Leana swallowed hard, recalling Maggie’s soft touch and how difficult it had been to maintain her composure. She thought she had no choice, that if she cried, she would be letting all the lost members of their clan down. Now she wasn’t so certain. It had hardened her too much, left her feeling numb and disconnected. Only Tavish had made her feel differently...
Turning on the bed, she took Maggie’s hand. She needed to tell Maggie the truth, to release herself from the lies, if only to her. “There’s more...”
Maggie’s eyes widened. “Dinnae tell me ye’ve been off playing warrior and that was how ye were truly hurt? Ye’ve been slaughtering all yer enemies and—”
“Nay.” Leana chuckled. “But ‘tis almost as shocking as that.”
“Oh Lordy.”
“I’m no’ Leana,” she said in a rush, the words feeling as though they had burst from her chest in a great swell of release.
“Pardon?” Maggie blinked a few times.
“I’m no’ Leana. I’m Nessa.”
Maggie cocked her head. “Are ye ailing? Oh dear, we should have got ye warm quicker. Yer imagining things.” She pressed a warm palm to Leana’s forehead.
Leana moved her hand gently away. “Nay, I’m no’ ailing. I’m just telling ye the truth. I’m Nessa.”
“I dinnae understand.”
“After the fire, I was the only survivor. I was the daughter of a maid in the keep and I looked similar to Leana.”
“So ye...?” Maggie made a switching gesture with her two fingers.
“Leana died in the fire, but the chief needed a daughter so we could continue to appear strong. He took me in as his and I’ve been pretending to be Leana ever since.”
Throat dry, she waited, her heart thumping rapidly against her ribcage.
“So yer no’ Leana?”
“Aye.”
“Yer Nessa.”
“Aye.”
“Goodness me.”
Leana smiled softly. “‘Tis quite a tale.”
“‘Tis indeed.” She slowly inched a hand over, resting it upon Leana’s tightly fisted one. “Ye’ve been through quite the ordeal. I wish ye’d confided in me.”
“I wish I had too,” she admitted. The sense of relief flowing through her, like the tide finally drifting out, made her feel lighter than ever. Now she wished she’d told the truth long ago.
“And Tavish knows this?”
“Aye,” Leana said with a tilted smile. “He discovered me straight away.”
“But he didnae tell the clan?”
Leana shook her head.
“Goodness, he must care for ye, Leana...that is—Oh dear.”
“Call me Leana,” she said. “I havenae heard my real name for so long, I dinnae even think of it as mine anymore.”
“Very well.” Maggie leaned in, nudging her with a shoulder. “But no more falsehoods please. A woman of my age doesnae need any more shocks.”
“I promise.”
✽✽✽
“I WANT MEN at every door, and at least two men keeping watch by the sea gate,” Tavish ordered.
He marched through the hallway, the scent of freshly baked Yuletide bread turning his stomach. Part of him wanted to tear down the decorations and turn over the tables laden with food. No one should be celebrating, not while his father laid in bed fighting for his life.
Fists clenched, he ducked out of the hall and paused to scan the ramparts. He’d told the man stationed outside of Leana’s chambers that it was for her protection, that they must have a traitor in their midst.
The last part was no lie.
Snow drifted through the air, landing on his face in cold droplets. He turned his head upward and closed his eyes briefly. Could she really have done it? Lied to him so boldly? Pretended she had changed her mind?
He frowned. It made little sense. Why pretend to be kidnapped and return to him when she could have escaped and not risked suspicion? None of it made sense really.
But who else would wish his father harm? Whoever it was, he needed to find them. Fast. It was mere luck his father had consumed a small amount of poison and hadn’t died immediately.
He drew in a long breath of frigid air and made his way to his father’s chambers, tapping lightly on the door. The physician eased open the door, his expression grim. Tavish tightened his jaw and stepped into the darkened room. The scent of bile made the air sickly and his father’s pale face stuck out starkly even under the warm candlelight. His mother remained at his father’s bedside, stroking his forehead, her complexion almost as pale.
“What news?” he asked the physician.
The white-haired man laced his fingers together. “Hemlock to be sure. He has all the signs. That he isn’t completely frozen from the poison is a testament to yer father’s strength. Even the smallest amount can take down a man.”
“What can be done for him?”
“Wait for it to pass, eat good food if he can keep it down.” The physician glanced back. “He’s awake and able to speak. That gives me hope but hemlock is nasty. Not many survive it and we cannae know the full extent of the impact until at least tomorrow.”
“I thank ye, Gavan.”
The physician left the chambers and Tavish headed to his father’s bedside, dropping to his knees.
“He’ll no’ let this defeat him, Tavish,” his mother said, gripping his father’s hand in hers. “He’s no’ survived all these years of battle for nothing.”
“Aye.” Tavish tried to swallow the knot in his throat and failed. “I’ve locked down the castle. Whoever did this will no’ escape and they’ll see justice.”
She smiled. “Ye’ll make a fine laird one day. I’m only sorry yer bride-to-be has had to witness such horrors.”
Tavish gave a tight smile in return. “Och, she’s a hardy lass.”
“Aye, she seems it. A good dancer too. She’ll do ye well as a wife and she must be strong to be able to smile after that fire when she was a bairn.”
He glanced at the blankets. His mother wasn’t wrong. Leana might not look it, but she was as tough as they came. Did that mean she was still capable of poisoning his father while lying to him the whole time? He eased out a breath. This
