The storm swirled around him, the darkness pierced by bursts of lightning as Finn rode back alone. It was long after midnight when he finally reached Helmsdale.
“GiveCeòa good brushing and extra oats,” he said as he threw the reins to the stable lad, then he patted his horse’s shoulder. “Ye did well,mo caraid.”My friend.
He rushed inside and ran up the stairs. As he started past his uncle and aunt’s chamber, he saw Margaret curled up in a chair beside the bed and drew his first easy breath since he’d left her.
She must have sensed his presence, for she turned toward the doorway where he stood muddy and dripping wet. Her eyes went wide, and then she surprised him by leaping to her feet and throwing her arms around him. Praise God she was safe. He closed his eyes and held her for a long moment before either of them spoke.
“I’ve been so worried about you,” she said against his chest.
That was so like her to fret over him when she ought to be angry that he’d left her alone with his ailing relatives—and with a murderer on the loose.
“I see ye didn’t follow my instructions to lock yourself in with Ella and Una,” he said, leaning back to look into her face.
“I wanted to do what I could for your aunt and uncle,” she said. “I’m afraid they’re not doing well.”
He turned his gaze to the couple on the bed.Oh, God,they did look bad.
“Thankfully, the pain seems to have eased, and they’ve gone to sleep,” Margaret said. “Is Alex safe?”
“Aye, he is, but let’s talk upstairs,” he said. “Ye need your rest. Let the maids take care of them for a few hours.”
Margaret woke one of the maids who was sleeping on a pallet on the floor and whispered instructions to her.
“There’s no doubt it was poison?” Finn asked as they climbed the stairs.
“Una is certain, and your aunt and uncle show all the signs,” Margaret said.
“Any notion how it was done?” he asked.
“The men fed what was left of the supper to the dogs, hoping to find out which food or drink contained the poison,” she said, wrinkling her nose in disapproval, “but none of the dogs became ill.”
“Then either my aunt and uncle consumed all of whatever food was poisoned,” he said, “or someone got rid of what was left.”
“One of the servants—a man who helped serve our supper—has gone missing,” Margaret said.
“Damn it,” Finn said. “When Alex and I left, I told the men at the gate not to let anyone else leave.”
“He was probably already gone by then,” she said. “The hall was in chaos after the earl began shouting that he’d been poisoned. The culprit could have easily disappeared in the confusion.”
“I expect this missing servant was bribed to do the deed,” he said. “But I’d wager someone else is behind it, someone with a good deal more to gain than a piece of gold.”
“Who do ye suspect?” she asked.
That depended on whether the motive was vengeance or gain. Either way, there was no shortage of possibilities.
“I don’t know, but I intend to find out,” he said. “In the morning, I’ll question everyone in the castle.”
When they reached their chamber, Finn took off his cloak and hung it on a peg on the back of the door. He wondered if Margaret would leave now to sleep with Una and Ella.
“You’re soaked through,” Margaret said. “Let me help you out of those wet clothes and find ye a dry shirt to wear.”
If Margaret were a different woman, he might think this was an excuse to get his clothes off. Alas, thoughtful Margaret just wanted him warm and dry before she left him for the night.
After he donned the dry shirt, she sat him on the stool and stood behind him to dry the rain out of his hair. Humming softly, she rubbed his head with a cloth, then combed his hair.
He did not fool himself that any of this meant she had changed her mind about leaving him. It was just Margaret’s kind nature that made her want to comfort him after the tragedy that struck his family. Kindness, however, was not what he needed to soothe his troubled soul tonight.
He wanted to get lost in fiery passion, to bury himself inside her until he forgot himself, forgot that his aunt and uncle lay dying, forgot his terror that Margaret might be murdered while he rode through the storm—and forgot that she would leave him.