Page 10 of So Close To Heaven
“Nay,” Ewan replied, cheeks reddening.
“Nae with that face,” Kendrick suggested.
“He has a perfectly fine face,” Ivy said, made defensive of him for how uncomfortable he looked right now.
“Aye,” Kendrick said with a wink. “Fine for scarin’ hens off the kirk steps.”
Ivy’s mind itched with questions. How could they be so young? And married already, and with kids!
“Whatyearis it?” she asked, jokingly, then laughed.
“Year?” Ewan asked. “What do ye ask?”
Ivy shrugged. “I just mean—and no offense—but it all sounds like something out of a long-ago century. I feel like I’ve fallen down a rabbit hole and landed in the fifteenth century.”
While she shook her head over the oddness of what they were saying, she caught the exchange of glances between Kendrick and Blair.
“What?” She asked.
Kendrick harrumphed a small laugh. “Ye saylong agoand thenfifteenth, which we dinna ken yet—likely willna live to see.”
“Dinna make sense, lass,” said Blair.
Ivy’s mouth hung open while she processed this.Wait. What?
A heavy cloud of heat settled in her chest in an instant. It settled there like a lead blanket—thick, pressing, unignorable. She felt it crawl up her throat and lodge behind her tongue, where the next question wouldn’t come.
What were they saying? They had to be confused. Or maybe just teasing her. Right?
But nothing in their faces looked playful now. Not even Ewan’s.
Whatwerethey saying?she wondered, her thoughts now racing.What do they mean they won’t live to see the fifteenth century?
Suddenly, the trees looked taller, the shadows deeper. Ivy glanced between Ewan and Blair, considering the clothing they wore, the way they spoke, the weapons they carried—the battle she’d witnessed!
But no, the very idea was absurd.
Possibly a full minute had passed before Ewan prompted gently, “Lass?”
“Ye’ve gone all white, lass,” Blair commented.
Ivy forced herself to ask again, seriously now, with a strange dread filling her, “What...what year is it?”
Haltingly, Blair answered, “'Tis the ninth year of King Edward’s false rule in Scotland.”
King Edward? A wave of dizziness overwhelmed her. She tightened her grip on Kendrick’s sides.
“What is theyear?” She asked deliberately. “In numbers.”
“Thirteen hundred and five,” Kendrick said slowly, as if wondering why he needed to state the obvious.
Ivy blinked. “No,” she said, looking from face to face. “Seriously. What year is it?”
They were all staring at her now.
Thirteen hundred and five.She tried to speak, but no sound came.
While it didn’t make sense—obviously it made no sense!—it did explain so much. Right?
