Well, no time like the present for finding out gossip. From the body language, Caleb was itching to get away — she saw Brendan gesture toward the Hall, then Caleb shook his head, smiling regretfully as he began to creep away backwards toward the gate. An invitation declined. Fair enough, too — if she’d been the enemy of the Sept at any point, she wouldn’t have wanted to spend too much time around them. She saw Brendan nod a polite goodbye to Father Caleb, then turn on his heel and head toward the castle. He was smiling, so she zoomed over and dropped into step beside him.
“Oh. Good afternoon, Nancy.”
“Was that Father Caleb?” she asked, knowing full well that it was. Didn’t hurt not to let on that you’d been eavesdropping… not that she’d heard any of their conversation, of course. “Did he say whether the thefts have stopped?”
“Aye, he did,” Brendan said, nodding. “Said the dogs seem to have done the trick, but he wants to keep them for another couple of weeks just to make sure. I’m sure they’ll enjoy the change of scenery,” he added, rolling his eyes. “Not like we need them for hunting, or guarding our walls and the rest of civilization from the monstrosities that come through the burgh…”
“What kinds of monstrosities?” Nancy asked innocently, her eyes gleaming. She was still desperate for first-hand stories of Unseelie Fae — she’d heard a few, but none from Brendan.
He grinned at her. “I save my best stories for long winter nights, Nancy,” he told her solemnly. “It’s too nice a day to tell of the horrors I’ve encountered.”
“That seems unfair,” Nancy pointed out, frowning. “Winter isn’t for months, yet.”
“Do you have somewhere to be?” Brendan inquired, and she could tell he was only half-joking.
She sighed. “Well, I miss my family. My dad, mostly. He’s… I don’t like the thought of him being alone.”
“Aye, I can understand that,” Brendan said with a softness she hadn’t heard from him before. “It’s hard, to be separated from your family. I’m sorry.”
“Oh, it’s fine.” Nancy shrugged, not wanting to get too deep into her feelings in the middle of the day in this courtyard. “I mean, he technically won’t be born for hundreds of years, so it doesn’t exactly make sense for me to worry about him…”
“True, but you’re worried about him… in the future. Where you can’t be with him any longer.”
“Can’t I?” she said, frustrated. “The Seelie Fae brought me here, why can’t they just… drop me back, now that the danger’s passed?”
Brendan shrugged. “You’d have to ask the scholars if you wanted insight into how the Sidhe make their decisions. I’m nowhere near smart enough.” He grinned at her. “Even then, I think most of what the scholars do is guesswork. The Fae almost seem to take delight in being hard to understand. We can trust that they do what’s best for us, though.” He clapped Nancy on the shoulder, an affectionate gesture that made her grin even if it knocked her off balance. “So if it’s best for all concerned that you stay here, you’ll stay here. And if it’s best that you go home and stop eavesdropping on all of our conversations, well, you’ll go home.”
“I wasn’t eavesdropping!” Nancy feigned outrage — then relented when it became clear Brendan was just teasing her. “For a start, I couldn’t hear a word you were saying.”
He laughed. “Get inside with ye. It’s almost lunch time.”
But it felt good to know that the villagers were safe from the food thefts. Funny, to think of a world in which food wasn’t readily available — where a few bags of ruined flour could make the difference between a comfortable winter and a deprived one. She’d always tried to be grateful for what she had, back in the twenty-first century, but it was so easy to take all the conveniences of modern life for granted… especially the basic, life-sustaining ones like a grocery store full of food. Sure, she’d complain when her favorite fruits were out of season, but compared to this place… well, it made her feel greedy and selfish, if she was honest. Being in Scotland was teaching her a lot, she reflected as she ate lunch, in a thoughtful mood.
Malcolm joined her a few minutes later, startling her from her reveries. “What are ye thinking about?” he asked, tilting his head when he realized she’d been lost in thought.
“Oh, nothing much. Just — how different everything is here from where I’m from, you know? It’s funny… there were so many things I took for granted.”
“Like what? Magical technologies? Summoning the four elements with the snap of a finger?”
She giggled. She’d tried to explain what her kitchen back home was like a few days ago, but the concept of an electric oven had been a little distracting. She’d been accused of witchcraft a few dozen times at least — especially when she’d described what she’d thought was the fairly simple concept of a sink. Anna had giggled into her hands as Brendan, Malcolm and Donal had interrogated her about how, exactly, water was just summoned, ready to go, by the turning of a handle. She felt a little sheepish about not knowing exactly how it worked.
“I mean, all of that, yes,” she admitted now. “Especially my shower. You haven’t lived until you’ve had a hot shower, Malcolm,” she sighed. “Can we convince the Sidhe to bring us back a plumber?”
“Well, if it’s so dire a necessity I’m sure they will provide,” Malcolm said solemnly, his eyes twinkling.
“But I was thinking about… well, we had so much.” She shrugged. “The idea of a couple of food thefts being such a serious problem… it wouldn’t have occurred to me. Losing a bag of flour would be inconvenient, but I’d just go pick another one up. It just feels like the risk of starvation is a lot closer here than anywhere else.”
“Well, that’s why we look after each other,” Malcolm said simply.
She smiled at him. “That is nice. As much as I miss the convenience of the future… I don’t know, it might just be this place, but it feels less lonely in Scotland. People seem to talk to each other more.”
“Not much else to do on a long evening,” Malcolm said, shrugging. “Winter nights are always a lot of fun. You should hear the ridiculous stories Brendan tells…”
“Oh, he’s already promised me exciting stories of Unseelie Fae once winter comes.” Nancy laughed.
“Oh, you’ve been talking to Brendan, then?”
Was that a flash of jealousy in Malcolm’s eyes? Interesting … very interesting.
“A little, today. Father Caleb came by and I wanted to know what he’d said about the food thefts.”
“Aye, I hear the dogs are doing their job.” Malcolm nodded. “Could have been rats, then, for all that nobody saw any. Or maybe it was local youths who decided against tempting fate by breaking into a larder with a trained guard dog waiting by the doorway.”
“I thought they were hunting dogs.”
“The thieves don’t know that,” Malcolm said. “Well, the hypothetical thieves, anyway.”
“I have to admit, I’m a little disappointed,” Nancy said, finishing off her piece of bread with a satisfied sigh. “I was hoping it was going to be some terrific Faerie creature that was stealing the flour.”
“You were hoping for the village and everyone in it to be in danger?” Malcolm said, raising an eyebrow.
“Well, no! I just wanted to see a fairy,” she said, gesturing irritably. “I’ve heard so much about them… but I haven’t seen anything but the drawings the scholars keep, most of which just look like weird blurry blobs.”
“You met them!”
“Yeah, but that didn’t count!” she said irritably. “I thought I was hallucinating, I thought they were a dream… I want to see one properly. Up close.”
“Well, there are ways of organizing that which don’t involve us having to fight Unseelie Fae,” Malcolm said, rolling his eyes — but she could tell he wasn’t annoyed with her. Not seriously, anyway. “Nessie, for example. Have you given any more thought to visiting with her?”
“Oh, that reminds me. Can I ask a favor?”
“Anything,” he said immediately.
She grinned a little, pleased by the response. “I wanted to go down and visit Maggie — to say thanks for her help, and to pick up my scuba gear. Can we borrow some horses again? I wouldn’t want to have to carry it all back by hand…”
“Aye, I’ve been meaning to ride into the village to visit that blacksmith again, so if you don’t mind a longer outing, I’d be more than happy. Tomorrow morning? Bright and early?”
“It’s a date,” Nancy said, grinning. There were worse ways to spend a late summer morning than on horseback with a handsome Scottish gentleman, after all.
Chapter 21
The only downside to the pleasant stay she was having in the castle, Nancy was noticing, were the bad dreams. She’d always been a very solid sleeper, but since she’d been here, there had been some rather disturbing dreams plaguing her otherwise restful sleep. It was taking a bit of a toll. Though she’d usually been bright and cheery once she was up and about in the mornings, lately it had been taking her a little longer than usual to get going. And it was the same this morning… she groaned when the sun crept over the windowsill, falling on her eyes and making it impossible to sleep any more. Probably a good thing, she grumbled to herself… after all, she was meant to be meeting Malcolm bright and early for a ride into town. That restored her good spirits, at least … so would a big steaming bowl of porridge with honey. It was rapidly becoming her favourite meal of the day, even more than the delicious fish dishes that the kitchens often turned out for dinner.
She shuffled down the steps, still bleary-eyed but dressed for riding at least, and headed for the dining hall, where a handful of guards were already eating. Usually, she took a little more time about getting ready, so the hall would be more populated — but it felt good to be among the first to go for the huge pot of porridge that was always set in pride of place on the table. She settled herself comfortably on one of the long benches and blew across the surface of the hot porridge, before stirring a spoonful of honey in and setting about demolishing the bowl.
“No chance of starvation yet,” came a familiar voice.
She grinned, turning around to see Malcolm standing behind her. He was dressed for riding, too, a light cloak draped over his shoulders, but he settled down beside her for breakfast.
“Thought I could sneak in a meal before we headed off,” she said, gesturing to her porridge. “Or would you prefer to eat oat cakes on the road like savages?”
He laughed. “Nothing wrong with a good oat cake.”
“And yes, feeling very grateful not to be starving,” she said, stirring her porridge idly. “As are the villagers, I hope.”
He sighed. “I hope so, too. They certainly aren’t strongly of the impression that we do much good for them, generally. I hope stopping the thefts will suffice to keep them on our side.”
“So what’s the plan this morning? Village first, then Maggie’s?”
“I think we ought to stop in at Maggie’s first. She’ll have Kaitlyn’s lessons mid-morning, and she always gets very grumpy if she’s interfered with during that time. Your stay was an exception,” he added, seeing the worry flare up in Nancy’s face. “You weren’t to know that being transported through time and space may have interfered with her lessons…”
“Well, alright. So long as you show me how to put my scuba gear on the back of the horse, I have no idea how all those straps and buckles work.”
“I’ll show you how that works if you show me how the gear works. Deal?”
“Deal,” Nancy agreed, grinning. “The one thing in this world I’m still an expert on… I can’t wait to tell you all about it.”
“Perhaps we can figure out a way of getting it working again,” he said thoughtfully. “Surely we’re not so backwards as you imagine.”
“Do you have a way of compressing air?” she asked, smiling a little.
“What do you mean, compressing air?” He frowned at her, then cupped his hands together and squeezed them shut to demonstrate. “Air doesn’t compress.”
“Yeah, it does, if you’ve got the right equipment,” Nancy said sadly. “Which I do… but back at home, not here. We compress air so we can take more down with us,” she added.
“How do you compress air? It’s just … air. There’s nothing there.”
“Of course there is. What do you think happens when you breathe? You’re not breathing nothing. Air’s made up of particles.”
“That doesn’t sound right.” Malcolm frowned, waving his hand through the air as if searching for these so-called particles.
Nancy couldn’t help but giggle at him.
“What! Mocking a poor old-fashioned man?”
“A little, yes,” she said, grinning at him. “It’s fine! It’s cute.”
“Cute,” Malcolm repeated, looking about as disgruntled by that as he had by the idea of being able to compress air. “Not sure about that.”
“Alright, well, let’s get going. I want to see Maggie. Bet she wouldn’t kick up a fuss about basic science,” she added, raising a challenging eyebrow at him.
He was still chuckling as they walked out of the hall together, side by side.
This time, Nancy was determined to be a bit more proactive about horse management. Just because she’d never really had the need to tack or untack a horse in her life, didn’t mean that she couldn’t learn now. After all, not knowing how to tack up a horse was a little like not knowing how to drive a car, and she was determined to get as much independence as she could. Anna had told a few dark stories about how women were treated in this time — they tended to be more dependent on their husbands or the men in their lives. Unfortunately, a great deal of sexism was still prevalent in society… for all that it seemed like Anna was hellbent on personally being the change that brought about a revolution. So Nancy was keen to develop as many skills as she could. After all, one never knew when one might need to be able to tack up a horse and get away from somewhere in a hurry. So when the groom brought out the old chestnut mare — at her special request — she took the saddle out of his hands.
“Nancy, you don’t have to saddle her,” Malcolm pointed out, raising an eyebrow. “That’s why we have staff.”
“Do you know how to tack up a horse?” she challenged him.
“Of course. I’ve known since I was a child, but —”
“Exactly. I don’t, but I want to. I need to,” she corrected herself. “There’s a lot of stuff I don’t know, and I want to learn as much of it as possible. What if I get stuck somewhere, and there aren’t any men around to help me?” she pointed out.
Malcolm chuckled. “You sound like Anna.”
“Good,” she said fiercely. “Now. Show me how this works.”
The groom and Malcolm helped her put the saddle on the horse and buckle the girth under her belly, making sure it sat in the right spot, just below her front legs. “Tight enough to keep the saddle on firmly,” Malcolm said, “but not tight enough to interfere with the horse’s breathing.”
The chestnut mare stood patiently through the process, and Nancy was glad she’d taken an oat cake from the table to bring to her as thanks for being so patient.
The bridle was a little trickier. The various straps and buckles were confusing, and she couldn’t quite figure out which part the horse’s snout was meant to go through… but with Malcolm’s patient — if slightly amused — guidance, it wasn’t long before the mare was ready to go, chewing placidly on her bit. Nancy snuck her the oat cake and she tossed her head happily.
“Let me grab that bucket for you,” Malcolm offered, but Nancy shook her head.
“Nope. I wanna be able to get on from the ground. If Anna can do it at five foot nothing, I can do it easy. I’ve got at least five inches on her.”
“Fair enough,” Malcolm allowed, stepping back with his hands up in a gesture of surrender. “Just be careful you don’t get your foot stuck. Donal did that once,” he confessed, his eyes gleaming. “When we were k
ids. Tried to jump up, failed, fell down with his foot stuck in the stirrup. Funniest thing I ever did see.”
She giggled a little, thinking of the solemn Laird embarrassing himself so thoroughly — and resolving not to do the same thing, for fear of seeing that mocking look in Malcolm’s eyes directed at her. But to her surprise, it wasn’t so hard to jump from the ground up onto the horse’s back — not with her foot in the stirrup to push down and give her added momentum. She settled into the saddle with a triumphant grin and bowed graciously as Malcolm offered her a genteel little round of applause.
“A true horsewoman,” he said, grinning. “Can we go now?”
“Of course. Hurry up,” she added, grinning at him.
The sound of the horses’ hooves on the courtyard stones was very pleasing. Nancy smiled at the warmth of the sun on her face, already feeling more confident on the horse’s back now that she knew how all the equipment was fastened. Riding was beginning to feel easier, too. The more time she spent on horseback, the more familiar she got with the motion of the animal, and the more easily she could sit to its gait. As they rode down the coastline of the Loch, Malcolm explained to her how to move with the motion of the horse, making the effort of walking easier.
“On long rides it can make all the difference,” he explained, stroking the black gelding he was riding with clear affection. “They do a lot for us — the least we can do is make it easy for them.”
Nancy experimented with moving with the horse’s gait as Malcolm had explained. As he’d said, it made riding a little harder — but not as hard as walking would have been. Before too long, they had arrived at Maggie’s cottage, and she slid down the side of the horse with a great deal more grace than she’d dismounted with earlier. Still, her movement was nowhere near as smooth as Malcolm’s.
“Practice makes perfect,” he said, smiling at her as he saw her frowning.
“Yeah. Dumb of me, to spend my whole life driving a car. I could be amazing at horse-riding by now.”
“I’m sure cars are difficult to wrangle,” he said diplomatically.
Stranded By The Highlander: A Scottish Time Travel Romance-Highlander Forever Book 2 Page 13