“Are you very ill? Have you seen a doctor yet?”
“Did you really get married? Mother said—”
“I’ve been so worried about you.”
He accepted their hugs and good wishes, but he noticed that Emma was slowly backing away to let the girls visit.
“This is my wife Emma,” he said to them. Then to Emma, he added, “This is Nora. She’s fifteen. And this is Maire. She’s twelve.”
Emma murmured greetings to them, but although they echoed the hellos, Cormac didn’t miss the suspicion on Nora’s face. His sister had always been overprotective.
“I thought you would both still be at school,” he said. But he didn’t have to ask why they had returned. His mother had probably brought them home again for fear that this was the end.
Maire’s face turned fearful. “How sick are you, Cormac? Is it the curse again?”
He took her hand in his. “There’s no curse, and you know this. It’s just an illness, and we’ve no way of knowing the cause. But I am feeling a little better today.”
There was a slight relief in his sister’s face. “That’s good.”
Nora glanced over at Emma, and he could read the suspicion in her eyes. “Mother said you’re English.”
Emma nodded. “I am, yes.”
“Why did you marry our brother? He’s only been gone a few months.”
Cormac interrupted his sister, not wanting Nora to draw the wrong conclusion. “I married Emma because I thought she would make an excellent wife. And so she has. Perhaps the three of you can get better acquainted today.”
Emma stepped forward and regarded the girls. “I married Cormac because he is my friend.” Before his sisters could say anything, she added, “I know he’s been ill, I want to find the cause of his illness. Would you be willing to help?”
Maire brightened, and she studied Emma. “I’ll help you.” His youngest sister had always been hopeful, and of the two of them, he suspected she would warm up to Emma first.
His wife thanked her and said, “I want to know everything that happened to your father and your older brother. How they got sick, how long they were sick, what their symptoms were. We need to gather information.”
Nora stared at her. “Do you think he’s being poisoned, like Mother does?”
“I don’t know. But I do think there’s a way to help him get well, if we can find out what is making him ill. Whether it’s food or an illness, we need to find the reason.”
Her determination startled him, for he’d never seen Emma this way before. She appeared resolute to find the answers, and it warmed him to hear it.
“The physicians couldn’t save our father or Finn,” Nora argued. “None of the medicines worked.” Her voice held a hopeless tone.
“I won’t stand by and do nothing,” Emma insisted. “There has to be a way.”
Maire offered, “I’ll go fetch a pen and paper. We’ll write down everything we know.” There was a note of lightness in her voice, and Cormac was glad to hear it.
After his youngest sister left the room, Nora turned back to Emma. “My sister always sees the good in everyone. But I see the truth, not what everyone wants me to hear.”
“Nora,” Cormac warned. The last thing he wanted was his sister attacking his wife. And it was clear that she was echoing their mother’s suspicions.
“No, let her speak,” Emma said. “There is no harm in honesty.”
“Our mother brought us home from school because she believes Cormac will die soon. And I don’t believe that you want to save him.”
“Why wouldn’t I want my husband to be well?” Emma asked quietly.
Cormac wanted to intervene, but he sensed that if he did, it would only cause more trouble between them. He sent Nora a warning look that she was ignoring.
“Because you’ll gain more if he’s dead,” Nora said. “Mother says you don’t have a title. But you are a countess here. If Cormac is gone, you’ll inherit everything.”
