Time of the Picts: A Time Travel Romance (Hadrian's Wall Book 2)

by Jane Stain

  She waited for Ia to say something, but unfortunately she didn't.

  "So back when I was … a young maiden, John and I were getting to know each other and I was sure we were going to get married. And we hung out with John's three brothers and his two uncles our age and all their girlfriends. I always thought I would know their children and we would be together always. But as soon as John's uncles turned 18 — on their birthday in fact, they’re twins — they took off. Disappeared. Left their girlfriends ‘high and dry,’ as we say, without a word whether they were ever coming back or even if they were alive. The next day, John's twin brother also disappeared, and John's two older brothers, also twins."

  Now Boanne did butt in, looking understandably skeptical.

  “So many twins?”

  Jaelle cleared her throat and looked around for something to drink, found a pitcher and a mug, poured herself some water, then guzzled it down.

  "Yeah, the druids wanted John’s parents and his uncles’s parents to have four sons, so they made them have twins. John stayed with me after the others left, and he told me what the deal was. One of his ancestors was tricked by a druid into selling his entire family into slavery. Every fourth-born son in his family must serve the druids, and John is the fourth-born son of his parents. All the rest of the guys left their girlfriends because they thought it was the loving thing to do, not letting them have children who would be slaves."

  Jaelle choked up a little and brushed a tear from her eye.

  "So anyway, the slavery that John has to perform for them is he finds hidden artifacts and returns them to my time so that they can use them. He's the one who gets sent to do their bidding, not me. This is his helmet, not mine."

  Unwilling to see their reaction to this, she looked down at her lap so that she would be able to finish, then rushed on.

  "I wasn't sent here by the druids of my time. I just found this helmet in John's things after he left me. I put it on, and here I was. Oh, and you should know that John's uncle's ex-girlfriend — Kelsey is her name — went to Celtic University in our time is also a Druid and can see into dreams and talks to me in my dreams when I'm here. She knows all about this and she knows all about you. But she would never hurt you. She's—"

  The door burst open and Morna stormed in, hands on her hips and staring at Jaelle.

  “Go ahead and hide in here all night. You aren’t sleeping in Breth’s room. You think you’re special to him, but I’m more special to everybody here than you are. If I want something, it’ll be done.”

  With that, Morna turned around and slammed the door behind her.

  A few moments later, Jaelle heard the boards overhead creaking. Bile rose into her throat as she imagined the woman Breth had decided to marry making herself comfortable up there.

  Continuing to whisper, she addressed Deoord.

  “Has she slept up there with him?”

  Deoord, Ia, and Boanne all shook their heads no, but they appeared to be thinking over what Morna had said.

  The helmet had been on the table the whole time. Had Morna noticed it? Jaelle put it back in her bag and tucked that under her belt and then addressed all three of them, but mostly the two women. She figured they might understand.

  “To me it was only a week I was gone, not two moon cycles like it was for you. And that’s odd. Remember my friend Kelsey I told you about, the one who’s a druid in my time?”

  They all nodded.

  “She and I communicated every night while I was here, so I know for certain time passed equally here and at home while I was here. It’s only while I was home that more time passed here. The helmet has to be controlling that somehow, doesn’t it?”

  The three glanced at each other, then deferred to Ia.

  For a moment, Ia reached for the helmet, but then she lowered her hands with a look of resignation.

  “If I could read the runes inside, perhaps I could tell you. But as it is, I would only be guessing.”

  Hope bloomed in Jaelle’s heart. She got the helmet out, turned it so the light was shining inside, and stared at the curly pictures etched in the iron.

  “My friend Kelsey can read Gaelic runes! I’ll show them to her tonight when she visits my dreams, and tomorrow I’ll tell you what the runes say. Do you know how to set it so that no time passes here while I’m gone? That’s how her husband Tavish’s ring works. He always arrives in the same spot, but no time passes while he’s gone, so I know it’s possible.”

  Deoord stood, looking determined.

  “We don’t know, but that doesn’t mean none of the Druids from the other clans know. We’ll go and talk to them about it. Sleep in here. I’ll get you some bedding.”

  He rummaged in a chest and handed her some blankets, then glanced over toward an uncluttered corner of the floor. “It’s probably best if you sleep in here. I’ll tell everyone this room is not to be disturbed, but I won’t say why, understand?”

  Taking the blankets, she gave him a grateful smile.

  “Perfectly.”

  Chapter 8

  Glad everyone had agreed to eat the morning meal elsewhere so that he could have some time to talk to Jaelle, Breth eagerly made his way up the spiraling stone steps between the broch’s two thick outer stone walls to his father’s private dining room on the fourth floor.

  She was already awake when he opened the door, washing her face with the water from the drinking pitcher. She hadn’t heard him come in, and he stood there amused while she finished.

  A chuckle escaped his lips.

  She jumped and turned, spilling the water all over the wooden floor, where it dripped between the planks. And then her eyes widened — most likely at seeing him wearing only his woad. He enjoyed her obvious attraction to him. She was almost salivating.

  Well maybe she was just hungry.

  “Shall I get you something to eat?”

  She swallowed and put her hands on her hips, then sat down at the small round table where usually the chieftain’s immediate family ate, along with the druids.

  “Thank you, I’d appreciate that.”

  He quickly threw together a meal of leftover porridge and fried tubers, then brought over some of the berries the gatherers had brought in yesterday. Two tankards of ale from the keg on the counter completed the meal, and he put it all down and sat next to her.

  Very pointedly, she bowed her head and was quiet for a few moments.

  Sensing that he shouldn’t disturb her, he waited.

  When she looked up again, she wore a defiant look that reminded him of his days as a young man. It made him chuckle again.

  She ate quickly without speaking, drank down the ale, then leaned back in her chair, visibly appraising him.

  “I want to hear you tell Morna you aren’t interested.”

  “Where is that coming from? Morna and I haven’t been within spitting distance of each other since you arrived. Not even for a moment.”

  She looked up toward his room for a moment, then shook her head.

  “You sure don’t understand women very well, do you.”

  “What do you mean by that? I’ve been married. I know women pretty well by now.”

  With a faraway look in her eyes, Jaelle laughed.

  “Morna harasses me every chance she gets.”

  And then she made her voice more high-pitched in a fair imitation of how Morna spoke, putting her hands on her hips as she wiggled haughtily in her chair.

  “You will not sleep in his room. I have more influence here than you ever will, and if you think you’ll get your way, you have another think coming. I’ll get my way for sure. Count on it.”

  So that was why she’d slept here. But she was intoxicating. The way her eyes danced with anger dazzled him.

  And then her face animated with anger as well, but that only made her prettier.

  “And are you going to answer my question?”

  He shook his head to clear it a little bit.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you a
sk a question. What was it?”

  She growled a little. It was gorgeous.

  “Are you going to tell Morna you’re not interested in her, that you’re with me and that’s the way it’s going to be and she should leave me alone?”

  He sighed. He really didn’t want to answer that question. She herself had yet to promise she was staying with him. And then he drew closer to her and put his arm around her and pulled her against him. Being close to her befuddled his mind, and he was guessing being close to him befuddled hers.

  “I need a wife, it’s true. And I want you to be my wife, that’s also true.”

  He caressed her back and nuzzled his head against hers. He put his mouth next to her ear and spoke breathily, counting on making shivers go down her spine.

  “Promise you’ll stay here with me. That’s what I need to hear.”

  She relaxed. At first, joy surged through him, but when she spoke, it was with sadness in her voice.

  “I’ve been down that road before. John promised me we would be together the rest of our lives, and so I didn’t need to make much of a life for myself. My life would be with him. So I got a job just to have something to do while he was away. A fun job that kept me amused, not a career that paid well. I didn’t worry about supporting myself. I thought my future was secure with John’s. How wrong could I possibly have been? So I’m not going to put my whole future in your hands until I’ve known you a while. I’m just not. I need to keep my job at the museum, at least for now. And that means I have to go back there. Tonight.”

  He didn’t want to let her go, and so he didn’t. He held onto her physically, caressing her and pouring all of his affection into her, hoping that would change her mind.

  She let him.

  Clinging on extra strong, he turned in his chair and kissed her as hard as he could, putting into it all his passion and desire, plus all the genuine respect he had for her — which he knew would turn into love in time, after they were married.

  The two of them carried on that way for quite a while, but all good things must come to an end.

  Besides, the clans had to move on today.

  He pulled away first, sitting up straight in his chair and no longer leaning toward her.

  “The clan moves on to the next broch today, so we can’t sit here much longer. Only a few more moments. If we have anything else to say in private, we need to say it now. We won’t get a chance again until tomorrow night.”

  Her face was troubled, but she didn’t argue with him.

  “I’m pretty sure each time-travel device is tied to one location, meaning the helmet will always deposit me at that spot in the woods where you first tripped over me. Tell me how to get to the other broch so I can find you when I come back next time.”

  He wanted to tell her. More than anything.

  But his mother was right. A woman who wasn’t willing to stay with him just didn’t have what it took to be a clan chief’s wife.

  But if he told her that right now, she would leave right now. And she’d said she could stay until this evening. And if that was all the time he would ever have with her? Then he was going to enjoy it. He would tell her just before she left.

  “It’s too hard to explain sitting here in this room. We’ll make it halfway there today, and then I’ll explain from camp before you leave.”

  She looked doubtful yet hopeful as she gave him one quick peck on the lips.

  “All right. What do we need to do before we leave?”

  He gave her his most mischievous grin.

  “Well, you need to go down to the sacred grove and get your woad on, of course.”

  The look on her face was comical and beautiful ― and so Jaelle. He was glad he hadn’t told her.

  Chapter 9

  Jaelle blinked to try and break the hold Breth had on her in his woaded glory, but it didn’t work. He was stunning. More so because he didn’t realize it. Branches of an oak tree swirled over his chest this time, waving whenever he moved his pectorals. The usual wolf pack covered his back, and as he turned to lead her down the carved stone staircase between the two outer walls of the broch, she was mesmerized by her view — around his sword — of the wolves leaping from rock to rock down the cliffs of his back and wagging their tails in the half-light provided by the sun peeking through the cracks between stones in the broch wall.

  But Jaelle’s mind was busy talking herself out of worrying. Why hadn’t Kelsey appeared in her dreams? Was she all right? No, of course she was, and she’d been here before. She was probably just waiting a while to visit again. Feh. Just when having a druid friend would be convenient. Figures.

  She and Breth passed into the main room at the bottom of the broch, and people turned to stare at Jaelle. Some of them were resigned to having her here — and she knew this was only because she was with Breth. Most of the people were regarding her with suspicion.

  And who could blame him? She was a stranger, and so what if they thought she was in with the future Druids. And they doubtlessly all knew about Morna’s arranged marriage to Breth. It was the way things were supposed to go, and Jaelle was gumming up the works, so to speak.

  Well, she wasn’t going to just grin and bear it. She was a fighter, and it was time she acted like one. She raised her head up high, pulled her shoulders back, and put on the calm competence of a warrior glancing at all the people.

  And breathed a little easier when she saw that Breth was not oblivious to the reactions of the people — only to the effect he had on Morna. He noticed their stares, and he turned back toward Jaelle and raised an encouraging eyebrow.

  Her heart melted a little more for him.

  He searched her face with his kind blue eyes, made all the more captivating by the blue woad egrets which flew from brow to brow as he studied her.

  “They will accept you once we’re married. The sooner we are, the better. Come with us today to the next broch. Don’t go back to your time. I’m not going to beg you, though I will admit I want to.”

  How sweet! She felt her resistance weakening. It was on the tip of her tongue to agree with him. To say she would stay here and become his wife immediately in order to please all these people and gain their respect.

  It was way too soon, though. What was she thinking? She could take the time. She’d go home for a day instead of a week. She’d beg Jan to give her a leave of absence. That was it. She needed a leave of absence from the museum. Jan could hire someone else to help out in the meantime. Six months’ leave would be enough time to get to know Breth and decide whether or not to stay with him and become his wife. Yes, that was what she’d do.

  And maybe the druids would still come up with a way for no time to pass while she was gone. They had all day.

  But here Breth was right in front of her, blue eyes and all, and everyone was watching and waiting to see what she would say.

  She put on her most flirtatious smile and swung her hips at him so that her skirt swayed playfully against his ankles. She locked her fingers together behind his neck — carefully so that she didn’t disturb the woad.

  When she spoke, she looked up into his eyes and beseeched them to see all the affection she had for him and all the hope she had for their future together.

  “I am considering it. Very strongly. I want to stay with you.”

  She looked over her shoulder at all the people and lowered her voice to a whisper for only his ears.

  “Deoord and Boanne and Ia are working on having the helmet bring me back here the instant I leave. Then my only concern will be getting from where it deposits me in the woods to wherever you are, so it’s extra important that I be able to find the next broch. Are you certain you can’t tell me now?”

  For just a moment, she thought he took his deep breath because what he was about to tell her wasn’t quite true. For just a moment. But then the genuine affection he had for her was back in his eyes, and he pulled her closer to him, staring at her and intensely radiating that affection as he spoke, pleading with
her.

  “You don’t know what it was like for me. You had the helmet. You could come back any time you wanted. But me? Jaelle, I didn’t know whether you lived or had breathed your last. I need a woman who’s here with me every day, not just every month, every week, or even every other day. I have a clan to lead in battle. Someday, I will even be the planning chieftain of our clan. I cannot be wondering where my wife is and whether she will return to me. My mind needs to be unencumbered so that I can see how to defend us and provide for us without a nagging worry all the time. For the land’s sake, Jaelle, stay with me. Be my wife.”

  If she answered him, it would be to say ‘Not yet,’ but her gut told her he would take that as a no. So she didn’t answer. She held him and enjoyed his nearness, willing him to respect her need to go slowly.

  As he turned toward the main door to leave the broch, he pulled her closer and whispered with a husky voice into her ear.

  “Let’s get on with this. I’m eager to watch you get decorated with the woad again. Such a treat.”

  She did her best to hold her head up and her shoulders back and walk like a warrior through the crowds of people she had never seen, but it was difficult when she knew she was blushing. A change of subject was definitely in order.

  “How often are all the clans together like this?”

  He squeezed her hand and swayed in his walk from side to side, playfully.

  “This isn’t all the clans, just those close enough to make it here to this sacred grove. There are many more in the far north, mostly along the shoreline, where brochs protect the land from the seagoing invaders.”

  Still clinging to him, she kept up this neutral conversation, lest he press her for an answer.

  “Aye, I’ve seen maps in my day of all the brochs, and there are far more on the coastline to the north than down here by the wall. I guess no one told you the invaders were coming from the south across land.”

  As soon as she said it, she regretted it. What an offensive thing to say. She was trying to put him at ease, not challenge him.