8. Chapter 8 - Kaitlyn

CHAPTER 8 - KAITLYN

RIDE IN KING’S PARK - JUNE 16, 1291

M agnus asked, “Where are the bairns?”

I said, “The kids are in their lessons and Jack is napping.”

He said, “Perfect, would ye like tae go for a ride in the King’s Park?”

“I would love that. Do you need our horses readied?”

He smiled. “I already did it.”

“You have been planning this?”

“From the moment I called for ye tae come tae this century, I hae been thinking on our rides. I took Archibald out this morn, now I want tae ride with m’wife.” He put his finger to his lips. “But Isla stamped her foot at me and told me I was only allowed tae take ye if we dinna hae any fun, so we will hae tae tell her twas terrible, even if tis wonderful.”

I laughed, “Perfect. It will be just us?”

“Just us and four guardsmen. We must pretend as if they arna with us tae hae the whole effect of our private romantic ride.”

“In your mind you’re a great deal more unencumbered.”

We walked together across the courtyard tae the stables with Haggis happily following along behind. “Aye, in my mind I am not a king, I am just a Scottish man who wants tae shew his wife a verra fine trail tae take in the glorious view of the landscape. Alas, I am the king of all of it, so it inna quite as romantic as it ought tae be.”

“I don’t know, seems to me like plenty of women would swoon at the idea of a king showing them a view of his kingdom. This sounds very romantic.”

He laughed. “It could be, but in this scenario ye are thinking of yerself as a ‘woman’ instead of a queen.”

I joked, “Och nae, that is not how I want to be seen. I wish I was a lot more unencumbered too.”

“Exactly.”

We came to our horses, stable men bowed, and Magnus held the reins so I could pull myself up, making it, after all these years, almost effortlessly.

He passed me the reins with a look of appreciation in his eyes.

I asked, “Did you like that?”

“Och aye, I liked it verra much, it has been a while since I hae seen ye on a horse.”

He climbed on the back of his horse, and pulled alongside mine. Haggis, ever the sentry, walked alongside. The four guards drew their horses behind us, and we left through the gate to the grounds.

As we passed along the grassy hill sweeping away alongside the path, I said, “It’s odd how this is all familiar. We were here in the thirteenth century, but time was shifting, we were in two different places, it was all so confusing. And then we were also here with Mary of Guise, in 1551. It looked very different then.”

“Aye, in a little over two hundred and fifty years we will be here. There will be games held right over there. They will cut down a great many trees.” He pointed.

“ That ’s where I kicked all the ladies’ arses at archery.”

He chuckled. “Twas another fine sight.”

He drew his horse around behind mine.

I said, “Wait, aren’t you supposed to be in the lead?”

“Am I? We are only goin’ there.” He pointed toward the place where the path cut into the woods at the edge of the King’s Park. “And I do greatly prefer the view from back here.”

I said, “You, Master Magnus, are incorrigible.”

He said, “Did ye say something, Madame Campbell? Tis hard tae hear ye over the sight of yer…” He pulled his horse alongside mine, leaned in, and I kissed him on the lips.

I glanced at the guards, they were pretending to look elsewhere.

We came to the woods and entered his park.

He pulled in front of me, looking around at the trees surrounding and arching above us.

I said, “I only see ‘trees’, what trees are these?” Because I knew it was one of his favorite things to talk about.

“Dost ye see there, Kaitlyn, tis an ancient oak, think on it, ancient, already .”

I looked up at it. “Wow, that’s amazing, imagine what that tree has seen.”

“Much of what it has seen has been lost tae history, men who are nameless.” He pointed, “And there is a birch, and a grouping of pines.”

The ground was carpeted with mosses and ferns, I pointed, “Look! Bluebells!”

“Aye, the fae planted them. They hae been at work all around here.” He breathed in. “Och, I love the scent of a Scottish forest.”

I inhaled. It was the aroma of pine carried on a breeze mixed with the odor of musty, loamy soil. It was hard to describe except it smelled thick and old and deep. Heavy.

We drew to the field, where we had jumped, then rode across it and our path began to climb.

He said, “Ye can continue on?”

I said, “Aye. Did you bring Archie up here?”

“Nae, we kept tae the fields on the edge of King’s Park, but I wanted tae speak tae him alone for a time.”

“Is he doing okay? I haven’t had the time to check in.”

“Aye, he is much better — he told me somethin’ interestin’.”

“What?”

“That he is using one of Barb’s wisdoms tae keep himself calm about becomin’ a king someday.”

“The ‘pay attention to the butterflies...’ one?”

“Nae, the ‘Do what makes the best story’ one.”

I looked up at the dappled light filtering through the canopy. “How does that apply?”

“He is thinkin’ tae himself that the story is one he canna step out of, so he might as well make it good.”

“I love that, Barb would be thrilled if she knew her great-grandson was living according to one of her maxims. Especially if she knew he was a prince. Her mind would be blown by all of this.”

Magnus said, “He is growin’ intae a fine boy. I believe she is lookin’ down upon him, and warmly smilin’.”

I said, “She had a beautiful smile.” I turned and looked out at the woods. “She would have loved it here.”

We walked for a bit, then he said, “Look at the trees.”

I had been concentrating on my horse picking its path — the road was rocky, and somehow I thought my concentration was necessary, but Magnus was riding in front now, and my horse was content to follow him and was careful enough.

I didn’t need to look up, we were as high as the canopy and it was lush and green and beautiful, as if we were nestled in the upper branches.

I said, “I would love to live in a treehouse.”

He laughed. “Och nae, like a bird, mo reul-iuil? What... How...? I hae too many questions tae even begin.”

“I know, I know, it doesn’t make sense, but still...”

He said, “Twould be fun for about an hour, tops.” Then he twisted in his saddle to ask, “Are ye good, we are goin’ higher still.”

I said, “Yes, I’m good, and I love the air up here, it smells like flowers and trees and clean...”

“Aye, the air grows more fresh as we go.” He arched to look up at a grouping of eight hawks swooping in the blue sky over the rise. “We hae been havin’ some fine weather.”

I said, “We deserve it, couldn’t have happened to nicer people.”

He said, “Aye, but the hawks above mean change is comin’.”

“Does it? Uh oh. I don’t like the sound of that. We have been winning, I don’t want it to get scary again.”

“Twill. Ye canna be the King of Scotland and expect the winds tae favor ye with calm, tis more likely tae bluster with ill-will, tis the way of the winds, ye canna fight them.” He looked up again and back at the guards around us. “I daena want tae frighten ye, Kaitlyn, I just want ye tae ken. We hae a great deal of power, tis likely that we will be warrin’ over it.”

“The part that sucks about that is it’s power you didn’t really want.”

“Aye, true.”

“Is there something going on that you haven’t told me about?”

“The King of England, Edward the First, has been threatenin’ us, he is at our border.”

“Oh? That sounds dire.”

“Tis, he has a mighty army. Cailean and I sent word tae the French king, Philipe le Bel, askin’ for his assistance. But I daena like askin’ for it, Philipe le Bel’s name stands for ‘Philip the Fair’. He is verra young and I daena wish him tae think I am weak.”

“But you’re new to this, you only learned it, when... yesterday?”

“I think I hae known it for months, but also, I just learned it — time shifts, spins and rolls, and I must try tae stay atop of the wheel. Even though I am hearin’ something for the first time, I must pretend tae hae known it already.” He directed Dràgon around a boulder and back tae the path, and turned to make sure my horse was following well.

He shifted back in his seat and said, “But ye ken, I hae had tae do this most of m’life. I am practiced at the art of pretendin’ tae ken what is goin’ on. I was masterful with ye, ye had nae idea I was a time traveler?—”

I teased, “I barely noticed you had no idea how to work the light switches or turn on the hot water.”

“Ye saw me as competent, capable, and not needin’ of yer help at all. Tis why ye kept offerin’ tae drive me places.”

“That’s because you were so hot, literally — remember when you were sweltering in the house with no idea how to turn on the AC?”

He chuckled. “Tis not yer usual meanin’ of the word ‘hot’ tae describe me.”

“You were hot and you were also so very hot .”

The climb grew steep, I went back to concentrating on my horse’s path, but then I said, “But all kidding aside, so the English King is threatening?”

“Aye, he would like us tae bend the knee tae him. I winna, so there is likely tae be trouble.”

“By trouble you mean, battles?”

He nodded.

I said, “What are we talking about: in a few years we might have to deal with him, or...?”

“He is amassin’ troops on our border, tis likely tae be a pressin’ problem.” He turned to see my face. “Our messenger should return this evening, bringing us news. I will tell ye as soon as we ken.”

“I’ll be grateful when we have everyone under the same roof — when will Lochie and Quentin get here?”

“In the next few days they will arrive with the weapons. Then I will gather m’men and make some decisions?—”

We both looked up at the sound of a hawk, cawing in the wind. I watched it swoop and turn on the breeze, then we continued the climb to the highpoint for the view.

As we came upon the rise, two of the guards checked the area was safe. They gave us the all clear and Magnus and I climbed down from our horses and stood side by side on a large boulder for the view. It wasn’t the widest view, the mountains behind us blocked the south, but we could see the north, a valley before us, the river snaking through, and to the right, the castle up on its high promontory.

He smiled appreciatively as his eyes scanned the landscape, then a flash of a scowl at the castle.

I said, “What?”

He said, “M’castle looks weak and defenseless, dost ye see the part of the wall that is built with timber? Twas built tae hold archers and defend against arrows, but armaments hae grown more powerful. We need the walls of Stirling tae be built of heavy granite, strong enough tae take blows by cannonballs.”

“Sean is organizing that though.”

“Aye he is meeting with the men of the quarry — the stone will come. The artisans will be hired, but until then I will scowl whenever I look in that direction.”

I said, “I think we ought to turn this way then.” I pushed his shoulders around so that we were facing southwest, with the castle behind us. Woods and mountains, stretching all the way to the?—

Magnus cocked his head.

I asked, “Do you see something?”

“Aye, there is a group on horseback.” Haggis, either seeing them, or sensing Magnus’s interest, began to bark.

Magnus said, “That is enough, Haggis.”

The dog sat down beside Magnus’s legs and growled in that direction.

I saw a brief glimpse of a movement, very far away. I didn’t see it as a group on horseback at all, just as a change in light, but Magnus and his guardsmen were all tense, watching. Magnus strode to the horses and retrieved his binoculars from a side bag.

I peered in that direction, but it seemed miles away. I saw nothing to my naked eye.

He trained the binoculars. There were hawks soaring above the place where we were focusing.

He said, “There are men there, at least six... not mine, the coat of arms is...” He quieted while he looked, then added, “English.”

He watched through the binoculars for a long time, then said, “I daena see anything anymore.”

I said, “I don’t mean to sound like an idiot, but maybe it’s just some English men out for a ride?”

He looked up at the hawks winging through the sky, then squeezed my hand. “Nae, I ken ye are tryin’ tae set our minds at ease, mo reul-iuil, but if the English are journeyin’ through Scotland, it is likely there is an enemy gathering strength. I haena met him yet, but I fear he is just over the horizon.”

He called the guards over and they conferred. My husband’s voice was low and rumbling, speaking in Gaelic, it was comforting though I didn’t understand. Then he sent two men to investigate and we waited quietly, occasionally watching through his binoculars.

He said, “I am sorry this disrupted our ride.”

I said, “It’s fine, it was a good day, and I'm glad I was here. It’s been a long time since we rode together — how about we pretend we weren’t interrupted?”

“We can try.” He reached out and brushed a strand of my hair blowing against my cheek and tucked it behind my ear. Then he kissed my temple, where the sun was warming my skin, his mouth lingered there.

I said, “Thank you.”

“For what, mo reul-iuil?”

“That kiss, the view, the moment alone.”

“Nae problem, I needed it as well.” He checked his watch. “We ought tae get ye back, m’guards will catch up.”

He held my horse’s reins so I could climb up, then he climbed on Dràgon and led us on the return path tae the castle.

After the guardsmen caught up and he spoke with them, I asked, “What did they find?”

“Naethin’, m’men dinna see anything or anyone over there. They are probably scouts for the English King, but they daena hae permission tae be on my lands.”

We continued on.

“What do we do? There’s no phone, no way to call England and say ‘Hey, we just saw your dudes here, that’s an uncool thing to do, don’t do it again.’”

“Aye, we daena hae phones, a lot could be solved with phones. Instead I will hae tae send m’own scouts out, tae ascertain where they are. Engage with them, demand an accountin’ for the trespassing.”

“At least he’s an old school king and not involved in time travel.”

“Aye, it gives me an upper hand.”

Just as we were about to emerge from the forest at the wide fields, the guard behind us called, “Mag Mòr!”

We both slowed our horses and turned. He was pointing at the sky ahead of us. Through the canopy, between us and the castle, we had a glimpse of a large storm. The trees began to whip in the wind, a loud roar above us, thunder rumbling.

I said, “Isn’t that the place that we jump in and out of? If it’s Lochie, isn’t he a day early?”

Magnus urged our horses to go faster.