[Dunskey Castle 07.0] Leif Read online

  Leif

  A Time Travel Romance

  Jane Stain

  janestain.com

  Contents

  Also by Jane Stain

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Afterword

  Also by Jane Stain

  Also by Jane Stain

  Tavish, Seumas, Tomas

  Time of the Celts, Time of the Picts, Time of the Druids

  Leif, Taran, Luag

  Meehall, Ciaran, Baltair

  RenFaire Druids (the back story)

  As Cherise Kelley

  Dog Aliens (a cuddly dog story)

  High School Substitute Teacher’s Guide

  Copyright held by Cherise Kelley writing as Jane Stain.

  All rights reserved.

  Chapter 1

  Jessica admired Lauren's skill at Charades. It looked like the board of directors did, too. She’d already gotten them to guess she was talking about a movie with three words.

  Meanwhile, their ever-so-charismatic Nicole-Kidman look-alike friend Katherine was quietly speaking to their CEO in the corner.

  Mr. Hartman guessed Lauren’s movie and went up to take a turn.

  Lauren sat down next to her, nodding at their mutual friend.

  “Katherine could sell manure to a rancher.”

  Jessica nudged Lauren.

  “Ew. Why do you always have to be so … earthy?”

  By the end of this ‘team-building’ evening, Katherine had gotten them two days off to tour some castle ruins while they were here in Scotland for the trade show.

  At breakfast in their hotel’s restaurant the morning of their first day off, Lauren arrived with a woman their age whom Jessica didn’t know.

  Jessica’s eyes dropped to stare at the dagger strapped to Lauren’s belt. Where had Lauren found such a marvelous antique? It was wicked looking: ancient jagged iron, etched with runes.

  Lauren caught Jessica staring and shrugged casually as she pushed the bright white tablecloth in and sat down, gesturing for her friend to join her and Katherine at their small table.

  "Jessica, Katherine, this is one of my old friends from the Renaissance Faire. Kelsey, these are my coworkers. This is Jessica and that’s Katherine.”

  Kelsey remained standing, but her smile was friendly and she shook their hands.

  “I can’t stay. I have a meeting to get to. But it’s a pleasure to finally meet you two. I’ve heard so much about you.”

  She shared an odd look with Lauren, and then left.

  Lauren half stood so they could see the dagger again.

  “You like it?"

  Katherine raised her eyebrows in that mystifying way she had that was not at all impolite but obviously disapproving.

  "Are you sure you won't be arrested for carrying such a thing?”

  Lauren patted the dagger as if she'd been carrying it every day of her life and dared anyone to try and take it. It was a good imitation of the Scots they'd seen on TV in the Outlander show. To top it all off, she spoke in that Gaelic accent she could put on when she wanted to.

  "Aye, I checked intae it. Ye canna hae guns here, mind, but Heaven forfend anyone prevent ye from carrying yer trusty dagger."

  Jessica laughed. She couldn’t help it. Lauren’s perfect imitation of Star Trek’s Scotty was one of the reasons she and Lauren had become friends in college and agreed to apply to work together at PenUlt.

  Katherine straightened her stylish pink silk mini dress and pointedly pursed her lips in another charmingly disapproving look that somehow escaped being rude.

  "Nice try, but it doesn’t do anything for that … outfit you have on. We’re going on a tour, not to a casting call."

  Lauren was dressed in an old fashioned, loose, long-sleeved woolen sheath dress. Jessica thought she might have seen it before. Maybe when Lauren dragged her out to see a Shakespearean play that had a small ‘happening’ outside of it, with people in period clothing who spoke with accents the way Lauren did sometimes. A woolen leine, she called it. And Lauren's plaid shawl was unremarkable at first glance, but when you combined it with the woolen leine, it was downright costume-y.

  Jessica sat up straight in her chair and put her toast down.

  "Out with it, Lauren. Is there some sort of medieval fair at these ruins we’ll be touring? Is that the real reason you wanted to go see them? Not cool, because Katherine stuck her nose out for us, you know, going in there and saying if we came all this way then shouldn’t we see the local sites."

  But Katherine wrinkled her nose in that way that meant she approved of some mischief.

  "Dinna fash," she said in imitation of Jamie Fraser, to giggles all around. "It wasn't any trouble at all. Piece of cake, really."

  Jessica gave Katherine an envious smile.

  "And to think, all through school I was so proud of my brains, when all along I should have been trying to cultivate level-twenty charisma like you have."

  They all laughed, and then Lauren, unable to sit still for very long in the best of circumstances, jumped up, grabbed her purse, and headed toward the cashier with the check.

  "Let's get going. We only have two days off, and we need to make the most of them. First, I'm taking the two of you shopping so that you, too, will blend into the atmosphere of the ruins."

  Once Lauren was out of earshot, Jessica met Katherine's gaze. A little embarrassed of her college friend in front of this sophisticated new friend who had grown up in LA, she lowered her voice, glancing over to make sure Lauren was still far away.

  "It could be worse."

  Wrinkling her nose with a bit of mischief because Jessica hadn't ever confided in her before about Lauren, Katherine regally raised her teacup to her lips and took a dainty sip.

  "Oh? How could it be worse, pray tell."

  Jessica took a fortifying slurp of her own tea, heavily laced with milk and sugar.

  "At least she's into something cool like Outlander. Imagine if instead she was all about football.”

  "That's a very good point," Katherine said with an appreciative smile that would've charmed a gypsy into letting you sleep in his wagon without him.

  The doorman got them a cab, and after they all piled in — with Katherine in front, of course — Lauren leaned up against the cabbie’s seat to talk to him.

  “Please take us to a shop where they have medieval clothes and shoes.”

  Katherine turned her head to the right and showed Jessica the amused look on her face, but the cabbie didn’t bat an eyelash, just pulled out into traffic and was on his way.

  “Verra good, ma’am.”

  Wanting her two friends to get along, Jessica changed the subject to something they all had in common.

  “Well, this trip has been mostly a bust for PenUlt so far. No one but you has sold anything.”

  Katherine nodded soberly.

  “Yep. Who knew the Scots still used traditional versions of so many PenUlt products?”

  While Katherine paid the cabbie, Jessica looked at the shop he’d brought them to.

  "It doesn't look too nice, Lauren. Are you sure you want to get out here?"

  But it was no use. Lauren was already gett
ing out of the cab, and then she was hurrying into the shop, not even turning to see if Jessica and Katherine were following.

  Before they went inside, Jessica gave Katherine a look that said ‘Oh well, might as well humor her, right?’ and Katherine shrugged a single shoulder with an ‘I guess we’ll have to’ look.

  In her heels, short dress, and dainty little coat, Katherine looked out of place inside this shop, which was full of shawls and leines and other implements of pretending to be old-fashioned — including several swords and scabbards hanging on the wall.

  The good thing was it didn't appear to be a used clothing store. No, in fact there was a loom in the corner, and the shopkeeper was bent over her hand sewing even now, stopping for just a moment to smile up at them before she went back to it.

  "Hello dearies. Dinna let my industriousness stop you from asking questions. Is there anything special I can show you?"

  Katherine gave the shopkeeper one of her million-dollar smiles and sauntered over to the small jewelry counter, browsing idly while obviously bored — yet still not rude or impolite. How did she do that?

  "Thank you. These things are just not my style, you understand. Lauren brought us here, and it appears she's found what she was looking for already."

  Katherine then took out her phone and made a call, facing the corner of the shop.

  Jessica went over to where Lauren was browsing through several long and very wide woolen shawls, all with beautiful brooches to fasten them. Most were various patterns of plaid, but some were in solid colors and even stripes. All were fringed at the ends.

  What! The price tags made Jessica’s eyes cross.

  "They're beautiful,” she told Lauren. “I can see why you like them, but that’s a lot of money to spend for something you’ll only wear once or twice a year when you go to one of your medieval events, isn’t it?"

  Lauren was working her way along a rack.

  "Here, try on this grey one, Jessica. It suits you: practical yet well-crafted. Sensible, in other words."

  Jessica wasn't at all interested in the huge wool blanket, but Lauren draped it over her shoulders anyway, fastening it on her chest with the brooch and then straightening the folds so that the shawl fell gracefully almost to the floor. Part of Jessica's mind was impressed that Lauren had been able to pick one that was exactly made for her height, but the rest of her was just uncomfortable with the idea of spending — What! 200 pounds? It was handwoven, but really! — on something she didn't even want, let alone need.

  Lauren was fussing around her, looking everywhere except in her eyes.

  "You have to admit this fall air is crisp. I don't know how Katherine can stand it outside in just that tiny jacket she's wearing over that flimsy little minidress. What was she thinking?"

  Katherine had heard, and she looked up from her phone call.

  "This tiny jacket has goose down stuffing, I'll have you know. It’s quite warm."

  At this, the shopkeeper put down her sewing and lowered her glasses on her nose as she got up to admire Katherine’s jacket.

  “Oh yes, it is quite nice, dearie.”

  Lauren held up a deep blue and white striped shawl from the other side of the small shop.

  "Look at this one, Katherine. Won’t it look amazing in pictures of you at the ruins? Just imagine sharing them on Facebook. We can take videos, even, with these shawls billowing around us as we walk up and down the stone castle steps."

  Now done with her call and back at the small jewelry counter, Katherine pretended to appraise the shawl, but it was obvious she had no interest in it.

  "My compliments on your selection abilities, Lauren. It matches my eyes perfectly. But no, I much prefer my tiny little coat — which is in style."

  Lauren had moved over to where there were handmade leather shoes on the shelf, and boots too — though the boots must have been prohibitively expensive. Visibly deflated and oddly upset, Lauren nevertheless tried again.

  "We don't want you to twist your ankle on the castle steps. They’re at least a thousand years old, you know. What’s your shoe size?"

  Katherine blinked several times rapidly.

  "Lauren, there's no way I'm buying any of those shoes, either. They wouldn’t go with anything I own."

  Lauren had picked up a pair that looked very sturdy and were beautifully made, but they were so far away from anything Katherine would wear that Jessica laughed — then shot the shop owner an apologetic look.

  But the shopkeeper took it in good humor, shaking her head with a wry smile on her face as she pulled the thread through the fabric.

  Holding the shoes up, Lauren called out to Katherine again.

  "What size, Katherine? I'm buying. I insist."

  Jessica felt immune to Lauren's ministrations as she took off the expensive grey shawl and hung it back up, looking down appreciatively at the hiking boots she had chosen to wear with jeans, a turtleneck sweater, and a windbreaker jacket. Snug as a bug in a rug.

  Pretending to be especially interested in a pair of old fashioned gold earrings, Katherine shrugged offhandedly.

  "Seven. I wear size seven."

  Jessica didn't understand why Lauren was so concerned about Katherine's shoes, but since she was, Jessica thought her friend wise not to ask Katherine which pair she liked the best. Nope. Lauren picked Katherine’s shoes out herself and tucked them under her arm. And then, she took the grey shawl off the hanger and put it over her shoulder, turning toward Jessica.

  "I’ll get this for you. I want our pictures to be special."

  Lauren had obviously made up her mind, and she could be surprisingly stubborn about some things. Witness her own dowdy look.

  Jessica objected of course, but since she didn’t expect to prevail, it was only halfhearted.

  "It's just a waste of money, Lauren. I'm probably only going to wear it today and tomorrow and that's it. If you really want to spend 200 pounds on me, I have my eye on the new iPhone. I’d let you pay half."

  But of course Lauren dropped off the blue and grey shawls and the shoes at the old fashioned mechanical cash register and went over to a rack of huge woolen sheath dresses like hers. Leines. Woolen leines.

  She’s already spending a small fortune on frivolous purchases, and she wants to add more? Oh well. She can afford it. Engineers make more than nurse medical advisors.

  Not wanting to watch this reckless overspending, Jessica sidled up to Katherine at the jewelry counter.

  "Well this is turning into an expensive stop."

  Distracted by the earrings she was looking at, Katherine just made a noncommittal noise. Wow, was there something in this shop Katherine was interested in after all? But no, she put them down.

  Lauren, however, hurried on over to pick the earrings up again and dangle them from Katherine’s ears, pointing her toward the small mirror on the jewelry counter, glancing at their price tag as she did so and smiling to herself.

  "Those are a steal at only 20 pounds," Lauren whispered to Katherine. “You should get them to resell, if nothing else."

  Oddly, where appealing to safety and warmth had failed to get through to Katherine, this appeal to greed was succeeding, because Katherine took hold of the delicately interwoven pendent on one of the earrings and studied it, plainly with resale on her mind and not with how it made her look.

  While Katherine studied the earring, a new cabbie ducked his head inside the shop.

  “Cab here for a lady named Katherine?”

  The lady in question looked up, smiling smugly.

  “Yes, we’ll be right out.”

  The shopkeeper was on the ball, because she went right to the register.

  Katherine bought her earrings and then grabbed Jessica’s hand and tugged her toward the door with a victorious smile.

  “The cab’s waiting, Lauren.”

  A minute later, Lauren got in the cab with them, hugging the two shawls and the shoes to her chest, but she didn’t look happy. No, she looked worried, of all things.<
br />
  The cab ride from the shop to the tourist site hadn't been much fun with all of Lauren’s grumbling about how she had intended to get them each a leine, too, and why had Katherine called the cab so early?

  But now they were here, and Lauren appeared to be pulling herself together and making her best effort to enjoy the begged-for tour of some castle ruins.

  She held out Jessica's grey shawl for her.

  "Please wear the shawl I got you.”

  Intending to give her friend a ‘Why such a big deal?’ smile, Jessica hesitated.

  Instead of the hurt and petulant look you would expect from someone whose party had been pooped, Lauren’s face was worried. And calculating. A very familiar look it was, since they had both been working a year in PenUlt’s research and development department: the look of an engineer pondering the repercussions of an unanticipated factor in a large plan.

  Jessica shook her head to clear it. That was ridiculous. Lauren was just disappointed that she and Katherine hadn't gone along with her dress plans. She wanted old fashioned photos of the castle ruins, that was all.

  And really, what would it cost to wear the grey shawl? Jessica held out her hands for it.

  "Of course I’ll wear mine. Thank you for getting it for me. I'm sorry to seem so ungrateful. It's a nice gift."

  That worried look on Lauren's face had softened a bit, just a tiny bit, but noticeable. She steeled her face and turned to Katherine with the blue shawl. And the practical shoes. But Katherine was already in line outside the tour office, chatting with a young couple who were probably on their honeymoon, the way they clung to each other.