Claimed By A Charmer (The Pith Trilogy) (23 page)

Candace’s wedding was a month away,
and still no word came from Wills. Isabel couldn’t do anything to cheer her. Two
months passed, and yet he hadn’t returned as promised. Douglas sent a messenger
to the MacIver clan. Word was sent back that Wills went hunting with his
father, but they hadn’t returned.

Isabel saw Douglas holding the
missive, and he approached the table where the ladies were having their morning
fare. “Any news?” After relaying the missive, Douglas sat next to her and gave
her a telling glance of concern.

“Candace, I told ye not to worry. Wills
went hunting with his father. He’ll be here soon.”

Candace’s face turned white, and
she wept. She wouldn’t listen to reason.

“Are you crying because you’re
relieved?” Douglas asked.

“Nay, I know something is wrong. I
feel it. Don’t ask me how I know, but I do.”

Douglas grimaced. “If he doesn’t
come within a fortnight, I’ll go to his clan. Will that make you feel better?”

Isabel knew that he’d grown
frustrated at her pleas to find him.

Candace nodded. “Aye, but after a
sennight.”

Isabel suggested to him that
Candace had premarital worries, and she’d dismissed her anxiety. She had to do
something to get her mind off Wills. Candace had been quiet these last few
weeks, and she worried for her.

That reminded her. “Candace, I need
to see your mother. Why don’t you come with me?”

Candace nodded, and they went to
her mother’s solar. Lady Kerr was cutting a warrior’s hair, and the man made
such a fuss, she could hear his complaints through the door.

“Lad, it won’t kill ye. Stay
still.”

When they sat on the window
enclosure, the soldier took the opportunity to flee.

“Come back here.” Lady Kerr yelled
at the closed door. “That’s the second man to run from me this morn. Mayhap I’m
not as good at this as I thought.”

Isabel laughed, and Candace quietly
strode through the chamber.

“Lady Kerr, I like the way you cut
Gil’s hair. He looks much more handsome.”

“Hah, he had to be tied down for me
to even get an inch near his hair. I thought he’d cry when he saw the few hairs
that littered the floor.”

Candace smiled. “You know how
warriors are, Mother. They like their hair long. I’ve no idea why.”

Lady Kerr said, “They follow their
ancestors, thinking they’ll lose their strength if their hair gets cut.”

Isabel laughed. “That sounds like a
story I’ve heard. Whatever you do, don’t cut Douglas’. I like his hair fine as
it is.”

“Well now, that’s good to hear. Stop
calling me Lady Kerr. I want you to call me Shelagh.”

“It sounds funny, calling you that.
I’d rather call you mother.” Isabel moved closer to Candace, taking her hand. “You
wouldn’t mind, would you, Candace?”

“Not at all. I would love for you
to call my mother, mother.”

“Aye, that would be lovely. If I
hear you call me Lady Kerr again, I’ll send you to your chamber.” She raised
her eyebrows, and truly meant it.

Both Isabel and Candace had a fit
of laughter over that.

“What are you doing here? I would
think you would be off harassing the stable lads again.”

“We said we were sorry for that,
Mother. We didn’t mean to release the horses from the pen. They were sneaky
devils. Isabel has something to ask ye.”

“I said I wanted to see your
mother.”

“Are you and Douglas doing well?”

Isabel blushed. “What do you mean?”

“Have you told him you love him?”

Isabel sighed. “Aye, but I don’t
think he believed me.”

“Why not?” Candace asked.

“He dismissed it, and I haven’t
repeated it since. There must be a way to prove it to him. I need to show him
how much—”

Shelagh gasped. “I know a way, but
you might think it absurd.”

“I’ll do anything you suggest,
Mother.” A tear gathered in the corner of her eye, saying that name and Lady
Kerr sighed.

“Anything?”

Isabel nodded.

Candace walked to the door. “I’m
going to talk to Douglas again about going to find Wills. Mayhap I can get him
to leave sooner.”

Isabel nodded to her, and she
thought she should go after her, since she’d been acting strangely. Douglas
would reassure her about Wills’ safety.

Instead of chasing after her,
Isabel sat next to Shelagh. “What did you have in mind?”

“When I wanted to show Thomas how
much I cared for him, I had Athol scribe our clan’s symbol on my back.”

“You did? What is it?”

“A boar. I’ve never seen it, but
Thomas would laugh every time he did. He always said he knew I loved him to
have done such a thing. I asked him to bring me a looking glass, but he
wouldn’t. He said it would upset me.” She laughed. “When I finally did see it,
I almost cried.”

Isabel couldn’t help but laugh,
too. “May I see it?”

Shelagh lowered the back of her
gown enough to reveal the figure. Isabel moved forward. It was indeed a boar
and ugly as sin. She chuckled. “How is this done? Is Athol still performing the
art?”

“I’m afraid Athol died years ago. His
son, Lowrie, is capable of doing an etching. Do you want me to arrange it?”

“Does it hurt?”

“Not really. At least I didn’t
think so.”

“I’ll do it.”

Shelagh clapped her hands and ran to
her door, calling for Helena. “Fetch Lowrie, and tell him it’s urgent.”

Helena waved to Isabel before she
left the chamber. As she and Shelagh waited for Lowrie, they cleaned up the
hair clippings on the floor and straightened the chamber. A knock came a while
later, and they both ran to answer it.

Lowrie arrived. “Milady, Helena said
ye wanted to see me?”

“Come inside.” Shelagh waited for
him to enter then closed the door.

Isabel saw him eying the door. From
his expression, she could tell he felt trapped. He pushed his dark-brown hair
nervously out of his eyes, and looked at them pleadingly.

“I don’t need my hairs clipped,
Milady. The men went to the training field, when they heard you were at your
clipping.”

Shelagh laughed. “Fear not, I have
put the shears away. I must have your word to keep this secret. What I shall
ask cannot be spoken of outside of this chamber.”

“Aye, Milady, I won’t tell a soul. What
do you want, another etching?” He laughed at the jest, and waited for her to
respond, but both of them stared at him. “Milady, ye jest?”

“Never so, Lowrie. Lady Isabel
would like to have a boar etched on her back, like mine.”

“Milady, I can’t do that. She’s the
laird’s wife. He’ll banish me, mayhap even kill me.”

Shelagh laughed. “We’ll not let him
do that, Lowrie. Now get your instruments.”

“Lowrie, I really need you to do
this. It’s uh … a tradition. I’m continuing a family tradition. You want to be
part of it, don’t ye?” Lowering his head, he didn’t respond. “Then I’ll have to
command you as your laird’s wife to do it.” Isabel kept her voice serious. He
nodded and left to get his tools.

Lowrie returned within minutes and
set up his instruments. “Milady, this may hurt. I really don’t want to hurt ye.
My laird is going to kill me when he gets wind of this.”

“I’m not weak-hearted. Get on with
it, will you?” Isabel tried not to be afraid.

She lay on a bench, and Shelagh
adjusted her gown enough so he could have access to the place where she wanted
it inscribed. He took out his woed leaves, ground them until they turned into a
pasty liquid, and added a few drops of water. He dipped a sharpened quill in
the small pot of inky substance, and began poking her with it.

“This isn’t so bad, Lowrie. It
doesn’t hurt at all.”

Lowrie nodded, keeping at his task.
Shelagh leaned to see what he was doing.

“It will look much better than
mine, Isabel. Lowrie has more talent than his father. But you know, now that I
think on it, I believe Athol did it on purpose, and made the boar look hideous
so Thomas would laugh at it.”

“I want it to look better than
Shelagh’s, Lowrie. Don’t be thinking to pull a prank like your father.”

“Aye, Milady. ‘Twill be my best
work.” Lowrie kept moving the quill at an amazing speed. “You’ll have to keep
it covered for a week or so, until it heals, Milady.”

Isabel lay still while he plied the
sharp quill to her back. Every time she glanced at Shelagh, she saw her
smiling, so she wasn’t concerned. She wondered how Douglas would react, and
hoped he would know the extent of her love, but she wouldn’t show him until the
timing was right.

If anything Douglas would laugh,
and mayhap he would tell her how much he loved her. Isabel wouldn’t give up
hope that she’d touched his heart, even in some small way.

Douglas rose in the predawn hour to
go on his, hopefully, short trek. He didn’t want to be away from Isabel for
long. What with the strange happenings and the fact that the traitor was inside
his keep, he felt unsure about leaving. The warm body in the bed beckoned him. As
he dressed, he watched her. He pulled on his boots and sheathed his sword, then
walked to her side. His hand smoothed her hair, and he leaned to kiss her
cheek. He noticed the bandage on her back and had meant to ask about it.

Isabel awoke when his lips touched
hers. “You’re leaving?” She started to sit up, but he pressed her back.

“Aye, it shouldn’t take long to
track down Wills.”

“Hurry back.”

Douglas kissed her again. Her mouth
was so warm and inviting. He didn’t want to pull away, but forced himself to. If
he continued kissing her, he’d never leave. He would be in the bed loving his wife
as he craved to, but he drew himself away and strode to the door.

He met his men at the gate and rode
for MacIver land. They reached the forest near the McFie border when Douglas
heard riders nearby. He held his arm up, halting his band of men, spotting the
colors of the McFie tartan. Ellic joined him as he rode toward MacIver land, twenty
men accompanied him.

“Douglas, I was headed to your
keep. Where are you going?”

“I am going to find Wills. What’s
amiss?”

“I saw Brendan on his way to the
border. He told me what happened to you. I was coming to see if there was
anything I could do to help.”

“I’m well enough now. Aye, I was
struck by an arrow in your wood. One of my men, Phillip, attacked my wife. He’ll
lead me to my foe, I’ve no doubt.”

“Your wife? Ye got married,
Douglas?”

“Aye, and if it wasn’t for all this
cosh, I’d be a very happy man.”

“Who would want to do ye in?”

Douglas’ eyebrows furrowed. “Whoever
it is, he’s causing much dissension.”

“I’ll ride along with you.”

The day passed and they kept riding
through the night. When they reached the keep of the MacIvers, Douglas sensed
doom. “Laird Kerr, here to see Wills,” he announced at the gate.

“Aye, Laird Kerr, you may enter.” Douglas
rode through the gate, and his men followed him into the lower courtyard. None
of the clans people milled around as was typical this time of day. He, Gil, and
Ellic entered the keep, and found Lady MacIver at a table. The lady didn’t look
well and seemed to have been crying.

She greeted them with a curtsey. “Laird
Kerr, Laird McFie, welcome.”

“I’ve come to see Wills. Candace is
worried for him.” Douglas saw the gloomy look on her face and he wondered why
she was upset. “Is this a bad time? You seem distraught.”

“Wills went missing, no one has
found him yet. I’m worried for him as well.”

“Missing? What happened, Milady?”
Ellic asked.

“My husband’s body was found
yesterday. He’s dead.”

“My condolences, Lady MacIver.” Douglas
leaned back against the chair. Laird MacIver was dead? Where the hell was
Wills? It didn’t bode well for their clan. He gave a concerned look to Ellic,
who seemed as disturbed by the news as he was.

Crisofer, the MacIver
commander-in-arms, marched inside the keep, but stopped when he saw them. He
approached the table. “I’m glad you’re here.” He turned toward Lady Elaine. “Milady,
I’ll see to them. I’ll let you know when we find Wills. Go and rest. I’ll send
your ladies to attend ye.”

She left the hall, and Douglas
could hear her crying.

“What happened? How did Laird
MacIver die? Did someone kill him? Where’s Wills?”

“Cosh, Douglas, one question at a
time,” Ellic said.

“I didn’t want Lady Elaine to
overhear. We can’t find Wills. He and his father have been missing a sennight. The
men camped after hunting most of the day. When they awoke, Laird MacIver and
Wills were gone. They thought they went to do some early hunting, but when they
didn’t return by nightfall, they returned here. I sent a search for them, and
the men came across my laird’s body yesterday.”

“How was he killed?” Ellic asked.

“Appears he was stuck in the chest
by a dagger.”

“A dagger? Not a sword?” Douglas
asked.

Cris shook his head. “Nay, ‘twas a
dagger.”

“Where did you find him?” Douglas
leaned forward, growing more agitated at the news.

“Our sentry found him by old Clem’s
place.”

“Do you deem Clem killed him?”

“I doubt it, Clem died years ago. I’m
disheartened because it appears Wills killed his da.”

“It does appear so. Why would he
kill him? They had good relations, didn’t they?”

“Laird MacIver was fond of Wills. ‘Tis
a mystery. I’m going on another search. I was about to leave when I saw your
men in the bailey.”

“We’ll assist in the search. My
sister was upset about his delay in returning, that’s why I’ve come. Now it
seems I should have listened. This is another strange occurrence, tacked onto
the many others.”

“What others?”

“I’ll fill you in on the ride.” Douglas
walked to the door. He was grim over the death of Laird MacIver, who was a fair
man and a good warrior. With Wills unable to defend himself, his guilt was
apparent. Why would he kill his da? It didn’t make sense.

Crisofer walked beside him. “When
my laird’s body was returned, I looked him over. It looked like he died from
loss of blood, och I found a strange substance on his tunic.”

“What do you deem it is?”

“Neither my laird, nor Wills would
use a substance. They abhor the use of medicinal spirits and herbs. Aye,
they’re superstitious.”

“Then it must have come from the
killer,” Douglas implied.

“Who knows? Bring me current on the
happenings.”

They rode through the portcullis
and continued the search. Douglas and Ellic’s men trailed behind. Short of the
horse’s footsteps, no sound could be heard. The men kept to their own vigilance
and didn’t speak.

Douglas rode beside Crisofer and
slowed his mount. “All these happening seem connected. First, my niece went
missing in Londontown.”

“Colin’s Bonnie?”

“Aye, then Ellic’s oxen were
slaughtered. On my return from his woods, I was struck with an arrow. My wife
was attacked in my own courtyard. Phillip Barrie was the culprit. I’m having
him watched. And now my sister’s intended is missing, his father killed. Faigh
muin.” Douglas became disgusted.

“Let us begin with Bonnie’s
disappearance. Has there been a request for ransom?”

“Nothing as far as I know. Colin
stayed in England to search for her.” Douglas trusted Crisofer. He motioned for
Gil to join them, because he knew his skill for solving riddles, and
investigating the unsolved was his forte. Clans allied to the Kerrs often
requested his aid in figuring out mysterious events. Gil, Cris, Ellic, and
Douglas rode side by side.

“Let us move onto the oxen. How
were they killed?”

Ellic turned. “It didn’t appear
they were dead at all. Seemed to be sleeping, they were. We approached
cautiously. I knew they were dead when I smelled them. I haven’t figured it
out. They were salted down, and placed in the shed for food.”

“Ellic, return home and put the
meat aside. Don’t let your clan eat it. It might be poisoned. I’ll come and ensure
‘tis safe, after we find Wills,” Gil told him.

“I didn’t think of that.” Ellic
turned his horse, motioning to his men. They rode off through the trees in the
direction of McFie land.

“Have you noticed anything
different about Wills lately, Douglas? He spent more time at your keep than
ours of late,” Cris asked.

“Come to think of it, Cris, he left
and returned so many times in the last few months.”

“Where’d he go?”

“He said he had clan matters to see
to. I thought it odd because he hadn’t traveled afar, he returned too quickly. I
meant to ask him about it, only he didn’t return this time.”

“Wills didn’t come home, until this
last visit. His father was happy that his wedding approached. Once he wed, he’d
be home more oft.”

“Then where did he go?” Gil put in.

“Not home, that is certain.” Douglas
frowned. “I wonder if Wills is my spy, too? Phillip tried to hurt Isabel, but I
believe he has a cohort, mayhap Wills. Someone has a grudge. I must find Wills.
As of now, he’s the only suspect in the killing of Laird MacIver. I hope Wills
is innocent. Candace cannot marry him until we prove it.”

“Nay, she can’t marry him now.” Gil
sneered.

“Come, let us find the man,” Cris
said.

They galloped away to do just that,
each pondering the mystery. The forest was quiet, too quiet. There was no sign
of Wills near old Clem’s cottage. Douglas asked Gil to search for clues. They
rode to where they found Laird MacIver’s body. As Gil looked at the ground, he
crouched down and began crawling. His silence attested that he concentrated on
every blade of grass. Douglas grew impatient.

“Did you find anything?”

“Appears there were three people
here. Besides Laird MacIver, there were two others. We can assume one was Wills,
but who was the other?”

“Good question, Gil. Is there a
trail?” Cris asked.

“Nay, looks like the trail ends
here.” Gil walked to where the grass was shorter. “The grass is longer there,
where Laird MacIver was killed. See the blood drops? The grass must have been
wet, when they stood on it. ‘Tis flattened now. That’s how I was able to see
the foot treads, but this grass here,” Gil remarked, “is too short to have
treads noted and was dry.”

“So the trail is cold,” Douglas
muttered.

“Aye, Laird, but you can see the
different foot treads, two large and one small. Mayhap ‘twas a lad who was with
Wills.”

Douglas considered that. “Let us
ride to Ellic’s so you can assess the meat. Then we’ll have a look at Laird
MacIver’s body.”

The men regained their mounts, and
rode off toward Ellic’s land and arrived the next morning. But Ellic had all ready
destroyed the meat and Gil wasn’t able to decipher if the animals had been
poisoned.

Douglas and Crisofer hadn’t found
Wills, nor a single clue of his whereabouts. Gil suggested they look at the
substance found on Laird MacIver’s body. They rode for the MacIver holding and
arrived in the late afternoon the following day. Fortunately, because Crisofer
had left with Douglas, the MacIver laird hadn’t been laid to rest yet. He was
kept in a cold shack awaiting Crisofer’s return.

Douglas, Gil, and Cris, opened the
door to the shack and went inside. It wasn’t large; they pressed together,
filling the space. Douglas directed them to lift the body and to bring it into
the sunlight so Gil could get a better look. They laid the body on the ground,
and Gil proceeded to look him over.

He wiped a substance with his
finger then rubbed it on his tongue. “Ahhh.”

“What?” Douglas leaned in. “What
have you found?”

“Henbane.” Gil rubbed the substance
between his fingers. “The substance is henbane. I recognize the scent and
taste. It’s used for pain and sometimes warriors put it on the tips of their
arrows to poison whoever they strike. Witches use it to cast mind altering
spells.” Gil looked up from his crouched position.

“That’s interesting. What does this
henbane do to a man?”

“I’ve known men to go mad when
they’ve been given it. Some become dependent on it. I heard a man took a flying
leap from a tower thinking he could fly. The man died when he hit the ground,
some forty feet below.”

“Do you deem someone might have
used it on Wills?” Cris asked.

“Mayhap Wills is in trouble, if his
mind has been altered, he knows not what he does.”

“I’ll continue to search for him,
Douglas. You and Gil return home. If anything comes about, I’ll let you know,”
Cris said.

Douglas nodded. There was nothing
more they could do until they found Wills.

“I’ll ask around, and find out who
uses such a substance. Mayhap that will lead to whoever is causing this
strife,” Gil remarked.

They couldn’t stay for the burial,
but told Cris to give their regards to Lady MacIver. As they rode for home,
Douglas became sullen about the happenings. He hoped whomever it was causing
this strife would show themselves.