14
Isobel was outraged.
She was accustomed to having her way, and to ensuring it by whatever means were necessary.How dare Fergus choose his dirty little infidel over her?How dare Fergus insist that she lied about Gavin?
And how dare he send her back to Dunnisbrae?Stewart never had beaten her, but she feared he might do as much after events of this day.She could not return to the keep that had been her father’s holding.
It was unjust!
She had to compel Fergus to let her remain at Killairic.He could not be so indifferent to her fate as he would have her believe.She needed only a few more days to wear down his resistance and gain her sole desire.
But how?He was gone and she was left in this barren hut for the night, with only her son for company.Even the comforts of the hall were denied to her, and this travesty added to her indignation.
Isobel marched around the small hut in a tight circle, thinking furiously as Gavin watched her with uncertainty.How could she set all to rights?That was when she noticed the array of dried plants hanging from the beams of the roof.They were brown and dusty, but the sight reminded her that this had been the healer’s hut.
Herbs!They had been key to the success of the first part of her plan.
Isobel flung open the cupboard that stood in one corner and rummaged through its contents.She would make herself ill.She would ingest some herb or root that would void her stomach.She would be pale and weak, and Fergus would not be able to cast her out.Indeed, he might insist that she be moved to the hall.If he set his whore to tending her, she could tell the other woman more lies, perhaps even encourage her to leave of her own volition.
Aye, it was the perfect scheme.
Its weakness lay in Isobel’s limited knowledge of herbs and healing plants.She sniffed at the various leaves, but doubted any would be strong enough.She could not find the one she had used just weeks before.She had need of a root, for that was where the potency of the plant was concentrated.She found two different ones, stored separately and with a care that indicated their power.She sniffed them both and chose the largest rhizome of the one with the sharpest scent.She then pivoted to meet Gavin’s gaze.
“Run to the keep,” she instructed him.“Tell Laird Fergus that I am taken ill.”
“But you are not, Mother.”
“Aye, Gavin.I am.”Isobel bit the root and chewed it, grimacing at its bitter taste.She managed to swallow that mouthful and take another bite before the convulsion seized her, barely giving her time to realize that she had made a terrible mistake.
Leila was sittingon the side of the bed, her innards in turmoil.Could it be true?Could Gavin be Fergus’ son?She knew he had been chaste in Outremer, or even since leaving Killairic, but what about before that?Had his betrothal to Isobel been celebrated in a most earthy way?It might well have been.
What were the ramifications for her if Fergus acknowledged Gavin as his son?Leila doubted that her position would be secure, even if she did bear a son to Fergus, for hers would be the younger and thus not the heir.
She rose from the bed to pace, restless in her uncertainty.She felt the situation more keenly because her own courses were a week late.Was it simply the change in diet and situation, or had she conceived?
If Fergus welcomed Isobel’s return and acknowledged Gavin as his own blood, Leila doubted that she would even be permitted to remain at Killairic.Where would she go, especially if she had a babe in her belly?
Haynesdale, she decided, liking the notion as soon as it occurred to her.Bartholomew had been her friend for many years.He and Anna would give her shelter.Aye, she would ride to Haynesdale.It would take her less than a week, and she was certain she could manage the journey without incident.Perhaps Murdoch would escort her...
“What did she say?”Fergus demanded from behind her.
Leila spun to find him standing in the portal, waiting on the threshold as if he were uncertain of her reaction.
She took a breath.“That the boy is yours.”
Fergus shook his head and stepped into the room, closing the door behind himself.“The same nonsense she said to me.”He came directly to her and took her hands within his own.His gaze was piercing.“You know it is a lie, do you not?”
Leila shook her head.“I do not.You might have been intimate with her before your departure.I cannot fault you for that.”
“I was, at her insistence, though I spilled my seed on the linens out of concern for this very result.”
“That is scarcely a guarantee.”
Fergus smiled and tugged his own hair.“The red cannot be disguised, Leila.Every child in my mother’s family is born with red hair.Mine was almost as bright as that of Hamish when I was a boy.”
“Every one of them?”
“Every single one.”Fergus smiled down at her.“Gavin is not my son.He cannot be.This tale of him being born nine months after my departure sounds like a lie, one contrived because Isobel finds Killairic more alluring than Dunnisbrae.I do not think Stewart could be so readily deceived in such a matter, either.I fear that Duncan saw her truth, that she thinks solely of her own comfort and not that of any other.”
