Page 83 of Only a Breath Away

He sat and the food was placed in front of him.

Then I went with the entourage into Magnus’s room. He exclaimed, “M’wife and a sandwich! She has read m’mind, I was just thinking how hungry I was!”

The nurse said, “My apologies, Your Majesty, I thought you had just eaten.”

They all bowed out of the room.

I huffed, jokingly, with my hands on my hips. “I told them I wanted to bring you a sandwich and about set off a five-alarm emergency. I forgot about all the bending and scraping they do about you here, Mr King. Now that I think about it, you were a king in the thirteenth century too, all the ‘aye your majesty’ and fussing about you — we need to get you back to the present day so you can stop thinkingeveryoneis going to makeeverythingall right for youallthe time.”

“Tis how it has been for me? Everyone is always makin’ it all right for me?” He took a big bite of his sandwich, chewed, swallowed, and moaned happily. “Ye forget I wasmonthsin the past. It dinna seem like everyone was always makin’ it all right, there was a great deal of blood sausage and fish served tae me though I wanted something,anythingelse.”

I chuckled. “Yeah, I’m so sorry, you’re right, you’re the one making sure it’s all right for everyone else. The veryleastyou can get is a sandwich. Lochinvar got one too, and there is a feast planned for later.”

Magnus asked, “Where is m’mother?”

“She’s packing, she’s planning to head to New York tomorrow night. She has a party.”

He grinned. “We are in charge of Lochinvar now?”

“Yes.”

“I figured m’mother would get bored with him. Guess what? Speaking of bored, I am allowed tae leave in the morn. I will meet with General Hammond and m’mother, then we will take Lochinvar tae Maine. He can try tae drive Chef Zach crazy.”

“We will have our hands full, all those kids and two people, Sophie and Lochinvar, fresh from the past, plus Beaty and Fraoch, ai ai ai.” I grinned.

He said, “Ye forgot me, I am from the past.”

I smiled. “I forget sometimes, you’re such an important part of my present.”

* * *

I led Lochinvar to the barber to get his hair and beard trimmed and later we visited Magnus who asked, “Lochinvar, how old are ye? Ye look a verra young man. Far too young tae hae saved m’life in the arena.”

I said, “He doesn’t look that much younger than you did when I first met you.”

Magnus’s eyes went wide. “I never looked that young! There is nae way, he looks fresh as a mewlin’ kitten!”

Lochinvar laughed. “I daena think a fresh mewling kitten would be able tae save yer arse in an arena.”

Magnus chuckled. “Aye, I thank ye Lochinvar, I am verra grateful tae ye for joinin’ the battle.”

“Ye were goin’ tae lose, ye ought nae fight arena battles if ye are goin’ tae lose!”

“Ye ken, Lochinvar, I wasna tryin’ tae lose. Every stadium I enter I plan tae win, ye just caught me on a bad day.”

“How many of those arena battles hae ye had?”

“I daena ken, seven or eight? Donnan would make me fight tae the death tae prove m’worth.”

I said, “So many, too many.”

Lochinvar winced. “He sounds a shite da.”

“Aye, he was.”

“Ye had tae fight for the kingdom, it winna just given tae ye?”

Magnus said, “I had tae fight, the kingdom is passed by bloodline, but anyone with a drop of blood can challenge for the throne. I call m’self a descendant of Normond I but tis tenuous, some in the line of kings were distant cousins. Not all were Campbells, but they all took the name Campbell as they took the throne.”

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