Page 40 of Highlander's Captive Bride
“It’s over. She’ll sleep now ‘til morning,” she said, hearing Poppy burst into a fresh bout of tears, this time, no doubt, from relief. “Watch her, Poppy, and send for me if she wakes up. I need to speak to the Laird in private.”
“All right,” Poppy choked out, wiping her tear-stained face on her apron and coming to sit in her chair.
Bellamy was silent now, rocking the small body gently as if Elodie was a baby. Daisy once more placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. “I must speak with ye urgently,” she told him in a hushed tone. “She’ll be all right with Poppy.”
With obvious reluctance, he finally relinquished his hold on Elodie, laying her gently down on the bed and pulling the coverlet tenderly over her. Poppy took the child’s hand, while Daisy grasped his.
“Come.”
Bellamy stood and allowed her to lead him out of the room, his head down, dashing away the tears that had escaped with his free hand. Daisy led him down the hallway and into her moonlit room, shutting the door firmly behind them.
She pulled him gently over to her bed and pushed him down to sit on the edge. He sat silently, his hands hanging limply between his knees, while she went and lit a lamp. Soon, the room filled with a warm glow. Daisy then returned to the bed and sat down beside him.
She gave him a few moments to collect himself, knowing it was hard for him to let her see him so vulnerable. At last, he raised his head and looked at her, his shining eyes glowing dark gray in the lamplight.
“I ken what’s wrong with Elodie,” Daisy said in a firm voice, holding his gaze.
In an instant, he was alert, turning his body towards her and gripping her upper arms. “Ye ken?” he gasped, his eyes wide. “What? What is it? Tell me!” he demanded, shaking her.
“She’s being poisoned,” she stated bluntly.
His mouth fell open, and he stared at her, a look of complete and utter shock on his face. “What?”
“I said, she’s being poisoned,” Daisy repeated, understanding his disbelief. “I ken,” she said, shaking her head. “I can hardly believe it meself.”
“Poisoned? Ye’re sure?”
She nodded emphatically. “Aye. I’m absolutely sure.”
“How? How can ye be so sure?” Bellamy questioned, gripping her arms so tightly that it was beginning to hurt.
Daisy placed her hands over his and gently peeled them away. He did not protest or even appear to notice.
“It was the convulsions. Ye see, I’ve never seen her so bad before, so that’s why I couldnae tell what it was. But tonight, when I saw the way she moved during the seizure—the jerking, the drawing back of the lips—it all fell into place along with the other symptoms,” she explained.
“She must have been given a bigger dose than usual sometime this evening. Someone has been drip-feeding her poison in small amounts these past weeks, putting it in her food and drink over time. This time, they nearly killed her.”
Bellamy sprang up from the bed and began pacing, one balled fist smashing repeatedly into his palm. The expression on his face was truly frightening, even more frightening than when he had slaughtered her escort and stood over her dripping with blood.
“I think it’s belladonna. In tiny amounts, it causes sickness, stomach cramps, fever, and so on. In larger amounts, it causes these types of extreme convulsions and, eventually, if untreated, death,” Daisy continued.
“Belladonna? That’s deadly nightshade, is it nae?” Bellamy asked, briefly pausing in his pacing to look at her.
“Aye. It’s very easily obtained.”
Bellamy resumed his pacing, and a heavy silence reigned for a few minutes.
“But who? And why? Who would do such an evil thing to a wee lass like Elodie? It must be someone close. Someone who has easy access to her. It could be Poppy.”
Daisy was immediately skeptical. “Nay, Bellamy, Poppy’s been with Elodie for years. She is like a big sister to her. I cannae believe she’d ever do anything to hurt her.”
“Hmm,” Bellamy said. “I suppose so.”
“What about Nadia? She’s in and out of Elodie’s chambers all the time. It would be easy for her to tamper with her food and drink,” Daisy suggested, though she found that hard to believe, too.
This time, it was Bellamy who rejected the suggestion. He shook his head vigorously.
“Well, I’m sorry to say it, but she is a McGowan, so ye could say she has a motive,” Daisy pointed out.
