Gwendolyn, the kind innkeeper, and her husband, Jerry, were growing impatient. I knew they wouldna allow me to stay in the room much longer without explanation, but what was I to tell them? I could hardly believe the truth meself.
With Adelle’s help, I’d been able to fool the innkeepers into believing I was Adelle’s daughter, Bri, by remaining, for the most part, silent when interacting with them. With Adelle no longer here to speak for me, I knew they would notice me lack of an American accent.
A knock at the door meant ’twas evening, and Gwendolyn was bringing me supper. She’d graciously and unquestioningly brought each meal and left it outside the door since I’d arrived back at the inn claiming to be quite ill. She’d given me the privacy I’d so clearly desired, and so it surprised me to hear her speak from the other side of the door.
“I’m sorry to disturb your rest, but Jerry and I are both worried about you, dear. You’ve spent far too much time inside the room, so you’ve left me no choice I’m afraid. You can either clean yourself up and join us for dinner downstairs, or I shall be calling a doctor to come see to you at once.”
Gwendolyn paused, waiting for my response. I wasn’t ill, only worried, and I wouldna have them send for a doctor for a non-existent sickness.
“Twill be…I’ll be down shortly.” A short response was best. Perhaps, my accent wouldn’t be as noticeable with only a few short words. Not that it mattered. I was going to have to tell them all I knew, not that they would believe me.
At this point, I had nothing left to lose.
*
I walked down the stairs and into the small kitchen to be met by kind smiles from both Gwendolyn and Jerry. The old man gave me a thorough look over before speaking bluntly, true to form.
“Ye must be feeling much better, lass. Ye doona look sick at all. Now sit down here and tell us where yer mother is. We know something has happened, and it is time that ye tell us what that is. Gwendolyn is too polite to ask ye, but I’ve no problem with tellin ye that yer behavior has been quite strange.”
The old man stood to usher me to a chair across from both of them. Once I was seated, he resumed his place next to his wife. I sat silently for a moment, quite unsure of where to begin. I knew me accent would garner questions from them right away. “Aye, I’m no longer feeling ill. But I do need to tell ye both something.”
Gwendolyn pinched her eyebrows together oddly in my direction. “Well, my goodness, Bri. I know it’s tempting once you’ve been here awhile to try and speak like everyone around you, but I’ve never been very successful at it myself. You sound as if you’ve lived here forever.”
Jerry laughed in response as he patted Gwendolyn on the shoulder. “Aye, my lassie’s voice holds nothing of Scotland, although she’s lived here for forty years now. She still speaks as if she arrived in the country only yesterday.”
Gwendolyn leaned sweetly into Jerry before glancing back in my direction and continuing, “The accent really is great, but why are you doing it?”
I glanced down at my plate of untouched food, not quite ready for either of them to think I’d lost me mind.
Jerry reached across the table to gently squeeze me hand and, as I looked up at him, I could see the concern in his face. “Where’s yer mother, lass?”
“She’s no me mother. And I’m no Bri. I doona think ye will believe what I must tell ye, but will ye listen to all of it before ye decide that I’m mad?” I lifted me head to look them in the eye as I waited for their answer.
Jerry and Gwendolyn exchanged an unreadable sideways glance before Jerry spoke first. “Aye, lass. O’course we shall listen to ye. Let us move next to the fire though. The chairs in there are much more comfortable.”
Gwendolyn simply nodded before they both stood and left me to follow them into the next room.
Once seated, I fumbled uneasily with me words, unsure of how to begin. One question had sat at the forefront of me mind since the first night I’d left Adelle at the castle ruins. I’d been too afraid to ask, for if the answer was not what I hoped, it meant everyone I’d known and loved had died only days ago, unable to change history. I knew that I must learn the truth before I explained anything further to Jerry and Gwendolyn.
“Might I ask ye a question before I tell ye?” I didn’t wait for their response. “The castle ruins, I suppose they’re still ruins, aye?”
Hope fluttered in my chest at the quizzical looks by both Jerry and Gwendolyn.
Jerry pointed in the direction of the castle. “Do ye mean Conall Castle, lass? If so, I wouldna go calling the place a ruin. It’s still beautifully in tact. A fine structure and a popular visit for tourists.”