Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
Ailith and Teagan had spent the rest of the afternoon making poultices and drinkable herbals with the bog myrtle, and Ailith was grateful she had reached out to Teagan for that reason, in addition to learning about her voyage into the past. Bog myrtle evidently cured a variety of concerns. She forgot to ask about the carline.
She decided not to mention anything regarding Teagan’s time travel. Not that she didn’t trust William, but it was a lot to take in, and it wasn’t her story to share. If needed, she’d tell him in the future. Right now, though, she vowed to keep Teagan’s secret.
As William headed toward home, he admitted that Teagan had been correct about the place where they might plant the mushrooms.
“I’d like to plant these tomorrow before they start to die off,” Ailith told him as she patted her satchel. She had left some with Teagan, but plenty remained to be transplanted and propagated.
“I promised Uncle Cormag I’d go with him and Robb to collect rent from the crofts. But we will pass close to here –” He paused, mulling over an idea.
“And I would plant while ye waited, or . . .?”
“I’d rather see if Wee Brian or Muire might come with ye, but I could leave ye here and pick ye up on the way. Or might ye reach out to Teagan to join ye?”
“I can plant on my own,” Ailith told him with a bit of a pout. Did the earlier interaction with the Keith man still have him on edge, or was it not common to let a woman plant in a field by herself?
Probably both.
“But if ye prefer, I can ask Teagan to assist me, if I need it.”
His warm breath blew against the back of her head as he exhaled hard.
“I dinna care for it, but I understand how important these puddock-stools are to ye. And Teagan lives a ways from anyone else. Ye should be safe enough. We’ll no’ be too long, aye? Ye’ll leave when I return for ye? No hesitation or question.”
This was the first time he had been, well, strict with her, demanding her obedience. Did he know something she didn’t? Or was there an underlying danger she had not considered?
Probably both, she thought again.
But he was willing to let her work, so at least she had that, and if it meant planting in short spurts or having someone else with her, so be it.
“Do ye have the wee sgian-dubh I gave ye?” he asked suddenly.
Ailith shifted in the saddle, feeling the weight of the knife press against her thigh where it was tucked into the top of her stocking. The fact that he asked about it gave her pause.
“Aye,” she answered. “I’ve carried it since ye gave it to me.”
“Good,” he replied far too ominously for Ailith.
“I shall ask Teagan to accompany me,” she told William – anything to put his mind at ease.
And the prospect of spending more time with her sent a thrill of excitement through her chest. “She was interested in the stools I left her and would be more than willing to join me.” That was a truth – Teagan had been interested.
“Mmm,” was all William answered. “I dinna care for her isolated living, but she does seem to have a breadth of knowledge she was willing to impart. She appears kind enough and able to be on her own. Having her with ye should suffice.”
He didn’t seem convinced, but she was thankful he met her halfway.
Plus, she had her wee knife. After seeing the confrontation between the Keith woman and her violent husband in Stonehaven earlier, Ailith had a sharp realization of how fortunate she was in William and relaxed into his warm embrace as Drumoak rose in the distance.
The sun had burst through the midday clouds when they arrived at Teagan’s cruck house.
William despised leaving Ailith with a near stranger – it seemed so contrary to his role as her husband and protector. While he knew she did a fair job protecting herself, he did not feel confident letting her traipse around the Highlands without him. What manner of husband did that?
One who trusted his wife. And knew a secret about her that few would ever comprehend.
Most days, he did not give her secret, her impossible secret, a single thought.
Moments like this, however, when he acknowledged her fighting skills or her breadth of knowledge, he realized she was probably fine on her own.
At least for a short time. Not too long. Not only for her safety, but because he couldn’t stand being away from her for too long.
Robb had given William a questioning side eye as Ailith disappeared behind the door.
“Ye are leaving your wife here?” he asked, gazing dubiously at the small croft.
William agreed with Robb’s implied opinion on that, but he shoved it aside and nodded.
“She has a friendship with the woman, and the woman has knowledge of herbs that Ailith desires to learn. ‘Tis good for the clan if she has this knowledge.”
He was making excuses, but they were valid excuses.
Robb pursed his lips and led his horse back to the path toward the bordering MacDougal lands. William followed with Lugh and a final glance over his shoulder.
“I’ve heard the Eire woman is a bit peculiar. I would no’ permit my wife to do such a thing without me.”
William barked out a laugh. Och, ye have no idea what peculiar is. “Then ye have much to learn of women, Robb. Ye may believe ye are the final rule in your house once wed, but ye are mistaken.”
“What do ye mean by that?”
William grinned as they made their way to the first set of MacDougal crofts.
“Do ye believe women to be quiet and submissive, doing all their husbands command?”
“Aye. As it should be.”
William had to bite back another barking laugh. “Have ye no’ seen Muire, Sine, or better, Caitir, ever? Who does Cormag listen to above all? Who is the only person to have ever held dominion over my own father?”
Robb shifted uneasily in his saddle. “Weel, ‘tis different . . .”
William socked his arm. “Nay. ‘Tis no’ different. Ye will see. She lets ye believe ye have command, but at the end of the day, if she is a wise and solid woman, she will show ye the way. A fortunate husband knows there is no greater gift than a willing wife. And a smart husband knows that listening to his wife will get him that gift.”
“Och,” Robb snorted. “Ye are wed all of five days and think ye are the expert of wives?”
“She’s had me in the palm of her hand since the day I met her, and because of her words, we were able to take down a king. Do ye think I dinna know of what I speak?”
William nudged his horse faster, leaving Robb sputtering. From behind him, he heard Robb curse. “Ye baistard know-it-all.”
The sound of the horse hooves increased behind him, and William urged his horse on, racing to stay ahead of Robb. If they were fast enough, they’d finish with the assigned rent collection in less than two hours and be back for Ailith before the sun crested the sky.
Teagan had brightened as Ailith stepped into her house, and Ailith had the sense that, no matter what Teagan said about preferring to live in solitude, she seemed a bit lonely.
Ailith was pleased to bridge that loneliness and spend time with her.
And she learned some valuable information about how to use herbs.
The pair left the croft shortly after Ailith arrived to take advantage of the sunnier skies to plant the mushrooms. Teagan had been curious about the spore-spread disease of the twenty-first century and how these pinkish small mushies could combat such a devastating disease.
With her inquisitive gaze, she studied the one she held between her thumb and forefinger.
“I’m no’ certain. The scientists did no’ go into too much detail,” Ailith admitted to her. “But it could have something to do with the choking nature of this fungus. It takes over other fungi and kills them.”
Teagan nodded. “That makes sense. I wish we had something like this to combat our flu. Was it as bad as it seemed when I left?”
Ailith was not as familiar with modern American history, but she knew that the flu got worse at the end of the war. It had for the whole world.
“Aye, it was,” Ailith answered. “Until the end of the war in 1918.”
Teagan’s face turned grim as she squinted at the mushroom she carried. “Then let us propagate as many of your mushies as we can. I’d not see your time ravaged like mine was.”
Teagan had brought two small hand spades for digging, and once they reached the pile of stones that William had mentioned, Ailith showed her the best place to plant them – near the grass and moss on the shady northeast side of the rocks.
Then Ailith showed her how to use the spores and brush them over raw earth, how to plant the cap, how to check if tiny roots were sprouting at the base, and, if so, to plant that separately.
With severe concentration, Teagan listened to Ailith’s instructions and went to work, planting the different parts. Between the two of them, they worked quickly, and before long had all the mushrooms Ailith had brought repurposed, and hopefully, growing north of Dunnottar.
As she dug into the earth, she had to push tall, purplish-pink bell-shaped flowers to the side. They were pretty, and in a moment of self-indulgence, she uprooted a bunch of them. They would brighten the room, and she could plant them around the keep.
Teagan clicked her tongue. “What are ye doing with the flowers?” she asked in a terse tone.
Ailith glanced at the flowers, then back to Teagan. “They are quite pretty. I thought of planting them around Drumoak. At home, they attract hummingbirds –”
“And death,” Teagan interrupted with a snort. “Dinna do more than plant those far from food or children. ‘Tis digitalis.”
“Och, foxglove?” Ailith asked.
Teagan nodded. “Aye. And ye know what can happen if ye eat them, accidental or otherwise?”
Ailith stilled. “Should I no’ plant them at Drumoak?” She hadn’t known foxglove was that dangerous! Then again, she’d never researched it. They didn’t exactly have the Internet here.
“Just be careful with them. If ye like the pretty wee things, then plant them or put them in water in your room. But only for looking at, aye?”