silly old mind at rest?”
Elena pinned him with a thoughtful gaze… then sighed. She held the coin up again, then slid it down the neck of her tunic, positioning it against her skin under her bra. “Right against my heart. Happy?”
“Very,” he said, smiling — and before she could protest, he swooped in and kissed her. “I’ll meet you here tomorrow morning, before breakfast?”
“If you’re lucky,” she said, trying in vain to hang onto her lofty position.
He winked at her before heading out across the foyer, long strides carrying him toward his duty. But she frowned, adjusting the coin against her heart. On the one hand, she felt pleasantly warmed by his concern for her — he just wanted to keep her safe. On the other hand… the coin was keeping Una away from her.
What was she going to do about that?
Chapter 35
She was lost in thought as she headed into the dining hall, but she was soon pulled from her reflections by the cheerful shout of Nancy, who sidled up beside her with a huge grin on her bright face.
“Haven’t seen you for a little while,” she said, a wicked look sparkling in her eyes. “Have you been keeping other company?”
“I may have,” she replied, feeling a little dizzy as she tried to recalibrate from the conversation she’d just been having. She’d decide whether she was angry with Brendan later — for now, she needed to catch up with her friends. She didn’t want Anna or Nancy worrying about her, or worse, trying to help her with her relationship with Brendan, so it was in her best interests to pretend that everything was just fine. So she played along, trying to look coy as she and Nancy served themselves some breakfast.
“That’s not much of a meal,” Elena pointed out, looking with some concern at the tiny bowl of porridge Nancy had served herself. The woman sighed.
“I know. I’m starving, but if I eat more than this at the moment I spend the rest of the morning throwing up. Morning sickness isn’t a myth, it turns out.”
“Sorry to hear that,” Elena said. “I remember how much it sucks not to be able to eat when you’re hungry.” She shivered a little. “At least you get a baby at the end of it.”
“True,” Nancy said, frowning down at her stomach. “It’ll be worth it, I guess. If I don’t starve to death first.”
They sat down together, chatting away about the baby — Nancy and Malcolm had been arguing over names. They both had far more ideas for baby names than they could realistically get through, even if they had an enormous family, and with both of them convinced that their names were the best, it was clearly a conversation that was going to last until the birth at least.
But when Anna joined them, conversation turned back to Elena.
“Saw you and Brendan dining together last night,” the woman pointed out casually, her eyes sparkling a little as she leaned forward over the table. “There was a certain… energy. Any developments you’d like to share with us?”
Elena blushed. She and Brendan hadn’t touched each other in the dining hall — how could it have been that obvious that there was something new going on? Then again, she did want to tell her friends what was happening. A useful smokescreen, perhaps, for her ongoing investigation into Una and the Sidhe. “Well, we went for a ride down to Maggie’s house.”
Nancy clapped her hands together, delighted. “Oh! You met Maggie! Fantastic! Isn’t she wonderful? Was Darter there? Did she make you that weird herbal tea she makes?”
“I thought you couldn’t ride,” Anna said, raising an eyebrow. “Weren’t you asking me for lessons the other week? Before you got sick?”
“I could not ride,” Elena confirmed with dignity. “Which is why I fell off Silver about two minutes into the trip.”
Nancy giggled, even as Anna made a sound of dismay. “You fell off Silver? That’s pretty impressive.”
“Yeah, I think she was more surprised than me,” Elena admitted with a rueful grin. It had been pretty funny, after all. “Anyway, Brendan gave me some pointers—”
“— I bet he did,” Nancy murmure
d under her breath.
Elena ignored her. “— and then we visited Maggie, and then he was helping me with the horse and we…” Why was she blushing? “We may have kissed. Briefly.”
Anna was beaming. “I thought that might happen. I’m thrilled for you both.” She hesitated. “Not to get too heavy about something new, but … I mean, I fell for Donal almost as soon as I arrived here.”
“Same for me and Malcolm.” Nancy shrugged. “It was fate, babe.”
“I don’t know about that,” Elena said, feeling a little uncomfortable.
“Well, fate or the Sidhe,” Nancy said brightly. “Either or.”
“I’m not sure I like the idea of a bunch of otherworldly creatures making decisions about my love life for me,” Elena said, not meaning to speak as sharply as she had — but Anna and Nancy both looked up at her in surprise at the vehemence in her voice. She took a breath. “I mean — how would they know, right? They don’t… know me, they don’t know Brendan. Why would I trust them to match-make for me?”
“Could be a coincidence, I guess.” Anna shrugged. “I mean, I had plenty of other stuff to be getting on with when I got here. And so did Nancy.”
But there was a watchful look in her eye that hadn’t been there before, and Elena decided to change the subject before they got too deeply into the subject of the Sidhe. She’d revealed more than enough of her doubts about them for the time being… she had to tread carefully. Those strange creatures were almost worshiped here. Best to be careful what she said about them.
“Anna — I’m better from my illness, I think. Do you have some spare time to teach me some sword fighting basics?”
“Oh, yes! I’d almost forgotten!” Anna grinned broadly. “Definitely. Can’t wait. How about a few hours this afternoon, after lunch?”
Swept By The Highlander: A Scottish Time Travel Romance-Highlander Forever Book 3 Page 21
