Chapter 46
KAITLYN
I AM TRYIN’ TAE BE ROMANTIC
We were all gathered in the Great Hall having a breakfast of bread and cheese. Sean stuffed a bite in and said, “Now that we own the place, I expect the food tae get better. The gifts will be grander, aye?”
“Ye ken if ye went with me tae the kingdom, ye could hae all ye wanted.”
Sean chuckled. “Och nae, Young Magnus, we are decided, ye canna keep talking on all of this. Ye wanted us tae help ye run yer kingdom? Ye just added Balloch tae yer kingdom, yer brother and sister will take care of yer castle as we planned!”
Magnus laughed, “I guess that is one way tae think of it.”
“And so m’point is, as ye are getting all ye wanted, ye will be bringing grander gifts?”
“Aye, I suppose I will.”
Lizbeth came up. “I hae been at the lykewake for hours.”
She slathered butter on a slice of bread.
Hayley winced. “Do you need help there, I mean... I really don’t want to go, but if you need my help...?”
She said, “Daena worry, there are plenty of women tae keep watch. I winna press ye intae service.”
Magnus said, “Good, because tis a beautiful day and we are goin’ for a ride in the woods, as I promised, but afore we go, has someone checked the chapel?”
Sean said, “Aye, the window was destroyed, ye ken? Och, twas difficult tae see.”
“Did the family Bible and the register make it through?”
He nodded. “We hae put them away safe.”
“I am relieved.” Magnus exhaled slowly. “We lost a great deal yesterday — the head of our household, the roof of our keep, the glass, the pride of our family chapel. Tis a verra small win that our family’s historical record made it through, but a win all the same.”
We were all on horseback. Fraoch and Hayley were on their horses, Thor and Gatorbelle. Archie was on Mario. Jack would ride with Magnus on Dràgon, and I was on Osna. And I was going to have Isla with me, but then Isla said, “I want tae ride with Uncle Frookie.”
“With me, lass? Och it warms my heart, did ye hear it, Hayley, our niece wants tae ride with me!”
“I heard it, you will be crowing about it for weeks.”
Isla grasped his hand and was heaved up onto the horse. She said, “I hae tae ride with Uncle Frookie, he gets sad when he thinks nobody likes him.”
“Tis true, I also hae the cookies in my pack.”
She said, “I saw you put them there.”
He laughed.
We rode from the gates of Balloch, headed across the fields toward the woods with Haggis running alongside our path. The morning sun sparkled on the still-wet leaves and grass and in the short distance I could see the flashing shine of the river Tay.
The fields around us were a deep emerald green and the sky above the blue of a day cleaned by rain, reminding me of Magnus’s banner, the green on the bottom, the blue of the sky.
In the castle the smell of smoke had clung to everything, but out here the field smelled fresh, underscored with the earthy scent of rain-soaked soil. It almost smelled how Magnus’s banner looked.
I watched Magnus’s back, shifting as he rode. He leaned down to say something to Jack, who was pointing with his chubby baby hand up at the sky. I almost wanted to ride up and interrupt and ask what they were talking about, but I also wanted to enjoy the view. It made my heart warm.
God I loved that man.
Isla was chattering away with Fraoch, Archie was riding ahead with Haggis and then returning. And even from a distance and from the side I could see the proud gleam in Magnus’s eyes.
I watched, taking it all in, with the rhythmic creak of leather saddles and the soft squelching clop of horses’ hooves on the muddy track. As we came to the woods, Magnus turned to show me Jack’s sweet head, heavy on his arm, he had fallen asleep…
We followed the path into the woods and the air grew cool and damp on our faces and then Fraoch said, jovially, “We are nearin’ where we intended tae surprise ye, Kaitlyn, dost ye need us tae do it again?”
“Nope, I have it all right here,” I patted my heart. “I am still incredibly surprised.”
Magnus said, “I am glad tae hear it, ye must keep rememberin’ that, and remindin’ yerself that I am tryin’ tae be romantic, and perhaps ye can stave off yer disappointment.”
I said, “I think you already told me what this is.”
“Aye, forget that until we get there, then I will tell ye again and ye will think tis amazing.”
I laughed to myself as we continued on. Small water droplets flicked off overhanging branches, the gentlest of reminders of the storms of last night.
Finally Magnus said, “We are here. Dost ye recognize it, Archibald and Isla?”
Isla looked around like she didn’t, but said, “Of course, silly,” all the same.
Magnus said, “Did ye call me silly, Isla?”
“Yes, Da, ye are the silliest of everyone, you brought us out into the woods to get a branch.”
Magnus said, “Isla, twas a secret!”
She said, “Ma, you didn’t hear me, did you hear me?”
I said, “I did not hear you. I have no idea what is happening.”
We all climbed down from our horses and Archie showed Isla the seedlings that they had planted a few months before, now a foot and a half tall.
I said, “If you think about it, this forest remembers us. It’s got baby trees we planted, and when we are in our kingdom it has a large forest that came from these trees. ”
Magnus said, “And many of these trees I planted years ago. Some I planted centuries ago.”
Fraoch said, “Is this it, tis why ye hae dragged us out here? Tae stand around and talk on memories and trees and beg us tae commend ye on yer romance?”
Magnus pulled a small axe from a pack on the side of Dràgon, and looked up at the branches of the trees around us. “I am going tae cut a branch, tae get a piece of wood, tae carve a heart.”
I teased, “Oh, surprise!”
He chuckled. “I already told ye!”
“I cannot remember if I’m supposed to be surprised or to know already.”
He laughed. “I am going tae carve m’wife a heart like ye had when we lived at Kilchurn years ago.” He kept looking up for the perfect branch, with Isla and Archie also looking up. I wished I had a camera because they looked so intent and funny.
Archie said, “What kind are we looking for?”
Magnus showed with his hands. “About this long, and about this big around.”
Then Fraoch said, “What about this one?” He reached down and pulled a branch up from the leaves of the forest floor. It was the exact same size and shape that Magnus had just described.
Hayley burst into laughter.
“But then I canna use m’axe.”
“Yer axe?”
“Aye, so m’wife can see m’muscles rippling when I use it. That is part of the romance.”
“Og Maggy, if tis all about using yer axe, I think we can cut off this end here. And then we can move ontae the next task.”
Magnus huffed, but he was doing it all in jest for the kids. “What dost ye think Isla? Tis the right size and shape?”
Isla said, “It is perfect for the carving of the heart, Da, it has enough room for all our names on it: Archie, Isla, Jack and Baby Bubba-butt.”
Hayley said, “Who the hell is Baby Bubba-butt?”
Isla said, “Mammy’s next baby, it is not a girl like I wanted, so I get to name him, we decided.”
Magnus laughed. “Good lord, Isla.”
Hayley raised her brow. “Is this true?”
I scoffed from my spot sitting on a rock. “No, none of it is true, I am not pregnant and Isla is not naming a baby Bubba-butt.”
“Good, because we already have a ton of babies, I’m exhausted.”
Isla said, “You’ll see, Mammy, won’t she Da?”
He grinned. “Aye, Isla, she will see.”
Hayley sighed. “I guess we do have a little room for more nieces and nephews, no one was riding on my horse today… so fine, I agree, we can have another baby nephew.”
Isla said, “Another vote for Baby Bubba-butt!”
We all shook our heads, mostly in amusement.
Archie was investigating the branch. He said, “Da, I think this one is good, and it does need a chop here.” He pointed at the end with some small twigs and leaves. “Ma can still see you use your axe.” He said it with total innocence about the why of the whole conversation.
I said, “How about I watch your Da show you how to use the axe? That would be very fun for an old mom like me. Fills my heart with love to see Da with his bairns, it almost gets me excited for a new baby, almost. But… I tell you all… I’m not pregnant, I would know.
” I looked down at Jack, snoozing in my arms, “Besides I still have a baby.”
Jack opened his eyes, looked up at me with a big smile, and... farted.
Fraoch burst out laughing, leading everyone into a full hilarious laugh break.
I changed Jack’s diaper, especially challenging in the great outdoors while he was excitedly squirming to be a part of whatever Archie and Isla were doing.
Then I held him in my lap while Magnus showed Archie how to swing the axe and cut the end off the branch in two swings.
Finished, Magnus tied the branch to the back of his horse and joked, “Well, there we go, m’romantic gesture is done. ”
Fraoch said, “Ye arna even goin’ tae carve it? Ye are just taking a big stick for later, och nae, Og Maggy, I daena think ye ken anything about romance.”
I said, “I think this might be the most romantic thing he’s ever done.”
Magnus said, “Ye either hae a short memory or ye are lyin’ tae make me feel better, but importantly, dost ye like yer surprise, did I do well with yer gift?”
“Oddly, my love, you did great, I loved the surprise, you did perfectly with the gift. I think this will be one of the gifts I will always remember.”
Fraoch said, “I will always remember it as well, ‘Og Maggy,’ I will say, ‘Remember that time ye made me travel 300 years tae the past with yer bairns, tae sleep on the floor and watch yer castle burn and tae go tae the woods with ye tae pick out a stick?’”
Magnus laughed, “Och nae, Fraoch, ye arna ever goin’ tae let me live this down.”
“Tis true. I will be telling this story in front of the hearths of castles in the eighteenth century, on our deck in Florida, and at the kingdom in the twenty-third century, and there is the point, Og Maggy: ye won yesterday, dinna ye?”
“I did, Fraoch, we all did.”
Then he said, “All right kids, let us load up and go dig up our vessel.”
Hayley, Isla, Jack, and I sat on a rock in front of the tree near the stone circle, while Haggis ran right up to the spot where the box was hidden and sniffed around, tail wagging as if saying, here it is!
Magnus said, “Ye are a good boy, Haggis, ye remember where tis after all these years!”
Fraoch laughed, “Twas only a few days ago we buried it.”
“But we buried it thirty years back from now, can he smell it from thirty years ago?”
“Nae, he can see the M carved in the boulder. He is rolling his eyes that ye must mark everything.”
Haggis right then pissed on the rock.
Fraoch said, “I feel the same way, Haggis!”
Magnus pulled a shovel from his horse pack and began to dig, while Fraoch petted Haggis. “He is a verra good boy. Twas thirty years? I thought twas fifty years ago. But who is keeping track?”
From my sitting place, watching my husband’s muscles ripple romantically as he dug a hole, thinking that this was more romantic than watching him teach his son how to swing an axe, maybe I wasn’t such an old mom after all, I said, “God, I hope someone is keeping track.”
Fraoch said, “All that matters is we went tae a moment years before this and replaced the vessel. It daena matter when, before… och, I remember, twas 1683, ye sang a song, ye remember?”
Magnus leaned on the shovel and wiped his brow, then looked at his arm and said, “Och nae, I am filthy.”
“Aye, yer song was too, ye remember? Sing it!”
Hayley clapped her hands and said, “Sing it!”
Magnus said, “Bairns, daena hold it against me.” He sang, “...in the year of sixteen eighty-three, Fraoch and I went on a spree... we drank so much we couldna see, I woke up with nae breeches in a tree...!”
Fraoch sang, “...Maggy and I were there in June... I looked up in the tree tae see a full moon!”
The kids thought that was hilarious.
Magnus hit the box with the shovel and Fraoch knelt down to brush the earth away. He put his palm down on the top and joked, “Tis the one good part of being a son of Donnan, I get tae get intae the secret boxes.”
Inside were paper, pens and ChapStick, a First Aid kit. Some guns and two boxes of ammunition. And a vessel.
Fraoch passed it to Magnus, and said, “Now we will hae tae come back and replace it again.”
He sang, “We will go tae the year sixteen eighty-three, Og Maggy and me on a drunken spree... we will drink so much we canna see, tae bury a vessel under this tree!”
Magnus looked down on the vessel. “It works and is ready, first I must attend a funeral like a dutiful nephew, but then… we get tae go home tae Florida.”
Fraoch said, “With Birk at large ye hae a lot tae do.”
“Aye, and there is a lot tae rebuild. But I daena want tae think about that now, Fraoch, now is for family and saying goodbye, same as when we came—”
I said, “Except no one has to pack.”
“Aye, we went around on the wheel and came out in a different place. Tis a better place, I think, and our family will be stronger. We are winning all the things.”
“Even with Birk…?”
“Wheesht Fraoch, let me hae this.”
“Aye, Og Maggy, hae yer peace, I will keep track of yer enemies.”
“Good, thank ye.”
Magnus looked up at the branches overhead one last time, then climbed on his horse and we followed him back to Balloch.
The end.