insisted she watch horror movies with them (they’d all had worse nightmares than her, of course, which she felt served them right.) What a strange dream. Probably stress-related, she thought to herself, trying to settle her heartbeat… but it was no use. Now that she was awake, she was awake. She got out of bed, shivering a little in the cool air, and set about putting her gown on again, wondering whether anyone would mind her wearing the same outfit two days in a row. It wasn’t as if it was dirty — the undergarments she’d been given protected it from the worst of her sweat, and she could imagine wearing the same gown for several weeks straight without too many problems from a hygiene perspective. Hadn’t medieval people always been dirty? Nobody she’d met had seemed dirty. Perhaps that was a misconception. Well, she’d take it.
She padded out into the dining hall in her bare feet, boots in hand — but it didn’t seem that either Niall or Eamon were awake yet. Well, she wouldn’t disturb their sleep if she didn’t have to. Carefully, she pulled her boots on, trying not to make too much noise, then stole out the door and into the bracing morning air. Her first day, alone in medieval Scotland — yesterday hadn’t counted, not really. Today she felt fully recovered, strong and ready to explore. She’d still take it easy, of course — but she could tell that she’d turned a corner, recovery-wise, even if her sleep had been troubled by nasty dreams about swimming in blood…
With a shiver, she picked up her pace. No sense dwelling on thoughts like that. Not when she could smell the unmistakable smell of breakfast cooking in the air… she remembered something Niall had said about the kitchens in the Keep running around the clock to keep everyone fed. Maybe she could prevail upon their hospitality for some breakfast? It would be good to see the other women if they were there, too. She was looking forward to having a conversation with them all that wasn’t addled by fever.
The staircase she’d almost climbed the day before was as steep as she’d imagined, and she was breathing hard by the time she reached the top of it, stepping out into a huge stone courtyard that made her eyes widen. Finally, she was on the inside of the walls she’d seen from the docks down below… and it was a sight to behold. A huge courtyard, already covered in men walking back and forth — there were stables at one side, and a huge pair of iron gates at another that must have lead out onto the land bridge that Brendan had told her joined the island to the mainland. But what really took her breath away was the castle. Up close, it was even more impressive than it had been from down below — it seemed to loom above the courtyard like some kind of great bird, a pair of huge wooden doors (slightly ajar) the only way to access it. She crept up the steps that led to the doors, a little intimidated despite her determination to explore. Would she be allowed in? Or would a guard stop her?
“Hey, you!”
She froze — but that hadn’t been the gruff, Scottish-accented voice of a guard. That had been — she turned, a grin already spreading across her face, to see Anna, the short woman she’d met what felt like weeks ago in the depths of her fever.
“Anna! Hi!”
“You do remember me! We weren’t sure how much of the other night was going to stick with you.” Anna laughed, pulling her into a hug. “You were pretty unwell — and we were dropping a lot of pretty complicated stuff on you.”
“I don’t remember a lot,” she admitted. “I sure do remember Maggie’s potion, though. That’d be a hard thing to forget.”
“Oh, yes,” Anna agreed with a broad grin. “And it looks like it did its work! You’re looking good as new. And the dress suits you,” she added with a wink.
“Did you have it sent down for me? That was so kind —”
“Of course. I know the skirts are kind of a hassle, but I figured something good and warm was the right move while you were recovering.” Anna wasn’t wearing a gown, Helen realized belatedly. She was wearing trousers and a tunic, clothing much more in line with what the men wore — and there was a sword at her