Prescribed for Love (24 page)

“I willnae want to get rid of ye.”

“Don’t make any promises until you hear what I have to say.”
Alasdair
listened as she began her fantastical tale. He hated to
acknowledge the fact
she
had been correct;
he did not believe her. The idea of magic bringing her back in time was simply impossible.
But, h
e let her continue her story as he let his mind wander.
Of wha
t is she so afraid she feels the need
to weave such a complicated fiction?
Alasdair
decided
she must be truly desperate to think a story such as this w
ould satisfy his need for information
.
Catriona
began to use
her arms to further emphasize
certain points in her tale. He was beginning to wonder how outrageous this story would become.
“
Alasdair
.
Alasdair
! A
re you even listening to me?
Of course you aren’t!
See I told you
that
you wouldn’t believe me.”

“Catriona, what ye are
describing
is impossible,” he replied.
“
What is
the real reason ye need the book? Why will
ye
nae
tell me?”

***

Looking at
the
disbelief
clearly etched into
Alasdair
’s face
, Cat made a decision. “Here I can prove it to you.” She took her smartphone out of her purse and turned it on.
Good, there’s still more than enough battery!
She aimed the camera at
Alasdair
.

“Catriona
, what are ye doing?
” asked Alasdair.
“
How would a shiny
little
box convince me ye are from a time six hundred years in the future?”

“Like this,”
she said as she walked to stand beside him. “Here look at the screen.”
She hit play and then watched Alasdair’s reaction.
Cat knew that no matter how long she lived, she would never be able to forget the reaction on his face when he saw the video of himself. It was fear, shock, awe, panic, and delight all rolled up into one
odd facial contortion
.

“Are ye
actually
a witch?”

Cat face-palmed herself.
I should have seen that question coming.
She replied,
“No, and t
here’s nothing magical about i
t. It’s just a tool, like a hammer or a saw or a sword
, just a little more complicated
. Look, if you just press this with your finger, you can make a video as well.” Catriona could not help but laugh as she watched
Alasdair
use the phone. “Alright, I need to turn that off, I need to conserve the battery.”

“What else do ye have hidden in there?” asked
Alasdair
as she put the phone back in her purse.

“I have
photographs
from hom
e, they’re basically just small pictures,” she explained. “W
ould you like to see?”

“Aye.” Catriona showed him all the pictures she had. She knew some on her phone were better, but she really did feel she needed to save the battery.
Alasdair
was most interested in the pictures that showed the tall buildings. “Did yer brother build these?”

“No, but
here is the first he helped build right after he got
out of college.” This was one of the milestones that made it into a hard copy for the photo
album she always kept with her.

Alasdair continued to stare at the photos in amazement until he got to the last one. “Why would yer brother waste something so amazing by making a face such as that?”

“It wasn’t a waste, hundreds of these can be made in mere seconds. Besides it’s a funny memory. He was making fun of my driver’s license. See.” Catriona pulled the identification from her wallet.

“But why would ye make this face in the first place?” he asked.

“Ugh, it wasn’t on purpose!” Cat really did not want to focus on her inability to take a good photo.
“Oh and this might interest you. It’s just a flashlight, but it is a lot easier than fire.”

Alasdair
turned the light on and off a few times before saying, “Ye had this with ye the night ye snuck into my room. I remember seeing an odd
glow
like this.”

“Yeah, I did. A
nd
let me tell you, it was no easy matter keeping it hidden after you knocked me to the ground
.” Catriona blushed as she remembered where that night had led.
She dug further into her purse to avoid blushing. “H
ere’s
something you might like—it’s
an umbrella, I think they already exist in
this century
, just not
in this country
.”

“What purpose does it serve?” he asked as she
expanded the ribs
.

“It’s fo
r keeping you dry when it rains,” answered Cat.
“
Considering how rainy it is in Scotland, I’m surpr
ised you haven’
t invented them
yet
.”

“Catriona, I’m sorry I didnae believe ye.
After seeing all of this, I cannae deny yer tale—even though I can still barely comprehend the truth.
”

“Don’t worry about it,
” she answered.
“
I didn’t really expect you to. Hell, it took me a lot longer to believe I was in the past. Here
,
let me show you what else I have
in here
.”

***

Alasdair continued to be enthralled by Catriona’s items. He had just been inspecting something she had called a ‘Swiss Army Knife.’ The concept of miniaturizing
many
tools into one
small
object had never even occurred to him. He could see the use for such an item when travelling long distances.
“Catriona, may I borrow this?” he asked, but she was asleep.
Lifting her from the chair
in which she had settled
, he placed her in the bed. As he laid her down
upon the sheets
, he let his hand rest on her stomach—over the child he had put there. A lump formed in his throat. Now that he knew the truth, he really was afraid he would lose Catriona and his child.
How can I even hope
to
convince her to leave a life full of such wondrous things?
And should I even try?

As was his habit when he needed to mull over his thoughts in solitude, Alasdair once again rose to the highest parapets of Duart Castle.
But he was only alone a moment before he heard someone
approach. “So you’re alive.” Keith had followed him.
“And
you’re still in
in one piece. I’m impressed.
This actually gives me hope I might also live through her wrath.
”

“Aye, well things didnae
proceed how we thought they would,
”
explained Alasdair.

“How so?”

“Catriona told me ever
ything
.”
Alasdair
could see the skepticism in Keith’s eyes. “
I really do mean everything.
She told me ye come from the year 2012.”

“
I definitely did not see that coming,” admitted Keith,
“But, I’m surprised you’re so willing to believe it
.”

“I didnae at first
,” admitted Alasdair, “B
ut then she showed me all the wonders in her red satchel
.”

“Did you manage to get any more chocolate out of her?”

Alasdair
laughed, “Nay, but even if I had, I would keep it for myself.”
Even the sweet item was a bitter reminder of the obstacles Alasdair faced in trying to overcome Catriona’s refusal to stay. He
was quiet for a moment longer before finally gathering the courage to ask, “How can I ever hope to compete with such amazing inventions?”

“You’re missing the point
,” said Keith, “T
hose are just things.”

“I dinnae ken.”

“You don’t need to compete with things. In our time, we have more access to useless items than you can imagine. But, these things come at a cost. Cat and I were in a city of hundreds of thousands of people, yet we were still alone. Sure, having a place to live and someone to take care of you is great, but that isn’t always enough. Trust me, we have already experienced that firsthand.
Cat wants to know she will never be ignored or abandoned by those she should be able to trust. She
wants to feel like she belongs. She wants
a
family. She wants to feel cherished.
She wants—well I’ll let you figure it out
.”

“What are ye
trying to say
?”

“
I’m trying to say there is only one thing that will give you any hope of convincing her,
”
replied Keith.

“And if I could provide her with this, would ye allow her to stay
?” asked
Alasdair
.

“As I tried to tell you before, Cat is a big girl, I don’t ‘allow’ her anything. She makes her own decisions. But, be warned, I support her decisions fully. If she wants to leave, then that’s that.” Keith further emphasized his next question with a shrug of his shoulders, “So I guess the big question is—can you provide Cat with the one thing she was not able to find in her own time?”

“
Love
?” asked
Alasdair
, but Keith had already left.
Alasdair
knew he cared for Catriona, but he was not sure it was love.
I will just have to convince her that I do so she will want to stay.

***

Catriona sought out Ailsa the next morning, hoping to completely avoid her brother and
Alasdair
after yesterday’s debacle. She found her with Lainie and the other women working on the never-ending piles of mending. “Catriona! I am so glad ye are here, we have missed yer compan
y,” said Ailsa when she saw her
.

“Aye, but nae yer sewing!” teased one of the older women in the room.

“Oh
be nice,” scolded another
.

“Don’t worry about it,” l
aughed Cat. “I know my sewing is terrible. There is
no point in denying the truth. But, I’ve still got my crocheting!” said Cat as she pulled out the hook she had made.

Sitting down to work, Cat found she had actually missed the activity. Yes, helping
to
build was more satisfying, and she felt preparing food stores for the winter was more practical, but nothing could compare to the almost trance-like state that overcame her as she worked the thread.

Unfortunately, Cat let herself fall a little too deeply into mindlessness. Lainie leaned over and whispered to her, “Lady Cat, forgive me, I know a woman’s secre
ts are her own, but if ye intend
to keep that one, ye should consider stitching something else.”

Looking down, Cat was horrified when she realized she had been working on baby-booties. She mouthed a thank-you to Lainie as she quickly pulled out the stitches. Inst
ead, she began to work on a hat. B
ut
then she
almost turned it into a baby bonnet. She quickly worked a few more rows to ensure it would be large enough to fit an adult head.

Frustrated with her efforts, Cat decided to go for a
walk
. Lainie quickly followed behind her.
Cat had to give the girl credit, it was at least a full fifteen minutes before Lainie could no longer hold back her curiosity.
“Does he know?”
asked the young maid.

“Yes,
Alasdair
knows.”

“So, ye are to be married?”
she asked excitedly

“No.”

“Nay? I cannae believe it. I never would have thought
Laird
Alasdair
would treat a woman so poorly,
” gasped Lainie.

“You misunderstand,” said Cat. “I’m sure
Alasdair
wants us to be wed. I just
have no desire to enter into holy matrimony
.”

“But
…but
why?”
stuttered the girl.