Page 25 of Tender is the Heart (The MacCallens and Randalls #2)

Chapter Twenty-Five

A fter an hour of trying to keep his wife quiet in order that she could sleep, Aiden gave up. He pulled on his tunic and trews and left the chamber. He rushed below stairs to find Flossie. After explaining what he needed, he quickly returned to his wife.

Once again, she was sitting upright in the bed, her eyes only half open. She was begging him not to leave her, not to let her die alone.

’Twas as heartbreaking as it was concerning. He took her into his arms and held her close. “Lass, ye will nae die. I order ye nae to die. Do ye understand?”

She was weeping to the point of hysteria. Clinging to his tunic with her fists until her knuckles turned white. Over and over again, she begged him. “Dinnae let me die alone.”

Flossie finally entered the chamber, much to his relief. In her hands she held a mug of steaming liquid. “This should do it, Aiden,” she said as she handed the cup to him.

It was a struggle to get his wife to drink the sleeping draught. Between her sobbing and pleas, they managed to get her to drink.

“I have never seen someone behave like this before,” Aiden admitted to Flossie. He was exceedingly concerned for his sweet wife.

“I have,” Flossie said as she stood near the bed. “Once, a long time ago. Ye were just a wean. We were at war with the Duffies. Or was it the MacPhersons?” She thought about it for only a moment. “It does nae matter. Anyway, one of our warriors. He went more than five days without sleep or rest. ’Twas an awful thing to see.”

“What happened?” Aiden asked as he coaxed his wife into taking one more sip.

“He died.”

Those weren’t the words of encouragement he was hoping for. His worry over his wife’s well-being increased a hundred fold.

He made certain she drank every last bit of the draught. After handing the cup to Flossie, he said, “Please, send a maid up in half an hour, just in case this does nae work.”

“I will do it myself,” Flossie replied before she quietly quit the room.

Thankfully, Margaret began to settle and closed her eyes. Her body grew more and more relaxed. He held her until he was certain she was asleep.

Still, he worried over her.

As promised, Flossie returned to check on Margaret. “Aye, she will nae be wakin’ up any time soon,” she said, relieved and pleased that her lady was finally sleeping.

“Now, ye let her sleep until she wakes on her own,” she told Aiden. “We will all be takin’ turns waitin’ in the hallway, just in case ye need somethin’.”

Were the occasion or circumstances different, he would have insisted everyone in his keep take a much needed rest. “Thank ye, Flossie, for everythin’.”

She smiled and scoffed at the same time. “Bah!” she whispered. “’Tis the least we could do for all she has done.”

Aiden didn’t take the time to ask her to explain exactly what she meant. Later, he would make further inquiries. For now, he was going to hold his wife until she woke.

Aiden slept like the dead.

He awoke with a start, his first thoughts of Margaret, who was as still and quiet as a church mouse. Worried she might have passed away in the middle of the night, he held an unsteady hand under her nose.

He let out a relieved sigh when he felt her gentle breaths against his skin. Lord, he had fallen quite in love with her. Why else would he act such a fool?

For more than an hour, he stayed in the bed next to her. He thought back to that cold, god-awful winters night when she showed up at his keep. Half frozen, snow clinging to her skirts and cloak, with a little babe in her arms.

Admittedly, he had thought she was quite beautiful that night. And he admired the lass’s tenacity. She had traveled for miles, in a snow storm, just to keep Onnleigh ingen Gruber ’ s baby safe.

Margaret could have died that night, trying to save the bairn. But her determination was such that she refused to rest until she had accomplished what she had set out to do.

Much had happened over the past few months. For a while, he thought his wife was a cold-hearted woman who only cared for herself.

But that had merely been a facade. A means to protect her own heart. A lot of that, he suspected, had to do with her mother Helen. That, and the fact that she had some horrible secret that she was unable to share with him.

He should have found that secret irksome, but he didn’t. She will tell me when she is ready.

Hopefully, she would tell him sooner rather than later. In his heart of hearts, he knew it couldn’t be nearly as bad as she made it out to be.

His thoughts turned back to the time they argued about that secret. She had asked him if he could forgive her for anything, including murder.

Aiden seriously doubted she had killed anyone. ’Twas nothing more than an exaggeration, a means to procure a promise from him.

Murder? Nay. Not his sweet Margaret. Any woman who protected the young as much as she did, could never have harmed anyone.

Nay. He blamed her mother for her worries. While he’d never met the woman, he had learned more than he cared to in the two weeks he’d spent with Connor MacCallen. His wife’s mother was a vile, callous, ugly woman with a heart as black as the devil’s.

He knew the woman had been writing to Margaret. He also knew where she kept those letters; in her wooden box on the table under the window. He also knew she hadn’t read any of them. None of the seals had been broken, to which he found a great sense of comfort. Margaret felt safe enough with him and his family that she didn’t feel the need to open them.

That knowledge left him feeling rather proud of himself. Someday, he might mention the letters and Helen. Hopefully then, she would be able to put her worries to rest and not concern herself with secrets.

’Twas well past dawn before Margaret finally woke. She’d been dreaming, peaceful, happy dreams, of her life with Aiden. A glimpse into their future? Mayhap.

Slowly, she opened her eyes.

He was there, her husband.

Sitting in a chair beside her bed.

“Ye dinnae leave me,” she said. It had, in fact, been her first thought. Her mouth and throat felt dry and scratchy.

“I gave ye my word that I would nae,” he said with a smile.

His smile warmed her heart, thus, she returned it with one of her own. She ignored the discomfort of her dry mouth and throat.

Aiden slid off the chair and onto his knees and took her hand in his. He kissed her fingers, and if she didn’t know better, she thought his eyes looked damp.

“Why do ye look so relieved?” She scratched out.

Finally, he sensed her discomfort and fetched her a mug of cold cider. “Here, drink this,” he told her as he helped her to sit.

’Twas as cold as ice and felt so good in her mouth. After drinking nearly all of it, she felt better and thanked him.

He returned the mug to the table, but did not come back to her. He stood quietly, his back to her. Instinct warned her that something bad must have happened.

“Gideon died,” she said sadly. “Please tell me he dinnae die alone.”

Aiden turned around, shaking his head, looking rather perplexed. “He is nae dead,” he told her. “In fact, he is much better.”

That news filled her heart with much joy. “Och! I must go see him,” she said as she began to toss her covers aside.

Aiden was there in an instant, stopping her. “Ye will do no such thing, lass.”

Oh, he sounded gruff, but she didn’t know why. “Really, Aiden. What is the matter?”

He let out a frustrated breath as he raked a hand through his hair. “Ye almost died, Margaret!” He nearly shouted at her.

Certainly he was exaggerating. “Och! Aiden, I simply needed a bit of sleep.” Really, he was over reacting just a wee bit.

He all but growled at her. “A bit of sleep?” He was stupefied. Astounded. And bloody well mad. “Margaret, ye have been asleep for nine days.”

Oh, that certainly could not be true. “Aiden, really, ye needn’t exaggerate to get yer point across.”

His eyes grew as wide as trenchers and his mouth fell open. “Why on earth would I lie about such a thing?”

He didn’t wait for her to reply.

“Ye have been asleep for eight nights and nine days. Gideon has not only survived and healed, we had time to get word to his daughter Joan. She arrived yesterday.” His voice was growing louder and he was pacing again. “Ye have slept for so long that Annabella had her babe. A little girl. They named her Margaret. Ye slept so deeply that we feared ye would never wake!”

“Annabella had her babe?” Margaret exclaimed excitedly. She tossed the covers aside and started to get out of bed. The movement made her feel light headed, so she immediately sat down. “Och! Gideon is well and Annabella has had her babe!”

Aiden thundered across the room. “Dinnae ye hear me?” He bellowed the question. “Ye almost died!”

Margaret rolled her eyes before smiling up at him. “But I dinnae die, Aiden.”

“I dinnae think ye understand the severity of the situation, lass.” He was growing weary of trying to explain it to her. “Ye were as close to death as anyone I have ever seen before.”

He was clearly exasperated with her. “I ken ye were worried, Aiden.”

“Worried?” He asked as he bent down to look into her eyes. “Lass, I wanted to climb into that bed and die right alongside ye.”

A bolt of something warm and confusing coursed through her veins. Tears filled her eyes as she slowly got to her feet, forcing Aiden to his. “That is the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me!”

She flung herself into his arms and wept.

“Lord above, woman! Stop yer cryin’!”

She shook her head against his chest. “I will cry if I want to,” she protested.

Aidan wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly. “Dinnae ever do that to me again,” he whispered.

“Dinnae do what ever again?” She knew exactly to what he was referring. Selfishly, however, she wanted to hear him say something nice again.

“Dinnae ever die on me again.”

“But I dinnae die, silly man,” she whispered.

“Ye almost did.”

Before they could argue anymore on the matter, Lizabet and Elayne came into the room. “We heard Margaret’s voice!” Lizabet exclaimed.

The two women stopped, much relief in their countenance. “Thank the good Lord!” Elayne cried.

They rushed forward and grabbed Margaret away from Aiden. “Do ye ken ye almost died?” Elayne said.

“But I dinnae, now did I?”

More family began to rush into the bedchamber, happy to see their sister-by-law and aunt standing upright. Duncan pushed his way through the crowd, tears racing down his little cheeks. “Ye almost died!”

Margaret hugged him tightly. “I really wish everyone would stop sayin’ that. I dinnae die. Neither did Gideon. And Annabella has had her babe!”

Oh, her heart was filled with so much joy she couldn’t help but feel a bit teary eyed. As she looked about the many faces, her heart continued to swell with joy and happiness. The people she thought she would hate for eternity were now her entire life. She loved each of them, and they loved her.

“I dinnae die,” she told them. “And I dinnae plan on dyin’ any time soon.”