When she heard voices coming from the floor above her, she stopped her prize-winning chow-down. Straining to listen, she could hear Mary’s voice welcoming the guests. Knowing her appearance would be quickly expected, Adelle swallowed the last piece of meat whole and raised the bowl to her mouth, tipping it high so that she could drink the last of the stew.
Shoving the bowl back onto the shelf, she would do her best to remember to come back and clean it, she took the stairs two at a time, hoping she would be able to greet their new guests before Mary showed them to their rooms.
When she made it to the top of the stairs, she paused quickly to catch her breath. Finally moving with as much grace as she could muster, she stepped into the main entranceway to greet their guests.
*
“What did I tell ye about getting into the kitchen when I’m no in there? No one eats before mealtime.” Mary ground out the words to Adelle between clenched teeth as soon as they’d seen their guests to their rooms and they began making their way down to the kitchen together.
Adelle’s eyes widened as she turned to glance guiltily in Mary’s direction. “I have no idea what you are talking about.”
“Aye, ye do. Doona lie to me. Look!” Mary moved in front of her, effectively blocking Adelle from taking another step down the small staircase. Taking her by surprise, she reached up and brushed a finger on either side of Adelle’s mouth, pulling them away to reveal light brown globs of stew.
Adelle sat down on the step behind her and threw her forehead into the palm of her hand.
“Oh, no. Please don’t tell me. Tell me I didn’t spend all that time visiting with Lady McMillan and her sons with that goopy mess all over my face.”
Mary chuckled loudly, obviously pleased with herself as Adelle continued to sink further into a state of mortification.
“Aye, ye did. I canna believe ye dinna notice them staring at yer mouth. I think poor Baodan almost wiped it for ye more than once, but he never worked up the nerve.” Mary collapsed into hearty laughter once again.
Adelle stood and stormed off in front of her, continuing to make her own way down the stairs. “Why didn’t you tell me? I don’t think I’ve ever been this embarrassed in my entire life.”
“Why dinna I tell ye? Because that’s what ye deserve for sticking yer mouth in things that ye know ye are no meant to. And with as wild as ye are, ’tis certain ye have embarrassed yerself far worse than this before.”
“That is completely and totally beside the point.” Adelle reached the kitchen first, and before Mary could protest, retrieved her used bowl and filled it up with stew once more. “And don’t you say a word about me getting another bowl.”
Mary smiled and laughed once more. “Aye, go ahead and eat all ye like, Adelle. Why, the look on their faces. Well, I havena laughed that hard in quite a long time. Yer foolishness has brought me great joy. I no longer care what ye eat.”
*
Present Day
“Ye look a fair mess, Eoin. Do ye think that we could have Morna take a photo of ye in that outfit that we could take back with us? I think it could provide the rest of us with much entertainment.” I smiled as Eoin rewarded me with a quick but vicious glare as he moved uncomfortably in the restraint of his denim jeans.
Bri had been weary of taking him back to the spell room dressed the way he’d arrived. While Eoin was far too tall to fit into any of Kip’s clothes, Morna had been able to come up with a pair of jeans, tennis shoes and a dark blue sweater that fit Eoin perfectly. I suspected casting up clothes was a simple task compared to making it possible for people to travel through time.
Morna turned to address all of us as we gathered in the entranceway of her home preparing to make our exit. “I shall miss ye all dearly, but remember that ye can find me if ye need too, aye?”
We nodded in unison, and Bri stepped forward to squeeze Morna’s neck. “Thank you. And you’ll help her if she needs it? I mean, you remember what Mitsy looked like right?”
Morna hugged her tightly and patted her on the back in comfort. “Aye, o’course we do. The inn will always be available to yer friend to find if she needs it. The spell room as well. Now, ye best all be on yer way so that ye can sneak into the room before they lock the castle up for the evening.”
Bri had remained unusually quiet since she’d arrived from her trip and, after the words I’d just listened to between her and Morna, I suspected it had something to do with her friend Mitsy. I would have to remember to ask her about it once we were home and things were settled.
We each said our goodbyes and, within the hour, found ourselves in the spell room once more. The spell was easily cast. As we clung to one another, the all-too-familiar pain ripped through us.
We disappeared into dust together.
Chapter 17
1646
Our re-entry into the past brought with it the expected headache and a short moment of confusion. It seemed to take me a little longer to recover from the travel as I glanced over to Eoin and Bri who seemed to be back to their usual selves.