Chapter 8: Getting to know our new arrival

The lady just slowly turned round and looked around the clearing, stopping when she saw me.

I walked over to her, held out my hand and like an idiot said, "Good morning my name is Charlie, but please call me Chally."

She was so taken back by this approach, she held out her hand and in a very upper class snobby English accent said "Marjorie, Lady Marjorie Smith-Johnson, where am I?"

With a sense of blasé I said" Welcome to England sometime in the past."

"Impossible!" was the snobby reply.

"No it is true Marjorie, you just passed through a time warp. Why were you driving so slow when you arrived here?"

"Some idiot threw a rock which hit my windscreen just as I was approaching a footbridge over the highway, and I applied my brakes."

Oh! That accent really grinds into ones head I thought.

I walked over further and examined the car, and sure enough there was starring in the middle of the windscreen of the car.

My theory has been proved it is a two-way gate. I now had a location, and a time scale it occurs as well as a time. Twice at the same time, I hope the other factors are the same. I will then have access back to my own time.

"I hope you don't mind me calling you Marjorie, you are going to be here a long time. Come and I will introduce you to my wives. Will you please switch off your engine you won't need it here."

Which she went and done.

Of course the sound of the engine and hearing me speaking to someone, my two beauties were curious and came out of the cabin and walked over to meet us.

I turned to Marjorie, "I would like you to meet my wives Jane and Hind."

I said to Jane and Hild "Meet Marjorie it looks as though we have a new visitor."

The women just nodded their heads at one another.

Hind turned to Marjorie, "Would you like breakfast."

It was obvious Marjorie was unsure what was said to her, but it appeared by the expression on her face that she had some inclination to the words spoken.

"Hind asked you if you would like breakfast."

Marjorie turned to me, "Yes I understood what she said. That was ancient Gaelic that she spoke, it was the pronunciation that threw me."

"I told you were in ancient England."

She shocked me with her next words.

"OH! How wonderful."

"Come let's go to our cabin."

As we moved towards the cabin Eastorhyld came out of the van. I called her over.

"Eastorhyld, come and meet Marjorie, she has just arrived." I said with a smile on my face.

I explained to Marjorie "This is the daughter of the clan chief Dunstan, who, we were about to escort to her home in the west tomorrow."

We all entered the cabin and seated ourselves on the chairs. Jane and Hild busied themselves preparing breakfast.

I then set about explaining everything to Marjorie, how I arrived here, how we constructed all the things here and the daily routine. I wasn't being hard on her, but I told her that if she wanted to stay with us she would have to share in the tasks and that we share everything. I would expect her to help my two beauties with their English and maybe help them in the use of the cosmetics that they had but had no idea how to use. I also explained there was no room for vanity either.

"Oh! Yes I will willingly do my share. The boot of my car is full of clothing; I was off on a six-month expedition when the incident happened. No one will even miss me for at least six months, I'm always dashing off on explorations at the drop of a hat and not telling anyone."

"Expeditions!"

"I'm an archeologist, and rather well off, and I can indulge in my profession as much as I like. My husband died when I was quite young, and have no family." She declared with that pebble in the mouth accent.

I rose and went into the bedroom and returned with one of the bags I had taken off one of the raiders, a flint spear point and one of the flint knives. I placed them in front of her on the table.

"Marjorie, what do you think of these items?"

She grabbed them up in wonder. "Where did you get these?"

"Oh! I have quite a few of them, every hunter has them."

"These items are worth a fortune, museums would be clambering all over you to purchase them, you could ask any price and they would pay it as they are in excellent condition."

I thought to myself, they should be I only took them off a dead man within the last couple of months.

I got up and brought Jane's spear over to her, "And this?"

"Oh! My" was all she said.

Eastorhyld started laying the table with our crockery for four people, after she heard Jane shout that breakfast was about to be served. Eastorhyld would not sit at the table, she preferred to sit on her haunches, and ate her meal from a mess tin. She didn't like the plates.

Jane and Hind came in with the tea and breakfast. We were having ham end egg A Là tin (Compo).

Jane and Hind moved their chairs closer to mine, one either side. I think that they were trying to protect me. From what I don't know, or were they jealous of Marjorie?

After the meal and the tidying up done, we all went to help Marjorie unload her car. She was right about one thing she had enough clothing and equipment to supply an expedition on her own. Not only was the boot chock-o-block but the rear passenger seats were piled up also. We carried them all into the van.

I got her to park her car along side the other wrecks on the far side of the clearing.

We were a real nosey lot, we all got round Marjorie as she unloaded her bags and cases. I had asked her previously if she had anything that would fit Jane and Hild. Marjorie had a rather fuller figure than the others. She was only slightly taller but had rather wider in the hips. Functionality was the keyword here, not fashion. My! Was I in for a surprise? Marjory had about a dozen pairs of jeans in one suitcase. They weren't the thin fashion type but made with a good sturdy material.

"I usually wear them on digs, so they must be robust," noticing how I stared at them.

"I am sure I can give a couple of pairs each to Jane and Hild, they would keep them warmer than the thin dresses they are wearing now."

"That would be wonderful; I always thought that they must be cold in the dresses."

She rummaged around and produced a small cardboard box, about seven by five by four inches. On the side of it I saw that it had a label Made in China. She opened it up and produced a small sewing machine.

Marjorie then declared" I always carry one of these around with me; they are cheap and are excellent for quick repairs better than doing it with needle and thread. I will alter these jeans for Jane and Hild so they will fit better."