My Heart's in the Highlands by Angeline Fortin (best english novels for beginners .TXT) 📗

her. Whathad happened or was happening to Mikah’s own body was amystery.

“You look very serious all of a sudden,” Iansaid, his whiskey-smooth brogue breaking through her woolgathering,and Mikah shook her head, forcing the ghostly thoughts away.

“Not at all,” Hero denied smoothly. “Isuppose I’ve not quite recovered from the accident. It may take afew more days before I’m back to normal.”

“You seem to have survived well enough,” heassured her. “Nary a scratch to be seen. Though I understand headinjuries often carry unseen consequences. Should we have anotherdoctor called in for you?”

Thinking of all the things a doctor in themid-nineteenth century might do to her, Mikah just shook her head.Rather than face another encounter with an outdated doctor, shethought it might best if she took her chances playing await-and-see game.

Mikah faded into the background, lured bydread and worry, while Hero chatted with Ian. ‘What ifs’ aboundedin Mikah’s mind. What if she was seriously injured? How long wouldthis go on? What if she was dead and she’d been thrown into a pastlife? What if this was her life now? Should she hang on toher old life or seize the moments before her? Should she fret andworry or relax, letting life take its course? Would it help orchange anything?

Probably not.

There was no way for her to know. Mikah feltsuddenly ill, and Hero knocked her wine glass over, sending theglass clattering into the silver and recalling Mikah to the presentmoment.

“I’m so sorry, my lord,” Hero mumbled. “Howclumsy of me.”

“Not at all,” Ian answered as a pair offootmen rushed forward to deal with the spill.

Mikah stilled in awareness. Could Hero feelMikah’s presence now when she hadn’t given any indication of itbefore? Was she as aware of Mikah as Mikah was of her?

That was an interesting concept. So far Mikahdidn’t get the vibe that Hero knew she was there. She didn’t feelworry or fear from Hero, and surely a woman as tame as Hero wouldtotally freak out if she started hearing voices in her head. In apre-Freudian world like this, such madness would probably get agirl shuttled off to the nearest loony bin before she couldblink.

Still, how to test it?

Mikah hadn’t really voiced any thoughts orquestions yet that Hero might not have initiated. A blow to thehead from the accident might have disoriented her enough that shemight ask the same things that Mikah was thinking. She might havehad some moments of memory loss, leading to the same questionsMikah had asked. The injury could have left her as lost in thoughtand reflection as Mikah was. The afternoon had certainly belongedto Hero.

But she had said her name. Hadn’t she?

Hmmm, Mikah thought as she sipped fromthe freshly poured glass of wine while she considered her role inthis bizarre world. Was she merely a bystander, or was she to be aplayer? Suddenly, she wanted to test the idea. Wanted to see if shewas to have any control. But what to do? If she wanted to get up ormove, there would be no way to tell if it were she or Hero who hadstarted it, so the test would have to be done with words.Something, Hero would never say. LikeSupercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

Mikah opened her mouth …

Chapter Seven

“Ahh, here’s our dinner. Thank you!” Iangreeted the arrival of their meal. “Again I must apologize for theinformality of the dinner. I find it tedious for both myself andthe men to have them wait on me course by course, so I’ve had themjust bring it all at once so that I might serve myself.”

“Not at all, I find it very charming,” Heroreplied, taking the wind out of Mikah at her lost chance forvalidation as their meal was laid out on the table before them,dish after dish. The food looked familiar and more elaborate thanMikah considered “simple fare.” It would take some getting used to,she supposed, this clashing and melding of what they both knew anddidn’t know, what they liked and didn’t like. She wondered again ifHero were there like a reflection on the other side of a mirror,having these same musings, and was determined to find an opening totest her theory, but for the moment her stomach took over at thesight of the tempting meal.

Dishes were revealed one by one. A smalltureen of mushroom soup, a leg of spring lamb, veal in a white winesauce, haddock and oysters from the firth, estate-grown vegetables,and a sour cherry trifle. “My goodness, it all looks wonderful andI declare I’m simply famished,” Hero announced, allowing Ian todish her up a bit of each one.

Well, that was all Hero.

Really? I declare?

Stomach grumbling, Mikah let it go for themoment and dug into the delicious food, enjoying the lightconversation as Ian related anecdotes from his youth and universitydays while Hero shared some information about her own. Again, Mikahwas awash with memories. These were her stories. She couldn’t shakethat feeling. It wasn’t just as if she were on the outside lookingin, a bystander in the life she was living. These memories were asreal to her as anything she could recall from her own childhooddays. The antics of Hero’s sisters brought a poignant ache to herchest. The loss of a family member caused real grief andsorrow.

She wasn’t just playing a part in this dream.She was living it.

Mikah could feel the panic building up in herchest once more. She couldn’t be two different people. It wasimpossible! My God, perhaps she truly had gone insane! That blow tothe head had damaged her irreparably!

She dropped her fork with a clatter, staringdown at her plate.

She wondered if this was what it felt likewhen schizophrenia set in. This portent of doom. Maybe she was likethe woman in the Seven Faces of Eve. In that book, manydifferent personalities had existed in the same body, but Mikah hadalways thought that schizophrenics weren’t aware of the otherpersonalities inside them.

Geez, they were going to lock her up forsure.

“My lady?” Ian asked with evident concern,reaching out to her. “Are you all right?”

“Yes.”

No!

Yes …

“Maybe …”

“Yes, maybe?” he asked gently and despite thehumor of the words, Mikah could tell he was