Chapter 10

As instructed, though, Ivy made her first order of business settling in at the Keep. She took her time exploring the place, first of all, getting used to moving in the strange new clothing, which was actually a lot more maneuverable than shed first expected. Once shed gotten the hang of negotiating the thick skirts, there was a surprising amount of freedom in the beautiful gowns. And she rather liked the way they accentuated her figure, flattering her slender waist before billowing out over her hips and legs. She tripped over the skirts a few times over the first few days, but it wasnt long before that particular habit sorted itself out, and she was striding around the Keep like a pro.

Everyone she met was friendly, too. The accents took a little getting used to, and she was sure that shed mildly exasperated the first few people shed chatted with, having to get them to repeat themselves time and time again… but she knew her ear would adjust sooner or later. It was a relief to have the other time-lost women to talk to, too. Nancy, Anna, and Elena made a point of keeping her company as much as possible those first few days, showing her around the Keep, guiding her to the best places to look out over the countryside around them… and more to the point, making sure that she didnt get hopelessly lost as she explored. Without them, she mightnt have found her way back to her room each night… or to the dining hall downstairs for meals.

And that would have been a terrible shame… because the food here was absolutely divine. Ivy was a little embarrassed about how much food she was putting away, especially on her first day, but her friends told her very firmly not to worry about it. Theyd all experienced a similar hunger after their own journeys through the Loch… through something called the burgh, she was told, it was a kind of gateway that stood between this world and the next. It was located at the bottom of the Loch, not far from where the Keep itself stood, which was why all of the time-lost women had entered Scotland by way of swimming ashore. For some of them, it had been easier than for others… like Nancy, whod been in a full set of scuba gear when the Fae had seen fit to snatch her from her world and leave her in this one. Shed had an encounter with none other than the Loch Ness Monster before shed come to the surface… a story that Ivy quietly filed away to ask more about later, when she was feeling a little more ready for the supernatural elements of what was happening here.

The stories werent all fun and games, either. Elena told her, in her characteristically somber voice, that for all intents and purposes, the women whod come to Scotland from the future were dead in their own times. No bodies would remain there to be found, of course… but the Fae simply wouldnt have brought them here if there had been any hope of a life continuing there. Ivy told the story of the drunk driver with a lump in her throat, aware that in a strange way, she was telling the story of her own death.

My car, she said slowly. Does that mean?—

A head-on collision? It would be a wreck, yes, Elena said matter-of-factly. The woman had been a cop in Baltimore, once upon a time… her own not-quite-death had struck when shed been investigating a murder. Theyd assume your body had been burned up, Id imagine… though Im not sure whether the Fae go so far as to put remains in our places…

Getting a bit dark, Elena, Nancy said faintly. Lets focus on the positive, hm?

Yes. The positive is that youre alive, Ivy, and youre here with us. Elena smiled, though there was a sadness in her eyes that Ivy had a feeling didnt often leave them. But its important that you know that theres no way to return home. Not for any of us.

The Keep is my home now, Nancy said softly. And itll be yours too, if you want it to be, Ivy.

Shed thanked them, and the rest of the evening had been spent in much lighter conversation… but still, the subject had weighed on Ivy for the rest of the night, and shed lain awake in her bed for much longer than she usually did, gazing at the ceiling as she grappled with this new information. The journey was one thing. But the knowledge that she would never return to her old life? Never see her friends again, her colleagues, her family? It was going to take a while to sink in, that much was clear. It was grief that she was processing, she knew that, for all that it didnt quite feel like grief yet.

But it would, in time.

She was surprised by how pleasantly the days went by, all things considered. It was something of an adjustment to get used to, the lack of the conveniences shed come to take for granted, especially hot running water whenever she wanted it, and she knew that the homesickness she was beginning to feel around the edges of her mind was going to get worse before it got any better, but the days were full of pleasant distractions… thanks in no small part to her new friends. Having met three of the other time-lost women that first day, it wasnt long before she was introduced to more and more of them, the tell-tale twang of their American accents often announcing them before the look of warmth and recognition in their eyes. There really were a lot of them — nearly a dozen, from what shed been told.

She met Kay, a veterinarian from Wyoming whose professional experience had made her an asset to the whole area. The same was true of Karen, the doctor shed heard about on her first day here, who now worked in the village taking care of the local residents. She was surprised to encounter a few women from law enforcement backgrounds like Elena — there was Melanie, a former private investigator, and Helen, whod been a criminal analyst with the FBI as well as Callie, who had been the skip tracer going after criminals when theyd jumped bail. She was delighted to learn that there was another psychologist among her fellow stranded travelers… Helena was a child psychologist, and she had a feeling the two of them were going to be fast friends. Helena in particular was good to talk to about her lingering worries about leaving her calling behind.

Its strange that the thing I miss most is my job, she said, shaking her head ruefully. Im sure the rest will catch up with me soon. But my work… it really was my life, you know?

I get it, Helena said, touching her shoulder with a soft smile. Its not like you can just transfer to a new clinic here, huh? But if its your calling, Ivy, thats going to be true here as much as it was true back home. Weve all found ways to make our lives here count… to find a way to put our skills to use.

If I can do it, anyone can, Julia put in drily, her eyes sparkling. The bright young woman had been a wildlife photographer before an accident had brought her to the Keep… one of the harder jobs to transfer.

Her new friends were right, of course. Shed find a way to honor her calling here, one way or the other. But it was hard not to feel defeated when she looked too far into the future, when she thought about the fact that she was stuck here for good… here, in a world where nobody even knew what autism was, let alone how to work with children who had it.

Maybe that was why she couldnt get her mind off the baby Nancy had told her about.