Page 37 of Highland Guard

Nicolas laughed. “Weel, ye could choose to look at it that way. Nay, she was but the tool and ’tis the one who wields the tool that has the skill.”

“True enough. ’Tis good news to have that weakness ended.” He paused at the door. “It will be hard on the people here when she is judged and punished for the murder of their laird.”

Opening the door for him, Nicolas said, “For her close kin, aye, it will be verra hard indeed. For the rest? I dinnae think so. I was lucky to get her out of that kitchen alive once the women kenned why I was taking her.”

“Poor Nicolas stuck in a kitchen with angry women and a lot of knives. Aye, ye are lucky.”

Harcourt moved as fast as he dared and reached the door to Annys’s bedchamber just as it opened and Joan stepped out. Two young maids slipped around the woman, gave him a brief curtsey, and hurried away. He almost stepped back a little when he saw the anger on the woman’s face.

“Nicolas should have let the women in the kitchens have Biddy,” Joan said before striding off down the hall.

Shaking his head, Harcourt decided Nicolas was right. There would be few tears shed for Biddy when she met her fate. He stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. Annys lay on her bed in her linen night dress, salve smeared on several scrapes and bruises on her arms and legs, and a tightly bandaged ankle and foot resting on top of several cushions.

Relief swept over him. He had been told she was not badly hurt, but now knew he had had to see that for himself before his concern eased. It all looked a bit painful but he knew her injuries were all small ones that would heal quickly. Soon only the bruises would linger as they would take a longer time to fade. He gently lowered himself to sit down on the side of her bed, smiling when she looked at him.

“We are a fine pair,” he said.

“At least I didnae have to be sewn back together.”

Harcourt laughed. “True.” He glanced at her ankle. “I think your bandage is bigger than mine was though.”

Annys looked down at her ankle, her toes the only part of her ankle and foot that were still showing. “I havenae any idea why Joan did all that. Her husband fell a lot, ye ken. It was all part of the illness that finally killed him, and he was always twisting his ankles when he went down. Joan kept trying new ways to help the wrench heal and swears this way is the one that worked the best. She near to froze my foot off with cold water right from the burn, smeared handfuls of salve on it, wrapped it up so tight I cannae e’en wiggle my toes and it throbs, and stuck it up on these cushions.” She shrugged and then said, “It had best work or I shall ne’er let her hear the end of it.”

“I think I would trust her to ken best in this matter.” He frowned when her expression abruptly changed until she looked as if she was about to cry. “What is wrong, sweet?” he asked, taking her hand in his.

“I am certain Nicolas told ye all about Biddy.”

“Ah, aye, he did.”

“I just cannae understand why she would do such horrible things.”

“Mayhap she loved the mon she was trysting with.”

“She was trysting with Clyde.” She nodded when his eyes widened in surprise.

“He has been coming that close to us all this time?”

“It would seem so. But, I thought on how she did it all out of love, e’en though I couldnae see how she could love such a mon. E’en if she did, that still doesnae excuse her. Something inside of her should have been appalled by the things he was asking her to do. Mayhap nay when her victim was an adult, though poisoning your laird, a mon who ne’er mistreated you, was vile. But then she helped them steal a child. They even talked about her trying again.”

“What did she say?”

“There was no refusal to hurt a bairn, but a lot of talk about how she wasnae sure she could get to him again. No more than that. And she did it all for greedy reasons. She believed Clyde would wed her, they would set Sir Adam in the laird’s chair, and, since he was Sir Adam’s second, Biddy would then be second only to the lady of the keep once Sir Adam married. Greed. Nay more than that.”

“Some people are incapable of seeing that what they have is good and always seek to get more.”

“Weel, all she will get is a hanging. At first I didnae think I could stomach doing it to one of our own, but then realized she has ne’er been one of us. Nay if she could do what she has done. Her next gift to her lover was to be the opening of any bolt-hole in the keep, any way he and some of his men could slip in and attack us from behind.”

“We could have been slaughtered.”

“I ken it and she ne’er e’en gave that a thought. I am sad only because I now ken that e’en in the best of places, e’en if ye treat a person kindly and fairly, they can still betray you.”

By the time she was finished speaking her eyes were closing and Harcourt knew she needed to rest. He kissed her gently and left her. It was time to talk to Biddy. It might be a good thing to leave her sitting in a cell for a while so that her fear of what was going to happen to her built. Then he shook his head. That could still be done, but he would ask at least a few questions now. He went to find Nicolas.

“Ye have made a terrible mistake,” cried Biddy.

“Nay, I think not,” said Harcourt, nodding his thanks to Nicolas who brought him a stool to sit down on. “Ye didnae have a verra good disguise, Biddy. Lady Annys had already seen ye once and kenned the gown ye were wearing. Ye also bared your head and face when ye met your lover.”

“Is she going to be in here for verra long?” asked their other prisoner.