Page 13 of Highlander's Captive Bride
“That’s very clever of ye, Elodie, because one of the ingredients is, indeed, chalk, along with some herbs and other things,” Daisy explained kindly. “The chalk has a soothing effect on yer tummy. Now, I want ye to tell me if this medicine makes ye feel any better. It might give me a clue as to what’s wrong.”
“All right,” Elodie agreed as Daisy gently lowered her to the pillow again.
The trio continued to talk quietly, with Daisy getting answers to the questions that were piling up in her mind concerning the girl’s condition. But it was not long before Elodie fell silent, and Daisy noticed her eyelids fluttering shut. Soon, the child drifted off to sleep, apparently calmer than before.
“I dinnae ken what ye gave her, Daisy, but she seems a wee bit better. She usually has trouble sleeping because of the pain in her tummy,” Poppy confided, looking down at the child fondly.
“Is she in pain all the time, or does it come and go?” Daisy asked, her trust in Poppy growing as she continually proved herself a loving carer.
Poppy’s pretty features creased into a frown. “’Tis strange ye should ask. I’ve noticed it comes and goes. It gets bad, especially after eating or drinking, however small and light the morsel. ’Tis as if something disnae agree with her. But it didnae happen before, and it wrecks me nerves when she’s like that, for she screams with the pain, and I can do naething to help her.”
“Aye, that’s hard, I ken. To see a child suffering, well…” Daisy agreed with a nod.
“But I must tell ye, I feel more hopeful, now that ye’ve come. The other healers, even the one here at the castle, cannae seem to do anything for her. But with yer arts and powers, ye may be able to cure her. ’Tis what we all want, for we all love the sweet bairn. And I’m sure ye ken it’s what the Laird wants, most of all. I dread to think what he might do if… anything happens to her.” Poppy’s face was still etched with worry as she spoke.
Wanting to hear more of the Laird, Daisy proceeded carefully. “Aye, ’tis clear he thinks the world of her.”
“Och, he does. He’s a hard man, to be sure, but when it comes to the wee lassie, why, ye wouldnae think it, but he can be as soft as butter.”
“Hmm. And where’s the lassie’s maither?”
“Och, she died when Elodie was but a baby. A woman from one of the villages, they say.” Poppy lowered her voice and whispered, “She was born out of wedlock, ye see.”
Daisy’s brows shot up. “Is that so?”
“Aye, some folks make much of it on the quiet, ye understand. But the Laird disnae care about that—she’s his daughter. And woe betide ye if he hears ye saying anything to that effect. He’s half killed many a man over it. Anyway, when her maither died, he went and got the bairn himself and brought her back here. She’s been at the castle ever since.”
“I see,” Daisy replied, secretly fascinated by what Poppy’s penchant for incessant, indiscreet chatter was revealing to her about her captor.
Clearly, there were depths to the man she had not previously imagined could exist in the same body as the cruel devil who had kidnapped her and murdered her protectors. It half made her believe that she and the brutish Laird could have been friends, had they met in vastly different circumstances.
But Poppy had not quite finished. “The Laird had some dark times in the past, ye see. Lady Bridie, his sister, well, she died, not long before the child came to the castle. Nobody kens what really happened to her. The Laird never talks about it. But, och, Lady Bridie was a sweet lady, so kind and gentle and beautiful. Since she’s been gone, well, ’tis like his heart has turned to stone, and he cares for naught and no one but Elodie.”
“Hmm, so the poor wee lassie has nae maither. But what about any other family?” Daisy asked.
Poppy shook her head, looking mournful. “None. ’Tis just her and the Laird that’s left of the Murdochs, now that Lady Bridie’s gone. And the Laird disnae seem inclined to marry and have more bairns. Not yet, anyway, for he’s always so busy with clan business.
“But he’s young and braw, so we’re always hopeful he’ll find a wife in time.” She ended on a more optimistic note that told Daisy that the “young and braw” Laird Murdoch was both feared and respected by his subjects, as was right and proper.
“I see the child wishes the Laird would spend more time with her. Is he really so busy?” Daisy asked, puzzled, since the man seemed to dote on his daughter so much.
“That’s a hard one to answer. If I tell ye me thoughts, will ye swear not to repeat them to anyone?” the servant asked, suddenly gripped by anxiety.
“I swear it.”
“Well, he loves the bairn, anyone with eyes can see that. But I’ve noticed that as she’s grown older, it’s like he’s put a distance between them. He comes less and less to see her, and sometimes, when he does, I’ve seen him look away from her as if it hurts him to lay his eyes upon her face.” Poppy shook her head. “But I dinnae ken because it should be so. He hardly speaks to me, and I wouldnae ever have the guts to talk to him about it. Of course, she senses something’s amiss, and ye can see plainly that it pains her.”
“I see. That’s curious, indeed,” Daisy replied, the information irking her.
The child needed her father, whom she clearly adored, not knowing what a monster he really was. But perhaps that was part of it—his love only went so far.
Time passed slowly as the evening drew on. Elodie slept seemingly peacefully, to Daisy’s relief. It appeared her pain could be soothed or lessened with the right preparation. But it would not be until the morning, when Daisy could see how the medicine had affected Elodie’s general condition overnight, that clues might be offered up as to the cause of the illness.
As the lamps burned low, Poppy sat in her chair next to the bed, knitting. Daisy continued her anxious vigil over the poorly child, mentally weighing the endless stream of possibilities running through her mind as to the nature of her affliction. And wondering what would happen to her if she could not find a cure.
5
“Iken ye dinnae agree, Bellamy, but I cannae help thinking the councilmen would calm down a little and accept yer manner of bringing the healer here if ye told them the truth about Bridie,” Jamie was saying as he and the Laird stood practically toe to toe before the hearth, in the Laird’s study.
