The Wellspring (Kaitlyn and the Highlander #12) - Diana Knightley Page 0,89
“How could ye do it?”
She squirmed in her seat. “How could I do what?”
“Sign the contract marryin’ Isla tae the madman?”
Her jaw raised indignantly under his gaze. “I did what I could tae gain the Trailblazer. I needed it tae rescue ye, then I—”
“You returned it tae him, I ken, and had him remove the gold band from your neck, did ye see him rip up the contract?”
“What dost ye mean, the gold band?”
Magnus leveled his eyes. “Ye had one of the gold bands around yer throat, he did it tae ye, ye met with him tae hae it removed.”
“I daena remember this.”
Magnus exhaled. He glanced at Quentin, shaking his head, then said, “We hae had this conversation afore. I now count four different histories of Lady Mairead in the past four times I hae spoken tae ye. Ye are losin’ track of yer timelines, ye are forgettin’ things and—”
“How can that be? I daena understand.”
“Either ye are loopin’ or someone else is causin’ discrepancies.”
She shook her head. “I daena think this is true.”
“I hae told ye afore, I am sayin’ it again. Tis true.”
“Fine.”
“I believe it is caused by the use of the Trailblazer.”
Isla toddled in, pushing her push toy as per usual, she walked right up to Lady Mairead’s knees and patted them with her hand. “La-Ma.”
I jumped up to pull her away.
“Tis okay, ye daena need tae.” Lady Mairead’s chin almost imperceptibly trembled. She gave a small nod. “Aye, dear.”
Isla climbed up onto Lady Mairead’s lap and perched facing her, with her big diapered bottom on the exquisite fabric. Lady Mairead stiffened. “La-Ma dwess.” She put out a chubby hand and pulled one of the long, draped, red sleeves up and watched it fall back down to the sofa.
Lady Mairead kept her body perfectly still through all this. Head held high, she said, “This dress was created for me by the designer, Alexander McQueen, tis a priceless piece of art. Perhaps someday ye will be able tae wear it.”
Isla patted the side of Lady Mairead’s face, nodding, “Iwa wear it.” She climbed off her lap and toddled away.
I blew out air.
Lady Mairead’s chin trembled even more. She reached for a tissue from the box on the table beside her and patted her eyes. “Ye hae tae take Padraig in hand, Magnus. Ye canna let it unfold the way twill, tis too tragic.”
She was crying. I jumped from my seat. “Hey everyone, can you clear the room? I think we need to speak privately.”
Everyone looked relieved to go. They almost fell on each other leaving.
I jerked my head at Magnus to go comfort his mother.
He shook his head. I jerked mine harder, so he begrudgingly crossed the room, perched beside her on the couch, and patted the back of her hand. “Twill be okay, we will figure this out.”
“I daena ken what tae do if I am forgetting things.” She wiped her nose daintily. “I believed I could stop him before it got this far.”
“It has gone verra far past that. I believe he means tae be the death of us all. In the timeline I hae seen, he succeeds.”
She grimaced. “We must kill him before it happens.”
“How are we tae do it when the timeline beyond this moment is in chaos? The glimpses of the future I hae been shewn are bleak.”
She raised her chin but remained silent.
Magnus exhaled. “Lady Mairead, ye hae signed a marriage contract with a madman. How am I expected tae solve this crisis?”
“Again, tis simple, ye will just need tae kill him—”
Magnus said, “I haena a clear path tae murder him. He is in the future so I am blind tae his whereabouts. He has taken m’kingdom in less than a week. Where can I go without loopin’ upon m’self? Ye tell me how and where and when and I will go and kill him, but I canna see a path tae it, and m’bairn are going tae pay the price.”
I interrupted, trying to set us all at ease, “It’s just one of many timelines though, Magnus, we can change the time. We’ll just do something different and—”
Lady Mairead said, “The big things might happen anyway. We canna be certain what actions we take will change the future. ”
I asked, “What if we gave him back the Trailblazer. Told him to null the marriage contract? What if we get lawyers involved?”
Lady Mairead rolled her eyes, clearly not understanding the concept ‘there are no bad ideas’.