CHAPTER 32
It was a few days before Chloe felt up to leaving the bed.
Fatigue hit her hard after their ordeal in the hands of the MacDonalds and then the subsequent surgery.
Malcolm was by her side every moment of every day and night, bringing her food and seeing to all of her needs.
It was rather embarrassing when he insisted on helping her to the garderobe but she found she didn’t have much energy to get there alone.
Finally, when she was ready to leave, Malcolm fetched Roslyn to help her dress. She was looking forward to getting out of the bedchamber. Plus, she still wanted to tell Evie the good news—that she and Malcolm were going to be married.
“’Tis good to see ye up and around, lass,” she said. “Yer sister has been mighty worried about ye.”
“I’m doing much better, thanks. I’m ready for some fresh air.”
“So long as ye dinnae overexert yerself,” Roslyn warned in a motherly tone.
It struck her, then, how much the older woman reminded her of her own mother. It made the sting of loss surface with a fierceness she hadn’t expected. Maybe that was why Evie liked spending so much time with her in the kitchen—because she reminded her of their mother, too.
Roslyn helped her dress, taking care with her healing shoulder. Chloe stuck the piece of her keystone in her pocket, determined to keep the thing on her from now on. The woman gathered up the rest of her clothes for washing and headed for the door.
“Roslyn, has there been any news of Jamie?”
She stopped and turned to face her, the sorrow creasing her face. “Not a word. His lordship sent several of his men back to MacDonald keep, but it was deserted. Apparently, there was a fire that destroyed most of the castle.”
More guilt. It was going to take some time for her to get over that. “No word on where they went?”
She shook her head. “None. I pray he returns to us soon, though.”
“I pray for that, too,” she said and meant it.
She wondered if the stronghold was too damaged for them to stay. She hadn’t meant to burn it down—it truly was an accident. And, as a historian, it pained her to see the fortress go up in flames by her own hand. If they did flee to someplace else, maybe they took Jamie with them as their prisoner.
Roslyn turned back to the door and opened it. When she did, Evie was on the other side. Her face was alight with excitement, her cheeks flushed pink.
“Chlo! You won’t believe it. You have to come to the tapestry room!”
She rushed in and grabbed her by the hand, tugging her toward the door. She gave an apologetic glance at Roslyn as they both rushed out of the room. The woman merely grinned and gave a low chuckle as if the occurrence was not out of the ordinary.
She followed her sister’s hurried steps down the stairs, through the great hall, and finally to the room they were calling the tapestry room. The door stood open. Candles blazed brightly in their holders. Evie tugged her inside and paused in front of the wall hangings.
All the images were the same as the last time she was here, but there was one in particular that was different. Previously, it had had nothing more than a faint image of a woman’s silhouette, faceless with the wind blowing her hair to one side.
Now, this tapestry clearly showed the woman’s face with eyes the color of a winter morning, long sun-kissed auburn hair, and golden skin showing hours of sun worship.
She was tall, thin, curvy. She was beautiful with high cheekbones, pointed chin, full lips.
Freckles dotted the bridge of her nose. She wore a white gown that billowed around her.
Her feet were bare. She stood on the edge of a craggy hill with one hand clenched by her side.
Chloe stared at it a long moment and then sucked in a breath.
“Brianna?” she asked.
“Yes! Can you believe it?”
“No,” Chloe said, and meant it. “Do you think this is right?”
“It’s never been wrong.” She marched to the wall of tapestries. “Before you arrived, this image appeared.” She pointed to the one of her falling through time with Bruce behind her. “And this one showed me falling from the sky to the ground after I arrived.”
Chloe moved toward the wall hangings to get a closer look. She glanced from the one of Brianna to the one with the Triple Goddess. The one with the three of them standing on the craggy hill with Moira’s hand glowing.
“It looks like she’s standing in the same place as they are.” She motioned to the first tapestry. “Her hand is clenched by her side. Do you think she’s holding her piece of the keystone?”
“She’d have to be, don’t you think?” Evie examined the first tapestry Chloe indicated. “You’re right. It looks like she’s standing in the same place as the Triple Goddess.”
Chloe looked closer at the one with Brianna. She thought she saw new images bleeding into the fabric next to her. As though ink had been spilled and it was slowly spreading along the textile.
“Look at this.” She pointed to the smear. “What do you suppose that is?”
Evie narrowed her gaze as she stared hard at it. She shook her head. “I don’t know. It looks like new images are appearing next to Brianna.”
Chloe didn’t want to say it but she suspected those new images next to their sister were them. Brianna represented the future. If what they were looking at was the future, then wasn’t it plausible she and Chloe would be standing there with her?
“Maybe we wait and see what comes of that,” Evie suggested.
“Yes,” Chloe agreed. She made a mental note to return later to look at the tapestries to see if they had changed.
She decided now was as good a time as any to tell her sister her news. She reached for her hand, grasping it in hers.
“There’s something I want to tell you, Eve.”
She turned to her. For a moment, concern flickered over her face. “Are you going to tell me something outlandish like you’ve decided to go home? Because I don’t want you to. I want you to stay and—”
“No,” Chloe said, interrupting her. “I’m not going to tell you that.”
Her brows drew together. “Then what?”
“Malcolm and I are getting married.”
With a squeal of delight, Evie flung her arms around her neck and hugged her tight. “I’m so happy to hear that!” She pulled back, holding her at arm’s length. “And I can’t wait to start planning it.”
“We haven’t picked a day yet.”
“Doesn’t matter. Wait until I tell Roslyn. She’ll be beside herself. In fact, I’m heading to the kitchen to help her,” Evie said. “Do you want to come with me? She’ll love to hear the news from you.”
She hooked her arm with Chloe’s. They started for the door.
“We can tell her later. I was hoping to go outside for a breath of fresh air. I’ve been cooped up for a while and I’d like to stretch my legs.”
“The kitchen can wait then. I’ll come with you.”
Together, they left the tapestry room behind and headed through the great hall to the door.
Outside, it was a cool, crisp morning. Chloe regretted not grabbing her cloak.
Evie didn’t have hers, either. Clouds dotted the sky with the threat of rain.
There was a hint of dampness in the wind, something Chloe recognized from her time in Edinburgh—it definitely smelled like rain. Perhaps even snow.
She paused to take in a deep breath, closing her eyes to enjoy the brisk day.
A shout rose up from one of the guards on the wall. There was a rider coming.
Chloe opened her eyes to see Malcolm and Callum hurrying from the stables.
“Who is it, laddie?” Callum called.
“A lone rider, my lord,” he called back. “A man. He looks injured. He’s slumped over the horse headed for the gate.”
“Open the gate,” Callum said.
Evie and Chloe hurried over as the portcullis rose.
Moments later, the rider came through, the horse at a slow walk.
When he entered the bailey, he pulled the horse to a halt.
He practically fell out of the saddle. Malcolm hurried over to catch him before he landed on the ground. He turned the man over in his arms.
“Jamie?” Malcolm eased him to the ground and knelt next to him.
She, Evie, and Callum were at his side in an instant. His face was dirty. His clothes torn. Dark circles were under his eyes. His breath was shallow as he leaned heavily against Malcolm.
“Are ye all right?” Malcolm asked. “What happened?”
“Tired,” he muttered. “It’s been a long road to get here.”
“I’ll fetch some water,” Evie offered and scurried away.
Relief pounded through Chloe as she moved to stand next to them. But it wasn’t enough to assuage the guilt of leaving him behind in a burning building.
Callum knelt next to them, concern creasing his features. “We came back for ye but the MacDonald keep was deserted.”
“Aye,” Jamie said, his voice rough. “With the fire in the keep, there was chaos. They left me in the chamber alone, my hands bound. But I managed to get the ropes off.”
He held up his hands. His wrists were raw and red where he’d struggled to get free. There was that guilt again, banging around inside her. She felt wholly responsible for everything that happened to him.
Evie returned then with a water skin. She handed it to Callum, who helped Jamie take a long drink. When he was finished, he waved him off. When Evie saw his mangled wrists, she gasped.
“He needs medical attention,” she said.
“I’ll heal, lass,” Jamie said, as though it were nothing more than a scratch. Then he glanced back at Callum. “I managed to find a chamber maid. Asked her to get me to the stables. I stole a horse and tried to get out, but someone shot me in the leg.”
He pulled up his breeches. There was a bloody mark where the arrow lodged in the meaty part of his calf. Dried blood caked his leg. He’d pulled the arrow out, leaving behind the point. Chloe knew from her own experience how painful that was.
“So, ye were captured again,” Callum said.
He nodded. “The fire was too far gone. They let it burn. MacDonald and the household headed for one of his other strongholds in the northern part of the isle. When we camped, I decided to make my move. I stole a horse and managed to get away.”
He lapsed into silence, leaning heavily onto Malcolm. He blew out an exhausted breath.
“My lady wife is right. Ye need medical attention. Let’s get him inside. Evie, will ye fetch Dougal?” Callum said.
Nodding, Evie hurried ahead of them to find Dougal, leaving Chloe behind. While she was relieved the younger MacLeod was home, she knew he had a long road ahead of him. He had a lot of healing to do.
And so did she.