Chapter Nine
Alastair looked up when he heard a knock on his study door.
“Come in!” he called.
“My Lord,” Bard said, coming through the door, “Master Ronald is here with the box and a message for yourself and Lady Scarlett. Would you like me to send him in and let Lady Scarlett know so she can come down?”
Alastair smiled and then said, “Yes, send him in and let Lady Scarlett know. I am sure she will be very anxious to read Everett’s message, as we haven’t heard from him in a long while. Even Art visited last month, anxious to know something.”
Bard bowed and left the office, Alastair growing more nervous and he waited for Ronald.
He was so nervous he jumped when someone knocked on the door.
“Come in!” he called.
Ragan walked through the door, holding it open as Ronald carried the box in and set it down on Alastair’s desk.
“Your Grace,” Ronald said, bowing slightly.
“Welcome back to Ashaven, Ronald,” he said, shaking his hand.
Ronald returned the shake and took a step back, standing next to Ragan.
“Bard told me that Ronald had arrived so I came to see him,” Ragan said, just letting Alastair know why he was there.
“I was actually going to remind Bard to let you know but I see he has beaten me to it,” he said with a chuckle.
Ronald and Ragan both smiled, looking at the door with him as someone rapped softly on the door.
“My Lord, Bard let me know that Ronald had arrived with a letter. Did you open it yet?” Scarlett asked as she entered the study, looking at the box and then at Alastair expectantly.
Alastair shook his head.
“I wanted to wait for you. Ronald actually arrived just a moment before you did.”
“Oh. All right,” she said, sitting down in a chair across from the desk.
“Shall we?” Alastair asked.
Ronald motioned for him to go ahead and Alastair reached for the drawer in the desk and opened it, pulling out the key and handing it to Ronald, who took the key and opened the box, taking out the letter addressed to Alastair and Scarlett. He shut the box and locked it again, handing the key back to Alastair so that he could put it away.
Alastair did just that and handed the letter to Scarlett afterward, wanting her to read it. Scarlett opened the letter and read it, her face paling as she got to the end. Alastair walked over to the chair, kneeling in front of her and resting his hands on her knees.
He looked at her and could see the fear in her eyes clearly displayed there.
“Scarlett, what did Everett say? Anything about Catriona?” he asked, watching her.
She shook her head and handed him the letter, her hand shaking lightly.
He scanned the paper and scowled, hissing a curse underneath his breath.
“It seems that Scarlett is not as safe here as we once thought. Art was right about the threats against Scarlett. Everett’s letter confirms this.”
“Is there any knowledge of who it is? Or why?” Ronald asked.
Alastair shook his head.
“He is not able to tell us anything else but that.”
Alastair sighed with frustration.
“All we can do is try to protect her the best we can. We need to double the guards around the castle. We need Ronald here.”
He looked at Ronald.
“Can Everett spare you?” he asked.
“I am at your disposal, My Lord, until you send a missive back to Everett. If he needs to send you another message, he will send a single rider or come himself. Especially given the nature of the circumstance.”
He nodded and looked at Scarlett.
“I want to move you to the room next to mine. That way I can keep an eye on you.”
He turned to Ragan.
“That means you will need to move as well.”
Ragan nodded.
“That is all right, My Lord. I will make sure that Ronald and I get settled.”
“Thank you.”
He looked back at Scarlett and squeezed her hands.
“We will take care of you.”
Scarlett looked at him, focusing on his face for the first time since she had read the letter. Art’s threat of no protection lingered in her mind as she had read about the threats against her life. She knew that with Art’s protection, it was harder to hurt her, but without it, she was very vulnerable.
Alastair could only protect her as long as she was in his castle. He didn’t have much authority outside of his island. Fear settled deep in her heart, turning her hands cold and her face pale.
“I’m very worried,” she said, focusing on his face for the first time since she read the letter.
“I will protect you,” he said, bringing a small smile to her face.
“If only you could,” she whispered.
For a moment, he looked confused, then his face changed as he too remembered Art’s threats.
“I will. I can protect you; you need only believe in me.”
She looked into the eyes of the man who had given her so much already, and knew she already believed he would protect her.
“I do believe in you.”
A smile came across his face at her words and he looked back at Ragan and Ronald who had turned to face the bookshelf.
“If you would kindly escort Her Grace to her room and help her with anything she needs?”
They turned as one and both replied, “Yes, sir.”
Alastair placed a hot kiss on Scarlett’s wrist, making her shiver with excitement.
“I will see you in a little while.”
Scarlett blushed but said nothing, standing and heading out of the study, Ronald and Ragan following behind.
“Ronald!” he called, needing to have someone tell Bard about the move.
“Ragan already let Bard know,” he said, peeking his head in the door.
Alastair just laughed and waved him off, Ronald shutting the door behind him.
Scarlett walked up the stairs, Ronald and Ragan behind her and her arm tingling from Alastair’s hot kiss. Although they had not physically repeated that interlude they had in her room a month ago, her mind had replayed that night many times over. At night, she would lay in bed and dream of his hands on her, bringing her to that peak over and over again.
She mentally shook her head to remove those thoughts, hoping to get some sleep tonight. With this new threat, she doubted that sleep would come all easily, if at all.
Scarlett sighed and turned around quickly when Ronald asked, “My Lady, are you all right? Is something troubling you?”
A slight blush came to her face when she replied, “None other than the threat to my life. I am just worried about that.”
He nodded and she smiled when he said, “Ragan and I will do our best to protect you. Lord Alastair is also very concerned for your welfare and I doubt that he would be willing to let anything happen to you.”
“I know, Ronald. Thank you for making me feel safer already.”
He nodded and she turned, heading back up the stairs.
Scarlett helped Melody and Bard pack up her room and move it, taking the short walk to the family rooms and moving her into the princess’ suite. Her new room was decorated in jewel tones and knowing the previous occupant was Alastair’s mother, she was proud to reside in that room. The bedspread was a dark purple, a stunning contrast to the light wood of the bed. The room had white wallpaper that looked like it had been stamped with a purple floral pattern.
She walked over to the walls and ran her finger over the roses, tracing the flowers softly.
“My Lady, I am surprised to see you in here. I thought you were in the guest wing.”
She turned and looked at the man who had spoken to her, the man tall and dark but also very handsome. Scarlett couldn’t put her finger on it, but she felt something was off about him.
“I have moved myself to this room; it is more richly furnished than my other room. I felt that it would be better for me to stay here.”
He gave no reaction, just commenting, “I hope you will find this room better to your liking, Your Grace. It has been well cared for.”
“Thank you. What was your name?” she asked.
He smiled handsomely and said as he headed back out the door, “Edward Holmes, My Lady.”
Scarlett stood in the middle of the room for a few minutes, slightly disturbed by that man just walking in on her like he did. A shiver crept up her spine but she tried to suppress it, almost succeeding before Ragan and Melody walked in.
“Scarlett, are you all right?” Melody asked.
“A man named Edward Holmes just came in my room. I was surprised by him. He asked me what I was doing here but he didn’t look surprised. Does that mean he knew?”
“What did you tell him?” Melody asked her.
“I told him I was moving because this room is better than the one I was in. I don’t think he believed me.”
Melody and Ragan exchanged glances and Scarlett looked at them in confusion.
“Is there something I should know?” Scarlett asked, looking at both of them.
Neither one of them would look at her so she slowly walked over to Ragan; the room was silent except for the soft rustle of her skirts.
“I will go ask Alastair; both of you have sworn to keep the secret.”
She headed out the bedroom door and ran into Bard, asking him where Alastair was.
“He is in the front courtyard, on the front drive. Why do you need to speak to him?”
“Something I just remembered and I need to tell Alastair about it.”
He nodded and bowed as she walked down the stairs, stopping to turn around and say with a smile, “Thank you for everything you have done for me, Bard. You have made me feel happier and more comfortable here than I have anywhere else.”
The old man blushed a deep red, clearing his throat before mumbling, “Thank you, My Lady. It is truly my pleasure.”
With one last look, she went off to locate her very secretive prince.
Scarlett walked out of the front door and into the courtyard, taking in the blue sky and the soft fluffy white clouds that floated by. She looked around the courtyard and found Alastair standing by the guard post.
The long bridge ended in the round courtyard, protected by a large stone wall. Large wooden gates were closed only in the evenings, or as protection if the castle was under attack.
Alastair had told Scarlett that the only time they had shut the gates to keep anyone out of the castle was when the Great Tide had come. His father had made the decision to evacuate the castle as it stood alone on the middle of its own rock island and his father felt it unsafe for anyone to stay.
A giant wave had crashed into the castle, doing a great deal of damage to the building. His quick thinking had saved his whole family plus all the staff. That had been the only time and Alastair hoped it stayed that way.
Looking for the man who occupied her thoughts, she walked towards the guard station, the gravel of the drive crunching beneath her shoes.
She glanced at the square fountain and smiled, loving that it was built on a round section of grass. Scarlett looked away from the fountain just in time to avoid colliding with Alastair who had noticed her walking towards him.
“Scarlett, what are you doing down here?” he asked, holding his hands behind his back.
“You can tell me who Edward Holmes is and why he is important.”
He coughed and looked away, then back at her.
“Why do you ask?” he asked, walking over to the flower-lined edge of the drive.
“He visited me in my room, said he was surprised to see me, but he did not act as such.”
Alastair looked at the delicate white blooms and couldn’t help but compare them to how delicate he used to think Scarlett was. She had proven her strengths on many occasions, especially with her uncle, and he couldn’t help but feel she was strong enough to handle anything thrown her way.
“He is a potential threat that has seemed to have disappeared. Everett found that he knew where my Mizet is, which is in my sitting room adjacent to my bedroom. We had a look around and found a book with a piece of paper in it with the name of the medicine that we no longer use on it.”
Scarlett perused his face for a moment, hers having gone blank and giving him no indicators of her feelings.
“Why is it no longer in use?” she queried.
“It does more harm than good. In small doses, it takes a long while to affect a person, but in large doses, as with other medicines not used for their intended purposes, can be fatal.”
She stared at him for a moment and then said, “So I’d wager that he wanted to poison me with that medicine?”
He nodded hesitantly.
She smirked.
“Lovely.”
He sighed and shook his head and whispered, “I haven’t seen any of the signs that you were ill, so I don’t think he has.”
Her smirk turned into a scowl.
“This is all right? He could be poisoning me a little at a time and you would never know!”
Her raised voice drew the attention of the guards on the wall and Alastair pulled her over into the grass, next to one of the large shrubs that lined the wall.
“I have had guards posted all over and have had meals and anything you might drink checked before it is given to you, but it is very difficult to detect Tapoxon as it is clear and has no taste. The only way to detect it is to test the chemical balance of food or drinks, using a special formula that I created.”
He rubbed his hand over his face in frustration.
“I have not told you because I did not want to cause you undue stress. You were already at your limit before you started going to the hospital every day. Since the tests were always coming back negative, I felt no need to alarm you.”
She sighed and looked around, crossing her arms in front of her chest.
“I had no idea that you are doing so much without me knowing. I only wish you had told me sooner.”
“You understand though, why I did not.”
She nodded.
“May I ask you to return to the castle then?”
She nodded again and headed back inside.
Before she got to the door, she turned and called out, “Thank you, Alastair.”
He smiled and bowed slightly, watching her retreat into the castle.
A few hours later, Alastair walked upstairs and headed to his room, needing to get ready for dinner. He walked up to his door and went to open it when he stopped. Instead, he went to Scarlett’s door and knocked, waiting for her to answer.
Scarlett opened the door slowly, her appearance causing Alastair to be immediately concerned.
“Scarlett, are you all right?” he asked, coming in the room and leaving the door open.
“I’m not feeling well right now. I already asked Melody to let you know that I was going to take dinner in my room.”
Alastair pressed his hand to her forehead and was relieved that she did not have a fever. The paleness of her face and the sweat sheen that covered her body did concern him.
“How long have you felt like this?” he asked her, looking in her eyes.
They were red as if she had been crying, but he hadn’t seen her tears.
“I came back inside after speaking to you and I laid down and fell asleep. I woke up about two hours ago feeling unwell.”
“Have you had anything to eat or drink since you came back inside?”
She started to shake her head but stopped and turned to look at her water glass sitting on her nightstand.
“I had some water. It was the glass I had brought to me much earlier in the day.”
He walked over to the cup and looked down at it, trying to see if it had been tampered with.
Unable to see anything, he looked back at Scarlett.
Her eyes glazed over and she crumpled to the floor, Alastair reaching out to catch her as she fell.
“Scarlett!” he called.
She tried to say something but wasn’t able to get it out before the world went black.