Chapter 11
Catie sat at the vanity and brushed out her hair, keeping a watchful eye on Piper in the mirror as she dutifully counted her strokes. She wished she had something wise or comforting to say but she felt nearly as despondent as Piper looked. They’d had a quiet lunch, no one offering any new suggestions. They all kept opening their mouths as if they wanted to, but nothing ever came out.
“I was wondering …” she started, pausing with her brush halfway down the side of her head. “It’s silly,” she finished, feeling bad when Piper’s eyes lit with a tiny spark of hope.
“No, what is it? It was silly going to the castle and blurting everything out, but we still did it. That’s exactly how desperate we are, so just say it.”
Catie put the brush down and nervously began braiding. “I was thinking that if Bridget never came back here, perhaps she went back to her ship. If she’s fearful of getting thrown in an English prison, perhaps she headed back to sea.”
“Go to another country, you think?” Piper asked, rubbing her brow as if she had a headache. “That’s actually not silly at all.” She slumped. “But it’s a big ocean and there are so many places for her to go and hide.”
“She spoke about America, having been there once before.”
Piper slumped further. “Talk about a big place. She could disappear without a trace. I doubt anybody cares about her scandal over there.”
“My other silly thought would be to go to our old land, see if Rory went up that way. I pray he didna get back on the ship with her. He was daft and untrustworthy but not that daft and untrustworthy. I think he’d want to see what was left of the village.”
“If Rory’s as smart as you think, wouldn’t he want to meet up with you two and see if he could get back to his own time?”
Catie sighed, her heart sinking as she recalled the way she’d seen Rory look at Bridget. There was no way she’d admit it to Piper, though. Her sister-in-law’s already huge fears would grow tenfold if she had to worry about her great-great grandmother getting mixed up with some Scottish rogue and never getting back with her husband.
“I didna say he was smart, just not overly daft. Of course I think he should have done that, but if he isna here by now, where could he be? If he’d been arrested again, surely one of those newspapers would have had a few words about it.”
“Maybe,” Piper said thoughtfully. “You’re probably right. But if he didn’t get caught and didn’t have enough money to get here by train, maybe he’s still traveling. Maybe they both are.”
Catie didn’t think that was the case but shrugged evasively, not wanting to dash her hopes. She didn’t like it at all that all their hopes now seemed to be pinned on Rory. A knock sounded at the door and Oliver stuck his head in.
“May I have a private word with Catie?” he asked, his face going red to see they were both in their dressing gowns.
Catie rolled her eyes at his new-found modesty, thinking it a complete waste of time after all they’d been through. Piper hopped up from her seat on the bed.
“Yes, go ahead. I want to tell Lachlan about these new ideas anyway.” She hurried out as Oliver came in.
He closed the door behind him and leaned against it awkwardly. His sudden shyness and the stiff way he held himself made her stomach drop. He had come to tell her goodbye. There was really no reason at all for him to stay in this strange time if he didn’t love her anymore. And his sour mood and aloofness since they left Blackpool was evidence of that.
“Make yourself comfortable at least,” she said, alarmed at how her voice sounded. Just as stiff and uncomfortable as he looked. “If ye’ve come to say ye’re going back I willna argue with ye.”
His eyes boggled and he sat down hard on the bed. “Where did that come from? I haven’t come to say I was going back. And you wouldn’t argue if I was?”
“Should I?” she asked, completely confused.
“Well, I should say so,” he said. “Do you want me to go back?”
She stood up, meaning to sit beside him and take his hand but overcome with her own case of shyness. “No, but I can see how things have changed. I didna want ye to feel obligated.”
“You and your talk of obligations,” he huffed. “Of responsibilities.”
“I suppose I mean to say ye dinna need to feel guilty that ye’ve stopped loving me.”
She sat down at the farthest point from him on the large bed. She knew she was difficult. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t seem to stop it. It was a miracle he’d loved her for as long as he had.
His face turned magenta and he stood up, pacing the length of the room. He whirled on her.
“Why do you think I don’t love you anymore? Oh, you’re infuriating. I’ve been trying so hard to keep my temper but I fear I’ve finally failed.”
“Ye’re angry with me, then?” she asked.
He barked a humorless laugh. “Angry is an understatement. I want to— to shake you.”
She laughed back, a real one. She was so relieved he hadn’t given up on her that she couldn’t hide it. The dark look on his face made her try to stifle her merriment.
“But ye never said a word.”
“I was trying to be understanding. I didn’t want to hurt your feelings.” He was back to pacing, looking more uncomfortable than ever. “And if I’m honest with myself, only a part of this was your fault.”
She nodded understandingly. “The most important part, though. If I’d never left the farm, we wouldna be in this mess, would we?”
“Are you trying to make me angrier?” he asked raggedly, clearly worn out from suppressing his emotions for so long. “I’m trying to be loving and kind and forgiving but you’re just—”
“Aye, I know,” she said, reaching out and grabbing his hand as he paced past her. “But if ye’re angry, ye should just let it out instead of stewing and making me think ye were done with me.”
“I didn’t want to shout at you like your brothers do,” he said, sitting down again. He wiped his forehead as if he’d done a great deal of hard work. “I wanted to show you …” he trailed off, embarrassed.
“Ye didna want to be a brute like my brothers,” she said. “But I dragged it out of ye, just as I drag it out of them. Same as with my auntie and she’s a saint if ever there was one.” She patted his hand and smiled at him. “But I know they love me even when they’re raging so if ye feel the need to holler a bit, just go ahead and do it.”
“You have the oddest family I’ve ever seen,” he said. “It’s not that I don’t like them, but I don’t know if I’ll ever fit in.”
“Well, I certainly willna fit in with your staid lot, either. But it’s ye I love and want to be around, Oliver.” His face was no longer dark and brooding and she felt a quiver in her stomach. She was about to lean over for a kiss when she remembered he needed to yell at her for all the trouble she’d got them into. “Well, go ahead, then,” she said, hoping it would be quick so she could get to the kissing.
To her surprise, he didn’t start listing all the reasons she needed a good shake, but tipped his head down and kissed her. Tenderly at first, then more passionately, until she had to pull away, fearful Piper or Lachlan would walk in at any moment. Then she’d really get an earful.
“That was lovely,” she said breathlessly, clinging to his hand. Her heart was like a butterfly, fluttering away in her chest. “What about the mess I’ve got us into?”
He closed his eyes and pressed his lips together before once more pressing them against hers. “I think you already know,” he said. “I’m sorry I was so angry with you.”
“I’m sorry I made ye so,” she said, leaning her head on his shoulder. They had precious little time alone and she kept glancing at the door. “I wish we could be more at ease. I feel guilty even wishing that with the state poor Piper’s in.”
He frowned and stood up, facing her, both her hands in his. “I’m as worried as you are,” he said quickly, also glancing at the door. “But I don’t want you to think about that right now.” He dropped to one knee and she gasped.
“Oliver, ye dinna mean to—”
He squeezed her hands and cut her off. “You don’t want me to?”
She felt her face flaming and realized she’d just ruined the most perfect moment of her life. “I do want ye to,” she said.
He stood up, brushing off his knee. “Well good. That’s that, then. I worried for nothing.”
She wrenched her hands away from him. “Oliver! How could ye?” She fought tears until she saw the mischievous grin on his face. “Ye’re going to do it again, aren’t ye?” she asked hopefully.
He pulled her to standing and crushed her to his chest in a hug, kissing her hair. “Will ye marry me, Catie?” he asked as his lips brushed her ear. “Will you make me the happiest and probably maddest man in the world?”
She brushed his hair away from his face, unruly and overgrown after so long at sea. He was the handsomest, kindest man she’d ever known and the way his brown eyes gazed at her with such love made her chest swell with joy. And something else. Something she didn’t think she’d ever felt before. It was contentment. She knew she’d never need another adventure as long as Oliver was hers.
“Yes,” she laughed as tears rolled down her cheeks. “And it’s ye who’ve made me the happiest woman in the world.”
***
Piper trudged up the stairs to get to the room Lachlan and Oliver were staying in. She wished she’d taken the time to change back into her day clothes when she passed a couple who gave her a judgy onceover for being in a bathrobe. But Oliver had looked desperate to get something off his mind and in truth Piper was bursting to tell Lachlan Catie’s thoughts.
As for herself, once she got soaked with that cold water by her however many times great grandmother, Piper’s mind had gone completely blank. It was as if her brain went numb along with her fingertips. Even now, all toasty and dry again, she couldn’t come up with a thought more scintillating than am I really going to disappear this time? Then she’d go numb again from fear.
She didn’t bother knocking, knowing Lachlan wouldn’t have the door locked. He was sitting on the spindly desk chair, looking like he might crack it into splinters any moment his body was so tense. He relaxed a little at the sight of her and just seeing his half-smile and the love that radiated from his deep blue eyes made her relax a little as well.
“Catie had a thought,” she said as she massaged his stiff shoulders.
He shrugged away and pulled her to the bed beside him, wrapping his arms around her and sighing deeply. “Shall we call one of the wee reporters hovering around downstairs?”
Piper laughed, already completely calm once again, now that she was close to Lachlan. His high standards toward his sister’s good name and the lack of rooms had served to grate on her nearly as much as her fears of blinking out of existence.
“She suggested they might have gone back to Bridget’s yacht.”
Lachlan’s hand slid from her shoulder. “Then we’ll really never find them.”
“Yes, I didn’t care for that theory much, either. But she also thought Rory might go back to your old village, see what it’s like.”
He brightened a bit at that. “I’d like to see what it’s like myself. Canna be much worse than when we visited in your time.”
His farm had no longer been sitting in its lovely little valley, just a bare outline of rocks that might have been the barn. It was so overgrown, even Lachlan couldn’t make out what used to be where. It had saddened him a bit, but he soon decided it was better than becoming a shopping center.
“Do you think we should head up there?” she asked, then plowed on, not waiting for his reply. “I think we should stay a bit longer. It could be they’re still together and waiting for all the hubbub to die down, or it could be Rory’s still making his way up here.”
“Why would he come here without Bridget?” Lachlan asked, once again pulling her close.
He turned around and piled the pillows together so they could lean back and be comfortable. It might be their only chance to be alone together for a while. Piper snuggled against him, feeling as content as she could under the circumstances. There was just something about Lachlan’s strong chest and steady heartbeat that made her feel completely safe. She knew he’d fight to the death for her, but unfortunately this was something that couldn’t be fought with brawn and will. It was going to be pure luck this time around.
“He’d want to meet up with Oliver and Catie,” she said. “He knows they could at least get him back to his proper time. But I’m worried that he stayed with Bridget, even though Catie doesn’t think he’d get back on her ship.”
“Why are ye worried, love? Perhaps he can talk sense into her, make her come back here.”
She twitched anxiously, not wanting her worries to be true. “Catie’s alluded a few times to Rory, er, seeming attracted to Bridget.”
He sat up straight, causing her to flop onto the pillows behind them. “Aye, she did say something about them dancing inappropriately, didna she? The wee blackguard wouldna dare. He knows what’s at stake. He’d be as good as murdering ye and your family members were he to give in to his base lust.” He cracked his knuckles and scowled, clearly wishing Rory’s head was between his hands. He turned and looked at her, his face a mixture of disgust and fear. “But if she looks so like ye as everyone says, how could he resist her?”
She felt her face heat up. “Is that a compliment? You look like you want to tear something apart. But it sounded like a compliment.”
“It’s only the truth, love. Ye’re incredibly lovely. I couldna resist ye, could I?”
She tried to think back to when they first met. “I think it was more a case of me not being able to resist you. Was Rory very handsome or charming?”
He scowled some more. “I barely remember the lad, and he might have been all of thirteen last I saw him. I pray I dinna need to thrash the wee fiend if we find him.”
“Do you think we’re looking for the wrong person?” she asked, once again at a loss for ideas.
If they had the internet, access to all her funds to hire detectives, and the thousands of traffic and security cameras that were everywhere in her time, they might already be finished with this mess. But they were in the 1920s, which was little better than Lachlan’s time, technologically speaking.
“Ye think we should be trying to find out what happened to Albert, ye mean?” he asked. “If he’s still alive.” He looked stricken at voicing that thought aloud and leaned back against their pillow mound, once again pulling her close. He dropped a kiss onto the top of her head. “But he must be or ye’d be—” He made a choking noise. “I canna seem to say the right thing no matter how I try.”
“I’d be gone, wouldn’t I?” she asked, feeling slightly better. “If he was dead, I’d be gone. We could leave an anonymous tip to the British police that he was still alive and behind the whole investment scam. Then we could just follow them around, see if they have any luck finding him.”
“Aye, we have many choices,” he said unenthusiastically.
“And none of them good,” she added. She felt bad about sounding so surly and tried to force a smile into her voice. “But I suppose we just have to work with what we have. We can—”
Lachlan tipped her chin up to look at him. “Ye dinna have to put a brave face on it for me,” he said, leaning in to kiss her. He smiled gently when he pulled away. “I’m verra afraid myself. I canna imagine how ye must feel.”
Tears filled her eyes. “I don’t know why I’m so much more afraid than the last time. I just don’t have a good feeling at all and I can’t shake it. There’s no reason for Bridget to come back here, not with the chance she’ll be arrested again. If I was her I’d be halfway to America by now.”
“Then we shall leave for America as well,” he said, much too heartily.
It broke her heart to hear the despair under his forced jovial tone, but she couldn’t find a way to comfort him when she was so distraught herself. She’d believed they would be back in their own time now, laughing about it with Sam and Evie. Would she ever see her best friends again? They lay silently for a while, just holding one another.
“Shall we go down to the dining room and see what Oliver was so hell-bent on telling my sister?” Lachlan asked, sitting up and rolling his shoulders. “He was pacing and muttering before he raced out of here.”
Piper bit her lip, fairly certain they hadn’t ever left her room to have their conversation. It had looked like Oliver was going to unload something serious and she hadn’t thought twice about leaving them alone. But Lachlan would have a conniption.
“I’ll run ahead and …” she stopped the moment his eyes narrowed.
“They aren’t in the dining room, are they?” he asked, voice getting dangerously thundery.
“They might be,” she said with a shrug, easing toward the door. “You stay here and I’ll—”
“Nay, ye stay here and let me burst in on them,” he said, his eyes now glinting with mischief.
“You’re not going to crack any heads are you?”
He sighed deeply. “Those two have been alone for weeks now. If anyone needed their head cracked it was long ago. I’ll just scare them a little, so they think twice about their improper ways next time. If the lad doesna run after this, I suppose he’ll probably marry the hoyden.”
“Okay, you go scare some propriety into them and I’ll head down to the dining room.” Her stomach was a mass of writhing snakes but she had to pretend for everyone else’s sakes.
He leaned over the bed and kissed her before stomping out of the room, a grin on his face. He did so love his mayhem. She rolled over and curled into a ball, trying to will her stomach to stop heaving. When she finally calmed down enough to entertain a thought of food, she got up to go put in an order for their suppers. A wave of dizziness made her reach for the bedpost to keep from falling onto her face.
“I just got up too fast,” she said, trying not to freak out. She had no idea what it would be like to stop existing. Did it start with dizziness? A stomachache? “Stop it,” she hissed at herself, taking a peek in the mirror.
She was paler than normal and had dark circles half way down her face. She was dismayed to remember she was still in her dressing gown. Lachlan must have been more upset about Catie and Oliver being in the bedroom together or he would have mentioned it to her. She decided to give them a few minutes before going back to change.
Pacing around, she found the dizziness turning into a headache the size of her castle.
“It’s stress,” she mumbled as she paced.
Lachlan must have taken his ire out on Catie and Oliver by now. He and Oliver would have gone down to the dining room to wait for her and Catie to change. Feeling like she could go back to her room without having to be a part of another Ferguson shoutfest, she made for the door, tripping over the worn woven rug that lay beside the bed.
God, she needed to get it together. Every little thing that was out of the ordinary made her think it was her last minutes on earth. Terror washed over her as a new wave of dizziness struck her just as she reached the hallway.
Instead of possibly tumbling down the stairs she went to the opposite end of the hall to sit on the bench that resided under a painting of some very smug-looking wolfhounds. As she took in the rough paint strokes depicting the end for some poor ducks, she felt a stab of pain behind her eye. It was worse than when she used to be plagued by those darn blackouts that caused her to have fearful visions and do things she didn’t end up remembering.
“It’s not possible I’m actually being nostalgic for those days,” she said, sinking onto the padded bench.
She squeezed the bridge of her nose to try and drive the pressure away but it only made it worse. She should have eaten more at lunch. The cold water she’d been doused with coupled with a lack of sleep was bringing on a cold. She kept thinking of reasons she could feel so bad. She had a sudden sure feeling that she should have gone with Lachlan. Not let him out of her sight. She didn’t want her last vision to be of some bad oil painting of dogs and ducks. She wanted her husband, her true love, her heart.
She got up and stumbled for the stairway, feeling slightly better just thinking that she’d be back in his comforting embrace in mere moments.
Until a wrenching pain tore through the back of her head and she fell to her knees with a yelp. Her ears rang and the searing pain stole her vision. She couldn’t see her hands as she tried to crawl forward.
This was it. It was over for her. But she had to get one last glimpse of Lachlan or at least hear his voice. She tried to call for him but found it almost impossible to move her mouth properly. Only a guttural sound came out of lips she could no longer feel.
I love you, she thought. I will always love you.
Another vicious pain jolted through her head and everything went black.