A Laird for All Time by Angeline Fortin (room on the broom read aloud txt) 📗

“Biology 101, man,” she replied with a shrug.  “It’s pretty much the first thing you learn.  This tendency y’all have of blaming a woman is barbaric.”  She leaned back and picked up her coffee taking another sip.

Chapter 24

“Did you go to college, Connor?  I mean university?”

He nodded and sat back as well.  “Indeed I did.  Cambridge.”

“What did you study?”

“Business and land management, of course, as well as science, history and art,” was his answer.

“So you consider yourself an educated man?  Contemporary thinker?”

“I suppose I do,” he replied warily not knowing where she was going.

“What are your thoughts on women’s rights?”  At his frown, she scoured her mind.  “Suffrage.  I’m sure they are up to that already…umm, here, in Scotland,” she added that last on as an afterthought.

“Oh, aye, the suffrage movement.  Ye do hear a bit of it in Glasgow and London,” he admitted.  “So far, it hasn’t gained much ground.”

“Well, what do you think about it?  About women having the right to vote?  For it or against it?”  She peered at him over the rim of her cup with a narrowed gaze that had him rethinking his impulse response.

He wasn’t about to tell her that he had been against the idea.  Not when she was looking at him like that, with daggers in her eyes.  “There some women who…most women…” he hedged and scratched his chin and admitted, “I’m not sure I have a good answer for ye on that subject, lass.  Most of the women I know…well, I wouldn’t trust them with a vote.  They just aren’t aware of the issues and what is best for the country.”

“Because they are women or because they aren’t educated on the facts?”

Connor considered that clarification against the women he knew and conceded.  “Mostly because they do not care to make themselves aware, I suppose.”

“So education is key, then?  What if I wanted to vote?  Would that be alright?”  Her gaze was so straightforward and assessing, so intelligent that in that moment Connor felt he would trust her judgment, or at least consider it thoughtfully on almost any subject.

“Aye, I would trust yer vote to be well thought out.  Ye’re intelligent and don’t seem the sort to make a decision based on emotion alone,” he admitted and was pleased when she blessed him with a wide smile.

“Why thank you, Connor, that means a lot to me.”

“I’ve never known a woman who has had as much education as ye have,” he added.  “It’s unusual and rare.  Most women…”

“Don’t blow the moment, Connor,” she said softly patting his hand before settling back in her chair.

They sat in silence for a long while after that.  Unlike their previous silence, this was companionable not uncomfortable as long silences could be.  They enjoyed the scenery as they came to the mouth of Loch Spelve, there they turned to the left towards the mainland of Scotland.  Occasionally Connor would point out a landmark or point of interest or Emmy would offer comment or praise on the landscape or view.  He took her hand in his at one point and simply held it for a long time and Emmy stared down at their joined hands wondering if life could ever truly be so contented.  Simple….hmmm.

Soon they reached the southern point of Kerrera, a narrow island between Mull and the mainland and moved north up its sound to Oban.  They docked in Oban for lunch.  The restaurant Connor chose was ironically right across from where her hotel should have been, or would be someday.  Emmy stared out the window the building that occupied that spot now, a livery stable that was a far cry from the four story hotel that would eventually be there.

Pondering her situation thoughtfully while she chewed, Emmy was again questioning what she wanted from her life.  Sometimes, it seemed she had been here in this time for weeks instead of days.  Other than the clothing and wondering what was happening on her favorite TV shows, she did not truly miss anything from her own.  Oh, that time would come, she was sure it would happen about when confidence in her DVR would give way to bigger issues.  But for the moment she was strangely comfortable, content and not at all in a rush to return to her own time and place.

So what had Donell meant?

“Ye’ve been terribly quiet and thoughtful today,” Connor commented at length after watching her stare blankly out the window for some time.  “What is working on yer mind?”

Thinking it might be a good time to bring it up; Emmy answered her question with one of her own.  “Do you ever think about the future, Connor?”

“Of course, everyone does.”

“No, I don’t mean like next month or next year,” she corrected.  “I am talking about the far future, say a century from now.  Don’t you ever wonder what it will be like?”

Pointing his fork at her, he chuckled.  “Ye’ve been reading Jules Verne, haven’t you?”

“Jules Verne?  Oh, like 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea…or better From the Earth to the Moon?” she added with a snap of her fingers.  “Okay, let’s start there.  Do you think that man will ever be able to fly to the moon?”

Sensing she was serious in her question, he took a moment to consider the possibility.  “I don’t know.  Invention has changed much in just the last ten or fifteen years.  There are inventions being developed everyday that change the way we live.  I hear that much of London and New York and other large cities are lit by electric lights now.  Telephones are being put in many homes in Glasgow.  We never would have dreamed of such a thing ten years ago.  The automobile!  Have ye ever seen one?  I saw a race in London last year.  It was incredible.”

“I might have seen one once or twice,” she twisted her lips to stop a smile.  “You’re open-minded enough then to see the possibilities of the future?”

Connor looked offended.  “I am an educated man.”

Emmy held up a