vessel, if they were able to live until 1557, they would be here by now.”
Quentin shook his head sadly. “They don’t have a vessel, they can’t get back.”
Zach said, “So that’s it? Fucking—” He whispered, “Orphaned? Is that what we’re talking about?”
Quentin and I shook our heads. Quentin said, “I don’t know man, Lady Mairead is going to go get them. If she can figure out how...”
I said, “Oh she knows how, she fucking knows how, that bitch is just not doing it.”
Beaty was holding Mookie in her lap sitting beside Quentin holding his hand. “What dost ye mean?”
“I talked to her about it, she made it sound like she could get them whenever she wanted to and the more I talked about it the longer she would wait.”
Zach said, “How do we get in touch with Lady Mairead?”
Emma said, “We have the painting.”
“I said, “Just be careful, you don’t want to piss her off, she was really scary.”
Quentin said, “Plus she is going to do it. Magnus gave her an incentive — if she doesn’t then Fraoch will be king. She absolutely does not want that to happen, so she’ll do it. Let her get it done.”
Zach said, “Wait, Fraoch will be king?”
I said, “Apparently Fraoch is Magnus’s brother. Before you ask anymore questions, that’s most of what I know. The way they met was that Roderick paid Fraoch to murder Magnus, but Fraoch didn’t do it. He’s not a monster. He just needed money and food. He changed his mind. But now my husband is a competitor for Magnus’s throne in a kingdom that I can’t even place on a map.”
Zach said, “Okay, that shit is crazy, and where is James?”
“Hunting with the Campbells. He loves it so much he might never come home.”
“That’s crazy too.” Zach added, “So what if, let’s just say, Lady Mairead doesn’t do anything helpful. What if she decides to be a mean bitch and not get them?”
Quentin said, “They would have to wait for the vessels to arrive. November 1, 1557.”
“How long, like days, months, years? That’s fucking insane.”
Emma asked, “How would they survive it?”
I said, “I don’t know, plus they would have to be in that crazy mosh pit of the vessel origin. November 1, 1557 in the clearing outside of Balloch — a massacre, a battle, and we were there: me, Quentin, Beaty, Katie. It would make everything screwy if Magnus and Katie showed up. What if they took the vessel that me and Katie needed to get? Like there are so many players there’s a big chance of somebody screwing something up. Like, if it comes to that, this might all be over.”
Quentin said, “The only good thing is Lady Mairead is smart, she knows that moment is too important. She won’t let it come to that.”
Zach said, “Plus she really likes Magnus, I just can’t believe she would leave him to die. I think they were on the same side, working together in the end. I can’t believe it.”
Quentin said, “I agree, I think she’s just not sure how to do it. We just need to let her figure it out and Katie and Magnus will be home any day now.”
Isla burst into tears. Beaty carried her to the other room.
Emma dropped her head to the table. “The baby is crying, Archie is so upset. I’m exhausted.”
Zach put his hand on her shoulder.
I said, “Thank you though, it means a lot that Katie has you to take care of Isla and Archie. Wherever she is I know she’s at least got that comfort. It’s probably helping to keep her sane.”
Emma nodded, a tear in her eye. “Thank you, Hayley.”
Isla’s cries grew louder and more desperate.
Zach said, “And then there’s Emma’s positive pregnancy test.”
Emma said, “It’s good news, Hayley, we want another baby.”
“Jesus Christ, why? I mean, what the hell...?”
Quentin said, “What I think Hayley means to say is congratulations, you guys, that’s awesome. Right Hayley?”
I sighed, dramatically. “Fine, I think it’s terrible timing but also you didn’t ask me, apparently. So fine, I guess if my best friend is going to be lost in time, I might as well get more nieces and nephews, that fucking seems fair.”
I got up from the table and stormed to my room.
I turned around and came to the top of the stairs and called down, having to be louder than Isla to be heard. “Beaty! Has that pig been sleeping