Page 47 of Wed to the Highlander

She helped her out the side door and onto the stone stoop. The rain had stopped, the wind fresh and cool against her heated skin. Maggie closed her eyes and let it wash over her.

“I’m sorry,” she rasped. “It just…hit me.”

“Dinna fash,” Fiona said, pressing a cool hand to Maggie’s brow. “I thought I’d puke up my boots with my boys. ’Twas gone in four months though.”

Maggie groaned, leaning against the only true friend she’d found in High Glen besides Duncan. “I’ll die.”

“Not on my watch,” Fiona said briskly, giving her arm a reassuring pat. “Still feelin’ ill?”

“Only when I move…or breathe.”

Fiona’s brows rose. “How long has this been goin’ on?”

“This morning was the first,” Maggie admitted. “Hopefully, the last.”

“The laird looked near frantic when he sought me out,” Fiona said with a small smile. “He’s over the moon about an heir.”

Maggie’s gaze drifted toward the mist-shrouded hills. “That’s what I’m afraid of,” she murmured. Being the hope of a clan felt heavier than any sickness.

Fiona blinked. “Afraid?”

She shook her head, gaze shifting to the fluttering linens drying on the line then changed the subject. “Can I ask you something?”

“Aye.”

“Why is Isla living at High Glen?”

Fiona hesitated. “Perhaps you should ask the laird.”

“I’m asking you,” Maggie pressed, “because I trust you to tell me the truth. She has some hold on Duncan, or the MacPhersons, doesn’t she?”

Fiona’s mouth tightened. “Isla was promised tae the laird, unofficially, long ago. Their fathers had hopes for peace between the clans. Duncan was too young tae have a say, and when Isla’s…condition became clear, the match was dropped.”

“Condition?”

“She’s…no’ right in the head. It’s no’ always plain, unless you speak wi’ her long…or an episode strikes.”

“Why didn’t she leave?”

“Agnes wouldn’t allow it,” she said flatly. “She’s always protected her.”

“Why is that?”

“Because she’s a Cameron, too. Duncan’s father tried what he planned for his heir first, but here we are decades later, still at odds.”

“So the MacPhersons were stuck with the enemy in their midst?”

“Most see them as a nuisance more than a danger. Agnes is Lachlan’s mother, after all. But dinna think she’s loyal tae anyone but her son—and Isla. It’s blood first wi’ her.”

“Neither has been especially kind to me.”

“They would nae be—or tae any bride Duncan brought home. They’d see her as a usurper of Isla’s rightful place. Though no one expected the laird tae wed into madness—especially after goin’ through it once before.”

Maggie’s head snapped around. “Once before?”

“Duncan’s great-great-grandfather’s first wife was quite mad. He didn’t find out until months into the marriage, when she was already with child.”

“You’re speaking of Anne MacPherson?” Maggie asked to clarify.