THE LAST LAIRD

Chapter 15 - Christ, I Missed Ye

Something wet touched my face and I realised I was very cold but I didn't want to open my eyes. I was too afraid of what I'd find. There was a fuzziness and I realised I remembered my life, and everything up until the last few moments before I passed out. I was outside, I knew that. I could feel the grass beneath me, and smell the loch. Probably in the castle grounds. What was it like now? Was it ruins or was it still standing? I didn't want to remember what it had been like before. I hadn't expected to. I had been sure I would just wake up and not remember anything.

I tried to think of what would have changed. There wouldn't be a dig. But then again, maybe there was? Maybe they still had a site, still found things. But bones were my specialty. Maybe they found some. Or else why would I be here? I'd still be back in LA otherwise. Well that was encouraging. But what about William? Michael had said he was heading back to the castle. What if he didn't disappear as he had before?

I opened my eyes slowly. The glare faded and I could make out dark clouds scudding across the sky. As if to prove I was back in my own time, a plane flew overhead. I took a deep breath, suddenly afraid to look around. If I reached out, would Blair be there? Would William? Without moving my head I spread out my arms, but there was nothing but more grass.

I raised myself to standing and with my heart beating so hard I thought it would burst I looked around. I was, as expected, in the grounds of the castle, almost exactly where the tent would have been in the court, inside the walls and outside the castle proper. I was looking toward the Loch but the view was somewhat obscured. There was more left of the castle than there had been before. Knowing we had altered the future was a different feeling than wondering about it and I bent over and threw up. The dizziness soon passed and as it did I took time to look around. Turning to face the road I gasped. The roped off area of the dig was not where it had been, but there was a temporary mesh fence hung with 'keep out' signs blocking off the main part of the castle. The little caravan I had lived in when I first arrived was gone, as it was in my own time, but I could see where it had once been, in the very same place, and the shed was still there. The carpark was paved now and when I walked up to it I saw there were signs advising where to wait for guided tours. It seemed that was the only way to see the castle now. A car sat in the car park. My car, the little Ford I drove around back in my own time, with the same registration as well. I tested the driver's door and found it was open, the key still in the ignition. I started the car and the dash display came to life. It was four pm. Obviously there was no festival, although I didn't know why. On the passenger seat was a handbag containing my purse. My name on the credit cards inside was Sarah Duncan. William! I started the car and headed home, my heart pounding.

I reached the village, sooner than expected, it was bigger, spreading out further than before. As I slowed to drive along the high street I saw that there were many changes. There were now a number of older buildings I didn't recognise, although the pub was still there. Maggie and Gwen were out the front holding hands and waved as I passed. I was so happy to see that not everything had changed. It was still a charming village, even more so than before, there were a lot of people walking around, and quite a few cars on the road. It was literally bustling compared to how it was before. I took the turn towards the B&B, realising as I did so that the fuel gauge was on empty. There was a new petrol station at the base of the hill and I pulled in and impatiently began to refuel the car.

"Good evening Dr Duncan!" A young man with ginger hair and beard, wearing overalls and wiping his hands on a grubby cloth, walked toward me from the adjoined repair shop. "How are you this evening?"

I stared at him, I didn't know him from before but something odd was happening, and I realised that I recognised him.

"Hello Danny, I'm just fine, how are you?"