IntoEternity (27 page)

Quick to pick up on new things Duncan nodded and then after
a few more practice words he quickly absorbed how this new language worked. His
brow furrowed as he ran through a dozen words, changing them into the new
tongue. He stopped suddenly and frowned.

“What if you have a word like aye?”

“Then you just leave it how it is and put the
ay
at
the end…aye-Ay.”

They both laughed at how silly the word sounded.

“en-Whay o-day ou-yay ink-thay lexander-Aay ill-way ome-cay
ack-bay?” He asked, slowly stumbling through the words and sounding out each
one.

Gusty’s smile vanished and her heart thumped painfully at
his question. She found it hard to swallow past the lump that had formed in her
throat.

“Soon I hope, Duncan. Very soon.” Her gaze dimmed as
moisture began to form in her eyes. She opened them wide to keep the tears from
spilling and smiled whimsically. “Perhaps you should go practice your new
language and then later today we can have a long conversation in Pig Latin.”

“All right. I will see you later, Gusty.”

As careful as she was to hide her tears Gusty noticed Duncan
glancing back over his shoulder as he paused at the door. She waited until she
heard him leave before she raised her hand and wiped the tears that dribbled
down her cheek. She heaved a heavy sigh and prayed Alexander would come for
them soon. With every passing day she found it harder to believe they would
ever see each other again. Perhaps he had changed his mind in his long absence.
Perhaps while fighting the Vikings in the north he had found someone new and
more appealing and he might never come back for her. The thought made her
instantly heartsick and then she realized what she was doing and scolded
herself for her foolishness. She placed her hand over her abdomen in a
protective manner. How could she even consider something so outrageous?
Alexander loved her. She had to keep faith in that if nothing else. He loved
her.

To take her mind off the loneliness of her heart Gusty set
about preparing for her descent to take the evening meal in the great hall. A few
days had passed since she had last felt well enough to eat in the company of
others. She hoped she could make it through this evening without incident. If
Black Bart Sutherland was still away on whatever affairs he was about, his
bitchy little mistress would most likely keep to her room and remain absent
from the hall. The woman did her best to wreak as much havoc as she could
whenever she appeared below stairs.

Gusty looked forward to visiting with Katherine and
Bernadine, two of the new acquaintances she had made since she arrived. Surprisingly
enough the two sisters had turned out to be Black Bart’s daughters. She could
not imagine what woman would have the man in her bed. She had heard rumors that
the two young women were actually his bastard daughters. It made no difference
to her. They were both sweet and had been the first ones to show her true
friendship. But then again they had not been raised by their parent. They had
been made wards of the court as very young girls and were now betrothed to two
of the king’s favorite knights, both of whom had accompanied their liege lord
to the northern skirmish.

Violet entered the bedchamber and began to help Gusty
prepare for dinner. It wasn’t a special occasion by any means but still there
was a certain amount of decorum and formality they needed to adhere to when
invited to eat at the king’s table, even if he wasn’t in residence. As she
brushed and tamed Gusty’s wild curls into a long, fat plait that reached to her
waist, Violet used now-familiar hand signals to inform Gusty that Maeve and Hagen
had returned from their latest secretive excursion. Gusty knew the elderly
couple had a few odd quirks and had a tendency to disappear at the strangest
times during the years she lived with them but their strangeness had increased in
this century. Her “grandparents” had been so quiet and predictable in all her
years growing up but they had turned into regular gypsies. They never seemed to
have time to stay when they did come to visit her. They would disappear as
suddenly as they appeared to pursue one of their covert escapades. It would
indeed be good to see them once again. She was anxious to find out if they had
taken her suggestion and helped to find a wife for Donovan—a woman who would
win his respect and eventually his love. She must remember to ask if they had
found a likely candidate.

An hour later she made her way down to the hall with Duncan
as her escort. He had been acting as her page since they had come to court and
the arrangement turned out to benefit them both. He was allowed to stay in the hall
to wait on her at the table, where she slipped him bits and pieces of good food
while she in turn used his presence as protection against unwanted male
attention. The little rascal could make the biggest scenes to get attention
from the assembly when Gusty needed the watchfulness of others to help her
escape unwanted attentiveness from her tablemates.

The aromas that overflowed from the kitchen into the dining
hall were mouthwateringly delicious. The one good thing about being stuck in
Edgar’s castle was that she was treated like royalty, which included having
every meal prepared by the best cooks in the land. Her stomach rumbled as she
made her way farther into the already-crowded room. Thankfully her appetite was
returning. She hadn’t been down to eat her meals in some time due to her lack
of hunger.

It seemed every female in the Highlands had flocked to the
king’s residence when the war had begun but in reality they were all his wards
and their family members. Gusty felt as if she was at a boarding school. Only a
handful of nobles were left to see to their safety. They commanded the large
number of guards seated at the tables against the walls and at the entrance of
the hall, men who were there to keep rogues and outlawed clansmen at a
distance.

As she moved to a seat at one of the lower tables, Hagen and
Maeve made their way to her side. They had been buzzing around the room, no
doubt discreetly prying and making inquiries about the latest occurrences in
the surrounding community. Gusty’s polite smile, which she had been refining
these last few months, turned into a genuine grin at their appearance. She
found plenty of company here but she was always pleased when the two people
who’d raised her as their own came for a visit. Being in their presence felt
like going home again. Almost.

“Where have you two been? I have missed you so much!”

“We have been here and there.” Hagen hedged.

Gusty gave him a look meant to tell him she wasn’t pleased with
his evasiveness. He colored and looked away.

“Don’t worry about us, my dear. We have just been doing what
old folks like to do most.” Maeve moved closer and put her arm around Gusty.

Finding herself in her grandmother’s comforting embrace, Gusty
fought to keep from breaking down and bawling against the old woman’s bosom.

“What is it that old folk do exactly?” she asked softly.

“We have been visiting with friends we have not seen for a while.”

Gusty knew she wouldn’t get more so she let Maeve take her
arm and lead her to three empty seats at the table. They sat down to partake of
the sumptuous evening meal.

“How are you getting along here, Augusta? Is your maid
taking good care of you? How is the boy, Duncan, doing? Is he playing your
champion well enough?”

“Aye. Everything is as well as it can be, considering.” She
stopped and frowned at her words. Not until she spoke them did she realize just
how fortunate she was to have two such good friends in Duncan and Violet. They
were indeed taking good care of her. She had no real complaints about her life
at the present, except for the fact that she missed Alexander. “Aye, we are all
very well. Thank you for your concern.”

Maeve patted Gusty’s hand. “He will be back, Augusta, and
soon. Then you will find the happiness you so deserve.”

“Do you think so?”

“Aye, Gusty…sooner than you think,” Maeve said, then with a
wicked little smile she added, “But do you know who will be having a hard time
living happily ever after with his new wife?”

“Who?” Gusty asked, her interest peaked by the question.

“The young laird of Clan Ross,” Hagen announced before Maeve
could answer.

“Donovan? He’s married? Who? Who did he marry?”

“Nay, he’s not married yet but rumor has it he’ll be getting
himself shackled to a very lovely young woman once all our men return. Of
course it took a little help from Hagen and me to see to it he met the right
woman.”

“We took your advice, my dear. And a better bride could not
have been found for the mighty young laird—in this time or any other.”

He gave her a sly wink and it took Gusty a moment to
understand what he was saying. She glanced around to make sure no one was
listening.

“You brought her here? From the future? Oh. My. God.” The
thought that such a thing was possible blew her mind.

Why not? Look at me.

“Why do you say they will not live happily ever after? He’s
planning to marry her is he not? He must have found something about her that he
liked.”

“They are destined to fall in love, silly girl. But it will
be a rocky beginning. Laird Ross is not the only one in the match who has a
stubborn streak. His intended is a willful one and he is going to find himself
baffled as to how he will handle her.”

“Oh,” Gusty muttered for lack of anything better to say. She
supposed love wasn’t always what one expected. Happiness was an elusive
emotion. She was finding that out. How awe inspiring to discover she had been
instrumental in bringing two people together. Two people from totally different
backgrounds and centuries.

Bernadine and Katherine came bustling across the hall. The
young women, Black Bart’s non-identical twin daughters, were related to Gusty
by marriage and she was pleased to have them as relatives. “We just wanted to
come and ask how you were doing, Lady Augusta. You have not come down to the hall
these last few days,” Bernadine began. She was a lovely young woman, tall and
slender with dark brown hair and moss-colored eyes. Her cheeks were always
blooming with color, an eternal blush.

“Bernadine wanted to visit you in your room but I thought
perhaps it was best to let you have some private time. Still we have both
missed you very much,” Katherine concluded. As pretty as her sister was, but
shorter and more curvaceous, she had blue, blue eyes, the color of a northern
loch. Her chestnut hair ran to red and sported wild curls.

“That was thoughtful of you. Won’t you sit and sup with us.
I have missed you both as well. Please be seated. I would like you to meet my
good friends, Maeve and Hagen. They are here for a short visit. Maeve, Hagen, I
would like you to meet Bernadine and Katherine. They are cousins of Alexander.”

Gusty caught the startled look that passed between the two
elderly people as the two young women found vacant seats on the bench across
from her and she wondered what they were thinking.

“Augusta, you do realize who these lasses’ father is, do you
not?” Maeve asked.

“Of course I do. Bart Sutherland. They have not made a
secret about it.”

“And their mother? Did they tell you who their mother is?”

Gusty glanced at the two young women who had their heads
together whispering and pointing at someone down the table from where they sat.
“No. I guess I didn’t think it was important. Is it?”

Maeve glanced at Hagen, who gave the older woman a slight
shrug.

“Nay. Perhaps it matters not. All three of you are after all
in a similar situation.”

Gusty knew exactly what she meant. They were all confined in
this household of women and they all missed their men very much. They also had
a common foe living in the king’s residence—a widowed woman who happened to be
Black Bart’s mistress. Brigitte Urquart was a lying, deceitful witch. That was
the consensus of not only Gusty and the girls but of nearly all the young women
in the household. The woman usually stayed in her room unless Bart was at court
and thankfully he remained absent.

“Bernadine has news from the north,” Katherine began once
they had gotten settled across the table from Gusty.

“You catch up on the news, my dear. Hagen and I have
business to attend to. We will come and visit with you later.”

Maeve took hold of Hagen’s arm as he was about to take a
bite of his bread and pulled him from the bench. They disappeared across the
crowded hall. Gusty smiled and shook her head at their odd ways before she
turned back to her friends.

“What have you heard?” she asked, her excitement barely
contained.

“There was a terrible battle. A very important conflict,”
Bernadine said, her voice low and dramatic. “The clans took the field, pushing
the Vikings back farther than on previous encounters. Blood colored the ground
and death was everywhere.” She paused and glanced at her sister.

“Tell her the rest, Bernadine,” Katherine urged.

“The messenger said the day dawned dark and gloomy. Storm
clouds hid the sun and rain fell in torrents, filling the streams to flooding
and making it nearly impossible for all the clans to fill the battlefield. Only
half the number of warriors made it to the king’s side, while many were trapped
beyond the swelling streams. A bad omen indeed. Bad enough that even the most
stout-hearted believed death would find them before the day was over. Edgar
feared they would lose all that day.”

“What happened?” The question was but a breath across Gusty’s
lips.

“As they took to the field, your Alexander was at Edgar’s
right. The Ross and your father, Laird Sinclair, were at his left and they
charged onto the moor. They fought like the berserkers they faced. The battle
was long and hard and bloody, gruesome, in fact. There were many who lost their
lives. But toward the end when the victory could have fallen either way, the clans
were given a sign, a reprieve.”