Stranded By The Highlander: A Scottish Time Travel Romance-Highlander Forever Book 2

by Preston, Rebecca

  How late had he been patrolling last night? Nancy wondered, taking a seat among the villagers. Had he even managed to get any sleep at all? It couldn’t be later than midday… if he hadn’t gotten back until after dawn, that meant maybe five hours of sleep. It wasn’t a sustainable way of living, Nancy thought with a pang of worry.

  Malcolm was at his side, looking similarly harrowed as he stood firm, waiting for the meeting to begin. Nancy looked around at the villagers, trying to get a sense of what their news was, why it was so important that they’d had to come to the castle early. They all looked miserable — deeply frightened, with anger lingering under the surface, too.

  She understood that anger all too well — it was the anger of powerlessness, the anger of knowing that you and all your loved ones were in danger and there was nothing you could do about it. She’d been wrestling with that anger for weeks now — she knew exactly how they were feeling. She only hoped that Donal and Malcolm could exercise enough empathy to understand that anger, too — to know that it wasn’t personal, that the villagers were just worried about their wellbeing. It was so easy to lash out at authority figures, at people who seemed to have more power than you. Nancy realized, belatedly, that that had been a lot of what had been going on with her the day previously. She definitely owed Malcolm an apology for storming out like that, she decided. It was much better, in these hard times, to stick together and keep communicating with each other.

  “Father Caleb,” Malcolm said formally, inviting the priest to rise to his feet. “I understand you have worrying news for us, news that couldn’t wait until later this afternoon?”

  “That’s right,” the Father said, getting up and staring around at those gathered. Nancy could see Brendan in the crowd, as well as a handful of scholars and herbalists who had chosen to come down to see what was going on… word spread quickly in the castle. She could see a handful of servants, too, standing in the back of the room. They’d finished tidying lunch and were now interested to hear what the news was. And fair enough, too. Wasn’t Nancy here to eavesdrop on the meeting herself? Why should the servants miss out on information that might affect them or their families?

  “Bad news, I’m afraid,” Father Caleb said, his jaw tight. “Unfortunately, two people have gone missing from the village for the last few days — a couple of a young lads who were sent to deliver some iron crosses to outlying farms.”

  Nancy’s heart sank. This was all too familiar a tale… she just prayed it didn’t have the same ending as the one she and Malcolm had investigated. But unfortunately, Father Caleb continued to speak, his voice heavy.

  “This morning, we are saddened to report that bones were found, some distance from the path that the young men would have taken to the outlying farms. The iron crosses were found in bundles beside them.”

  A murmur of dismay went up among the assembled people, and Nancy could see the servants at the back of the hall whispering furiously amongst themselves — one girl’s face was white, blanched with fear, and her blue eyes wide. Had she known one of the young men? A lover, perhaps, or a friend? Nancy felt sick to her stomach. It seemed it wasn’t just the fisherman who’d fallen victim to the opportunistic goblins… two more deaths already? When was this going to end?

  “We’re terribly sorry to hear this,” Malcolm said heavily, raising his own voice to be heard above the murmuring of the villagers. “Unfortunately, we have similar news. Yesterday, while investigating the disappearance of a fisherman, we found his remains by the path also. It seems the robbers are preying on travelers. Were the young men traveling after dark?”

  “They were,” Father Caleb said sadly.

  “I strongly suggest a curfew,” Donal said now, looking around at the gathered people. “I’ve already imposed one upon the people of the Sept — no travel whatsoever after dark. Even sunset is a dangerous time. Of course, we have no authority over the people of the village, but for their own safety I would urge them to stay indoors after dark.”

  “Yes,” Father Caleb said softly. “I think that’s for the best. We’ll pass the word on.” But Caleb wasn’t finished — he stayed on his feet until Malcolm gestured for him to continue, frowning.

  What more news could there be? Nancy wondered. How much more awful news could they be expected to withstand?

  “Last night, the attackers seemed to change tactics,” he said, glancing around at the villagers he’d brought with him.

  They were nodding agreement with what he said — they clearly supported him as a voice for their concerns, Nancy noted, a little impressed despite herself. He must have done a great deal to earn their loyalty — they were a prickly folk, from what she’d learned.

  “We discovered two fires, set in the thatched roofs of several houses. And as you can imagine, this caused a great deal of distress and panic. The damage is difficult and time-consuming to repair —”

  “Which houses were targeted?” Malcolm asked. “Were they protected by iron? Iron crosses?” he corrected himself quickly.

  “They were,” Father Caleb said heavily. “Both of them. It seems our wily foes are finding new ways around our defenses.”

  “Worrying news indeed.” Donal took a deep breath — Nancy could see how frustrated and exhausted he was. “We’ll have to increase our patrols,” he said flatly.

  Brendan rose to his feet, his mouth open to protest, but Donal cut him dead with a look.

  “It’s the only option. Strict curfews, increased patrols. We’ll reduce the number of men on the wall.”

  “We’re operating with a skeleton crew as it is,” Brendan protested, his eyes blazing with anger — disgruntled murmurings rose up from the villagers, and Donal raised his hands for silence.

  “We have strong walls to protect us. The villagers don’t. We’ll have men patrolling until this threat is dealt with. Is that understood?”

  Brendan threw his hands up and sat back down, clearly stewing in impotent rage but incapable of doing anything about it. Nancy sighed, looking worriedly back up at Donal as he spoke.

  “We’ll send the men down early — they can accompany you back to the village and lend a hand with repairing the thatched roofs. We have some spare supplies here we can send along. And I’ll advise them to keep a sharp eye not only on the paths, but on the roofs, while on patrol.”

  The villagers seemed contented enough with that, but there was still a mood of strong worry among them. Malcolm raised a hand, glancing sideways at Donal. “I think it would be best if I went with the villagers now, too. If it can be arranged,” he added, looking at Father Caleb, “I’d like to come and stay in the village for the duration of this emergency. I’d feel better being on site in case of more emergencies like the fires.”

  “You’d be most welcome,” Father Caleb said formally. “There are spare quarters in the church you could make use of.”

  “Thank you, Father.” Donal was looking at Malcolm, nodding his acceptance of the idea. And though Nancy was a little dismayed to know that Malcolm would be much further away from her than usual, she had to admit, the idea made sense. If the goblins were launching attacks on the village, having a man on the ground, as it were, could make all the difference between preventing a tragedy… and allowing a fire to consume the whole village. With roofs made of thatch, it was frighteningly easy for fire to spread.

  As the villagers filed out of the hall, heading back home well before nightfall, Nancy slipped up behind Malcolm, who was deep in conversation with Donal. The two men looked up at her, identical wary expressions on their faces, and she almost grinned at the family resemblance — and at what those expressions meant. She’d worried them, the day before. Well, she felt a little guilty about that. They could do without any excess worry at the moment.

  “I wanted to apologize,” she said quickly, to put their minds at ease. “You were both right, yesterday, about it being a foolish idea to go diving without any idea of what was down there waiting for me. I’ve only got one tank of air — I’ll
have to make it count.”

  Malcolm looked a little uneasy about the implication that she was clearly still planning on diving down there at some point in the future, but he also looked relieved that she wasn’t still angry with them both for preventing her. She decided it would be best to move the conversation along before either of them took the opportunity to forbid her from diving indefinitely.

  “Also, I found some very useful books in the library upstairs,” she explained. “I’ve done some reading about goblins.”

  “That’s good,” Donal said thoughtfully. “Any idea what we’re dealing with?”

  “Well, like Malcolm said — probably at least one Redcap among them, if they’re murdering travelers. But I also did some reading about aquatic species — Glashtyns, very nimble in the water. That’d explain why Nessie wasn’t able to stop them all — they’re very fast, and clever, too. Possibly a few of those were able to distract her while the bulk of the others got to shore.”

  Donal was nodding, looking impressed with her research — she felt herself suppressing a smile, glad that some of her work was coming in handy. “Valuable to know. If they’ve got skilled swimmers on hand, we’d best be prepared for a stealth attack from the water as well as from the land.”

  “I’ll tell Brendan, if he’s still speaking to either of us,” Malcolm said, a rueful grin on his face. “He was pretty angry about the prospect of depleting the staff on the walls any further…”

  “We have to,” Donal said bluntly. “There’ve been three deaths in the village and no deaths here. Our forces are needed out there, not here.”

  “Perhaps some of the other staff could take a turn of watching the walls?” Nancy suggested. “I know how worried the servants and scholars all are… if it’s just a question of watching the wall and raising an alarm if they see anything, I don’t see why everyone can’t take a shift.”

  Donal sighed. “We may need to resort to that, yes, if only to take a little of the stress off the trained soldiers. Good thought, Nancy.”

  She smiled, pleased they were taking her ideas under consideration.

  “I’d best head off,” Malcolm said, glancing at Nancy regretfully. “I’ll need to get to the village well before dark to settle in, and I want to get a look at those roofs before the thatch is repaired.”

  “Do you need any help?” Nancy asked quickly, reluctant to let him ride off without having any idea of when she’d see him next. “I could help carry your things down, or something?”

  Donal was hiding a grin, she could tell. Well, let him grin. Malcolm was smiling at her, and it was a nice enough sight to cancel out any embarrassment she might feel at the way Donal was watching them both.

  “Actually, I’ll ride with you anyway,” she said quickly. “I was wanting to visit Maggie, to keep her in the loop with everything.”

  “Alright,” Malcolm said, nodding. “I’ll ride alongside you as far as Maggie’s. But make sure you don’t stay too long, mind. Get home well before sunset.”

  She nodded seriously. The worry on Donal and Malcolm’s faces was a mirror to the worry in her heart.

  Chapter 41

  It was a pleasant ride, but Nancy felt a pang of sadness as she waved Malcolm goodbye when they reached Maggie’s cottage. She popped in for a quick mug of the delicious herbal brew Maggie always had stewing on the fire — it seemed to steady her nerves considerably as she filled the old woman in on what had been happening. Maggie wasn’t surprised to hear that it was goblins that were to blame for the problems, and she scoffed irritation at Nancy’s theories about the aquatic Glashtyns causing problems for Nessie.

  “That’d be just like her, chasing after the quicker ones while the slow ones get ashore. She’s not the sharpest knife in the drawer, our Nessie.”

  “I’m sure she did her best,” Nancy said, smiling to think of the poor creature.

  “Oh, aye. Got a few of them at least. The only good goblin is a dead goblin,” Maggie said darkly. “With few exceptions.”

  That piqued Nancy’s interest. “Few exceptions? Or none?”

  “There’s an exception to every rule, dearie,” Maggie cackled cryptically. “But when it comes to goblins… best assume the worst until someone convinces you otherwise. Speaking of goblins, you ought to get back. Night falls earlier and earlier this time of year…”

  “Are you safe here, Maggie?” Nancy wanted to know, rising to her feet as they moved toward the door.

  Maggie laughed, a musical sound. “Oh, dearie. You’re sweet, but the day some raggedy band of goblins get bold enough to tap on my door is the day I’ve lost my touch!”

  Nancy rode back to the castle, grinning to herself. She was glad she’d visited with Maggie, even briefly. There was something about the old woman that just automatically buoyed her spirits. And if Maggie wasn’t worried about her safety, then neither was Nancy.

  She arrived back at the castle well before nightfall and found herself at something of a loose end. She wandered a little around the courtyard after she’d put her horse away, peering up at the walls, wondering if she’d be allowed to take a shift on guard duty. The idea of sitting up there alone, in the dark, scrutinizing the forest and water around the castle for any sign of goblins… it was a little ominous, if she was honest with herself, a little frightening. But she’d feel good about keeping the castle safe — and doing her part to relieve the men on the wall. It wasn’t as if she was sleeping particularly well lately anyway, what with all the bad dreams.

  She headed inside when the sun started heading toward the horizon, and to her surprise found herself approached by one of the guards. She recognized him as one of the men who’d ridden down to the village with the villagers, and she greeted him warmly.

  “How’d it go this afternoon? Did you get the roofs fixed?”

  “Oh, aye, and the men’ll keep a sharp eye on them tonight.” He smiled at her. “I’ve got a message for you, too. From Malcolm.”

  Her heart fluttered a little and she suppressed the urge to laugh and smile like an infatuated teenager. God, having emotions was an embarrassing state to be in. “Oh?”

  He gave her a piece of paper then headed off up the stairs, presumably to get some much-needed sleep. Nancy carried the piece of paper into the dining hall, wanting to settle in before dinner and read the message. Sure enough, it was in Malcolm’s careful, looping script — and she grinned to herself like a maniac when she read it. It said he was missing her already.

  “What are you grinning like the Cheshire Cat about?”

  The familiar voice cut across her reflections, and she jumped as Anna slid into the seat beside her, craning her neck to look at the note.

  “Just a message from Malcolm,” she mumbled, not really wanting to share — but the blush on her face clearly said everything it needed to.

  Anna cackled — reminding her for a moment quite strongly of Maggie, actually, a piece of information she kept to herself — and grinned up at Nancy. “I knew it. He’s sweet on you.”

  “Maybe,” Nancy said, shrugging, trying not to look like that was the best piece of news she’d heard all day. “Maybe he is. I don’t know. We’re good friends, maybe he just —”

  “Oh, yeah. He’s good friends with Donal, too, do you think he got a little note saying he misses him an hour after he left the bloody castle? You’re in, girl.” Anna tapped her merrily on the wrist, her grin threatening to engulf her whole face.

  Nancy couldn’t help but giggle at how clearly delighted Anna was.

  “The important question, of course, is are you sweet on him?”

  “I am, I think,” Nancy said, looking down as the heat rose in her cheeks.

  “Knew it. All those long, romantic rides on horseback… you can’t fight a tidal wave, hey? How exciting. Does he know how you feel?”

  “Maybe? I mean, I haven’t exactly been subtle in my flirting…”

  “Oh, you’d be surprised. Men are extremely dense when it comes to that stuff. You’ve basically
got to beat them over the head with it, and even then, they’ll second-guess themselves… well, the good ones will, anyway.” Anna smiled at her. “And Malcolm’s a good one, through and through. I’m delighted for you, really.”

  “Well, it’s complicated with all the goblin stuff,” Nancy said, frowning. “I was going to wait —”

  “Don’t wait. Times of trouble are all the more reason to hold onto each other. Tell him how you feel,” Anna urged her, tucking into her dinner as she spoke. “I mean, what’s the worst that can happen? You like him, he likes you…”

  “He’s down in the village now,” Nancy pointed out. “I can’t exactly stop by his room…”

  “Then go and visit him tomorrow. Say you wanted to check up on what’s going on in the village, lend a hand with repairs, whatever. Spend some time together. Have a romantic lunch at the tavern…” Anna wrinkled her nose. “Well, romantic-ish.”

  “I haven’t been to the tavern.” The food at the Castle was above reproach, of course, but she quite liked the idea of going somewhere else for a change. “It’s not too… forward, or anything, is it? To just go and visit a man? I don’t know what medieval sensibilities are like with … with sex, and all that stuff…”

  Anna waved a hand. “They’re actually a lot more enlightened than you’d think, at least the ones around here. And as for contraception, well, talk to Maggie about a tea that’ll stop you falling pregnant. Until you want to, that is,” she added, giving her belly a happy little pat. “Unfortunately, they haven’t invented proper condoms yet…”

  Nancy was still blushing, but it felt good to talk to someone about all of this. Keeping feelings bottled up inside — even positive feelings, like a crush that was steadily deepening into something more serious — could be stressful. As though the pressure of keeping it in put stress on the rest of your body… she giggled a little, imagining herself as a cartoon balloon about to explode.