Chapter 8
CHAPTER 8
D anielle sat in her small room. There wasn't much to do during the day at the castle. Despite the welcome she'd received from the Laird, she wasn’t sure if she was a guest in the castle, or what. She wondered why they'd had someone guarding the magic door. Were they afraid the witch would bring a threat to their door? A spy? From what she recalled, the MacLeods and MacDonalds had a rivalry that reminded her of the Hatfields and McCoys. Did they think the witch would bring through a spy?
She didn’t want to think about what would be done to her if they falsely accused her of such a thing. Did they even allow a solicitor to stand up for the wrongfully accused? She hadn't asked Maria about that when she'd spoken of her husband being not only the law but also the judge and jury.
Danielle had known since she was eleven that she wanted to be a lawyer and worked toward that. It was why she had worked to graduate high school by age sixteen. She hadn’t seen a point in waiting around until later to start college, especially when school was so easy. The organization and use of logic thrilled her. She loved that she could read and read and soak in information, and then use that information to make sense of things that thrilled her. She loved it.
She loved everything about the law. It was why she had been able to defend her clients so passionately. She believed in the justice system and how it worked. Of course, there were things she didn't like, such as getting a wife beater off with probation, or a case thrown out because the arresting officer had failed to read the man his Miranda rights, but for the most part, she loved it.
So having to defend her career choice to the women here was depressing. She'd argued with Sarah over it just this morning. The interaction had left her frustrated and seeking the quiet of her room. That was several hours ago, and she was starving now. She'd skipped lunch because she didn't want to go down to the dining hall and get into another argument, so she'd stayed in her room.
She thought maybe she could sneak down to the kitchens and ask Heigl for a small snack before dinner. Maybe she could even request to have dinner in her room. With that in mind, she went to her door, but when she opened it, she ran into Eva, who stood on the other side with her fist raised as if to knock.
“Eva, hello. What's up?” Danielle asked.
Eva laughed. “What's up? I've not heard that in a while. I thought that if you didn't have plans for dinner, you might want to come to our quarters and join us,” Eva said.
“Really? That would be cool; thank you. I'm really hungry. I missed lunch. Breakfast was a good while ago, and I'm not sure I ate all that much,” Danielle said.
"I thought I'd missed you in the dining hall." She smiled.
"Did you cook dinner yourself?" Danielle asked.
"No, no. Heigl and her kitchen staff always see to dinner, but I often have it brought up to us in our quarters so we can eat in private with Mary and sometimes a few friends."
"I see." Danielle followed her down the hallway, up the stairs to the next floor, and down another hall.
Soon, they entered what looked like a small apartment with a sitting room and three other doors, two of which were closed. A table made of strong wood sat off to the side of the room already set with a large bowl of piping hot stew and a platter of bread.
Danielle noticed three men already seated at the table, along with a little girl who bounced in her seat. It took her a moment to realize that one of the men was Graeme, and she was secretly thrilled that he was joining them. Then she recalled that he was the little girl's uncle. She figured the other man, who was quite a bit younger than him, must be his brother.
“This is my husband, Finlay, and our daughter, Mary,” Eva said.
Finlay stood and gave her a nod. "Welcome." He was tall and blond, with a trimmed beard and gray eyes.
“Hello, it's nice to meet you, Finlay. I’m Danielle.”
"Hi Lady Danielle," Mary said, waving at her.
"You, of course, already know Graeme,” Eva said as Mary got up and bounced around the room.
“Hi, Graeme,” Danielle said, blushing.
Graeme stood and moved toward her, taking her hands in his. "I am glad you joined us."
The way he looked into her eyes had butterflies taking off and fluttering up to her heart. "I am, too," she murmured.
"You look lovely today in that dress," he said, keeping his voice soft as Eva went to stop Mary from bringing her books to the table.
"Thank you." Danielle blushed again.
“This is my brother, Danny,” Graeme said, gesturing to the young man at the table.
Danielle looked at the young man, who shared Graeme's looks, including his vivid green eyes. His auburn hair hung to his shoulders. He was much thinner than Graeme, and he still looked very much like a gangly teenager. "Nice to meet you, Danny."
"And you, Lady Danielle," Danny said from his seat at the table.
“Here, Danielle. Why don't you take this seat?” Eva said as she gestured to the chair next to Graeme's.
"Thank you, Eva." She took her seat, and her stomach grumbled at the scent of the food. "Oh, goodness. This all smells so good, do excuse my ravenous stomach."
"Brought your appetite with you, did you, lass?" Graeme chuckled.
"It seems I did." Danielle felt her cheeks heat again.
"Mary, come take your seat next to your father."
"Aye, all right, geez." Mary skipped over to her seat.
Danielle giggled.
"Mary, love, why don't you say the blessing for us?" her father asked.
"Do I have to?"
"Aye. If you wish to eat the food, you do," Finlay replied.
"Ugh. Fine. Bless us, oh Lord, and these thy gifts which we are about to receive from thy bounty, through Christ, our savior, Amen."
"Amen," Danielle murmured and then looked at Eva. "Are you all Catholic?" she asked as Finlay dished out the stew.
"The Catholic church is very prolific here. I wouldn't say we are particularly religious, but we are teaching Mary the prayers, and we attend services when we can."
"The church has been known to send witch hunters to Dunscaith, so it's best if we go along with their teachings so they have no reason to persecute anyone," Finlay answered.
"Dunscaith was built by a witch, did you know?" Mary asked.
"I did," Danielle replied, taking a bowl from Finlay.
"She's not like that mean one from the Wizard of Oz story Eva told me, though. She's a good witch like Glenda."
Danielle turned to Eva, her eyes wide. "You told her the story of Wizard of Oz ?"
Eva rolled her eyes. " You try entertaining a five-year-old." She laughed.
"My favorite story is The Goonies," Mary said matter-of-factly as she licked her fingers.
Danielle laughed. "That is a good one," she agreed.
They began to eat, and the conversation moved on to lighter things. Danielle felt Graeme's eyes on her through most of the meal. It gave her a feeling of excitement, and she turned and smiled at him often. She was so curious to know more about him and his life, but she didn't want to ask him in front of his family, especially knowing that he wanted to forget his past. She understood part of that, considering what his father had done, but that wasn't his fault. She loved listening to the camaraderie among the three men at the table, and for the first time since she'd arrived in the past, she felt accepted.
“So, Danny, are you in school, or do you also help out the Guard here, too?” Danielle asked.
“Aye, I am training with them and hope to find my place with them,” Danny said sheepishly.
“That must be quite fun. I would love to see this training at some point,” Danielle said very interested in how the Guards conducted.
“Aye, sometimes it can be, when I'm not getting the blunt end from the other Guards,” Danny said as he dipped a piece of bread into his stew and stuffed it into his mouth.
Graeme shifted in his seat, and his breathing picked up as though he didn't like hearing that information.
She looked at Finlay, who wore a stern look after listening to this as well. “Is it some sort of trainee hazing?” Danielle asked. When she saw the rest exchange awkward looks, she knew something else was going on, but no one was willing to elaborate.
“Doubt it,” Danny said as he continued to eat while the others seemed very tense.
Graeme quickly changed the subject. "Lady Danielle, how have you been enjoying your stay here at Dunscaith?"
“I must say that I'm starting to enjoy being here now that I've gotten used to some of the things that are not quite as modern as they are in my time. I miss my shower and microwave, but this place has its advantages.” Her eyes darted to Graeme and then down as her cheeks heated.
“I would give my left arm for a shower like we had back home," Eva agreed.
"What is a microwave?" Finlay asked.
"It is a machine that cooks food nearly instantly. Pizza, popcorn, Hot Pockets, burritos… oh golly, I'm going to miss burritos!" Danielle declared.
"Hot Pockets sound as though they might be nice in the winter months," Danny said.
“Indeed.” Graeme smiled.
Danielle met his eyes and laughed. "No, no. It's a type of food, a folded thin bread around gooey cheese and meat with a sauce. They are very good."
"I seem to recall we had heated hand warmers, too. You know what I'm talking about, right, Danielle? Those little packets?"
"Oh yeah, those would come in handy here, I bet."
"We stay fairly warm in the castle." Eva grinned. "Especially cuddled up in front of the fire." Her eyes went to Finlay, and they shared a smile.
Suddenly, Graeme grabbed a hunk of bread, slammed it into his stew, and then ate it, startling Danielle with the ferocity of his actions.
"Uncle Graeme," Mary laughed, "you're eating like a wild beast!"
Graeme chuckled and then roared, his hands curling into makeshift claws. "Aye, and this beast is hungry for little nieces!" He half-stood, a light sparkling in his eyes.
Mary shrieked, jumped up from her seat, and ran around the small sofa in front of the fireplace. "Don't get me, Uncle Graeme!"
"Rawr!" Graeme called out as he stalked her around the sofa. When he caught her, he picked her up, set her on the sofa, and tickled her until she cried out for him to stop.
Danielle thought the whole thing was adorable, and she loved seeing this side of him.
"All right, you two, that's enough,” Eva called over. “Come back to the table and finish eating.”
It was the best meal and evening Danielle had had since she could remember.