Annys looked down at her ankle, her toes the only part of her ankle and foot that were still showing. “I havenae any idea why Joan did all that. Her husband fell a lot, ye ken. It was all part of the illness that finally killed him, and he was always twisting his ankles when he went down. Joan kept trying new ways to help the wrench heal and swears this way is the one that worked the best. She near to froze my foot off with cold water right from the burn, smeared handfuls of salve on it, wrapped it up so tight I cannae e’en wiggle my toes and it throbs, and stuck it up on these cushions.” She shrugged and then said, “It had best work or I shall ne’er let her hear the end of it.”
“I think I would trust her to ken best in this matter.” He frowned when her expression abruptly changed until she looked as if she was about to cry. “What is wrong, sweet?” he asked, taking her hand in his.
“I am certain Nicolas told ye all about Biddy.”
“Ah, aye, he did.”
“I just cannae understand why she would do such horrible things.”
“Mayhap she loved the mon she was trysting with.”
“She was trysting with Clyde.” She nodded when his eyes widened in surprise.
“He has been coming that close to us all this time?”
“It would seem so. But, I thought on how she did it all out of love, e’en though I couldnae see how she could love such a mon. E’en if she did, that still doesnae excuse her. Something inside of her should have been appalled by the things he was asking her to do. Mayhap nay when her victim was an adult, though poisoning your laird, a mon who ne’er mistreated you, was vile. But then she helped them steal a child. They even talked about her trying again.”
“What did she say?”
“There was no refusal to hurt a bairn, but a lot of talk about how she wasnae sure she could get to him again. No more than that. And she did it all for greedy reasons. She believed Clyde would wed her, they would set Sir Adam in the laird’s chair, and, since he was Sir Adam’s second, Biddy would then be second only to the lady of the keep once Sir Adam married. Greed. Nay more than that.”
“Some people are incapable of seeing that what they have is good and always seek to get more.”
“Weel, all she will get is a hanging. At first I didnae think I could stomach doing it to one of our own, but then realized she has ne’er been one of us. Nay if she could do what she has done. Her next gift to her lover was to be the opening of any bolt-hole in the keep, any way he and some of his men could slip in and attack us from behind.”
“We could have been slaughtered.”
“I ken it and she ne’er e’en gave that a thought. I am sad only because I now ken that e’en in the best of places, e’en if ye treat a person kindly and fairly, they can still betray you.”
By the time she was finished speaking her eyes were closing and Harcourt knew she needed to rest. He kissed her gently and left her. It was time to talk to Biddy. It might be a good thing to leave her sitting in a cell for a while so that her fear of what was going to happen to her built. Then he shook his head. That could still be done, but he would ask at least a few questions now. He went to find Nicolas.
“Ye have made a terrible mistake,” cried Biddy.
“Nay, I think not,” said Harcourt, nodding his thanks to Nicolas who brought him a stool to sit down on. “Ye didnae have a verra good disguise, Biddy. Lady Annys had already seen ye once and kenned the gown ye were wearing. Ye also bared your head and face when ye met your lover.”
“Is she going to be in here for verra long?” asked their other prisoner.
Harcourt looked over at Geordie. They had gotten that name out of him after he had woken up and Joan had seen to his injury. The man still refused to give them a clan name and he was beginning to think it was because Geordie was banished from his clan, a broken man. They were still not quite sure what to do with him.
“Nay, Geordie, as I believe she will be hanged before ye are.” He ignored Biddy’s wailing protest.
“What did she do?”
“Poisoned the laird.”
“Nay, nay, nay! It was only supposed to make him sick and too weak to fight.”
Harcourt looked at Biddy who looked as startled by her words as he felt. That was a confession. He glanced at Geordie who was looking disgusted and shaking his head. There might be hope for Geordie. He was now witness to the woman’s confession. Harcourt suspected that Geordie would point the finger of guilt at anyone just to save his own neck, but at least this time it would be the truth.
“So ye are the bitch that killed him,” Geordie said. “I told Jaikie it was a lass but he wouldn’t hear it. He didnae listen much and look where that got him. Shame he isnae here any longer to find out I was right.”
“Hush, Geordie,” Harcourt commanded in his coldest voice.
“Hushing,” he mumbled and sat in the far corner of his bed.
“So, Biddy, ye would have us believe ye kept feeding your laird a poison but just thought he would get ill, nay die,” Harcourt said.
“That was it. That was all. ’Tis nay my fault he was a weakling.”
It made him furious to hear her call David weak and Harcourt made no secret of his anger, allowing it to coat his words. “Ye put the poison in his food. It doesnae matter whether ye were mistaken about what would happen. Ye gave it to him. He died. So, ye are the murderer.”
“I was just doing as I was told.”
“Certainly nay by your laird.” He noticed that Geordie was listening closely. “Ah, then it was your lover.”