Page 65 of Highland Vows of Betrayal

Noah kicked open the door to Callie’s rooms.

“Callie!” Noah called, carrying Scarlett. “She’s ill. The mead. Her throat started to burn, and she clutched her stomach, and now…” He trailed off; she was unconscious in his arms.

“My laird, put her down here,” Callie gestured to a ready bed in her treatment room.

“Burning isnae a good sign.” Callie leaned close to Scarlett’s face and sniffed several times before she rose to prepare a potion. “Aye, I believe I ken what this is. Almonds. That isnae a good smell. ‘Tis bitter.”

“Laird Chattan,” she continued. “I think yer lady was poisoned.”

“Poisoned?” Noah was incredulous. Who would want to poison Scarlett?

“Noah, did ye nae see the goblet she drank from?” Ian probed, his expression grave. “She picked up yer cup by mistake. The poison was in yer mead.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Scarlett was walking in the woods behind Athol’s tavern. Wherever she turned something was happening, though in the darkness, she couldn’t quite be certain of what she saw. Shadows danced at the edges of her vision before they faded away.

Turning her head around, Scarlett moved toward a set of animated shadows. They,talked loudly, laughing uproariously. As she came closer, she realized one of the figures was Athol. Laughing and raising a cup of whisky to his lips, he downed the liquid, then turned to a courtesan and danced with her.

“Life is for pleasure, Scarlett, did ye nae ken that?” he called to her. He had told her once, but long ago. It was grotesque to watch him now with whisky dripping from his lips as he ground against the courtesan.

Scarlett couldn’t look at him anymore. Between a grove of trees, she caught sight of Ian striding forward, following someone—a man dressed in a cloak. Unlike the attack in the forest with five men, there was just one this time. Ian raised his sword, pursuing the cloaked figure.

“Noah!” Scarlett called, knowing he surely knew what his brother was about to do. She scrambled away to find him. She ended up in a clearing where she found him, but he wasn’t alone.

Noah stood with Eloise. She curtsied demurely, and Noah smiled at her the way he’d smiled at Scarlett. They seemed close, and Eloise reached for his waistcoat. Her fingers curled around the lapels, pulling him down toward her, just as Scarlett had seen the maid do. Eloise’s lips were a mere hair’s breadth away from Noah’s when Scarlett ran toward them.

“Nae! Eloise, please, nae,” Scarlett called to her, trying to stop the kiss. When she reached them, their bodies disappeared. It was as if their limbs became smoke, melting into the air.

She tried to find Eloise and Noah, but they were gone. Looking back, she sought Ian and the cloaked figure too. The cloaked figure walked past her at a distance; someone was following him, bearing a sword, but from this position, she couldn’t tell if it was Ian or Noah.

“Noah…” she whispered, reaching out to the figure, but the images disappeared completely.

* * *

Noah sat beside Scarlett. She'd been brought to her own chambers, Callie had done what she could.

She was more at ease now. Callie had given her a tonic to help her sleep so that her body could recover as quickly as possible.

Scarlett’s breathing more even with a bed sheet covering her and moonlight shining through the window. She murmured in her sleep at times, and Noah would lean forward, staring at her over clasped hands, waiting for her to wake.

“Noah…” When she finally said his name, he sat up and leaned forward, waiting. She turned her head in his direction, but it turned back.

"Eloise," she said quietly.

He could only guess that she was plagued by nightmares.

“I cannae leave her.” So he climbed into bed next to her and drew her into his arms. “Ye will be safe, I promise ye that,” he whispered. He kissed her temple tenderly and finally fell asleep.

Knowing he had been the target of an assassin crushed him. Scarlett would not be fighting for her life right now if it hadn't been for a stroke of luck. Noah had dispatched Ian to find out who had handled the mead and goblets that evening, and who had attempted to poison him, but the lack of a message indicated that little progress had been made.

Noah slept fitfully, waking up several times as he heard her murmur names in her sleep. Noah. Eloise.

* * *

Scarlett’s eyes opened when sunshine streamed through the window. The darkness of her dreams seemed to be gone. She remembered the frightening events at the feasting table, but thankfully this morning she felt more like herself

There were signs that Callie had been there. Herbs and glass vials had been left on nearby tables, and a bowl of water with a cloth showed that someone had attended to her during the night.