“Of course it does.” I stared at the window, enjoying the green beauty, despite being held hostage by two crazy bags. The landscape was so different from Texas, and in the best possible way.
We turned down a secluded gravel road, and I knew the instant we had reached our destination. The beauty of it took my breath way. A grand pond sat off to the right of the magnificent castle. It was smaller than Conall Castle but equally as exquisite. For a brief moment, I imagined being one of the ladies who’d been lucky enough to live there during its prime.
As quickly as the odd thought came, I rejected it. Lucky? They didn’t have toilet paper, electricity, running water, or tampons. Oh, and let’s not forget about birth control! Lucky was entirely the wrong word, but staring at the beauty of the place made it easy to romanticize the past in a way much more pleasant than I was certain it actually was.
Morna parked next to the pond and quickly got out of the car as she waved to me to follow. Seeing no choice but to do so, I did as she bid. Standing next to the water, I bent to dip my fingers into its surface. It was cold, but what was I expecting? It was Scotland, after all.
I turned to throw a frustrated look in Morna’s direction. “Just how exactly is coming to the pond going to take me to Bri and the band of lunatics?”
“Ye must skip the rock, dear. If it skips three times, it shall take ye where ye need to go. Or, ye can hold it close to ye and float on yer back while we push ye into the water, but I suppose skipping it would be more fun for ye. If ye decide that ye need to come back, use the rock the same way.”
I laughed and reared my arm back to chunk the rock, but waited as I asked Morna another question. “And just how do you expect me to do that? After I skip the rock, won’t it disappear by floating to the bottom?”
She shook her head and laughed, clearly thinking my question stupid. “No, it will find its way right back to ye. Just like the pond is magical, so is the rock.”
“Oh, right. How stupid of me.” I faced the water once more. “Are you joining me, or am I jumping on the crazy train alone?”
Jerry patted me on the back and turned to head back to the car. “Good luck, dear, and good luck to whoever finds ye there first.”
“Start the car, Jerry. I’ll be there in a moment.” Morna bent down to pick up a handful of smooth rocks. “No, we willna be joining ye. This is for ye to do alone. Now, why doona ye practice with these rocks first?”
I dismissed her hand. I’d taken many picnics and jogs around Lake Travis, and I knew how to skip a rock with the best of them.
“I don’t need to practice.” Rearing back, I flicked my wrist and watched the rock bounce. Once. Twice. I turned my head to Morna. “See, three times…”
In that instant, everything went black.
Chapter 7
McMillan Castle
1647
He wouldn’t wake her, but Baodan hoped his mother would rise soon. He was anxious to leave here. His brothers put him in a bad mood indeed. If only all people were more like animals, perhaps he wouldn’t have such a bad taste in his mouth for many of those nearest him. He ran his hands down the side of the marbled horse, leaning his head against the gentle beast.
“Ach, Artair, ye are a fine lad. What would ye say if we moved Niall and Eoghanan out here, and I moved ye and Heather into the castle? Ye could both have yer own bedchamber, and I wouldna mind if ye dined with me at the grand table.”
The horse neighed happily and Baodan laughed as he tugged on both horses’ reins, walking them out of the stables. “Aye, ye would both like that I expect, but alas, I was only teasing. I do care for them ye know, even Eoghanan. Despite how hard they make it, they’re me brothers. Besides, I doona think Rhona would stand for it. She cleans up after the rest of us too much as ’tis.”
A strange movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention, and he whirled to face it. He was a good ways from the pond, but he could see something floundering in it. A bird, perhaps? He continued to move forward with the horses, straining his eyes to try and make out what tossed about in the water so frantically.
He heard it then, the faint scream so soft he thought perhaps he imagined it. There were no females around who would have gone for a swim. He turned to Artair “Did ye hear that, boy?”
The scream reached him once more, and the ears of both horses perked up as they took off at full speed in front of him. Baodan ran in the same direction. Although the horses stopped at the water’s edge, Baodan dove into the chilly water as he reached it.
There was indeed a woman in the water, right at the water’s center. He glanced up in between powerful strokes to see a lass with bountiful red hair bobbing up and down yelling angrily.
He slowed as he reached her. The lass wasn’t drowning. She treaded water quite well, cursing with every other word.
She had the strangest accent, much like his cousin’s wife, Bri. Although he didn’t understand half of the words she shouted, he sensed none of them were appropriate to be coming out of a woman’s mouth.
*