Page 28 of The Curse of McMillan Castle
The moonlight through the window at the end of the long hall cast enough light in front of her to see the silhouette plainly, and after those nights of staring at her in the painting, Rosie would’ve recognized that face anywhere.
Rosie opened her mouth to scream for Cooper, but no sound came out as Osla’s ghost floated toward her.
Chapter 17
Madeline
My strong, obstinate daughter was a wreck. Usually, getting into trouble delighted her. Not this time. She knew she’d messed up, and she regretted it to her core. I held her as she cried into my chest.
“It’s going to be okay. Baodan is not going to scream at you. We just have to figure out what to do about all of this.”
Rosie continued to cry, her voice so muffled I had to strain to understand her.
“No…he…won’t. He will never forgive me, and I don’t blame him. His dead wife is haunting him thanks to me.”
“Listen.” I pulled her away from me just enough so that she was looking into my eyes. “Whatever is going on here, you didn’t cause it. You two might have changed something by burning the painting, but this all started long ago. We’re going to figure it out.”
Hours after Kenna and I discovered the painting missing, Cooper and Rosie had burst into my bedroom, both crying hysterically in the wee hours of the night.
I’d been up all night thinking about it—trying to figure out a solution. I’d come to two different conclusions. One, we needed Morna—the meddling witch primarily to blame for all of the time-traveling madness. Two, I needed to be the one to get her—seeing as it was my daughter’s bright idea to set Osla’s ghost free within the castle.
My midday date with Duncan would have to wait, and I couldn’t give him a real explanation as to why.
It broke my heart to think about how my unexplained disappearance from the castle was most assuredly going to come across as if I intended to blow him off, but I couldn’t see any other choice.
Kenna, who I also knew had slept little and whom I’d visited with after calming Cooper and Rosie down, had gathered Baodan and Mitsy in the sitting room so we could tell them everything that had happened along with our plan to fix the mess.
Rosie drew in one, long shaky breath, wiped her nose on a handkerchief, and steadied her gaze.
“Okay, Mom. You have my back?”
I smiled and bent to kiss her cheek. “Always, baby.”
I allowed her to walk as slowly as she needed to on the way downstairs. I was so focused on making sure she was okay and that she wasn’t going to turn around and bolt away from me that it took me a moment to register Duncan’s presence in the room when we walked inside.
He looked pale, overwhelmed, and I knew just by looking into his eyes that he knew. His gaze was different as he looked me over—suddenly unsure, as if he no longer had any idea who I was.
“What are you doing here?”
Baodan spoke up from my left. “We waited a long time for ye, lass. Mother has told me what occurred. Seeing as Duncan played a part in all of this, I thought it wise we include him. He kens now, Madeline.”
“He knows…” I hesitated, reaching for the answer I already knew.
“The magic, the time travel, all of it, lass.”
I didn’t take my eyes off of Duncan. I searched his expression for some sort of reaction, but I could read nothing beyond my initial impression of him. He was lost in the state that all of us at McMillan Castle had experienced before—that place where learning the truth upends everything you think you knew about the world. It was understandable if he needed a moment.
“Baodan, I’ve been thinking about this all night. I’ll go straight through right away. Rosie will come with me. I’ll try to get to Morna’s by nightfall. She will be able to help. I know it.”
Baodan gave me a soft smile before turning his attention to Rosie. He stepped forward and pulled her into a gentle hug.
“I am no’ angry with ye, lass. I doona blame ye for burning it. ’Twas a logical hope that it would end this.”
Baodan’s kindness caused Rosie to burst into tears, but this time I knew her tears were different. They were tears of relief, not guilt. Baodan was a good man through and through.
For the first time since Rosie and I entered the room, Duncan spoke. “I’m coming with ye, lass. None of this would’ve happened had I no’ returned the painting.”
The thought of taking Duncan to the future with me set alarm bells off in my mind. There was no way that was a good idea.
