A Bridge Through Time: Book 1 of The Thistle & Hive Series (9 page)

Irene led Ashley down the passageway to Cailin’s room. Opening the door she said, “I’ll be back for ye, when it’s time to come downstairs for the evening meal.” With that, she was gone.

Ashley hesitated in the doorway, suddenly self-conscious.
Get it together, girl! You’ve just spent two days and a night with him. Now’s not the time to be shy.

He was lying in bed, covered to his waist by a pile of furs. And he looked amazing. His muscular chest was bare and Ashley’s breath caught in her throat as she gazed at him. She wanted nothing more than to lie beside him and rest her head on his massive chest.

“Ashley, are ye well, lass?”

“Mmm…” In his presence, she couldn’t seem to find her voice.

“Is something wrong?” He raised an eyebrow in question.

“No. No, nothing’s wrong. I’m fine.”

“Are ye sure? Ye look like ye might faint.”

This time, she noticed the amused glint in his eye and realized he was teasing her. He knew she was admiring him and was practically preening with the knowledge.
Damn.
She was going to have to remember not to be so obvious about her attraction to him.

“Irene said you were feeling better. It looks like the healer got you all bandaged up. I guess it wasn’t as bad as we originally thought, thank goodness.” She walked closer to the bed, smiling nervously and he reached his hand out to grab hers. He pulled her closer still.

“Look at that. Is that real fur? I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like it. It’s very luxurious.” Ashley was babbling and he was obviously enjoying her discomfort. Too late now. He knew she was attracted to him; she’d made it far too obvious.

“Ashley, please sit.”

“Okay.” She sat on the edge of the bed.
Is it hot in here?
She felt herself blushing and resisted the urge to fan herself.

“I wanted to thank ye again for carin’ for me.”

“It was my pleasure.”

He was smiling at her again. Would it be wrong to just lean over and kiss him? He had the most beautiful lips and… oh, my God, she was staring at them. Breaking her gaze from his, Ashley only succeeded in babbling some more.

“I’m kind of nervous about going downstairs. I feel like I don’t belong here. Everyone was looking at me as if I came from another planet.”

“‘Tis fine, lass. Just tell them yer from America. They dinnae ken where it is either. They’ll ken that ye be different.”

“Cailin, I have to ask you a question.”
How was she going to ask this? She should just do it. So what if he thought she was crazy? She thought she was crazy.

He smiled encouragingly. “Ask me whatever ye like.”

“What year is it?”

Obviously puzzled by her question, he answered, “1514.”

“I’m sorry, did you say 1514?”

“Aye, lass.”

She felt the room beginning to spin.
Breathe, Ashley, breathe.
He’d said it was 1514. How could that possibly be true?

_*****

Cailin was concerned by Ashley’s reaction when he answered her question. She was anxious, her eyes widening in shock. He thought she might fall off the bed, so he wrapped his arm around her waist to steady her.

When she spoke, her voice was very small. “Cailin, you’re going to think I’m crazy, but I don’t know how I got here.”

“Surely ye remember? I brought ye to Breaghacraig. We rode the horses together.” Worried about her reaction, he tried to joke. “I had not thought ye daft before, but mayhap I was mistaken.” Just in case she couldn’t tell he was joking, he winked at her.

“That’s not what I mean.” She was chewing her bottom lip and seemed distressed. “It’s not just that I’m not from this place. I’m not from this
time
. I’m from the future, Cailin. I’m from the 21st century. Five hundred years from now.”

Cailin frowned. “Did ye hit yer head, lass? Yer nae making sense.”

“No, Cailin, just think about it for a minute. You don’t understand half of what I say. You’ve never heard of America. My clothes aren’t what women wear in your time. Just think about it! And another thing that’s weird - I’ve seen you before,” Ashley admitted, before she lost her courage. “In San Francisco. You kept showing up, everywhere I went. It was you, wasn’t it?”

“I’ve never been to this San Francisco, Ashley. I don’t know how it could be me ye saw.”

Cailin watched Ashley, as she grew more and more distraught. She stood up abruptly. “I can’t stay here. I have to go. How do I go back?”

“Ashley, love, dinnae fash. I will help ye if I can. I hate to see ye looking so sad. I’d do anything to see yer smile again, to see the lass I’ve just spent the last two days getting to know. Mayhap we should speak with Irene about it.”

“Oh, no, I don’t think I should tell anyone else. They’ll think I’m crazy.” She was frantic, twisting her hands together nervously.

“Ashley, just give me some time and I’ll take ye back.”

“You’d do that for me?”

“Aye. I owe ye me life.”

“Oh, thank you, thank you.” Relief flooded through her and she sat back down to give him a hug.

Cailin wrapped her in his arms and breathed in the scent of her hair. He brushed his lips across the top of her head, just as Irene knocked on the door and peeked into the room. She tilted her head and with a raised eyebrow, gave her brother a disapproving look as he gently pushed Ashley up and out of his embrace.

“Come, Ashley, ‘tis time ye met the rest of the MacKenzie Clan.”

Ashley stood up and gave Cailin a look of sheer desperation.

“I’d join ye if I could, lass, but Irene would have me head, if I dared to rise from me bed before she gave permission.”

When she still didn’t move, he said, “Ye’ll be fine. Irene will see to ye, and me brother Cormac will be by yer side as well.” He gave her an encouraging smile and she turned and left the room, with Irene leading the way.

FIFTEEN

Cailin thought about disobeying his sister’s orders, but he knew better than to cross her. She was a gentle and kind woman to be sure, but not one ye wanted to rile. As he rested, he thought about the beautiful young woman he had brought home to Breaghacraig. Despite the fact that she was different from any woman he had ever known, Cailin found himself very attracted to her. He hadn’t been able to get her out of his thoughts since he had been ordered to stay abed. He didn’t know what to make of her being from the future, but it was true; she was certainly out of place here. He would talk to his sister about it, despite Ashley’s concerns. Irene would know how to handle the situation.

Whenever Cailin had suffered from woman troubles in the past, he had always sought Irene’s council. She gave him good advice and he usually followed it. He’d had his share of women over the years, but nothing had ever been serious and his more pressing concerns were usually avoiding an entanglement that might lead to marriage. Especially if the lass didn’t understand, that he wasn’t offering marriage.

He wished he were downstairs, sitting next to Ashley as she met the rest of the clan. He could tell she was frightened to be without him, and while he enjoyed the thought that she needed him, he didn’t want her to be nervous. His brother, Cormac, would do his best to make her comfortable. Cailin scowled. That better be all he did. He hoped Cormac knew that Ashley was his woman. Cailin had known it from the moment he met her, and he would do everything he could, to convince her to stay at Breaghacraig with him. He didn’t want her to leave, of that he was sure.

*****

Downstairs, Cormac met Irene and Ashley as they entered the great hall. There was a group of children waiting there for them, as well.

Irene introduced Ashley to her children. “This be wee Robert, Isobel, Fiona, and Brian.”

“I’m very pleased to meet you.” Ashley thought they were beautiful children and they seemed so well behaved. The oldest looked to be about nine years old and the youngest perhaps two.

“Have ye eaten?” Irene asked them.

“Aye, mother.” They all chorused in unison.

“Ye’ve met our guest, now off to bed with ye. I’ll be up later with your Da, to check on ye.”

They all kissed their mother affectionately and dutifully marched up the stairs to their rooms.

“Lady Ashley, I’d be pleased to escort ye to yer seat.” Cormac gave her his arm and Ashley gratefully accepted it. As they walked towards the head table, Ashley made up her mind to try to relax and enjoy the experience. After all, how many people from her time could say they had experienced dinner in the sixteenth century? In her life in San Francisco, she had always loved the opportunity to put on a pretty gown for an event or party, and here she was, wearing the most beautiful gown she had ever seen. Heads turned as she walked by, some out of curiosity and some looked at her with appreciation for her beauty.

“Thank you, Cormac.” She smiled up at him, as he held her chair out for her.

“‘Tis me pleasure, Lady Ashley.”

Lady Ashley? Where did that come from? Just play along,
she reminded herself. Cormac sat in the chair to her left and Irene sat on her right.

The room was filled with Highland warriors, each one seemingly taller and stronger than the next. There were women and older children here and there throughout the room, sitting amongst the men. She assumed they were the wives and families of these fearsome-looking warriors. Servants were busily moving among the tables, providing bowls of water for people to wash their hands. A bowl was placed in front of Ashley and she looked around to see what everyone else did with it. Following suit, she dipped her hands in and washed them. A cloth was presented to dry her hands, which she did. Handing the cloth back to the servant, she thanked him.

A very tall, very good-looking man entered the great hall. He had long dark brown hair, which fell past his broad shoulders. He was dressed very much like the other men in the room. He wore a plaid draped over his shoulder, fastened by a large gold brooch embedded with emerald stones in a Celtic design. The man strode towards Ashley and took her hand in his. “Ye must be Lady Ashley.” He smiled warmly at her, with deep brown eyes and dimpled cheeks.
Wow. They sure knew how to grow them in 16th century Scotland,
Ashley mused
.
Every man she’d met so far, with the exception of Thomas, had been stunningly handsome. She smiled back at this good-looking gentleman, as he continued with his introductions. “I be Robert MacKenzie, laird of our clan.”

“I’m pleased to meet you, Laird Robert.”

He raised her hand to his lips. “Please, call me Robert. I hear we owe ye a debt of gratitude for saving our Cailin.”

“Well, he saved me first, so I think we’re even,” she blushed.

“I thank ye, Lady Ashley.”

“Please, if I’m to call you Robert, then it’s only fair that you call me Ashley.”

“Ashley, ye are welcome here among our clan and ye will stay here under my protection for as long as ye wish.” With that pronouncement he came around the table to Irene and leaned over, lovingly kissing her cheek and taking her hand as he took his place beside her at the center of the table.

A parade of servants brought food to the tables. There was pheasant, venison, rabbit, and an assortment of vegetables and bread. The delicious aroma caused Ashley’s mouth to water. Wine was poured into goblets placed in front of each person along with trenchers for their food, which was served family style. Trays were laid on each table and everyone helped themselves to their favorites.

Cormac must have noticed that Ashley was a bit overwhelmed. He started filling her plate with an assortment of various items. He explained what everything was, and then he handed her a small knife. “I almost forgot. Cailin told me to give ye this Sgian Dubh.”

She accepted the jewel-encrusted knife and glancing around, noticed everyone was eating with a combination of their hands and their knife. She did as they did, thinking of the time she’d gone to a medieval dinner and show in Las Vegas. This was kind of fun, but it would be more fun if Cailin was sitting beside her.

From the corner of her eyes, Ashley could see Irene and Robert were deep in conversation. They watched each other adoringly as they spoke. It was apparent they were very much in love. Ashley was a little bit envious. She’d never been fortunate enough to enjoy the gift of an adoring mate. No one had ever looked at her in the way Robert and Irene did. Not even Dax.
Of course, he’d never looked at her that way, because he was a complete idiot and a cheater
, she thought sourly.

“Those two are like a couple of moon-eyed puppies when they’re together,” Cormac chuckled, seeing where her attention was concentrated. “Married ten years, can ye believe it?”

“They’ve been married for ten years?” Ashley exclaimed. Irene couldn’t be much older than she was. Then Ashley remembered where she was. It wasn’t unusual for a girl as young as fifteen years to wed. Life could be short and certainly difficult in this era. People took happiness where and when they could find it.

“What of ye, Lady Ashley, do ye have a husband where ye come from?”

“Please, call me Ashley and no, I don’t have a husband.”

“Are ye a widow then?”

“No. Women don’t marry until later in my… country.” She caught herself before she said ‘time’.

“America?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

“Tell us of America, Ashley.” Their conversation had caught Robert’s attention.

“Okay.” She wasn’t sure what to tell them, but thought as long as she didn’t get too specific, it should be alright. “I live in a small apartment in the city of San Francisco, California.”

“San Francisco, ye say?” Robert asked.

“Yes. It’s a big city. Like London. Thousands of people live there,” Ashley explained.

“Thousands… The laird of San Francisco must have a very large castle,” Cormac chimed in.

“No. No castle and no laird,” Ashley said.