“We thought you ladies might enjoy a cup of percolated hazelnut coffee with a bowl of rice pudding,” said Simon laying his tray on the table in front me.
“I didn’t know you knew how to make rice pudding!” I said, shocked.
“I didn’t, but Harry’s got some very useful books in there.”
“By gods, Simon. I think we owe you an apology,” said Kate.
Simon laughed a loud, booming laugh, and handed me a one of the bowls. “We heard you.”
“Oh,” said Rose, sheepishly. “We didn’t mean any harm. It was just a laugh.”
“We know, lass,” replied my husband. “No harm in us having the last laugh now is there?” he said, with a teasing grin. “And we didn’t make the pudding. It’s out a tin, but then I think Kate already knows that, considering she has just bought it.”
The pudding was lovely but my stomach was so full by the third mouthful that I just couldn’t finish it. I listened as attentively as I could to the conversations around me but the ache in my back and the weight of the baby made it difficult to concentrate on anything other than my lower body. Mostly I craved the soothing warmth of a bath and the crisp cotton sheets of my bed.
“So, tomorrow we fetch the portrait?” I heard my son say, and was jolted back to the moment.
“The portrait?” I asked.
“Aye, Corran. Do you remember telling us that Eilidh had insisted you look at the portrait?” my husband replied patiently.
“Yes, of course I remember.”
“Well, we think she meant the picture of us, the one Rose sold to Angus,” he finished.
“But it’s back at Rose’s house. How are you going to get it?” I asked.
“I’m going to get it,” Kate said. “The same routine as today. Only I’ll get a taxi from somewhere else in the city and then have another firm drop me back a street or two away from Jessie’s shop.”
“Is it safe?” I asked.
“For now it is safe, but I don’t think we will be able to keep going back to Rose’s house. This might be the last run.”
My husband was right. Eventually this Dark Circle was going to connect the dots.
“Harry, I know this is probably going to sound like a ridiculously stupid question, and I’m sure you have all covered this at some point already, but what is to stop this Dark Circle from tracing us here to the pub?”
“It’s not a ridiculous question. The locket and crystals protect us, which is why we are all safe as long as we stay together here in the pub. It’s what your people are using to stop the Dark Circle from finding them. But it takes many lockets of heather and crystals to protect such a large area and so many people. They simply don’t have enough to protect them all,” explained Harry.
This explained why Simon had insisted on leaving me with a locket and crystal when he had followed Harry and Kate through the tunnel, but that brought me swiftly to another thought.
“When you three went through the tunnel this afternoon you didn’t have the locket. You left it here with me. What happens if they traced your mark then?”
“We don’t think they know about us yet, lass. But you are right. Tomorrow will be the last time Harry and I will go out. After that, only Kate will be able to leave the pub.”
I yawned, and tried to hide it behind an outstretched hand.
“I’m sorry,” I said apologetically. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. All I seem to do is sleep.”
“Hun, you’re pregnant,” Kate said.
“Heavily preggers,” Rose corrected. “I’m dog tired and I’m not having a baby, so Corran’s got to be whacked.”
“Aye Corran, the lasses are right. We’ve a long day tomorrow. It will be good if we all get an early night.”
“Can I help you up, Ma?”
“No darling, I’ll be fine,” I replied.
“Woman, you are as stubborn as a mule,” said Simon, taking my hand and hoisting me out of the chair. “Good night good people. We will see you all in the morning.”
“Corran?” Kate called.
“Yes, love?” I said, turning to face her.
“There’s a suitcase next to your bed, if you’re up to it have a quick rummage through it, and if there’s anything I’ve missed or that you’d particularly like from Rose’s then let me know in the morning and I’ll fetch it back for you.”
I smiled. “Thanks Kate, I think I found the suitcase earlier. You are a gem. Good night, all.”
“Good night,” I heard them chime one after the other as we climbed the stairs up to our room.
“Simon, tell me again that it’s all going to be alright,” I said feebly.
“Lass, everything is going to be just fine. Have I ever let you down?”
“No, darling, never,” I said, following him through our bedroom door.
“Then I suggest you quit worrying and concentrate on that there bairn,” he said, resting his hand gently on the hard curve of my bump.
******
CHAPTER 13
‘Ye Olde Starre Inne’, York - 18th December, Modern Day
I woke to the smell of freshly-baked bread, filtered coffee and bacon. My husband’s side of the bed was empty. I sat up sharply, scanning the room, but it was as silent as the snow that still fell gently outside.
Pulling on a clean baggy jumper and leggings I made my way onto the landing. Descending the stairs I saw Rose’s smiling face.
“Morning, hun,” she chimed. “You look brighter this morning.”
“Morning, Rose. Thank you, I feel a lot better this morning. Did you sleep well?”
“Like a log,” she said, still sporting a broad beam.
“It’s very quiet. Where is everyone?”
“They’ve gone over to my place to get the portrait. It’s just you, me, and Duncs.”
“Gone? Why didn’t someone wake me?”
“No point. You were sleeping so soundly that Simon said to leave you. Come,” she said, taking my hand as I reached the bottom step. “Kate and I made you a surprise before she left.”
“I thought you didn’t like cooking, Rose,” I said, casting my eyes over the freshly baked bread, fried bacon and scrambled eggs.
“I don’t. I mean it’s kinda different with Kate. It’s what we used to do in the school holidays and at weekends with Mum. It was fun, you know? Taking all those raw ingredients and making them into something special.”
“What changed, Rose?”
“I lost my family,” she said sadly. “Cooking on your own isn’t much fun and cooking for yourself just plain sucks.”
I’d never considered cooking purely for the enjoyment of the process and resolved to try it one day. But for now I had other things to do, and they were unlikely to include dreams of domesticity.
“How long ago did they leave?”
“A couple of hours ago, Ma,” Duncan said, emerging from the kitchen with a thick bacon sandwich in his hand.
“You best eat some quick, Corran, before Duncs finishes it all.”
“Want a bit?” he asked, winking at her.
“Nah, I’m…”
She froze, mid-sentence as the sound of frantic knocking at the front door reached our ears. I shifted my eyes toward my son, too afraid to move my head.
“Corran, open up. It’s Eilidh.”
I ran to the door, but Duncan pulled me back.
“No Ma, it could be a trap.”
I stopped dead, staring at the door as the girl on the other side pounded harder.
“Here,” he said, sliding his hand into his pocket and pushing the crystal pendant and silver locket into my hand. “Rose, take my mother to the tunnel. Lock the door behind you and wait for me there. Don’t open the door for anyone, and I mean anyone, other than me, not even Eilidh.” He paused and kissed me gently on the cheek. “If I don’t come then wait in the tunnel for Pa and Harry. Now go.”
Rose grabbed my hand and dragged me through the kitchen to the cellar door. Swinging it open, I made my way
, cautiously, down the slimy stairs, and then passed the barrels, crates, and empty bottles towards the door into the tunnel. Filling my lungs and heaving at the taste of stale, fermented hops and the heady smell of damp air, I grabbed for the handle and flung the door open. Following Rose into the tunnel I grabbed the door and pulled it closed behind me, turning the key in the lock as soon as the door was shut.
Rose fumbled in the dark for my hand gripping it as though our lives depended on the hold.
“It’s alright, love, we are safe in here,” I whispered.
The taste of old cement and stale air stuck in the back of my throat. I could feel the walls of the tunnel closing in on me and the space above me growing smaller. My pulse quickened and small beads of sweat formed on my forehead. I started to shake and Rose gripped my hand tighter.
“What’s up, Corran?” she asked, so quietly that I could hardly hear her.
“I’m not good with small spaces,” I said, sliding my back down the door and crouching on the ground.
“Take deep, slow breaths, Corran,” Rose said, gently dropping beside me.
Her words took me back to the farm, to the day when we hid from the Redcoats in the secret room above the kitchen. I filled my mind with my husband’s voice, reached out to grab it, but it kept fading and slipping just out of reach. My chest tightened so much I couldn’t breathe. I was dizzy, my head felt too heavy. I was going to faint and there wasn’t a thing I could do to stop it.
My eyes blinked open to the gentle flicker of flames. I breathed deeply, filling my lungs with fresh, clean air. The voices around me were familiar. I lifted my head to see their faces, but sank back into the soft, white pillow - too dizzy to move. A mattress sagged beneath me as I lifted my hand to my throbbing head with a groan.
“What happened?” I breathed.
“You fainted, lass, and by the looks of it hit your head in the cellar.”
“Oh,” I mumbled, trying to remember what had happened.
“Duncan sent you and Rose into the cellar. Do you remember?”
“No, well, perhaps a little. It’s all a bit hazy.”
“We’ve got a visitor,” Simon said, slowly moving aside.
“Eilidh!” I exclaimed, as the girl’s worried face came into full view.
“How did you get here?” I asked weakly.
“The same way you did,” she said, reaching out and taking my hand gently in hers. “I’ve missed you,” she said, kissing me softly on the cheek.
“I’ve missed you too,” I said, wiping tears from my face. “I’m so sorry I left you behind. I just did what I thought was right. I couldn’t take you from that village. I… thought that if I left you, then, oh I, Eilidh, I am so sorry. I just wanted you to have a happy, safe life.”
“And I am happy, Corran. I don’t blame you for leaving me, you couldn’t save me from my fate.”
“I don’t understand.”
Feeling stronger, I pushed myself up to sit on the mattress. Looking around the room I did a quick head count, just to reassure myself that everyone was present.
“Corran, you left me with your people,” Eilidh said, smiling.
“Some of them, yes. I knew they would look after you.”
“Not some of them, Corran, all of them.”
I stared, at her, taking a few brief moments to register her words. “That was the island?”
Eilidh shook her head. “We don’t live on an island. That was just a tale Jessie told Harry to protect him from knowing too much. But I suppose it might as well be an island. We can’t come and go from the village. The heather protects us whilst we are there but it’s not enough to protect us out here,” she paused and took my hand in hers.
“Why are you here, Eilidh?”
“To take you home, Corran.”
I stared unblinking at the girl. Only the throb in my head and the ache in my back told me that I wasn’t dreaming.
“You have been safe up to now because we don’t think the Dark Circle know who you are. When you moved the portrait to Rose’s house the crystal hidden behind the canvas protected you from being traced.”
“Does that mean they know now?”
She shook her head slowly.
“No, I don’t think they do, but it’s only a matter of time.”
“Will the lockets and crystals still protect us?”
“Not for much longer they won’t, which is why I have come. I brought two lockets with me. I have left the village vulnerable by bringing them, but without them the Dark Circle would have found me the minute I left the village. The whole village is under threat, Corran. Angus found a way in, and it’s only a matter of time before the rest of the Dark Circle do too. Our people are starving and there is nothing the Stag, crystals, or the pendants can do to save them, because all their magic is being used to shield the village.”
“You shouldn’t have come, Eilidh, it was too dangerous for you.”
“I came, Corran, to save our people.”
“The portrait? Eilidh, what did you mean when you told me to look at the portrait?” I asked suddenly.
“Don’t fret, Corran we found them. Well, Eilidh told us where to find them,” said Harry.
“Find what?” I asked, growing impatient.
“Jessie hid a pendant and crystal behind the canvas at the back of the painting. She didn’t want to leave them all with Harry in case something happened to him,” Eilidh explained.
“Gee thanks,” Harry said, with a clear edge of sarcasm.
“Oh, so that’s what you meant. What do we do now?” I asked.
“You do nothing,” Eilidh replied. “The rest of us are going to finish the job we are here to do.”
“And that is?” I asked cocking my head to the side and raising my brows.
“To find Jenny, Grace, and Robert, and bring them here. Preferably without having to kidnap them,” said my husband seriously.
“And then move you all to the village,” finished Eilidh.
“Will we use the crystal to get into the village?” I asked.
Eilidh shook her head. “No, there are too many of us to do it safely. Our mark will be too obvious.”
“Then how are we going to do it?” I asked.
“We are going to drive,” said Eilidh, lightly.
“Drive? Pray tell me, please, how we are going to drive through time?” I said sharply.
“We aren’t, lass. Our people are here in this time,” said Simon.
“We just need a map to find them,” said Harry.
“And I’ve got the map,” said Eilidh, smiling.
“I assume we can use the crystal to find Grace and Robert?” I said, rubbing the base of my back.
“Aye, lass, that we can, but we need Eilidh to do it. Our timing has to be perfect. We can’t risk meeting up with a pregnant Grace. We have to arrive sometime after Duncan is taken,” said Simon.
“Won’t the Dark Circle be able to trace you when you use the crystal?” I asked.
“Yes, Corran. That is a possibility, but it is a risk we have to take,” Eilidh said bluntly.
“So you are going back in time for Grace and, what was his name?” I asked.
“Robert,” replied Harry. “Robert Hamilton, my many times great uncle.”
“Gosh, alright then. I suppose that must feel quite strange, knowing you are going to meet a relative from your past.”
“Yes, Corran, it is,” replied Harry.
“What happens when you’ve found Grace and Robert?”
“We bring them here,” said Eilidh, quietly.
“That’s the dog I saw in the park. It must have been you in the park.” I said, turning to Eilidh.
She nodded, “It was me in the park, Corran. I was keeping an eye on you. I couldn’t take the risk of making myself known to you because I wasn’t sure whether I was being followed,” Eilidh replied.
“She’s beautiful.”
“Amber’s my baby,” she said proudly. “Amber found her way into the villag
e with Giorsal when she came home. She was so tiny,” she said pausing thoughtfully, “the other villagers said we couldn’t afford to keep her, that there wasn’t enough food to go round as it was.”
“So how did you get to keep her?” Rose asked.
Eilidh smiled, “I took her up into the mountains, and we hid. When Marta found us she didn’t have the heart to get rid of her either.” Back as far as I could remember the girl had longed for her own dog. I thought back to the farm and the day Simon had brought a stray puppy home from the fields and offered it to the two girls. Eilidh and Shannon had fought over the dog, and eventually Simon had ended the war by handing the puppy to Eilidh. I had never seen the child as excited or happy as she was that day. Sadly it was short-lived because Charlie died a few days later from a twisted bowel, or so Simon had said, although I rather suspected Shannon had had a hand in its demise. Moving his feet, Simon disturbed the dog. It stretched lazily and ambled across the room to Eilidh. Finding her mistress sitting cross-legged on the floor, Amber filled her lap and, with her head resting on her front paws, she returned to sleep. The old adage ‘it’s a dog’s life’ had never seemed quite so appropriate.
“We are going to have to get on, lass,” Simon said, handing me a wad of paper and a pen.
“What do you want me to do with this?” I asked, taking the items from him.
“We need you to make a list.” He paused thoughtfully.
“Of?” I asked, interrupting his thoughts.
“Of food, clothes, linen, whatever you think our people need,” he finished.
“I don’t understand, Simon. What do you mean whatever I think they need?”
“They are starving, lass. Nothing is going to change until our baby is of an age to change that. We will take them what they need to survive until that time,” he finished firmly.
I understood his intention but couldn’t see how we were going to take them everything that they needed.
“Fine.” He had asked me to manage a list, so that is what I would do, as much as I perceived the task to be wasted effort.
Simon slipped his hand to the pocket of his trousers and pulled out a black velvet pouch, pinched closed at the top by a leather thong.
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