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Any trace of smile on Kate’s face fell. “No, no. I wanted to go home but was caught by the English on my way. They thought I knew something about the local fortifications or something and tried to get it out of me. Ian saved me.”

“Ye call him Ian?”

“Yes—what else should I call him?”

“What a servant should call their master. He’s yer lord.”

Kate nodded. “Yes. Well. Where I come from, people aren’t always so official.”

Cadha cocked her head and propped her hands against her hips. “So ye remember now? And where is that ye come from?”

Kate shrugged, uneasy now from the interrogation. “Far away. Listen, what do we do for dinner?”

“We?”

“Doesn’t matter. I’ll make something. Ian—I mean, the lord—hasn’t eaten anything since yesterday.”

Kate passed by Cadha into the house, feeling the woman’s suspicious gaze on her like a heavy weight.

The kitchen was empty, but full of the smell of bread and cooking. Kate looked into the cauldron. In the now familiar medieval fashion, there were several linen pouches where vegetables, meat, and eggs were cooking. The water had already stopped boiling, steam rising.

The table was still covered with flour. And, like before, peels, crumbs, and dirt covered the surface.

Manning.

At least there was a bucket with fresh water. She poured it into the empty barrel where she did the dishes and took a clean cloth. Cleaning always brought her a strange sense of satisfaction, like she was blessing the house, and raising her worth by doing something useful. Wiping the table was something she’d done thousands of times in Cape Haute, working as a busser and a cleaner after her mom died. The familiarity brought nostalgia, her chest tensing and aching sweetly.

She wanted a burger, she realized.

It was one of the dishes she hated making on a daily basis because it was so simple, so uncreative—now she craved it!

Could she make one for Ian? He’d loved her sandwich, so maybe he’d love a burger…

But how would she make it without a stove? There was a cast-iron pan hanging on the wall, and she could put it into the bread oven and grill the patties over the coals. Not having a meat grinder, she’d have to mince the meat with a knife. She’d lack some spices, of course, like pepper… And she wouldn’t have real buns, but bread would do. Without ketchup, mayonnaise, and pickles, she’d have to add moisture and a nice tang by melting thin slices of cheese over the patties.

Oh yes. Fresh parsley, garlic, and onion, and just a tad of rosemary would go a long way towards adding flavor.

Giddy with anticipation to have Ian try it, Kate went to work. She put on a simple linen head scarf that Cadha had given her to keep her hair out of the food. There wasn’t any beef, so she made chicken patties.

Ian came into the kitchen as she was working. He picked up the edge of her scarf and fiddled with it.

“Ye look bonnie,” he said. “I’ve sent Manning to the northernmost farms and a boy to Falnaird, my cousin Craig’s home,” he added. “He must be there now with his wife. Many of my clansmen being northeast with Bruce, I canna reach them in time. But I hope Craig and his men will come. Mayhap Owen if he’s around. I need all the help I can get, and I ken my clan will do everything they can.”

Kate nodded. “Sounds like a wise decision. Do you think you’ll have enough time to prepare?”

“There’s never enough time, but we probably still have a few days. The pigheaded Sassenachs dinna ken ’twas me. They wilna track us here, down the loch. The English dinna ken our lands. There are several farms on the way and Manning will warn them. Surely, the Sassenachs will want to replenish their provisions there. On the morrow I raise an army. But I canna do anything more today.”

Kate sighed. “I’d say you’ve had enough adventures for today. You must be starving.” Kate wiped sweat from her forehead. Heat from the coals blazed into her face as she stared into the oven to make sure she wouldn’t burn the meat. “Wait another fifteen minutes. I’m almost ready.”

He frowned. “Minutes?”

Oh darn. Did they not measure time with minutes yet? Right. She hadn’t seen any clocks. They probably hadn’t even been invented yet.

“I mean, soon.”

He stood by her side. “It smells divine. What are ye cooking, Katie?”

Playfully, he laid his hand on her back and slowly ran it down to her bottom.