On the Isle of Skye, Janet and Mary touched each of the standing stones in the ring, hoping to be transported back into the eighteenth century like the heroine of a popular novel. Bubbly Mary and stern Janet were unlikely partners but they both enjoyed novels and movies that had a combination of fantasy and romance. Each hoped to see a loch monster, fairies or the ghost of a Highlander wearing a kilt and sword ride by. On the ferry back to the mainland, Harry called, “Mary? Mary,” as he looked around. “Is she back in 1740 rolling in the heather with her Highland swain?” Everyone laughed including Mary.
They wandered around the battlefield of Culloden while the guide described how the Scots, armed with pikes and flintlocks, charged the English soldiers who fired down on them with canons. The English victory ended the clans’ control over the Highlands.
“My ancestors would have been on the front lines of the Scots as they charged and would have killed a few redcoats before they died.” Harry said, as he waved a stick at the English lines.