My Heart's in the Highlands by Angeline Fortin (ebook reader screen TXT) 📕

of Scotland’s greatest castles, for ghost tours.The list went on and on.

Under the images tab, they found thousands ofpictures. Some were professionally done, showing the exterior andinterior rooms, while others were amateur shots taken by tourists.Clicking on the one for the bed and breakfast, Kris found a moredetailed history of the castle and family. It detailed the historyof the Mayboles, the Ayrs, and the Conaghams—and that’s when theyfound it.

A story telling of the Third Marquis of Ayr,who had been murdered along with his wife of just a week. The storywent on to detail how the marchioness’s father, the Duke ofBeaumont, and another had been witness to the murders andapprehended the killer. The duke, who had been out of the publiceye for several years, returned to London, using his influence andconnections to push the trial through the courts. One CamronKennedy was quickly found guilty and hanged for the murders.

“That doesn’t seem right,” Mikah told himwith a puzzled frown. “Hero’s father was a little off. Most peoplethought he was mad.”

“Like father, like daughter?”

Mikah nudged him irritably. “But it doesn’tfit. What else does it say?”

“‘The marquis was succeeded by his cousin,Daphne Kennedy, who in the wake of her brother’s disgrace, livedquietly at Cuilean until her death in 1913. The title then went toa great nephew of hers, but the costs to maintain the property wereso high that in the next generation, the castle was closed,’”Kris finished the paragraph aloud.

“I don’t know, Kris,” Mikah said, worryingher lip between her teeth doubtfully. “Lived quietly until herdeath? I can’t see the Daphne Kennedy I knew doing anythingquietly. She practically radiated crazy. What if I’m wrong?”

“And history is always dead-on accurate,”Kris scoffed. Though there was doubt still lingering at the cornerof his mind just because it was all so incredible, Kris wasinclined to believe Mikah. As she pointed out, it was all rightthere, names and events that she knew, people she remembered. Therewas no chance that it was all a coincidence. So what then?

“Google the Marquis of Ayr,” Mikah saidsuddenly.

“Think there will be a picture of your man?”Kris said teasingly as they watched the results pop up. Wikipediawas at the top, and though Mikah normally didn’t go there forinformation, she reached over and brought it up.

“That’s him?” Kris said skeptically. “That isnot at all what I pictured.”

“No, that’s not him,” Mikah said with rollingeyes as she reached across once more and scrolled down. “That’s thefirst marquis.” In addition to that one there was one of RobertConagham, but none of Ian.

“Guess they didn’t have time to do one beforehe died,” Kris said softly.

“So you believe me then?”

“Mostly,” he allowed. “It’s a hard pill toswallow.”

“I know.”

Kris got up and went to the kitchen to pourhimself more wine, taking a healthy swig. He turned to return tothe couch and thought better of it, retrieving the bottle andcarrying it with him. “So you dreamed of people and places that arereal and can describe it accurately right down to the paintchipping on the bedroom wall, so to speak.”

“People and places that I’ve never known orseen,” she added. “It’s not like I had a coffee table book on theplace.”

“And Lord knows, you’ve had dozens,” hequipped, dropping down beside her once more. “So what does all thismean?”

“I don’t know,” Mikah confessed. “I’m justglad to know that I wasn’t entirely delusional.”

“Partially delusional is all right then?”Kris asked, staring at the computer once more, trying to wrap hismind around it all. “You know what Glo would say about all this,don’t you?” Gloria was one of their New Age friends who worshippedthe Dalai Lama and was thinking of converting to Buddhism, causingher Catholic parents fits.

“She’d say it wasn’t a dream at all,” Mikahsaid, and after a moment’s reflection added, “She’d say it was apast life. I thought so too at one point when I first got there,but I’ve never been a believer. The idea was so far gone, I thoughtI’d be saner being crazy.”

“Most major religions adhere to the idea ofreincarnation, you know,” Kris pointed out.

Mikah laughed. “Yeah, but everyone is alwayslike Joan of Arc in their past lives. Or Queen Elizabeth or Ghandi.No one is ever just a woman who …”

“Who what?”

“Falls in love,” Mikah finished sadly,leaning forward with her elbows on her knees to bury her face inher hands.

Kris rubbed Mikah’s back in slow, comfortingcircles. “Why didn’t you ever say it like that before? You talkedabout this guy but you made it sound like it was just a fling.”

“I was afraid I would sound even crazier,”Mikah said, picking up Kris’s glass and taking a long sip. “Youalready thought I was losing it.”

“Had lost it, Mikes,” he corrected. “Therewas no question about you being only in the process. So what’s helike?”

“Oh, Kris,” Mikah sighed, leaning back andcurling into the crook of his arm. “He was … incredible. Justincredible. All that with a bag of chips.”

“Sounds tasty.”

Mikah laughed, but it ended with anothersigh. “I never knew it could be like that. That’s why I convincedmyself that it was only a dream. No one is that perfect. He wasbeautiful, kind, and funny.”

“And a marquis,” Kris pointed out. “Isn’tthat like being a prince or something?”

“A step down from a duke.”

“Nice.”

Mikah sat there for a while longer, sharingthe rest of the wine with Kris until the bottle was empty. Shethought about everything, starting at the beginning. So, while shewas hovering between life and death, she had peeked into a pastlife. Though it felt as if it were all being experienced in realtime to Mikah, it had all really been a memory crammed into theminute when Mikah had basically died herself.

Dredging everything that she had ever heardabout past lives from her memory, she and Kris talked it out whileGoogling what they could on the subject. Déjà vu moments were saidto be glimpses into our past selves, reminding us of things we hadseen or done in past lives. That was why Mikah had always favoredScotland, why she had felt so familiar with it when she wasthere.

Hero had also died before her time and in aviolent manner. One site theorized that those past