“I do believe ye,” he answered. “Maybe nay all of it, but aye, ye are a very strange lady so I can believe that ye dinnae belong here.”
Isla stopped midway when an angry rumble came from the cloud and disrupted her rant. She raised her head to the sky at the same time Jack did, and he noticed the clouds were gathering high above. The once blueness slowly turned into a mid-gray that hinted at darkness even though it was still midday and the wind that blew against them was strong enough to ruffle her hair.
He moved quickly and led her toward the shade provided by a wide oak tree. Shortly after, the rain started.
“It is a crazy plan,” Jack said to her. “But we can help each other this way. Also the treasure ye speak of… if it really exists and I dinnae believe that it is anythin’ more than a myth, but if it is real then it will benefit me and my Clan.”
“I will never pass as your betrothed,” she said. “Besides, your people do not even know me, and I do not know anything about you.” She stopped, pressed her lips together, then continued. “In my time people usually court before they propose marriage.”
Jack smiled. He loved her actions, and the expressions she made as she spoke. Her lips either lifted at the sides or paused, and she made small hand gestures while her brows arched, creased, and even sometimes furrowed.
Isla was expressive, and he sensed there was a fire to her he was yet to experience. Jack didn’t think she was crazy even though believing everything she said was still hard for him.
But how else would she know about my Clan if she wasn’t from here? And the things she said about Scotland and England, how true is that?
Jack looked back at her when she asked, “Even if I agree to this, how do we find your people help? You said you needed support to make sure you can provide for them. I’m guessing my dowry will do that, but I have no dowry. I have nothing here, not until I can return to where I came from.”
“The treasure will be yer dowry when it is found, and my people willnae ask for it until it is time for us to wed. I will handle all of that, ye neednae worry about it,” he replied. “Anythin’ else doesnae matter. I will handle the rest, I just need ye to be by my side. We can make everyone believe we are betrothed, that way they will let me continue with my plans to secure the future of my Clan.”
“Do you really have a plan? One that would work?” she asked, then dropped her hands to her side.
“I will come up with somethin’,” he told her before he dragged in a deep breath and released it slowly.
Jack couldn’t tell if she felt the same sensations that crept through him and made his heart skip. It made his breath hitch in his throat and made it difficult for him to think.
It seemed like she was thinking as she kept looking at him. Her eyes did not leave his for a long time, but when she looked away in the end, she said, “This will work because you’re in luck. I happen to know a lot about Scottish traditions and lifestyle. It’s going to be so much fun.”
Jack frowned because she had used another word he did not understand. “Lifestyle?” he repeated.
This time, she flung her head back and laughed. “Interesting,” she said. “Lifestyle is a word used to describe how people in a certain time are living.”
She smiled wide. Her eyes lit up in a way he hadn’t seen before, and her cheeks glowed. The image of her that way etched into his memory, and as they continued their ride after the rain subsided again, Jack found himself thinking about it, and reliving in the moment when he heard the bubbly ripples of her laugh.
His body hardened just from replaying the thought in his mind and he already knew that this was going to be an adventurous time for him considering how he already responded to Isla’s nearness.
* * *
Isla didn’t think Jack’s plan was an impossible one to achieve. Her only problem was, how could she survive here for three months until the fair?
She was still trying to take in the news of being here in 1650. Her head still felt like someone had smashed her hard and she had chest pains just from her heavy breathing, but the afternoon skies had turned to evening, and now night was upon them, but there was no difference.
I am really in 1650.It was starting to dawn on her as time rolled by slowly. Isla shook her head and tried to re-focus her thoughts on the present. She still had to find a way to locate that cave and get back to her friends.
They had paused in their journey again. This time, they took shelter in a cave. Isla tried her luck to see if she would find the medallion. She went into the cave with a torch Jack made for her, but there was nothing in there.
By the time she got back out, Jack was standing in front of the campfire he made. Her gaze dropped to the animal he held in one hand and as he dropped to a squat, Isla walked closer to the fire to see what he was doing.
“Is that—” she trailed off before she could complete the question, and Jack’s answer finished it for her.
“A rabbit,” he said, “it’s our supper.”
He took out a knife from the side of his boots, got down on his knees and started to skin the animal. The first cut he made on the rabbit sent a bolt of nausea right through her.
Isla groaned and turned away. Her right hand moved to her abdomen, and the left one to her chest. Another retching sound tore out from her throat as goosebumps arose all over her skin.
“You’re going to eat that?” she asked. “An animal you’ve skinned yourself?”
Jack didn’t say anything to her, so she sucked in a deep breath to still her quivering insides.