THE LAST LAIRD

Chapter 7 - That Was Yesterday

I was already at work the next day when Maggie, Josh and Lila arrived. So was Duncan. He passed them on the path as he pushed a wheelbarrow full of dirt.

"I have a coffee for you when you come back," Maggie said cheerfully to him and he nodded. Coffee was one of the things he had mentioned to me that he loved about this time. There was no breeze today, which made it perfect working weather even though it was cold. The sun was playing peek-a-boo with the dark clouds but the ominous sky was all bark and no bite according to the weather forecast, with no rain expected. Josh set up a folding table on which Lila placed a container that I guessed contained some treats for morning tea, along with a cardboard archive box.

"Is that the rest of the notes and small finds?" I mouthed thank you to Maggie as I took my hot chocolate from her. Unlike Duncan, I wasn't a lover of coffee, preferring tea, but on a morning like this a sweet and milky drink was just the thing.

"Yes, Lila is going to help you go through it, while Josh and I get to work." She looked at me with wide eyes, obviously realising she sounded a tad bossy. "If that's alright with you then Sarah?"

"Aye," I ignored the surprised looks from my team at my slipping into the local vernacular. It happened every time I came home, and when I got back to LA my friends and colleagues always teased me. Within a couple of weeks I was no longer rolling my r's and using Gaelic words and Scottish slang. This time would be a lot different. I had succumbed to the speech patterns of my childhood more readily for a start, and as I would be here for months it would no doubt take a lot longer to fade. Assuming I returned to California of course.

I was surprised at the thought. To be honest I hadn't thought past the end of this dig. Depending on the Professor, and my own interest, I could continue on here for some time. With no family or significant other in California, there seemed no real reason to return. I had found someone to take over my apartment and put my belongings, few as they were, into storage. I always assumed I would go where the work led me, I just didn't think it would bring me back home.

I unfolded the camp chair Josh had brought and began familiarising myself with the notes and reports in the box. I was once again in my element, and I appreciated Maggie's style of reporting and her dedication to detail, soon losing myself in the work, snuggled in my warm clothes and a knitted throw Lila had brought down from my caravan. The others continued to tidy the dig site, with Duncan assisting with any dirty or heavy work.

"Hello the Dig!" Called a voice in a broad Glaswegian accent and I looked up to see Gwen in ski pants, knee high boots and a fur-edged black parka coming down the path bearing bags of food so hot the steam was creeping out and leaving a trail behind her. "I bring lunch!"

"Hi Gwen," I stood and carefully placed everything back into the box. I only had the last report to read, so I placed all the maps on top then the report, ready for me to return to later. "That smells incredible!"

Lila hurried to help me clear the table while Josh placed the camp chairs around it and Gwen unpacked the containers, providing plates and cutlery.

"We don't use disposable items, in case you were wondering," Gwen said as she scooped rice, a delicious smelling curry and naan bread onto each plate. "For a couple of reasons, the environment being numero uno of course, but also if there's even a breath of wind here, if I used paper plates everything would go flying into the loch, or at least all over yer bony bloke there."

While everyone laughed and thanked Gwen I snuck a look at Duncan, wondering how an Indian feast would be accepted by a seventeenth century highlander who was more used to mutton stew and stodgy bread. He was tucking into it as if it were ambrosia from heaven, closing his eyes and enjoying the spicy aromas as he chewed the chicken in it's creamy sauce. Gwen saw me looking at him and laughed softly.