"Nay, love. Tis Tait." He gently bathed the tears from her face with a damp square of fine linen. "Do ye want a drink?"
"Aye, please." She finally managed to get her eyes open as he held her up slightly and helped her drink some water. "Where is Diarmot?" she asked, a little disappointed not to find him nursing her.
"Why would ye be wanting to see him?" Tait held her against him as he arranged the pillows behind her back. "He gave ye the poisoned wine," he said as he settled her against the pillows.
"Where did ye come by such a strange idea?"
"Ye said it. When we asked where ye got the wine, ye said Diarmot sent it to ye."
"Weel, what did ye listen to me for? Tis clear I was verra ill."
"Aye, for nearly two days. Actually, ye were verra ill for a few hours, then ye slept, and have done little else for two days. Glenda has been pouring healing potions down ye." He sighed when Ilsa briefly touched her breasts. "Ye cannae feed the twins any more. Glenda says she cannae tell how long some poison might linger in your body or if it would e'en taint your milk, but felt certain ye wouldnae want to take any chances."
"Nay, I wouldnae. I am surprised it all disappeared so quickly, though," she murmured.
"Glenda had a potion to help that, too. Ye havenae eaten for two days, either." He smiled faintly. "She says your body is a better healer than she is.
She didnae e'en have to purge ye, that your body did it without aid. She said ye cleansed yourself, rid yourself of near all the poison."
"And my bairn," she said and saw Tait pale, confirming it. "Dinnae look so worried. Tis a grief, but a wee one. I had only begun to suspect I was carrying so hadnae become, weel, attached. And, I am certain the poison killed the poor wee thing ere it e'en got a chance to settle in."
"Glenda called it little more than a promise. Also said ye were nay damaged in any way. Said it was for the best."
"It was." She took a deep breath and pushed aside her grief. "Does Diarmot ken it?"
"Ilsa, the mon may have tried to kill ye."
"Nay," she began to argue.
"I ken ye have feelings for the fool, but--"
She placed her fingers against his lips to stop his words. "Diarmot would ne'er try to harm me. I cannae say what he feels, he may e'en wish I would just go away, but he would ne'er hurt me. And, my feelings dinnae have much to do with that judgment. Ye ken I was reading Lady Anabelle's journals." When he nodded, she removed her fingers from his lips, and continued, "She wrote of the day, about a month after Diarmot married her, that he found her romping with two men."
"Jesu." He frowned slightly. "Two men?"
"Aye, but dinnae expect me to tell ye how that worked e'en though Anabelle was quite explicit. She wrote of the confrontation and made it verra clear that she thought Diarmot a pathetic weakling. And do ye ken why? Because for all he cursed her, he didnae raise a hand to her. He ne'er did and I cannae tell ye how hard she tried to push him to it."
"Are ye certain? Mayhap she pushed so hard he gave her the potion that killed her."
"Nay, he didnae. Anabelle wrote in her journal right up to the day she drank the potion that killed her. I wouldnae be surprised if she wrote in her journal just before she drank it. She ranted on about her failure to lure Diarmot into her bed so that she could blame him for the child she carried. Wrote about how she was going to be rid of it. She also heaped praise and gratitude upon the one who gave her the means to do so--Precious Love."
Tait frowned. "Ye mentioned something about a Precious Love when ye were so ill."
"Has Diarmot told ye about it, then? About what he thinks?"
"Ah, nay. We havenae been speaking to each other."
"Idiots. Weel, I need to speak to him." She sighed when Tait just frowned again. "Ye ken I speak the truth. If a mon cannae e'en bring himself to strike his new bride when he finds her romping with two men, do ye really think he could hurt any lass?"
"Nay, probably not. Do ye want me to send one of the women in first?" he asked even as he started out the door.
"Aye, please," she replied.
After getting Fraser to go to Ilsa, Tait hunted down Sigimor. He found his brother in the great hall sitting before the massive fireplace cleaning his sword. Tait poured them each a tankard of ale, handed one to Sigimor, then took the seat facing him.
"Ilsa finally woke up and she wants to speak to Diarmot," said Tait.
"I hope ye made her see sense," replied Sigimor.
"Actually, she made me see sense." He told Sigimor everything Ilsa had told him. "She is right. He wouldnae do it. Once I kenned she wouldnae die, I thought it all over and found it difficult to believe. Ilsa simply confirmed my doubts."
Sigimor took a long drink of ale, then sighed. "I had doubts as weel. Nay once since we came here have I seen any cruelty in him. Och, he may nay be verra kind to Ilsa in some ways since his wits are sadly rattled, but he isnae cruel.