Page 17 of A Bridge Through Time
Irene stopped dead in her tracks, and appeared perplexed by Ashley’s statement. "You can't leave. ‘Twill be dark soon and ye would need an escort. Where did ye need to go?"
"I have to get back to Glendaloch. Mrs. Campbell will be worried about me. I should have gotten back from my hike last night."
Irene frowned. “Glendaloch? I've never heard of a place bearing that name. Is it far away?"
This seemed more and more like an increasingly bad dream. "It's back by the bridge, where Cailin found me."
"That is a good distance from here, from what Cailin told us. I'm afraid ye may be here a while. We need to get Cailin well, and then there's the problem of Sir Richard. Ye would not be safe out there."
“I need to contact Mrs. Campbell and reassure her I’m okay. Do you have a phone I could use?”
Irene stared at her, as if she had grown another head.
“I guess not,” Ashley sighed in defeat.
Irene was right; she was going to need help to return to the inn. She'd seen for herself the kind of crazy people who lurked in the woods between here and Glendaloch. Besides, Mrs. Campbell was probably searching for her already, so it couldn’t be too long before they’d locate her and everything would be fine.
***
Teddy raced into the inn, shouting urgently for Edna. His clothes were soaking wet and blood was dripping from his forehead..
Edna rushed across to him, searching his eyes anxiously. "Teddy, dear, what has happened to you?"
"I couldn't stop her, Edna! She crossed the bridge when the fog was there. I tried to stop her, but the Highlander took her!"
"Calm yourself, Teddy! It's all right, you tried," Edna soothed.
"You told me to stop her if the fog was there! I tried, I really did." Teddy was almost inconsolable.
"Teddy, dear, how did you get so wet and what happened to your head?" Edna questioned, drawing him gently towards the fireplace.
"The Highlander threw me over the bridge, straight into the stream. I slipped when I climbed up the bank and hit my head. And Ashley sprayed my eyes with something verra hot!"
"Oh, Teddy, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for you to get hurt. Come, let me take care of you."
Angus joined them and silently questioned his wife about what had happened with a raised eyebrow.
"Ashley crossed the bridge," Edna said quietly.
Angus Campbell simply shook his head and walked away.
FOURTEEN
Ashley knew she was losing it. She was too terrified of the answer, to ask Irene what year it was. She was sure she didn't want to know, but with all signs pointing to medieval Scotland, she feared she was losing her mind. The castle was certainly authentic. The limestone walls and floors were covered with beautiful tapestries and rugs. The halls were lit with torches and the great room held an enormous candle-filled chandelier. There wasn’t a sign of electricity being available.
The choices were limited. Either this was an amazingly accurate replica of a medieval Scottish castle, or it was arealmedieval Scottish castle. Ashley’s head seemed about to explode with the crazy thoughts she was thinking.
Irene showed Ashley to her room, which was easily four times the size of her bedroom in San Francisco. It might even be as big as her entire apartment. A deep tub had been placed in front of a roaring fireplace and a brigade of boys filled it with buckets full of hot water.
Ashley was utterly shell-shocked and from the expression of concern on Irene's face, she could plainly see it.
"A hot bath will work wonders for ye, Ashley. Take yer time and relax. I've left a cloth for ye to dry yourself with." She handed Ashley a bar of soap, which smelled heavenly. "There is a gown on the bed. I'll be back to help ye into it."
"Thank you, Irene. I'm at a loss for words and if you knew me well enough, you'd know how unusual that is."
Irene simply nodded as she headed for the door.
"Irene, before you go, is Cailin going to be okay?”
