“Ye are holding proof in yer hand, the book is from me, tae my daughter Lizabeth, who lived in Balloch — I mean, Taymouth Castle, three hundred years prior tae ye. Her brother was Sean. If ye go intae the library ye will see on the shelf Marcus Aurelius’s,Meditations. Twas written in the second century, but the copy on the shelf was published in the twentieth century and specially bound and engraved for Sean at a publishing house in Paris. I gave him the book on his twenty-seventh birthday. The year was 1702. Should I go on?”
“No, I get it, sort of…”
She said, “The letters ye found are from my family who are stuck in time. We are at war with a man named Asgall. Hae ye met a man named Asgall?”
Blakely’s eyes went wide. “I did! I met a man named Asgall at the airport lounge in Heathrow, yesterday. I told him we were moving here to be caretakers of the castle.”
Lady Mairead put her fingers on her temple and rubbed briefly. “Och nae.” She exhaled. “Ye canna trust him, be guarded and watchful. He is verra dangerous.”
Blakely nodded.
I said, “This is a great deal tae take in, how are we... so ye mean that the men who came tae the pub, Quentin and James, this istheirletter?” I unfolded it and looked at it again. “They were with Magnus and Fraoch, they’re all involved?”
“Magnus is my son. He is the King of Riaghalbane. He is also King of Scotland in the thirteenth century. Ye can look him up in the historical record. Fraoch is his brother, he is with him at Stirling Castle in the year 1291. And aye, the Colonel Quentin and James Cook who are stuck in time are the same men ye met. I must help them. But my vessel inna working...” Her voice trailed off. “I need for ye tae do me a favor.”
CHAPTER 55 - FRAOCH
THE AFTERMATH OF THE SIEGE OF STIRLING CASTLE - JUNE 20, 1291
Iwatched as the helicopter lifted from the castle grounds and flew away. Time stood still and m’heart raced.Och nae, there wasna anything we could do.
I would hae tae keep his bairns safe.
I turned tae take in the scope of the castle, it had been destroyed by the English King and Asgall.
Jack was wailing.
Archie was despondent.
Isla was hanging ontae Emma sobbing.
They had seen their parents taken captive —what would I do?
I met Hayley’s eyes. She said, “We can’t stay here, there’s no place to sleep, it’s a ruin.”
I swept m’gaze along the horizon. I would hae tae make decisions: I was in charge of the castle, of Magnus’s bairns, of a kingdom.
Cailean said, “Fraoch, we ought tae get the prince tae a protected place. He is in the open.”
“Aye, though it seems as if the army is withdrawin’.”
All around the castle were storms, a vision of disaster and horror, but we were a distance away. We could watch withoutharm as storms whisked the War Machines away. This was just an army havin’ accomplished what it wanted tae do, leavin’ tae cause trouble somewhere else.
But the bairns were terrified.
“Take them tae the chapel, we will set up beds for them tae sleep.”
There was the rumble of horses galloping up the hill, the standard they carried in front belonged tae the English King.
Cailean ushered everyone away. “Tae the chapel!” Hayley, Zach and Emma herded the bairns as Edward and his men arrived at the gate and entered and milled around in m’courtyard as if they owned the place.
I planted m’feet in front of them. “Ye canna enter.”
Edward spoke down tae me from his horse. “We can, we will, and we accept your surrender.”
I scowled. “Nae.”
“Your surrender, now! It is the only way the prince survives. We are of a mind to arrest both the sons of Mag Mòr for the overthrow of the rightful King of Scotland.”
