Magnus and a Love Beyond Words Read online

  “Nae, ye can tell. When he was finished beddin’ ye did he shudder and groan and collapse on ye like he was havin’ a fallin’ down fit?”

  Beaty said, “Aye, he did a bit. Twas much like that.”

  I giggled.

  “Well then ye may have a bairn a’comin’ so ye have that nonsense tae look forward tae.”

  Beaty was quiet then she asked, “Queen Kaitlyn, if I promise nae tae be a bother would ye take me with you when ye go?” She jumped up to sitting and clasped her hands as if in prayer. “I wouldna be a bother. I would be verra quiet and I would do anythin’ ye ask of me.”

  I said, “It’s very far away and it’s dangerous and very hard to do...”

  “I daena care. I daena care if it takes half my life but I canna stay here without Quentin.”

  “I will think about it and I will talk to Magnus and Quentin about it.”

  “Thank ye kindly, Queen Kaitlyn.” She lay back on the bed and pulled the covers over her head. Her muffled voice said, “Thank ye, so much.”

  Chapter 56

  Madame Greer came to visit Lizbeth and me the following morning, all plump, bustling, and carrying a basket of bread and eggs from her kitchen. I was so grateful she brought something to eat because the castle had barely any food prepared for breakfast after the men cleared out the larder to take with them to battle. The kitchen wasn’t much interested in feeding the women and bairn. They sent a meal to the Earl in his apartments, the rest of us were to fend for ourselves.

  Trouble was I didn’t have any idea what that meant — the food looked like something needing a lot of work just to become a basic ingredient. And the recognizable things, like meat, needed a gravy. Pudding would be good with spice. Bread would be good with sweetness. And there wouldn’t be a drive-thru for a few hundred years.

  I boiled some water, poured it over my coffee, and gave a small cup to Lizbeth and Beaty, but without food this was just one big caffeine buzz.

  I hugged and kissed Madame Greer as she spread out her edibles. I gave her a cup of coffee too.

  She said, “Well, Madame Kaitlyn, ye have done a fine thing. Your sister is standin’ afore us as if she wasna about tae pass through the gates. Have ye considered midwifery might be your callin’?”

  Lizbeth said, “Daena start with her, Madame Greer, she is too young and in love tae be spending her life in service tae the whims of all the women of the village. ‘Madame Kaitlyn, I have got the pains! Madame Kaitlyn, I have got the winds! Madame Kaitlyn, I need a remedy tae get m’husband off me.’”

  I joked, “As we say in the West Indies, ‘I do not have the skill set’ or let’s face it, I don’t have the temperament, but I am very happy I was able to help my sister.”

  “Me too.” Lizbeth and I hugged.

  Madame Greer said, “You have spent some time in prayer I believe, for ye are healthy and all a’glow. Have ye a bairn a’comin’?”

  “No, not yet.”

  “Continue tae pray, if tis in his wisdom ye will be answered.” She took a big bite of bread and asked, “What is this I hear of a weddin’ yesterday? Twas Beaty Campbell, the daughter of that barmpot Jimmy, married tae the black man?”

  Lizbeth answered, “Yes, Beaty Campbell has married Colonel Peters.”

  Madame Greer said, “I heard it said the father has beaten her and she may be near ruined. The women in the village can only guess at the dowry Jimmy paid Colonel Peters tae take her. Some are guessin’ twas a fair amount.”

  She said it like a statement though clearly she wanted to know.

  Lizbeth said, “Colonel Peters wanted tae marry young Beaty Campbell verra much. Please tell the village he made a large offer tae her father for her. She is now an Officer’s wife.”

  Madame Greer said, “Good good, I wanted tae ken the truth of it. I will tell the ladies that their story is mistaken.”

  She sighed and said to me, “Have ye ever heard so many unbelievable tales? If I daena spend m’every wakin’ moment listenin’ tae them chitter on — I must be searchin’ for the truth and then dispellin’ the half-truths or the village would be a’stirrin’ with witches and harlots and godforsaken men. I spend most of my life talkin’ on it.”

  Lizbeth said, “Well we are so grateful, Madame Greer, that you have shewn us the good favor of tellin’ the truth about Kaitlyn.”

  Madame Greer patted the back of my hand comfortingly.

  Lizbeth said, “Did ye hear Kaitlyn is a queen now? Our Magnus Campbell has risen tae the throne of his father’s kingdom and so the flyin’ machines winna come anymore. He has taken them under control.”

  “Och, excellent, and our Kaitlyn is a queen? Tis wondrous. I am sure ye are all dignified in your duties. I canna wait tae tell the ladies of it, my sister especially. She has the gout in her leg as ye ken and it has put her in a nasty way. She has been particularly unkind tae me, refusin’ tae visit because I canna make her comfortable. I look forward tae tellin’ her I made a queen comfortable in my guest room, dinna I?”

  I grinned. “Very comfortable. You can tell her if I need to stay in the village I will stay at your house again.”

  “I will.”

  “Oh! I have presents, wait here.”

  I rushed to my room and dug through the bags and rushed back with it. I put the whole bag in front of her and urged her to look through it. “This is lotion, smell.” I unscrewed the lid and waved it under her nose.

  “Tis lovely!”

  I showed her the candle and the oil and the soap and she was so overcome she started to cry. Wiping her tears on her tartan she said, “Tis so lovely, I canna—” and she cried some more. There were three pieces of candy and a quilt but I wished I had brought more. She dabbed at her eyes with the edge of the cloth and opened a piece of candy and took one small lick then closed it carefully.

  She said she had so much to tell her sister about her visit and I remembered an extra lotion I had brought so I raced up the steps to retrieve it. I gave it to Madame Greer for her sister.

  She said, “I kent I was right about ye, Queen Kaitlyn. Twas an honor tae have ye as a guest.” She did a slight bow towards me and then kissed Lizbeth on the cheek and took her leave.

  Lizbeth said, “Well that did it. There will be no trouble from the village ever again. Madame Greer will be lordin’ over them all about her visit with the Queen and they winna ken how tae believe anythin’ else.

  Chapter 57 - Magnus

  Movin’ the men and the armaments intae place took most of the day. Messengers were sent ahead and we kent Lord Delapointe’s army would meet us on the field. Many of the men were irritated and tired from celebratin’ the night before and there was a great quantity of grumblin’ and anger at unnecessary things. If ye told a man tae move, he was liable tae fight ye for it.

  Sean, Liam, Quentin and I had guard duties and then slept when we could. At just before dawn the men began tae stir, tae gather their weapons and their wits, tae prepare the horses, and soon we were all gatherin’ tae hear Baldie tell us of the battle plan.

  I called across the heads tae him, “Where are the rest of the men the Earl promised?”

  “We had about a score join us.”

  Sean said, “He promised us more than twice that. Tis nae enough.”

  Men all through the crowd said, “Aye!” and, “Twas promised!”

  Baldie said, “The Earl of Breadalbane, in his infinite wisdom, has promised us soldiers and given us instead an assortment of field hands and farmers.” He asked the crowd. “How many of ye have a sword?”

  Almost all the men raised their weapons. Baldie directed his attention tae one man, without a weapon or a horse. “Ye daena have a sword?”

  “Nae, I have a shovel and a dirk.”

  Baldie met my eyes and shook his head but said, “Tis nae matter, we are Campbells. We will fight and win.”

  I said tae Sean, “Tis nae enough men, nae enough weapons.”

  He answered, “Aye, some of these men are here tae die.”


  At the close of Baldie’s speech, I explained it tae Quentin as many of the words he used would be confusin’ and Quentin’s life depended on understandin’. At the end of my explanation I asked him, “Dost ye ken it, Quentin?”

  “Aye boss, it’s the same battle plan we used in Afghanistan in 2015, just with horses and swords and wearing a skirt and lining up where they can see ya to shoot ya. I’m the blackest man here. I’m feeling like I have a target pinned to my ass.”

  “Ye have a better gun than anyone else, ye will be fine.” We rode out of the woods tae form a line on the field.

  Chapter 58 - Magnus

  Baldie sounded the charge and a roar of “CRUACHAN!” went up from our line as we charged across the field in a cloud of dust, horse hooves makin’ a thunderous sound. My breathin’ quickened. As with all fights I sharpened on what was before me and became more aware of m’surroundings. Twas the way I fought — focused on what was before me, the end of my blade and m’enemy and an urgent need tae make the two meet. Somehow outside of that focus surroundin’ sounds and smells heightened. I could feel a man approachin’ and could kill him without losin’ a step.

  I was sword tae sword against a Delapointe soldier, protectin’ my injured side while aimin’ tae kill him in three swings, when I heard Quentin behind me. His gun fired.

  The man I was fightin’ clutched his chest and dropped tae the dirt of the field.

  “Sorry, Boss, he was yours but I got carried away.”

  “Aye, he was about tae be mine, but twill be another.” I looked over the scene unfoldin’, blades and dust and yells. “Get tae Liam, he has three men on him.” He galloped through the ragin’ battle. I could hear it, without needin’ tae see, as a soldier bore down on me.

  The full fight lasted for almost two hours until the army, what was left of them, retreated.

  When twas done, there was much death upon the field. I surveyed the standin’ men for Sean. He was there on the far edge, shovin’ a man from his sword with his foot. Then Quentin who waved from across the field. I sighted Liam also standing. Twas then I looked for Baldie.

  I turned, lookin’ left and right and then met eyes with Sean who was also eyein’ the battlefield. Liam, Sean, and I began tae pick through the corpses and half-dead men layin’ on the ground.

  Finally Liam crouched and called, “I have him!”

  Sean and I rushed tae find Baldie layin’ mortally injured. Och nae.

  Sean asked, “Uncle, what say ye?”

  Baldie dinna reply. He managed a cough and then took his last sputterin’ breath in Sean’s arms. We remained there huddled for a long moment.

  I said, “Och, why did it have tae be Baldie? We haena got a better man.”

  “I ken tis true,” said Sean. “He was like a father.”

  “Aye.”

  Quentin stood above us. “What’s with this man’s clothes, is he a for-hire soldier or something?”

  A man lay on the ground beside Baldie. The way he was positioned, holdin’ his sword, twas clear he had been the one tae cause Baldie’s death. The soldier wore leather armor, belts with strange markings, clothes that were different from highlander clothes, different from British uniforms I had seen, and different from the French who fought here some.

  But though the uniform was different, twas eerily familiar tae me.

  “The garb is similar tae the soldiers that fought me on the dock in Florida.” I shook the man tae see if he had any life tae him. “Look tae see if other men are here, wearing the same—”

  Liam was looking through the bodies on the field for survivors.

  Quentin began lookin’ for men in the same armor. A moment later he called, “This man — he’s still alive.”

  I rushed tae the man and lifted him by the leather strap across his chest. “Who are ye, where did ye come from?”

  The soldier’s eyes opened briefly. He looked me in the face.

  “Who sent ye?”

  He croaked a sound.

  “What did ye say?”

  He coughed and looked close tae death, unable tae speak.

  I shoved him tae the ground. “I daena ken. Find their horses, look for more men with the same armor plate.” We searched through all the dead and dying men and couldna find anymore but we found their two horses and uncovered coins within their saddlebags. I shewed one tae Sean. “Tis nae English.”

  Sean said, “Tis French?”

  Quentin said, “Nah man, this looks Spanish, like the stuff in the museums on Amelia Island.”

  I said, “Gather our horses, we must ride with great haste.”

  Chapter 59

  “Dost ye want tae take a turn on the grounds, Kaitlyn?”

  “I’d love to.”

  Beaty begged to go with us and so we walked arm in arm around the fields surrounding the castle. It was a beautiful day, a high sky, but though it was spring, it was cold as shit outside.

  We walked out, enjoying the grassy slope in front of the castle, and turned north to climb an outcropping of rocks. It was warm on their surface so we paused and enjoyed the sun. Beaty picked flowers and Lizbeth told us about one of the women in the castle who was always so mean. She mimicked her to perfection, “‘I am Beileag MacCumasgaigh and I daena want tae tell ye yer business Lizbeth but yer bairn are always yellin’ and runnin’ through the castle halls and givin’ me a fright.’ But winna happen anymore — I told m’bairn tae smell the air first, if they have a whiff of a muc, tae run and yell the other way.” We laughed and laughed.

  We wandered to the river’s edge, and I splashed my hand through the water and thought lazily about Magnus, old-style, joking about my ‘trout arse’, and had there ever in history been someone like me who could love a man at the age of 28 and then go back in time and love him again at 24? Beaty thought we were crazy to be so close to the water, she was terrified of water edges which might cause trouble if I took her to Florida. This would need to be considered very, very carefully.

  We traipsed back to the castle by way of the stables, notably quiet because the men had taken every single horse, except two, tied outside in the sun, with all their gear on, and what was weird, noticeable really, was they looked different — different from all the other horses here, but also noticeable, they looked shockingly familiar. Eerily familiar.

  I started backing up, “Lizbeth, Beaty, come with me.”

  “What is it Kaitlyn, you look as if ye’ve seen a spirit?”

  I pulled them away. “We need to get to the castle, fast.”

  The three of us began to run.

  Chapter 60

  We made it through the small door within the gate. Lizbeth asked, “What did ye see?”

  “The horses, they are dressed like men that have been chasing Magnus, oh crap, and he isn’t here.”

  Lizbeth urgently asked the guards if anyone had entered. They said no. She made them close it all and guard it more and men came from the walls and there was a general uproar as everyone went on high alert.

  We raced up the stairs and told everyone to go to the Great Hall. Lizbeth went to warn the Earl and Beaty went to warn the women in the nursery.

  I called, “Come to the wall when you’re done,” and I climbed to the top of the wall to watch for Magnus. There were a few guards along it but not the usual amount. An older man nodded.

  I said, “I’m here to wait for Magnus, I want to see when he’s coming.”

  He grunted like that was fine with him.

  I asked, “Have you seen anyone, sneaking around or coming in?”

  “Nae,” he said. I edged past the broken part of the wall and got a view of the stables. There were men near the horses. “Who is that?”

  “Our men.”

  I knew Magnus would be coming from the northeast so I faced that direction, watching for him. It was something to do to keep me from jumping down and running toward wherever he was. Where was he? Some battlefield in the 18th century, fighting people who didn’t matter, while General R
eyes, or at least a few of his men, was here.

  Two of them.

  Which meant three of his men were somewhere else.

  Chapter 61

  Lizbeth and Beaty came to the top of the wall. We all sat leaning against the inside brick. Lizbeth said, “Why do ye think they are here, if Magnus is nae here?”

  “Maybe me?”

  Beaty looked at me with wide eyes.

  I added, “I don’t know, but where are they?”

  “We might be better hidden in one of the lower rooms, Kaitlyn, ye should come away from the walls.”

  “It just feels so blind. I need to know what’s happening, to be able to see.” I crawled across the stone and peeked over the outer parapet. The horses were still there. Right in the open. Anyone could see them. So where were the men?

  * * *

  We sat on the high wall hidden within a shadow. Occasionally I crawled out to peek over the parapet checking for Magnus. But there was nothing to see for the longest time until suddenly there was something — two men, hunched over the necks of their horses, galloping across the fields. One of the men was much darker and so before they were close I could tell it was Quentin and Magnus, racing to get to us.

  “They’re coming. Oh thank god they’re coming.”

  We all hugged. Then I went back to watching a dust cloud coming off the back of their horse’s hooves as they raced. “Let’s go down to meet them.”

  We clambered to the bottom floor and ran out into the courtyard and raced to the gates. Lizbeth said, with a lot more calmness than I was capable of, “Two of our men, Young Magnus and Black Mac, are approaching. Open the gates for them.” The gates creaked and groaned as they swung open. Then there was an uproar above us on the walls. A gun fired above us, then another.