Page 21 of Wild Scottish Rose

“Of course.” Sophie struggled to withhold a smile. “Time to cheese the day and all that.”

Archie sighed and pinched his nose. “We need to get started. The lass is nervous.”

“Cheddar crack on with it then,” Sophie agreed, her face solemn.

“Don’t make it so hard.” Archie scowled at Sophie. Silence drew out, and Archie turned away with a satisfied nod.

“That’s what cheese said,” Sophie rushed out on a breath.

“Damn it, Sophie,” Archie barked.

Despite myself, I laughed, and it helped to ease some of the knots in my stomach. Whether it was Sophie’s intention or not, the fact that she could joke about cheese right now made me feel marginally better about whatever I was about to step into.

Together, we wandered around the side of the castle, Sophie still trying out cheese jokes until we got to Archie’s garden shed where Agnes and Hilda waited. Hilda, a trim woman with friendly eyes and a nurturing air, pulled me in for a tight hug.

“I’m so glad it’s you,” Hilda said. “You’re just the right woman for the job. The Order of Caledonia will be lucky to have you.”

“Will it? I don’t yet understand what my role will be.”

“Accept your power, pass your challenges, strengthen the defenses for the Clach na Fìrinn,” Archie said, summarizing quickly.

“No big deal,” I muttered.

“It is a big deal.” Archie’s tone was serious, whichimmediately tied more knots in my stomach. “But nothing you can’t handle, lass.”

There was something about the calm assurance in his words that eased some of my tension, and I smiled weakly when Agnes gestured to the staff I held.

“Is this your weapon of choice?”

“I mean, I guess? It was that or the gardening trowel. But this was Gran’s, and is well loved, so I figured maybe it would hold any extra power?” I shrugged, feeling a touch silly about talking about power passed down to a walking stick.

That being said, I’d just been having a conversation with a wee gnome in my greenhouse, so my barometer for what was weird was exceptionally skewed at the moment.

“It’s perfect. Now, did you get a good explanation of what the Order is? Do you have any lingering questions before we start?” Hilda asked, and I traced the gravel path in front of the shed with the walking stick as I thought about it.

In some respects, this was all very new knowledge.

In others, it felt like the concept of magick was imprinted on my bones. I had no other way to explain it. It was as easy as accepting that I loved to dig in the dirt, I supposed. It wasn’t all that much of a shock now that I understood that power could be hereditary. I think, if anything, it was the responsibility to the Order, and to my friends, that was making me nervous. Already overwhelmed, I was in the process of taking things off my plate because I was stretched so thin. Would I be able to handle what was required of me to be a helpful and functioning member of the Order?

“Not questions so much as concerns,” I said. “I’m worried that I won’t have a lot to give to the Order. Are there weekly meetings? Do I have daily duties to attend to?”

“Weekly meetings.” Sophie pursed her lips. “I didn’t think about organizing things to that level. We just end up having meetings when there’s a crisis or something that needs attending to.”

“A crisis? What would that look like?” Nerves made me gulp. I continued to trace the stick in the gravel, needing the movement to soothe me.

“Basically, what we just went through with Owen’s friend who almost drowned. We needed an immediate response from Sophie, who, being the Knight, can push the Kelpies back the fastest. Lia would have been there with some sort of tea or medicine had she not been on a trip to Glasgow for kitchen supplies.”

“And me? I was there, and I did nothing,” I pointed out. I had been there, and had frozen, my first exposure to the Kelpies an earth-shattering one. How was anyone expected to respond quickly in front of these otherworldly creatures?

“You didn’t have the knowledge or the tools to help. You did exactly what you were supposed to do. Not get in the way,” Archie barked, picking up a basket and motioning us to follow him.

“And after this ritual?” I hurried to keep up with Archie, trusting him to give it to me straight.

“You’ll know what to do.” Archie passed me a serious look. “Don’t overthink it.”

Obviously, Archie didn’t really know me if he thought it was possible for me not to overthink things. Worrygnawed, and I subsided into silence as we crunched along the path, veering from the gravel to stomp across the soft bank that ran along the burn that cut through the property. Birds fluttered about, stopping for a drink, and the sunlight shimmered across the surface of the stream. Three crows took flight, diving dangerously close to Sophie, but she just wagged a finger up at them.

“I’ll be with you gentlemen later. Go see Lia. She’s taking deliveries today, and I bet she’ll have snacks for you.”

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