"Struan has made it clear to Alex and me that if there's trouble, I will be thrown out. He knows that Anice is not happy with me being here, but he believes Alex has a right to my... presence here."
"So, if Anice and Struan believe ye have been chastised for yer insolence..."
"I am still safe and can stay with Alex."
At Rachelle's silence, she continued. "And I have been chastised, Rachelle. Alex made it very clear that I was not to approach him if Anice is near, and I am not to offend her or even speak to her in any way. I will know my place from now on."
They worked on in companionable silence and soon the baskets were empty and the stew pots and ovens were full from their efforts. The sweat that dampened her brow and back and her chemise reminded her of a question for Rachelle.
"Do you ever take a hot bath here?"
Rachelle laughed at her questioning frown. "Do ye do things differently in England?"
"I am accustomed to bathing daily. I have missed those baths the most since I arrived here."
Maggie's supply of toiletries had run out quickly. She had managed over the last weeks with sponge bathing with a tub of heated water in the room she shared with Alex, but she longed for a long soak in a steaming bathtub with lots of her shampoo and soap. Unfortunately, that privilege belonged to very few of the inhabitants of the castle. Most used the nearby loch to bathe, but its bone-chilling temperature did not make it an option for her.
"We use the loch until it gets cold in the fall." Rachelle's eyes twinkled with mischief.
"Until it gets cold? Does it ever get warm is my question."
"There is a spot where the sun warms the water a bit more than the rest of the loch. Even a Sassenach like yerself might find it comfortable." They both laughed at the friendly insult.
"Do you remember where we watched Brodie and Alex swim?"
"Is that what you call it? Swimming?" Maggie watched a blush spread upward over Rachelle's neck and face. The blush was contagious, for she felt the heat of it creep up to her cheeks as she remembered how Alex looked as he walked from the lake, naked, standing tall in the sunlight.
"Ye go past it, traveling away from the castle. The loch runs off to the left and forms a small pond. The water warms there because 'tis shallow."
"Is it safe for me to go there alone?"
"'Tis on MacKendimen land, so ye will be safe."
"Even me, an outsider?"
"Everyone knows yer importance to Alex, even if they believe he beat ye. No one will bother ye there."
Finally, she thought, a bath. She could gather some soap and a linen for drying. If she only had a change of clothes to use after her bath. The seams in her chemise were beginning to fray from wearing and washing it constantly since her arrival here. She sewed it as best she could and the separate bodice held everything together, but she needed a new one.
The thought of a real bath lightened her spirits and she started on her next assignment of the day, kneading more loaves of bread.
Chapter 24
Surely, this must be heaven.
The sky was the color of robins' eggs without a cloud in sight. The sun's rays still warmed the glade and the branches of the trees waved gently in the breezes that moved along the shoreline. The water was lukewarm, but it covered her skin, and she felt the dirt and grime just melting off. She dipped her head under the water, staying under longer than necessary because it felt so good. When she closed her eyes, she could almost believe she was home in the huge bathtub in her house.
Almost.
Maggie sat in the shallows with her back to the path she had followed to get to this pond. The soap she found to use certainly didn't feel or smell like her scented bath soap at home, but it would do the job. She reached back and dipped her hand into the small container of soft cleanser. Spreading it through her wet hair, she began to hum a song from South Pacific.
After lathering up and scrubbing her hair and scalp, Maggie dipped under the water to rinse it clean. A wave moving through the pool washed over her and she slipped along the bottom losing her hold on the soap and causing her to fall deeper under the water. After a few frantic seconds of freeing her hands and finding a foothold, Maggie emerged from the water, coughing and sputtering mouthfuls of suds and water.
"Here, lass, take this afore ye drown."
She grabbed at the cloth pushed into her hand and then gasped, remembering her nakedness. Sinking into the water, she rubbed at her eyes, clearing out the bubbles.
"Alex! What are you doing here?" She knelt lower in the water and held the small linen in front of her.
"Rachelle told me ye were coming here and for what, so I followed to make sure ye were well."
She pushed the dripping mass of hair over her head and shoulders with one hand. "I'm fine, Alex. You can go now."
"And what if ye try to drown yerself after I leave?"
"I wasn't trying to drown myself. I slipped on the bottom."
"And what if someone else comes upon ye while ye are still bathing? Who will warn ye?" She saw his eyes focus on the small towel in front of her. The very small towel.
"Everyone else bathes over in the lake, Alex. Rachelle told me I'm very safe here."
"Weel, if it's all the same to ye, I'm staying until ye finish. We can talk while ye wash."
She couldn't help it. Her eyebrows just about crashed off her forehead as she thought about Alex sitting nearby while she splashed around naked in this pond.
"I didna say I would watch ye, Maggie. I'll give ye yer privacy." He turned his back on her and sat on a log. She looked for the larger piece of linen to dry off her body and realized she'd drifted away from the place where it was draped over a low branch. She would have to stand and walk over to get it.
"What do you want to talk about, Alex?" She waited until he started to respond before rising from the water.
"You. I want to talk about you."
"Alex, did you hear yourself?"
"Aye, I did."
"You said 'you' not 'ye.' " She took the final few steps to the linen and wrapped it around herself. She waded through the last few feet to the shore and approached him from the side.
"Sometimes, when I focus my efforts, I can speak without the brogue." He turned to face her as she came closer. "But I fall back to the brogue verra fast."
"Why do you think it happened?" She stepped carefully to the log where he sat.
"The brogue?"
"No, this, us, here?" She leaned over and twisted her hair to squeeze more water from it.
"I do not have a clue. Do ye?"
"I don't even know if this is really happening, Alex. I still have the feeling that I'm going to wake and find it was a dream."
"Get dressed, lass, afore ye catch a chill. The sun is going down, and it willna stay warm much longer in the shade." He helped her to stand, and she picked her way over to the pile of clothes. She wondered as she stepped behind a tree if he would notice that she was wearing his shirt. Since Anice kept up a steady stream of new clothes into his trunk, she doubted he would mind. After all, she was already using one of his new shirts as a nightgown.
She wrung out her hair, dried it more with her worn chemise, and braided it. Then Maggie pulled on the new shirt, followed it with her skirt, and tied the bodice in place. The other clothes held the large shirt in place. The sleeves were too long, but she'd been rolling hers up to keep them out of her way. Dried and covered, she made her way back to Alex with the old shift in her pocket.
"Ye look comfortable now." He stood when she approached.
"And I feel clean. I didn't think I'd ever get rid of the dirt."
"I had forgotten that ye have been unable to get a real bath. I beg yer pardon for ignoring yer needs."
"Why should you be responsible for that?" She sat back down on the log and patted the space beside her.
"Because ye are supposed to be my mistress. I should be looking out for ye." His eyes darkened as he spoke. Anger flared in their blue depths.
"That's probably the thing I like least about where we are."
"What's that?" he growled.
"That a man has to look out for me! I am quite capable of doing that for myself, you know."
"Not here. The roles are verra different than the ones we left behind. Ye are beholden to me for everything. If not to me, then to another man."
"Well, isn't that just wonderful? I've fallen through a hole in time to a place where the thing I detest the most is the norm." Her eyes and throat burned with unreleased tears. She was mad, damn it, and she wouldn't cry. Not again, not in front of him.
"What is it that ye detest, Maggie?" His voice was softer now, enticing her to reveal her secrets. It had been so long since she'd been able to talk unguardedly. His arm slipped around her shoulders, inviting her into his embrace. She accepted the invitation.
"I have finally reclaimed my life. No one can put any demands on me. Not school, not family, not... anyone. And now, I'm living my worst nightmare."
"Did yer mon...?"
"My man? Oh, you mean Don? Did he what?"
"Aye. Don. Did he put demands on ye?" His grip on her tightened briefly, then relaxed.
"Yes, he tried. He thought I was too smart to continue in teaching. He thought I should be something else." Bitterness spilled into her voice. Even she could hear it. "He tried to force me to choose between what I loved to do and who I thought I loved, and all for his own reasons."
"And?"
"We broke up almost a year ago and I have my life back."
"Ye sound like me, Maggie." He shifted on the log and faced her now. "I feel as if I just reclaimed my life, too."
"From who or what?" She thought about the little she knew of his life. Finally, some answers.
"I was engaged to someone. She wasna pleased about this trip wi' my aunt. She broke off the engagement when she found out about it."
"She broke off an engagement over a trip? That sounds a bit simplistic, doesn't it?"
He wouldn't meet her glance and got up from their seat. Pace, go ahead, pace, she thought. And the funniest thing was that he didn't even realize he did it.
"Ye are right. There's more to it than the trip. Nancy offered me a certain comfort; we both knew what we expected of the other. She expected a fiancé who would spend money on her and look good in public and be good in bed."
"And?" The good in bed part intrigued her.
"I met her requirements." His blue eyes sparkled. A smile threatened to break onto his mouth. He knew what she was thinking and knew she was dying to comment. She controlled herself for the moment.
"What did you expect from her?" That was good, she thought, not even a quiver in her voice.
"I expected pretty much the same thing from her except for the spending part. I fully anticipated being able to provide for her after I become a full partner in the firm."
"You haven't mentioned love or caring."
"What about ye?" He stopped pacing long enough to raise an eyebrow at her and she felt his challenge.
"I thought I loved him. I know now that I didn't." She jutted her chin, returning his challenge.
"Love never entered into it for us. It was more a matter of mutual attraction and mutual convenience. At least until lately." He paused now and leaned against a tree. She felt his hesitation. He dragged it out by drawing his dagger and inspecting it closely. Then he raised his eyes to her.
"Afore ye ask... in the last few months we were together, I have felt as though something was missing. I wanted more. But, I do no' know what."
"So, here we are—both failures at relationships. Do you think that has anything to do with why we're here?" She walked closer to him and looked up at him.
"I have no idea." He shook his head at her question.
"The old woman at the festival told me I had to teach a MacKendimen."
"Teach a MacKendimen? Teach a MacKendimen what?" His eyes glazed over, and he looked momentarily lost in his thoughts.
"I don't know, but it may be a clue to the why, if not the how. What do you need to learn?"
"Besides what this is all about or how to get home? Not a thing I can think of. Come." He took her hand and started leading her back to the castle. "It's almost time for the evening meal."
* * *
He'd lied to her. There were so many things she could teach him. She could teach him how to make her gasp in pleasure. She could teach him how she liked to be touched, how she tasted, which areas of her body were most sensitive to fingers, lips, tongue. She could teach him how to step back and enjoy life. He wanted to learn of her spontaneity, her caring, her sense of humor. He wanted... her.
They walked back in silence, and he held onto her hand until they approached the entryway into the castle grounds. Without words or directions, she paused in the brush near the path and waited for him to enter alone.
That's what he hated about this time and place. Even if the role he played here was more physical, less dependent on technology and modern conveniences, it was still as restrictive. He was as much a peg jammed in a hole here as he had been at home. How to change that? He did not have a clue.
Chapter 25
They fell into a pattern of normalcy—well, a kind of strained pattern of normalcy—over the next few weeks. Alex became more of a warrior while Maggie won over more of the castle folk each day with her unassuming ways and pleasant personality. No one in the castle muttered curses as she passed or called her vile names anymore. She did what was expected and never complained about her work or the treatment she received. She talked to one and all, except for Anice. They agreed that she avoid her at all costs, there was no sense in looking for trouble.
He waited and watched—watched for any clues to how this had happened and, more importantly, how they could return to their own time. He even found himself staring at the arch whenever he was near it. He touched it once and waited for a reaction. None came. Maggie avoided it as much as she did Anice. Others walked through and around it without anything untoward happening. He didn't; there was no sense in looking for trouble.
And Alex lusted in those weeks. He'd convinced himself that it was just lust, nothing more involved than the increasingly strong yearnings of his body for Maggie. He swam more than ever in the damned icy water of the loch and many nights, as many as he could without raising suspicions, he slept outside or in the barracks. And, when he could not, he slept on the floor... on the rushes... in spite of the creatures he knew lived there. The noises in the rushes were not enough to force him back into the bed where Maggie would seek his heat and comfort during the night. At least, he got some measure of sleep on the floor, in the barracks, or outside by the loch. Maggie was a temptation that chased the sleep from his mind and body.
His equilibrium was faltering, and he knew it. He had to seemingly accept Anice's attentions, and he fought his own reaction to Maggie: to her smile, to her ripe body in the bed at night, to her warmth during the day. It was getting to him.
Alex knew, though, that even more trouble was coming. He felt the shiver of its warning deep in his bones and in his heart. He didn't know where it would come from or what would happen, but he was sure it was coming for them. Maggie might be the one to feel the power of the arch, but he could feel the power and tension of trouble in the air.
He recognized the signs were growing when Maggie was given duties that took her into the village one night. Trouble, he knew, would be at his door soon.
* * *
The soft knock at the door brought Alex to full awareness. He felt next to him on the bed and realized that it was empty. Where could Maggie be at this time of night? She should have returned from the village by now. Worrying that something might have happened to her, he covered the distance between the bed and the door in a few paces. He tugged hard on the heavy door, and it swung toward him. The short, hooded figure in the hallway ducked under his arm, blowing out the candle, as Alex closed the door. When Alex turned around, he faced the firelit figure of a
girl, hair flowing loosely, in a mostly transparent nightgown.
"Anice? What the hell are ye doing here? It's the middle of the night!"
She dropped the robe and slowly approached him. He could see her nipples through the clinging material of the gown, nipples drawn into tight little buds by the chill in the air and probably the excitement of her midnight rendezvous. A triangle deeper in color than her hair was also clearly visible to his sight as he looked her over from head to toe. Her toes were bare, too, he noticed, as they peeked out from under the gossamer thin excuse for a cover.
Anice stopped an arm's length away and shook her head, causing her rich, flame-red hair to cascade in enticing ripples over her shoulders and down her back. He swallowed a large gulp of air as his awakening body reacted to the sight of those curls sliding over her curved bottom and down the backs of her thighs. Alex licked his dry lips and took a step back away from the temptation that she was creating. By God, he thought, she only has fifteen years! That thought should have scared him free of the spell she was weaving, but it didn't.
Anice launched herself into his arms and molded herself to his body. She squirmed over him and wrapped her legs around his thighs as though trying to mount him. The comparison was not lost on him as his body reacted and increased in hardness with every move that her soft, young body made. Anice pulled his head in close and attacked his mouth with her inexperienced one. She sucked at his lips with hers but kept hers closed tightly, obviously too unpracticed to know that there was much more to kissing.
The strength of her movements forced them the few feet across the room to the bed. Caught off balance, he fell backward, taking Anice with him. The breath was knocked from his body as she landed on top of him and continued her vigorous assault. Comprehending that he had to get control of the situation, Alex rolled until he was on top and pulled his face from hers. He gasped for air as he pinned her shoulders to the bed. She was just as breathless.
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