I relaxed a little as I noticed that my knees were no longer shaking, and my breathing had returned to normal. I smiled at Mary as I replied, “Blaire.”
“Verra good, lass! I could tell ye would be a quick learner by the looks of ye. Now, let’s get ye up to yer room before anyone else sees ye dressed in such a manner.”
Mary stood beside me and dusted off the bottom of her plain gray dress.
If I’m in a coma, I might as well try and have a little fun. It’s probably a good sign that I’m dreaming, I’m assuming that means I’m not brain dead. Maybe this dream will allow my brain time to heal. In the meantime, I guess I’ll just marry the Scottish laird I’d wished for.
I giggled inwardly at myself, deciding to enjoy the dream while it lasted. As I stood to follow Mary, I had to stop and steady myself on the wall to keep my head from spinning.
If only my head weren’t hurting so much. But, I guess it probably should be hurting, since a 400-year-old solid stone ceiling collapsed on my head. Wait! Oh, my God! The ceiling collapsed! What about Mom? Is she injured?
I tried to calm my breathing once again and sat back down on the wooden stool. No. I saw her when everything started to shake. The ceiling above her wasn’t moving at all, and she was standing close to the entrance. She’s fine. She’s fine. She has to be fine.
I continued to reassure myself until Mary’s hands touched my shoulders once again.
“Come on, lass. We must start preparing ye for the wedding. I’ll try and explain some more while we are getting ye washed up. Follow me.”
The old woman took off toward a castle corridor, leaving me with little option other than to follow.
As I walked behind Mary, I rationalized my worries away by concentrating on two pieces of information that stuck out in my mind.
One, if both my mother and I had been hurt in the collapse, I figured there would have been no one there to get help. If Mom hadn’t been able to get help, I would be dead rather than sitting in a hospital bed in the dreamlike coma I was in now. Mom was most likely fine. I just hadn’t elected to let her into my dream yet, I supposed.
Two, regardless of what had happened, there was nothing that I could do about it now.
Unnecessary stress wasn’t good for the healing process, so until I woke up and knew with certainty what had occurred, I was going to enjoy the surreal experience I was having now.
I looked up as Mary came to a halt in front of me and realized instantly that I had been paying little attention to the route we had taken to the door in front of which I was now standing.
It was a magnificent door. Strong yet feminine, the door was carved with precise detail that swirled in and around the wood with great craftsmanship. I thought it odd that I would be dreaming in such detail, but Mary interrupted me before I could explore the thought further.
“This is yer bedchamber, lass. Well, at least for a few hours anyway. After the wedding, ye will move to the laird’s bedchamber for the wedding night.” She paused to push the door open and gestured, nudging me inside. “I think ye’ll find the room quite nice. The laird’s mother used this as her own special sanctuary while she was living. Go on, dearie. Old Mary will be back shortly. I’ll have a hot bath brought up for ye.”
Before I could utter a reply, Mary was gone.
Alone, I stepped inside the doorway. My first thought was that it was far too large. My entire living room and kitchen could easily fit within this one room. Why did anyone need so much room to sleep? But as I continued to make my way through the space I realized the excess room made it easy to breathe.
The room exuded calm, and I allowed myself to fall onto the bed in the center of it. The bed was covered in the same shades of purple that were mirrored throughout the rest of the room. I was just snuggling deep down into the lush fabrics when the chamber door flew open and Mary rushed in.
“Come on, lass. Up ye go and into the tub.” She grabbed me by the arm, hauling me up out of the bed.
My head swam once again as I stood, and I gripped the wooden bedpost to hold myself up as I watched several young men carry a large oval-shaped basin past the doorway. Several steaming buckets of water were poured into the tub, and the servants retreated, closing the door behind them.
As soon as everyone was gone, Mary reached forward, fumbling with my clothes.
“What are you doing?” I pushed the old woman’s hands away from me.
“What does it look like I’m doing, lass? We doona have much time. Ye are to be at yer wedding promptly! Get yerself in that tub, dearie.” Mary’s voice was shrill and demanding as she placed her hands on her hips and glared straight at me.