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“Good, then.” She nodded back. “I want you to fetch one of the casks of wine stored in the castle. Get another lad and come back with it as soon as you can. Will you do that for me?”

“In a whistle-breath, I can!” Evan shouted, dashing to the door.

Aileana turned back to William after the boy left, biting her lip with concern.

His breathing was labored, and when she felt his neck and near his groin, she noticed the hard swellings that Bridgid had warned of earlier.

It was clear that the plague buboes caused him pain; he writhed and groaned louder when she touched the swollen places.

She felt a hand on her shoulder. Tilting her head, she saw Bridgid standing next to her. The bailie had left Inghin in the competent hands of two of the other women who were trying to persuade her to lie on the pallet near the tiny room’s hearth.

“How is he?”

“Not good,” she answered quietly. “If the fever cannot be lessened, he will die before morn.”

Bridgid knelt down beside her. “I heard you tell Evan to bring wine.” Her glance drifted to Inghin, who appeared to be giving in to the women’s entreaties to rest. She looked to Aileana again, speaking more softly, even, than before.

“But wouldn’t the tonic you prepared be better than plain wine for the lad? ”

“Nay. The strength of the wine will not be dulled by vinegar and herbs as it is in the tonic.”

“You fear for his heart, then.”

Aileana nodded. “He needs the stimulation of the wine, but we will need to sponge him continually to cool any heat it might bring to his skin. That is why I’ve sent the old woman to the loch. It was faster to get and just as cool as the water from the well.”

Bridgid fell silent, and Aileana worked to loosen William’s clothing.

She wanted to make him as comfortable as possible until the others returned.

When she finished, she sat back to wait.

He seemed at peace for the moment, and all was quiet, but she sensed a strangeness from Bridgid; the bailie hung back, wary and guarded, watching Aileana with a vigilance that unnerved her.

Assuming that she simply feared contagion, Aileana said, “Perhaps you should return to the castle now, Bridgid. There is no need for you to sit watch this night.”

Bridgid made a scoffing sound. “It is not your place to send me home like an errant child, missy. I’ve no dread of the plague, if that is what you’re thinking.”

“I was only trying to say that there is no need for us both to look the demon in the eye. It is only William, for now. One of us is enough to sit with him.”

“Then why don’t you go back to the castle and your bed?” When Aileana started to shake her head, Bridgid burst forth, “And why not? I know I asked for your help, but do you not worry for your own safety, toiling here, in the heart of the disease?”

That strange thought stilled Aileana for a moment, making her pause.

It was true that illness floated thick around them.

It hung like a deadly cloud over the entire chamber.

But she felt little concern for herself.

In truth she’d always felt a great satisfaction in helping to heal the sick at Dulhmeny.

They’d been the only people other than her brothers that Father had freely allowed her to talk to during the many years after Morgana’s banishment and death.

Being here was only a little different. MacRaes or nay, these people needed her, and she found that she was willing to risk contagion for the pleasure of that burden.

It would be a chance to prove once and for all that she wasn’t like Morgana…

that she didn’t thrive on spreading destruction as her sister had. Nay, just the opposite.

Finally, she met Bridgid’s gaze and answered, “I’ve treated many illnesses in my life and never taken sick because of it. It will be the same for this, I warrant—and if not, then I cannot change the hand of God.”

Bridgid shook her head and mumbled, “I do not know, lass. Perhaps Inghid was right—it might not be best for you to be here, though I asked you to come.”

Aileana bit the insides of her cheeks. So it came down to this again.

Trust . Bridgid didn’t trust her. Hurt spread dark tendrils through her veins.

How could she have been so daft as to let her guard down even for an instant?

She’d come no farther down the road of acceptance than where she’d been the first day she walked into Eilean Donan’s castle yard.

“I am sorry,” Aileana said stiffly. “I did not realize my help was still suspect with you as well.” She rocked back on her heels, bracing her hands against her thighs to stand. “I will be leaving now. Send for me if there is anything you feel you can trust me to do.”

“Nay, missy, it is not that.” Bridgid reached up and pulled Aileana back down. “I’ve no fear of your honesty. Truth to tell, I know precious little about healing them that come down with the plague; I need your help if you’re willing to give it.”

Aileana’s brows drew together. “I do not understand, then. Why were you trying to send me away?”

Bridgid looked down and shook her head; her breathing sounded heavy, as if a burden weighed on her.

When she met Aileana’s gaze, hers was shaded with kindness and concern.

“I was giving you leave to go, missy, because I’ve thought better of what some of the others might say if the sick die, as many are bound to, under your care.

I had not considered that part of it when I called on your aid, but since Inghid spoke, I’ve seen where it might lead to that. ”

“You’re thinking they will brand me a witch and accuse me of working spells to kill their kin, plague or nay,” Aileana said flatly.

“Aye,” she admitted. “And not only what they would call you, but what they might do to you as well.”

Aileana clamped her lips tight.

“Some might think to use you to ease their hurt. And with the MacRae away on a raid…” Bridgid shook her head. “Mayhap it is better for you to retreat to your castle chamber, lass. I can come to you for advice or remedies as needed.”

Bridgid’s suggestion struck a chord with Aileana. Retreat to your castle chamber . The concept sent a shudder of revulsion through her. She’d spent the better part of her life locked in her chamber, and unless she was forced, she’d never do so willingly again.

“I think I will take my chances against the plague.”

At Bridgid’s stricken look, she grimaced, adding, “I know precious little about people, thanks to the life I led at Dulhmeny, but I do know how to heal their bodies. And besides that, I’m fearing you will need every available helper in the coming days. Where one falls sick, many usually follow.”

“It is your decision, missy, though I cannot say I will be sorry for your help,” Bridgid answered, looking at her with a new measure of respect before she frowned again, the action furrowing deeper lines at the sides of her mouth.

“Do you think it will be laying low the entire clan, then? I do not think we can stand another devastation so soon after coming together again under the MacRae.”

“Pray God it will not come to that.” Aileana looked around the tiny hut.

“But chances stand that any one of these folk will show signs of it next, and then…” She placed her hand on the feverish William’s brow again, mentally cursing that the water hadn’t arrived yet.

“Come what may, I will stay with you. That I swear.”

Any further chance at conversation dissolved in a flurry of activity as Evan came rushing through the door. Another lad followed him in, the cask of wine leaking from a tiny crack along its side.

“You’ve got to come! There’s another fallen sick. We dropped the wine trying to help her, but in the end we couldn’t lift her up from the ground.”

“Who is it, lad?” Bridgid asked.

Evan’s eyes were filled with tears of frustration as he swung his gaze to the bailie . “Old Jehana! She was on the bank of the loch, trying to get the water the lady wanted, but now she is just lying there, and to touch her is like burning yourself with fire. Please, you’ve got to help!”

An anxious glance passed between Bridgid and Aileana, and they stood as if of one accord. “Evan, get two strong men from the village and show me where Jehana is,” Aileana said. “We will help her, lad, best as we can.”

Bridgid nodded her agreement to stay behind with William, and Aileana set to action.

It was going to be a very long night, she realized, as she strode through the door behind Evan.

Two fallen ill in less than an hour, and more sure to follow if the sickness held true to the virulence proclaimed of it in the Lowlands.

She needed to keep her wits about her now, she knew, for she was about to be tested as never before in her protected life at Dulhmeny. And she faced the added pressure of knowing that this clan might hold her personally responsible for any failure to heal the afflicted.

Mouthing a prayer for strength, Aileana trudged onward. Aye, it was going to be a long night. A very long night, indeed.