Since things had gone so smoothly, Cat felt no hesitation bringing Keith down to the main hall for supper that evening. She thought it likely to be a somber affair, but knew it was best to go. If anyone still suspected Keith of foul-play, she figured his appearance at the meal might help dispel any lingering doubts.
While the atmosphere was mournful, it was not as melancholy as Cat would have thought. In fact, many clansmen had brought out their instruments to allow those within the hall to sing out their grief. “My goodness, these songs are beautiful; they are so heartfelt,” said Cat after a particularly sad song.
“So ye have an appreciation for good music, do ye?” asked Ailsa.
“Yes I do, but not as much as my brother, he has the real talent.”
“Oh, don’t be so modest Cat, you have a good voice,” said Keith.
“Maybe, but you have a great voice, and can also play the guitar,” said Cat. To help make ends meet during their time in college, Keith had worked as a deejay at various gatherings and parties. Cat had often gone alongside him to the events to help where she could. For some of the more serious affairs, he would play his guitar, and they would both sing. The extra money helped ease some of the unforeseen expenses of getting an education.
“What is a guitar?” asked Ailsa.
“It’s a stringed instrument,” replied Keith.
“We have stringed instruments, do ye think ye might be able to play one?” asked Ailsa.
“I don’t know; I’m not sure how different they are, I’d have to take a look at one.”
Ailsa caught the attention of one of the men who had been playing, “May we borrow yer instrument?” As the man approached, Ailsa nodded in Keith’s direction.
No sooner had the man handed Keith the instrument than Cat’s brother began to fiddle with it. He practiced a few chords and then tested a few simple melodies. “I think I could manage to play this.”
“Would ye?” asked Ailsa.
“Only if Cat sings with me,” replied Keith. The people in the immediate vicinity had begun to take notice of the conversation, and they were waiting expectantly with hopeful looks on their faces.
“Ugh fine.” Lowering her voice so only her brother could hear she asked, “But what should we sing? We need something appropriate for the time period and mood.”
“I was thinking Sarah McLachlan,” replied Keith. Cat glared at her brother. He knew those songs had begun to irritate her. She admired the artist’s talent, and thought the lyrics were beautiful—she just hated that because of those stupid commercials she always thought about helpless puppies and abused kittens when she heard the singer’s voice.
“Fine, but not ‘Angel,’” agreed Cat. “Besides, ‘I Will Remember You’ has fewer references to futuristic concepts.” Keith nodded his agreement. Without further ado, he began to play. Cat began singing softly at first; she had always been a bit shy about singing, she knew she had a decent voice, but had always been afraid of criticism. As she saw everyone around her listening appreciatively, she gained confidence. At least Keith was nice enough to sing the accompanying parts. She was relieved when the song finally came to an end.
“That was beautiful!” exclaimed Ailsa. “Ye must sing another!”
“What about something a little more uplifting?” suggested Keith. He was in his element performing. Unlike Cat, he fed off of the attention.
“Oh aye, please do. We are sad that we lost Cailen, but he lived a good life. He wouldnae mind a little cheer.”
“What do you have in mind this time?” asked Cat.
“I was thinking ‘Lean on Me.’ What do you think?”
“Ha, that is actually remarkably appropriate.” No sooner had Cat agreed than Keith dragged her to her feet to stand next to him as he began the desired melody. She still was amazed he had basically mastered the new instrument in such a short period of time. At least in this song, Keith would sing the majority of the lyrics, Cat would mostly just join in at the appropriate parts.
By the time they hit the first chorus, Keith got everyone to clap along. By the second, he had everyone singing along. He also made everyone laugh as he took the ‘lean on me’ part of the lyrics literally. Cat almost fell over the first time he dragged her to his side and then leaned onto her a few moments later. He also seemed to delight in teasing her by looking at her stomach every time the word ‘problem’ was sung in the lyrics. She could only hope no one else noticed what he was doing.
Ailsa looked absolutely delighted as they returned to their seats, “Ye must play another!”
“I’m glad you liked the songs, but I think I’m done for the evening.”
“I ken, ye dinnae like the attention do ye?” asked Ailsa. “My only justification is I was so impressed with your talent I was being selfish,” said a contrite Ailsa.
“Oh, don’t be so hard on yourself,” said Keith, “There are few women who can resist my talent!”
“Fortunately, I am one of them,” said Cat as she rolled her eyes. To Ailsa she said, “And don’t believe a word he says, he thinks he’s God’s gift to women.” All three laughed at the jest.
***
Alasdair had not joined in the revelry that took place at dinner. Instead, he took his sour mood to the parapets to mull over his thoughts. He was afraid his temperament would ruin whatever merriment could be found. He knew his people needed to celebrate Cailen’s life. But, Alasdair could not help but be disturbed by what had occurred. This most recent attack seemed to only inspire more questions than answers.
First, who was actually responsible for the murder? He thought the Camerons were most likely, but he obviously could not be sure. Nay it must have been Cameron—nothing else makes sense. But then why had he attacked now? It had been months since they had attacked MacLean land. Was this just a prelude to a more serious occurrence Alasdair had feared might occur for years?
He had been trying to answer these questions all evening. But, Alasdair knew he would not be able to solve the mystery; he simply did not have enough information. Rather than continuing this useless train of thought, he let his mind turn to Catriona. He wished he had never taken Ailsa’s advice and suggested marriage. Yes, they got along well enough, but Catriona had never expressed a desire to stay here, she had always talked of returning to her home and her brother. If Alasdair had but waited even a few more hours, he would not have had to face the humiliation of her refusal. At least no one was there to witness the sorry event.
As if knowing they had been in his thoughts, Catriona and her brother appeared along the wall. Alasdair turned to leave, but then something Catriona said caught his attention, “No, I haven’t told Alasdair and I don’t plan to. He would never believe the truth. Hell, I hardly believe it!” Alasdair had not intended to eavesdrop, but now he found he found himself rooted to the spot, desirous to learn more.
“You know, he may be able to help us figure out what is needed,” suggested Keith
“Maybe, but I doubt it—he had never seen the book before I came here with it,” replied Catriona.
“Hey, do you think us being here violates the Temporal Prime Directive?” asked her brother.
“First of all, no, we’re not even Starfleet. And second of all, talking about Star Trek is hardly helping.” Catriona paused for a moment before redirecting their conversation back to the previous topic, “And even if Alasdair could help, it wouldn’t matter. We need that book to get home. When did you last have it?”
Keith must have been thinking because there was a long pause. “After I grabbed the book, I fell down a ditch. I must have dropped it as I fell. But as soon as I stood I saw your graduation cap. Do you know where you lost that? The book should be near it.”
“Ugh no, I don’t know where. I only know it was on the way here from Elspeth’s hut.”
“That sucks. But hey, we can kill two birds with one stone. We could head to Elspeth’s and look for the book, and we could also talk to her—she may have more information that we could use.
I still have a hard time believing her explanation. Hey, I have an idea—maybe the book triggers some kind of wormhole.”
“Seriously Keith, we’re not living in a Star Trek episode!” Alasdair must be mishearing what they were saying, for star treks made no sense, and he could think of no connection between books and holes of worms. “But seriously Keith, what do you think I should do about my other problem.”
“You know, it’s not very nice to refer to it as a problem,” said Keith teasingly.
“You seemed to be referring to it as a problem during our singing,” countered Catriona.
“Touché,” he said and then paused, “Cat, I know you wanted my advice, but I honestly don’t know what to tell you. This seems like something you need to figure out on your own.”
“But what would you do in my situation?” she asked.
“I could never be in your situation,” he replied.
“You know Keith,” said Catriona with a sigh, “sometimes you take things too literally. But you’re probably right, this really is something I’ll just have to play by ear.”
“I know you wanted me to say something more helpful, but I honestly can’t,” replied Keith. “But for what it’s worth, I’m always here if you need to talk something through.”
“Thanks. And even though I’m sorry I dragged you into this mess, I’m glad you’re here with me.”
“Honestly, I’m also glad I’m here. This is better than continuing to think you were dead. Besides, this could be fun.” Alasdair heard Catriona laugh in reply. The siblings then began to continue their walk along the parapets. Alasdair ducked out of sight just before they would have seen him.
Alasdair did not know what to make of this development. He was a bit concerned Catriona was purposefully keeping information from him. He briefly considered the possibility of their being aligned with the Camerons, but dismissed the thought as unlikely; especially considering one had tried to kill her. He wondered what she could possibly need in order to return home. Alasdair was also curious why what he had thought was Catriona’s spell book was so important. He could only pray that whatever difficulties Cat and her brother were facing would not bring any additional danger to his keep.
One thing was for certain though—until he better understood this need for secrecy, he was going to gain possession of the book. He did not know why it was so important, but he did know he would discover the truth.
Chapter 11
Alasdair spent most of the early morning hours within sight of the stable; he wanted to ensure he would know if Catriona and her brother tried to leave. Luckily, his intuition was correct and he did not have to wait long for them to appear. Amusingly, he had not needed to keep such a close eye on the stable because they actually came in search of him. “Hi Alasdair, we were wondering if you would mind if we borrowed two of your horses. I wanted to visit Elspeth and see how she is doing,” said Catriona.
“Aye, that sounds like a good idea considering the trouble of late. I will go with ye,” said Alasdair, brooking no argument. Catriona looked briefly as if she wanted to dissuade him from going, but instead nodded her agreement.
***
Catriona snickered to herself as she watched her brother try and mount the horse in front of him. He had never had much contact with horses, and much of the true hilarity stemmed from his clothing. He had been loaned a kilt and linen shirt. Cat had suggested he wear his jeans, but he had insisted on having a true 1412 Scottish experience. “And what are you laughing at smartass?” Keith asked her when he saw her mirth.
“You looked ridiculous trying to mount the horse while keeping your knees together. You must know the kilt is long enough to cover everything important,” replied Cat as they began to follow Alasdair.
“It certainly doesn’t feel that way. I don’t know how you women manage in these things. With this blouse and skirt, I feel like I’m one pair of lace trimmed socks away from being a cross-dressing schoolgirl.”
“You’re being ridiculous, those clothes are very masculine. Besides, if you wanted to be a cross-dresser, you would need to get rid of all that leg hair—and sadly, I’m all out of disposable razors.”
Nodding toward Cat’s purse Keith asked, “What don’t you carry in that thing?”
“A transporter.”
“Funny. Now who’s making the Star Trek jokes?” he asked mockingly. “Hey, you don’t happen to have any candy in there?”
“If you touch my chocolate—you die,” growled Cat.
“I know you’re normally possessive of your chocolate Cat, but I think that baby is making you crazy already. I’ve never heard you growl before.”
“Keep your voice down!” said Cat, practically yelling.
“Maybe you should follow your own advice,” whispered Keith.
Irritated, Cat brought her horse forward to join Alasdair. Behind her she heard Keith mutter something about getting her panties all in a bunch. This only furthered her irritation. “Alasdair, may I borrow your sword?”
“And what do ye intend to do with it?”
“I intend to kill my brother.”
“Why would ye want to do that? If ye kill him, then ye may nae be able to get home, and ye made it verra clear ye dinnae want to stay here.” said Alasdair.
Ouch! “Look, I’m sorry about the other day. I should have at least said something and not run off. You need to realize though, that I have no intention of staying here, it’s not you personally. Hell, if I had met you back home, I might have seriously considered your offer. I like you, I really do, and I never meant to mislead you. I thought you understood this wasn’t serious.” Catriona felt awkward when Alasdair did not respond, so she started to ramble, “It’s not that I don’t appreciate the offer, I know you meant well, but I just can’t stay here.”
Finally, Alasdair responded, “Aye, well, I suppose I cannae fault ye for wanting to return to yer home. I would feel the same.”
“I’m glad you understand,” she replied. “Friends?”
“Only friends?” asked Alasdair implying he was still interesting in more.
“I think it’s for the best. I don’t want people to think I’ll be staying here permanently,” replied Cat.
“Many already think ye are”
“Which is exactly why we need to put a little distance between us,” she said.
“Hey Cat, isn’t this near where you lost your cap? Don’t you wanna stop and look for it?” called Keith from behind.
And I thought I needed to work on my subtlety skills! “Sure.” To Alasdair she asked, “Do you mind if we stop?”
***
Alasdair had been expecting something similar to this. “Nay, I dinnae mind—just ahead is an area where we can also water the horses while ye look for yer…cap.”
Alasdair was very familiar with the area; he knew exactly where Catriona had lost her cap that first day. Leading the way, he was able to spot the black item before either she or her brother did. He let his eyes quickly scan the area for the book. Finding it easily, he maneuvered his horse so Catriona could see her cap, but be unable to see the book.
Just as planned, Keith spotted the cap and moved toward it, with Catriona close on his heels. While this caught their attention, Alasdair dismounted to walk his horse, stealthily scooping the book from the ground before placing it in one of the sacks on his horse’s back.
Pleased he had pulled off this trickery with so little effort, he turned his attention back to Catriona. He was amused by her attempts to look for the book. She was obviously trying to look around, without making it obvious to him she was searching for something besides her cap. Admiring her profile, Alasdair felt a small pang of regret that she had not agreed to his proposal. While she was an extremely comely woman, that was not the sole reason for his regret. He could not help but admire her character. He had never met a woman so determined to do whatever was necessary in order to accomplish a goal. His keep could use a woman like this; it truly was a shame she would eventually leave
.
Well, nae until I return this book to her. The mystery behind the item still intrigued him. He simply could not fathom how their ability to return home depended on its pages. Alasdair would need to look through it again; maybe something was hidden that he had not seen upon his first inspection. However, it still bothered him Catriona had not come to him with this problem. While he sincerely doubted she would do anything to put his people at risk, he still worried the book was dangerous in some manner. He knew his concern was most likely unfounded, but he just could not shake the feeling the book would someday cause him great grief.
When it became apparent to Alasdair that Catriona had given up on finding the book, he suggested they continue toward their destination. As they arrived at the witch’s hut, they found the old woman working in her garden. Catriona immediately ran to the woman to give her a warm hug. Keith followed closely behind; after he was introduced he also hugged the old woman, but lifted her off the ground as he did so. Alasdair would not have thought the witch could giggle in such a manner.
Soon, the three were in deep conversation. Alasdair moved forward nonchalantly in an attempt to hear their words, but he was only able to catch bits and pieces. He could not even fully distinguish whose voice belonged to whom. “Return without it?…still have no idea who used it…still don’t know what is needed…possible for him…just don’t give any advice…if successful, how will I know?...must find it, or I’ll probably never get home.” As their conversation came to a close, Catriona looked completely dejected. In frustration she walked away, Keith following closely behind her.
The absolutely forlorn look on Catriona’s face made Alasdair want to comfort her, but Keith had already begun to follow her. Alasdair knew he should take advantage of their absence to question the witch. He approached, but the old woman spoke first. “Dinnae even bother asking,” said the witch. “I know what ye want to ask me, but tis nae my place to tell.”
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