The Highlander Takes a Bride

by Lynsay Sands

  Saidh suspected that was highly unlikely. She was also beginning to consider that she perhaps should have spoken to Greer ere she'd made her magnanimous offer.

  Frowning, she patted Fenella's back and glanced to the door, wondering why Greer hadn't returned. He'd gone to talk to Fenella, but Fenella was with her. Surely he should have returned by now?

  "Ye do no' ken how relieved I am," Fenella said, sniffling. The woman did not cry prettily. Her eyes were red, her face blotchy and her nose was running something fierce. "I ha'e lain awake worrying at night, wondering what will become o' me and--" She paused suddenly and slumped unhappily. "I can no' stay here."

  "Why?" Saidh asked with surprise.

  "Allen's mother," Fenella said grimly. "We got along fine while Allen lived. She e'en seemed to like me, but ever since Allen died she has been saying the most horrid things about me."

  "And how ha'e ye responded to those horrid things?" Saidh asked.

  Fenella frowned with confusion. "What do ye mean?"

  "I mean, I ken she's accused ye o' ha'ing something to do with Allen's death, but did ye tell her ye didn't and ye loved him, or did ye jest burst into tears and run away?" Saidh asked and could read the answer in Fenella's expression. Sighing, she said firmly, "Ye need to tell her that ye had naught to do with Allen's death, that ye loved and were grateful to him, and that ye'll hear no more o' her accusations."

  "And what if she does no' listen?" Fenella asked unhappily.

  "Then I will speak with her," Saidh said simply, and then added, "But even if she does no' change, she is old, Fenella, and her health has been poorly of late."

  She snorted at that. "Her health has been poorly since I married Allen. Goodness, the morning Allen died she was lying in because she felt poorly. Yet she is still here." She grimaced. "I do no' think she is poorly so much as wants attention and sympathy." She blew out an exasperated breath. "E'en does she stop with accusations I do no' think I could forgive and live with her."

  Saidh briefly considered suggesting that Aulay might let her live at Buchanan with him and the boys, but then thought better of it. She suspected her brothers would not be pleased if Fenella asked and they learned it was at her suggestion.

  "Bowie is handsome, do ye no' think?" Fenella said thoughtfully.

  Saidh blinked at the abrupt change in topic and asked with bewilderment, "Greer's first?"

  "Aye. He has that fine pale hair and strong features. He is really verra handsome."

  "I suppose," Saidh agreed slowly, not understanding where the conversation was going or how it had even got here.

  "He was Allen's best friend," Fenella announced.

  Saidh stilled and peered at her with more interest. "Was he?"

  Fenella nodded. "They were always together, swimming in the loch, going out to check on the villagers, taking off on hunts that lasted for days, and I often found them together in his room at night, just chatting or playing chess," she said, her expression considering as she added, "And he has always been sweet and kind to me too."

  "Hmm," Saidh said absently, her mind pondering the possibility that Bowie and Allen may have been more than friends. A man hunting and visiting villagers with his first was not unusual, but the part about Bowie being in Allen's room at night was a bit much. Aunt Tilda had said he preferred the company of men, after all.

  "Do ye think if I married Bowie, Greer would set us up in a cottage in the village? That way I could stay close to ye but no' ha'e to live with Tilda."

  "Er . . ." Saidh stared at her with dismay. Good Lord! Fenella was like a desperate drowning victim, floating down a river, snatching at every passing branch she saw. First she'd considered Greer, now Bowie. Were Aulay and the boys not Fenella's first cousins, she'd probably be plotting to marry one of them.

  "What do you think?" Fenella asked.

  Saidh thought that if Bowie and Allen had been the type of "friends" she suspected, then Fenella was barking up the wrong tree, but she couldn't say that. Instead, she suggested firmly, "I think we should worry about that later. After we've convinced the men ye're innocent o' the attacks on me. 'Tis the most important thing at the moment."

  "I suppose," Fenella murmured, and peered around the room. "This is quite a nice room, do ye no' think?"

  "Aye. 'Tis," Saidh agreed slowly, suspecting she knew what was coming.

  "Much nicer than me own," Fenella pointed out. "Mine is ridiculous small, and the bed lumpy, and--"

  "Ye can move here if ye like, Fenella," Saidh said dryly.

  "Truly?" she asked, a smile starting to pull at her lips.

  "O' course," Saidh said patiently.

  "Oh, thank ye," Fenella gushed, hugging her quickly and then pulling back. "I do no' sleep well in the room I'm in jest now. 'Tis no just that 'tis small either. I keep hearing sounds in the wall. I'm sure there are rats in there or something. Large ones too from the sound o' it and I jest lay there worrying they'll chew their way through to me room and--"

  "Ye must be tired then," Saidh said on inspiration and stood abruptly. "Why do ye no' lie down and ha'e a little nap?"

  "Here?" Fenella asked.

  "Aye. 'Tis probably best Aulay and me husband do no' find ye until I can talk to them. They still think ye're behind the two attacks," she pointed out.

  "Oh, aye. 'Tis probably best I stay here then," Fenella agreed, swinging her legs onto the bed and lying down. "I really am quite weary."

  "Then a nap is jest what ye need," Saidh said firmly, pulling up the furs to cover her.

  "Thank ye," Fenella murmured as Saidh tucked the furs around her.

  "Yer welcome," Saidh said quietly and turned to head for the door, relieved to be able to escape.

  "Yer supposed to be resting," Dougall growled as she slid out of the bedchamber and pulled the door closed.

  "Well I'm no', am I?" she pointed out with irritation. "I need to talk to me husband."

  "He's down below talking to Aulay and the rest o' the boys," Geordie informed her. "Fenella is missing and they are trying to sort out where she might--"

  His voice died abruptly when Saidh turned away and headed for the stairs without waiting to hear the rest. She wasn't at all surprised to hear the clump of both men's feet on the stairs behind her as she descended. They were her guards after all, and she supposed she would have to get used to it, at least until this situation was cleared up. Saidh wouldn't be trying to slip her guard again. She wouldn't risk anyone else getting hurt on her account.

  That didn't mean she was happy about having a guard though. The very idea of it chafed at her nerves, actually having her brothers trailing her about like puppies was going to drive her mad, she was sure.

  "Wife," Greer said with surprise, getting to his feet when Saidh reached the trestle tables. "I'm sorry I did no' return. But Fenella was no' in her room when we went to speak to her. Her maid said she'd left the room intending to come below, but no one has seen--"

  "I ken where Fenella is," Saidh announced.

  The men at the table all rose at this news, looking to her as if they would charge off and tackle the woman the moment they knew where to find her. Saidh scowled at them for it and sat down at the table.

  "Where is she?" Greer asked, remaining standing.

  Apparently he was as eager to hunt Fenella down as the others, Saidh thought wearily, but merely said, "I do no' think she is behind the attacks on me."

  "She may no' be," Greer allowed. "But we need to speak to her to be sure."

  "I already spoke to her," Saidh admitted.

  "How the de'il did ye manage that?" Dougall asked. "Ye were in yer bedchamber the whole time and we were guarding the door. She did no' pass us."

  "The passage," Greer said grimly when Saidh hesitated. He then explained to her brothers, "There is a secret passage that leads to the bedchamber. O' course, as Allen's wife, she would ken about it and how to open it. She must ha'e used it to visit Saidh and then to leave."

  Saidh didn't correct him, she simply sai
d, "It does no' matter how she got in. The fact is we talked and I ha'e me doubts that she had anything to do with what's happened. But we both ken 'tis impossible to prove, so she's agreed to a guard to stay with her day and night so that when the next attack happens, we'll ken 'tis no' her."

  Greer dropped onto the bench seat beside her, his expression troubled. "The next attack?"

  "There has to be a way to find the culprit without waiting fer another attack," Aulay said with a frown. " 'Sides, what makes ye think 'tis no' Fenella?"

  "I asked her and she said she is no'," Saidh said calmly, then grimaced and added, "o' course, she could be lying, but . . ."

  "But?" Greer prompted.

  "I believe her," she said helplessly.

  "Ye can no' ken this yet, Greer," Aulay said quietly, "but Saidh generally has good instincts when it comes to judging people."

  Her husband let his breath out on a sigh. "If she is no' our culprit, then we are back to sorting out who is."

  "M'laird, ha'e ye found her yet?"

  Saidh glanced around to see Fenella's lady's maid standing behind them. Seeing the worry on her face, she said, "She is in the room next to the master bedchamber."

  "Oh." The maid nodded and turned to hurry quickly up the stairs.

  Saidh watched until she disappeared into the bedchamber, then turned back to the table as Greer said, "She may ha'e already used the passage to return to her own room."

  "Nay, I suggested it might be good fer me to talk to ye and Aulay ere ye encountered her. She's taking a nap while she waits."

  Greer nodded, and then turned to the men at the table. "So . . . if it turns out Fenella is no' the culprit, who else could it be?"

  Dougall rumbled, "It would help if we had some idea o' what Saidh may ha'e done o' late to annoy someone."

  Saidh clucked with disgust. "Are we back to that then? I ha'e somehow annoyed someone so much they would kill me?"

  "Aye," Dougall said simply.

  Saidh was scowling at him when a woman's scream sounded from abovestairs. Recognizing the voice as Fenella's maid, Saidh jumped up and charged for the stairs. She heard Greer shout her name over the thunder of himself and her brothers charging after her, but didn't slow. Honestly, it sounded like a herd of stallions were chasing her up the steps, which just made her run faster.

  She was nearly at the top of the stairs when the master bedchamber door crashed open and Rory rushed out. He reached her bedchamber first and rushed in just as Greer caught up to Saidh and tugged her behind him, entering the room first. Saidh only caught a glimpse of what waited in the room, before Greer turned and bundled her toward Dougall and Geordie, saying, "Take her to the master chamber and stay inside with her and Alpin."

  Saidh didn't protest. She had seen enough.

  Chapter 17

  Greer watched Dougall and Geordie lead Saidh to the master bedchamber next door and urge her inside. He waited until the door closed behind the trio before turning back into the room where Aulay and the remaining brothers stood by the bed. All but Alick, he saw. The youngest Buchanan had urged Fenella's maid to a chair by the fire and was trying to soothe her.

  Moving to join the men by the bed, Greer stared down at Fenella. Someone, the maid probably, had pulled back the furs and Fenella lay curled up on her side as if in sleep. But she wasn't sleeping. Her face was as white as a spring bloom and the pale yellow gown she wore was blood soaked.

  "Someone stabbed her in the neck," Rory announced, straightening from examining Fenella.

  "Well, I guess that means Saidh was right and we can discount Fenella as the culprit," Aulay said dryly.

  "Damn," Niels breathed. "First they're trying to kill Saidh and now they kill Fenella? Who is next?"

  "That's assuming they meant to kill Fenella," Greer said grimly.

  "What?" Niels asked with surprise.

  "Her face is half buried in the pillow," he pointed out.

  "Aye," Aulay agreed, and apparently seeing what Greer did, added, "And she has the Buchanan nose and hair."

  "Yer thinking she was mistaken fer Saidh," Con-ran said slowly.

  "Nay," Niels protested. "Fenella's a slip o' a thing and Saidh is more muscular and sturdy. They would ha'e kenned it was no' Saidh."

  Greer shook his head. "Not with the furs covering her."

  Aulay nodded, his expression solemn. "Under the furs, with just her hair and part o' her face showing, she could easily be mistaken for Saidh."

  "Damn," Niels said unhappily.

  "Now that that is settled, I'd be most interested in how it was done." Aulay turned to Greer. "My position at the trestle table in the great hall left me facing the stairs and upper landing. I had a clear view o' the door to this room. No one entered or left after Saidh came out. In fact, there was no one up here at all except fer Fenella's maid and she went nowhere near the door until Saidh told her this is where Fenella was."

  "Ye're no' thinking Saidh killed her?" Niels asked with dismay.

  Aulay reached out and smacked the man in the back of the head.

  "That would be a nay," Rory said dryly.

  "Aye, I gathered that," Niels muttered, rubbing the back of his head.

  Ignoring the pair of them, Aulay turned to Greer with one eyebrow raised. "Who kens about the passage in the wall besides ye and Saidh?"

  Greer considered the matter. "I told Alpin about it, and Aunt Tilda probably kens, and then there is--"

  "Probably?" Aulay interrupted. "Aunt Tilda probably kens? Is she no' the one who showed ye the passage when ye got here to take yer place as laird? Or was that Fenella?"

  "Nay." Greer shook his head. "Aunt Tilda and Fenella were both too distraught to be o' much use when I arrived. Bowie was the one who greeted me and gave me a tour o' the castle. He showed it to me."

  "Bowie?" Aulay frowned. "Yer first?"

  "Aye. He was Allen's first ere he died, and is now mine," Greer acknowledged.

  "Why would a first ken about the secret passage?" Rory asked.

  Greer glanced to the man with surprise. "Is that unusual?"

  "Only family members ken how to find the passages at Buchanan," Aulay informed him quietly.

  Greer's eyebrows rose at this news. He hadn't known it was unusual. He'd just assumed that as the laird's first and most trusted soldier he too would know about such things.

  There was a brief silence and then Aulay asked, "How well do ye ken Bowie?"

  "I only met him when I arrived at MacDonnell after Allen's death," he admitted, but then added, "Howbeit, he's a hard worker and seems reliable. And I really see no reason fer him to wish Saidh ill. As far as I ken, they've ne'er e'en spoken to each other."

  "Hmm," Aulay murmured thoughtfully, and then sighed and said, "Then mayhap this time Fenella was the target after all."

  "Now ye're thinking we ha'e two killers?" Greer asked with disbelief. "One after Saidh and one after Fenella?"

  "It makes as much sense as anything else," Aulay pointed out with frustration. "Alpin was injured in one of the attempts on Saidh and could no' ha'e killed Fenella. He was next door with Rory. Was he no'?" He turned to his brother as he asked question, and Rory nodded.

  Aulay turned back to Greer and shrugged. "That leaves Lady MacDonnell and Bowie."

  "Aunt Tilda would no' hurt Saidh," Greer said firmly. "Why she has treated her like a daughter since the wedding, letting her wear her dress while we were wed, sitting up with her all night when she was injured." He shook his head, unwilling to even consider that the sweet woman who had been so kind to Saidh might do something so horrible.

  "Aye, but she thinks Fenella had something to do with her son's death," Aulay pointed out quietly. "She may ha'e kenned it was Fenella in the bed and killed her fer retribution hoping it would be blamed on whoever has been attacking Saidh."

  Greer ran a frustrated hand through his hair at the logic behind those words. He didn't want to believe his aunt could be guilty of murder. But he was of the belief that anyone could take a life in the
right circumstances, and Aunt Tilda did believe Fenella was behind the death of her only son.

  "Bring her here," Aulay suggested. "None but the maid, Saidh and the lads ken what's happened, so no one could ha'e told her. Bring her here and see what her reaction is when she sees Fenella. She will probably give herself away if she did it."

  Greer eyed Aulay, wanting to refuse the suggestion and insist on leaving Aunt Tilda out of this. But, frankly, he was frustrated and exhausted from the constant worry over Saidh's well-being, and who might wish to do her harm, and he was tired of the thoughts rabbiting around in his head as his mind tried to work out who could be behind the attacks. He was desperate to have this matter resolved.

  "Fine. Bring her," he said finally. "If nothing else, 'twill cross her off the list of suspects."

  Aulay merely glanced to Conran, who nodded and slid quickly from the room. The moment he was gone, Aulay ushered Rory, Niels and Alick to the bedside so that Fenella would not be immediately visible to anyone entering. Then Aulay joined Greer at the foot of the bed when he moved there. It was the best position to be out of the way and be able to see Lady MacDonnell's face when the younger Buchanan brothers moved aside to reveal Fenella's body.

  They did not have long to wait before Conran ushered in Aunt Tilda.

  "Ye wanted to see me, Gr--" she began, but her words died in her throat and she came to a staggering halt as Rory, Niels and Alick stepped away to reveal Fenella. For one moment, she stood frozen, confusion and then shock flickering across her face, and then all the blood seemed to leach from her complexion and she reached out toward Fenella as if to touch her though she was too far away to do so. In the next moment, she pulled that hand back and pressed it to her chest, choking out something incomprehensible before she simply slid to the floor in a dead faint.

  At least Greer hoped it was a faint. It was quite possible, however, that they'd given the poor woman a heart attack, he thought with dismay as he stared blankly at her snow-white face.

  "What the devil ha'e ye done!"

  Greer snapped out of his shock to peer at Saidh as she rushed into the room with Dougall and Geordie on her heels. He was not the only one to begin to move again then. Rory now hurried toward Lady MacDonnell too.

  "Ye've killed Aunt Tilda!" his wife accused, dropping to her knees beside the woman to pat her cheek gently. Even as she did, Rory knelt on the woman's other side to examine her.