“How?”
“I think twas a magical wheel in the water.”
She nodded. “Hydropower, good idea. Who did that, Quentin?”
“He and James, likely. But it dinna work well for a gamin’ system, it dinna hae a lot of power, it cut out all the time, tis almost worse than not havin’ it at all. They used it for light mostly.”
“It’s interesting — it’s a little like living on the frontier, but with access to everything in history to get comfortable. You could outfit this place with electricity, put up a satellite, fire rockets from here, drill for oil in the sixteenth century, bring a car?—”
“They have brought what they call ATVs here before, ye ever driven one of them?”
“Yeah, I have — so what stops them from bringing everything they could ever want?”
“Magnus told me he daena want tae ruin the history of the world. If ye bring one lamp, and it lights the night, that pool of light might cause someone tae become complacent, tae not invent the light. Then where will light come from?”
“That is a really good point.”
“Aye. Men must experience hardship tae want tae build a world, so we canna get too comfortable.” I pulled her hand closer so that she was standing right in front of me. She was shorter, smaller. I put m’arms around her, bent down, and kissed her shoulder. “How is yer arm?”
“Much better.”
“Good.”
“So what do we do here in the eighteenth century?”
“I am thinking that Laird Lochie and Lady Ash ought tae go tae their room and see if they can get more comfortable.”
She smiled. “I thought you would never ask.”
CHAPTER 7 - ASH
BALLOCH CASTLE - MAY 27, 1710
Lochie led me by the hand to the stairwell, and then down the spiraling stair and along a passageway. I was able to pay more attention, my head growing clearer as the painkillers wore off, but that clarity was making my head swim with the reality — I was in the past.
I had been in the past for days. I had been kidnapped, now I was in another place, each different from the last, and nothing like the normal, ordinary, modern world.
I looked down at Lochie’s hand, entwined in mine.
I had known him for hours. It could barely be called a full day, not really.What had I done?
He slowed in the stairwell and turned with one leg up, one down on the steps. He pulled me to his chest in a big embrace and kissed the top of my head. I kissed him back, but just then above us were footsteps as two big guards descended.
He whispered, “Press tae the wall. Turn tae me.”
We pressed and the two men passed. I took a furtive glance to see one looking me over, the other asked, “Lochie, what ye doin’ with the lass?”
“She is mine.”
They laughed and continued down the stairs.
The exchange was short, but tense, common enough, but also my heart was pounding — it had seemed dangerous. “Who was that?”
“Guards, ye canna walk alone in the castle, Ash, the men arna trustworthy. Ye are used tae walking on yer own on the island but this is different, these are Campbell men.”
I grimaced. “That sounds dire. But wait... aren’tyoua Campbell man? What about your brothers, wait... aren’t theyallCampbell men?”
“Aye, ye ought not trust a one of them unless ye ken them tae be trustworthy, ye ought tae trust three tae five men, tops.”
