Chapter 4
Elle sat in her room for what seemed like hours.
Being this alone with herself and her thoughts wasn’t something she was used to.
In fact, she avoided it, knowing her phone or computer were always available to occupy her—someone always needed something from her.
Self-examination was not something she relished.
Having sacrificed so much for her career, she hated thinking about the things she’d left behind in pursuit of fame and fortune.
Now that she had what she’d always wanted, it seemed that keeping it was twice as much work.
Her last album had debuted to tepid reviews and she’d chalked it up to the infamous sophomore slump.
The third album had to be a hit. Eric had selected a mix of dance and pop songs that were guaranteed hits, he said.
She found them hollow and repetitive, but that was the sound that sold.
Now, when she was supposed to be promoting the new album, she found herself stuck here in ancient history, helpless to do anything to further her career.
Whoever this Edna was, she’d be getting an earful from Elle when she spoke with her …
if she spoke with her. She wondered why Edna had chosen her?
She’d probably seen her in some tabloid or another and thought it would be fun to mess with her life.
She probably had no idea her life was a mess already.
Elle’s total focus on fame and fortune had taken the joy she once felt out of her music.
Gazing into the fire, she remembered what she’d been told about Edna.
She was all about love. She rolled her eyes at that thought.
She used to love music, she had felt it in her bones.
From the time she was a little girl, she wandered around the ranch singing.
In her room, there were notebooks full of songs she had written about every thought her teenaged brain had.
Most were just awful, but as she got older they had gotten better.
She remembered sitting on her bed with her guitar for hours, playing with words and chords.
There was no feeling in the world like the moment a melody came together and a song was born.
She loved that. She missed that. When was the last time she had a thrill like that?
Her entire life was centered around music now, just like she wanted, but it certainly didn’t feel right.
What was there in her life that she loved now?
She wondered if she’d hear from Edna today.
The quiet of the room told her that wouldn’t be the case.
She wandered to the window, opening the shutter and gazing out on the courtyard beneath.
Everything was so surreal. People went about their business.
Men and women hurried to and fro, sometimes stopping to speak with each other.
A tall red-haired man caught her attention.
Hamish! She thought to call out to him, but he would never hear her, so she instead watched him as he towered over one of his men obviously reprimanding him for something.
The other man looked down at the ground.
Elle felt bad for him, but then thought perhaps he deserved the dressing down Hamish was giving him.
The man turned towards one of the outbuildings and Hamish stalked off.
Try as she might, Elle couldn’t stop watching him and did so until he was clear out of sight.
She loved the thought of being in his arms, and the butterflies in her belly confirmed it.
And she loved that he was so kind and respectful.
She wasn’t sure that if she found herself out in the woods with a man from her own time, she’d have had the same experience.
She smiled to herself. Funny how everyone thought Edna was trying to match her with Hamish.
He was far from her type. She usually went for dark-haired, dark-eyed, artsy types.
She hadn’t had much success with those men, but damned if she didn’t find herself continually drawn to them.
Turning from the window, she was just about to go out and explore the castle when there was a knock at her door. “Come in,” she called.
Ashley and Jenna entered along with Helene. They each carried dresses, which they laid out on the bed.
“You’re going to need something from this time to wear,” Ashley said.
“Ye willnae feel comfortable walking around in those clothes,” Helene said, holding one of the dresses up in front of her.
Elle glanced at the pile of dresses on the bed, her nerves suddenly back in full force, “I was hoping I wouldn’t be here that long.”
“Best to be prepared,” Jenna grinned. “If I recall correctly, you are a woman that likes to have a change of costume nearby. These aren’t as sparkly as you’re used to, of course.”
Elle laughed as she remembered some of the costumes from her tours—a different dress for every song, each with more sequins than the last. What a pain that was!
“Oh wow, yeah, the tour clothes have their own staff. I will let you in on a secret, those sequins are scratchy! Every night I looked like I lost a fight with an alley cat.” The ladies all laughed along with her and she felt lighter.
“Here, let’s try some of these on and see what fits.”
“Helene will fix anything that’s not quite right,” Ashley said. “She’s a whiz with a needle and thread.”
“I really don’t think you should go to so much trouble.” This was all too much. She couldn’t possibly stay here.
“No trouble at all.” Helene held another dress up to her, examining the length
Elle could tell she wasn’t going to win this argument, so she gave in and let them choose some dresses for her.
“Oooh, this one,” Ashley said, holding up a beautiful burgundy color gown.
“Yes,” Jenna said. “Perfect color for you.”
“Okay. Okay. I’ll try it on.”
“You’re going to need some help,” Jenna said.
“You think?” Elle laughed. She disrobed down to her undies and all three women swarmed her as they piled on layers, then tugged and twisted and turned her in every possible direction. Finally, Helene tied up the laces in the back and all three stood back to admire their work.
“You look beautiful,” Helene noted.
“Is there a mirror somewhere?” she asked.
“Nothing full length,” Ashley said. “You’ll simply have to take our word for it.”
Elle was disappointed, but she got it. She was in medieval Scotland, not the dressing room of her favorite dress shop.
The three women put her into three more dresses, which also fit perfectly. “I think you should wear the burgundy dress tonight,” Ashley said. “Hamish will love it.”
“Hamish? Oh no, I don’t … he won’t …,” Elle protested, wrinkling her nose as if the very prospect of Hamish was distasteful to her.
“He will,” Jenna laughed.
“I’m not into the macho-fighter type,” Elle said.
“You don’t have to be,” Ashley said. “Hamish is a warrior, it’s totally different.”
Elle needed to stop these ladies, she didn’t have time for a man in her life back home, and she would most certainly be going home as soon as possible. “I … like guys with dark hair and soulful eyes.”
“Sounds like trouble to me,” Jenna said. “You hardly know anything about Hamish, he could be a real softie.”
“That didn’t sound very complementary to Hamish,” Ashley said and everyone laughed.
Elle giggled with the ladies, but she knew there had been nothing soft about Hamish.
“Well, it doesn’t matter. I’m not interested.
” Elle hoped that would be the last she would hear on this subject, but she doubted it.
These ladies seemed quite determined. It brought a smile to her face, reminding her of high school when she’d sit around with her sister and their friends talking about boys.
Or when they’d get together to pick out their dresses for the prom.
She had to admit she was enjoying herself and all the attention they were lavishing on her.
She was their little project as far as she could tell and as such, she let them help her back into the burgundy dress.
***
Hamish hadn’t planned on eating in the great hall this night and yet here he was.
Everyone was seated and waiting for the meal to be served.
Hamish, however, was leaning against the wall by the hearth, arms folded and eyes focused on the MacKenzie family table.
He assumed that Elle, being a guest, would be seated there for the evening meal and he was curious to see her again.
At first, he wasn’t sure it was her. She’d changed out of her own clothing and the sight of her took his breath away.
She was even more beautiful now as she entered the hall behind Ashley and Jenna, dressed in a gown that only enhanced her beauty.
He sensed her nervousness as she walked to her seat at the table and wished he could do something to put her at ease.
Cailin held a chair out for her and she sat, gazing up at him with a smile and thanking him.
She glanced around the room, looking past him, at first not seeing him, and then returning her eyes to his face.
She smiled at him, giving him a small wave of her hand.
A tiny spark of joy was lit in his heart, but he hid it, not wanting to appear too eager for her notice. He nodded his head and then walked to his seat among his men.
“She’s a beauty,” Donal said as he seated himself next to Hamish.
“Aye, if ’tis the type of woman ye want.” Hamish controlled the urge to look her way again.
“Ye’ve already told me she’s yers, so am I to assume that ye dinnae really want her.” Donal tipped his head and looked sideways at him.