Page 16 of Laird of Twilight
Elspeth frowned. She had already decided to find the stone herself. If she found the stone and set it into the rock on the hill as she had seen Donal do, and if nothing happened then, she would know the truth.
And if something did happen—if she saw the fairy realm—then she would know her grandfather’s tales were true, and she should indeed be cautious. And besides, the blue crystal belonged to Donal, and he should fetch it. Otherwise, it might be lost in Struan House’s new gardens.
What if fairy magic, Donal’s bargain, and the story about her birth and destiny were all true? She shivered, hoping it was fancy.
Chapter 4
These spritely creatures often inhabit the lush wooded groves of Scotland, particularly in the Highlands, found in caves and hillsides…fairies prefer to reside in hills, mountains, caves, and near natural wells and springs...
What a load of pretty nonsense, James thought. He dipped his pen in fresh ink to make a note on the creamy paper.Find local sites,he wrote.
As a knock sounded at the study door, he looked up, grateful for the interruption, for he had worked all afternoon. Mrs. MacKimmie peered in the door and then entered. “My lord, I beg your pardon, but Mary the downstairs maid has just quit your service.”
“Another one?” He set down the pen. “Was it the banshee again? That sent the other girl screaming from here three days ago.” The creature, or the door hinge, had shrieked through the whole of the first two nights after he had arrived.
“That, and the haunts and fairies. Mary says she canna stay in a household plagued by strange things. She wants to return to Edinburgh today.”
He frowned. “That’s all the housemaids gone in less than a week.”
“Aye, sir.” She stood with hands folded. James noticed then that she wore a long pelisse and a bonnet.
“Are you ready to leave my service as well?”
“Of course not, sir.” She smiled faintly.
“So we are infested with fairies as well as banshees, ghosts, boggles, brownies, some nesting doves, and a few mice,” he said, pen still poised in his hand.
“The fairy ilk, aye, they’re about, and soon will ride, as I told you.”
“Surely you don’t believe that, Mrs. MacKimmie. But it is a charming local tradition. What did the maid see today? A moth flitting from lamp to lamp?”
“She said there was a fairy in the garden today, a beautiful creature that turned and saw her, then vanished among the bushes. Poor girl was so upset she could not stay another day. Those Southron lasses Lady Rankin sent have no head for a good fright. Begging your pardon, sir. Being Southron yourself.”
“I’m surprised the girl could see anything in the garden with all this rain,” James remarked. “Not even the bravest duck would be out in such a downpour as this. Not that I believe in such phenomena as phantasms, fairies, and whatnot.” He dipped his pen in the ink again to resume writing about just such whatnot.
“Struan House is a favorite place for the fairies, sir. Used to belong to them, so they say. There is more of the Otherworld in our own world than we know.”
“If there is a fairy in the garden, we should invite her inside to dry off and have some tea.” As he spoke, he turned a page in the manuscript and took a few notes, inked nib whispering over paper.Fairy riding, he wrote.Local custom in autumn.
“I came to tell you, sir, that I must leave, but only for a day or two.”
He looked up. “I hope the fairies have not frightened you away as well.”
“Oh, no! I always leave the house for a few days to allow for the fairy riding. We all do. But my daughter just had another child, and so I’d like to visit her, and must leave earlier than planned. Mr. MacKimmie as well, of course.”
“Certainly. As I told you, I am happy to have a few days to myself here.”
“If you feel comfortable, sir. Thank you. One of the grooms will drive me and then return with the gig. Mr. MacKimmie will take the landau to drive the housemaids to catch the post-chaise in Callander to go back to Edinburgh. He will meet me at our daughter’s house. We will be gone no more than a few days. Beg your pardon for leaving you thus.”
“Not at all.”Locals avoid the Fairy Riding at all costs,he wrote.
“There’s food in the larder, sir, and soup in the kettle today. The groom will be back to see to the milk-cow in the byre, the horses, and the chickens. And I’ve sent word to a local family to ask if their daughter could come round to see to the housekeeping for you until I return.”
“That’s very efficient, Mrs. MacKimmie. Thank you.”
“Oh, I nearly forgot,” she said. “The post arrived just now, very late. The post driver said the roads are that muddy, and he does not expect to be back for a week or more.” She set three letters on the corner of the desk. “I’ll just leave, shall I?”
He took the letters and smiled. “Good day, and safe journey.”
