The Highlander's Enchantment Read online

  “I am not a bad person. One mistake, and now I am seen as evil.”

  “What mistake?”

  “The stupid missive in a bottle.”

  “Aye, but without that one mistake, we would nay be wed.”

  “That is debatable. Ye might have still ridden on Ross Castle to seek out my brother.”

  “Mayhap, but who’s to say I would have fallen for your charms? Ye’d not likely have come to seek me out in my tent.”

  “Is that the only reason ye married me? Because I came to your tent?”

  “Lass, I decided I wanted to marry ye the moment I stepped out of your brother’s study to find ye lurking in the shadows.” He took her hand and pressed it to his heart. “Something in your soul speaks to mine.”

  Blair smiled at him; an image he didn’t think he’d ever get used to seeing. She was so incredibly beautiful.

  “I feel the same way.”

  He leaned down and brushed his lips over hers. “I dinna want to see ye sad. I’d wage a war, if it would make ye happy.”

  “I only want your people to know I care for them, that I consider them to be a part of my family now.”

  “They will. We will see to it that they do.”

  “How?”

  “I am going to speak with them.”

  She started to shake her head, and her hair, already loose around her face, batted back and forth. “I dinna want to make it worse, to call attention to myself.”

  A sharp knock sounded at the door.

  “What is it?”

  Raibert entered, his face full of panic. “There’s been another death. This time…it is clearly poison.” His eyes shifted to Blair, who sat incredibly still on the bed. “James’s wife, the one who accused ye. When I went to call them all to the bailey for ye, she was dead inside her hut..”

  “It wasna me,” Blair said, her voice growing hysterical. She clutched to Edan fearfully.

  Bloody hell! Someone was going to a great length to prove his wife was a murderer.

  He took her shaking hand in his and brought it to his lips. “We know, lass, but the people will think it is ye, especially with her accusation before.”

  “Someone is trying to frame me.” Blair’s eyes were wide with fright, and she was starting to tremble all over. “I wasna even here when your brother was…killed.”

  “Aye.”

  Raibert cleared his throat. “Ye need to come now, my laird. Ye need to address them. They’re gathered outside. And ’tis probably best for your wife to remain here, where she’ll be safe in case…someone decides to act out on their own.”

  “One of them is killing their own. The Sutherlands had nothing to do with Connor’s death. The prisoners lied.” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “What the bloody hell is going on?”

  Blair let out a wretched sob. Edan still held her hand in a strong grip. “We will figure out who has done this, my love.”

  “We need to work together,” she said through her chattering teeth.

  “Aye.”

  “Starting now. I canna remain behind. I must go with ye to face them. If they think me hiding, a coward, they will only think all the more that I am guilty.”

  Edan drew in a ragged breath. The last thing he wanted to do was expose her to the raging mob that was gathering in the bailey. But she was right. “All right.”

  Raibert frowned but nodded his agreement.

  “Allow me a moment to compose myself.” She swung her legs over the side of the bed.

  Edan stood with her and approached Raibert. “Have the guards line the bailey. I’ll be down in a moment. Every last man, woman and child should be present.”

  “Except the ill,” Blair called. “Some of those I saw today canna get out of bed.”

  “All right, save for the ill.”

  Edan watched his wife splash water on her face, replait her hair and then leave it to lie down the length of her back rather than twisting it into a knot. The look caused her to appear less severe. With the evidence of her tears still reddening her eyes and the sad turn of her mouth, she looked the picture of innocent sorrow. He knew it wasn’t a ruse, knew that deep in her kind heart, she was bleeding for those who’d died, and those who thought her capable of murder.

  With her hand in his, he led her down the steps toward the bailey, where they would face the crowd together, not for the first time.

  They looked like a mob. Angry faces glared up at them, their stances hostile. Toward the front was a woman holding a bairn, who looked on Blair with pity, and near to her was a man with much the same expression, accompanied by several others. These must be the people that Raibert had found to testify of her kindness and care. Willa stood among them as well.

  Blair’s fingers trembled against his, her palm slick with sweat.

  “Dinna fear, sweetling,” he whispered. “An angry crowd feeds on such. Show them your strength.”

  She straightened her shoulders, stiffening beside him. Her chin came up, and she looked directly at the crowd, rather than at her feet.

  “There have been many accusations levied against my wife, your lady.”

  “Murderer!” someone shouted.

  Raibert started in their direction, but Blair called for him to stop. “Please,” she asked.

  Raibert looked to Edan, who wanted his guard to beat the bloody pulp out of the man who would call his wife such a sinner.

  “Lady Blair is no murderer. And I’m ashamed that we should have to stand here and claim her innocence to her people, those who should be supporting her. What is your claim? That a dying man died? That she somehow poisoned my brother from afar? She is not responsible. And poor James’s wife—what’s to say she didna poison herself in her grief?”

  He was laying the seeds of doubt; he could tell from the way the angry grumbles lessened, and people’s faces turned from rage to confusion. But there were still some who would only believe that Blair was guilty.

  “To take one’s own life is a sin! She’d not have done that! Murderer! Murderer!”

  “I will nay tolerate accusations of murder against my wife. If ye would believe that James’s wife was murdered, then we will add her death to my brother’s and continue to investigate. But know this, the one responsible is here today. Gathered here with ye where ye stand. Who among ye had cause to kill James’s wife? Had cause to kill my brother? Who among ye would wish to pin such on my wife? Ye want her to be guilty because ye dinna want to believe that one of your own could do such.”

  “She is a Sutherland! The Sutherlands are to blame!”

  Edan shook his head. “We would blame someone so far? Not even think to blame the Campbells, who’ve been reiving our lands? Ye search because ye want it to be her. But ye’re wrong. Anyone who continues to lay the blame of death at my wife’s feet will be punished. I willna tolerate it. We canna take the words of one or two hysterical people as gospel. We must seek out the truth in all its forms. We are not a mob who’d believe a rumor, but good and just people.”

  Angry murmurs went out through the crowd.

  “From the moment my wife arrived, her welcome has been less than comforting. Those who’ve been cruel to her know who ye are. Know that I, too, am aware of the cruelty ye’ve bestowed on her. I’m ashamed that such is happening within my own clan. Out of the whole of Scotland, our clan—our home—this is where we should feel safest. Not where we should worry about discord, strife and disharmony.”

  Beside him, Blair was still looking out at the crowd, tears tracking down her face, but she didn’t look weak as she cried, she looked strong. Stoic, even.

  Edan hoped that his brother’s wife hadn’t been treated as badly as Blair, that his mother, and his brother’s mother, had been accepted with open arms.

  “Are there any among ye who might step forward and testify to my wife’s kindness?”

  A hush fell over the crowd, but then the lass holding a bairn stepped forward. “I will.” She turned to face the crowd and told them about how the bairn
in her arms, her sister’s bairn, had not been eating. That she’d been trying to feed him for days but that as soon as Blair held him in her arms, she was able to coax him to suck the goat’s milk from a rag, and he’d finally fallen into a sated sleep. That her sister, who has been suffering from childbed fever, had seemed to sleep peacefully for the first time after Blair’s visit.

  The man beside her stepped forward to tell everyone how Blair had come and sang to his children, tried to comfort him while his wife lay in a fevered state, and that the food she’d brought had been delicious and from the laird’s own kitchen.

  More and more people stepped forward to share their own stories, including Willa, who said that when she thought she might no longer have a place in the clan, she’d been given the highest honor of serving the lady of the castle.

  As people stepped forward, it seemed like more and more came out of the woodwork. The stable master spoke of her sweet Bluebell, and that no one with a cold bone in their body would have saved a wee lamb and spoil it as Blair had. Even Raibert praised her kindness and spoke how the people at Ross Castle respected her, how she was the daughter of one of the most powerful men in Scotland, a favorite of the king—and to disrespect her was as good as disrespecting their sovereign.

  Edan wasn’t so certain he’d go so far as to say that, but it was a good place to start.

  The angry faces that had greeted them upon their exit of the castle softened. And Blair was no longer shaking. It seemed she’d found strength in the words of those who spoke of her character.

  Edan’s chest swelled with pride as he stared at his wife. And to think, he’d turned her father down at his first request. As he watched her, as he listened, as her hand in his grew still, he realized with a stunning clarity that he was in love with this incredible woman. That he was the luckiest man in the Highlands.

  Chapter 20

  Though Blair wanted nothing more than to take her meal in her chambers, Edan said they needed to eat in the great hall to show their strength. Strength was not exactly something she felt at the moment.

  Even still, she knew he was right.

  “My lady,” Willa said, as she rinsed the lavender scented soap from Blair’s hair, “there is something I must tell ye.”

  Blair used a linen to wipe the water from her face and turned in the tub to face her maid whose worried tone matched the wrinkle in her brow. “What is it?”

  Willa bit her lip and looked away. “I shouldna have said anything.”

  Blair placed her hand over Willa’s, where it rested on the side of the tub. “Please, Willa. Ye can trust me.”

  Willa blinked her eyes rapidly as she looked up toward the rafters, as though she were trying to keep herself from crying. “I know, ye’re so kind.”

  “Please, tell me what has ye so upset.”

  “’Tis about the previous lady, Mary Guinn. And Agnes.”

  “Guinn?” Alarm bells were going off in her head now, for Guinn was the name of the clan who’d ridden on her family after the daughter of the laird had spurned her brother Strath so many years ago.

  “Aye.” Willa cocked her head, watching Blair with curiosity. “Mary Guinn was married to Connor.”

  Mary. She was Jean’s sister. Knowing exactly who she was had Blair’s mind racing. She licked her lips as she thought it over. Was it just a coincidence? Or was this vengeance? “And?”

  “Her maid, Agnes, married McQuinn, one of the old laird’s men. Well, she… I heard the two of them talking afore Lady Mary left. Mary said she thought the Sutherlands should pay for the humiliation her sister suffered. I dinna know what she was talking about, but it seems like something ye should know.”

  “What are ye saying, Willa?”

  “Only that it seems… It seems like perhaps Lady Mary and Agnes might have… Och, I dinna know. ’Tis all too much for my small brain. I’m a maid! I dinna know much about the ways of such things, but it struck me as something I should tell.”

  “Why did ye not tell anyone afore now?”

  “I was scared. Scared of Agnes. But now that James and his wife are gone, with her death especially suspicious, I couldna keep my tongue any longer.”

  Blair sank back against the tub, the warmth of the water a startling reminder of the cold she’d been greeted with by Agnes.

  “Do ye think Agnes stayed behind to carry out her lady’s…orders?”

  “I couldna say, my lady.” She ran a comb through Blair’s hair. “But if she were planning to blame the Sutherlands and get away with it, seems like leaving Agnes behind to take care of her dirty work would be a good plan.”

  “What of the men who were captured?”

  Willa sucked in a breath between her teeth. “I was hoping ye’d not ask me about them, my lady.”

  “Why is that?”

  “To speak of it is a sin.” She dropped the comb as she said it, then fumbled to pick it up.

  “Trust me, Willa, please. Whatever ye know and relay to me isna a sin, but a duty to your laird. Ye canna be punished for doing your duty.”

  Willa stilled, eyes toward the rafters as she thought that over. “Ye’re right. The men… They were Lady Mary’s lovers.”

  “All of them?” The words slipped out before she could pull them back, and visions of her cousin Aurora came to mind. She couldn’t say she was surprised, given Mary’s sister, Jean.

  But instead of feeling condescending toward the women, she was sad. Sad that they felt the only way they could garner attention was to seek out physical contact with multiple men. Did they not understand they could be valued on their own merit? For who they were, for the skills they possessed?

  “Aye, my lady.”

  “Thank ye for sharing this with me,” Blair said quietly.

  “I would do anything for ye, my lady.”

  Blair finished her bath, and Willa helped her dress and fix her hair in silence. When she was finished, she searched for Edan in their solar and then his study. She hoped to find him before they supped, but he was not in either of the rooms. She’d have to wait to share this news with him until after they’d eaten.

  As she guessed, Edan was in the great hall, talking with Raibert and several of his men. The trestle tables had been set up, and people were pouring in to eat. Before she’d come down, Blair had nightmares of the people boycotting a meal with her. She was pleasantly surprised to see them all filing in with smiles on their faces, some more wary than others.

  “My lady,” Edan said, separating himself from his men to sweep a low bow as he took her hand and pressed his lips to her skin. “Ye’re a vision.”

  Blair couldn’t help but giggle at his gallantry. “I thank ye.”

  Rather than let go of her hand, he tugged her forward and brushed his lips against her forehead. With his arm still draped over her shoulder, he led her to the table and pulled out a chair for her to sit.

  As the meal was brought out, she was surprised to find that Cook had followed her request for no meat in the supper. Instead, they were served a hearty barley and turnip stew with freshly baked bread and butter, followed by slices of cheese alongside berry tarts. The meal was delicious, and when she saw Cook peering out from the doorway to the kitchens, Blair smiled and mouthed thank ye. Cook nodded back and then ducked away, clearly having only come out to see if the lady approved.

  When the meal concluded, Blair whispered to Edan, “Can we go upstairs? There’s something I need to discuss with ye.”

  “Aye, love.”

  He stood, pulled back her chair, and with his hand in hers, they bid the clan goodnight and headed upstairs. Halfway up the second flight, Edan made a sound that had Blair whirling round. He wavered on his feet, slapping his hand against the stone.

  “Are ye all right?” Blair asked with concern, reaching for his arm which felt warmer than usual.

  “Too much whisky.” He laughed and shook his head when she tried to loop her arm through his. “Had a few drams afore ye came down.” He motioned with his hand for her t
o continue on in front of him. “In case I fall, I dinna want to take ye down with me.”

  “Edan, if ’tis that bad, I should call Raibert or one of the other men to help ye up the stairs.”

  “Nay, sweetling.” He sounded breathless, and his face had gone pale, droplets of perspiration forming on his brow.

  “Edan.” Her voice came out sharp and terrified.

  Even as she reached for him, he swayed once more. He started to go backward, but she managed to tug him forward, so he dropped to his knees on the stairs rather than tumbling backward.

  “Raibert! Help!” she shrieked.

  At the sounds of her screams, men came running from what seemed like all directions.

  “What happened?” Raibert demanded, lifting Edan up onto his shoulder.

  Her husband slurred inaudible words, and Blair felt very close to fainting. She blinked rapidly, shaking her head, fanning her face.

  “I dinna know. He was dizzy. Said he’d had too much whisky. But he didn’t look… He was pale, sweating… He started to fall, and I pulled him forward before he toppled down.”

  “Poison,” someone said behind her. “Is it not obvious? She did it.”

  “Nay, I didna. Nay! I would never!” Blair’s tone rose in pitch as she combatted grappling hands and vicious accusations.

  “Seize her!” someone else shouted. “She’s tried to murder our laird!”

  They tore at her hair, her gown, her flesh.

  “He may have been blind to her evilness, but we canna be, else she kills us all!”

  Blair’s vision grew dizzy herself as she tugged against the grappling fingers. “’Tis not true! I love him. Raibert, please!” But her husband’s guard had already disappeared up the stairs. The hands were tugging harder, so much so she could no longer balance on her own two feet, and she fell into the pinching pulling hands.

  “If ’tis poison, he needs help. Dinna let him die! I can help him!” She was shrieking now, panic setting in. Right now, they were likely going to take her out to the firth and drown her. “Have ye frankincense or mugwart? Lovage? Boil them in vinegar. Something that is an antidote to poison, please! At least make him vomit! For the love of all things hol—”