Chapter 5 - Revised

Chapter 5

“What did ye find Mary?” Alastair’s voice rose above the other’s chattering which subsided when he asked the question.

Mary watched five heads turn her way. She shifted uncomfortably in her chair. Alastair’s four most trusted men and here she was among them. Mary had earned her place in the family meetings; she’d suffered the wrath of the English army as much as any man here.

Only Colin and Alistair knew the scars Mary held deep within her. Memories of a childhood lost after her parents were brutally murdered in front of her.

She felt Colin’s arm come across her back and at once she was back among the living, away from the look on her mother’s face as she cried out in pain afraid to look in the corner where little Mary was hiding at her instruction.

She cleared her throat and looked around the room. Angus MacKinnon, Robert MacDuff and Duncan Keir waited patiently while she gathered her thoughts. Alastair had asked her a question, he knew of Kyla’s spying.

“I think ye better tell me what you found first.” Mary said, anxious to hear news of the King. God help her, she would do what she had to do to keep Neil and Rose from hiding in a corner while they watched their parents be brutalized and eventually killed. She’d take her own life before she’d let them live with the memories that were etched into her soul.

She wrapped her hands around her elbows and stood her ground with Alistair. She knew he had received news from the Robertson Clan when the messenger showed up at the Kirk.

Alastair hesitated a moment. Thoughts of Kyla would not leave his mind. He needed to find out more about the girl. His face was stern, but Alastair knew he was no match for Mary MacFarlane.

“Aye, ‘tis true what we’ve heard. George of Hanover has been placed King. The house of Hanover has prevailed, thus far.” Alastair smiled, lifting only half his mouth. “But he wilna prevail for long.

We’ve heard from the Robertson’s, the Maguire’s and the MacDuff’s. They will all see King James safe across the sea. There’s talk about support from Louis of France. We canna maintain the taxes on the land. If we doona move soon, the lands will be seized.”

Alastair began to pace. He didn’t like waiting for an attack. The longer they waited the less chance they had of restoring King James. The surrounding clans were fearful; he had heard rumors of some of them leaving for the New World. They wanted what was rightfully theirs, but Alastair wasn’t sure if they would be willing to be imprisoned for it or worse.

“So what do we do?” Mary asked, feeling her palms begin to sweat. She glanced at Colin. She didn’t want him to go to battle, she didn’t want him to be imprisoned and raise her children without a father. But the alternative would be much worse. If the lands were seized they’d have nowhere to go, nowhere to raise their children.

“We wait, as we are instructed to. We carry on and follow the laws until we can gather the support we need.” Alastair threw his hands up at this. It was a frustrating plan.

“And the taxes?” Mary turned and looked to her laird. Taxes were already past due and she was afraid the tenants would not be able to pay the rents. Double they paid then other clans since the MacFarlane’s were papists.

“Tomorrow I will ride to the town, I’ll gather as much as I can for the taxes, what I canna get, we will have to take.” Alastair answered.

Mary’s brows rose high as she stifled a smile. “Ye mean steal.” she corrected him.

“I will return the money from the cattle we take. Even if it is to the MacNab’s”

“Bastards doona deserve it.” Duncan chimed in.

“Men deserve it.” Alastair said. He had a great dislike for the MacNab’s, but he refused to be dishonorable. He would try to return the money, but most likely it would end in battle as the MacNab’s lived to battle.

“They owe us cattle Alastair. They’ve stolen from us before.” Colin added.

“Aye, I wilna be stolen from whilst my own family starves. The MacNab’s will get what they deserve.”

The room nodded in agreement.

“And the Englishwoman?” He asked Mary taking a seat next to her. He had to hear more about the strange girl that seemed to take over his world.

“The Englishwoman.” Mary repeated, thinking about Kyla. “Weel, my guess is she’s no spy. But she’s got secrets that are safely guarded within her. It was a letter to the MacDuff’s she had found, yet the lass almost fainted. I’ve asked her many questions, but her answers doona make any sense.” Mary turned her head upwards watching their expressions. “She believes herself to be crazy.” She finished.

“Crazy?” Colin asked. “What is crazy?”

“She thinks she’s not right in the heid…that she’s gone mad. I’ve asked Jeanette too, she agrees that the girl is not a spy. But she sees strange things around her. Ye need to speak with yer Aunt.” Mary turned to Alastair. He looked tired, they all looked tired. Mary wanted nothing more than to take Colin home and get him into bed.

“She is a curious one, I’ll speak wi’ her again on the morrow.” Alastair said stretching.

“She’s not right in the heid, there’s something wrong with the lass Alastair, the quicker ye get her off yer lands the better. Ye find her snooping in yer house and yet ye still trust her?” Duncan asked.

“She’s a kind soul Duncan, she wishes us no harm.” Mary said, looking somewhat amazed at Duncan’s mistrust of her. “She’s just lost.” The look of fear on Duncan’s face set off alarms somewhere inside Mary. Duncan had always been a trusting man, a kind man, something about Kyla scared him and Mary didn’t think he believed her to be a spy.

Duncan, Robert and Angus left the room, bidding them a good night while Mary readied Alastair’s bed.

“Did the messenger have word from the Logan’s?” Mary questioned when the other’s had left.

“Aye, they havena heard of her.” Colin answered.

“What is it Alastair?” Mary asked her brother in law. It was more than fatigue that had his face in a frown. His bloodshot eyes told her he was tired, but there was something else there…something deeper.

“’Tis something about her Mary, I canna say what. She stumbled in here hurt and lost and yet…I canna get her out of my mind.” His voice was filled with frustration.

Mary stifled a smile. It was the first time she’d ever seen Alistair MacFarlane smitten. It’s about time, she thought.

“She thought she knew you when she was sick, have ye seen her before?” Colin asked. He saw the same look as Mary and he glanced at his wife with the same smirk.

Alastair ran his fingers through his tangled hair. Cinnamon and gold fell through his hand from the flickering fire. “I may have come across her before. When I saw her it seemed as if I had.” Alastair said, pulling her picture up in front of his eyes. He knew her golden eyes that glowed like a wolf in the woods. He knew her strange golden streaked hair and her tall frame with her high cheekbones and stubborn jaw. He even knew the lone dimple on the right side of her face embedded in her cheek just off her mouth.

He remembered the day she put her hand to his cheek, the day she had said those words.

“I ken ye better speak with the lass. Maybe you will do better than I have.” Mary said. She watched Alistair’s green eyes glaze over. He had forgotten they were even in the room, she could tell by the slight jolt of his body when she spoke. “Duncan is wrong about her. She’s a good soul Alastair. Jeanette trusts her and so do I.”

“Aye, I ken we can trust her, I will take her through the town tomorrow and we can talk then.”

Mary rose and kissed Alastair on the cheek. “Now rest. Yer worry grows.”

“There’s much to worry about Mary.” Alistair kissed his sister in law back. Besides Jeanette, Mary was the only woman Alistair had ever trusted since his mother’s death.

“Worrying wilna solve the problem Alistair. You aren’t alone in this.”

“I know Mary and I thank God for ye.” Alistair hugged her tightly against him.

“Ahem,” Colin cleared his throat playfully. “What about me brother?” Colin asked punching his brother in the shoulder.

“Aye, I do thank God for ye Colin…I thank God that he gave ye the wits to find our Mary.” Alastair laughed at his brother’s mock blow to the stomach. It had been a long time since he had laughed…too long.

Alastair lay in bed when Mary and Colin left. He sunk into the down and sighed heavily when it enfolded around him. It was more than the messenger weighing on his mind. It was Kyla Logan. What he didn’t tell Colin and Mary is that he had seen the girl before; he had heard those exact words spoken to him. Only she’d come over a hill filled with mist. He had been waiting for her. What bothered him more was that it was in a dream, a dream he’d been having every night for the last two years.

Kyla snuck painfully back to Jeanette’s house. She had seen the men gather in Alistair’s house and snuck up the hill to listen. She wondered what their reaction would be when they found out about her being in his home.

She had sunk by the open window outside listening to their conversation. Convinced now that somehow the Stone of Destiny had swept her back through time, she needed to find out what their plans were. She knew this to be a volatile time for the Highlanders. Her history background told her everything she needed to know about the year 1715. She wished she knew more about science. Time travel didn’t exist, but she had heard theories of worm holes.

Thank God Mary didn’t believe her to be a spy. That would be a horrible fate in these times.

Kyla bit her nails listening to their plans of gathering the clans to bring back the King. What Alastair didn’t know, couldn’t know, was that his efforts would be in vain. People would die for a lost cause. Kyla knew she couldn’t tell him the fate of the uprising. His hopes were high in his cause. She heard them speak of taxes. If they had no money to pay they would lose their land.

She snuck quietly back into the house and cringed when the straw bed crinkled under her weight. The straw crunched loudly sounding like a bag of potato chips being ripped apart no matter how carefully she sat on the bed.

Jeanette was snoring softly in the wooden chair. She’d have to give her back her bed tomorrow and talk to Mary. Poor Jeanette couldn’t keep sleeping in a chair.

They had heard from the Logan’s, Kyla thought. Alastair had heard from her father’s ancestors who her mother had insisted on visiting year after year, laying flowers on the old worn out gravestones. Her face flushed with excitement at the thought. She wondered what they looked like, if she had inherited any of their traits over hundreds of years. Kyla was almost afraid to see them, not knowing her father she would not know if he was anything like them.

Her thoughts immediately switched back to the Stone. What if it only worked one way? She’d never find her way home, even if she could help the MacFarlane’s then what? The thought filled her with dread. Kyla knew she couldn’t stay here. She didn’t belong here. It was a twist of fate that wasn’t meant to be. Even her own existence here could change people’s future. Kyla knew better than anyone how much the past determined the future. What if she saved a MacFarlane that was meant to die, changing the outcome of generations to come? How could this have happened? It was baffling. She could be erasing her own existence for all she knew. Kyla slowly shook her head. If she had done that, she wouldn’t be here now. Would she not wake up one morning, never existing at all due to her own actions? So all consuming, so mind numbing, Kyla forced herself not to think about it. The past, the future…this was her present. This is what she had to concentrate on. She’d just have to be very careful in what she did or said.

Kyla said a silent prayer that night. Please let whatever I do, be the right thing. With that she fell into a dreamless sleep.

She was used to getting up early now. As the sun’s rays made their way through the open window, shining down upon her, she opened her eyes and grunted.

Every morning was the same. Her leg brought her awake. Although she had completely healed and could walk without the makeshift crutch, the pain was always there, especially in the mornings. It was an underlying ache like a tooth that needed to be pulled. It made her grouchy and she tried her best to get past it but it was always there, reminding her of the mark she would have forever.

The scar was white and puffy now with layer after layer of skin growing over the jagged line.

“Weel, good morning to ye lass.” Jeanette said pleasantly. She was making eggs over the fire and Kyla’s stomach growled in response.

She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and sat up. “Good morning.” She pulled her leg off the hard straw bed and began her morning massage.

“I’ve been thinking Jeanette. I need to find another house or at least another bed. You can’t keep sleeping in that chair.” She rose and threw her gown quickly over her head to ward off the chill of the air. Spring was here but it was still freezing outside and the sun wasn’t quite strong enough to burn through the frigid air. Her shift was much too thin to sleep in and Kyla longed for her flannel pajamas she had left behind.

“Mary’s been by about that this morning.” Jeanette answered, busy with her breakfast making. “She is finding another bed to put in here for ye to stay.”

Kyla looked around the tiny room. Where in the world would they fit another bed? “I don’t want to be a burden to you Jeanette. I think I might be well enough to go back home.”

Jeanette shot her head up at her response. “Weel why can’t ye stay a little longer Kyla? We still havena figured out what happened to you.” She said, staring at Kyla strangely.

“The people here don’t trust me. I feel out of place.”

“Och they trust ye well enough.” Jeanette managed the eggs in one hand and shooed her response away with the other. As if she could make it disappear with the swoosh of her hand from the air between them.

“I get the impression that Alastair doesn’t like me.” Kyla said dryly, reaching for the wooden bowls. She was attracted to him. He hadn’t tried to reach out to her since the day she pulled back from him.

Jeanette chuckled as she spooned the eggs into the bowls. “That’s a strange thing to say. He likes ye well enough. In fact he seems to have taken a great liking to you.”

“You could have fooled me.”

“Alastair is a strong man. Stronger than Colin and his heart is just as big. I’ve raised the two since they were lads. Alastair worries more than Colin. He’s got more responsibility ‘tis all.”

“He’s responsible for all the people here?” Kyla asked, truly wanting to know.

“Aye, fifty families depend on Alastair to keep them fed and sheltered. If it wasn’t for Alastair, most of us would have starved many winters.”

“How did he manage to keep them all fed?”

“Och, Alastair is a smart man. He kens when to sell the cattle and when to keep them for food. He takes cattle from the surrounding clans that have extra. He’s well known as a good man and people respect that.”

“Where are his parents?”

“Alastair’s father was killed by the British. His mother died shortly after that from the sickness. Alastair has been Laird for a long time.” Jeanette’s light violet eyes glassed over as she spooned the eggs into her mouth. Her mind was elsewhere, Kyla could see it.

“Are you his mother’s sister then?”

“Aye, I still miss her. But I’ve done well by her children.”

“Do you have no children of your own?”

“Nay, I got my sister’s bairns when she died, ‘twas enough for me. After Cameron passed, they kept me busy enough”

“Was he your husband?”

“He was, and a good man.”

“And Alastair, he never married?” Kyla wondered why Alastair had no wife. She thought him to be at least near 40.

Jeanette turned her eyes on Kyla, “It wasn’t in Alastair’s destiny to marry.”

Kyla thought a moment about destiny. If destiny was set, then why would she be here, out of her time?

“Jeanette, do you think destiny can be changed?”

“Aye, destiny can be changed.” Jeanette said without even thinking about it.

“What makes you so sure?”

“Because I didna see you lass. Destiny’s already been changed.”

Kyla slipped up the hill after breakfast and pulled out her journal and pen. She looked down at the little houses and the two stone buildings to her right.

She lifted her face to the morning sun and breathed in the crisp clean air. The sun warmed her face and a peacefulness she hadn’t felt before filled her.

1715
I don’t know exactly what day it is. I’ve lost all track of time. I find myself in a dream that I can’t explain. Living on MacFarlane lands in the year 1715 when I should be on my travels to America in the year 2003 has made me doubt my sanity. But yet, I’m here. I can see them and smell them. I can feel the straw beds and taste the fresh food. I have no other choice but to accept the fact that I am here.

Alastair MacFarlane is Laird here, the man I have dreamt about, which makes me wonder if this really is all a long, drawn out delusion. He’s different though, not the caring loving warrior from my dreams but a fierce fighter that seems to be completely unaware of me.

Jeanette is a kind lady, my friend. If not for her and Mary, I would be running back to England to find the Stone of Destiny and try to get back…somehow.

I believe it to be my…

Kyla saw a shadow move over her journal and she quickly closed it, shoving it into her pocket with her pen. She shaded her eyes against the sun to see Alastair standing over her with his head to one side and his arms folded across his chest.

“Good Morning,” Kyla said. She hoped he wouldn’t question her journal. She chewed on her nails nervously waiting for him to speak.

He had washed in the stream and his auburn hair was tied back at the nape of his neck with a black ribbon. He was a leader by looks alone with his broad shoulders and stern face. She rarely saw him smile and his forehead was always lined from worry.

Kyla felt butterflies in her stomach suddenly fly around when his green eyes bore into her. She shifted uncomfortably at his lack of speech.

He cleared his throat and finally spoke. “Kyla, I was wondering if ye’d like to meet some of the clan.” He shifted from foot to foot looking nervous, relaxing her nerves.

Kyla nodded and grasped the hand he held out to her to stand. She was taken back by the warmth of it as her cold hand slipped into his. So he was ready to talk, she thought.

“That would be nice.” She answered releasing his hand. She pulled her cloak tighter around her.