The Empire and the Wolf King (Kaitlyn and the Highlander #21)

6. Chapter 6 - Kaitlyn

CHAPTER 6 - KAITLYN

NIGHT AT SIDDALL’S FARM - 1775

A fter dinner in the waning light of dusk, one of the Siddall sons, carrying a pile of blankets in his arms, led us out to the barn. The door was flung open and the scent of animals wafted over us. My nose wrinkled, I thought, Oh, great, keeps getting better.

We were directed up a ladder to the hayloft.

Magnus grabbed the blankets, said, “Thank ye,” and we were left to climb the ladder in the darkness. I climbed first, no easy feat because I was exhausted, was wearing big skirts, and was unpracticed. I made it into the loft.

There were piles of hay and a small open window keeping the air cool and fairly fresh. I crawled around spreading hay with my arm, as the ladder creaked and groaned under Magnus’s weight. Before he emerged he tossed the blankets up, and I started spreading one out over the hay while he hefted himself off the ladder into the loft, like a walrus flopping onto a dock.

He pulled himself to the blanket and collapsed. “I am asleep already.”

I bit my lips. “Uh oh.”

“Why?” He raised his head.

“I have to pee.”

“Och nae.” He laughed.

“Don’t you worry about it, I will be right back.” I swung my leg over and began climbing down the ladder, but my foot slid off the rung five from the bottom and I slid, “Whoa!” down three, catching hold with my hands and thumping my chin on one of the bottom rungs. Ow.

Magnus called down. “Ye okay, mo reul-iuil?”

“Yes, just not… ow, bumped my chin, that’s gonna bruise — another bruise, great.” I rubbed it. “…just not very good with this whole ladder thing. Back in a minute.”

I stalked over to the barn doors, pulled up the wood crossbar, and looked back at our hayloft. Magnus’s head was over the side, looking down. He said, “I daena like the idea of ye out of m’sight.”

“It’s fine, we’re in the middle of Colonial Virginia and I’m going to use the outhouse. No problem.”

He groaned, hefted himself up, and started climbing down the ladder.

“You don’t need to come, my love, I got this.”

“Nae, I must, I can think of twenty-seven different ways ye can come intae trouble in Colonial Virginia at dusk on the way tae the outhouse.”

My eyes went wide. “Really?”

“Aye.”

I joked, “Is that because of the graceful way I climbed down the ladder?”

“Ye dinna climb, ye slid, and tis more about the wolves and zombies.”

“Oh right, the colonial zombies.”

We left the barn and strolled down the path toward the outhouse at the edge of the yard. We passed one of the brothers, with a simple nod, and pointed at the outhouse. He nodded back and kept walking.

The outhouse was putrid and there was, of course, no toilet paper. I relieved myself and then stood watch while Magnus went in, sort of ruining the whole point of him being my guard.

I watched lightning bugs dancing around at the edges of the field while Magnus pissed and then when he emerged from the outhouse we both watched them flicker and flit. He put his arm around me and I put my head on his shoulder. “It’s a beautiful night in a strange world.”

“Aye, sleepin’ on someone else’s land.”

I kissed him and we strolled back to the barn.