“Can I help?” Charlotte could have sworn Simon started to grin but quickly sobered when Niall glared at him. Their father guffawed loudly.
“’Tis a family matter,” Niall said between clenched teeth. “A wee bit of an argument we had earlier.”
“Oh.” She wasn’t quite sure what else to say. “I…didn’t mean to intrude.”
“Intrude? That’s an interesting word choice,” Simon said.
Charlotte furrowed her brow. “It is? I just meant I don’t want to interfere with your lives.”
“Ye are nae interfering, lass.”
The look Niall gave his brother was one Charlotte couldn’t decipher, but a message was definitely being relayed. Was it a warning? Maybe he was telling his brother to say no more because it was a personal matter that Niall didn’t want her to know about. She didn’t need to pry.
They rode in mostly silence the rest of the short distance. When they alighted from the carriage, she was expecting Niall would accompany her since he had other times when they’d left the castle, so she was surprised to hear his father speak.
“If ye doona mind, Miss…MacGregor, the lads and I need to meet with our solicitor. Can ye manage by yourself for an hour or so?”
Fate certainly seemed to be doing her all sorts of favors today. “Of course. I’ll not wander far.”
Niall opened his mouth, about to say something, when Simon nudged him. “Come along, brother. Ye ken we shouldna be late for our appointment.”
He hesitated a moment, then nodded. “We willna be long, lass.”
“An hour,” Simon countered. “At least.”
“Do not worry,” Charlotte answered. “I can manage by myself.”
Niall gave her another look she couldn’t decipher, then followed his brother and father. She watched them until they disappeared around a corner onto a side street and then turned back to the river. She shaded her face with her hand to avoid the glare of the water and squinted, not sure what she was looking for. Some sort of mist hovering? Maybe an unusual light effect? No, that would be too obvious. Besides, she hadn’t gone into the river.
She chided herself for being so silly and walked to the spot where she had stood before joining the dancers. The ground felt solid. Her surroundings didn’t shimmer. There were no tiny light specks dancing in the air like faeries.Stop that!Her writer’s imagination was running amok again. She wasn’t writing a story about Scottish folklore, for heaven’s sake, or a passage to the Otherworld. She was looking for arealportal, one that she had somehow moved through. But where was it? She glanced around, looking at the area where the stranger had appeared to Vi and then over to the place where Thea had gone to help the fallen man. Nothing but ordinary people going about their daily business.
She made her way down closer to the river, where the dancing had taken place. She’d already covered this area before, but she’d been in the company of the Frasers and she could have missed something. This time, she paused every few feet to look around and tried to sense anything “different” but all seemed normal. Sighing, she sat down on a bench on the river bank to contemplate.
“Do ye mind if I share the bench for a minute or two?”
Startled, Charlotte looked around to see a young, auburn-haired woman about her own age smiling at her. She wore a simple dress of pale blue wool with a darker sash and no apron, so Charlotte assumed she probably worked in one of the shops. Maybe taking a break. She looked vaguely familiar, but Charlotte couldn’t place her. She indicated the open space beside her. “Certainly. Please sit.”
“Thank ye. This is a favorite spot of mine.” The girl sat. “My name is Bridgid.”
“I’m Charlotte.”
Bridgid inclined her head and then gave her a curious look. “If ye’ll forgive me for asking, I saw ye stop several times on your way over. Are ye looking for something?”
Well, yes. A passageway to the twenty-first century. Would you know where it is?Charlotte felt a by-now frequentbubble of hysteria trying to rise in her throat and swallowed hard. If she had been watched, maybe she should come up with some sort of excuse.“I…thought I’d dropped a trinket last time I was here.”
“When was that?”
“Ah… Hogmanay, actually.” She waved her hand. “I’m sure it’s long gone by now, but I thought I’d look anyway.”
“Hogmanay.” The girl smiled again. “’Tis always a special time for gift-giving. Mayhap ye did someone a good turn.”
“I hadn’t thought of it that way.” Although the girl couldn’t possibly know, perhaps traveling through Time had been a gift after all. Charlotte smiled back. “I hope the trinket is in good hands then.”
“I have a feeling it is.” The girl stood. “I’d best be on my way then.”
Charlotte nodded. “I’m glad you came by.”
“Aye, ’tis always good to sit and reflect by the water.” She inclined her head and then walked away.
