Chapter 31
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
He took the heat with him when he stepped back from her.
Beatrice was suddenly cold and shaking, where only moments ago, she felt as if she was going to melt.
What is he doin' to me? He must mean to drive me mad.
She snatched up her shawl from the ground and pulled it over her shoulders in an attempt to bring back some warmth into her body.
A tingling sensation pricked at her arms and chest, then her body tightened, as if all her muscles were locking up, threatening never to relax.
Her lungs weren’t working; her voice was trapped in her throat. She tried to call after Leo, but not a single sound escaped her mouth.
Leo, please. I need ye.
With immense effort, she dragged in enough air to shout, “Leo!”
He turned back to her just in time to see her collapse to the ground, convulsing and pale. In an instant, he was by her side, his eyes scanning their surroundings for an assailant.
“Beatrice… Keep calm, lass.”
Beatrice curled around herself. She shook and seized, her jaw clenching so hard she thought her teeth were going to shatter. Leo tore her shawl off her and brought it to his face, sniffing it. He gagged at the smell and threw it over the railing.
“Arsenic.”
Beatrice tried to open her mouth to speak, but it would not obey her. The anxious concern on Leo’s face heightened her terror.
I’m goin' to die. Nay. Please, God, daenae let me die.
Her vision was fading, the world going dark around the edges. The last thing she remembered before she slipped into oblivion was Leo scooping her up in his arms and rushing her back into the castle.
“Ye were right, me Laird,” the healer said as she bent over Beatrice’s fragile form. “She’s been poisoned.”
“Will she live?” Leo asked.
The healer cocked her head, working diligently to draw blood from Beatrice’s arm. “I cannae say just yet. She is strong, which works in her favor.”
God, she already looks dead.
The guests had been ordered to leave immediately; only the servants and Leo’s family were permitted to stay. Despite that, Leo stayed by Beatrice’s bedside, holding vigil. Effie joined him that long first night, climbing into bed next to Beatrice and speaking in a soothing tone.
“She’ll be all right, Leo,” Violet assured him.
“When I find who did this…” He could not finish.
Violet rested a hand on his shoulder and gave it a firm squeeze.
Nobody doubts what I would do.
One by one, the servants were brought into the chamber for questioning. Leo was too worried to leave Beatrice alone, so he sat in front of the hearth as each servant swore their innocence, all while Effie observed with the pensive expression of a shaken child.
When Tyler presented himself for the interrogation, Leo dismissed him outright. “If there is a man I trust with me life, it’s ye.”
“I’m relieved to hear that, me Laird.” Tyler cast a glance at Beatrice’s pallid face. “Shall I bring in yer cousin?”
“Allistair?”
“Aye, me Laird. For questionin'.”
Leo inhaled through his nose and let out a long stream of air through his mouth. He nodded, and Tyler left without a word.
Moments later, Allistair entered the chambers, his hands folded in front of him and creases lining his brow.
“Leo, how is she doin'?” He flashed a smile at Effie. “She looks better this mornin'.”
“She’ll live,” Leo grunted.
“We’ll find whoever did this,” Allistair promised. “An attack against her is an attack against the whole clan. It willnae be forgotten.”
“Ye can be on yer way, Cousin.”
There was no point in asking anything of him, whether Leo believed him or not. Everyone was a suspect for now.
He sat on the edge of the bed as Effie braided the loose strands of Beatrice’s hair. Her resilience astonished him.
“She’ll be happy that ye did that for her,” he said, and she nodded.
They let the silence settle between them, listening to Beatrice’s breathing and hoping it would get stronger.
It was hard to keep Effie away from Beatrice’s bedside, which concerned Leo almost as much as the traitor in their midst. He could see the tight worry on the girl’s little face and how she thought that Beatrice would die if she left her alone.
“I’ll stay with her, Effie,” Eloise said, pulling her into a hug. “Beatrice willnae be left alone for a single moment, I promise ye this.”
“But will ye stay with her all night?” Effie asked. Eloise nodded. She and Leo exchanged glances.
After Shona put Effie to bed, Leo crept back into Beatrice’s chambers to see Eloise and Violet both sitting up with her. Eloise was sitting next to her on the bed, a book open between the two of them. She was reading out loud, as if Beatrice could hear her.
“Do ye think that’s helpin’, Eloise?” he asked.
Violet waved her hand at him. “Let her be, Leo.”
“I think she can hear me,” Eloise said. “If nae, it’s somethin' for me to do to keep me mind off of it.”
Keep yer mind off of it. Off of Beatrice sweatin’ and shiverin’ in bed, poisoned by some snake I’ve let into me garden.
“We’re happy to stay with her if ye need to get some sleep,” Violet offered.
Leo took a seat by the window, shaking his head at her suggestion. Sleep wasn’t coming easily to him at the moment, as it was.
I might as well stay awake.
“Do ye think the poison was actually meant for her, Leo?” Violet asked, lowering her voice as if trying to make sure Eloise didn’t hear her. “Maybe it was meant for ye.”
“Whoever did it soaked her shawl in arsenic. They kent who they were targetin'.”
“But who would want to do this to her?”
It wasn’t really a question. At least not one that Violet expected a solid answer to. She was watching Eloise on the bed, reading to her pale, unmoving cousin, watching the worry and anxiety that came with the failing health of a loved one.
But the culprit remained a mystery. Leo’s first thought had been Patrick, though he figured that unlikely. Men like him didn’t plan and plot and soak shawls in poison to render their daughters nearly lifeless. Men like him struck out like blind snakes, snapping at whatever came into their path.
“She’s strong, Leo,” Eloise rasped, her teary eyes never leaving Beatrice’s pallid face. “She willnae go easily.” Her hands brushed a curl of auburn hair from Beatrice’s forehead. “She’s never been one to do so.”
Leo shook his head. “Let’s nae speak about that.”
It was awful enough without considering what might have happened. All of that had run through his mind the second the healer confirmed his suspicions. There were so many people celebrating, so many people placing gifts on the table and shifting the boxes around.
“She’s makin' noise,” Eloise gasped suddenly. She closed the book and sat up on her knees to stare down at Beatrice’s still face. “I heard it. It was just a groan, but I heard it.”
Violet reached down and took Leo’s hand in her own, letting out a quiet sigh of relief. “She’ll be all right, Leo. She’s going to be just fine when she wakes up. Ye’ll see.”
Aye, she will be. But whoever did this to her is going to suffer for it.