Amena ran up and grabbed hold of Leif’s leg.

"If all the other lasses are going along with ye doon tae toon, then I can come along tae."

Leif put a hand on the lassie’s head and smoothed her hair.

"Senga!"

Fortunately, the cook had heard. She hurried out and gently took hold of Amena, turning her toward the kitchen.

"I canna spare ye, Amena. With everyone else gone, there wull be nay one tae help me. Will ye stay? I dinna want tae be here all by myself, ye ken."

Leif met Senga’s eyes over Amena's head and gave her a smile in gratitude.

Making a very serious face, Amena followed Senga into the kitchen, turning just her head back.

"Ye will hae tae go without me, Leif. Senga needs me here, sae I wull be staying."

Anxious as he was to be off after the grown lasses who were so prone to trouble they likely couldn't do without him for even this amount of time, Leif’s heartstrings nonetheless were pulled on by his poor little sister who had lost her parents so young. He went down on one knee and held his arms out for her.

"Aye, I dae ken yer responsibility tae bide here and help Senga. But ye can give me a hug afore I go, can ye not?"

Amena shrugged and nodded, then ran over and gave him a quick hug before turning back toward Senga and the kitchen. Waving at him over her shoulder, she disappeared behind the kitchen wall, casually calling out to him.

"Hae a good day."

Oddly sad at being so easily dismissed, he turned toward the open door. Far too soon, he and Taran would be going off to battle and leaving Amena behind in just this way.

Senga called out from the kitchen in a singsong voice that made Leif glad for the thousandth time that she was here to keep Amena company.

"Hae a good day, Leif."

* * *

Jessica was pleased to see Leif waiting for her at the front door with his arm outstretched. She joyfully took it, but this walk down to the village was different than their walk back up yesterday.

This time, Katherine, Lauren, Luag, and Taran were along. Katherine had this way of meeting Jessica's eyes and teasing her. She wasn’t mean about it, but still, Jessica just didn't think she could relax the way she had when she and Leif were alone on the trail.

Would they ever get home again? Oddly, Jessica wasn't too worried about that. Something inside her assured her that no matter what, she would get to go home. If she wanted to.

After patting her hand reassuringly, Leif addressed her and Lauren.

"’Twould be best if ye let us educate the men about yer water closets, Ceàrd-ruadh."

Jessica swallowed.

"But we know far better than ye dae what—"

Leif patted her hand again, kindly but with finality.

"The men will already be out o' sorts that ye are with us. Subjecting them tae schooling by lasses? I fear that would be tae much."

Luag joined in.

“Sae mayhap ye had better educate us on the way doon there, sae that we can better educate the men, aye?"

Jessica sighed.

Katherine scrunched her nose at Luag.

“Glad tae ken ye are the better man and able tae take educating from lasses. It would be tae bad if ye were na. We dinna hae tae give ye oor knowledge, ye ken. We could just lie back."

It was an awful thing to say, that they could lie back and watch the villagers die of sickness, but coming from Katherine it sounded charming and witty.

Jessica reasserted herself into the conversation.

"Mayhap for today ye should just concentrate on the open sewer ye hae running through yer toon where everyone breathes the foul air therefrom. If that could just be cleared up and redirected out tae a compost pit, ye would make a verra large step toward lowering the death count here. Once that is done, we can explain the plan for all tae hae water closets.”

* * *

The women’s first month in the village was a whirlwind of industriousness.

At first, they were all overseeing the redirecting of the sewer channel from the streets so that it went to the compost pit. Each evening the men drilled while the women watched so that the men were nearby to guard them from druid intruders.

After a large amount of begging from Jessica, Katherine and Luag were persuaded to stay and see the sewer trenches finished so that Jess and Lauren could move on to the next phase.

Jessica discussed with the women the amount of willow-bark tea the people were using for bringing down a fever.

“A bit o' fever is good for driving oot the contagion, mind,” she told them, “howsoever, the verra auld and the verra young can succumb tae the fever its ownself, sae betimes ‘tis good tae bring the fever doon.”

But their sick loved ones were already getting the sort of personal care she could provide as a nurse. She wanted to get underway with the physical improvements she envisioned for the village. That was how she could help these people the most.

Starting with Leif and Taran’s house, she and Lauren and the smithy and the cooper put in water closets. The benefits were twofold. One, it was much more convenient, of course. But two, this was the easiest way to collect the sewage into the compost pit.

Little Amena did come down the hill with them sometimes. The joyful noises were wonderful when she played with the other children on the village green.

When the month was up, many friends had been by Cresh Manor and seen Leif and Taran’s water closet. They were extolling its virtues from one end of the village to the other so that the villagers were clamoring for water closets of their own.

With Lauren’s help and Taran there to guard Lauren, Gilly the smithy and Jacob the cooper were able to produce the water closets pretty quickly now. This cheered Jessica greatly. It fed her soul, knowing she was doing so much good.

Jessica was walking back up to the manor house from the village, on Leif’s arm.

She was always on his arm, but she never got used to it. Every time she touched him, a thrill went through her. It was difficult while touching this exquisite specimen of a man, but she made her mind work rationally.

“While Lauren, Taran, Gilly, and Jacob get the rest o’ the water closets installed and Katherine and Luag help yer men make sure the tanks are being emptied intae the compost pit, I want yer help planning the next improvement.”

Leif met her eyes as he always did when she spoke to him, but something about being alone out here in the trees on the pathway up to the manor house must have made him more carefree than his usual reserve allowed, because he held her gaze for a long moment.

He moved in closer.

Her breath caught in her throat, and she resisted the urge to wet her lips.

His eyes bored deep into hers, questioning, probing, seeing into her soul, it seemed.

“Aye?” he said. “And what might that be?”

“Huh?”

His eyes twinkled at her.

“What improvement dae ye want next, Ceàrd-ruadh?”

Oh yeah, the improvements.

She never moved away from looking into his eyes this time. Caution begone. After a month of walking on his arm and having nothing happen between them beyond these deep stares, she was beginning to suspect that he wouldn’t make any move at all without knowing for certain she was interested.

And she was interested. Wouldn’t it be a shame if he was too much of a gentleman to show his interest unless she showed hers, and she never showed hers? Lauren had friends who lived in the past. They stayed in touch with their families through her friend Kelsey.

That could work for me.

So this time, Jessica probed and soul-seeked right back. It was easy, staring into those deep blue caring eyes of Leif’s.

She sighed and spoke breathlessly.

“‘Tis terribly inconvenient for the women who live on the other side o' toon tae carry water all the way from the well tae fill their water closet tanks— Ack!”

Two robed figures came out of the trees. Their eerily white robes stood out against the green of the forest, but that was all Jessica saw out of the corner of her eye before the men moved in and grabbed her right off Leif's arm.

Jessica screamed.

At the same time, she heard the smallpipes Leif always carried.

Her captors quickly moved off toward the forest, carrying her by the arms even though she dragged her feet.

“Ye canna win against us," the younger one said to Leif, "just let us take her, and ye willna be harmed."

The older one turned his head over his shoulder toward Leif as they dragged Jessica screaming into the forest.

"And just so ye know, we mean her na harm. We just desire tae question her for the knowledge she holds. Certies ye are aware by now she comes from the future."

Leif just kept playing his smallpipes, but his determined eyes found hers and promised he wasn’t letting them take her.

For the first few hundred steps with these robed men — whom she now recognized from near the castle where she had arrived in this time with Lauren and Katherine, which meant they were druids, according to what Lauren had said — Jessica wondered. What did they plan to do with her? Should she ask? No, best not to reveal anything to them.

Leave your options open, Jessica.

But at five hundred steps or so, her robed captors got quite a surprise. It happened all at once.

Gilly and the militia from that side of town came from behind Jessica and her captors all in a rush of footfalls through the trees.

Alvin and the militia from the other side of town came straight toward her from between two clumps of bushes up ahead parallel to the side of the village.

The robed figures dropped Jessica’s arms and dissolved into smoke. The smoke lingered but a few moments and then blew away on a sudden breeze. They were gone.

Leif held out his arm.

Jessica ran to him, grabbing on to him as if she never meant to let go.

Leif turned her to face his troops and held her to his side while he looked them over with deep concern in his eyes.

"This isna over. They will be back, mayhap with more. We need tae set a guard aroond the house at all hours.”

Leif gave a few short commands about who was to watch on what shift, and then most of the militia went back toward the village, leaving five to accompany him and her back to the manor house.

He turned to her with those deep blue caring eyes full of worry.

“And Jessica, I dinna think ye and Katherine should leave the house. Na till ‘tis time for the three o' ye tae leave. And even then, we will need tae escort ye home."

All Jessica could do was nod. She didn't want to tell Leif right here in front of his men that the place she, Katherine, and Lauren needed to return to in order to go home was the very castle these two robed men had come from.