Page 63 of Betrayed by His Highland Wife

"Water!" he growled.

Fiona had to hide a grin. The look of utter disgust on his face was too hard to hide. William was not happy. Staring daggers at his sister, his glare caught her accusingly.

"Och," she tutted, "ye've had enough, anyhoo… Drink it, 'twill do ye good!"

William scowled. He was not in the mood to be told what to do by a bossy elder sister, or indeed anyone, but even so, he downed the dram. Cool, refreshing water helped soothe him, bringing him down a little. Mildly better, he set his cup down and sighed.

"Nora?" Fiona questioned.

William nodded grimly. He could not decipher the look on his sister's face. Why was she so upbeat?

William wiped his hands across his face, immediately stinging his eye. Ouch! He had forgotten about his sucker punch from the bureau.

"Who else?" said William morbidly. Lustily, he eyed the emptied whiskey vessel; its lush, warming taste called out to him. Damn, he really wanted a wee dram!

But Fiona's eyes twinkled. "Brother, perhaps it is nae so bad," she said with tenderness.

William looked at her like she was mad. "Nae so bad?" He scowled, incredulous. "Tell me, Sister, how could it be worse? Och, or do ye mean I am actually dead?"

Lazily, William wiped his temples, once again forgetting the great lump residing there, and flinched.

Fiona laughed. "Nay, I mean… Och, William, that 'tis nae as bad as that. I dinnae think she meant to harm ye."

Fiona's eyes connected with his, but William was too taken aback to think. Stunned, he watched her.

"What?" he said, after some deliberation.

Fiona nodded, then her face furrowed. "William, I didnae believe it at first, but having just spoken wi' the lass, I've got to say, there's no way she was going to go through wi' it."

William's eyes flickered, but his brain would not let him catch up. A dull confusion spread across his head; everything hurt. Murmuring, William took another sip of the water and slowly improved.

Fiona kept talking, her face animating as she continued. William watched her blearily as he wondered what on earth anyone had to be excited about right then.

"The plan wasnae her idea. She told me," she frothed, as poor William's brain struggled to keep up. A whole night of whiskey had taken its toll. "She was taken in by him as a bairn, and he poisoned her."

"Poisoned?" slurred William drunkenly. "Who poisoned who? She was going to poison me?"

Fiona looked at him aghast. "Nay! Have ye nae heard me?" she tutted. "I'm telling ye, lad, all o' this is her father's idea. She was brainwashed since being a bairn to hate the Duncans."

Something resonated with William. "Her father, och, of course," he said, scratching his head. Bright flashes of pain brought him to. "Och, I might have kent it… But why?"

"Well, ye ken the history," she said, watching him closely. Her eyes kept darting over him, checking to see if he was comprehending.

Suddenly, William was terribly irritated. He knew that look. Fiona was babying him. She did it a lot.

"Och, o' course I do!" exploded William. "I mean, I ken Douglas and the Duncans, they, uhm…"

William rubbed his head unsurely. He was still unstable. Half a pint of whiskey raced around his head, and for a moment, it nearly spurted out of his nostrils. Hopelessly, he stared at Fiona, who rolled her eyes. The last thing he wanted to do was to look stupid in front of his big sister. Straining hard, William tried to remember.

"The war, William," Fiona said gently. "Ye ken?"

"War?"

What war?

It was no use. He was still hopelessly, madly, wildly blootered. He scratched his head and looked at his face in the mirror. Suddenly, he looked at Fiona.

"The war! I remember now. Nora told me yesterday. She said that the Duncan clan killed her mother."