Chapter 6
“Donal has a baby?” Sara exclaimed. “I didn’t know he was married.” Tina thought if her eyes opened any wider they might pop right out of her head.
“None of us did,” Ashley said.
Ashley had asked Tina if she wanted to come with her to visit Sara this morning and Tina had been more than happy to join her.
She thought it odd none of them knew Donal was married.
From what she’d seen Breaghacraig was like a small town.
Everyone knew each other and they all knew each other’s business.
“Go figure,” Sara said. “I guess anything’s possible around here.” She poured some tea for each of them and placed some oddly shaped muffins on the table.
“It’s sad that she passed though, don’t you think?” Tina asked, wondering at the lack of empathy she was seeing from these two women.
“Oh, of course it’s sad,” Sara exclaimed. “It’s terribly sad. Do we know who she was?”
“No. I’m afraid not. All we know is her name was Sionaid.”
“That’s a pretty name,” Sara said, helping herself to one of the muffins.
“Wait. I just thought of something. It wouldn’t be Sionaid who worked in the kitchen, would it?” Ashley asked.
“I don’t think I know her. I haven’t been here as long as you have,” Sara said.
“Hmmm … She hasn’t been around for quite a while.”
“Well, we aren’t going to figure out this mystery today,” Sara said. “Tina, Edna sent you to find your man. How exciting!”
Tina had just taken a bite out of one of the muffins and was unable to speak.
She had been told Sara was learning to cook and she imagined that would be a doubly hard thing to do here with no modern appliances or tools.
She sipped her tea to help moisten the contents of her mouth before swallowing and stifling a cough.
“They’re dry. I know,” Sara said. “They’re better than the last batch I made. Those were as hard as rocks. Poor Logan. He always tells me they’re good, no matter how bad they are.”
“The tea’s delicious,” Tina said. She wasn’t going to say anything about the muffins, but she wasn’t lying about the tea. It really was good.
“Thanks. My friend, Ayla, used to live in this cottage. She gave me the recipe and showed me how to grow the herbs to make it.”
“You know this would sell like crazy in our time,” Tina said. “People would go nuts over it.”
“Maybe I’ll give you the recipe and you can give that a try,” Sara suggested. “I’m not going back anytime soon.”
“You really like it here?” Tina asked.
“I do, but Edna promised me that if I ever wanted to go back. I mean, if Logan and I ever wanted to go back, she’d get us there.”
“It’s nice that you have that option,” Tina said.
“Well, I kind of forced her to send me,” she shrugged and looked past Tina. “I do miss my brother, though.” She absently wiped a tear from her eye and Tina felt terrible for her.
“That must be hard.”
“It is, but I know I’ll see him again, one way or the other. Ignore these tears! Ugh! Pregnancy hormones are in over drive, I tell you. I really am happy here.”
Tina admired Sara’s commitment to her husband.
She couldn’t imagine giving up her family to stay in this time.
She continued sipping her tea and seriously considered the idea of bringing the recipe back with her.
Maybe she could find out how to make the soap they all used, too.
She didn’t like the idea of sitting around and doing nothing when she got back home, maybe she could take up soap making or something.
As Ashley and Sara continued talking, Tina’s mind wandered to Donal.
She hoped he was doing okay with Elena. As soon as they got back to the castle she decided she would check in on them.
“What are you thinking about Tina?” Sara asked.
“Oh, nothing much.”
“Nothing much seems to have put a smile on your face.”
“I was just thinking about how nice it is to be here with you both,” she lied.
Apparently neither woman believed her. “Uh-huh,” Ashley said, rolling her eyes towards Sara, who did the same.
“What?” Tina asked. “I mean it.”
“Sure you do. Who were you really thinking about?”
“Baby Elena,” she admitted. She purposely left out Donal. It was obvious from what she’d seen and heard, they weren’t fans.
“She is cute, isn’t she?” Ashley said.
“I’m going to have to come to the castle so I can meet her.”
“Don’t walk over there by yourself,” Ashley said.
“I’m kind of a klutz,” Sara explained. “They’re all worried I’ll fall or something.”
“Falling wouldn’t be good at this point,” Tina said. “So, I agree. You should be extra careful.”
“Well, I can walk back with you both then and I’ll wait for Logan. Maybe we’ll eat there tonight. I’m sure he’d be more than happy to have a decent meal.”
“Don’t sell yourself short,” Ashley said. “You’ve been working extra hard to learn to cook. Besides, I always hear Logan bragging about you to the other men.”
“Oh, he’s so sweet. I just love him to pieces,” Sara grinned. “So, Tina tell me all about Elle. What’s she doing? Is she writing new songs? Is she touring?”
Tina had to admire Sara’s enthusiasm. She seemed to be Elle’s biggest fan, but she had kind of hoped to leave Elle in the future and make this trip all hers. “She’s doing really well. She’s happily married now and we just completed a European tour.”
“We? Do you travel with them?” Sara asked.
“I’m the tour manager,” Tina said, sounding less than happy about it.
“Oh, that sounds … um … exciting.” Sara said, clearly not sure how to proceed.
Ashley seemed to understand how Tina was feeling without her even having to say a word. “It must be hard having a sister who’s a celebrity. I can’t even imagine what that must be like for you.”
“It’s never been easy,” Tina said. She wasn’t sure if she should reveal her deepest, darkest feelings about her sister’s fame.
“I never wanted to be famous,” Tina said.
“When Elle made it big with her first single, I was still in high school. I suddenly became very popular, but for all the wrong reasons. It wasn’t me they were interested in.
Guys only dated me so they could meet Elle.
Everyone else only wanted tickets and backstage passes to her concerts.
Don’t get me wrong. I love Elle and I’m so happy for her success.
It’s just that now I don’t know if people really like me for me or if they’re just trying to get close to her. Does that make sense?”
“It does. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to bring her up. If I’d known …”
“Don’t worry about it,” Tina interrupted. “It’s fine. How could you possibly know about my insecurities.”
“Well, I know now and I promise, from this point on my lips are sealed about your sister.”
“Really, it’s okay. You can talk about her all you want.”
“I guess you know we won’t be hitting you up for tickets,” Ashley laughed.
“We like you for you,” Sara assured her.
Tina smiled warmly at both women. They really were as wonderful as she’d been told. It was nice having real friends, even if they were in the sixteenth century.
***
Donal did his best to get Elena ready for the day.
He was no expert, but her dress was on and they had both survived that.
He gathered her in his arms and headed for the kitchen where he hoped Mary would know what he should be feeding her.
It was a boon waking up in a big, warm bed after what turned out to be a decent sleep.
As he made his way through the castle, he was greeted by Irene.
“Donal, how is our wee lass this morning,” she asked, chucking the bairn under her chin.
“I believe she’s well,” he responded. “Thank ye fer allowing us to stay.”
“Yer welcome. The barracks are no place for this little one. Have ye fed her yet?”
“Nae. I’m headed to the kitchen to see what Mary has to offer.”
“Take good care of her,” Irene said as she walked past him into the great hall.
He wanted to tell her that it would be easier on all of them if one of the ladies of the castle took care of her, but he got the impression that they were all trying to teach him a lesson.
Entering the kitchen, Mary greeted him with a scowl and Elena with a huge grin. “So this is Sionaid’s wee one, is it?”
“Aye. Mine, too, from what I’ve been told.”
Mary swattted him on the back of the head. “Yer lucky she’s the only one, the way ye spread yer seed like the farmers in spring.”
He hadn’t thought of that. “Do ye think there are more?” Panic began to rise from his belly to his throat and he found he’d lost his appetite.
“Aye. I do.” She set a bowl of porridge down in front of him with a spoon. “For the lass.”
“Her name’s Elena,” he said. He set the bairn on the table and she immediately reached for the porridge.
He caught her before she could fall off the table or get the cooked oats everywhere.
She started fussing and reaching and for such a tiny wee girl, he was having trouble holding her still.
“Mary, I’m afraid I dinnae ken what to do. ”
“Like this.” She took the spoon and put a small amount of porridge on it. Elena seemed to know exactly what to do. She stopped wiggling and fixed her eyes on the spoon, opening her mouth like a baby bird.
“Now, ye do it.”
Donal did as Mary had done and was pleased Elena continued to eat. The joy he felt in this simple activity surpassed any anxiety he’d experienced only moments before.
“’Tis best she has her own spoon. Have Smithy make a wee one for her.” Mary continued her work in the kitchen occasionally checking back in with him to see how Elena faired with her porridge. “Bring her back for the noon meal,” she said, sounding gruff and mean to his ears.
“Mary, why do ye treat me so? If I’d known Sionaid was carrying my bairn, I would have married her.” He pleaded his case to someone he’d always felt a connection to. It hurt him deeply that she was angry with him. “Please, Mary, dinnae hold it against me.”