“Oh.” No, she hadn’t realized that. Hadn’t really had the opportunity to think about why he was here, only to wonder who he was. Now his presence made sense.
“Did my family send you?”
“Technically your sister-in-law, Cate, sent me.”
Apparently it was a very good thing she’d left a thorough paper trail for her family to find her. A small tendril of fear crept through her but she pushed the thought aside. She wouldn’t worry about what might have occurred that kept her from returning. About what has yet to occur to keep me from returning.
If the drugs hadn’t fogged her brain, attempting to unravel the confusion of time travel would.
“Obviously we know only that you didn’t return the same day you left as you should have. So my arrival was set to coincide as closely as possible to yours since we don’t know what happened to prevent your return or when it happened. Because of that, I’m none too keen on letting you out of my sight until I can get you home. I can’t protect someone I can’t see.”
“That awful MacPherson at Sithean Fardach. Do you think he could have…” She shuddered just thinking of what might have happened if Ramos hadn’t shown up. Perhaps she shouldn’t have been so quick to be irritated at his attitude. After all, without his arrival…Well, she didn’t even want to consider the possibilities.
“Could be.” He turned her around, tucking her back up against his chest. The mug once again appeared in front of her face. “Or something entirely different later on. Who knows? Personally I prefer to cover all my bases. You don’t get to be a hero by making rash assumptions.”
Lord, there’s that attitude.
She would roll her eyes if they weren’t so heavy. She took a couple more sips of her aunt’s brew, feeling it begin to work on her body.
“I’m surprised you dinna tell her you were my husband.”
“Such a falsehood would have made me verra angry.”
They both jumped at the sound of Rosalyn’s voice. She stood in the open doorway, frowning at them again.
“So it’s wise you kept to the truth. Dinna I tell you her head was all you were allowed to touch?”
“Sorry. I couldn’t figure out how to get this stuff in her mouth and not down her front any other way.” He rose from the bed and put the mug back on the table, all business now. “Let’s have a look at that foot.”
Rosalyn had moved to his side. Mairi looked from Ramos to her aunt. Both waited expectantly, watching her.
She sighed and pulled the covers off, lifting her foot.
Ramos shook his head, making a tsking noise. “I told you the last time we did this”—he reached down and slipped his arms under her, flipping her onto her stomach—“this position makes it much easier to check your injury.”
“I give up.” She flopped her head down on the bed.
“Good,” Ramos and her aunt commented together as one of them began to unwind the bandaging on her foot.
When had she so completely lost control of her quest?
From the very first moment I woke up in the thirteenth century.
“It sounds as though yer new life has been quite an adventure.” Rosalyn stroked her fingers down Mairi’s cheek before taking Mairi’s hands between her own. “For all these years of missing you and yer brother, that’s what I’ve hoped for. That you’d both be happy. And from what you’ve told me, Connor and Cate, with their wonderful children and their big house, are truly happy. But what about you? I’d imagined you with babes of yer own by now.”
They sat on Mairi’s bed, where they’d been for the last half hour, visiting about all that had happened to Mairi since she’d last seen her aunt. It felt almost like she’d never left.
“I love my work and school. I’ll be teaching soon and I’m looking forward to that. I’m happy.” Or she would be as soon as she was able to insure her aunt’s happiness.
“But you’ve no found the man for you?” Rosalyn stood and picked up Mairi’s shift, not looking up as she asked the question.
Mairi hesitated before she answered. This would be the one person who would understand the price she had paid for escaping death. But burdening Rosalyn with her sorrows was not what she’d come here to do.
“No.”
Mairi crawled from the bed and joined her aunt in the middle of the room, standing on a small fur rug. A damp chill crept up over her bare legs in spite of the cheerful fire.
Rosalyn held up the shift and Mairi lifted her arms, putting her full weight on her injured foot. There was almost no pain now, she noted absently, thankful for how quickly her body always healed, one of the side effects of her Fae heritage.
She was equally thankful to have some diversion from her aunt’s questions.
“He’s a fine, strong lad, that Ramos.” Rosalyn spoke as she dropped the shift over Mairi’s head.
“I suppose, if you like that type,” Mairi finally answered, clenching her teeth to avoid a mouthful of sleeve. And to avoid saying anything else. Why had her aunt brought Ramos into the conversation? When her head emerged from the clothing, she found Rosalyn staring at her thoughtfully.
“Aye.” Her aunt plopped the next layer of clothing over her head. “Do you no think him handsome?”
“Verra well, yes, he is a handsome man.” This was, after all, Rosalyn. Mairi had never been able to lie convincingly to the woman who’d raised her. But that didn’t make a difference in how she felt about Ramos, what she already knew him to be. “In that stubborn, masculine, take-up-all-the-space-in-a-room kind of way.”
This time when her head emerged through the top of the dress, she found her aunt laughing silently.
“What?”
“Ah, Mairi. How I’ve missed yer lively outlook on life, child. But answer me this: When yer in a room with him, is he taking up all the space or simply all the air yer trying to breathe? Do you care for the man more than simply as yer guardian? Is that why yer brother chose him to look after you?”
Mairi shrugged and pulled her braid over her shoulder, playing with the ends. “No, Connor didn’t pick him because of my feelings for him. As a matter of fact, I’d never even met the man before Connor chose him.”
“Ah.” Her aunt tilted her head, watching Mairi through narrowed eyes. “But is he no exactly what you would seek in yer man? Handsome, brave, devoted, chosen by yer own brother?”
Mairi glanced down, not wanting to look into her aunt’s eyes at the moment, unsure of how to answer.
Even she didn’t understand how Ramos could be all the things she’d always known she didn’t want in a man and yet there was no denying that he stirred something in her.
Not that it made any difference.
If there was one thing she was sure of, it was that the question of what she wanted in a man didn’t matter at all because there was no true love waiting for her anywhere. Not a woman like her. Not a woman who didn’t belong anywhere, to any time. Not a woman who wasn’t supposed to be alive.
But she wouldn’t share that with Rosalyn. It would only upset her aunt.
Rosalyn took the braid from her hands and began loosening it, combing the hair as she went.
Her aunt’s questions continued as her fingers worked through Mairi’s hair. “Is that why you’ve come here, lass? Something to do with this man?”
“No, I’ve come to—” The words froze in her throat as if she’d suddenly been struck mute. No matter how she tried, no sound, not even the smallest uttered breath issued from her lips. What was happening to her? I’ve come to save yer daughter. She could think the words, she just couldn’t say them.
Mairi knew, when she turned to her aunt, her eyes must reflect the panic flooding her body. Why couldn’t she speak?
“Ah,” Rosalyn breathed, as a look of understanding passed over her face. “Yer touched by the magic of the Fae, are you no? You canna speak of yer true purpose here. Dinna worry, lass. It’s their way. When the conditions of yer visit are met, when you’ve done what they want you to do, you�
��ll be free of that.”
“When I’ve finished what I’ve come to do,” Mairi managed to whisper. “Right? That’s what you meant.”
Rosalyn chuckled, shaking her head. “You should ken better than that. Yer dealing with the Fae, my dear. They’re a perverse lot, with minds of their own as to how things should be. It’s why using the Faerie power is always such a hard decision. Oh, often as not they’ll give you what you ask for, but there’s always a price. And it never ends up being exactly what you thought it would be. They’ve their own way of thinking, their own way of testing a soul.” Rosalyn tugged lightly at the hair in her hand so Mairi would again turn her back. “I’ll try no to speak on the matter again but to say I’m grateful to have time with my favorite niece.”
“I will tell you as soon as I can.” Why hadn’t she remembered this twisted bit of Faerie lore thinking? Cate had told her many times of her own frustrations with not having been able to confide in Connor the full details of their situation at the time.
“I’m sure you will.” Rosalyn stopped fidgeting with Mairi’s hair long enough to enfold her in a hug. “For now, we’d best concentrate on how to explain yer being here. Blane and I have decided we’ll go along with yer guardian’s story. As far as anyone else will ken, yer my cousin’s daughter come to visit.” The woman shook her head as she once again busied her fingers with the braid. “We could hardly claim you as who you really are. Announcing yer return from the dead would be impossible, especially with you looking only a few years older than you did when you disappeared.”
Mairi nodded her agreement, still thinking of her aunt’s comments about the Fae. Pol had agreed to her demands rather easily. What kind of ulterior motive might the Fae Prince have? Her fingers lifted to touch the spot over her heart as she wondered what price he might want from their bargain.
“Nine,” she murmured, absently keeping up her end of the conversation. “I’ve been gone nine years. It’s difficult to imagine it’s been so long.”
“Nine, you say?” Rosalyn shook her head. “That just goes to show the wonder of the Fae, does it no? For you it’s been nine years; for us it’s been two score and three.”
Mairi knew that, had prepared for it. Had chosen the exact date she wanted to return. Still, discussing it with her aunt, hearing the words out loud, brought home the shock of what she had done.
Time travel.
“In some ways it feels as though it’s been only weeks, no years. Then again, I’m certainly no the same girl I was before.”
And may never be again.
“There,” Rosalyn said with apparent satisfaction as she patted Mairi’s hair. “All done and as bonny as ever I saw you.” Her hands on Mairi’s shoulders forced her niece to turn and look into her face. “It may be yer more yerself than you think, lass. Just the ‘you’ you’ve grown to be. Dinna fret. Now come with me.”
“What now?” Mairi took her aunt’s outstretched hand.
“Down to have yer midday meal and meet yer cousins. I’m fair anxious to have you see what Duncan and I accomplished while you were gone.” Rosalyn’s eyes twinkled proudly. “Did you ken you have cousins?”
“I did, and I’m anxious to meet them. And Duncan—is he here as well?”
A wistful expression crossed Rosalyn’s face. “No. I lost my beloved Duncan eight years ago. Blane insisted that we move here under his protection. He never forgot his promise to yer brother to look after me. The children were so young then, our oldest only twelve at the time. To accept Blane’s offer of protection seemed wise.”
“I’m so sorry. I dinna know.” Tears stung Mairi’s eyes as she threw her arms around her aunt, hugging the older woman tightly to her.
Duncan hadn’t shown up in the few documents she’d found but she had never connected that to his death. There were so few surviving documents from the time, she’d assumed that was why she’d found no mention of him.
The smallest trickle of dread raced through her mind. If she’d missed something as large as Duncan’s death, what else might she have missed?
Rosalyn sighed. “Dinna be sad for me, lass. I had the most wonderful fifteen years any woman can imagine with that man. And now I’ve three fine, strong sons and a lovely daughter to remind me of him for the rest of my days. Come along.” She pulled away and tugged at Mairi’s hand. “Let’s collect yer protector and go down.”
Her protector?
“Where is Ramos?” He’d reluctantly left earlier when Rosalyn had insisted they needed privacy to get Mairi ready to meet the family.
“From what I’ve seen of him so far, he’ll be verra close by. Especially if last night was any indication.”
“Last night?”
“Aye. After we finished with yer injury and put you to bed, Blane and I insisted that he leave yer room. We gave him the one directly next to you, but he stood guard outside through the day, and last night he slept in the hallway, propped against yer door.”
It would seem the man was serious about reaching hero status.
“Though he’s no from around here, he has the soul of a Highlander, that one.” Her aunt nodded as she pulled at the door, allowing Mairi to go first, but the opening was filled.
With Ramos.
He stood, his back to them, arms crossed, feet spread apart. He looked like a man ready for anything.
As the door opened, he glanced over his shoulder and scowled at her.
“About time. How long does it take one woman to get dressed? I’m so hungry I could eat greasy fish and chips from a street vendor.”
Really?
From what she remembered, Mairi suspected he’d be mighty happy to see one of those street vendors after a few meals in this century. She curved her lips into a brightly faked smile and shoved at his immobile back.
“Move it, then. Luncheon awaits.”
If he’d thought her smile suspiciously forced when they came down to eat, he knew the one she wore as she watched him now to be absolutely real.
Ramos picked at the food in front of him. Apparently seasoning hadn’t yet been invented in any form. The street vendors he’d disparaged earlier would run screaming from the room in abject horror at the presentation of this food, boiled and unrecognizable for the most part.
Even during his training in the Realm of Faerie he’d at least been able to identify what was placed in front of him.
Unbidden, a memory of the elaborate meals served by his staff back home at the chateau floated through his mind, but he brushed the thought away. That was a life he’d left behind.
All that mattered here was that he required nourishment, regardless of how it looked or tasted. And he’d learned to endure hardships of any nature during his training to be a Guardian. This was no more than a minor inconvenience at most.
He pasted a patient smile on his face and forced down another mouthful, scooping the gummy oats up with a chunk of bread as he saw the others do.
Mairi’s smile flickered as she did the same, a look of distaste fleeting across her lovely visage. It happened so quickly, he was sure no one else would have noticed. But he was watching, looking for her reaction. Somehow just knowing she wasn’t enjoying this any more than he was made it bearable.
“Cousin Mairi,” Caden, the eldest of Rosalyn’s sons called out, drawing everyone’s attention. “What is it that brings you so far north? You and yer…guardian?”
“I sought the opportunity to meet you all, to get to know my family.”
“Mairi’s mother and I were verra close as young lasses,” Rosalyn interrupted. “It only makes sense that Mairi would be sent to stay with me for a time.”
“But why now?” Caden pursued. “You never mentioned her or her mother to us before.”
“There’s many a thing I’ve no felt the need to mention to you, lad.”
“As to why—” Ramos drew the young man’s scrutiny from his mother. “It’s because her brother has charged me with the responsibility of taking her to my home. This will be her last o
pportunity to spend time with her family.” He was rather pleased with himself, both of his statements more or less the truth.
“I mean no offense, but why is it that her brother sends her off with you, a man who hardly looks old enough to be appointed her guardian? Why would he send her to yer home?”
“No offense is taken, I assure you. I was chosen because I owe a debt of honor—one too great to be easily repaid—and because I’ve sworn to her brother to see her safely through this journey. As to why she’s being sent to my home”—Ramos bit back a smile as a thought struck him—“it’s because she’s rather old and I’m to find her a husband.” No need to point out that their understanding of his duty as “guardian” was somewhat different from his own.
His statement was acknowledged with nodding heads around the table. Mairi’s wasn’t one of them. The smile he worked at hiding very nearly made an appearance when her foot connected sharply with his shin under the table. Apparently she wasn’t impressed with his spur-of-the-moment excuse.
She glared at him for an instant longer before she turned to the woman on her right, quickly engaging her in a conversation.
With Caden’s curiosity satisfied, Ramos returned to the food in front of him, taking the opportunity to study the others at the table, assessing strengths and weaknesses.
It was his gift, this being able to size someone up instantly. One look at their aura and he knew all about the basic makeup of that person. Good, bad or indifferent, it had always been useful. His father had been delighted when he’d first discovered Ramos possessed the gift. In fact, it was then, when he was about seven, that his father had insisted Ramos come to live with him. They had practiced the skill constantly, with his father having him use his inner sight on everyone who came to the villa.
Too bad he’d never thought to turn it on his father.
He wondered now what had happened to all those people he’d told his father meant him harm. He had never seen any of them again. It was likely Reynard would have had them killed.
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