uh, travels."
"'Tis the twentieth of March. Have you been journeying long?"
"Yeah, you could say that. Um, and the year?" Elspeth stopped in front of a chamber door and lifted a worried gaze to hers. "You poor lamb. I knew it the first moment I laid my eyes upon you. How long has it been since you've had a place tae call home?"
Tuck cleared her throat, surprised by the small lump that formed from the genuine sincerity glittering in the older woman's eyes. She'd never had a real home, not one worth remembering, anyway. "A while. The year, Elspeth. What is it?"
61
Highlander's Challenge
by Jo Barrett
She shook her head with a soft frown. "'Tis fifteen hundred and eighty-four."
Tuck swallowed the panic rising in her throat as waves of dread roiled through her. If she were crazy, why would she choose that specific year? Had her subconscious plucked it out of one of the tour guides' talks? Even if it did, how would that explain the names of these people? Sure MacLean was an easy pick, but Elspeth, Maighread, and what about the Englishman, Ian Southernland? She knew she'd never heard them before. And her watch. If they were a reenactment group gone schizoid, then why did her watch have the supposedly correct date? All except the year? If she'd been knocked out, they could've tampered with watch. But why?
Unless ... the computer chip couldn't calculate before 1900.
Elspeth grasped her gently by the arms. "Are you ill? Can I get you something? Ach, dear me. Should I call for Colin?" Tuck nearly leapt from her arms. "No! I mean, no thanks. I'll be okay. I just hadn't realized that I'd been on the road for so long." For more than four hundred years. No, it wasn't possible, and yet the evidence continued to pile around her.
"Aye, perhaps a wee rest will do you good," Elspeth said as she ushered her inside the chamber.
Tuck scanned the room, missing nothing. A heavy curtained bed with an embroidered cover faced a fireplace. Several pegs dotted one wall while the other walls were covered with woven rugs and small tapestries. A pair of chairs 62
Highlander's Challenge
by Jo Barrett
flanked the hearth and alongside one sat a small chest with Celtic inscriptions decorating the top.
Sunlight streamed in through the window, distorted by the glazed glass, and danced on the rough wooden floor. The planks creaked as she crossed the room to look outside while Elspeth started a small fire in the hearth. The room faced inland, and she could see for miles. The landscape was not the same one she and Jenny had traveled. No paved road, no modern houses, no sign of anything familiar, but she was on the Isle of Mull. There was no mistaking the mountains in the distance.
Her eyes shot to the sky and the soft wispy clouds, not a single jet vapor trail. In the woods, a faint sign of spring touched the trees. It wasn't June. Her watch hadn't been tampered with.
Tuck's shoulders slumped with the weight of the facts before her. She was not where—when she belonged, and she had no idea how she got here.
The sound of hinges squeaking brought her attention back to Elspeth. The woman pulled a skirt of dark burgundy, a cream colored bodice, and a few other items from a large chest sitting in the far corner near the door.
"I think this will suit you. 'Twas my sister's." She eyed Tuck for a moment, then said, "Take off your waistcoat and let me have a look at you tae be sure." Acting on the side of caution, Tuck turned her back. As quietly as possible, she unzipped her down vest, not wanting to frighten the woman.
63
Highlander's Challenge
by Jo Barrett
Holding the vest over one arm, she faced Elspeth once again.
"Aye, 'twill suit you fine. You are about the same size. A big bonny lass, she was, just like you." Tuck snorted softly. Bonny? She'd been called a lot of things in her life, but that definitely wasn't one of them. Elspeth laid the items on the bed then moved to help her with the rest of her clothes.
"I think I can handle it," Tuck
"'Tis the twentieth of March. Have you been journeying long?"
"Yeah, you could say that. Um, and the year?" Elspeth stopped in front of a chamber door and lifted a worried gaze to hers. "You poor lamb. I knew it the first moment I laid my eyes upon you. How long has it been since you've had a place tae call home?"
Tuck cleared her throat, surprised by the small lump that formed from the genuine sincerity glittering in the older woman's eyes. She'd never had a real home, not one worth remembering, anyway. "A while. The year, Elspeth. What is it?"
61
Highlander's Challenge
by Jo Barrett
She shook her head with a soft frown. "'Tis fifteen hundred and eighty-four."
Tuck swallowed the panic rising in her throat as waves of dread roiled through her. If she were crazy, why would she choose that specific year? Had her subconscious plucked it out of one of the tour guides' talks? Even if it did, how would that explain the names of these people? Sure MacLean was an easy pick, but Elspeth, Maighread, and what about the Englishman, Ian Southernland? She knew she'd never heard them before. And her watch. If they were a reenactment group gone schizoid, then why did her watch have the supposedly correct date? All except the year? If she'd been knocked out, they could've tampered with watch. But why?
Unless ... the computer chip couldn't calculate before 1900.
Elspeth grasped her gently by the arms. "Are you ill? Can I get you something? Ach, dear me. Should I call for Colin?" Tuck nearly leapt from her arms. "No! I mean, no thanks. I'll be okay. I just hadn't realized that I'd been on the road for so long." For more than four hundred years. No, it wasn't possible, and yet the evidence continued to pile around her.
"Aye, perhaps a wee rest will do you good," Elspeth said as she ushered her inside the chamber.
Tuck scanned the room, missing nothing. A heavy curtained bed with an embroidered cover faced a fireplace. Several pegs dotted one wall while the other walls were covered with woven rugs and small tapestries. A pair of chairs 62
Highlander's Challenge
by Jo Barrett
flanked the hearth and alongside one sat a small chest with Celtic inscriptions decorating the top.
Sunlight streamed in through the window, distorted by the glazed glass, and danced on the rough wooden floor. The planks creaked as she crossed the room to look outside while Elspeth started a small fire in the hearth. The room faced inland, and she could see for miles. The landscape was not the same one she and Jenny had traveled. No paved road, no modern houses, no sign of anything familiar, but she was on the Isle of Mull. There was no mistaking the mountains in the distance.
Her eyes shot to the sky and the soft wispy clouds, not a single jet vapor trail. In the woods, a faint sign of spring touched the trees. It wasn't June. Her watch hadn't been tampered with.
Tuck's shoulders slumped with the weight of the facts before her. She was not where—when she belonged, and she had no idea how she got here.
The sound of hinges squeaking brought her attention back to Elspeth. The woman pulled a skirt of dark burgundy, a cream colored bodice, and a few other items from a large chest sitting in the far corner near the door.
"I think this will suit you. 'Twas my sister's." She eyed Tuck for a moment, then said, "Take off your waistcoat and let me have a look at you tae be sure." Acting on the side of caution, Tuck turned her back. As quietly as possible, she unzipped her down vest, not wanting to frighten the woman.
63
Highlander's Challenge
by Jo Barrett
Holding the vest over one arm, she faced Elspeth once again.
"Aye, 'twill suit you fine. You are about the same size. A big bonny lass, she was, just like you." Tuck snorted softly. Bonny? She'd been called a lot of things in her life, but that definitely wasn't one of them. Elspeth laid the items on the bed then moved to help her with the rest of her clothes.
"I think I can handle it," Tuck
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