by Ava McArthur
“Are they dead?” she asked, her sobs slowly abating. He wiped away her tears with the pads of his thumbs and kissed her lips softly.
“Maggie is,” he replied grimly. “She took a dose of her own poison when she realized that her plan was not going to work, and she thought that I had killed Drew. We are well rid of her.”
“Is he dead too?” she asked, feeling wicked for hoping that he was.
“Not yet, although I wounded him very badly,” Niall replied. “I do not know if he will live, and frankly, I do not care.” He lifted her and sat down, cradling her on his lap. “Did they harm you?”
She showed him her wrists and ankles and then shrugged. “Not really, although they gave me nothing to eat. Or drink.”
“My god!” he shouted. “The bloody savages!” He reached for his satchel and took out a flask of ale, which she downed in one draught.
He produced some bread and cheese, which she wolfed down in seconds in a very unladylike fashion.
They sat for a long while, not talking, until Elspeth said, “It was Maggie who tried to kill me, was it not?”
Niall nodded and drew her closer into his arms. “Yes, and if my mother had not made you drink all that water, she would have succeeded.” His voice was bitter. “I should have seen something. I should have spotted the look in her eyes or something. I should have protected you, Elspeth, and I failed in my duty of care to you.” He looked away from her, ashamed.
“No!” Elspeth was appalled. She turned his face back to her. “She did not give herself away by a word or a glance. How could you have known? You came to find me, Niall! And you did. You are my husband, my lover, and my hero. I love you more than my life. Never say you have let me down.”
He gazed at her in disbelief for a moment. “I thought I was the only one who was in love,” he whispered as he stroked her hair back from her face. “I knew you were attracted to me, Elspeth—but love? I-I don’t know what to say!”
“Say nothing,” she whispered, before she was crushed into his arms again, and his mouth came down on hers in a kiss that made her forget the terrors of the past two days. She opened her lips to him and he thrust his tongue inside, tickling hers and making her moan with delight. His teeth nibbled her lower lip and his mouth caressed hers, making her body respond in the usual way with a frisson of delight between her thighs. She clung to him, never wanting to let him go, dreading the moment when he lifted his head.
They had to part eventually, though, and as her lips cooled in the still air, Elspeth felt bereft, but it was Niall who seemed unsure of himself.
“Tell me again,” he said hesitantly. “I need to hear it.”
“Tell you what?” she asked as she dipped her finger into the dimple in his chin again. “That I love you? I will tell you again and again, Niall, as often as it takes ’til you believe me.”
He laughed softly and leaned his forehead against hers. “And I love you, Lady Elspeth McLaren, and I always will. Now, let us go home. You need to eat and wash, then rest in a soft bed.”
“That sounds wonderful.”
“Can you walk?” he asked, concerned.
“Yes, I can,” she replied firmly. “Stop fussing.”
He grinned mischievously. “I am your husband. I am much bigger than you, and I will fuss if I please!”
She giggled. “Is it far?”
“Rex is waiting for us at the edge of the forest,” Niall told her. “I can carry you, if you wish.”
“Thank you, Husband,” she replied, “But I am not yet a cripple!” She took exactly two steps forward before she found that she had been swept off her feet and into Niall’s arms. He began to stride forward, ignoring her squeals of indignation, and gave her a very self-satisfied smile before carrying her another quarter of a mile to his horse.
Niall had deliberately kept the news of Catriona’s poisoning to himself during the journey back, not wanting to distress her any more, but as they came in sight of Tweedsmuir Castle, he knew that he had to finally break it to her.
“Elspeth, there is something you need to know,” he said in a troubled voice.
Something in his tone set her senses prickling with alarm, and she felt gooseflesh erupting all over her.
“What?” she asked fearfully.
“It’s Catriona,” Niall said gently. “She has been poisoned, and—”
“Is she dead? Tell me she is not dead, Niall!”
“No, she will live. But she will be ill for a few days.”
“I must go to her!” Elspeth cried desperately. “What if she dies before I get there?”
“Shhh…” He kissed her hair and his voice was tender as he said, “She will not. We brought Father Sinclair in to tend to her, and he says she will recover.”
I cannot lose her! She is my best friend. God, please do not take her from me!
They were two hundred yards from the castle, but it seemed like miles before they reached the drawbridge and began to gallop over it. When they got to the courtyard, Lorna ran to hug both of them.
“Thank God you are both safe!” she cried. “I could not bear to lose you!”
“Where is Catriona?” Elspeth demanded. “Is she still alive?”
“Yes, she is,” Lorna replied with a watery smile. “Come, Elspeth, let me take you to her. And welcome home!”
Elspeth gave her an apologetic smile. “I am sorry, Mother,” she said gently. “Catriona is not only my maid, she is almost like my sister. Please take me to her.”
Lorna nodded and escorted Elspeth to Catriona’s room. Elspeth was surprised and relieved to see that her friend did not look as bad as she had thought she might. She was pale and wandering in and out of consciousness, but she had no fever and no cough. When Elspeth took her hand, she clasped it.
“Catriona,” she said gently, “it’s me, Elspeth. Open your eyes.” She waited, but nothing happened for a few moments, and she began to withdraw her hand. All of a sudden, Catriona’s fingers tightened around it. Her eyes opened, and she smiled when she saw Elspeth.
“Mistress, I had a dream that bad things were happenin’.”
Elspeth hugged her. “They did, my friend, but they are all over now. All behind you. The only thing you have to do is to get better.”
“Dinnae leave me,” Catriona whispered.
“I am not going anywhere,” Elspeth said firmly. “Rest now.”
Catriona closed her eyes, still smiling, and Elspeth almost wept with relief. She gazed at her maid’s peaceful countenance, realizing that she had never considered how much she owed this woman who had steered her from childhood to womanhood. She had protected her from her father and stood behind her in every crisis in her life.
“Get better, my friend,” Elspeth whispered, then laid her head on the bed and closed her eyes.
That was how Niall found them when he came looking for his wife a little while later. He smiled at the touching sight of the two women holding hands, then scooped Elspeth up and put her to bed.
Elspeth was beside herself with happiness when Niall brought Catriona into the dining room, having carried her all the way downstairs from the bedroom, much to the envy of the servants. She was not quite awake, but woke up when she felt herself being set down.
“Catriona!” Elspeth cried, her eyes filling with tears of joy. “I was so worried about you!” Elspeth hugged her tightly and kissed her cheek. Catriona laughed and returned her embrace, albeit a little less forcefully. “I thought you were going to die!”
“No’ yet,” Catriona answered, laughing as Elspeth let her go. “It will take a great deal mair than that tae kill me, mistress—a whole gallon o’ blackcurrant juice at least!”
“No more ‘mistress’ please, Catriona. You will call me Elspeth from now on. You are my friend. Understood?”
Catriona nodded. “Aye, Elspeth,” she answered, her expression breaking into a great beaming smile.
Niall took each of their hands. “You must both eat and bathe while I take care of a few
important matters. I will be back in a short while, my love.” He kissed Elspeth’s lips softly. “Take care of each other, please. You have both been through a lot.”
Then he was gone.
“He fusses too much,” Elspeth complained. She frowned and said anxiously, “No one has told me what happened to you yet, Catriona. Are you truly better?”
“I am, mist—Elspeth. But I hope I never have tae dae it again!”
“So do I,” Elspeth replied fervently.
Niall marched down to the dungeon where Drew was lying on a straw mattress in one of the grimmest, darkest cells at the end of the row. He was not as badly injured as he had first seemed, although he was in a good deal of pain from the thigh wound Niall had inflicted on him.
“Well, Drew,” Niall drawled, “I could have let you bleed to death right there in the forest, but I would prefer to leave you to the tender mercies of the hangman. He is much quicker and more merciful. By the way, just in case you were wondering where Maggie is, she killed herself with arsenic yesterday, and it is my fondest hope that she is now burning in the fires of hell with Satan by her side. I will have another healer take care of you, although I am much more tempted to let you die of hunger and thirst as you tried to do to my wife. Goodnight.”
Drew stalled him. “I never loved Maggie, and had no intention of marrying her. I needed her for a while to concoct the poisons, and it was easy enough to make her fall in love with me, but when I saw your wife, it was Elspeth I wanted. Do you think I could possibly present Maggie in polite society?”
Niall had to restrain himself from unlocking the cell door and breaking his nose.
“I neither know nor care,” he replied, his voice dripping with scorn. “Elspeth would not have you if you were the last man on this earth!” he spat. With that, he turned on his heel and walked away, smiling with grim satisfaction.
He went to the kitchen to order a bowl of stew to be brought to Elspeth. The staff was amazed to see the laird in their domain for the second time in as many days, and scrambled to do his bidding.
When he arrived back at their room, Niall was pleased to see that Elspeth was just climbing out of her bath. He took over the task of drying her from Catriona, not because he wanted to feel his wife’s body, although he did, but because it was part of the care he wanted to lavish on her. Almost losing her had made him realize just how vulnerable she was to danger from his enemies, and how much he needed and wanted to protect her.
When he had finished, the food arrived, and he gently dismissed Catriona, who looked backward as she left as if still concerned about Catriona’s safety.
“Thank you for your devotion, Catriona,” he said warmly.
The woman blushed and gave him a beaming smile. “An’ thank ye for yers, M’Laird,” she replied.
“Call me Niall,” he replied, smiling at her.
19
Happy Ending
Niall sat down by Elspeth’s side and began to spoon-feed her mutton stew, making sure she chewed and swallowed every mouthful properly.
“I feel like a little girl again. I am quite well now, Niall. You do not have to feed me.”
“You are my precious wife,” he replied, administering another spoonful, “and I almost lost you. I do not care if you feel like a child when you’re ill, as long as you feel like a woman in my bed. And as long as you are my wife, or until I die, you will have my constant devotion, because I cannot imagine my life without you, my Elspeth.”
As she opened her mouth for another helping of food, Elspeth looked into Niall’s eyes, and the upwelling of love she felt was almost overwhelming. This man would do anything for her, and she would do anything for him. But what she wanted to do most was bear him a child.
Before Niall had finished feeding her, Elspeth’s eyes closed and she dozed off to sleep. Niall picked up her hands and sat, watching the rise and fall of her breathing, until his eyelids became heavy and he too drifted into slumber.
That was how Catriona found them in the morning. The fire had gone out and the room was freezing, but their hands were still joined, and Niall’s head was lying in Elspeth’s lap. Catriona smiled at them, and then tiptoed out again. She knew that Elspeth would not need her for a while.
When Niall woke up, the fire had been lit, the sun was shining through the window from a clear blue sky, and Elspeth was smiling at him.
“Good morning,” he said groggily, knuckling the sleep out of his eyes. “How long have I been sleeping?”
“As long as you needed to. Come in here with me.” She patted the bed beside her. He ran around it and climbed under the covers to snuggle in beside her, and then Elspeth put her arm around his shoulders and drew him to her to nestle him against her breast.
After the freezing room, it was bliss, and Niall stayed in her arms for a long time in contented silence, feeling Elspeth breathing against him and smelling the warm musk of her skin. He was unaccountably reminded of a litter of kittens he had once seen sleeping in the shelter of their mother’s body, and he laughed softly. When he told her why, Elspeth pretended to be indignant, but giggled.
“Do you know how much I love you?” he asked softly, stroking her hair and kissing her tenderly.
“I think so,” she replied, smoothing a hand over his hair. “We are fortunate to have found each other, Niall, although I wish it had been under different circumstances.”
“Craig will be rejoicing for us in heaven,” he assured her. “This was meant to happen, Elspeth. We were meant to happen.” He reached up and cupped her cheek in his hands, ready to kiss her once more, but all of a sudden, there was a firm knock at the door. They groaned and let go of each other.
“Enter!” he called. Lorna came in, smiling.
In truth, Lorna felt a little jealous of them. It had been a very long time since she had enjoyed the presence of a man in her bed. She came over to hug her daughter-in-law and stood, looking down at her affectionately.
“How are you, Elspeth?” she asked, catching her hands in her own as she sat down. “I was so worried about you.”
Elspeth smiled widely. “I feel wonderful, Mother, now that I have my husband back with me. He is the best man in the world.” Then she noticed something. “Mother, you are not wearing black!”
Lorna looked embarrassed. “I thought it was time to move on,” she said bashfully. “I am still quite young, and I thought that perhaps...” She shrugged, leaving the sentence unfinished. Her cheeks were almost crimson.
“You thought that Colm McLaren might like to have the company of an attractive woman,” Elspeth said teasingly. She looked admiringly at Lorna’s wool dress that was cut to fit her trim figure perfectly. “You look beautiful, Mother, and it is time you found love again. You deserve it.”
“Thank you, Elspeth.” Lorna’s voice was laden with gratitude. “He has not said anything—”
“But he will, Mother,” Niall assured her. “We have both seen the way he looks at you, and we have both wanted to see you happy; as happy as we are. Let nothing hold you back now. If this is what you want, then take it.”
“Does that mean I have your blessing?” she asked anxiously.
Niall got out of bed and put his arms around his mother. “You do not need my blessing, Mother,” he said firmly. “But you have it anyway. You have years of living to do yet! And we would love to go to another wedding. Does Colm McLaren need my blessing?” His expression was suddenly devilish. “I may have to make him work for it!”
Lorna swatted him on the arm with the back of her hand. “He may never speak up, and I cannot ask him myself,” she pointed out. “So do not start making plans, you two. He will be here in the afternoon so be ready, Niall.”
“A stepfather!” Elspeth said in wonder when they were alone. “Imagine, Niall!”
“I do not care about stepfathers,” Niall informed her, as he reached out for her. “But I hope we are soon in need of a grandfather!”
“Yes,” Elspeth agreed, “I hope so too.” She
sighed as he folded her into his embrace and took her to heaven once more.
Colm had not really come to see Lorna McLaren, or at least that was what he told himself. He had business with Niall. However, if Lorna was there, so much the better. He liked looking at her...in fact, he would like to do much more than that.
As he sat down at the long table in the Great Hall, Niall felt a little warmer towards Colm than he usually did. Normally, everything about the man irritated him, but today, knowing how his mother felt about him, he was prepared to see his good side.
“So, M’Laird,” Colm began, raising his eyebrows, “I hear you have been having a few challenges?”
Niall nodded as he poured his guest a glass of wine. “Indeed. My cousin Drew has been plotting against me for some time. It was he and his wife who poisoned my dear brother, and he and Maggie who tried to do the same to my wife.”
“And what did he want?” Colm asked. He knew the answer, but he wanted Niall to bring it into the open so that it could be heard and recorded by his scribes.
“My title, my castle, my estate. And my wife. He kidnapped my Elspeth and told me he would kill her if I did not immediately renounce my claim to the lairdship.” He reached out and put his arm protectively around his wife’s shoulders.
“But you did not,” Colm said evenly.
“I went with the keys of the castle in my pocket,” Niall replied calmly. “I intended to give him everything if it would save my wife. But when I got there and saw him, I remembered what a cruel weakling he was. I knew that he would run the estate into the ground and leave the farmers and servants penniless, so I found a better way.”
“Did you kill him?” Colm asked keenly.
Niall shook his head. “No. I pressured him into having a duel with me, and he lost. He is in the dungeons as we speak, waiting to go to Inverness for his trial. I will not have his blood on my hands no matter how much wrong he has done me.”
