Outlander: The Standing Stones

The Spell of the Fairy Stones

How did it start? I'd come on a trip to Scotland to visit some friends of my recently-deceased mother. I was an Egyptologist who taught at the University of Chicago. I consider Egyptology the most interesting and fertile in the ancient history field, but I try to be open-minded. I've helped excavate in South America, and in Europe. Ancient Britain was not civilized like Rome or Egypt, but there's a lot to see and explore.

I'm this crazy mixture of Russian and Belgian, tall like my mother, blond with weird grey-green eyes like my father. Wolf's eyes he called them. I'm broad-hipped like a good babushka, but it's in proportion to everything else. I also have a broad Slavic face and high cheekbones. I guess you could say I'm attractive but I don't pay attention to it.

I decided to drive around England, and visit as many Neolithic monuments like Stonehenge that I could. Included in this were trips to old castles and Roman baths, camps, and of course, Hadrian's Wall. When I'd finished gorging myself on ancient history, I headed up to Scotland, to Inverness, which really is a lovely town-my cousins recommended that I stop there on the way.

I rented a room in a bed and breakfast run by an old Scottish woman who spoke with a burr so thick that often I could not understand her. The beds were excellent, though, and the food very good though not what an American like me is used to. The old hag, as I unkindly refer to her, would pack me a huge lunch every day, and send me out with a thermos of tea as I went sightseeing. Despite the fact that she looked like an old crone, she was very sweet, fretted about how thin I was-which I'm not-and kept mentioning various sons and nephews and neighborhood boys that she wanted to introduce me to.

The canny Mrs. Struan did manage one, Malcolm MacDonald, tall, brown-haired, brown eyes, and very good looking I must confess. He was also very sweet, referred to my hostess as Mrs. Struan, and fascinated me with his knowledge of the history of the area. I'd sworn off men after my breakup with Robbie, I was in no mood to plunge into another disastrous relationship. Mac, as he called himself, seemed to sense this, but I also got the feeling he wasn't going to be deterred. I rather liked the feeling I was being pursued by a tall, handsome stranger.

"Mac" was turning into a frequent guest for dinner. Mrs. Struan would delicately suggest that we might want to adjourn to the parlor and have a drink or two to help us digest our food. I would ask him about any menhir or dolmen around that were within walking distance. I told him about my interest in ancient history. I'd already visited Stonehenge and Hadrian's Wall. I'd planned to visit the Orkneys before I headed back to England. I must admit, I'd been prepared to be bored and uninterested in Scotland, but it was proving fascinating, and I wished I'd allowed myself more time.

It turned out there was an interesting dolmen and even a menhir within walking distance. Being a gentleman, Malcolm offered to take me, but I wanted to experience this on my own. My theory is that unless you need to have questions answered at that moment, it's best to see something you really want to see alone. I want to take it in, explore it on my terms, without someone hovering over me. And not everyone shares my interest in ancient monuments.

So I politely turned him down and got very detailed directions instead. I'd have Mrs. Struan pack a lunch for me, and bring the cameras I carry when I take pictures. People generally stare when they see me take snapshots with one camera, then go in for detailed photos with another. If they think I'm crazy, it works to my advantage-they leave me alone. That's another reason why I don't want Malcolm with me, I was afraid he'd get bored, and maybe try to hurry me to convince me to return to Mrs. Struan's.

I made my goodnights to Malcolm and Mrs. S. When I'd been in England, I hadn't had much time to explore the area around Stonehenge, but tomorrow I would get to see a sample of what I'd missed. I looked at the map Malcolm had drawn for me. Trust a fellow archaeologist to include everything available to see in the area. Kent Weeks would be impressed, and he only mapped the Valley of the Kings.