Page 25 of Rescued By the Highland Warrior
“I took ye there because I thought ye were seriously hurt,” Roderick said.
They remained in silence for a few moments, and Moira went to sit on the bed next to him. She had already apologized once, and she was not going to apologize again, she hadn’t done anything seriously wrong after all, for she was telling him about her ruse now. But she did feel a strange urge to reach out and comfort him. Normally she shied from physical touch, but with him it had started to feel more natural given that she’d already been in his arms twice that day.
“Moira,” Roderick said. “Next time, could ye just let me ken afore ye decide tae pull a stunt like that? Ye can trust that I can go along with a façade pretty well.”
“Can ye?” Moira asked. “That’s nae necessarily something I ken.”
“I’ve been lying about our relationship to the whole castle... an’ as their laird, that’s been nae easy job,” Roderick said, searching Moira’s eyes as his jaw tightened. “So ye dinnae have tae play games with me.”
Her breath caught for a moment under the weight of his words. She saw the sincerity in his eyes, and though he tried to hide it, he seemed hurt. She felt like there was some other hidden meaning behind his words—one that made Moira feel more vulnerable than she normally allowed herself to feel. In fact, Roderick seemed very adept at bringing out feelings in Moira that she neither enjoyed nor desired.
“I’m nae playing games,” Moira said, smiling and pushing down the unfamiliar emotions that were arising in her. “Honestly, Roderick, loosen up, ye look as though the world has ended.”
When he didn’t respond, she added “Besides, it paid off. Let’s just say that while we were there, I noticed something o’ particular importance.”
“What did ye find?” Roderick asked. He didn’t look fully convinced, but his eyes brightened slightly. Moira didn’t want to disappoint him. Not after she’d just upset him by faking her injury.
“While I was pretendin’ tae be in pain, I scanned the room. I noticed that there were lots o’ different herbs, readily available in his chamber. One which caught me eye in particular was monkshood.”
“Aye,” Roderick nodded, looking as though he was about to smile. But he held it back, Moira supposed, because he was still annoyed at her and not yet ready to forgive her. “I had assumed ye werenae really concerned wi’ the magical art o’ healing.”
“Dinnae get me wrong,” Moira conceded. “It is fascinating, the work a healer daes is. Infact, it is quite similar tae magic. Magic that can be as dark as it is light, mind ye.”
“Explain,” Roderick urged. “What’s so special about monkshood?”
“Well,” Moira continued, “monkshood, along wi’ a few other herbs that I saw, have extremely therapeutic properties, there’s nay doubt about that. But if ingested in large doses, they can lead tae… poisoning.”
“Tae death?” Roderick asked, struggling to contain himself. She saw, however, that there was a hint of hope in his tone. Nothing was going to bring his father back but taking even a step in the direction of the truth would ease Roderick’s pain considerably and it really felt like they were finally getting somewhere, or that at the very least, they were on the edge of something.
“Aye,” Moira said. “It’s possible.”
“How dae ye ken about this?” Roderick asked Moira, his body inches from hers. They didn’t need to sit so close, but neither of them backed away. Moira felt strangely comfortable with him closer than at arm’s length, and she told herself it was because she was excited about her new discovery. She’d been waiting the whole journey back to her chambers to tell him.
“I ken ye dinnae think it’s much, but I’ve had training that’s prepared me tae recognize things such as these.”
“I never said that I dinnae think yer training has been much,” he said, “I ken ye’re brilliant.”
For some reason, the compliment took her by surprise. Her face grew hot, and a light feeling danced in her stomach. She knew she was brilliant; she didn’t need a man to tell her that. But still, coming from Roderick, it was validation she didn’t know she needed.
“Anyway,” Moira continued, shifting slightly and crossing her legs. “It daesnae mean much until we can find out the exact symptoms yer faither exhibited afore his death. Once we’ve figured that out, we can narrow it down, and maybe we’ll have some proof.”
Roderick nodded slowly, his eyes still locked on Moira. "That’s a good lead," he admitted. "And ye think the healer might have something tae dae wi’ it? Or at least, ken something?"
"It’s possible," Moira said, keeping her tone even. "I dinnae want tae jump tae conclusions just yet. First, dae ye ken if there was anyone by yer faither’s side at the time o’ his death?”
Roderick’s expression grew pensive as he leaned back slightly. Moira knew that none of this must have been easy for him– she knew how difficult it was for people to relive past experiences they tried hard to forget.
“Aye,” he said after a moment. “Me maither and Malcolm were the ones who joined him fer his final hours, although I dinnae ken the specifics o’ when or how long.”
Malcolm McDougall.Moira had almost forgotten about him, or at least part of her had tried to after his treatment of her at the betrothal feast.
Moira's brow furrowed as she absorbed his words. “Yer maither and Mr. McDougall?” she repeated, her mind already sorting through the implications. “That’s significant. If they were there durin’ his final hours, they might remember something about the specifics o’ the late laird’s symptoms, whether intentional or nae.”
Roderick gave a curt nod, though his jaw tightened, and Moira could see the struggle on his face. “Me maither was devastated,” he said quietly, his voice edged with pain. “I doubt she had the presence o’ mind tae notice much. Malcolm, though surely devastated too, might have been a little more observant, as is his nature.” He mused, his mouth fixed into a straight line.
“Aye, I understand what yer tryin’ tae say,” Moira responded, thoughtfully. “But there’s somethin’ about Mr. McDougall’s coldness that I dinnae like. It feels calculated, an’ I feel that if ye go tae him with questions, he may nae give ye the right answers.”
“Ye think I should ask only me maither instead?”
