Anna paced the length of the room, turned, and came back the other way. She chewed her nail and forced herself to stop. She’d already bitten them down to the quick.
She was so frightened she felt sick. And angry. Furious, in fact. Right now, she wasn’t sure which emotion was winning. She was terrified that what Maria had told her about Emeric was true, furious that those bastards had dared to lay a finger on him. She would find a way to make them regret it!
She sighed, knowing this was just empty bravado. What exactly did she think she could do? She was a prisoner in the MacDonald stronghold and nobody knew she was here.
There is nobody coming for ye. Ye are alone.
Oh, Emeric, she thought.Where are you? Are you all right? Please be all right.
She reached the far wall and spun, her skirts swirling around her, and went back the other way. Since they’d put her in this room she’d not seen or heard from anyone, despite hammering on the door and bellowing until her throat was sore. That must have been hours ago. She had no way to tell how much time had passed except for the way the sunlightfalling onto the floorboards gradually moved across the room.
The place was larger, more well defended, and more opulent than the Mackintosh keep. Ifthiswas ever turned into a hotel or a wedding venue, it would be of the uber-expensive kind. Be that as it may, it didn’t hide the fact that this place was rotten at its core, a den of vipers who wore smiles while they bit.
She had to get out of here. She had to find a way to get free.
She strode to the window. It was covered by a wooden shutter, which only let in slivers of light through the gaps. For the umpteenth time, Anna forced her fingers into the gap between the shutter and the wall and tried to pry it off. And for the umpteenth time, it didn’t budge an inch. Her fingers started bleeding again and she wiped the blood absently onto her dress.
Damnation.
Her eyes roved over the room, searching desperately for something she might have missed. It was a large chamber, with whitewashed stone walls. The bed sported a bedspread in the MacDonald colors and two chairs sat by the cold fireplace. That was it.
Exhausted, she slumped on the edge of the bed and buried her face in her hands. If she didn’t do something soon...
Suddenly, there was the rattle of a lock followed by the creaking sound of the heavy wooden door opening. Anna sprang up just as Lady Maria stepped into the room. On seeing her, hot rage boiled through Anna’s veins. Her fingersclenched into fists and she sprang at the woman with a cry, fist swinging for her face.
But Lady Maria merely flicked her wrist and Anna went sailing across the room, colliding with the bed. She slumped to the floor, stunned.
“I wouldnae try that again if I were ye,” Maria said, her voice as pleasant as if they were chatting over afternoon tea. “Ye wouldnae enjoy the consequences.”
Anna struggled up to a seated position. Her ears were ringing and dizziness made her vision swing in and out of focus. What the—? What had Maria just done to her?
“Would ye care to take a seat?” Maria said, gesturing at the chairs by the fire. “I can have some chamomile tea brought up? Or perhaps something a little stronger? There is no need for our discussion to become unpleasant.”
Anna glared. “I’m fine where I am, thanks.” She didn’t want to go any closer to Maria than she had to.
Maria waved a hand then seated herself in a chair. “Suit yerself.”
Anna grabbed the bedpost and used it to lever herself to her feet. She held onto it to keep herself steady. “What do you want?”
Maria folded her hands in her lap and smiled. “Well, first of all, I want ye to answer some questions. I was hoping ye could tell me what this is.” She reached into a pouch tied at her waist and pulled out an object which she held up for Anna to see. She went cold at the sight of it.
It was her phone.
She licked her lips. “Where...wheredid you get that?”
“Duncan stole it from yer room at Dun Achmore. I suspected ye were more than ye seemed and whilst everyone was distracted by the games, I sent Duncan to search yer room. Look what he found.”
“It’s nothing,” Anna said, trying to sound nonchalant. “Just a useless trinket.”
“A useless trinket? Oh, I dinna think so. My guess is that it’s a communication device of some sort. But not one of this century.” She tapped her lip as though thinking. “I’m guessing...the twenty-first?”
Anna felt the blood drain from her face. “I...don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, I think ye do and I can tell from yer expression that I’ve guessed right. Ye are a time traveler are ye not?”
Anna did not reply. In truth, she doubted she could have spoken had she wanted to. Her throat had gone dry and her heart was suddenly racing so quickly she thought she might faint. She clung more tightly to the bed post.
She had been such an idiot. Emeric had told her, had warned her from the start not to draw attention to herself. Yet she’d done that anyway, through her careless decisions and her recklessness.
