Queen's Academy by Skye MacKinnon

Author:Skye MacKinnon [MacKinnon, Skye]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Peryton Press

Chapter 7

Mary stared at my mother.

“She’s wearing breeches,” she whispered to me. “Where are her skirts? Why is she so naked?”

My mother spread her arms and smiled at us. "You must be Mary. Welcome to our home. Come on in, I've just made tea. Or would you prefer coffee?"

"Coffee?" Mary asked.

"We'll take tea," I said quickly before I had to explain what coffee was. Mary was going to have to learn a lot about our world, but I didn't want to overwhelm her right from the start.

I'd called my mum just before I'd set off into the past, telling her that a friend and I needed a place to stay for a while. Of course I hadn’t told her that Mary was the Queen of Scots and from the past. The less my mother knew, the better. I’d rent a place for ourselves soon, but I hadn’t had the time to find a flat. For now, I was sure my mother was glad to have us stay with her. My dad was at sea and I knew she was lonely quite often.

We followed her inside, towards the smell of freshly baked cake mixed with the flowery scent of Earl Grey tea. I smiled at the gesture; it was my favourite.

Mary’s eyes were wide and full of wonder as she took in everything. I tried to see it like her. The digital picture frames on the walls, filled with people moving around, waving at the camera. The gentle piano music coming from speakers above the mantlepiece. Even the lightbulbs had to be like magic for her.

She didn’t say anything though. A Queen didn’t show surprise. Well, she didn’t quite manage to keep her emotions from reflecting on her face, but I was sure other women of her time would have exclaimed in wonder, would have seen it as witchcraft maybe, or even run in fright.

Not Mary. She gracefully sat on the chair my mother had indicated, her back straight.

“I assume the two of you have been on a jump?” my mother asked while putting three large slices of carrot cake on plates. She was using the good china, the one with tacky golden flowers lining the rim. Did she think Mary was my girlfriend? Or was she just trying to impress a colleague?

“Yes, late sixteenth century,” I replied.

She put a piece of cake in front of me and it took all my willpower not to wolf it down. My mother’s carrot cake was legendary.

She looked at my white suit. “Did you forget to dress the part?”

I laughed. “No, this is brand new TA technology. The suit takes on the appearance of whatever time we’re in. Mary doesn’t have a suit yet though, so she had to dress appropriately. I don’t suppose she could borrow some of your clothes? It would save us a trip back to the Academy.”

My mum gave me a curious look but nodded and smiled at Mary. “Help yourself, Drake can show you my wardrobe. You’re a little taller than me, so I doubt you can wear my jeans, but most of my dresses should fit you.

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