Page 104 of Kidnapped by a Rogue
“We shouldn’t go together,” Margaret said. “I want ye to take Ella first—pretend you’re taking her to pick herbs and flowers, as usual. If I’m not with ye, Isabel will have no reason to follow ye.”
Una nodded.
“I’ll wait an hour and meet ye at your grandson’s,” Margaret continued. “Don’t worry if I’m late. I’ll have to wait until I can get away without being seen.”
“Just be sure to come before dark,” Una said. “If ye wander off the trail, ye can fall into a bog and never be seen again.”
After sharing that unsettling bit of advice, Una donned her cloak and picked up the basket she used to gather herbs.
Margaret lifted Ella into her arms and kissed her on both cheeks.
“What’s wrong,a mamaidh?”Momma, Ella asked.
It was the first time Ella had called her that. Margaret was already struggling to hold back tears and nearly lost the battle, but she sniffed and managed a smile.
“I’ll be fine. Mind Una for me, and I’ll join ye soon.” She gave Ella one last hug. “I love ye with all my heart, my sweet daughter.”
She watched Una and Ella until they were out of sight down the stairs, then went to the window to wait for them to emerge into the castle yard. The elderly nursemaid and her young charge gathered herbs and flowers most days, so no one should take notice of them. All the same, Margaret bit her lip until it bled as the pair slowly made their way to the gate. She continued watching long after they left the castle and entered the wood to be sure no one followed them.
Relieved that they were well on their way to safety, Margaret left their chamber and went into hers and Finn’s to wait. When she shut the door behind her, it seemed so empty without Finn. How she wished he was here now. She always felt safe with him.
It was a chilly day and one of the servants had been thoughtful enough to pile extra peat on the brazier and start a fire. Margaret donned her boots and cloak, sat on the bed, and drummed her fingers. Perhaps she did not need to wait a full hour…
After a while, the heat made her feel so sleepy. She tossed off her cloak. Perhaps she should rest a bit while she waited…
She woke up with her head hanging over the side of the bed. On the floor beneath her, Ella’s rag doll peeked out from under the edge of the bed. Ella would be upset that she left it. When Margaret tried to get up to pick it up, she rolled off the bed and crashed onto the floor. She blinked, attempting to clear her vision. But it only grew worse.
Her body felt so heavy. Something was wrong with her. What was it? The answer was there, just outside her reach…
CHAPTER 29
Margaret saw the old rag doll beside her on the floor and clutched it in her hand.Ella.Ella was waiting for her.She had to get to her daughter. She struggled to get up, but the floor tilted, and her limbs refused to obey her.
She had to get out…had to get to Ella. She pulled herself along the floor to the door. Though she strained with all her might, she was unable to lift herself high enough to reach the latch. She collapsed with her face pressed between the floor and the base of the door.
A draft from the stairwell blew through the crack onto her face, and she drew in deep breaths of the sweet, cool air.Poison. Murder.She felt as if she was sinking into a bog as she struggled to grasp the fleeting thoughts floating through her head and put them together.
Isabel.A few more deep breaths through the crack under the door, and she remembered what Isabel had done.
Poison. That was the answer she’d been searching for. She’d been poisoned.
Death was coming for her in this chamber.
With a surge of strength, she crawled up the door and shoved the bar back. When the door fell open, she fell onto the stone floor of the stairwell. The metallic taste of blood was in her mouth and her elbow throbbed, but she forced herself to her hands and knees.
She did not know how Isabel had done this to her—but she knew she would come back to make certain her dark deed had succeeded.
Isabel is coming for me.
Margaret refused to die here. Her daughter needed her. And she needed Finn. She needed to tell him she loved him.Holding on to the wall, she fought a wave of dizziness as she stumbled to her feet. Her head and elbow throbbed from her falls, but the pain helped keep her alert as she slowly made her way down the stairs.
Somehow, she found herself at the gate with no memory of crossing the hall or the courtyard.
“Are ye all right, Mistress Margaret?” a guard asked as he peered into her face.
She nodded.
“Will be dark soon, and the weather is turning,” he said, looking off at the horizon. “Don’t be long.”
