Isla shrugged. “So? What does that have to do with anything?”
Margaret took Isla’s hand insistently. “Do you not understand? Why would Seamus have such a thing in his possession? Do you truly believe it is a coincidence that I found this just days after you and Brodie both separately drank with your father and then woke up in bed together the next morning, with no memory of how you got there?”
Isla recoiled, shocked and offended. “Surely you do not claim that my fatherdruggedus both in an effort to deceive us into marrying?!”
“I wish that were not my claim,” Margaret said, “but alas, I can think of no other explanation. Can you?”
“Certainly I can.” Tears filled Isla’s eyes. “Brodie and I drank too much and did something we should not have, and now we must pay a terrible price for it. What appalls me, Margaret, is that you would invent such a disgusting and preposterous lie! Is this what you have done with your time today? Dreamed up falsehoods so that you might remain in my good graces? And so that you might have Brodie MacKenzie for yourself?!”
“Of course not!” Now Margaret was on the verge of weeping as well. “How could you accuse me of such a thing?”
“Far more easily than I would accuse my father of such dastardly machinations!” she retorted. “How dare you betray my trust in such a fashion, after all I have done for you? If it is true that you spent much of your youth with Morna, then clearly you learned the arts of witchery and deceit from her during that time, that you might infiltrate my home and fill it with such poison!”
“I would never do anything to hurt you, Isla, I swear it!”
“You already have!” Isla bawled. “I’ll have you know that before you knocked on my door, I had given the matter careful thought and had nearly resolved to give you the benefit of the doubt and allow you to remain in my employ. Now, however, I see no recourse except to go to my father at once and tell him of these heinous accusations you have made!”
Margaret threw herself down on her knees, clasping her hands imploringly. “Please, Isla, I beg of you! Do not do such a thing! I will surely be ruined!”
“Then it will be no more than you deserve! Now get out of my sight at once!”
Sobbing, the maid pulled herself to her feet and ran from the room, her mind racing. What could she do now?
If Seamus did indeed hear about what Margaret told Isla, who knew what punishments would be visited upon her? She could be imprisoned—or worse! Even if not, she would be driven from the castle and the MacLeod lands, banished forever. And where could she possibly go then? Who would take her in? How would she survive?
There is only one thing left for me to do, she decided.I must go to Brodie and tell him of my discovery. Perhapshewill believe me since Seamus is not his father.
But even if he does, what then? How can this possibly be fixed?
She did not know. But she had to try, even though she knew that if someone saw her entering Brodie’s guest chamber after everything that had happened so far, it could well compound her perceived guilt and lead to even worse consequences.
By the time she reached Brodie’s room, she was panting and trembling, tears staining her face. When he opened the door and saw the state of her, he looked up and down the corridor to ensure they were not being watched, then ushered her in. “What on Earth is wrong? You look scared out of your very wits!”
“I am,” she told him, “and I have no one else to turn to! Please, Brodie, you must listen to me! You must believe me, no matter how strange what I have to say to you might seem!”
“Of course!” he assured her. “I believe you to have a truthful nature, and I can see no reason why you would seek to deceive me. Tell me what vexes you, and we will find a solution together.”
She informed him of what she had found in Seamus’s study, and of her encounter with Isla. He listened to it all, deeply troubled.
“I suppose there’s no sense in blaming Isla for finding your story difficult to accept,” he began. “Seamus is her father, after all, and that is a difficult thing for anyone to hear about someone they love and trust. In truth, I wish you had come to me first so that we could have arrived at an answer without worry that Isla would speak to Seamus.”
“I was not thinking as clearly as I might have,” Margaret agreed. “You are correct; I should have come to you directly. But Isla has been such a dear friend to me since I became her maid, and I could not conceive of her lashing out at me in such a fashion! Now I fear that I am well and truly doomed!”
Brodie took her by the shoulders, looking deep into her eyes. “Do not say that. You are not doomed. We will work through this together. You have my word.”
“But how?” she pleaded.
He thought it over for a few moments, then nodded decisively. “Do you know the way to the cottage of this healer Morna, or has it been too long since you have been there?”
Margaret frowned. “I know the way, yes, but why would we go there?”
“If Seamus got the bottle from her,” Brodie explained, “then she might be able to confirm that, and perhaps even his reasons for needing it. In your experience, is she generally an honest and trustworthy person?”
“Yes, she is. But what if Seamus has some hold over her? What if she refuses to admit their connection in order to protect herself?”
“These are possibilities, yes,” Brodie conceded. “But still, we have to try. If there is even a chance that one other person will be able to attest to the truth of what you have said, we must find out. We must leave at once, and in doing so, we must stick to the trees and underbrush rather than chancing travel out in the open. Otherwise, we are sure to be spotted, and Seamus will send men to overtake us.” He paused, then said, “Come with me.”
Margaret followed as he went to the guest chamber that was being shared by Magnus and Maxwell. When he knocked, Maxwell opened the door. Magnus was lounging behind him, reading from a book he had borrowed from the castle’s library.
