Margaret thought she had escaped Isabel, but a short time later, Finn’s mother came up the stairs from the undercroft where the kitchens and storerooms were.
“I hope the men are back from their hunt soon,” Isabel said. “The cook has made a stew with that lamb that fell into one of the ravines, and it smells delicious.”
Margaret was surprised by Isabel’s cheerful tone. Good heavens, the woman even smiled at her. Rather than being pleased that Finn’s mother was pleasant for once, her unusual behavior made Margaret uneasy. Margaret could never like the woman because of the way she treated Finn. Perhaps she was being uncharitable, but she did not trust her either.
“Ah, here they are now,” Helen said when loud, boisterous male voices reached them from outside.
“They’ll be hungry after being out in this weather all day,” Isabel said. “I’ll tell the servants to get ready to serve the meal.”
Honestly, the woman was so high-handed. It was Helen’s place to direct the servants when to serve the meal.
Margaret set her needlework aside and stood to watch for Finn as the hunting party entered the hall in twos and threes. The men had obviously been drinking to stave off the cold. If their hunting was half as successful as their drinking, there would be meat for the household for weeks.
When the door closed behind the last man, Margaret asked him where Finn was.
“He and Alex were still stalking that stag,” he said. “’Twas near dark and we were starving, so we left them to it.”
“You left them?” she asked.
“Ach, you’ve no cause to worry,” the man said. “Finn knows what he’s about. The lad is safe with him.”
It wasn’t the lad she was thinking of. But he was right. Finn knew what he was doing and would not put his cousin at risk.
“’Tis just like Finn to inconvenience everyone by arriving late,” Isabel snapped. “Bearach would never be so inconsiderate.”
Margaret bit back a reply. Since the men were hungry, Helen ordered the meal served without waiting for Finn and Alex. The earl and Helen sat at one end, as usual, with an empty seat for Alex, while Margaret found herself stuck alone with Finn’s parents and Curstag at the other end.
She was distracted through supper, watching the door. As the meal dragged on, she could hear a storm brewing outside and began to worry.
“What’s happened to those two?” Isabel asked. “They should have been back long before this.”
Isabel seemed truly anxious about Finn. Perhaps she did love him in her own way. He was a son Isabel ought to be proud of. More than his superficial charms, of which there were many, he had a good heart. And yet his parents and brother did not recognize his worth.
No matter if she stayed or left, she needed to tell Finn how she felt. Given how little his family thought of him, she did not want him to think she did not care. The problem was she cared too much.
Her gaze went to the door yet again, but her attention was jerked back to the table when the earl abruptly stood up in the midst of the meal.
“Poison!” he shouted, his voice filled with rage. “I’ve been poisoned!”
The earl gripped the tablecloth as he swayed on his feet, sending cups and crockery clattering to the floor. Margaret was out of her seat and reached him first. She held his elbow and tried to steady him.
“Let’s get ye to your bed,” she said in a soothing voice, and prayed the earl was wrong about being poisoned.
“Which of my enemies did this?” The earl’s eyes were wild, and he clutched at his throat as he demanded, “Who here is the traitor who helped them?”
Margaret’s gaze followed his as it traveled down the table and back again, where it came to a halt on his wife. Helen’s skin had gone pale and glistened with a sheen of sweat.
Poisoned.Margaret now feared it was true. Her mother had told them a hundred times every detail of her sisters’ deaths. All three sisters were poisoned to ensure the death of the one the king wished to marry against the advice and interests of his powerful nobles. Her own mother only escaped their fate because she missed breakfast.
“Quick, help me!” Margaret shouted when everyone else was still staring at the earl in shock. “The earl and his wife must be taken upstairs and purged at once!”
Her plea spurred his guards into action. They lifted the earl, but when they started to carry him off to his bedchamber, he grasped Margaret’s arm.
“My son. Warn my son.” His fingers were like iron claws digging into her arm as he pulled her close and gasped in her ear. “He’s in danger!”
“God help us,” she whispered. “Ye believe the poison was meant for Alex as well?”
“Of course,” the earl said, his breathing harsh. “Don’t let Alex touch any food or drink here. Finn must take him away to Dunrobin!”