Highland Intrigue (Duncurra Book Book 3) (28 page)

“Fingal, what do ye think?” Gillian asked.

The hope in her eyes gave him pause and he considered his answer carefully. “I love ye with my whole heart. I want ye to be safe and happy. Like Nolan, I still worry. However, I also respect ye and yer judgment. What do ye think?” She opened her mouth to answer, but he stopped her. “Gillian, I haven’t been married to ye long, but I have learned ye rarely think of yerself first. This time, I am asking ye a question and I only want ye to answer what yer head and yer heart tell ye. I don’t want ye to give me the answer that ye think a good daughter or a good clan leader would give. Do ye understand?”

“Aye, I do.” She took a deep breath. “My mother has hurt my feelings, perhaps without meaning to, on many occasions. It has always been obvious to me as well as to Ailsa and Fallon that Fallon is special to her in some way. I know she would have been happier if Fallon had been recognized as the leader of this clan.”

Fingal glanced at Lana. Gillian’s words were honest but they held bitterness. Lana’s mouth was set in a tight line and her chin quivered, but she did not interrupt.

Gillian continued. “Still, I have never doubted that my mother loves me and I do not believe she would ever knowingly attempt to kill me. Fingal, she is not involved in this.”

Fingal nodded. “Fair enough. Nolan, are ye satisfied with that?”

“I am for now. If other information comes to light, we may all need to reconsider.”

Perhaps it was still the effects of the foxglove, which Katherine had said would linger for several days or it was the after effect of the poppy Gillian had consumed yesterday, but she was exhausted. At Fingal’s urging she had a bit of soup and drank as much water as she could stand. Katherine assured her it would help wash the foxglove from her body. When she could not swallow another mouthful, she curled up in bed. Bodie climbed up to lay at her feet as he usually did.

“I know it’s still early, Fingal, but ye need rest as much as I do. Come to bed.”

“Ye needn’t ask me twice. I just want to speak to the guards for a moment first.”

He stepped out of the room and when he returned, he removed his plaid and climbed into bed.

“Fingal, if Coby is dead and Rhiannon is missing why are there still guards posted at our door?”

“Mainly because I still don’t know if Coby and Rhiannon worked alone.”

“Ye said ye believed my mother wasn’t involved.”

“And I do. But that doesn’t mean they didn’t have other help and I won’t know for sure until Rhiannon is found.”

“If she is never found, will ye post a guard in the hall forever?”

“Nay, my love, I won’t. But right now, I’m not in prime fighting condition. I’m not able to guard ye adequately. So until I have healed sufficiently, I will ensure ye are guarded by other means.”

She sighed and rested her head on his chest. “I love ye.”

His good arm encircled her. “I love ye too.”

~ * ~

Gillian woke to Bodie’s low growls. She wasn’t sure how long she had been asleep, but the room was dark. “What’s the matter, Bodie?” She glanced around the room. Only the moonlight streaming in the window lent any light at all but still, there was clearly no intruder.

Fingal was awake too. He sat up and reached to scratch Bodie behind the ears. “He did this last night too. I think he hears the guards in the hall. Good dog, Bodie, letting us know when ye hear something.”

They settled back into sleep easily, but Bodie woke them three more times during the night.

The sun was well up the next morning when they awoke.

Fingal yawned and stretched before giving Gillian a gentle kiss. “How do ye feel this morning, my love?”

“Considerably better than I have in days, in spite of the interruptions to my sleep,” she teased, rubbing Bodie and pulling him into an embrace. “Ye need to heal quickly so we don’t need the guards in the hall or Bodie will never let us sleep through the night again.”

“Yer wish is my command.” He gave her another kiss. “I don’t think I have ever slept this long past sunup. I’m sure it was good for both of us.”

When they had dressed and left their chamber, they met Quinn standing guard in the hall. “Good morning, my Lady, Laird.” His smile seemed strained.

Fingal must have noticed it too because he asked, “Quinn, what’s happened.”

“Nothing, Laird. It has been a quiet morning.”

“But something is troubling ye. Please tell me what it is.”

Quinn sighed heavily. “It’s Fallon.”

Gillian’s heart leapt to her throat. “What’s wrong with Fallon?”

“Nothing. Well nothing physical. Yesterday evening she heard about what happened in the hall. She knows that Rhiannon did all of this hoping to see her become Lady MacLennan, with Coby at her side. She is distraught and she blames herself.”

Gillian huffed. “It is certainly not her fault. Did ye tell her she isn’t to blame?”

“Of course I did, my Lady. She won’t listen. She insists that she is going to enter a convent.”

“I understand why she feels this way. I felt the same way when I learned what Malcolm and Eithne had done supposedly on my behalf. Don’t worry. We will talk some sense into her,” Fingal assured him. “By the way, I haven’t had the chance to ask ye yet. What was yer father’s answer to my request for a betrothal?”

Quinn grinned. “As soon as he read it, he flat out refused. He accused ye of using a bonny bride to try to lure me away for good.”

Fingal frowned. “And that pleased ye?”

Quinn laughed. “Nay, Laird, not in the least. We argued several times. My mother tried talking him around but he would not hear a word of it. Then all hell broke loose at Rowan’s wedding.”

“What happened?”

“My lady, it is a long story for another day. Suffice to say, after it was all over, he decided there was some merit in allowing me to choose my bride. He signed the betrothal.”

“Perhaps Fallon will reconsider the convent when she hears the news.”

Gillian shook her head. “The two of ye are daft. This has been a terrible shock to all of us. Give her time. We will not allow her to make any permanent decision until things are sorted out.”

“We?” Fingal asked with a smirk.

“Do ye disagree?”

“Nay, my love, I don’t.” He kissed her and her irritation melted. “Quinn, ye are officially off duty. I suspect today’s discussions will be no less stressful than yesterday’s. I’m not sure we have a hope of keeping Fallon away, but I would appreciate anything ye can do to keep Ailsa occupied.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem. When Katherine returned from Rhiannon’s yesterday evening, she brought little Blaze with her. Ailsa has already declared she will care for him until Rhiannon returns.”

Gillian smiled at this. “She has always loved that wee beastie. Aye, Blaze and Duff should be able to keep her attention today.”

~ * ~

With her illness and everything which had happened over the last few days, Gillian had completely forgotten that today was Pentecost. Second only to Easter in importance, it celebrated the birth of the Church, commemorating the outpouring of the Holy Spirit to Christ’s disciples after His Ascension. Such an important feast day couldn’t pass without at least a small celebration. They acknowledged the gift of the Holy Spirit at Mass with the sprinkling of red rose petals, symbolizing the tongues of flame. Gillian herself had not been able to plan the traditional huge feast. Still, with Jeanne’s help, Fallon and Tira had managed to plan a modest midday feast to mark the occasion. All discussions of Rhiannon and what Katherine discovered at her cottage were put off until afterwards.

Quinn sat with Fallon doing his best to charm the haunted look from her eyes. When the meal was over, he was able to coax her into leaving the keep with Ailsa and the dogs.

“Can I go too, da?” Maeve MacBain pleaded. “I want to play with the dogs.”

“Me too, Da,” Kieran said. “Tomas, do ye like dogs? Maybe Da will let ye come too.” Apparently, Tomas MacIan and Kieran had become great friends over the last few days.

Fingal’s wish for Quinn to keep Fallon and Ailsa occupied was quickly turning into something much larger. Gillian leaned close to Fingal’s ear. “Quinn may return to his father if ye saddle him with a gaggle of children,” she teased.

He winked at her, whispering back, “Not a chance. There are more children at Carraigile.” Then he said, “Niall, it is a fine day and we have some things to discuss. Perhaps we can trouble Kira and Edna to join this outing and help mind all the children.”

Niall nodded. “Aye, Turcuil and Keavy can go as well. They are just wee lads in big bodies themselves.” Everyone at the table laughed.

“And since that’s the case, Laird, perhaps I should go too, to keep an eye on the lot,” teased Bran MacBain. “Do ye mind?”

“Nay, go right ahead. Take anyone ye need.”

The message was clear. The children would have an outing, but only under the watchful eye of a substantial guard.

After they had all left and the tables were cleared, Fingal and the elders were ready to hear the results of Katherine’s search of Rhiannon’s cottage. Her initial statement came as a surprise to everyone.

“I found nothing but some commonly used safe herbs, no foxglove.”

“Ye found nothing suspicious at all?” Gillian was certain that Rhiannon had been responsible for everything. If she didn’t have any of the herbs, who else could it have been?

“I wouldn’t exactly say that. In my opinion, finding nothing was suspicious in itself. Pennyroyal and tansy are common enough herbs and when used in the right way, they have benefits. I would have expected her to have some of both of them. Also, we know she gave ye poppy extract. She had none of that either.”

“She had none?” Archie asked. “But she gave it to me once when I was having terrible pain from gout. She seemed to have quite a large supply.”

“That is why I think it odd. Most healers have some.”

“Aye and someone drugged the wine I drank the night of the fire,” Gillian observed.

“What?” demanded Nolan. “Someone tried to drug ye before? Why are we just learning of this?”

Gillian realized this hadn’t been common knowledge as soon as she had said it. Now she had to explain. “Nolan, there has been more than one attempt on our lives.”

Daniel too looked affronted. “More than one? We should have known this before now? Were ye trying to get Gillian killed, Laird?”

Fingal shook his head. “Nay, I wasn’t. But I wasn’t completely sure it wasn’t an accident at the time. Some guardsmen knew, still I wasn’t sure who to trust.”

“What else has happened?” Archie asked.

“My fall during the boar hunt was not an accident. Hearn found that someone had cut partially cut through the cinch on my saddle. We also suspect the fire was not an accident. Gillian drank from a decanter of wine in our chamber, but I had only a mouthful. It tasted odd, but I couldn’t place it at the time. I know now it was poppy I tasted. I suspect whoever put it there did so to keep us from waking as they entered the room to start the fire. I did have trouble waking Gillian when I discovered the blaze. If we had both drunk the wine, we would have died.”

“Whoever did that had to have access to yer chamber,” observed Owen. “Neither Rhiannon, nor Coby would have been able to do it without being noticed. Rhiannon rarely comes to the keep.”

Archie shook his head in disgust. “That brings us squarely back to Lana.”

Nolan watched the exchange with his brows furrowed, a pensive expression on his face. “Nay, it doesn’t.”

“Of course it does. Who else would have a motive to help Rhiannon?” Owen asked.

“No one. But Rhiannon might have known a way to access the room without being seen.”

“How is that possible?” Fingal asked.

“Niall, does Duncurra have a bolt hole?” Nolan asked.

“Nay. Built on the crag as it is, it is practically impregnable but there is no secret escape route.”

“Well there is one in Brathanead.”

“Do ye mean to tell me someone can just enter Brathanead through a secret door? Where the hell is it?” demanded Fingal.

“It is in yer chamber, Laird. One of the pillars of the mantel slides forward, creating a small opening behind it. A narrow set of stairs is built into the wall, winding down to a man-made tunnel below the keep. There is a fortified door that locks from the inside where it connects to a natural tunnel. The natural caves honeycomb the area under the cliffs. If ye don’t know the way, ye can become lost. There is but one exit and it is apparently through a narrow fissure, near the bottom of the cliffs.”

“Why did no one inform me of it?”

“Frankly, Laird, almost no one knows. The existence of the bolt hole and the route out of the caverns is something which was passed from father to son. Clearly ye wouldn’t wish enemies to know it exists, even though the entrance is nearly impossible to find if ye don’t know the way. It was intended to remain secret and I thought Malcolm took the secret to his grave.”

“But ye know where it is?”

“Aye, I do. But while I know how to open it, I don’t know how to traverse the caves to the exit. I would sooner face an enemy than go blindly into those caves.”

“If it is such a well-guarded secret, how could Rhiannon know about it?”

“Nuala must have told her,” Owen said.

Noland nodded. “Aye, I suspect so. Nuala would have known. Rhiannon was her friend and companion. I suspect Nuala told her.”

“That would explain how she gained access to our chamber to drug the wine. I suppose if the entrance is by the hearth, she wouldn’t have had to open it far to nudge the log out. That’s how I slept through it.”

“Laird, it is a very narrow opening to begin with and it opens nearly silently. It would have been unlikely to make enough noise to wake ye even if fully opened.”

“Considering the opening to the caves is in the cliff wall, I’ll wager Rhiannon is either hiding in the caves or the tunnel.” Niall said.

“Show me, now,” commanded Fingal. “Gillian, ye stay here. Eadoin, Alan, and Gavin, ye stand guard until we return.”

~ * ~

Fingal led Niall, the elders, and a number of men to his chamber. Nolan went to the pillar on the right side of the hearth. “This is the one. Ye just put yer hands on either side, then pull.” He demonstrated and the pillar slid silently forward across the width of the mantel. “It was meant to serve as an escape for women and children, so I expect that is why it opens with such ease.”

Fingal shook his head in disbelief. “Get torches. We need to search the tunnel for her.”