Niall should be out for his daily ride, which meant there would be a few precious moments to search for the poison to present to his prisoner. Surely if he showed the man his own vial, the alchemist would not be able to deny that he made the potion.
Once he acquired the poison, Eoghanan would check in on Mitsy. He would make certain that she’d been fed and, if he must, spend a few moments speaking with her in the hopes of lifting her spirits. Not that it would be an unpleasant task. He found the lass’ company rather pleasing.
Surely Baodan would return today so that he could see the lass safely to Conall Castle. With both of them gone, he would be free to resume his questioning of the man sitting in front of him without distraction.
Eoghanan shoved a glass of water in the alchemist’s direction. “There is something that I must see to. I shall be back to visit with ye shortly. I doona wish ye harm, but I will have the truth from ye. If ye doona wish to give it freely, ye will leave me no choice but to hurt ye. Think on that whilst I am away.”
The man called out to him as he started to leave causing Eoghanan to pause and face him.
“What is it that ye think I have done, sir, for I swear to ye there is nothing?”
“Ye have provided a man with a poison of much harm.”
“Do ye have this poison that ye speak of? For I am no a maker of such potions.”
“I doona now, but I will.” Egohanan turned and left, praying with each footstep that his brother’s room would be empty and Mitsy would be safe and sound in her own.
*
He held his breath as he opened his brother’s door, only releasing it after finding the room vacant.
Once inside, he hurried as fast as he could, lifting every object in sight. He pulled open the window draping and as light streamed in, it bounced off of something beneath the bed. Crouching low, he saw the vial standing neatly underneath where his louse of a brother slept.
Niall would notice the poison’s disappearance, but at this point, what did it matter? In a matter of days Eoghanan would reveal all of his brother’s wrongs.
Slipping the vial safely away, he crept out of Niall’s room, rounding the corner quickly in his hurry to check in on Mitsy. His heart froze at the sight of the bedchamber door hanging open and the only person standing inside the room was Rhona.
*
“What has happened here? Did I no tell ye to keep her inside?” He grabbed the old woman by both arms, shaking her as panic coursed through him.
She said nothing and he stopped as he noticed how she trembled, and he knew it wasn’t from fear. Rhona feared no one. Releasing his grip, he directed her to a chair. “What is it, Rhona? Are ye all right?”
After fanning herself, she looked up at him in confusion. “Would ye believe me if I told ye I dinna know for certain? It seems that most of the castle fell suddenly verra ill during the night. I couldna see in front of me, and I grew too weak to get up off me knees. The guards outside the room said the same happened to them.”
Niall. It had to be Niall. He felt the same way on the night of Osla’s death, and his mother felt much the same way for months. “What happened to the lass that was in here, Rhona? Where’s Mitsy?”
She shook her head. “I must have fallen asleep in the midst of me illness for when I awoke, Niall sat beside me. He told me that Baodan returned home and took the lass immediately for Conall Castle.”
Rhona was no fool. Unlike most, he knew she didn’t fall for Niall’s charms. She’d always been suspicious of him. “Do ye believe him, Rhona? Did Baodan come here?”
She shook her head as she looked down at the floor regretfully. “No. I doona think that Baodan would have left so quickly with her. At the verra least, he would have spoken to me before he went. ’Twas clear that Niall had no been struck by the same illness as the rest of us, and I have no seen him or the lass since. When he spoke with me, I still couldna move, and he left me quickly.”
“Did he take her, do ye think?” Surely, Niall would have no reason to and, if he had, he doubted the lass was still alive now.
“I doona think so. He seemed verra angry, and he walked with a bad limp. If he tried to capture the lass, I believe he failed to do so.”
“Good.” He turned to leave, his mind racing with all that he knew he must do. “Do ye know where he went?”
“No. I expect to the village. ’Tis where he likes to find all his lassies, and he seemed in a bad way. I expect he’s gone in search of someone to soothe him. I hope that he willna, but I feel sure he shall.”
“I have to go, Rhona. Will ye be all right here?”
He ran as she waved him on, back down to the dungeons. If Niall no longer stayed at the castle where he could keep an eye on him, it was more urgent than ever for him to gather the proof that he needed. His prisoner would give him answers tonight.
*