Rogue Highlander: The King's Command

by Sondra Grey

  Suddenly, Leith felt like the world’s greatest ass.

  “If that is so, it is sad, indeed.” Richard was speaking to Isla since Leith had gone mute. “But that doesn’t excuse her for the way she treated Leith…”

  “Someone should have smacked you more as a child…”

  “Isla!” Calum shouted, attempting to reign in his wife, but Isla turned her ire on Calum next. “Of all the people to try and shush me!” she said, her voice raising. “I bet he treated Edane the same way you treated me: as disposable. As something to be used. And then he has the nerve to sulk and gnash his teeth when she no longer wishes to be used by him…”

  “Enough,” said Leith. The word cracked as it came out. Leith cleared his throat. “Enough.”

  “Oh yes,” said Isla. “I’ve had enough. Enough of the three of you!” She shoved Leith out of the way as she stalked past him.

  Leith shot a glance at Calum who looked furious and mortified. He looked at Richard who looked irritated, but thoughtful.

  Leith ran a hand through his hair and cursed.

  Edane was emotionally exhausted by the time evening fell. True to his word Leith had had food delivered and Lady Maxwell had come by around supper time to tell her that the whole castle was speaking about how beautiful she’d been at the wedding feast. All the women were atwitter over how dashing Leith had looked.

  Edane was irritated. These were certainly the same people who called Leith a barbarian when he arrived at the castle, and who refused to speak with her at social functions. These were the same people who would snicker behind her back when her pregnancy became too obvious to hide.

  When it was evident that Edane was in a terrible mood and was not given to speaking, Lady Maxwell departed, reminding Edane that she should eat something. “For the baby,” Lady Maxwell advised. “No use tormenting him for his father’s sins.”

  Leith had already scoffed at the notion that Margaret might poison her, and so Edane did not confide her suspicions to Lady Maxwell. But as the night wore on, Edane’s hunger overpowered her resolve, and she fell upon the meal with gusto.

  An hour later, Edane lay in bed feeling that same terrible headache and nausea that she’d been experiencing the past few days. Whatever reprieve she’d been given on her wedding day was over – the faintness that had plagued her these last few weeks was back.

  Leith was clearly not returning this evening, and so Edane dressed for bed, removed the makeup from her cheeks, crawling weakly beneath the covers, and falling into a quick and deep sleep.

  The King was in his study when Edane entered the room, only it wasn’t the King’s study, she realized as she halted before his desk. It was her father’s study: his deep green velvet curtains, his oil paintings. The King looked up and smiled at her – that excited, pleased smile he gave her in the early days of their affair. “Hello Beautiful,” he said, his voice was warm but evoked nothing in her. “I have a name for our son.”

  Edane looked down and realized that she was much further into her pregnancy than she’d realized. In fact, she looked fit to burst.

  “Name him Leith,” said the King, his smile mocking. He rapped his hand on the wood of her father’s desk. “Knock knock,” he said to her.

  “I don’t understand,” she said, pressing a hand to the small of her back, where an ache was beginning to build.

  “Get the door,” he said, gesturing. Edane turned around. Behind her the room was dark, the ache in her back was growing. There was a light, outlining the door. Edane moved towards it. Behind her the king kept rapping. “Knock knock,” he called to her. “Better answer it.”

  But the pain was crippling. And the closer Edane moved towards the door, the further out of reach it became. Another long, sharp pain shot through her, and she screamed.

  “Again!” the king called, and Edane screamed again.

  Perhaps it was the scream that woke her, finally, or maybe it was the pain, so intense that it paralyzed her, stopping her breath and sending her into intense spasms.

  She pressed her lips together as pain tore through her, groaning low in her throat. She felt hot, feverish, her head was pounding. No not her head, the door.

  Someone was knocking on the door, but Edane couldn’t open her mouth to answer, couldn’t move.

  “Edane! Please open the door!” The voice was familiar but not. Another bolt of pain, like lightening tearing through her.

  “Edane! Please. Open the door!” It was a female voice, and Edane’s pain-clouded brain tried to place it. Oh, it didn’t matter who it was! She sucked in a breath and gritted her teeth. She must have lost hold of her bladder for her gown was wet. More pain as she stumbled to the door, grasping the lock. It took everything she had to throw the bolt back, her fingers shaking with weakness.

  She couldn’t see the figure that appeared suddenly in the door, catching her in surprisingly strong arms as she sagged forward. She gasped and whined as another spear of pain tore through her.

  “Good lord!” the voice gasped, all but dragging Edane back to the bed. Hands were on her head, on her stomach. A string of curses split the air, and Edane closed her eyes as another wave of pain nearly made her lose consciousness. She heard the door open and then close again and suddenly there was light behind her eyes. Edane opened them, and saw that the woman had gone to light a candle from one of the hall sconces. A dim light filled the room as the figure went about settling candles aflame. As the room illuminated the figure’s face, Edane recognized Isla, the woman who helped her earlier that day.

  “Edane,” said Isla, rushing back to the bed. “I told the woman outside you were having a nightmare, she’s fetching Leith. You need to stop screaming if you can. I don’t think anyone should know…”

  “Know what?” Edane’s voice trembled with the intensity of her pain.

  “You’re losing the baby, Edane,” said Isla, her voice firm, detached. “The king cannot know about it. Not yet, try to be quiet.”

  Edane clenched her teeth together as another wave of pain shot through her abdomen. Isla was moving around the room, getting water from the washstand, pulling squares of drying clothes from the chest at the end of Edane’s bed.

  Edane groaned low and long, eyes clenched shut.

  “Breath through your nose,” Isla said. Someone knocked on the door.

  Moving to open it, Isla gasped with relief. “You’re here! Get inside, quickly.”

  Edane glanced over to see Leith, move into the room, wearing only a long nightshirt, his plaid wrapped carelessly around his waist. He took one look at Edane and his face went white.

  “I need help. We need to get her out of that dress so I can see if the baby is passed yet. Help her!”

  Leith didn’t hesitate. He strode over to the bed and lifted Edane effortless, setting her feet on the ground. “Hold onto my shoulders,” he instructed, and he reached down and pulled her nightgown from her. “Lord God,” he said, staring at the blood that coated her thighs.

  “Edane, can you wipe the blood away,” said Isla, handing Edane a wet cloth. With shaking hands, Edane reached between her legs and tried to clean herself. When dizziness threatened to overcome her, Leith steadied her with one arm and helped clean her with the other.

  “Press this between your legs,” said Isla, giving Edane another square of cloth. Edane did as she was bid, and Isla produced another gown for her.

  “Here, lie on this side of the bed,” said Isla, indicating the side that was not soiled. Leith helped her across the room and eased her onto the bed. Another wave of pain overcame her and Edane trembled with it, sweating and gasping.

  “What happened?” asked Leith, turning to Isla.

  “It was Margaret,” said Edane, her voice low and hoarse. “It was Margaret, she said she was going to…”

  “Edane, these things happen,” said Isla, soothingly.

  “No. It was Margaret, I know it! It was in the food! She said…”

  Leith looked over towards where the foot tray sat
on the window sill. Looking back at Isla he frowned. Isla moved towards the tray, and Edane watched with dismay as she lifted the food and sniffed at it, took a small sip of the tea and frowned.

  “Do you take mint in your tea?” she asked.

  “So…sometimes,” Edane said. “I’ve been ill these last few weeks and the mint sett…” she stopped talking as another wave of pain coursed through her. She could feel her blood soaking the pad.

  “How long?” asked Isla. “How long have you been sick? Have you had headaches?”

  “Ye…Yes…”

  “Nausea?”

  Edane groaned.

  It was Isla’s turn to go pale. “Penny Royal,” she whispered. “But how? If you’ve been eating in the hall with everyone else.”

  “No. Only yesterday. I’ve been staying in my ro…mmmmmm.” Edane’s lips closed over the scream that wanted to erupt. Leith put his hand on her temple, rubbed her sweat-soaked hair back from her face.

  “My God! If Margaret has been dosing you with Penny Royal for weeks.” Isla closed her eyes and crossed herself. Edane’s teeth chattered over another long, cramping pain.

  “I’ve got to get my medicines,” Isla said to Leith. “Keep her conscious. Keep her talking. Penny Royal can induce miscarriages, but I don’t see the leaf in her meal, which means Margaret must be using Penny Royal oil. It’s deadly in large doses.”

  “Was her dose large?”

  Isla shook her head. “No, the tea tastes only faintly of mint. That’s the Penny Royal. Likely Margaret is having someone dose her food with small amounts that she’ll not detect. But we have to be vigilant. I can’t say how much she’s received in the past. I’ve not seen someone dosed over a long period of time.”

  Edane felt panic seize her as Isla rushed out.

  “She’s a healer,” Leith murmured beneath his breath. Edane moaned again as yet another cramp tore through her. Leith swore between his teeth and shifted so that, instead of lying on the pillows, Edane was resting on his chest, his arms banded about her as if holding her together. Edane fell against him, grateful for his presence. He made her feel stronger.

  “Edane, I’m sorry,” Leith said, his voice low. “I’m sorry for my anger. For the way I treated you earlier.”

  Edane could only nod.

  “I need to keep you talking until Isla comes back. Perhaps…” Leith’s voice faltered, and she felt his grip on arms tighten a moment. “Perhaps you can tell me what happened. In your own words…the talking might…. It might help.”

  He sounded lost, and Edane looked up at him and saw his eyes were dark with worry, his face braced as if he, too, were feeling her pain.

  So Edane told him. In speech broken by the spasms that wracked her, she told him about her sisters, about growing up with Lady Campbell about wanting the King to notice her. About Eric et Enide and her dreams of courtly love. She told him about the night they first made love, about her virginity and why she’d given it to him, how she didn’t regret it. He was still as the night behind her. She told him about James, and her father, and she was aware of trailing off, aware of Leith shaking her, and then she was aware of nothing at all.

  CHAPTER 20

  W hen Edane came to, it was to the sound of voices. “…not much Isla can do here. She needs to see the Beaton healers. You need to take her to Skye…”

  It wasn’t Leith’s voice, but another man’s, low and deep and slightly familiar. Edane cracked her eyes open, and saw four men near the window. Leith sat in a chair nearest to the bed, but his back was to her. She recognized his cousin Richard and Adam Maclean, and the third man was Isla’s husband: The Laird of Dundur.

  “The king has forbidden us from leaving.” That was Leith. “And if he learns of her miscarriage, there’s a chance he’ll have the marriage annulled and keep her here.”

  “He wouldn’t do that,” Richard said, sounding more loyal to the King than Edane would have expected.

  “I can’t say what he would and wouldn’t do,” said Adam. “And neither can you.”

  “She needs to see the Beatons. Penny Royal is dreadful medicine. And I don’t know how much she has received.” The voice came from over Edane’s head. She was too weak to turn and look, but knew that the weight on the other side of her bed was Isla.

  “So, what do we do?” asked the Laird of Dundur. “How do we convince the king to let her go?”

  “Tell him I’m ill,” rasped Edane, disappointed when her voice came out a whisper, when the very act of speaking shot bolts of lightning through her head. She felt Isla’s cool hand on her brow and stared into the woman’s concerned face.

  “Tell him the truth,” said Edane, her voice slightly more audible this time, “that I’ve been poisoned. Tell him you’re worried for the health of the baby.”

  “And what will he do when the babe is never born?”

  “We will worry about that when we have to,” said Leith. Edane looked over and saw that he was watching her. Fresh worry lines were etched into his brown, and his mouth was pinched.

  “Dundur,” said Leith, speaking to Calum but refusing to take his eyes from Edane. “Go with Isla. Tell the King of the poisoning. He’ll come here and see her for himself. Tell him to bring his healer if he wishes.”

  “The healer’s probably the one who poisoned her,” muttered Isla, standing and smoothing her skirts.

  “Come,” said Calum, offering Isla his arm. Isla took it, her fatigue showing only as she leaned heavily upon her husband. “We’ll return as soon as we are able.”

  “Could you wait outside?” Leith asked, turning to speak to Adam and Richard. Adam nodded, Richard glanced at the two of them with worry, but followed Adam as he left the room.

  “Edane,” said Leith. Edane was so exhausted she could barely keep her eyes open, but Leith was saying her name the way she’d always wished to hear him say it, and so she focused on his face, on his beautiful, thick-lashed green eyes. “I’m so sorry. I took advantage of you without even realizing I was doing it, and blamed you for doing your best to survive. I wish you’d told me from the beginning, but I understand why you did not. And I can’t forgive myself for the way I treated you when I arrived. I was furious. And I’d no right to be.”

  “Thank you,” said Edane, closing her eyes. She wanted to say more but did not have the strength.

  “Hold on, Lady. Fight to stay with us. The Beaton clan contains the best healers in all of Scotland and are allies of Clan Macleod. I will get you to Skye if I have to carry you by foot with James and all his men chasing me. I promise.”

  Edane closed her eyes, undone by the earnestness in Leith’s gaze. “The sheets,” she said, suddenly, struggling to sit up until dizziness overwhelmed her. Leith caught her as she fell backwards.

  “We changed the sheets,” said Leith. “You were gone a full two hours. We changed the sheets, we changed your clothes. But the room smelled of blood and sickness. We left the windows open and brought you to my chambers. Do you recognize them?”

  His smile was faint and slightly suggestive, and Edane found herself returning his smile weakly.

  “Close your eyes,” he told her. “It’s all right. I am watching. I’ll wake you should the King arrive.”

  Edane closed her eyes but she was too aware of her body, of how heavy her limbs felt, of how labored her breathing was. She felt hot and uncomfortable and whimpered at the terrible pain in her head. Her stomach felt as if someone had thrust a knife into the small of her back.

  It was all she could do to lay there and not sob aloud. When the door opened, and she could smell James’ expensive cologne, she let the cry go, letting the agony she felt tear through her voice. Leith squeezed her hand and she heard Isla curse.

  “What has happened to her,” James said, his voice low with horror.

  “Highness,” gasped Edane, and she didn’t have to fake how thin her voice sounded. She opened her eyes and stared up and James. One would have thought the king might keep his distance, but James approach
ed the bed quickly, sat down on its edge and pressed his hand to Edane’s brow, swearing in an uncharacteristic manner. “Lord, pet, you are burning up!”

  “It’s the Penny Royal, Majesty,” said Isla, voice so subdued that Edane wasn’t quite sure it was Isla who spoke, but the woman appeared at the King’s side, frowning at Edane. “We’re worried she’ll lose the baby. It wreaks havoc on the system. But the Beatons can help her.”

  “Penny Royal,” James shook his head. “Who would do such a thing…”

  “Nobody your highness, of course,” the voice was unfamiliar, and Edane blinked at a thin man about ten years the king’s senior, balding but with a thick red beard trimmed short about his face. She’d not seen this man before. “It’s not Penny Royal. It’s probably ague, or hysteria…”

  “James,” Edane whispered, her hand reaching out and brushing against the king’s. James picked up her hand and kissed her knuckles, and Edane was sure that the worry on his face was not feigned. She must look terrible, indeed. “You know who did this.”

  James’ face went blank.

  “She threatened me,” said Edane. “She told me she’d kill me and the babe.” Edane didn’t dare say who she was, but she knew that James would know.

  “James,” Edane let her voice crack, let the very real fear she was feeling show through. “I think I’m dying.”

  “The girl is in hysterics highness, that’s all. Her humors are unbalanced. If you’ll allow me to bleed her…”

  “You’ll do no such thing, you fraud!” snapped Isla. James started, surprised and Calum stepped in front of Isla, all but blocking her from view.

  “I fear,” said Leith, “in her weakened condition, that losing blood is the last thing she needs. She is fighting poison in her system. She needs all her strength.”