Siùsan shook her head as she approached. Her brother’s sallow complexion alarmed her. There was a yellow tinge to his skin, and deep shadows had appeared under his eyes, making him look like a racoon. She reached out her hand and rested the back of it against his forehead. He wasn’t feverish.
“We need Saoirse.”
Magnus nodded, then grunted in pain. He shuffled back to his bed, grateful he’d worn a leine that night. He’d put the salve on before climbing into bed, and he hadn’t wanted to smear it on the sheets. Now he appreciated the modesty in front of his sister. She drew back the covers and then pulled them over it, like she had countless times when he was a child.
“I’ll be back in a moment.”
“Thank ye, Sìu—” Magnus couldn’t finish because his cough began again. He adjusted the pillows as another round of sneezes took hold.
What the bluidy hell is wrong with me? I canna remember simple things. I canna think straight. I feel like a bull’s run over me. Ma skin itches as though I have a rash. This is bluidy miserable.
He laid with his eyes closed, alternating coughing and sneezing. He knew when Saoirse arrived because he recognized her lavender and heather scent. He reached out his hand as he opened his eyes.
“Magnus? Siùsan said ye’ve caught the ague.”
“Aye.” Magnus moved the pillow a third time, unable to get comfortable. He barely turned his head before sneezing on Saoirse. “Every time I try to get comfortable, I sneeze and cough.”
Saoirse wondered if there was something on the pillow irritating him. She didn’t think the laundresses had changed anything about their soap, and it hadn’t affected him before. “Let me have yer pillow, please?”
He handed it to her, and she shook it. A fine dust came loose. She clapped her hands with the pillow between them, and more floated off. She stuck her finger in it and caught what appeared like powder. She brought it to the tip of her tongue.
“Saoirse, nay!” Magnus forced himself from bed. “If that’s making me ill, then dinna do that.”
“Wheest. I dinna have a better way to test ma suspicions.” She touched the tip of her tongue to her finger. She could taste what she hadn’t been able to on the mint. She hurried to the door and flung it open, ignoring Siùsan and Magnus’s shock. Her aunt had stood quietly by the wall when the two women arrived. “Grandda! Grandda!”
“What’s the matter, Saoirse?” Magnus held a hand over his chest as he lumbered toward her.
“Dinna get back in bed. Go behind the screen and put on a fresh leine. Put that one in the chamber pot. Stay away from the bed.” Saoirse looked at Magnus long enough to give her instructions before she turned back to the passageway. “Da! Uncle Callum!”
Where were the men in her family? It was still too early for them to be in the lists.
It was Thormud and Blake who arrived first, recognizing their cousin’s voice. Liam, Callum, Alex, Tavish, and Mòr appeared next. Her mother and aunts were right behind them.
“Grandda, it’s arsenic. Someone’s been poisoning Magnus with arsenic. The doses must have been ever so slight on the leaves to slow the reaction and make it appear like he was withering away. Impatience probably led them to put more on the last mint he chewed. But whoever it is has been powdering it on his bed linens. He sneezed whenever he moved the pillow, so I took it and shook it. A powder came off. It tasted ever so slightly like garlic. I’m certain it’s arsenic.”
“Wouldnae that have killed him immediately?” Siùsan leaned against Callum as she stared at Magnus, who appeared from behind the screen.
“It could have. It takes the size of a pea to kill someone, but I think that whoever did this was careful nae to give him too much at once. Óg, this explains yer skin problems. If this has been on yer bedding nightly for a while, it’s irritated it. And ye’ve been inhaling it. That’s why yer memory hasnae been good, and ye’ve felt confused. Prolonged exposure causes that and ague type symptoms.”
“We ken how they’ve done it, but why? And who?” Mòr walked to Óg and didn’t hesitate to embrace the younger of the same name. He was careful not to squeeze, but he loathed the thought of losing a man who was another brother to him.
“I dinna ken. None of the men seem to hold a grudge that Saoirse chose me. I dinna think anyone is angry that I didna choose another lass. I canna imagine why any Sinclair wishes me ill.” Magnus shook his head, then groaned. The water helped marginally, but he still felt poorly.
“Ye canna stay in here,” Thormud spoke up. “Come to ma chamber. Ye can stay with Torquil and me.”
“Saoirse, will this kill me?” The question hung in the air, but it was one everyone thought. She walked to her betrothed and took his hands in hers.
“I dinna ken, Magnus. I pray we discovered this soon enough that it willna. Ye’re a large and healthy mon. I think whoever this is underestimates yer constitution. But if they grow any more impatient, it will only take a small dose in yer food or drink to kill ye.”
Saoirse’s dark eyes met Magnus’s lighter ones, a wealth of emotion flashing through them. He saw her fear, her uncertainty, her regret, but he also saw her love. He wasn’t ready to leave his betrothed. He had too many plans for their life together.
“What can we do to get rid of whatever is left in ma body?”
Saoirse shrugged. “Aileen never taught me aught aboot curing it, only how it kills. It usually succeeds without a chance for recovery. Mayhap there is something aboot it in one of the books in Grandda’s library. Mayhap stories from the ancients?” Saoirse twisted to see Liam, who nodded. “Bathe and rest in Thor’s chamber. I’ll see what I can find. But the best I can advise for now is drink as much water as ye can, and let’s feed ye simple things like kale, carrots, peas, and beans. I dinna think they’d do aught to make ye worse. Auntie Siùsan, can ye see to that? I dinna want any of the maids to touch the food. Can ye watch Cook, please?”
“Ye think—” Brighde’s shock voiced everyone else’s.
“I dinna ken what to think, Mama. But whomever this is, is vera sneaky. Bessy didna ken who left the mint the other day, and Auntie Siùsan, ye never discovered who it was, either.”
