Gwen opened her mouth, shut it again, and followed.
* * * * *
When Maggie stopped at the door to the tower, Gwen took a slow, deep breath to calm the racing of her heart. Had Drustan left something for her? Something she could give her children, from the father they would never know? When Maggie and Christopher exchanged a loving glance, she nearly wept with envy.
Maggie had her MacKeltar; Gwen longed for some small token to remember hers by. A plaid with his scent, a portrait to show her babies, anything. She shivered, waiting.
Maggie withdrew a key from her pocket, dangling on a frayed and threadbare ribbon.
"There is a… legacy handed down over the centuries at Castle Keltar. It has been the source of many young lasses' romantic dreams"—she arched a brow at her eldest daughter—"and Colleen here has been the worst—"
"Not true. I've heard you and Dad mooning over it tons of times, and then you both get that disgusting look in your eyes—"
"Might I remind you, that disgusting look heralded the advent of your wee life," Christopher said dryly.
"Eww." Colleen wrinkled her nose again.
Maggie laughed and continued. "Sometimes I think the sheer love of it has blessed all who've ever lived within these walls. The tale was carefully told from generation to generation as they waited for the day to come. Well, the day has arrived, and now the rest is up to you." Smiling, she handed Gwen the key. "It's said you'll know what to do."
"It's said you've done it before," Colleen added breathlessly.
Perplexed, Gwen inserted the key with trembling hands. The lock was old and gritty with time, and it took her a few minutes to work the lock.
As she opened the door, Christopher handed her a candle. "There's no electricity in there. The tower hasn't been opened in five centuries."
Suspense growing, Gwen accepted the candle and gingerly stepped into the room, dimly aware that the entire MacKeltar clan was hot on her heels.
It was too dark to see much, but the glow of the candle fell upon a pile of old fabric and the silvery flash of weapons.
Drustan's daggers!
Her heart lurched painfully.
She bent over and fingered the fabric upon which they lay. Tears stung her eyes when she realized it was his plaid, and atop it lay a small pair of black leather trews that would probably be a perfect fit.
He'd never forgotten that she'd wanted a pair.
"That's not all," Colleen said impatiently. "That's the least of it. Look up!"
"Colleen," Christopher said sternly. "In her own time, lass."
Blinking back tears, Gwen glanced up, and as her eyes adjusted completely, she noticed a slab in the center of the circular room. Her heart slammed against her ribs, and she surged to her feet.
"Oh, my God," she choked, stumbling toward the slab. It couldn't be. How could it be? She glanced frantically at Maggie, who smiled and nodded encouragingly.
"He waits for you. He's waited five hundred years. It is said you know how to wake him."
Gwen began to hyperventilate. Spots swarmed before her eyes and she nearly collapsed where she stood. For several moments she could do nothing more than stand there and stare in shock. Then she thrust the black trews she hadn't realized she was clutching at Maggie and scrambled up onto the slab.
"Drustan," she cried, raining kisses on his slumbering face. "Oh, Drustan! My love…" Tears slipped down her cheeks.
How had she awakened him? she wondered frantically, unable to believe that he was really there. She touched him with shaking hands, afraid he might just melt away, afraid she was dreaming.
"I'm not dreaming, am I?" she whispered weakly.
"No, lass, you're not dreaming," Christopher said, smiling.
Gwen stared at Drustan, trying to recall exactly what had happened in the cave. She'd fallen down the ravine and landed squarely on top of him. She'd been fascinated, had touched him, shamelessly running her hands over his chest. Then she'd leaned back so the sun could fall on him, so she might get a better look at the devastating man.
"The sun! You must help me get him outside," she said urgently. "I think sunlight has something to do with it!"
It took their combined strength to carry the enchanted Highlander down the winding stairs, through the library, and put onto the cobbled terrace. They were huffing by the time they deposited her mighty warrior on the stones.
Gwen stood for a moment, just gaping down at him. Drustan was here! All she had to do was figure out how to wake him! Dazed, she slipped astride him and placed her palms flush to his chest, exactly as she'd done in the cave. The sunshine was falling directly on his face and chest.
But nothing happened.
The symbols remained, etched clearly upon his chest. Back in the cave, they'd begun disappearing. Why?