The old man grimaced. “I will concede the point. I would rather concentrate on preparing the men to fight for Prince Charlie.”
“That’s settled, then,” Niall said with relief as they all stood to go out to dinner. He was nearly at the door behind his father and sister when Simon put a restraining hand on his arm.
“’Tis something nae right about this, brother.” He released his hold. “Ye had best take care that the lass is who she says she is.”
Chapter Three
Charlotte stood on the bank of the River Ness once more and looked around. Last night at dinner Niall had suggested that they go into Inverness this morning to see if she could locate her two friends.
Dinner. It had gone better than Charlotte had expected. They’d eaten in the Great Hall, which had been filled with hundreds of Frasers, but Niall’s family hadn’t sat at the raised dais. Instead, they had a smaller round table off to one side where, as Greer pointed out, they could observe their kinsmen without being on display themselves.
It had helped to keep Charlotte’s presence obscure as well. Heads had turned when she’d walked in with the laird, but he’d introduced her as a friend of distant MacGregor kin who would be staying with them for a while. That his clan had accepted that simple statement and returned to their own conversations spoke volumes as to what kind of authority a laird had in the eighteenth century.
Authority that could land her in dire straits if he found out the truth.
But this morning she had her mind on other matters. Both Niall’s brother and sister had accompanied them, which meant she was going to have to convince three people of whatever story she could concoct. Not too much different than creating sub-plots, she tried to tell herself. She was a writer, after all.
She looked down the street to where a horse and carriage waited outside what appeared to be a general store. Several riders passed them, one or two tipping a hat toward their little group. Other than that, there wasn’t much going on.
WereVi and Thea here? Had they somehow travelled with her through Time? She doubted it, since they hadn’t been together when whatever it was had happened to transport her. Vi had still been standing on the bank, and Thea had gone to check on the fallen man. Only she had joined the circle of dancing. And Niall had been there…but had that been in the twenty-first century or this one?
“Where did ye say ye were staying?” Greer asked, breaking through her thoughts. “We can check to see if your friends have returned.”
She had been staying at the Best Western. Which hadn’t yet been built. She looked across the river. Only a few small buildings lined the other side, none of which looked like an inn. Not that she’d be registered at one anyway.
“We…hadn’t actually checked in anywhere.”
While Greer widened her eyes in surprise, Simon narrowed his. “Doona tell me that three women thought to camp outside.”
“Well, no.” The words were out before she could give them much thought. So exactly where would three women—alone—stay?Think. Inspiration hit. New Year’s Eve celebrations drew crowds, regardless of the century.
“The places we tried were all full.” Three pairs of eyes watched her, waiting for her to continue. “We…thought…if we joined the dancing, maybe we could ask someone for accommodation afterward.” That sounded plausible. She hoped. “That must have been what happened to my friends. They found someone hospitable enough to offer them shelter.”
She sensed Niall was studying her. Her previous version had intimated that her friends had disappeared to couple. Were the two ideas so far apart? Thankfully, he didn’t question her.
“Well, if we were in Beauly, we could solve that mystery quickly since there are nae that many homes,” Greer said, “but Inverness has nearly ten thousand people, not to mention other visitors.”
Thank goodness for that. “I’m not sure what we can do.”
“Your friends will probably start checking the inns,” Greer said. “Mayhap they’ve already checked some of them. At the least, we could ask the innkeepers to put up signs indicating that you’re staying at Castle Dounie “
“We decided it was safer nae to call Charlotte a Campbell,” Niall turned to her. “Would your friends make a connection to MacGregor?”
“They…might. Thea chose the MacGregor tartan for me.” That much was true, albeit it she had picked it out from a costume shop in Edinburgh. Still, both Vi and Thea were more expert about actual Scottish history than she was. They might—if they were in this century—make the connection. “I think it’s worth a try.”
Greer smiled and Niall nodded. “We’ll do it, then.”
Only Simon looked skeptical. Charlotte wasn’t sure if that was because he didn’t think the idea wouldn’t work or because he didn’t believeher.
****
When they returned to the castle, there was palatable excitement in the air. Niall could feel it even before one of men came rushing toward him and Simon. “Good news, my lords, good news!”
Another man approached. “Your father is waiting for the both of ye.”
His father was actually grinning when they joined him in the council room off the Great Hall. His father had seldom even broken a smile these past months while Prince Charlie had gone south to recruit more troops and not been overly successful, having crossed back into Scotland just before Christmas. Niall wondered if he was contemplating which side to back. He’d done it before in the first Uprising, or so Niall had been told. He’d been a wee bairn. He hoped his father was serious about backing Prince Charlie. “Do ye have good news about the Campbells or the prince?” he asked as he sat down.
“Both,” his father answered. “My men didna find any Campbells lurking about nor did anyone else they questioned, so your lass may be telling the truth.”
