Page 108 of The Scottish Duke
When Hortense looked at her wide-eyed, she blew out a breath, exasperated with the other woman.
“Tell me, Hortense!”
“I had two biscuits, but not the tea.”
She placed her hand on Nan’s back, felt the easing of the muscles. In Inverness the innkeeper’s daughter had a seizure. The girl’s mother said that she always knew the episode was over when her daughter’s back was no longer in spasm.
What Hortense said just registered with her.
“You didn’t have the tea?” she asked, reaching for the pot.
She pulled off the cozy and removed the top, sniffing. Even before she raised the pot to her nose, she smelled the distinctive licorice scent of monkwood.
“How much did she drink?” she asked, fear coloring her voice.
“I don’t know,” Hortense said. “One cup maybe?”
There was a cup on the tray. She raised herself up and peered inside. Half the tea was gone.
If it was monkwood, Nan had already drunk enough to be dangerous. The seizure was over, but her coloring was terrible. Her lips were turning bluish.
There wasn’t much time.
Lorna walked over to Hortense and grabbed her by the shoulders.
“You have to be brave now. I have to go to the cottage to get some medicine for Nan. You have to stay with her. Ring the bell and get the duchess in here to help you and care for Robbie. All right?”
“All right.”
“Don’t drink the tea. Don’t let anyone else drink it, either.”
“Shall I pour it out?” Hortense asked.
“Don’t touch it,” she said. “It’s poison.”
She began to run, hoping she wouldn’t be too late.
Alex hadn’t made it out of view of the castle before he heard a shout. He turned in the saddle, hoping it wasn’t Mary. Instead, Jason was racing toward him, his assistant’s normally pale face florid with effort.
“Your Grace! Your Grace! Come quick. She’s been poisoned!”
His heart chilled in that instant.
“What’s happened?”
In the next few minutes he realized that Jason, while near perfect in a calm environment, lost his head in a time of crisis.
“She fell to the floor. Had a fit.”
“Who? My wife?”
Jason took a few deep breaths before answering, moments ticking by so slowly he almost dismounted and shook the young man.
“No, Your Grace. Not the duchess. Nan. She’s had a seizure and the duchess said she was poisoned.”
Alex turned Samson and raced back to the castle. At the kitchen entrance, he dismounted and handed the reins to a startled maid before taking the servants’ stairs two at a time.
His mother was in his sitting room, kneeling on the floor beside Nan. Another woman stood in the corner clenching her two hands together and staring at the scene.
