Saoirse looked at him for a long time before she nodded. She looked at Alex, but there was no accusation in her gaze. He knew she was asking for his help to discover who would do this.
“Ye canna have any more mint unless I cut it for ye and bring it.” Saoirse trusted Siùsan, but she feared trusting anyone else with the gravity of the situation. She feared asking one of her relatives and them passing the chore to someone else. They would never hurt Magnus intentionally, but neither did she want to broadcast the threat. She wanted Alex to investigate.
“I’ll talk to Da and Callum. Siùsan, can ye ask who’s been bringing in the sprigs? I dinna recall it being the same maid each time who brought up the broth.”
“It wasna. That’s what confuses and alarms me most.” Saoirse almost dropped the plant in the chamber pot, but she thought better of it. She wanted to be certain the mint was the culprit before ruling out everything else. “Auntie Siùsan, please make sure only ye or I bring Magnus aught to eat or drink, including water.”
“I will.” Siùsan drew the chair closer to the bed and sat. Magnus noticed the strain around her eyes. He took her hand in his and squeezed.
“I’ll be all right. Ye’ve seen me sick before. I already feel better than a moment ago.” He hated causing her to worry. She’d spent more years like his mother than his sister. She’d sacrificed much during her childhood to help raise Seamus and him. Tending her younger brothers often forced aside the few joys of childhood their father allowed her. She nodded but remained quiet.
Saoirse and Alex left and headed to the bailey. They didn’t speak while passing through the keep. Once they were outside, Saoirse pointed to the storage building where she worked. Alex followed her inside.
“Da, I’m certain now that someone is poisoning Magnus. But I’ll check before I say it to anyone else. Did ye mean what ye said?”
“Aye. It’s pointless to pretend any longer that either of ye will abandon yer feelings. I dinna want ye even more miserable than ye’ve been. And I witnessed the sincerity of yer feelings for one another. I canna ignore that.”
“What aboot Mama?”
“I think she already kens. Saoirse, ye mama and I struggle with kenning Magnus will leave with ye. We never imagined ye’d marry someone outside of the clan, so we didna prepare ourselves for ye leaving. Neither of us is ready, but we ken we must make ourselves. That’s been our true objection. We fear missing ye.”
“Och, Da.” Saoirse embraced Alex once more. His affection and steadfastness had bolstered her while she ministered to Magnus. She wasn’t certain how she would have coped without him. They’d shared more hugs in the past three days than they had in years. It righted the strain that was developing in their relationship.
“Saoirse?”
She and Alex turned to the door as Brighde entered. Alex opened an arm, inviting her to join them. She wrapped her arms around her husband and daughter and sighed. All was right in Brighde’s world when she was with the family she and Alex built.
“Mo ghràidh.” My darling. “I explained to Saoirse why we’ve objected to Magnus.”
Brighde leaned back as tears glistened in her eyes. She could only nod.
“Mama, I’m sorry this hurts ye. That’s nae what I want. It’s nae what Magnus wants, either.” Saoirse’s lip trembled as she spoke, and her heart broke. “Since he canna remain here, he’ll return home without me.”
“Nay!” Alex and Brighde shook their heads as they spoke at once.
“Nay, Saoirse. That’s nae what Da and I want for ye. Ye’re a grown woman, and ye deserve the love I share with yer da. We canna take that chance from ye. Yer da fought a battle to ensure I remained by his side. I dinna doubt Magnus would do the same. I nearly ruined ma chances to be with a mon who’s loved me unconditionally since the vera beginning. I clung to the reasons I thought I shouldnae and couldnae be with him. I dinna want ye to live with the regret that threatened to consume me.”
“But—”
“Nay, Saoirse,” Alex interrupted. “If ye wish to marry Magnus, then we willna stand in yer way. I hope ye will take longer to get to ken each other before ye commit, but I can see yer connection. It canna be denied. He called for ye and reached out when ye slept. His sleep was only peaceful when he sensed ye were near. I saw the relief in yer eyes each time he woke, then the agony each time he was ill. I’ve never seen it when ye’ve cured others. I dinna want to live with regret either.”
Saoirse sighed. “I wish it hadnae taken something so grave to make ye see this. I understand yer reasons now, but it hurts me that ye didna tell me the truth. Ye treated Magnus horribly and embarrassed me. Ye made me feel guilty for ma attraction to him and for how much I care aboot him. If he hadnae nearly died, I dinna believe ye would have accepted this. It shouldnae take nearly losing someone we’ve welcomed into our family for decades for ye to acknowledge it was yer shortcomings, nae his, that made ye say nay.”
“I’m sorry, Saoirse, that I hurt ye. But I canna apologize for how much I love ye.” Brighde swiped at the tears on her cheek.
“Ye’ll understand one day,nighean. It’ll be hard enough each time yer bairns leave yer home to marry. Ye canna imagine how frightening and painful it is when they intend to move so far away. We’ve loved ye since the moment we conceived ye. It’s nae easy to let go of something so precious, such a jewel, when ye’ve spent all these years protecting and nurturing it. But it’s yer time to be brilliant, and ye’re at yer brightest when ye’re with Magnus.”
“Thank ye.” Saoirse leaned against her parents again. She made herself consider their feelings by imagining saying goodbye to a child she and Magnus conceived. She knew she had barely scratched the surface of the deep emotions. “Ye ken we’ll visit as often as we can, and I’d like ye to visit whenever ye wish.”
“We love ye.” Brighde and Alex spoke at the same time again. They’d done that for nearly twenty-four years. Saoirse listened and hoped one day she and Magnus would be so attuned to one another.
CHAPTER11
“Wiley,” Saoirse waved to her cousin as she stepped out of her workroom. Her parents left, and she felt better for talking to them, but she was still trying to determine what caused Magnus’s ailment. She had a suspicion, but she needed to test it.
“How’s Óg?”
“Improving. Do ye have a rabbit I could borrow? I may kill it, but that isnae ma intention.”
