The rest of the day passed rather strangely. After Calder showed us to our individual rooms, he informed us that the other men of the castle were out in the forest working and that the master of the castle—whatever that meant—was already in the village for the day. He told us to make ourselves at home, to explore as we wished, and to be in the dining hall for dinner at sundown.

It was all very strange. While Calder was polite, he did nothing to hide his disapproval of Harry’s order. I couldn’t blame him.

It was one thing to allow us to stay here until Laird Allen returned. It was another thing entirely to leave us unattended in a massive castle that was undoubtedly filled with all sorts of valuable items.

I loved it. I couldn’t remember a time when I’d been more excited about anything. I’d thought touring Scottish castles long after their prime was the peak of excitement. I was wrong. Touring them in this time, as a guest, was something I would be able to live off of for years.

It was unlike any other Scottish castle I’d ever seen. Gothic and exaggerated, each new wing was creepier than the last. And it was blatantly obvious that men lived and ruled here. It lacked anything feminine or fancy. Everything was for function, nothing for fuss.

Marcus and I spent the day familiarizing ourselves with the castle. About an hour before sunset, we each went to our room to freshen up.

I was ready way before Marcus. He was notorious for taking forever to get ready for anything. I waited inside my borrowed room until he came for me.

“You ready?” He called to me through the door just as the sun dipped below the bedchamber’s tall window, and I threw the door open with way too much force.

“So ready.”

He smiled at me and offered his arm.

“You look good, Laurel. More like yourself. As angry as I am at that witch, I’m pleased that you’re enjoying this so much. You needed something to bring you back to life.”

---

The ruckus from the dining hall could be heard as soon as we descended the castle’s grand stairway, but the moment Marcus and I stepped into the room, it fell completely silent.

“Hi.” It was literally the only thing I could think to say as seven men who were even more impressive in stature than Marcus rose from their seats around the table.

Harry was the first to speak.

“Laurel, lass, ye look even lovelier than ye did this morning. Ye and yer brother come around here so I may introduce ye to everyone.”

Nodding, we made our way to the side of the long table where there were two empty seats waiting for us.

He wasted no time in making introductions. I paid special attention as I was determined to do a better job of remembering each of their names than I was usually capable of doing.

“Calder, o’course.”

He pointed briefly to the man we’d already met and then moved his finger to the next man around the table.

The man had solid gray hair that fell just below his chin. He had kind but sad green eyes and stubble along his cheeks that was a slightly darker shade of grey. He was easily the oldest man at the table. He was also the shortest. He looked like he hadn’t slept in weeks.

“This is Nicol. He is the master of the castle and the man whom we all serve.”

Nicol dipped his head in recognition and gave us both a smile that made my heart ache. He looked heartbroken and pained.

“Greetings to ye both. Ye are welcome here as long as ye wish. Any friend of Raudrich’s is a friend of mine.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Calder begin to open his mouth, but before he could say anything, Harry elbowed him straight in the ribs and gave him a look that made it clear he’d not told the rest of the men the truth about who we were.

I muttered a quick greeting and a thank you to him before Harry continued his introductions.

The next, a man named Quinn, had brilliantly blond hair that fell to his waist. His eyes were dark brown. He was striking in the most unusual way.

Next to Quinn sat Ludo. Ludo had the coolest curls I’d ever seen. They framed his face in a way that would make any girl envious, and his honey-colored eyes matched the shade of his hair. I was certain he had no trouble wooing ladies.

At the table’s end was Paton. He was easily the youngest. I couldn’t imagine that he was much older than twenty. He had jet black hair that he kept pinned at the nape. His brown eyes were kind and soft.

Finally, Harry ended his introductions with the man directly to Marcus’ right—Maddock. He had broad shoulders and strong arms—a trait every man around the table shared. Maddock kept his hair cut short, although it was slightly longer on top. His hair was a dirty blond and he had green-gold eyes. His nose was slightly large, with a knot in the middle which was a sure giveaway that at some point he’d broken it. His cheeks were smattered with freckles. I couldn’t explain why, but I felt an immediate kinship with this man. He reminded me of someone I’d known before, but I couldn’t recall who.

When all introductions were made, we sat down to enjoy our meal.

“Who did the cooking?”

Ludo answered with pride in his eyes, straight away.

“Tonight, ’twas I, but we share all duties equally. Tomorrow is Quinn’s turn so if ye are wise ye will fill yer belly tonight. Quinn is a rubbish cook.”

Quinn tried to protest but was quickly silenced by the chorus of voices who chimed in to agree with Ludo.

Once their teasing ended, Ludo spoke up once again.

“We doona have help here at the castle, so we must all do our part. ’Tis why it is time for Raudrich to return home. We’ve all been doing his share of the work for far too long. He has much to make up for. If ye doona mind me asking, how exactly is it that ye know him?”

I felt the light tap of Harry’s foot on top of my own. A slightly more gentle warning than he’d given Calder.

I winked at him to let him know I understood while I scrambled for a believable explanation.

Morna was a Conall and she’d claimed that Raudrich knew of her. Perhaps I could claim relation to them.

“I’m a distant cousin to the laird of Conall territory. As you know, Laird Allen is friends with the Conalls. We met while we were both staying at the castle many years ago–when we were children.”

Paton chimed in from the table’s end.

“And why do ye need to see him now? I’m surprised that ye knew he was here. To the people of this territory, Raudrich has another name. He’s had to keep his identity a secret to protect his familial clan.”

He might as well have been speaking gibberish. There was so much about this time, about their customs and the rules among clans that I didn’t know. I would have to tread carefully.

Marcus didn’t allow me the time to formulate an answer. “She’s in love with him.”

The blood drained from my face as I shrank in my chair in horror.

Every man around the table looked as shocked as I felt.

I could see that Harry was struggling to suppress his laughter. “In love with him, ye say? Promise us that ye will wait to tell him that until we are all around to see it.”

Meekly, I tried to respond with something reasonable. “I think that’s something best expressed in private.”

“Right ye are, lass.” Harry stood and the rest of the men followed suit. “I think it best we all retire early. Ye two must be tired after yer journey.”

Clearly the rest of them didn’t know about our night in their stables. Although, I couldn’t disagree with him. I was exhausted and I couldn’t wait to sleep on a seventeenth century bed. I had no idea what to expect.

“I can’t speak for Marcus, but I am rather tired. Thank you all so much for your hospitality.”

“’Tis our pleasure, lass. Mayhap tomorrow I can get ye to help me with something?”

“Of course. I’d be happy to help you all in any way I can.”

“Good.”

It was evident from the way every man stood around the table unmoving that they were waiting to disband until we made our leave. Glancing at Marcus to make sure he was on the same page, we stood and left the dining hall.

Baring my teeth, I whispered to him through my clenched jaw. “You are so dead.”

He barely made it out of the dining hall before he burst into laughter.