beside him, leaning back on the tree as well. She looked out at the sheer beauty of his lands and sighed. In a lot of ways, the man beside her reminded her of David. A man with an ingrained need to protect others, risk his life and limb to keep those he loved safe. She pushed the thought aside, not wanting to remember how it had all ended, nor did she want to start having feelings for a man who could be killed at any moment. “You’re a good man, Aedan. If not a little pigheaded at times, but then, no one’s perfect.”
He laughed, and their gazes locked. A warm ache fluttered in her stomach, and she looked away, not liking her reaction to him when he was charming.
“Well,” he said, standing and pulling her up to join him. “Like I said before, should ye wish to compete for my hand, you’re welcome to it.”
She smiled; glad his words changed the tension in the air to one of ease. “Maybe I will. Maybe I won’t.”
“I’m betting ye won’t.”
Abby grabbed the bow and arrows, anything to distract her from his devilishly cute grin, and started toward the castle. “I think you’ll probably win that bet.”
They walked for a little time in silence before Aedan cleared his throat. “Abigail, lass, I’ve been meaning to ask ye for some time now, and since we’re alone, this may be the perfect time. I wanted to know about yer home. What yer life was like before coming here?”
Abby searched Aedan’s gaze and could see he was serious about the question. She thought about her home, of all the amazing things she’d had available to her: medicine, transport, living conditions, technology, and her college education.
She looked at the castle, a magnificent edifice beyond the trees they now walked beneath, knowing no two places could be farther apart, if they tried. “I suppose it’s a lot faster paced than how people here live. Everyone’s in a hurry to be somewhere, to do something. This, of course, is helped by the fact that people can travel around the world in twenty-four hours or so.”
“What of horses? Surely, they still exist?”
Abby laughed, nodding. “Of course they do, but the cart has been replaced by what we call vehicles, no horses required. People can travel by air, and yes, I do mean we can fly, but not literally.”
He looked at her as if she’d lost her mind, and she supposed should she be in his situation, she would’ve had a similar countenance. “Do you want to ask me anything?”
“You fly?”
She smiled. “They’re called airplanes, and they hold one- to three hundred passengers at a time, and yes, they fly, over mountains and oceans alike. I must admit, I’m not a huge fan of air travel, but it’s a lot quicker than walking or by boat.”
“But how? It doesn’t seem possible.” Aedan frowned, looking up at the wispy clouds. He had a handsome profile, and she smiled.
“The airplanes take off down the runway at a great speed, and their wings produce an upward force called lift, and they go up into the air. It’s hard to explain, and I’m not a scientist, but that’s the gist of it.” Abby accompanied her words with hand actions and he smirked.
“Let’s move on from the flying, it’s too bizarre to warrant thought.” Looking up at the sky, he continued, “So what else made up yer life?”
Abby didn’t want to tell him studying and her part-time work in a supermarket was what made up her life. The daily grind to earn enough money to pay her college school fees had felt like a noose about her neck sometimes, not the liberating career path she’d envisioned. And then, Aedan probably wouldn’t understand why women worked or were allowed to go to school. But, he did ask…
“I’m in school learning to become a museum curator. I’ve always loved history, and the stories behind beautiful paintings, or Roman sculptures, or a ring, or a bracelet. To look for items for a museum, catalogue and piece together their history, is everything I’ve ever wanted. Maybe it’s because I know very little about my family, having been raised in foster care…” At Aedan’s confused frown, she went on, “I was orphaned very young and lost my parents. Piecing together history, making sense of it and showing it to the world, is satisfying.”
“You’re a very fascinating woman, Abigail, lass.”
“Not really. I’m an ordinary woman in my time. Here, I may seem