My Heart Stood Still by Lynn Kurland (best book club books of all time .TXT) 📕

" 'Tis not a Scottish dish!" one man was saying quite loudly.

"'Tis!" another said, just as loudly.

"Ian, you're a daft dolt."

"William, you're an Englishman, and that says it all!"

Thomas blinked in surprise as the two men pulled out swords and started hacking at each other right there in the great hall. Chairs were kicked out of the way as the fight continued in earnest. Thomas noted that a handful of women were sitting by the fire, watching the scene with placid expressions. A handful of men sat with them, sprawled in their chairs, looking equally as unconcerned.

"Standard fare," Zachary said. "Come on. Jamie's been waiting for you." He led Thomas across the room. "That's Ian MacLeod," Zachary said, pointing at the combatant wearing a plaid. "He's Jamie's cousin. His wife is Jane. The other one fighting is William de Piaget; he's the Brit. That's his wife, Julianna. She was my sister's college roommate. That's my sister, Elizabeth, who married Jamie. That's him there, and that's his brother Patrick. And their minstrel Joshua." He looked over his shoulder at Thomas. "You getting all this?"

"Sure," Thomas said, though in reality, his mind was spinning. He could hardly keep from gaping at the two men who were, by their swearing and bearing, quite obviously not from the twentieth century, swordfighting in the middle of a great hall, with their very twentieth-century looking wives watching without any trace of panic on their faces.

Until a toddler started toward the combatants. Elizabeth leaped to her feet and bellowed for them to stop.

"That's enough, the both of you! Haggis was a British dish that the Scots took over for their own in the early eighteenth century and, as far as I'm concerned, I wish the Brits had kept it. Now, can we finally have supper before you kill one of the children?"

Thomas watched in admiration as the two men meekly put up their swords and returned to their seats. He followed Zachary over to the group in front of the fire and felt distinctly like he was being sized up. And then James MacLeod stood.

And Thomas wondered if he was out of his mind.

Not that he wasn't tall himself, and in good shape. And it wasn't as if he wasn't rugged. He spent a lot of time out-of-doors, and that tended to put a rough edge on his boardroom persona. But what he wasn't was a medieval clansman who'd cut his teeth on hardship and bloodshed.

Like the medieval clansman before him, for instance.

Jamie was big, he was broad, and he had a pirate's grin that made Thomas suspect he was in for one hell of a month of training.

"Thomas," Jamie said, extending one great paw for a handshake. "You found us easily enough, I see."

"No problem," Thomas said, returning the very firm grip.

"Sit for a moment," Jamie said, indicating a chair in front of the fire. "We'll eat very soon, for I've no doubt you haven't yet."

"I didn't want to take the time."

Ian, one of the ones who had been fighting, laughed. "Ah, well, that's the last time you'll say that. When we've started in on you, you'll be begging for meals simply to rest."

The way they all grinned left Thomas feeling decidedly queasy—if he ever felt queasy, which he didn't, because he was a manly man and unafraid.

"You look like your sister," Elizabeth said kindly. "I imagine even more so when you smile."

Thomas managed a smile just to prove her point. Then he realized what Elizabeth had said. "When was Megan here?"

"Stopped in on her honeymoon," Elizabeth said with a smile of her own. "Isn't it great to have family?"

"It is," Thomas said.

Jamie clapped his hands on his knees, then rose. "Dinner first, then speech. We've a great deal to accomplish tonight."

Dinner was, for better or worse, not haggis, though the conversation revolved around it for some time.

And once they had finished, Jamie pushed away his plate. "Thomas, I know most of your tale, but the others do not. As you will likely need all our aid to have success, perhaps it would not be amiss to recount it again."

Jamie couldn't have known that much, because Thomas had listened to Alex give him the short version. He was obviously skilled at filling in the blanks.

And so Thomas began. He told it from his point of view and left little out. His mention of Everest had Jamie peppering him with questions.

"Jamie," Elizabeth warned. "Do not even entertain the thought."

"But to go back in time and climb it before Hillary managed it," Jamie said. "What a feat!"

"No," she said firmly. "No, no, and no." She looked at Thomas. "Go on. And hurry, before he really starts thinking about it seriously."

So Thomas took up his tale again, told of the castle and how he'd seen it in his dreams before he'd gotten Megan's pictures. He told of his journey to England, his thoughts on restoring the castle, and the purpose of his year in England. He told them of meeting Iolanthe.

And of learning who, and what, she was.

There was a good stretch of silence then, but no vapors and no uncomfortable shifting.

"And what did she think of you?" Jamie asked.

"I'm sure she thought I was a pompous ass."

Elizabeth laughed. "And so runs the course of true love. What did you think of her?"

"I wanted to fall to her feet and pledge undying love."

"Sounds familiar," Jamie said, with a sigh. "Go on."

Thomas told them of his trip to New York, and of meeting Alex. And he gave them his thoughts on what he wanted to do. Then he turned to Iolanthe's story and told it as faithfully as he could.

"All of which led me to calling you," he said, "and here I am."

Jamie nodded. "You've quite a task before you. I think you'll find the proper time easily enough. But passing yourself off as any kind of medieval man will be difficult." He looked at Thomas. "You could go as a McKinnon. We were allies enough at the time.