Chapter 17
CHAPTER 17
S he hadn’t been quite sure what to expect when Amelia came to collect her for the dinner. It seemed like a strange tradition, and she felt oddly nervous about the idea that the whole thing had been arranged for her benefit specifically. She also wondered if she should change her clothes. As much as she’d been glad to put on her jeans and her favorite jacket that morning because it made her feel more herself in a strange place, the effect of wandering around the castle all day in an outfit that made her stick out like a sore thumb had been creeping up on her. Amelia had assured her that the Keep’s residents were more than used to seeing oddly-dressed women wandering their halls, and it was true that she hadn’t encountered any more animosity than a few curious lingering glances — but still, she was aware that she stuck out in a way that wasn’t going to be sustainable.
And so Amelia agreed to help her try out some more period-appropriate attire for the evening. She’d been right to guess that the woman was the same size as her, though she was quick to explain that size wasn’t too much of an issue when it came to the gowns — the benefit of so many parts being laced up was that most things could be adjusted for size. The downside, of course, was needing help to get dressed. Still, Amelia was more than happy to play that role for now, and when she finally stepped back and announced that Lissa was done, she was surprised by how comfortable she felt in the thick skirts.
“This is — wild,” she said, swiveling her hips to make the full skirts swish across the floor. “You’re right, I can move way better than I thought I’d be able to. Do I look the part?” She grinned, gathering the skirts and sketching a deliberately clumsy curtsey to Amelia, who laughed.
“You look great. Your husband’s a lucky man,” she added, waggling her eyebrows suggestively — but she quickly dropped the teasing when Lissa’s expression shifted. “Sorry. Probably too early to joke about all that. Is it weird?”
“It’s definitely weird,” Lissa acknowledged. “Not because of Niall, he’s been — well, he’s been a diplomat.”
“Funny about that.”
“But yeah, it’s weird. Was it weird for you?”
“I think it was weird for all of us, for the first little while,” Amelia said thoughtfully. “But — I don’t know. It’s hardly the weirdest part, right? Talk to the others about it, if you like,” she added, gesturing to the door. “I bet they’ll have more wisdom than I do.”
The dinner was held in the Dining Hall, a large room where all the clan gatheredAmelia. And sure enough, there were more than a dozen women there at the high table, most of them already seated, talking and laughing over glasses of wine and a few bowls of bread that had been set out as appetizers. She was surprised to see so many ages represented — there were a couple of women at one end of the table who looked to be in their forties or fifties, and at the other end of the scale a few girls who had to be in their early twenties at most. But they all welcomed her with the same bright, infectious warmth — and when she sat shyly down at the table with them, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of belonging.
“Introductions!” That was Fiona, tapping on the side of a wineglass with her spoon. “Time to deluge this poor woman with a bunch of names she won’t remember.”
Lissa laughed along with the other women, glad to have been absolved of a responsibility she was dreading. One by one, the women introduced themselves, and told a little of the story that had brought them to the Keep. Again, Lissa found herself stunned by the impressive variety among them — not just of age, but of profession, of background, of history. There were scientists and scholars, academics, and writers — there were medical professionals, including a trained midwife and a trauma nurse, and even a child psychologist. But not everyone had a college degree. One woman with a devilish glint in her eye proclaimed herself to be the world’s most successful jewel thief — and from the reactions of those who’d said they worked in law enforcement, Lissa ascertained that this wasn’t a joke. When Amelia’s turn came, she was surprised to learn that her new friend had been a professional fighter before she’d been lost in time. No wonder the two of them got on so well.
And then it was her turn to share her own story. The wine had helped ease her nerves, as had the friendly, convivial atmosphere, and despite her usual aversion to public speaking, she found herself quite enjoying the storytelling experience. The women were particularly amused by the part of her story where the combination of a stressful week and a disappointing breakup had driven her to impulse-book a holiday to Scotland.
“I hadn’t thought much about it before now,” she found herself saying, frowning. “But — was that part of the magic, too? I mean, what are the odds that of all the places in the world I could’ve ended up, it was the Weatherby Hotel? I mean — same for all of you, right? It can’t be a coincidence that we all ended up halfway across the world.”
“I think you’re right,” said one of the women — Marianne, Lissa remembered, who had dark hair and sharp, fine features and had been a telephone psychic back in the future. “The magic that brought us through time — I don’t doubt it started working on all of us long before we actually got to Scotland.”
Thoughtful nods from the circle of women, though one or two of them didn’t seem particularly convinced. “There’s a few theories,” said Scarlet, the self-proclaimed jewel thief, with a twinkle in her eye. “I prefer to think it’s all a big, ridiculous coincidence — but that’s just me.”
“However we got here, I think I speak for us all when I say we’ve all found great happiness here — and we hope the same for you.” That was Audrina, whose dark red hair was shot through with gray.
Her story had been short and deceptively simple — she’d mentioned only briefly that she’d been the first of the time-lost women to have found herself here in Scotland. Lissa couldn’t imagine how hard that would have been. Even with Amelia’s help in explaining what was happening to her that first night, she felt like her head had almost exploded with it all — to have gone through all of this alone was unbelievable. The other women raised their glasses too, and the whole group drank a toast, which made Lissa feel a pleasant combination of self-consciousness and gratitude for their kindness.
The rest of the evening was much more informal. Food was served, and Lissa ate hungrily, happy to listen to everyone else’s stories while she made up for having skipped dinner the night before. Her interest was piqued by discussions of the anti-Scottish bigotry on the part of the English — Amelia had been filling in a couple of the women on where things stood with the negotiations. More than a few of their stories had involved Lord Weatherby and his estate, Lissa had learned — it made sense that they had a personal interest in what was going on.
“I think that’s been the most shocking thing so far,” Lissa said, shaking her head. “I mean, prejudice is never rational or sensible, and it’s not like America doesn’t have plenty of problems on that front, but… I mean, it’s just ridiculous. The English are on Scottish land — and they act like the locals are savages for objecting to that?”
“It’s true,” Delilah agreed. She’d explained that in the future she’d been a historian with a special interest in folklore — she was probably the closest thing the group had to an expert on the history they’d all been so abruptly plunged into. “I think it was a lot worse than any of us had expected — myself included.”
“But it’ll change,” Amelia said, clearly determined not to let the mood turn somber. “We’ll make sure of that.”
That was all the segue they needed into a discussion of Lissa’s plan to join Hamish, Amelia, and Niall in giving their testimony at Lord Weatherby’s manor. Scarlet put in a word of caution against underestimating the English’s capacity for sneakiness, something Lissa very much appreciated. Overall, she was pleased that nobody tried to talk her out of it, or suggest that it would be too dangerous. Based on their stories at least, she had a feeling she was in a room full of like-minded women… women who were more likely to chase down a solution to a problem than to hide away wringing their hands. Women like that had to have each other’s backs.
She was exhausted by the end of the evening, but unwilling to cut the conversation short — in the end, Amelia caught her hiding a yawn one too many times and bustled her off to bed. On the walk back through the dark hallways of the Keep — she was a little shocked by how late it had gotten — she made a point of thanking her new friend for her support.
“Thank you, seriously. You’ve made all of this — well, not less crazy, I don’t think that would be possible — but you’ve made it so much easier to deal with.”
They’d reached the door to her quarters — Amelia gave her a quick hug, smiling. “I’m glad I could help,” she said simply. “See you tomorrow, right?”
“Right! Training! Can’t wait.”
She took her time extracting herself from the gown, trying to put the pieces down in order of the way she’d put them on. And this time, when she finally slid into her bed, there were no racing thoughts to distract her from falling almost immediately into a deep, restful sleep.