Chapter Twenty-Nine
It was some time before Brianna was ready to leave the bedchamber. Exhaustion and fatigue hit her hard and she slept for what seemed like days. She was vaguely aware of Jamie’s presence coming and going, the bounce of the bed as he lay next to her or got up.
She woke up once in the middle of the night, ravenous. But she was still too tired and too cold to climb out of the bed and leave the warmth of the covers and send Jamie to find food. Instead, she burrowed deeper and slept some more.
While she slept, she dreamed of the battle she’d witnessed at the castle ruins, the battle that had seemed to rage on around her with the strange winged dark creatures that poured out of the Realm of Chaos to destroy any and all life.
After days, morning light pressed against her eyes.
When she opened them, she found she was alone in the bed.
The hearth hosted a cheerful, flickering fire.
Jamie’s tartan was draped over one of the chairs in front of the fire.
His boots were on the floor in front of it. But he was nowhere to be found.
Perhaps he was wandering the keep.
She was glad to wake alone so she could think.
She did not know what had happened to Rory MacDonald or his glowing great axe.
Nor did she know what had happened to Bruce or John MacDonald.
Were they still here in the past? Or had the shifting of the timeline sent them back to the present where they belonged?
And what of Clan Sinclair? She was certain she had seen the laird fighting against the MacDonalds and the dark creatures moments before she grasped Jamie’s hand and chanted the words.
They’d fled her mind. And though she recalled standing on that stone, sensing the Triple Goddess’s power deep inside her, she did not remember the words.
Brianna pushed to a sitting position, gazing around the bedchamber. It was a mess. Clothes were strewn about. Hers. His. She glanced down to see she wore a simple shift. Her modern clothes were gone.
She slid to the edge of the bed, draping her legs over the side, trying to get the energy to stand up, to find the rest of her clothes, and to escape this room.
She needed food. Her stomach rumbled and cramped.
As her feet hit the cold stone floor, the door opened and there, standing in the doorway, was Jamie.
He paused to gape at her, clearly surprised to see her up and about. She admired his handsome, youthful features. She liked his chiseled face with the sharp lines and the rugged angles. His doe-brown gaze softened as a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.
Those dimples did things to her.
Once she had thought he was far too young for her. Now, she was certain he was perfect for her. And yet he was promised to another.
“Good morrow, lass.” He pushed the door closed behind him and stood a moment, as though admiring her. “I’m glad to see ye up.”
“Me, too,” she said and her voice was raw and raspy from nonuse. She cleared it, gazing about the chamber but saw nothing to drink.
Sensing her need, he stepped to a table near the fire and poured a cup of water. He brought it to her. She took it, grateful for the cool liquid against her inflamed throat.
“Thank you,” she said.
She held the cup between her cold hands, watching as he kneeled, and set about rekindling the fire. She watched the way the muscles worked in his back underneath his tunic.
“Evie tells me you never left my side.”
She didn’t know why she said it. But she had to find out his true feelings for her. She was uncertain how to proceed with questions about Margaret MacDonald. The cold, frigid bitch, as he’d called her.
He stilled, his back going straight and rigid. Then he dropped a bit of peat on the fire and brushed the nonexistent dirt from his hands.
“Aye, I did.” His voice was low, sultry.
“I’m glad you did.”
He rose to his full height and turned toward her. She realized then he stood barefoot. His pants were dirty and his tunic was sweat-stained, as though he’d just completed a workout. He reached for his tartan to wrap around his waist.
“Ye gave us all a fright when we found ye in the bailey.”
Her hand tightened on the cup, her fingers cramping. “How long ago was that?”
“Four days.”
So, she had been in and out of consciousness for four days. She had no idea how she ended up there but she assumed the Triple Goddess dropped her there when the timeline was altered.
“Do ye recall what happened?”
He moved closer to the bed, perching on the edge an arm’s length away, as though he wanted to keep his distance, yet still be close. She wished she knew how their relationship had changed in light of the new events. Were they intimate as they were before?
She shook her head. “The last thing I remember was falling to the ground and then nothing. I must have fainted.”
It was as close to the truth as she was willing to get.
“I’m glad yer all right,” he said, his words sincere.
Her gaze met his and something deep inside her twinged. She realized she was desperately in love with him. But now was not the time to tell him that.
She thought of the ruins where everything happened. They weren’t far from Dundale. Only about an hour’s ride.
“Jamie, do you think we could go for a ride later?” she asked.
“A ride?” He lifted a tawny brow, the corner of his mouth tipping into a half smile.
“Yes, I need some fresh air.” And the best way to get that was to ride out from Dundale. Plus she had an ulterior motive—she wanted to see the castle ruins on the beach where everything went down.
“Of course, we can. I’ll have yer horse saddled.”
At least that was still a thing for her in this time.
But his face creased with an expression that told her something was off.
Worry lines appeared at the corners of his eyes.
He plucked the cup from her and set it aside, then took her hands in his, shrouding her in his warmth.
She relished the way his roughened hands gripped hers.
“There’s something ye should ken, though, lass.”
Hope bloomed in her chest. “Yes?”
“On the morrow, things will change for us.”
Her brows drew together. “What do you mean?”
“I have behaved badly.” He wouldn’t meet her eyes. Worry clanged within her. “But I found yer charms to be irresistible.” Glancing up, he gave her a sheepish grin.
“Oh.” She stared at him, her heart throbbing madly.
So that must mean they had been intimate and now he had to confess his sins. She decided to go easy on him. “I know about Margaret MacDonald.”
His head snapped up, his eyes wide and round. “Ye do?”
“Evie told me.” Now was her chance. She had to tell him how she felt about him. “Jamie—”
“I shouldna have led ye to believe we had a future together, when I ken the lass was my betrothed.”
“Oh,” she said on a breath.
“I dinnae have a choice, though.”
Fire flashed through her. “You do have a choice. You don’t have to marry her. Break off the betrothal.”
He looked at her as though she’d lost her mind. “I cannae.”
He didn’t offer an explanation and truthfully, she wasn’t owed one. The back of her throat burned hot with tears and threatened her eyes. She swallowed hard to keep them at bay.
“I understand.”
“If ye dinnae wish to ride out together—”
“I still do.”
Because she wanted to relish every last free moment she had with him while she still had the chance. Tomorrow, everything would change.
*
After he picked up his things and departed, Brianna pushed herself out of the bed and dressed.
She wasn’t all that good at it, but at least she got the woolen gown over her head.
She pulled on woolen stockings and her shoes and then took a comb to the tangles in her hair. She wasn’t having much luck.
A knock sounded on the door. She called for them to come in. Roslyn poked her head in a moment later. When she saw what she was trying to do, she entered the room with a huff.
“Och, lass, ye’ll rip out all yer hair doing that. Let me.”
She took the comb from her hand and pointed to a nearby chair. She sat and waited while Roslyn took her time removing tangle after tangle, heaving heavy sighs all the while.
“Roslyn, do you know Margaret MacDonald?”
Her hand stopped moving for a moment. Then, she said, “Aye.”
“What do you think of her?”
She snorted. “A bit of a snob, if ye ask me. And ye did.”
Brianna smiled as the woman continued to pull knots from her hair. “I understand she and Jamie—”
“Och, aye. I dinnae like it one bit. She’s no’ the lass for him. Even if she is bonnie.”
There was that hope again, blooming in her chest.
“Too high and mighty for our Jamie,” she continued. “He needs someone grounded, smart, and, o’ course bonnie, too. Someone who can calm him. He’s a bit of a rogue.”
She wanted laugh, but kept it in. “Sounds like you have someone in mind.”
Roslyn stopped combing and stood still behind her. The only sounds in the bedchamber were that of the crackling fire and Brianna’s breath. When the woman didn’t respond, she tipped her head back to look up at her.
“Do you?” she asked.
“It’s no’ my place to say, lass.” Then she went back to removing the last of the tangles. “But…” She paused again. “If I were to say, ’tis only one lass who can give the young lad the balance he needs.”
Her mouth went dry as she waited. Roslyn leaned down and dropped her voice low.
“Tell him before it’s too late, lass.” She straightened and put aside the comb. Then, with a smile in her voice, “Now, let’s get this mess of hair under control.”
*
Once Roslyn was finished braiding her hair, she sent her out of the room while she tidied up and changed the bed linens.
She ventured out of the room and found it was on the same level as Jamie’s and the others’.
She followed the curved staircase down to the great hall.
That’s where she found Evie and Chloe. The men were nowhere about.
Evie jumped to her feet. “Bri, there’s something you need to see.”
Without waiting for a reply, Evie took her hand and dragged her from the great hall.
Chloe fell in step behind them. She led her straight to the tapestry room where the door was ajar.
Evie pushed it open to allow the light from the hallway to slash inside, illuminating the walls and the four-poster bed that dominated the center.
“We came in here for the first time today,” Evie said. She stepped aside and motioned her inside.
“What is it?”
Brianna moved into the room and immediately her heart was in her throat. She glanced around the walls at the tapestries. They were nothing more than woven textiles with a damask design.
Gone were the enchanted images that shimmered. No more Evie, Chloe, or Brianna within the silken threads showing their arrival in the past. No more Triple Goddess standing on a craggy hill. No more threat of MacDonald and his glowing great axe. No more Night of Shadows. No more Shattering.
Just as the world had shifted and changed, so had the tapestries.
Brianna stared at the hangings. She glanced down at her hand with the fading lines from the keystone.
“So. It really did shift.”
“Yes,” Evie said.
She and Chloe moved to stand on either side of her, staring up at what was once their past, present, and future.
“I don’t know why I’m surprised,” she added.
“We were surprised, too,” Chloe said.
“I guess we can’t call it the tapestry room anymore, can we?” Brianna said.
Evie laughed, but it was a humorless sound.
“No, I guess not. Hamish brought me here when he wanted to convince me about the prophecy and the magic of the keystone. Callum remembers his father dying of natural causes. I remember him dying of a deep wound from MacDonald’s great axe.
He was insistent that I convince Callum the prophecy was real. ”
“It was real, Evie,” Brianna said. “For you, me, and Chloe. It was real for us. Nothing can take that away from us.”
“I only wish the Triple Goddess would have explained this to us before…” Chloe motioned toward the blank tapestries. She puffed out a breath as she dropped her hand to her side.
“Me, too, Chlo,” Evie said.
“But would it have changed anything?” Brianna asked. “The timeline still had to be shifted if it were to save this world and the men we love.”
“I suppose you’re right,” Evie said, though she sounded as though she didn’t like the thought one bit.
She hooked her arm in Brianna’s. “Come on. Let’s get something to eat. I’m starving. And so is the baby.”
She grinned brightly as she placed her free hand on her round belly. She was getting bigger. Soon, they would welcome a new baby into this world.
“And me, too,” Chloe added. She pressed a hand against her abdomen.
Brianna blinked surprise. “You, too?”
With a sheepish grin, Chloe nodded.
Brianna hugged her hard. “I’m so happy for you. For you both.”
Unbidden, tears sprang to her eyes. She blinked them away furiously, but her eyes still burned with them. Once again, Evie hooked her arm in hers. They started out of the room they once called the tapestry room.
“You should tell him how you feel, Bri,” Evie said.
“Yes, before it’s too late,” Chloe added.
The same thing Roslyn had told her. Her only response was to nod. Though she wanted to, she was also afraid to tell him. The last thing she needed was a broken heart.