“The little buggers spent the whole morning running up and down the beach pretending to be Kelpies and Kelpie hunters,” she said, rolling her eyes. “All the gossip in the castle must’ve gotten to them somehow. Anyway, they exhausted themselves. I’d imagine they’ll be asleep most of the afternoon, if we’re lucky. So you’re welcome to leave him with me.”
“I wouldn’t want to wake him,” Helen agreed. “Thanks, Anna.”
Then she was left at something of a loose end. No Eamon to care for, no pressing Kelpie business to attend to… she headed for the dining hall for lunch, hoping to see Maeve there, but there was no sign of the woman. Probably in the kitchens, helping Blair, she thought with a sigh. Well, she’d see if she could find her later. In the meantime… she helped herself to an extra-large serving of soup and more bread rolls than she’d usually take, reasoning that she had to make up for her missed breakfast. As she ate, she reflected on how much her life had changed — she was even feeling the impact on her body. With such an active life — walking, climbing and riding every day, it felt like — her body was quickly turning to muscle. And she was eating much more than she ever had back home… and there was something wholesome and pleasant about the food, something that made her feel more nourished than she ever had by her microwave meals. Well, there was probably a reason for that, she thought with amusement.
Her lunch finished and happily digesting, she wandered into the kitchens, reasoning that she may as well spend the afternoon helping out in the absence of much else to do. Blair snapped her up immediately, her blue eyes gleaming as she set her to work scrubbing plates. It was a trickier job without running water, but she’d begun to develop the knack of using water efficiently, scooping it from the buckets of water servants kept bringing to her. She was so lost in the errand that she barely noticed that Maeve had taken a place beside her with a tea towel, humming gently as she dried what Helen was washing.
“How was your trip to the village this morning?” she asked finally, curiosity in those luminous silver eyes.
Of course — the gossip among the castle folk must have been seething that day, what with the discovery of the Kelpie. Helen was more than happy to fill her in, describing the ride to the village in detail… as well as the unfortunate encounter with Perry.
“It’s a shame,” Maeve sighed heavily. “Niall and Perry used to be such friends… tragic, what grief can do to a person.”
“We’re worried that he’ll do something reckless — attempt to harm the Monster,” Helen said worriedly as she scrubbed a particularly stubborn bowl. “Niall was in a very sour mood when we rode back. It was all I could do to cheer him up.”
Maeve was looking at her closely, a light smile dancing in her eyes. “Forgive my forwardness, Helen Washington, but I do believe you’ve developed some feelings for our handsome Harbormaster.”
Helen blushed — but she didn’t deny it.
Chapter 39
“He’s a wonderful man,” she said softly.
“Aye, that he is. And does he know how you feel?”
“I’m not sure,” she said heavily. “I — it’s complicated. I think I’ve only really come to the conclusion that I’m… well, that I’m stuck here.” She sighed. “For the last few weeks, I think I was thinking that I’d eventually figure out a way home. But now… well, not only do I not think that’s possible, a part of me… well, a part of me wouldn’t want to go home, even if I could. I like it here. It feels… right.”
“The other women said similar things when they were in your place,” Maeve said gently. “You’re not alone. The Sidhe have a knack for putting people in the right place at the right time.”
“But if I’m staying… I don’t know. I don’t know if I could be in a relationship with a man from this time. I mean… no offense, Maeve, but I don’t want to be treated as less than a man just because I’m female. I hate the role women are expected to play here — I don’t just want to be a wife and a mother, I’m so much more than that! Not that being a wife or mother is necessarily — something I’m against—” She sighed, trying to vent some of her frustration on the task at hand. “It’s complicated.”
“Aye, well. Elena once told me that the course of true love never did run smooth,” Maeve said, a twinkle in her eye, and Helen wondered if she knew she was paraphrasing a playwright who wouldn’t be born for another few decades. “As for Niall… has he ever treated you as less than?”
She thought about this for a long minute, her hands in the soapy water. “I… no,” she said softly, a slight smile coming to her lips. “No, he hasn’t.”
“It may be a different time,” Maeve said softly. “And I’ll be the first to agree that women could be treated a whole lot better than we have been. But it’s changing, Helen, slowly but surely. And there are plenty of men who treat women as their allies and friends — as equals. Even if they may struggle a little to understand the ways in which we differ from them,” she added with a fond smile. “I think you can trust Niall to do that. He’s a good man, Helen. I wouldn’t vouch for him if he was anything less. Not for a woman like you.”
She blushed a little at the compliment, pleased by Maeve’s respect for her. Her heart was beating faster at the very prospect of trying to make a go of things with Niall. Maeve was right — it was a strange time to be a woman, and a lot of adjustments would have to be made… but what better man to have at her side than Niall, who had already proven that he respected her, that he valued her contributions not only in ‘womanly’ duties like caring for his child, but in the investigation they’d been conducting? She nodded, the broad smile on her face all the information Maeve needed. The older woman chuckled as she finished drying a cup.
“I think you and he ought to have a long conversation tonight,” she said softly, her eyes twinkling. “I know where Blair keeps the wine, if you’d like some fortifications…”
“Are you sure?” She was hesitant to do anything that might bother the formidable Headwoman. But Maeve’s eyes twinkled as she moved across the kitchen, disappearing for a moment then reappearing with a bottle of wine clasped in her fine hands.
“If there’s wrath to be dealt with, let me deal with it,” she said with a grin.
The dishes clean — for now, at least, until dinner service began — Maeve shooed her away, sending her out into the fine afternoon to get some sunlight while it was possible. She headed down the stairs to the quarters she shared with Niall to stash the bottle of wine for later, before ambling out onto the docks, the afternoon sunlight feeling good on her skin. Maeve had been very right — it was important to take advantage of good things while you could. Like sunlight, and an afternoon to yourself, and a very comfortable flat rock she remembered on the lake shore, perfect for stretching out on and napping…
She spent the rest of the afternoon dozing in the sun, and by the time the sun was setting, she felt like a new woman. That afterglow was still with her later that evening, when she headed back to the quarters to wait for Niall at the dinner table. They had things to discuss — like how his meeting with Laird Donal had gone, and what they were going to do next about the Kelpies, and whether he wanted to be with her for the rest of their lives… she blushed a little, embarrassed by the strength of her feelings for him. But Maeve had given her the courage she needed to talk to him. And any more courage she might require… well, she had a bottle of wine, didn’t she? That Maeve certainly knew what she was doing, she thought with a chuckle.
When Niall came in, his eyes landed on the wine bottle with a grin, though there was something in his body language that gave her pause — some sign of frustration or distraction, she wasn’t quite sure. He tilted his head, eyes shooting to Eamon’s bedroom door.
“He’s still up,” she said softly. “Spent a good chunk of the afternoon napping after what sounded like a pretty hectic morning, so I thought it’d be fine for him to play quietly by himself until he was sleepy enough.”
Niall nodded, pleased by her judgment c
all. Then he raised an eyebrow at the wine bottle. “What’s the occasion?”
“Do we need an occasion?” she challenged him, smiling as she poured the wine into the two glasses she’d set, waiting for his return. “Besides, I’d say we have one. One dead Kelpie… and dozens of villagers on our side, convinced of the danger.”
“Aye, I suppose you’re right,” he admitted, taking a seat beside her and taking his wine. The heat of his body… she shut her eyes for a moment, trying not to let it overcome her. God, she was far gone, wasn’t she? She sipped her wine to distract herself, feeling the comforting warmth of the alcohol suffuse her stomach and ease her nerves. No wonder it was so addictive. Not quite as addictive as Niall’s company, of course, but certainly close… she suppressed the foolish grin she felt creeping onto her face, wanting to stay focused on Niall.
“What’s the matter? You seem distracted. Still worried about Perry?”
“A little,” he admitted. “But we’ve other problems, too. I spoke to Donal about increasing the guard, and he agreed, but Brendan says it’s impossible. We simply lack the manpower to have enough patrols circling the lake — especially if we want them to do so safely, in groups big enough to defend against the Kelpies. I offered to take some shifts myself, but I’m sorely needed on the docks, especially with limited hours for the fishermen to work in…” He sighed, rubbing his forehead with his hands. “It’s frustrating. I wish we could just — kill these Kelpies and be done with it.”
“Iron bullets,” Helen said thoughtfully. “I imagine that would sort them out.”
“Aye, Elena brought a gun back with her,” Niall said thoughtfully. “She showed us how it worked — though she ran out of bullets. Fascinating devices. Do you think we could use them against the Kelpies?”
“Maybe,” Helen shrugged. “If we could somehow get them back from the future… but it’s academic, really.” She sighed. “And guns produce a lot more problems than they solve, overall. I mean, imagine someone like Perry getting hold of one.”
His face stilled. “I hadn’t thought of that.”
“Guns are powerful, yes, but in my world a lot of heartbreak, injury and death has been caused by them. Because that power comes with responsibility… and unfortunately, criminals get their hands on them too easily, and then some good people who own guns don’t take as much care with them as they could. They don’t lock them up… they get stolen, or worse, played with by children…”
Niall shuddered, his eyes flicking toward Eamon’s room, and she bit her lip.
“There I am, trying to distract you with stories from the future, and all I can think of is gun issues .”
“It’s fascinating,” he assured her, smiling. “But perhaps you should distract me with the good stuff. What do you miss about the future?”
“Hot showers,” she said immediately. Then she paused. “Actually, that’s not true. I suppose… well, modern medicine is pretty good.”
He tilted his head. “Is that so?”
“It is. I mean, I’m no expert, but — well, we’ve got all kinds of treatments for diseases. The kinds of treatments you’d think were Maggie’s magic if you didn’t know any better… antibiotics, chemotherapy, all kinds of medicine, surgery…”
“Aye, we have surgeons,” he pointed out, narrowing his eyes.
“Sure, sure. But could your surgeon take out a man’s heart and replace it with a dead man’s?”
His eyes widened. “You’re making it up.”
“Nope.” She laughed. “It’s relatively common to be an organ donor — that means that if you die, and with your permission, hospitals are allowed to take your organs and give them to sick people who need them. I was an organ donor,” she said thoughtfully.
“So if the Sidhe hadn’t brought you here, your heart would have been put in someone else’s body?” He looked fascinated — and horrified — as she nodded.
“Saving their life, I’d imagine. It’s a way of living on, after you’re gone, I suppose.”
“Well,” he said. “That’s very noble of you. But I’m glad you came here to me instead of being — chopped up and given away.”
She giggled, ducking her head at the compliment — then remembered something he’d said earlier.
“Niall… you said something before about a theory you have? About the Sidhe?”
He nodded, lowering his wineglass. “Aye, I do.” There was a seriousness in his eyes as he leaned a little closer to her, and she could feel her heart pounding. “I think the Sidhe knew what they were doing when they brought you here. I think they wanted me to find you. I think they wanted me to get to know you, to see what a remarkable woman you are. I think this all was part of her plan.”
She could barely think. “You do?”
“Aye, I do.”
And just like that, he was kissing her. And this time, he didn’t break away.
Chapter 40
The kiss was electric. She could feel it filling her whole body with a strange, crackling energy, feel tingles running up and down her spine and a dense heat building low in her stomach as he kissed her, his rough fingertips coming up to caress her cheek as he deepened the kiss. She leaned into it, helpless to resist him, the scent of him, the heat and softness of his lips on hers, the way his tongue darted at her lips, sending lightning shooting through her… she reached out to rest her hands on his shoulders, worried she wasn’t any good at this, worried that he’d be able to tell how little experience she’d had with kissing… but overall, too absolutely thunderstruck and overjoyed by what was happening to spend much time worrying at all.
He broke away after what felt like forever, a luminous smile on his face. She was breathing hard, and she realized with a shock that so was he — it seemed the kiss had had a profound effect on both of them, though she doubted that his heart was pounding anywhere near as hard as hers was — it felt like it was trying to shake itself loose from her chest altogether. Niall grinned at her for a moment — and then, just like clockwork, the spell was broken.
“Da?”
He pulled away from her at the sound of Eamon’s voice, plaintive in the quiet night air. Sure enough, the little boy was just opening his door, looking tousled and bleary-eyed as he looked for his father. Had he seen them kissing, she wondered with a sudden jolt? No — he’d have been inside the room when that was happening. And if he suspected anything was up between his father and his new friend Helen, he certainly didn’t let on as he toddled over to his father, climbing up into his lap and dropping his head against his shoulder with a huff.
“I’d better put this little man to bed,” Niall said, giving her a slightly frazzled smile. “We’ll take this up again later?”
She nodded, barely trusting herself to speak after the way the kiss had knocked her legs out from under her. “Goodnight, Niall. Goodnight, Eamon.”
“Ni-ni,” the little boy murmured, his head already pillowed on his father’s shoulder.
Niall gave her one last, lingering smile, a smouldering desire in his regard that almost threatened to overwhelm her, before he said a soft goodnight and carried his son to bed.
She made it to her room, barely, where she undressed with shaking hands then collapsed into her bed, fighting the urge to bury her face in her pillow and scream like a teenager… but why was she fighting it? Wasn’t she allowed to have feelings? Who was going to shame her for being excited about a new relationship? She buried her face in her pillow and let all the delight that had been building up in her break loose in a shriek that the pillow, thankfully, muffled. Feeling a little more calm — but no less elated — she tucked herself in, her heart pounding. How was she supposed to wait until the morning, when she knew what she knew now — that he did like her, that he was interested in their relationship being more than just platonic, that he wanted to kiss her as much as she wanted to kiss him? That he thought she’d been brought here for him by the Sidhe — that he thought they were destined to be together?
She finally manag
ed to drift off to sleep an hour later, though not without spending a great deal of time daydreaming about Niall… and when she woke up, she was blushing a dark crimson from the kinds of dreams she’d been having. Very sexy… but very vague. Because the fact remained, as much as her body might be yearning for Niall, that was another area in which her experience couldn’t teach her anything. She’d never been with anyone sexually — none of her so-called relationships, if she could even justify calling them that at all, had gotten even close to that far. But she realized with a jolt that she wasn’t worried about that at all. She trusted Niall completely — trusted him to teach her about that side of things with as much patience as he’d taught her so much about this crazy new world she was in.
But, she decided, sitting up in bed and realizing as she did that the morning was already well underway, before she did anything of the sort, she was going to seek the advice of her friends. Just as she’d been planning yesterday — an investigation. First, Anna. Then — well, she’d see what the rest of the women were doing. But somehow, she wanted to talk to Anna first.
Conveniently, she tracked her down at breakfast — the woman was sitting by herself, staring thoughtfully into her bowl of porridge, clearly lost in some reflection. She cleared her throat as she sat down, not wanting to disturb her friend too much, and got a bright smile for her trouble.
“Morning, Helen. How’s Eamon?”
“With his dad today,” she said with a smile. The little boy really did love going around the docks with his father, looking at the boats, sailing back and forth occasionally — and, of course, wandering off down the beach.
“And how is the Harbormaster?”
Needed By The Highlander: A Scottish Time Travel Romance (Highlander Forever Book 5) Page 24