After a full night’s rest, Lily awoke to the sound of finches singing in the distance. The sun streamed in through the window that overlooked the Loch, and greeted her with a warm kiss, rousing her from the deepest recesses of slumber. She stretched her arms above her head and smiled without opening her eyes.
Then suddenly, a man’s voice from somewhere to her left caused her to jerk fully awake.
“Who the hell are you?!” the man yelled at her. He was not speaking English, but rather another language that Lily did not recognize at all.
Strangely, though, she understood exactly what he was saying, and so replied, “I’m Lily! Who the hell are you, and what are you doing in my room?!” To her surprise, Lily found that she spoke with the same rolling language as the man. Somehow, without being taught, she had learned a new language!
“Your room?” the stunningly handsome man answered. “I am Matthew Galbraith, second son of Maurice Galbraith, chief of the Clan Galbraith, and master of this castle! This is my room, and I want to know what you are doing in it at this early hour!”
“I rented it!”
“And who rented it to you, as I am the son of this castle’s master!”
“This castle is owned by a holding company in L.A.!”
“Wait…what?” the man asked. “What is a ‘holding company?’”
“Oh my God!” Lily exclaimed while getting to her feet, completely frustrated. “Where is Mrs. Stuart?”
“Mrs. Stuart? What is this nonsense?”
“She is the maître d'hôtel here!” Lily answered angrily, rushing toward the door and wrenching it open. The man yelled after her as she sprinted down the deserted stairs, only to see that the entire entrance hall had changed. Instead of the warm, inviting atmosphere and furnishings of a modern hotel, Lily saw gleaming suits of armor that had not been there the day before. Instead of the large, mounted deer’s head on the wall above where Mammy’s desk was supposed to be, there was a shining red shield, with what appeared to be three severed boars heads upon it, with the hilt of two swords visible at the top corners, reminding Lily of a coat of arms.
The man from the room finally caught up to Lily, and said, “I don’t know from with you come, but cover you, we must. A woman of such rare grace and beauty must carry herself accordingly.”
“What century are you from?” Lily asked sarcastically, “Nobody talks like that anymore!” She didn’t know how right she was.
“I am afraid that I don’t understand what you mean, Miss,” he answered. Look, please, come with me. You and my sister appear to be the same size. Allow me to have her give you some clothes, and we can unravel this quandary.”
Lily stood back and considered his proposal. Could it really hurt to change her clothes? Probably not, she thought to herself. “Okay,” she answered, “But only because you asked.” When he turned to lead her up the stairs once more, she studied him.
He walked and spoke with an elegance that she has never seen or heard of from the brutes in America…clearly, he had a very high intellect, and could hold his own with the smartest of men.
He was a physically imposing man, standing nearly six and a half feet tall. Despite his obvious high class status, he was rugged, and walked not only with the grace of a wealthy man, but also with the clipped, measured steps of a soldier who had seen and survived the horrors of combat.
Lily knew the walk well, having seen many soldiers come to Daytona Beach during the summers (and “getting to know” quite a few of them too). The thing that she didn’t recognize, though, was the already filling beard, as most soldiers she knew were required to keep clean-shaven. His long, well-maintained hair perfectly matched his beard, as both were the darkest shades.
“Wait here,” he said turning to Lily, and he went down a passage that she had not yet noticed, as it was hidden behind a secret door. When he said that, she caught a glimpse of his striking eyes, which were the brightest shade of green that she had ever seen before.
Overall, he was easily the most attractive man that she had ever laid eyes on. “Okay,” she answered softly. As he walked down the hidden passageway, she began to wonder how she came to be in this situation. Clearly, she was in the same castle as yesterday, but it was completely different. How did she end up here?
A few minutes later, she heard footsteps, and the man walked out of the hidden passageway, followed by a plain but pretty young woman, who was likely only sixteen or seventeen at most.
“Hello,” the soft-spoken maiden said, “Matthew tells me that he found you in his bed this morning.”
“Well, I found him in mine.”
“He has asked me if I will provide you with clothing until we can determine how your world and ours have crossed paths.”
“What do you mean ‘my world and yours’?”
“Matthew says that you claim to have rented his bed chamber, is that right?”
“Yes, I rented it from Mrs. Stuart yesterday,” Lily answered.
“We do not know who this ‘Mrs. Stuart’ is,” but apparently in your plane we are not the rightful masters of this castle.”
“What do you mean, ‘my plane’? All this talk of ghosts and other dimensions is really making me wish that I had just stayed home! Scottish people are crazy!”
“Your home is not the home of the Scots?” Matthew asked.
“No, I’m from America.”
“Where is America?”
“My God!...It’s across the ocean.”“Which--
“Matthew,” the young woman interrupted her brother, “she clearly is not from this place. I am going to get her dressed and take her to see Alison.”