Page 23 of Stolen by the Rival Scot (Tartan Trails of Love #2)

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

E dward moved to the bed, gazed down at Evelyn for a long moment, and then bent and kissed her forehead. She felt hot and clammy.

“Dinnae worry, little bird. I’ll be back soon,” he whispered.

Standing erect again, he cast a glance at Morgana who remained sitting beside the bed.

“I’ll come and fetch ye the second there’s any change,” she said, plainly reading his expression.

“Thank ye, sister.”

Edward then moved from the bed and headed towards the door. “Right, let’s get this over with.”

Without a word, James followed Edward out into the corridor with determined steps.

They arrived at the meeting room several minutes later. Craig was already there. He and Michael were standing together in deep conversation, while the other councilmen were standing around murmuring among themselves.

Catching sight of Edward’s entrance, Craig nodded in his direction, causing Michael to turn and look. Once the others noticed, everyone began hurriedly taking their seats, while Edward made his way to the head of the table.

“Thank ye fer coming,” he began, as he looked at each one of them.

He was about to continue when he noticed two empty chairs. The two councilmen who had given him the most grief since his arrival appeared to be absent.

“I ken some o’ ye are nae pleased at me directions, and thus, I am here tae clarify them. First, however, where are Thomas and Gilroy?” He threw a hand to the empty chairs. “Did I nae ask fer all the Council members tae gather?”

There were murmurs and shaking heads, for no one seemed to have an answer. It was Craig who then spoke up.

“I searched the castle, me laird. I couldnae find them anywhere. On further enquiry, I discovered, in a conversation with one o’ the guards, that the two men left the castle in the middle o’ the wedding feast last night.”

For a second, those words stunned Edward. They had left? Why? And more importantly, why had he not been told? He remained silent for another minute, thinking of the reasoning behind their departure. It made little sense under the circumstances, and thus, left him with only one conclusion.

“Surely, I cannae be the only one who finds that suspicious,” he declared, looking around the table. “Why the devil would they leave half-way through the wedding feast?”

“Me laird,” John replied. “Surely ye are nae suggesting that Thomas and Gilroy had something tae dae with what has happened?”

“Is that too far o’ a stretch?” Edward countered. “Dae none ‘o ye find it convenient that they left ‘afore the squire, me wife and others were poisoned?”

“Me laird,” another countered. “While it is obvious tae us all that ye and Thomas have nae seen eye tae eye since yer arrival, the man is as trustworthy as any one o’ us sitting at this table. As is Gilroy.”

The other councilmen nodded in agreement. And yet, Edward was not at all convinced. Thomas and Gilroy had been in charge of the finances, and look how they had turned out. Now, they had disappeared just before the discovery of poison in the food. It was too suspicious for his liking, and yet, for several minutes more, the other councilmen defended the absent men, offering their surety of the men’s loyalty.

“We will deal with them later,” Edward said, putting his suspicions to the side. “I hear there was some dissatisfaction tae me order o’ locking the castle down.”

“Ye have tae understand, me laird,” John said. “While we all ken the dire circumstances, nor can we keep the guests prisoners against their will.”

Edward furrowed his brows and scowled at John. “Ye dae realize that me wife, the lady o’ this castle, the lass ye have all watched grow up, nearly died last night? And the day before. Ye ken that, dinnae ye?” he spat, his voice loaded with angry sarcasm.

“Me laird,” John said sympathetically. “None o’ us are blind tae the circumstance. We ken how ill Lady Evelyn is, and we have done naething but pray tae the gods fer her recovery. Still?—”

“Still, naething!” Edward lambasted. “I want the culprit found, and I want it done now. Dae we even have a list o’ those we suspect it might be?”

The men appeared clueless, their contrite expressions betraying their lack of knowledge.

“Fine,” Edward continued angrily. He then turned to Craig. “I want everyone in the kitchen questioned. From the scullery maid tae the cook. Nay one is let away with it.”

“Aye, me laird,” Craig said with a firm nod.

He then looked back at the councilmen. “I’m nae going tae waste anymore o’ me time debating this. The guests remain in the castle until we have found the guilty party.”

“And if we dinnae?” John piped up.

Edward gave the man a dark look. “Then I’d be careful what food passes yer lips from here on in, councilman.”

That reply caused gasps and murmurs to travel through the room, but Edward did not wait to hear what anyone else had to say. He was already out of the door, swiftly followed by James and Craig.

“I’ll gather the kitchen staff in the great hall,” Craig said as the three marched down the corridor.

“Good,” Edward returned. “I will be there presently. First, I need tae speak tae the guards who were on duty last night.”

“I’ll come with ye,” James added.

While Craig headed off in the direction of the kitchen, Edward and James made their way to the guards’ quarters. Once there, it took little time to discover who had been manning the door.

“Me advisor tells me that ye saw the councilmen leave last night,” Edward said.

“Aye, me laird, I did,” Graeme McClintock replied.

He was a tall man, not very broad, but by the sinewy lines on is neck and arms, Edward imagined he was a man who could handle himself fairly well.

“What time was that?” Edward pressed. “How far intae the wedding feast?”

The man lifted his eyes, as though trying tae remember. “As I told councilman Craig, I am certain it was after dark, me laird. The wedding feast was well under way. In fact, that’s what made their departure so strange. While there had been many who had arrived, none were leaving, only them.”

“And they havenae returned?”

The tall man shook his head. “Nae tae me knowledge, me laird.”

Edward nodded. “Very well. If they dae, I want tae be the first tae hear o’ it.”

“Aye, me laird,” Graeme said with a firm nod.

“Good. Thank ye, Graeme.”

“Ye think these councilmen are involved?” James asked as the two made their way across the cobbled courtyard back to the castle.

Edward could not be certain, but everything in his gut was telling him that they were.

“They have been trouble from the minute I arrived,” Edward snarled. “Thomas is an agitator. His companion, Gilroy, follows him around like a doting puppy. I’m nae sure the man has had an original thought in his head in any meeting so far.”

“So, they have issue with ye,” James said.

Edward glanced at his brother once they entered the castle. “There’s more tae it, James. These are the same councilmen who were given free reign over the accounts, and ye ken what mess they are in.”

“Hmm.”

“Besides, even Graeme thought their actions unusual. Think about it. Why the devil would they leave half-way through the wedding feast? Where did they go? And tae what end?”

James nodded.

“And where are they now?” Edward continued. “There are far too many questions and far too few answers. Their departure immediately before the poisonings is just too coincidental.”

“Well, let’s nae get ahead o’ ourselves. Ye cannae go around accusing people without evidence. We have tae hear their side o’ the story. There could be a perfectly reasonable explanation fer all this.”

“Aye. Maybe.”

While James had a point, Edward could not shift the feeling in his gut. But until he was able to speak with Thomas and Gilroy, he supposed he had no choice but to give the men the benefit of the doubt.

In the great hall, Craig had done as promised. All the servants and kitchen staff were huddled on one side of the room. Some sitting chatting amicably, some standing looking worried, and likely wondering what was going on, though Edward was certain all of them would have heard about the poisoning incidents by now.

Craig approached once he saw them. “I have everybody here. There are nay servants missing, Edward.”

“Good. Well, let’s get this over with. Bring them over, one at a time.”

Wearily, Edward dropped himself into a chair behind a table, his brother sitting beside him.

“Ye look exhausted,” James said as Craig went to fetch their first witness.

“I am, braither,” Edward replied. “But I cannae rest until this is resolved.”

“Aye, well, if ye’re nae careful, ye’ll mak’ yersel’ ill. Then who’ll look after yer wife?”

James gave Edward a knowing look, but they had no more chance to converse, for Craig was already coming back with Cook. A smart move. Get the most obvious one out of the way first.

“Me laird,” the slender woman said.

Edward gestured to the chair opposite them. “Please, sit.”

She did so, looking from Edward to James and back again. She was a woman in her mid-fifties, with soft brown eyes that looked more than a little nervous, and graying hair under a white bonnet.

“Ye look nervous,” Edward observed.

“I am, me laird. I feel terribly guilty,” she blurted.

Edward’s eyebrows lifted both with surprise.

“Ye have tae understand, me laird,” Cook said, clearly replying to his expression. “I am in charge o’ what goes on in that kitchen. It is me domain, and whatever occurs down there is me responsibility. It breaks me heart that this happened right under me nose.”

Edward didn’t suspect the woman. If it had been she, he imagined she would be long gone by now. If he had been in her shoes and had decided to poison the food, it would be a foregone conclusion that he would be the first to be blamed. And thus, as far as he was concerned, her very presence attested to her innocence.

“Did ye see anything unusual yesterday? Edward began. “Anything untoward, or people nae ordinarily in the kitchen?”

“Me laird,” she looked at him as though he might be a little mad, “the kitchen was chaos yesterday. The wedding feast was the largest meal we have prepared and served in a long time. There were twice as many people as there would usually be down there, and hardly room tae move. I couldnae tell ye who was in or who was out.”

This poisoner was clever. They had chosen the perfect situation. Slipping in and out of the kitchen under the guise of a servant or a merchant delivering purchases, they had been invisible in the bedlam.

“Who was in charge o’ making the plumb cake?” James asked.

“I was,” Cook replied. “Which is why I feel so utterly dreadful.”

“And was there a time the cake was left unattended?” It was a stupid question, but Edward could think of nothing else.

She gave him that same look, and nodded. “O’ course, me laird. Me and the others had twenty different dishes tae prepare. Anyone could have got tae it at any time.”

Edward nodded. “Very well. Thank ye fer speaking with us. Ye may go.”

“Thank ye, me laird,” she gushed, hurrying to get out o’ her chair. She was about to walk away, when she swiftly turned to look at him. “May I ask? How is Lady Evelyn, me laird?”

Edward felt a warmth surround his heart. He smiled a little. “She is on the mend.”

Pressing her hand to her bosom, she said, “Praise be tae all the gods. I remember her as a wee lass, running about me heels. I was on me knees all night, praying she would recover.”

“Someone up there was clearly listening. Thank ye, Cook.”

When she had scurried away to join the others, James leaned in. “How productive is this going tae be? If what Cook says is right, and I believe her, then the kitchen was in chaos. None o’ these servants are going tae have seen anything.”

Edward had already had that thought himself, and couldn’t disagree with his brother.

“And yet, we have tae try. Someone might have seen something. We only need one clue, one description. Whether it was a man or a woman. Something. Anything,” Edward said in desperation.

But five hours later, and, after hearing practically the same thing in different ways from everyone who had been gathered, Edward had been forced to come to the conclusion that the entire venture had been a complete waste of time.

“Nae entirely a waste o’ time,” James said, after Edward had voiced his frustration. “If naething else, it has been helpful in the case o’ deduction. I think we can agree that the servants and kitchen staff had nae hand in this.”

Edward nodded. “Indeed.”

“Then, the day hasnae been wasted. We have eliminated them as possible culprits.”

James was right, but it did not make Edward feel any sense of accomplishment. Before they were all gathered, he had already pronounced their innocence in his mind. There were those he did suspect, but they had not been present in the great hall that day.

They were now stood outside in the corridor. Edward looked one way and then the next, as though, by some miracle, the answer to his dilemma was about to appear. He sighed and rubbed his neck. He truly was exhausted, but he could not rest. Not yet.

“I am going tae go and check on Evelyn.”

James gave him a long look. “May I suggest, if her symptoms havenae yet improved, that ye simply lie down beside her and get some sleep. Ye cannae be any closer tae her than that.”

“Maybe I will, braither,” Edward said, patting a hand on his shoulder. “I will see ye later.”

Stepping into the bedchamber a few moments later, Edward found Freya at Evelyn’s bedside, cooling his wife down with a wet towel. Caitlin was beside her, her eyes still full of concern.

“How is she?” Edward said, approaching the bed.

“Actually, she’s a little better,” Freya said, the obvious hope in her voice. “The fever has broken, and all she needs now is rest.”

That news sent a wave of relief across his entire body. Fergus had said she would recover, but the worry had still been eating at him.

“Did Fergus manage tae get any tonic intae her?”

“A little,” Freya smiled. “She roused a little. Even though she wasnae able tae open her eyes, she was able tae swallow, and thus, she’s had some o’ the medicine.”

“Praise be tae all the gods,” Edward breathed. He gazed down at Evelyn tenderly, wishing with all his heart that it was him and not her that was ill. “Ye and Caitlin can go and rest a while, Freya. I’ll tak’ over here now.”

“Are ye sure?” Freya asked, gazing at him with concern. “Ye look like ye need the rest far more than I.”

“I’ll be fine.”

She nodded, seeming to know not to try and argue. A few moments later, Freya and Caitlin exited the bedchamber, leaving Edward alone with his own thoughts, and his unconscious wife.

“Now, little bird. I’m going tae tak’ good care o’ ye.”

Rolling his sleeves up, he took the towel, dipped it into the bowl of water on the bedside table, and softly wiped it along her brow.