He pressed down on the handle at the side and a loud whoosh sent Mora leaping into the air.
Hand to her heart, she stood shakily, recovering her breath. “The Lord save us.”
“It’s all right.” He smiled. “You won’t go down with the flush, but wait until you have finished using it and are back on your feet before you press the handle.”
Then it dawned on her that this must be the Garderobe or privy. Her face heated in a flush of embarrassment. Why couldn’t he just have a chamber pot discreetly tucked under the bed?
She’d dreamed of being alone with Neil, of basking in the dizzying warmth of his smile, savoring his tender embrace, and far far more. But never under these disgraceful circumstances!
He gestured at shelves stacked with white linens and the collection of bottles. “Mrs. Fergus has a supply of towels and washcloths, shampoos, gels, lotions…you name it.”
Mora couldn’t.
He walked to the mirror over the sink and opened it. Behind the glass were shelves crowded with all manner of vials and strange objects. It seemed enough for many a woman.
“She keeps razors and cream in here if you want to shave,” he said.
Now Mora was at an utter loss and more than a little offended. “Why in God’s name should I wish to do that?”
His lips twitched and he clamped them shut.
“Why sech mirth?”
He parted his mouth enough to offer, “Sorry,” but still seemed vastly amused, to her total bewilderment.
“Do ye think me a man in disguise?”
“Not in the least. There’s no disguise in the world that good.”
“Then why—”
“Maybe I’ll just go and see if that maid has come yet,” he interjected, failing to repress a smile.
She crossed her arms over her chest and gave him a sharp look. “Mayhap ye had better.”
He turned away. “I’ll let Wrenie clear up this little misunderstanding.”
“Yer insult to me is no wee matter!”
He whipped back around and clasped her by the shoulders. “I would never insult you, Mora.”
Before she replied, he silenced her with a gaze that sent a quiver from her midriff to her toes. Her arms dropped to her sides. For a long moment, he held her eyes. Penetrating, searching, he seemed to explore inside her very heart.
Was he seeking for her, or his true self, or both? Could she lead him back to that vital memory, help him recall all that he was, and consequently, all that she meant to him?
Sweet Mary, he was everything to her.
Lifting his hand, he lightly smoothed her cheek. Prickles ran over her skin and down her throat. If his slightest touch rendered her flushed and trembling, what would more do?
He appeared on the verge of doing more. Would he settle his sublime mouth over hers? She waited in tremulous expectation, hardly daring to breathe.
Slowly, so slowly, he bent his head and brushed his lips to hers in the barest kiss…then deepened the rapturous pressure on her mouth. Only slightly, but her heart drummed wildly. Sanctified, holy, the scent of incense in the chamber seemed to lend sacred blessing to his seal on their love.
She slipped her arms around his neck and sighed against his mouth. “Niall.”
He stiffened and lifted his head. A frown creased his brow. “It’s Neil.”
Without another word, he pulled from her. Then turned and strode from the room.
How dare he leave her this way after such sweet promise!
Without a moment’s hesitation, Mora scooped up the bar of soap and hurled it after him. It struck the door closing behind his vanishing figure.
Chapter Seven
“Why are ye soaping my hair again, woman? I dinna tumble down in the mire!”
Every syllable of Mora’s protest carried beyond the bathroom where Fergus’s cousin Wrenie assisted the irate Scotswoman with her bath and out to Fergus and Neil seated in the living room.
Neil slouched amid the clutter on the leather couch. “Good lord.”
He rested his head in his hands. Undoubtedly his behavior had worsened the volatile situation. He shouldn’t have kissed Mora, even a little. But how could he resist? The soft press of her lips meant far more than a passionate kiss with any other woman.
Wrenie’s upraised voice carried equally well above the watery scuffle. “The bottle says to repeat.”
Mora sputtered, “The divil it does.”
“Read for yourself,” Wrenie shot back.
“With suds in m’ eyes and me winking like an owl?”
“You needn’t screech like one.”
Neil groaned and looked up.
“It’s like bathing Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady,” Fergus commented from his recliner. He cocked his head at Neil. “Is shampoo a scarce commodity in Scotland?”
“Not as far as I know. Maybe Mora’s from way out in the country and makes do with soap,” he offered, having no better explanation.
“Or a good brushing down, like a horse.”
“Fergus—”
Here’s a thought. Maybe she’s from a remote island in the Hebrides accessible only by fishing boats, where supplies run short and the islanders live in the manner of medieval peasants.”
“She’s not the earthy sort.”
“No. More the regal type with her imperious manner and expecting a maid.” Fergus snickered.
His mind spinning, Neil reached toward the coffee table for the caffeine molecule emblazoned mug Fergus had provided. He took a sip of the steaming brew and tried to fathom the woman that was Mora, her fascinations, exasperations, and perplexities.
Fergus fingered his left earlobe as he did when thinking. “Did Mrs. Dannon mention anything unusual about her niece?”
“Nothing that I recall. Said she likes to knit and work puzzles.”
Fergus snorted. “Mora?”
“Maybe that was the old Mora, before the bump on her head.” But his words didn’t ring true even to Neil.
Fergus grimaced. “Well, you can hardly ask Mrs. D for the details now, poor woman. I’ll miss her scones.”
Neil still couldn’t believe that warmhearted soul was gone.
“What does this MacDonald character want?” Fergus asked.
“You make it sound like he’s in a film.”
Running pale fingers through his orange thatch, Fergus countered, “Your life has spiraled into a movie of the week.”
Neil offered no argument.
“Why was he in your house in the first place? More to the point, how did he get in?”
Neil shrugged. “The police aren’t sure, say the matter’s under investigation. Lieutenant Hale told me the master bedroom’s been ransacked. I didn’t even have the opportunity to look before I left for the hospital, so have no idea what’s missing.” He shifted uneasily. “That fiend is searching for something.”
Fergus pushed his glasses farther up his nose. “What?”
“My father has all those Scottish heirlooms stashed in there. Been in the MacKenzie family forever.”
“Valuable stuff,” Fergus said.
“Yeah. I’ll have to check everything against the list in the safe to see what’s been taken.”
Fergus’s keen expression reminded Neil of a fox on a scent.
“There are two other upstairs rooms. What about those?” Fergus asked.
“Untouched. But the master suite’s much larger since the renovation and has far more antiques.”
“That whole house is crammed full if someone wanted to steal them. They could load a semitrailer truck.” Fergus frowned.
“Comforting thought. Thanks,” Neil muttered. “The downstairs wasn’t disturbed. Makes me think he’s after something in particular.”
“Or you returned before he could finish and scared him off.”
Neil envisioned an enraged kilt-clad Scotsman. “That’s what I thought. But he doesn’t seem the type to scare easy.”
“Give yourself some credit, dude. You’r
e super scary.”
“In my suit and tie, wielding that monkey headed cane?”
Fergus raised his shoulder and let it drop. “Maybe he couldn’t find what he was after and left. For now.”
“Again, thanks for the chins up.”
“I told you to get a taser.”
“Not everyone wants a stun gun for Christmas.”
Fergus quirked an eyebrow at him. “Speak for yourself—”
Mora’s howl broke into their conjecture. “Where are ye going with m’ cross?”
“Just getting it out of the wet,” Wrenie answered.
“I cannot lose it! ’Tis sacred to me.”
“I’ll put it safely on the dresser.”
The narrow space between Fergus’s eyebrows puckered. “She clings to that cross like the One Ring.”
“She’s deeply religious.”
“Or from Middle Earth. What exactly do we know about Mora?”
Neil swallowed his coffee. “I told you all I know.”
“There has to be more to her than that.”
“Should I phone Scotland Yard, ask them to investigate?” Neil quipped.
“They’d probably lock her away in an asylum guarded by dementors.”
“Or lock me away. I’m not out from under suspicion yet.”
At that disquieting thought, Neil took the red tin Fergus kept filled with chocolate covered espresso beans and shook a handful into his palm. “With all this caffeine I’ll be awake until dawn.”
“As though you’ll sleep anyway. Insomniac.”
Neil grunted in reply. He’d have to find something decent for Mora to eat and wondered if they drank coffee in the time period she thought she hailed from. Nix that, the doctor had ordered rest.
“Hey Fergus, you got any real food in this house?”
He looked askance. “I put hazelnut creamer in your coffee and gave you the rest of my fries and nuggets.”
“Ever the gracious host. I was thinking of Mora.”
“Maybe a Happy Meal would cheer her up.” Fergus collected all the toys from whatever movie was currently being promoted.
“I doubt an action figure would thrill her. Besides, I expect she’s accustomed to different fare.”
“Whip her up some haggis,” Fergus said.
Neil smiled faintly. “Fresh out of sheep’s stomach. Even if I could cook it.”
“Better make a run to the Scottish Quick Mart. Pick up some neeps and tatties to go with it. Oh, and a dram of whiskey,” Fergus added, “the only way to have haggis.”
“How do you remember all this stuff?”
Fergus tapped his forehead. “Backed up on my hard drive. Besides, I’m Scots too.”
“Right. The illustrious clan Fergus.”
“Short for Fergusson.”
“Lowlanders,” Neil sneered in mock derision.
“I’ll have you know the ‘Sons of Fergus’ are famous the world over. Show a little respect, particularly as you scarfed my fries,” Fergus said, then did what he always did and opened his laptop.
“You really believe the answer to all of this lies in Google?”
“Everything’s somewhere in here, if you know how to find it.” Fergus had the unwavering faith of a zealot. He waved an impatient hand at Neil. “I think better under the stars. Get the lights, will you?”
Neil stood and flipped off the overheads, leaving only the mood lamp with the iridescent jellies and the ambient orb. And the soft glow from the laptop, of course. Fergus was never without that.
Fergus reached over to the end table beside his recliner and snapped on the laser star projector, conveniently aimed at the ceiling. At his touch, a host of green and ultraviolet blue stars shone overhead among clouds all constantly moving in the virtual heavens.
“That’s better.” He peered back down at the computer screen.
Fergus didn’t actually step outdoors if he could avoid it. A regular workout at the gym wouldn’t kill him, even buff him up, but Fergus wasn’t into physical fitness. Not geek, and he was a trendsetter when it came to kewl, or thought he was.
Neil wasn’t entirely certain which of them was stranger, Fergus or Mora. To give Fergus his due, he knew which country and century he was in. Settling on Mora as the more peculiar of the two, he returned to the couch and sat in the surreal light.
Coffee, he needed more coffee, and espresso beans. Sip, crunch, sounded against the commotion emanating from the bathroom.
“You want me to shave where?” A flood of water drowned out Mora’s latest outcry.
Neil and Fergus exchanged looks. “Whatever you’re paying Wrenie for this maid gig, it’s not enough,” Fergus said.
“Fifty bucks. Besides, she owes me.”
Fergus rolled his eyes behind the thick black frames. “Those cards you designed for her business aren’t worth wrestling an infuriated Scotswoman.”
“I thought Mora was too giddy to manage on her own for a while.”
“She sounds pretty lively to me.”
Neil blew out his breath. “Well, it’s not my fault Wrenie can’t sell her beadwork. It’s this blasted economy. Not that I give a damn about that right now.”
Fergus squinted at him. “Or much else, I’d say, except Mora.”
“Everything changed with her coming,” Neil admitted.
“And through the door to nowhere, no less.”
As if Neil needed reminding of the sheer impossibility of her assertion. Knocking back another handful of espresso beans, he chewed while searching his brain for an answer.
Nothing. At least, nothing that made any sense.
“Help me out here, Fergus. Put that brilliant madness of yours to work.”
“All right. I’ll research the MacKenzies. See what happened to your tribe way back when.”
Neal gave him a dry look. “You can’t seriously mean to suggest she’s from 1602?”
Fergus glanced back down at the screen. “Maybe she’s picked up on some psychic vibrations or—”
“Come on,” Neil broke in. “Not that psychic phenomena stuff your mom goes on about? Thought you said it was weird?”
“Yeah, well, I’m reconsidering. Mora raised the bar on weird to whole new heights. And you’re hitching a ride on the tail of her comet.”
“All right, I get it.”
Fingers flying, Fergus ventured into the cyber world.
“Can’t you ever just think without your laptop?”
“No.”
Neil took a strengthening swallow of coffee. “Surf away, then.” He had no better ideas.
Fergus brightened as he did when entering a trove of information, like a treasure seeker spying pirate gold. “Hey, it says here that a feud broke out between Lord MacKenzie of Kintail and the Laird MacDonnell.”
“Who?”
“The head dude of the Glengarry MacDonalds, another name for MacDonnell.”
“So?” Neil challenged, suspecting this exchange wasn’t going anywhere he wanted to go.
“So it took place in 1602, the same year Mora’s supposedly from.”
A shiver darted down Neil’s spine. “Probably nothing. Rival clans feuded all the time.”
“Still, it’s right much of a coincidence.” Fergus scanned the virtual page. “And the feud led to the MacDonalds being attacked by the MacKenzies.”
“Figures. Make my clan out to be the bad guys.”
“Wait. There’s more.”
Neil bore with his eccentric friend knowing how intent he was when embarked on a quest.
“A few MacDonalds were killed.”
“What did you expect? A party?”
Fergus gave him his I’m speaking to an idiot look. “The MacKenzies wanted the MacDonald Laird to appear before the court at Edinburgh for previous crimes against them.”
“So they mixed the law in with their own brand of justice?”
“Seems the usual practice.” Fergus was intent on the screen. “And then two more MacDonalds were killed.”
&nbs
p; “I’m surprised they kept track what with murder and mayhem being the order of the day.” Neil tossed a few more Chocó beans into his mouth and crunched.
“It’s recorded in some sort of annals.” Absorbed in his research, Fergus continued. “Seems the Glengarry MacDonald didn’t appear in court on the arranged date but went about with his own hand to revenge the slaughter of his clansmen.”
“What else?” Neil said dryly.
“You’re a cold SOB, Neil.”
“Okay, so there was a feud, one of about a zillion.”
“At exactly the same time and with the same clans as the ones Mora’s yammering about?”
“Coincidence,” Neil insisted.
Fergus skimmed his eyes ahead and gulped, “Good lord.”
“What now?”
“When the MacDonald didn’t appear in court the MacKenzies wasted the MacDonald country.”
“But of course. Only stands to reason,” Neil tossed back.
“And,” Fergus bore on, like a soldier under siege. “The two sides met and a battle took place with great slaughter on both sides. The MacKenzies, assisted by their allies the Clan Matheson, also took Strome Castle from the MacDonalds.”
Tiny pinpricks scurried over the back of Neil’s neck. “But Mora called it Strathmore.”
“Maybe they changed the name over time, or this is wrong.”
“Google, wrong?” Neil hid the sudden palpitations of his heart behind sarcasm.
Fergus squared his jaw. “I’m in the Library of Congress now.”
Considering Fergus was smart enough to hack into a high security Government facility, Neil couldn’t just discount what he said and sat coiled in tension.
Fergus returned his focus to the laptop. “Mora’s the one with the blow to the head. Maybe she misremembered.”
“Maybe.” Neil was attributing a heck of a lot to that bump on the head.
“Holy moley.” Fergus looked up, squinty eyes bulging behind his glasses.
“Now what?” Neil was almost afraid to ask, yet undeniably intrigued.
“The castle burned. Just like she told you.”
Goosebumps scattered down Neil’s arms beneath his sleeves. “So she knows a lot about the clans. They probably teach that stuff in Scottish schools.”
“She had a tutor,” Fergus reminded him.
“One clearly obsessed with Highland history.”
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