Forgiving Hearts: Duncurra 1-3 (74 page)

Niall poked his head through the opening. “Fingal, ye have to stay here.”

“I have no intention of staying here. I must find her.”

“I understand that, but the passage is extremely tight. With yer broken arm, ye’ll never be able to maneuver. I’ll take several men. If she is in the tunnel we will find her. If she isn’t, we’ll come back for rope so we don’t get lost searching the caves.”

Fingal too entered the passage to see for himself and to his irritation, he realized Niall was right. When the men returned with torches, Niall entered with them. Fingal and the elders waited.

A shocked expression suddenly crossed Archie’s face. “Dear God, I just realized, ye and Gillian have been sleeping in here the last two nights. She could have entered and killed one or both of ye.”

Then Fingal remembered. “I think she may have attempted to. Bodie woke us growling several times over the last few nights. I thought he heard the men in the hall but I expect the grizzled old git did try again.”

Sooner than any of them expected, Niall squeezed his huge frame back through the entryway. “We found her in the tunnel, but she’s in a bad way. She is burning up with fever and delirious.”

Another man backed out of the entrance, holding Rhiannon under the arms, followed by a second man who had her feet.

Rhiannon was clearly not in her right mind. “Ye’ll see, ye’ll see, ye can’t get through that way. Go the other way. I told ye, left out right in. That beast won’t let ye past this way. He’ll bite yer arse, mark my words.”

Fingal jumped to action. “Let’s get her to a room. Niall, please fetch Katherine.”

“Rhiannon, ye are safe now. Calm down,” Owen said.

“Owen, ye auld bag of wind. No one is safe from that beast.”

The men carried her to an empty chamber. Fingal held the door as they passed.

When Rhiannon saw him she shrieked, “Malcolm MacLennan, I thought ye went to hell.”

“Should we restrain her before we go, Laird?” one of the men carrying her asked.

Fingal shook his head. “Not unless she causes trouble. She seems weak and confused.”

“Ye belong in hell, Malcolm. Ye had to dip yer wick in any lass that wiggled her arse in yer direction didn’t ye? How dare ye disgrace my sweet Nuala that way?

Nolan arched an eyebrow at Fingal. “Well ye do look a lot like Malcolm.”

Niall, Katherine, Gillian, and Lana entered the room. Katherine carried her bag of healing supplies.

“Och, and there’s one now. The laird kept ye for a bit on the side didn’t he, Lana? Even after he married ye off to his cousin ye spread yer unworthy legs for him. I know ye did.”

Lana went ashen but Gillian asked, “What is she talking about?”

Katherine crossed to the bedside and touched Rhiannon’s leathered face. “She’s burning up with fever and is delirious, Gillian, pay no mind.” Katherine didn’t have to look far for the source of the fever. Rhiannon’s hand was red and swollen to twice its size. Red streaks went up her arm and pus oozed from puncture wounds on her hand. “She has been bitten by something.”

“It was that hellhound Gillian keeps.” Rhiannon raised her head to get closer to Katherine and whispered loudly, “she simply would not die. All I was going to do was take a pillow from the bed and help a bit. That crazed beast bit me. But it’s all right. She was dying anyway.”

Ignoring her, Katherine took a damp cloth and began to clean the wound. “Lana, would ye mind fetching me some hot water.” Lana nodded and hurried from the room.

“Lana has a secret. I almost told it to Gillian, but she died.”

“What secret is that, Rhiannon,” Katherine asked calmly. Everyone in the room remained quiet.

“Ye’re very pretty.”

“Thank ye. But ye were telling me about a secret.”

“Och, which one? I know a few.”

“Lana’s secret.”

Rhiannon snorted.

“Has Lana been helping ye?” Katherine persisted.

“With what?”

“With Fingal and Gillian.”

Rhiannon snorted again. “Nay, certainly not. She is much too stupid. Stupid people are so easy to manipulate.”

“Then she didn’t help ye kill Gillian?”

“Nay. That was all my idea. No one but Coby helped me. After all, he stood to gain the most. She is pretty too, but I warned him not to fall in love.”

“Who’s pretty? Why should Coby not fall in love?”

Rhiannon’s face turned into a mask of rage. “Because Malcolm’s gits must not live. I told Coby to get a child or two off of her then we would rid the world of another one.”

Katherine was confused. “Another what, Rhiannon?”

“Are ye stupid too? Another one of Malcolm’s gits.” Gillian glanced around and saw her own shock mirrored on the faces of everyone in the room, including her mother who had just returned with a jug of hot water and a mug.

“How do ye know that, Rhiannon?” Katherine asked gently.

“It wasn’t hard to guess. Lana had panted after Malcolm for years. She flirted openly with him even after she was married.”

“I-I—” Lana started to protest.

“Not now Lana,” Fingal ordered in a hushed voice.

Rhiannon continued as if she hadn’t heard them. “There were whispers. I thought it possible the babe was his when I made that silly prediction. That’s how
the sight
works, ye ken. I make calculated guesses. Nuala was barren. If Malcolm had an illegitimate son in his own clan, I knew he would recognize him so I predicted the babe would
rise above all others
.” She evidently found this amusing. She cackled hysterically.

Katherine worked while Rhiannon babbled. She measured herbs from one of her bags into the mug and filled it with hot water. Then, taking the bowl from the washstand she added different herbs and filled the bowl with hot water. “But yer prediction was wrong. Lana didn’t have a son.”

“Nay, but a lass can become a leader when there are no sons and
my
son could marry a daughter.”

“I suppose he could.”

“But the cursed king interfered. Fallon and Coby should be leading this clan.” She grinned malevolently. “But I fixed it. I killed the
laird
and his wife.”

“How did ye manage that?” Katherine dipped a towel into the hot solution and wrung it out.

Rhiannon gloated. “I poisoned Gillian with foxglove but she wouldn’t die. Meara was much easier to kill. So I gave Gillian enough poppy to kill a horse.”

“And the laird?”

Rhiannon cackled again. “I shoved him off the cliff.”

Katherine wrapped the hot towel around her hand. Rhiannon screamed, “The devil take ye, lass, what are ye trying to do?”

“I have to draw the poison out, Rhiannon. Ye are healer, surely ye know that.”

“Shhhh. That’s not where I keep the poison. Don’t tell anyone I have it.”

“I won’t, Rhiannon. Other than Meara, Gillian, and Fingal, have ye killed anyone else?”

“Nay. Not here leastways.”

“Did ye intend to kill more people with the fire?”

“I didn’t set the fire, Coby did. He didn’t want to burn the keep down. After all it was to be his. He just wanted to make a lot of smoke. He wet the rushes ye see, and pulled the burning log out. They were supposed to stay asleep. I had given him poppy to put in the wine. If everything had gone right, the smoke would have strangled them while they slept.” She sighed heavily. “I don’t know what happened. Coby swears the decanter was empty. They should have slept. That was a mistake.”

“I see.” Katherine rewet the cloth to rewarm it and wrapped it around her hand again.

Rhiannon didn’t react as strongly this time. “Lass, that hurts. I told ye the poison isn’t in my hand.” She closed her eyes but tossed her head restlessly.

Katherine slipped her arm under the old woman’s shoulders, raising her from the bed. She put the mug to her lips. “Ye need to drink this now, Rhiannon. We need to bring yer fever down.”

Rhiannon took a mouthful then spit it out. “Don’t drink that lass and don’t give it to me. The tisane is poisoned.”

“Nay Rhiannon, this one isn’t the one that was poisoned. Ye must drink it.”

Rhiannon narrowed her eyes before slapping the mug in Katherine’s hands, spilling most of its contents. “Ye can’t poison me. I won’t make that mistake.”

“Rhiannon, I promise ye it isn’t poisoned. I’m trying to help ye.” Katherine tried again but Rhiannon pursed her lips, turning her head away as a balky child would.

“I. Won’t. Drink. It.” She closed her eyes.

“All right, Rhiannon, I won’t force ye.” Katherine rewarmed the cloth again.

When she wrapped Rhiannon’s hand with it, the old woman groaned a little but offered no further complaint. After a moment, she opened her eyes and they were filled with tears. “Coby died.”

“I know Rhiannon. I am sorry for your loss.”

Tears spilled down her cheeks. “Coby made some mistakes. He missed with the rock and the arrow. But he was my son.”

“I know, Rhiannon.”

Rhiannon closed her eyes again. Katherine replaced the warm cloth before turning to address those standing in the room. “The wound is very bad. It is poisoning her body. I will keep trying but there is little to do for her.”

“Will the tisane help?” Fingal asked. “Maybe we can help get it down her.”

“It has willow bark in it. It would ease her pain a little and maybe help break her fever but the wound has gone too long without being tended. I fear it is festered beyond my ability to heal it. Perhaps ye should send for Father Stephen.”

“She doesn’t deserve God’s blessing,” Owen said.

Fingal frowned. Part of him agreed with Owen. Rhiannon had done unthinkable things. She killed Meara and very nearly killed Gillian. He didn’t even want to think about the tansy and pennyroyal. Still he would not deny a priest to a dying person. “That isn’t for us to decide. God’s mercy is His own to give.”

“Ye are right. It isn’t our decision,” agreed Gillian.

Daniel nodded. “I’ll find him.”

“I’ll continue to do what I can for her but I don’t think she’ll wake again. Fingal, ye and Gillian don’t need to stay here. None of ye do. Rhiannon and Coby clearly acted alone in this.”

“I will not leave ye here alone with her no matter how ill she is,” declared Niall.

“Aye, and while she seems to have revealed everything, I will stay to hear it in case there is more,” Nolan said.

“I’ll stay too,” Archie said. “I am shocked by all of this, but I considered her a friend.”

“Very well then. Send for me if ye need me for any reason.” Fingal put his arm around Gillian, gently guiding her out of the room.

~ * ~

Gillian was still very weak from the foxglove in her system and the revelations of the day had further drained her. She and Fingal went straight to their chamber. It wasn’t long before Lana knocked at their door wanting to speak with Gillian about the things Rhiannon had said. “I need to explain it to her. I need her to understand.”

Fingal refused her. “I agree there is explaining to do but there will be time later.”

“But I have to tell her. I need to make things clear. I don’t want her to think ill of me.”

“Lana, listen to yerself. I, I, I. For once, think about what is best for Gillian. She has been ill and needs rest. She also needs time to think about all of this. Your needs will wait. Besides, the person who needs to hear the truth from you is Fallon.”

“I don’t want to tell Fallon.”

“Would ye prefer I tell her? It seems she is my sister.”

“Nay, she doesn’t have to know, does she?”

“Lana, after all yer years of deception and everything that has happened do ye really believe trying to hide this from her is the best idea?” In a gentler tone he added, “go talk with Fallon. This will be hard but yer daughters all love ye. That won’t change.”

Fingal closed the door and turned to Gillian. She couldn’t keep the tears from welling in her eyes. She remembered the night he arrived, barely three months ago now. One of the first things he had done was insist that Lana allow Gillian time to think without pressure from her mother or the elders. He revealed his instinct to protect her and at the same time respected her opinions from their first moments together.

Seeing her tears, he went to her, pulling her close with his good arm. “Sweetling, I’m so sorry. If ye wish to speak with her, I’ll call her back. I just thought ye might need a bit of time first.”

“Nay, ye’re right. I am not ready to hear any more.”

“Then why are ye crying?”

“Because I love ye so very much. How could I have ever tried to hate ye?”

“I have no idea. I am perfectly charming,” he teased.

She smiled, wiping the tears from her cheeks. “Aye, ye are.”

“Oh, and don’t forget, devastatingly handsome.”

She looked up at him. Even with scrapes, bruises, and ugly stitches in his head he was the most attractive man she had ever encountered. She smiled. “Aye, devastatingly handsome and so very humble too.”