Chapter Fourteen

Irene raced after Julia down a long corridor, but the sounds of angry voices stopped her short. She peered around the corner. In an alcove, Angus and Julia were engaged in a heated argument. He shook his head and stepped back, then spun around and ran in the opposite direction from the Great Hall.

Julia sank to the ground like a rag doll.

Irene rushed over, kneeling beside her. “Julia…”

“Men are pigs.”

Irene reached for Julia’s hand. She definitely looked like a woman who’d had her heart stomped on. “What did he say to you?”

“Angus said that he is in love with Caitlin,” Julia said, gulping air. “In fact, he admitted that when we first met he was only interested in me because Caitlin had rejected him. I was the rebound girl.” Julia swiped at her tearstained face with the back of her hand and ground her teeth together. “The worst part was that I think I knew it all along and was so desperate I ignored the warning signs. He had the attention span of a two-year-old in a candy shop and kept forgetting my name. There were zero sparks coming from him, which was confusing. He was gorgeous, and everything I thought I wanted, so naturally I made up excuses for him.”

Irene put her arm around Julia, and the woman slumped against her, sobbing into her shoulder. “You’re going to have to catch me up to speed.” She stroked Julia’s arm in the same way her sister had when Irene first learned of her fiancé’s betrayal. Having a friend to talk to that day had made all the difference.

“Angus and I met the first time I was here,” Julia said between sobs. “I liked the idea that he was actually from the thirteenth century and a real knight. He was all my fantasies come true. He was chivalrous, handsome…”

“Wait. You mean he acted like a knight from the medieval ages, right? Not that he was actually from that time period.”

Julia sniffled, wiping her eyes again with the heel of her hand. “No, Angus is from the thirteenth century.”

Irene started to say that was impossible, then changed her mind. She remembered how patient her sister had been as Irene was freaking out after she’d caught her ex with her best friend. Louise had listened patiently, and then announced that they were leaving Seattle for the weekend. Irene didn’t bother to protest. She’d learned early that, even though Louise was younger by two minutes and three seconds, saying no to Louise was not an option when she was in protective mode.

They’d spent the weekend in Vancouver, British Columbia, cried buckets of tears together, attended plays, eaten mounds of chocolate, and gone for long walks. At the end of the weekend, her ex and best friend’s betrayal stung less, with the unexpected bonus that she and her sister had grown closer together.

And just as Louise had let Irene talk out her pain, Irene listened to Julia. Now was not the time to challenge Julia. She was too fragile. Irene smoothed hair back from Julia’s face. “Angus does make a handsome knight. I can understand how he could have swept you off your feet.”

Julia sniffed again. “You don’t believe that he’s from the thirteenth century. I didn’t at first, either. When Angus and I met, I thought I’d found my soulmate, and even as starry-eyed as I was, I didn’t take him at his word. But there are things about this castle and its inhabitants that don’t make sense in any other way. I was caught up in the romance that we’d time traveled back to the thirteenth century.”

“Julia, time travel is not…”

“Anything is possible. This world is like the one in Brigadoon. Angus told me that if two people loved each other enough, they can stay here together…as in forever. But something held me back, and I know now it was because I didn’t really love him, and he certainly didn’t love me. I used the excuse that I couldn’t give up my life in the twenty-first century. I have a job I love and friends I care about. I told him that if he came with me, I’d help find a job for him, but he said if he left Stirling Castle the enchantment would be broken and everyone would die. Like an idiot, I came back to tell him I’d give up my life in the twenty-first century to be with him. But the first time I’ve seen him since coming back was at the dinner. That’s when I learned he and Caitlin are getting married.”

Irene rubbed both temples, trying to stem the tide of a building headache. She certainly understood the shock of betrayal and how it could turn a clear-thinking person’s thoughts into a rollercoaster ride of wild imaginings. But time travel? “You’re upset. I get that. And the story Angus told you is consistent with the plotline of Brigadoon. But you can’t believe it’s true.”

Julia balled her fingers into fists. “Look around you, Dorothy: we’re not in Kansas anymore. We really are in the thirteenth century.”

“Ah, huh,” Irene said, smoothing tear-dampened hair off Julia’s cheek. “This has been a long day, and you received a big shock when you learned Angus was getting married. Why don’t you let me help you to your room?”

Julia shrugged away. “You don’t have to believe me. Ask the sisters. They can tell you all about the…”

A loud clang followed by a colorful string of oaths interrupted whatever else Julia had been about to say.

Julia glanced in the direction of the sound as a shadow of a smile brought color back into her face. “It’s Grant. He’s having trouble with the sword and sheath they provided with his costume. He has the same problem whenever we attend the Camlann Medieval faires in Washington State. He prefers a bow and a quiver of arrows.”

Irene’s thoughts reeled. There was no doubt in her mind that Julia believed Angus’ fairy-tale explanation. Irene felt like she was on a runaway train with no end in sight. But at the end of the day, was there really any harm in believing in a fantasy for a few hours? At the stroke of midnight, like Cinderella and her pumpkin coach, things would be back to normal.

Grant walked toward them, still mumbling under his breath. Somehow the sheath and sword attached to his belt had twisted around behind him. “Bloody, soul-sucking…” Grant clapped his mouth shut and gave a slight flourish of greeting that seemed right in character for a knight. “Very sorry. I didn’t see you. Laughable, I know. A warrior who can’t handle a sword. Logan took to it right away.”

Julia’s eyes crinkled at the corners as Grant helped her to her feet. “You’re a skilled archer,” she said. “They should have given you a bow.”

“Not as glamorous, though.” His jaw tightened. “Are you all right? Angus is a fool.”

Silence shimmered between Julia and Grant like moonlight on a mirror-smooth pond. Irene felt as though she were attending a play and this was the part right before the best friends discovered they loved each other. These two were locked in their own world of discovery.

“Julia,” Irene said, “Is there anything more I can do?”

Julia gave a slight shake of her head.

Irene backed away, pointing over her shoulder in the direction of the Great Hall. “I think I’m going back before they send out a search party. These sisters are like mother hens. They want to know where everyone is at all times.”

Both Julia and Grant nodded as they moved slowly and purposefully toward one another.