“Aunt Tilda would no’ hurt Saidh,” Greer said firmly. “Why she has treated her like a daughter since the wedding, letting her wear her dress while we were wed, sitting up with her all night when she was injured.” He shook his head, unwilling to even consider that the sweet woman who had been so kind to Saidh might do something so horrible.
“Aye, but she thinks Fenella had something to do with her son’s death,” Aulay pointed out quietly. “She may ha’e kenned it was Fenella in the bed and killed her fer retribution hoping it would be blamed on whoever has been attacking Saidh.”
Greer ran a frustrated hand through his hair at the logic behind those words. He didn’t want to believe his aunt could be guilty of murder. But he was of the belief that anyone could take a life in the right circumstances, and Aunt Tilda did believe Fenella was behind the death of her only son.
“Bring her here,” Aulay suggested. “None but the maid, Saidh and the lads ken what’s happened, so no one could ha’e told her. Bring her here and see what her reaction is when she sees Fenella. She will probably give herself away if she did it.”
Greer eyed Aulay, wanting to refuse the suggestion and insist on leaving Aunt Tilda out of this. But, frankly, he was frustrated and exhausted from the constant worry over Saidh’s well-being, and who might wish to do her harm, and he was tired of the thoughts rabbiting around in his head as his mind tried to work out who could be behind the attacks. He was desperate to have this matter resolved.
“Fine. Bring her,” he said finally. “If nothing else, ’twill cross her off the list of suspects.”
Aulay merely glanced to Conran, who nodded and slid quickly from the room. The moment he was gone, Aulay ushered Rory, Niels and Alick to the bedside so that Fenella would not be immediately visible to anyone entering. Then Aulay joined Greer at the foot of the bed when he moved there. It was the best position to be out of the way and be able to see Lady MacDonnell’s face when the younger Buchanan brothers moved aside to reveal Fenella’s body.
They did not have long to wait before Conran ushered in Aunt Tilda.
“Ye wanted to see me, Gr—” she began, but her words died in her throat and she came to a staggering halt as Rory, Niels and Alick stepped away to reveal Fenella. For one moment, she stood frozen, confusion and then shock flickering across her face, and then all the blood seemed to leach from her complexion and she reached out toward Fenella as if to touch her though she was too far away to do so. In the next moment, she pulled that hand back and pressed it to her chest, choking out something incomprehensible before she simply slid to the floor in a dead faint.
At least Greer hoped it was a faint. It was quite possible, however, that they’d given the poor woman a heart attack, he thought with dismay as he stared blankly at her snow-white face.
“What the devil ha’e ye done!”
Greer snapped out of his shock to peer at Saidh as she rushed into the room with Dougall and Geordie on her heels. He was not the only one to begin to move again then. Rory now hurried toward Lady MacDonnell too.
“Ye’ve killed Aunt Tilda!” his wife accused, dropping to her knees beside the woman to pat her cheek gently. Even as she did, Rory knelt on the woman’s other side to examine her.
Greer scowled at the men, who were supposed to have kept Saidh safely in the master bedchamber, and received apologetic looks in response as Dougall and Geordie paused behind his wife. It seemed that, even awake, her brothers could not keep Saidh where she did not want to be.
“She’s alive,” Rory said soothingly to Saidh. “She just fainted.”
“Are ye sure?” Saidh asked anxiously. “I saw her fall, she was grabbing at her heart.”
Rory lowered his head to Aunt Tilda’s chest and listened briefly. He straightened a moment later, looking less certain. “We’d best get her to her bed.”
“She’ll want her maid, Helen,” Saidh said fretfully, getting up as Rory scooped up Aunt Tilda and stood. “She’s trained in healing too. She tends to Aunt Tilda’s ailments.”
“Alick?” Rory said over his shoulder as he headed for the door with Saidh trailing him and Dougall and Geordie following her.
“I’ll fetch her,” Alick assured him.
Greer watched silently as the small troupe left, hoping that Saidh would glance back or say something to him. She didn’t, however, and he was left standing there feeling like an utter horse’s arse for having put Aunt Tilda through that. If the woman died, he would never forgive himself, but worse than that, he suspected Saidh wouldn’t either. She might not even forgive him if Aunt Tilda lived.
“Lady MacDonnell was no’ faking her shock,” Aulay sounded disappointed as he pointed out the obvious.
“Nay,” Greer agreed dryly.
“Hmmm.” Aulay sighed. “I guess we should talk to Bowie now then.”
“Really, I’m fine, dear. I was just a little overset by seeing Fenella like that,” Aunt Tilda murmured, hands fluttering weakly as Saidh finished fussing with the furs she’d pulled over her.
Greer’s aunt had woken up as Rory carried her into her bedchamber. She’d at first been confused as to why she was being carried about, and then quiet, but now seemed embarrassed by all the fuss.
Sitting on the edge of the bed next to her, Saidh took her hand and peered at her worriedly. Lady MacDonnell had regained a little color, but was still quite pale and her hand was trembling a bit in hers.
“Are ye sure ye feel all right?” Saidh asked, squeezing her hand gently. “Ye grabbed yer chest when ye fell. How is it now?”
“I am fine,” Aunt Tilda assured her on a little sigh. “More embarrassed at fainting as I did than anything, to tell the truth.” Grimacing, she added, “Ye’d think I’d ha’e been happy to see Fenella that way after everything that’s happened. ’Twas just the shock. I just . . .” She shook her head wearily.
“Greer should no’ ha’e surprised ye like that,” Saidh said grimly, squeezing her hand again.