I didn’t need to open the envelope. Brian had already done that, and the rumpled edges showed just how many times he read it through himself, clearly trying to make sense of Bri’s words.
It was short and, while I could easily see that the handwriting was Bri’s, it looked hurried, as if her idea to write the letter had been a last minute thought before she returned to Scotland. The first part of the letter was what I’d expected, an apology for leaving so suddenly and an explanation that the house was now mine to use as I saw fit. She spoke of how much she loved me, how much my friendship meant to her and, as Brian said, she spoke of how much she loved life in the seventeenth century and that she believed I would love it, too.
After that, she changed subjects quickly, only writing a few sentences at the bottom of the page. She’d not even bothered to sign her name.
“The house is yours while you need it, Mitsy, but when it comes time for you to get away and you’re ready to start a new life, come and find me. You’re welcome here. You will need the help of the innkeepers you met in Scotland. I’m not going to bother trying to tell you what happened again. I know you didn’t believe me last time, and I don’t expect you would believe me now…not until you experience it. Call them when you’re ready.”
I flung my feet over the edge of the couch and turned, suddenly needing a large gulp of tea. I stared down at the odd words with fascination. She didn’t even state it as if it were a question that I would need to leave here, she wrote it as if she knew that I would. Not only that, it suddenly seemed to me that perhaps she didn’t intentionally lie. She actually believed what she said.
That changed things and made me worry for her even more. Even after I found Bri and she told me the elaborate tale, even after I met Blaire, the woman who so closely resembled her that I was certain they had to be related in some manner, I still could not believe my friend’s story. There was a reason she felt the need to lie and, frankly, I was so glad to know that Bri was alive and not murdered and laying in a ditch in the middle of Scotland that I decided to let it go. Begrudgingly, I’d accepted the fact that I would never know the truth of what happened to her after she disappeared, but if she truly believed that she’d traveled back in time then something terrible happened to her.
Her brain was addled, disturbed, and I owed it to her to find out just what and who had done this to her. Not that I didn’t need to get away from this place for personal reasons, I certainly did, but a trip to Scotland to find Bri once again and try and talk her out of her delusions would be the perfect excuse to leave. Better to help someone out of a problem than to wade in the self-pity I felt at my own.
Moving back to the front doorway, I reached into my duffle bag to withdraw my wallet and cell phone where I’d saved the phone number for the strange innkeepers I’d tracked down during my search for Bri. They’d been nearly impossible to get ahold of, and I was not altogether sure that I’d be able to reach them again. I got the impression that their phone number and address were not readily available.
I clicked the call button as quickly as I could, not waiting a moment so that I could change my mind. The phone rang once and then was answered by the unmistakable voice of the innkeeper herself.
“Why, Mitsy, how are ye, dear? Jerry and I have been expecting a call from ye any minute. I suggest that ye start packing up yer things, though ye willna need much once ye get here.”
My mouth hung open. How did she know who called? I doubted that she had caller ID in the little inn. How did she know that I planned on coming there? I’d yet to say a word on the phone, and I didn’t know what to say now. “Um…hi. Why would you expect a call from me?”
The old woman at the other end of the phone laughed softly before speaking again. “Well, dear, I know a large number of things that I doubt ye would expect me to. Best ye get yerself here and then I will tell ye more. Though I’m sure ye willna believe a bit of it until ye see it for yerself.”
She was certainly right about that. “Ok…uh, is Bri there? May I speak to her for a moment?”
I knew she would tell me she wasn’t there, but obviously she was. How else would the woman have known that Bri suggested I come there?
“Ye know that she isna here, love. She’s a far time away from here to be sure, but ye will see her soon enough. She told me to tell ye when ye called that she doesna wish for ye to pay for yer plane ticket on yer own. She knows your budget is limited. I’ve already called the airline and purchased a ticket for ye. Yer flight is at 3:00 p.m. tomorrow. All ye need to do is check-in at the counter. Yer rental car has been arranged as well. I suppose since ye found yer way to our inn once before, ye are capable of doing it again. We will see ye soon. Safe travels, Mitsy.”