Page 41 of Highlander's Captive Bride
“But Nadia’s been livin’ with us for years. If she wanted to hurt Elodie, she could have done it long before now. Nay, it disnae make sense for it to be Nadia,” he said decisively.
“But who else? One of the servants, perhaps?” she suggested, at a loss.
“Aye, it could well be, or someone else within the castle. But whoever it is, ’tis someone who hates me. ’Tis someone who knows what she means to me and that making her suffer is like torture to me… the bastard,” he added, his fists clenching in anger.
“That seems the likeliest explanation,” Daisy agreed, having come to that conclusion herself already.
“When I find out who’s been doing it, I’ll make sure they die slowly by a thousand cuts from me hand. I’ll stick them like a pig and enjoy every second. I’ll make them beg for me to kill them,” Bellamy growled, running his hands distractedly through his hair as he ceased his pacing and sat down on the bed again, dropping his head in his hands.
Daisy had no doubt he would do all of those things, and she completely understood his bloodcurdling threats.
“What kind of creature could be so evil as to deliberately make a wee child go through so much pain, just to settle a score with her faither? It’s wickedness beyond anything I’ve ever heard,” she said. “I can only thank God that I realized it in time. I dinnae ken how much longer I could have staved off the cumulative effects,” she admitted.
Suddenly feeling in need of a strong drink, she got up and crossed the room to a cabinet and pulled out a corked, stone bottle containing the fortifying wine she used for patients in shock. She poured two beakers and brought them back to the bed, then she handed one to Bellamy and sat down next to him.
He immediately downed the wine and held the beaker out for more. Daisy gave him hers and fetched the bottle back, pouring more wine into the empty beaker for herself. The second draught he swallowed more slowly, and she could almost hear the cogs in his mind whirring as he planned what he was going to do about what he had learned.
After a long silence, she got up and turned to face him. “So, now that I’ve diagnosed the cause of the lassie’s illness, it’s time for ye to keep up yer end of the bargain and let me go home,” she told him, buoyed by relief for Elodie and hope for Violet as she contemplated her imminent release.
“Nay,” he said bluntly, shaking his head.
12
Daisy’s mouth fell open in shock. She could not quite believe her ears. She stared at him. “What did ye say?”
“I said nay. I’m sorry, but I cannae let ye leave just yet,” he insisted.
Rage replaced the hope that had briefly flared in her breast at the thought of being able to tend to Violet at last.
“But ye promised. That was our bargain. I’d find out the cause, and ye would let me go. Ye suggested the terms yerself,” Daisy argued, raising her voice.
Again, Bellamy shook his head, more vehemently this time. “I cannae, I tell ye. Dinnae ask me again.”
Daisy shook with anger. Her hands itched to hit him, for the man did not even seem at all apologetic for not doing what he had promised her he would do.
“Well, I ken ye’re a lot of things, Bellamy Kane, but I never thought ye a man who wouldnae keep his word!” she shouted, stomping her feet, ready to lunge at him.
“I’m sorry, Daisy, I really am,” he told her, his voice choked with emotion. He caught her wrists and held them, standing up.
“Ach, I suppose ye’re goin’ to lock me up again, are ye, and keep me here as yer prisoner for as long as it suits ye,” Daisy spat out, almost hysterical with frustration.
“Nay, nay, of course nae. But listen, will ye?”
“Why should I listen to a man who breaks his word?!” She struggled to free her wrists, but he tightened his grip on her, his face inches from hers.
“I need ye, that’s why. Look, I want to let ye go. I hate to break me word, but do ye nae see why ye must stay?”
“Nay. I dinnae see it at all. I just see a liar!”
“I havenae lied to ye, I promise ye. I need ye to stay for just a little longer. I’m begging ye to stay. Without ye, Daisy, I willnae be able to find out who’s been poisoning Elodie.”
Daisy stopped struggling as his words sank in. Her fury abated as she realized the truth of his words.
“Explain,” she said, more calmly.
“We need to pretend Elodie is still ill—at death’s door if ye like. That way, it’ll lull the culprit into a false sense of security. They’ll think they’re succeeding, but in reality, we’ll be fooling them, luring them into revealing themselves,” he told her earnestly, finally letting her go.
Daisy paced for a few moments, considering what he was suggesting, finally reaching a decision she hoped she would not regret.
