Page 181 of Long Live the King
I pulled him intae my arms. And then Kaitlyn began tae stir.
I whispered, “I am here, I hae the bairns, ye are safe.”
She went quiet again.
Jack looked at her with his brow down.
I said, “Mammy sleepy.”
I stood with Jack in the crook of my arm. Archie and Isla, Zoe and Ben were climbing on a boulder, unfazed by the jump.
Sean began tae stir.
I said, “Hey brother, why are ye lyin’ in the mud like a mucag?”
He groaned and threw an arm over his eyes tae block the morning sun. “What kind of demonic enterprise is this?”
“Ye hae traveled upon m’ship, I am welcomin’ ye at port — how was it?”
“Terrible.” He sat up and looked around. “It looks like Scotland.”
“Aye, tis. Why did ye come?”
“Ye sent the message tae me.”
“The message...?”
“Aye, ‘Tha neart againn mar aon’. Twas meant for yer brother, Sean. As soon as I read it I knew ye needed m’service tae yer cause.”
I nodded. “Aye, Brother, thank ye, I am glad ye understood it, and that ye came. It means a great deal tae me.” I put out my hand tae help him tae his feet.
Fraoch lumbered up. “I told ye, Sean, dinna I tell ye?”
“Ye did, and somehow tis worse than ye said.”
“But it inna endless scurvy-inducin’ weeks upon the Atlantic Ocean, at least.”
I said, “How are Lochinvar and the maiden? Where are Quentin and James?”
Fraoch helped Hayley up and counted off on his fingers. “James and Sophie are going tae stay at Balloch for a time, so the bairn is older before they travel. Quentin, Beaty, and Noah will come soon. In the meantime James and Quentin will be goin’ tae Florida on supply runs. Og Lochie has tae convince the maiden tae travel. He says he will be here soon.”
Hayley said, “He will need tae be persuasive. We are a million years in the past. I don’t know if Ash is ready for this much fun.”
Zach and Emma got up. He joked, “You called for me?”
I chuckled. “Ye ken it inna a proper home without Chef Zach.”
He shook his head. “I’m going to guess that cooking now is going to be even more difficult since we’re another four hundred years further in the past?”
“Aye, we daena hae a good fork tae eat with — did ye bring some?”
He said, “Yep, a few. Quentin’s bringing more. Don’t want to change time, but holy shit, gotta have forks to eat. We aren’t barbarians.”
Emma said, “He’s also bringing more toilet paper and orange and lemon trees.”
Fraoch said, “And m’good fishin’ pole, with the blue tackle box.”
I helped Kaitlyn up, and embraced her. Holding Jack between us, she said, against my shoulder, “Were you waiting for us?”
