Cameron laughed. "They are farmers and tailors."
"They are Scottish!" Bran said.
"Yes. I suppose a man should be able to protect his family in times of need. It takes our guards too long to receive word of attacks and then to arrive."
"Exactly what I am saying. We should provide the farmers with swords and training. Every man should know how to protect their women and children," Bran said.
Cameron gave him a speculative look. "And you? Do you not want a family of your own to protect?"
Bran looked at him annoyed. "Someday."
"There are fine women in the castle that all have eyes for you. Bonny they are. Or perhaps a lass from a nearby Laird. You should marry high and well. You are the tanist of the Laird. A high position and well-respected."
"I have no time to think of such things."
"Maybe at the next gathering in fourteen months you will meet a lass of high position from the surrounding clans. Perhaps the daughter of a Laird. I have heard that the daughters of Laird Travis are quite bonny. With black hair and blue eyes. Skin white as the winter snows."
"I am partial to hair like fire," Bran said.
"I knew it! You want Lady Collins. Admit it, man."
"I want no such thing. I need a woman of Scottish descent. My wife must have skills that will be essential to our lives. Her only skill is complaining… and fainting."
Cameron laughed. "Skills can be learned. It is obvious that she is of strong mind, and that can go a long way."
"She is weak and vulnerable," Bran said. "I will hear no more of it." Bran moved his horse into a trot getting ahead of Cameron so he would not have to hear any more of his words.
"And yet you will hear more of it…" Cameron laughed.
Bran was annoyed on the ride back to the castle grounds. He did not want to hear more from his cousin especially because he was teasing him about the red headed woman from a different time. Bran did not like when his emotions were obvious on his face and his cousin could obviously tell that he was at least distracted by this woman and thinking about her.
As they approached the bridge, a part of him was relieved that he would possibly see her again maybe at the feast that night in celebration of the hunt. But as he moved over the bridge, he already caught sight of her flaming red hair. His heart pounded and something stirred deep within him, damn this woman and damn his heart for the reaction.
Chapter 12
Edith was surprised at how annoyed Maria seemed as she followed her out of the room. She was relieved that they were leaving the dungeon, as she didn't want to be anywhere near Gabriel. But she wasn't prepared for the proof that Maria had planned to show her.
They made their way through the castle and Edith rambled the whole time. She wasn't sure if it was because she was nervous about being shown proof or not.
"I remember all of this when I came through. I don't understand how it's been fixed up so fast. It looks clean and different. Can you tell me what is going on here?" Edith rambled.
Maria sighed. "I already told you, but you refuse to believe. This door leads out into the foyer of the castle, and then to the large wooden doors. This would be where you would have entered the castle on your tour group."
"I wasn't on a tour group necessarily. Just me and my husband," Edith said as she followed Maria out of the corridor and into the foyer.
Maria raised her hands, showing her around.
"Take a look. Is this not familiar?" Maria asked.
Edith looked around, realizing that it was the foyer that she had entered, but it was all renovated, not in ruins whatsoever. There were tapestries and weapons hanging on the walls. It was quite pretty, and the large wooden doors that had been run down were perfectly situated.
"Outside these doors, is the front of the castle, where the tour buses park, and the cars. But you're going to see that is no longer there, because we're no longer in that time," Maria said.
Edith was starting to panic. Maybe this wasn't a renaissance faire trick after all.
Maria nodded to the guard, who then pushed open the massive heavy doors. The ocean air hit them, and Edith knew something was vastly different. She could hear the murmur of commotion outside mixed with horses' hooves and the rattling of wagon wheels. It was not the sound of tourists and vehicles she expected.
Maria stepped out and Edith followed. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the blinding sunlight, but once they did, her mouth fell open.
"No, this can't be," Edith said.
She walked out further from the door, seeing that there were plenty of village people moving about. It was all too real to be a simple reenactment, and the asphalt from the parking lot and pebbles were gone. There were no buses parked, no cars, not even anyone in modern-day clothing.
"Is this real? It's not some extravagant trick where everything was moved?"
"I'll show you something that couldn't have been erected overnight. I understand your disbelief, I was exactly like you not too long ago. Then you will see," Maria said. Maria waved her hand in the air, and Edith saw that she was waving over a man on horseback who held the reins of another horse coming toward them.
She realized it was none other than Bran, looking strong and confident on horseback. Edith suddenly forgot about everything in that moment and only focused on how handsome and brave this man looked.
"Ready?" he said as he stopped the horses next to them.
"Yes," Maria said as she took the reins of the horse and mounted onto its back.
Bran slid off of his horse and put his arms around Edith's waist.
"What? What are you doing? Put me down," she protested.
But Bran didn't listen, he picked her up as though she weighed nothing at all and hoisted her onto his horse. Then he mounted the horse behind her and put his arm around her waist securing her against him. Edith felt her entire back go hot as she felt his strong chest against her. She wanted to concentrate on what she was seeing, yet her body was betraying her and making her focus on the strongman enveloping her.
The horses began to move forward in unison, down the dirt road. Edith remembered the bridge that was a modern drawbridge to allow ships to go through at night. She remembered because she was very keenly aware that it would be the only way off the island to get away from Gabriel.
They moved up the hill, and then stopped at the top.
"It can't be," Edith said. She looked at the bridge, but it was no longer the modern drawbridge. It was a stone and wooden bridge.
"It is. I knew this was the only proof that would make you understand, because it was the one thing that made me believe. But look around you. There are no planes in the sky, no modern boats on the ocean, and no automobiles on the distant roads. You have gone back in time, Edith, just like I did and there's nothing we can do about it."
Edith looked around, scanning the horizon. She looked for modern boats on the water. She looked out over the island to the mainland looking for the black asphalt road that they had arrived on. There was nothing but a dirt path with a lone cart rattling down it. There were no planes in the sky. Her breath begin to quicken as she realized that this was now her truth. Reality was that she had traveled back in time, and now she was stuck. But it couldn't be, such a thing wasn't possible. Suddenly it became harder and harder for her to take a deep breath. She felt the constricting fabric of the corset as though it was being squeezed tighter.
"I can't breathe… I can't breathe…" was the last thing she was able to get out before everything went black.
When her eyes finally opened for a moment, she looked up into Bran's face. He was carrying her, cradling her in his arms. Feeling safe, she allowed her body to succumb to the dark once more.
Chapter 13
Bran was cursing his luck. Just as he had entered the castle grounds and spotted the red-headed woman Edith, and taken her up on horseback to ride with Lady Maria, as she showed her the bridge, he'd felt that stirring attraction to the woman.
And then
she'd had another fainting spell. Of course, he was there for the weak woman who was not strong at all. She was nothing compared to the Scottish women who endured hardship since they were babies and were quite able to deal with shocking matters without fainting. Even fair maidens of higher positions would hunt and learn to use a sword. No matter what Cameron thought about his fancy of the red-haired woman, it was not possible for someone of his position to think seriously about a weak woman, especially one that was married.
Or at least this was what Bran told himself. For the most part, he found himself looking down at the fragile and beautiful face of the petite woman as he carried her back inside the castle to take her to her bed where she could rest.
Her blue eyes opened for a moment, calling his attention to her. He was about to ask if she was able to walk on her own, but a small moan left her mouth and then she was back unconscious once more.
A part of him wanted to kiss her as he carried her, but that would be most inappropriate considering the circumstances. Not only was she the wife of another man and he would be committing adultery, but she was also a guest not to be violated in any way by anyone in the castle especially the Tanist who was charged with upholding the laws.
Finally, he made it to her room and set her down on the bed. He wanted her to wake up, so that he could chide her for being so weak. But she did not wake, only stirred a little. He stared at her face, pale and beautiful. Very delicate and petite just like the rest of her. Her breasts heaved up and down, as she slumbered. His eyes were drawn to them. He did not expect to see her wearing the clothing of his people and the dress was cut very low showing cleavage. Her milky white skin beckoned for his hand to touch.
Bran stood up straight, realizing he had been hovered over her with her still in his arms on the bed. It was most inappropriate and not a moment too soon as Cameron entered.
"Is my loyal Tanist having immoral thoughts?" he joked.
"No. Most certainly not. My thoughts are more geared toward anger. I told you this woman was weak. She simply cannot ride around the castle grounds without fainting. She does not hold a candle to a Scottish woman," Bran said taking steps away from her and toward the door.
"And yet you were the one riding with her, and the one to carry her inside. Any one of our guards could have done so with my wife escorting. That would have been your order for any other woman, but for this one you didn't even say a word but went straight to action."
"I have had enough of your implications, cousin. It was simply an act of convenience. I was there when it occurred, and I might as well make myself useful. Now if you will excuse me, I will go see to the buck that I took down to make sure that it is properly prepared for the feast tonight."
Bran walked out of the room, very annoyed that Cameron saw through him so clearly. The fact that he could still smell the woman on him only made him angrier as well. Was there no getting away from her?
"How is she?" Maria asked crossing paths as she headed toward the room of the young woman with Heigl in tow carrying a tray of medicinal herbs and broth.
"She is still asleep. Such a weak woman."
"Weak? I would like to see how you would react if you were taken from your time, and put in mine. Perhaps you might think that such a journey would be traumatic. She will get her bearings just as I did," Maria said, annoyed and walked past him.
Bran murmured, "Do all women from that time period have a temper?"
He continued down the stairs stomping through the castle until he was out of the courtyard and on the castle grounds. He made his way to the small beach where they launched fishing boats. He pulled off his plaid and threw it on the ground, along with his boots and tunic. When he was completely naked, he plunged into the icy cold ocean waves. He just had to wash the smell of the woman off of him. It looked as though he was washing up after the hunt, but in truth he was getting her off of him as well as cooling off his heated loins from having her so close.
Chapter 14
Edith ran through dark corridors tripping over her feet. But this time she was being chased by something she couldn't see. She tried to get up, but large amounts of cloth wrapped around her legs making it so she was unable to get up. Then she heard the roar of a beast, calling her name. She was terrified, wrestling with the fabric that turned into the skirt of her dress right before her eyes. She lifted it up and was able to get back to her feet. She stumbled though, running and running never able to find the end. Then there was a loud sound, a humming noise. It was the sound of an airplane. Edith ran toward the sound knowing that it was her freedom. She would be able to get back to America if she could just get on the airplane. The humming sound grew louder and louder, but it transformed. It was no longer an airplane, but the white noise of ocean waves crashing against rocks.
The waves grew louder and louder, until she was standing on the ocean shoreline watching white foam come toward her. The wave hit her hard, knocking her down. Then she woke up. The sound of waves were still reaching her ears and she realized that it had all been a dream, but that the ocean she was listening to was the ocean outside the castle walls.
Edith fully opened her eyes to now quite familiar surroundings. She was in the bed in her castle room. But things had taken a drastic turn, she had seen the proof that Maria had promised her, and it was overwhelming. She turned to the side to see that Maria was sitting at the table, looking at her.
"Do you feel alright, Edith?"
"What?"
"You fainted."
"I did?"
Suddenly, Edith remembered that she had been riding a horse with Bran pressed to her back and then the world had faded. She remembered waking up in the arms of Bran before the world went dark once more. She flushed for a minute and quickly looked around the room seeing that he was not there, which gave her some relief because she felt very embarrassed that he had to carry her time and again.
"Well, anyone would in a tight corset."
"Yes, I know what you mean. Are you feeling okay? Have some water," Maria said handing her a cup.
Edith took a drink and then looked at Maria. "So, it's all true then. I really am stuck in the past, and so are you. It has to be real. Nothing else would explain what I saw outside. No production would be able to go through the extreme lengths of replacing that bridge in such a short amount of time, not to mention no modern boats or planes. The street and parking lot is gone. It's all true," Edith rambled on and on.
"Yes but try to calm down. You will exhaust yourself again."
"All right, you're right. I can deal with this, I can. You did. Although you are a detective and used to dealing with a lot of traumatic events. I just need some time."
"You can have all the time you need, Edith, we have a lot of that here," Maria said.
Edith looked at her speculatively. "So, you mean to tell me that you came here and married a man from the past? I don't understand how you can adjust to living in this time period."
"Getting used to not having modern technology or modern medicine is quite the adjustment, but other than that, it has grown on me."
"Do you think that has something to do with the fact that you fell in love with the man who rules a castle?" Edith raised an eyebrow at her.
Maria laughed. "Maybe. But it's more than that, even the people have grown on me. It is such a simpler time and people don't take things for granted like food. Everything that is caught in the ocean is consumed and they don't take more than they need. We grow our own food and we're respectful to the Earth. I like that. But yes, I have fallen in love like never before and if I were able to go back to my own time, I wouldn't."
"You wouldn't?" Edith asked shocked.
"This is where I belong. I love my husband and I love the people."
"Husband... what about my husband? If I really am stuck here and so is he, does the law in this land mean that he owns me and I have to do what he says? I do not want to be with him. I want an annulment and if I were in my own time that is what I would be doing trying
to get away from him."
"Yes, the laws are different here. Men basically own their wives, something that I am constantly trying to get my husband to change, but I've only been here a short while. But in this particular case, because this man has a history of domestic violence, I will raise all kinds of hell if my husband makes a ruling that you must be with your husband."
Edith grew sad. "But it is not one hundred percent guaranteed. I would much rather take my chances and run away from the castle and go to Ireland or England or something and figure it out along the way than be with that monster."
" You wouldn't last a day on the road. Times are different here, there are no police making sure that crime doesn't happen on the roadways. Even in our modern times with police there's still a lot of crime. But here we have highway bandits that rob people who are traveling, kill them or rape them. It is quite brutal out there and I can assure you that you are much safer here inside the castle with our guards to keep you safe. Plus, you have shelter and food and in this time that is something that is not to be taken for granted. You can't just go to the grocery store and buy food on your credit card."
" I guess, I didn't think about all of that," Edith said. "I'm just really trying to adjust that I came through some sort of ridiculous magic door. Have lots of people come through?"
"That is something that I'm still trying to figure out. My husband has tried to figure it out as well with some help from his family members. There are legends of an old witch called Scathach. It is said that she is the one who controls the door and is a spirit among us. Some people have claimed to see her in the flesh, others as simply a spirit. There are many old legends about her, some that I am more than happy to tell you and that I'm still discovering on my own."
"Yes, I would like to hear everything about it, everything that you know. I've never believed in the supernatural before, but I have believed in things not to being what I thought they were especially now with my husband not being who I thought he was when I married him. But this world has been consistent around me and I don't feel like I'm in a dream. I have to come to terms with being stuck here and having a monster husband stuck here with me."
Kiss A Highlander: A Scottish Time Travel Romance (A Highlander Across Time Book 2) Page 6