Page 38 of Beloved Enemy
“Um, no, not in the sense that you might mean. The children come every day in the morning and go back home in the afternoon.” When he tossed a quizzical look at her, she explained this further. “A bus—um, like a large wagon—picks them up every morning and then the same bus-slash-wagon takes them home each day.” She gave some thought to how this might soundto him, based on what he knew of travel, and how Kingswood was so remote. “In... well, my time—that sounds so weird to say—people live closer and there are highways—paved roads—that make travel very easy. So maybe, the first kid picked up is only on the bus—the big wagon—for at most, like twenty minutes to half an hour.” She wasn’t sure that explained it properly, but aside from that questioning glance, she didn’t know if he was that interested in the subject.
But he was, maybe, since he questioned her further.
“And ye teach them? A woman? Ye are learned then yerself?”
“Learned,” she mused and grinned slightly. “Yeah, I guess I am. I mean, I myself went to school for almost twenty years.”
This gave him pause. He stopped on the path and faced her, wearing a pained expression that was nearly comical.
“Ye dinna learn so well, so easily, that ye needed a score of years to grasp...everything.”
Charlotte’s grinned widened. “No, I’m not...slow. That’s just how we do it in the future.”
She thought about Reid and what she perceived as his intelligence, his quick, instinctive understanding of the world around him, despite what she imagined was a fairly limited formal education. “I suppose there’s something to be said about how education is approached in this century,” she added, her tone more reflective. “It’s different—learning by living, by doing things with your own hands, experiencing them firsthand. Where I come from, a lot of what we learn is just... concepts, ideas written in books or taught in classrooms. It’s all very theoretical.”
Reid tilted his head slightly, his eyes narrowing as he considered her words.
“In your time, ye learn of things ye dinna do yerself?”
“Exactly,” Charlotte nodded. “We spend years studying subjects, but it’s all in our heads. It’s not like here, whereyou learn because you have to survive, because it’s part of everyday life. There’s no time for just sitting around and thinking about things. You’re living it, every day.” She hesitated, then continued, “Maybe there’s something valuable about that. Maybe understanding how to live, how to solve problems as they come up, is more useful than just knowing things in theory. Here, everything you learn, you learn because you need it. There’s no wasted knowledge.”
Reid’s gaze softened slightly. “Aye,” he said, his voice thoughtful before he resumed walking. “Here, learning is survival. It’s nae just about learning and hoping to understand, but about doing.”
“Yeah, I’m figuring that out,” she admitted. “All my book knowledge is not helping me so much with life in this century at all, more’s the pity. Thank God for Una.”
***
Of course, Reid didn’t need to escort Charlotte to the loch; it was but a two-minute walk across the grassland and through the narrow woodland of birch trees. But he found himself walking beside her anyway, unable to shake the strange pull she had on him. He hated how much consideration he gave her, wishing he were immune to her presence, her smile, her everything.
She’d been particularly bonny this morning, her cheeks flushed a very becoming pink when she’d come upon him in the bailey. A different léine graced her figure today, the drab blue fabric seeming more vibrant, more alive, for being draped over her curves. Her shiny hair, streaked with red and gold by the sun, was provocatively loose, falling in soft curls over her slim shoulders.
It frustrated him, this distraction she had become. He resented how easily she occupied his thoughts, how her merepresence could unsettle him. He wished, more than anything, that he could steel himself against her, but every time he tried, her image only burrowed deeper into his mind. Though his thoughts often conjured her image at the most inconvenient times, Reid managed well enough when she wasn’t near. But in her company, it was a different story—being close to her only made him more...needy.
As they approached the loch, the sound of water lapping against the shore reached his ears, along with the low murmur of voices. A few figures were congregated near the edge of the water, where a sleek bìrlinn waited on them, bobbing listlessly, its silhouette reflected in the clear, still water. Lachlan was among them, his lean back turned toward them as he inspected one of the nets.
Reid called out to Lachlan as they neared the group, which turned the head of every man present. If not for Charlotte’s presence, Reid supposed the others would have continued their discussion and chores as Lachlan answered Reid’s summons. But Charlotte was here, made brilliant by daylight and the sun, and Reid supposed these men suffered the same affliction as he did, an inability to take their gazes from her.
“Good morning, Lachlan,” Charlotte said as the surgeon arrived, forgoing the necessity of Reid having to introduce the purpose of their visit. “I wonder if I might impose upon you to visit Una’s house sometime this morning, or today.”
“Of course,” Lachlan readily consented. “She is nae well?”
“No, it’s not her,” Charlotte explained. “But Thomas burned his arm, and though Una treated it right away, I’d feel better if you could take a look. Maybe see if it needs a bandage or anything else?”
Reid’s jaw tightened as he watched Lachlan’s gaze drift over Charlotte, not just meeting her eyes but lingering on her face, and even taking in the sight of her from head to toe with afleeting glance. Did he notice how the blue of her gown seemed more vibrant today? Was he captivated by her easy smile, just as Reid had been?
The surge of possessiveness Reid felt in that moment was as unsettling as it had been yesterday in the hall, but he was at pains to deny the jealousy simmering beneath the surface.
“I’ll attend the lad anon,” Lachlan declared and then paused, finally wrenching his gaze from Charlotte to aim it at Reid. “With yer permission, Laird.”
“Aye,” Reid obliged, inclining his head toward their watchful audience of five men. “There’s plenty to see to the fishing.”
“I appreciate ye seeking me out, lass,” Lachlan said to Charlotte.
“Of course,” Charlotte replied, another smile risen.
With a nod at Reid and a smile at Charlotte, Lachlan took his leave.
Reid glanced down at Charlotte, considering her lingering smile, a rather curious one, pondering as well another thought, which he promptly mentioned to Charlotte.
