Chapter Sixteen
The lass’ unsettling words joined with her stricken features hung in Calum’s mind as he cut a straight path for the stables. Once he’d arranged for Fraser to meet him in the solar afterward, he wasted no time taking Nora’s suggestion.
When he entered, he marched toward the head groom, Colin, who stood speaking with John. He motioned to both men as he swept past.
“Help me, would you?”
Striding to the stall housing Liam’s gelding, he unlatched the postern.
“Took a bit of coaxing, but I managed to get him inside a short while ago,” Colin remarked.
Calum directed the force of his gaze at the man. “The saddle needs to come off.”
The groom’s mouth flapped open in surprise. “But, my lord…’tis unsafe. He’s still agitated.”
“Does not matter. It needs to come off now. I’ll remove it myself. Just make certain the beast does not trample me.” He shifted his gaze to John. “Mind the gate so he does not try to bolt free.”
“Aye, Laird.” John moved into place without hesitation, opening the stall wide enough for Calum and the groom to slip inside the enclosure.
Careful not to rile the distressed animal, he slowly lifted his hand to stroke over the roan’s nose and head in an effort to settle the beast. He took his time with the gelding, certain his cousin would suffer a fit if something were to happen to the animal.
He raised a hand to the horse’s nose and the roan snorted, the hot air heating his skin. Signaling Colin to ease around to the beast’s flank, he continued to subdue the animal with light strokes. As soon as the groom grabbed the stirrup iron, the gelding jerked his head and released a piercing whinny.
“Ho, there. Easy.”
Calum soothed the animal enough to remove the bridle from his mouth and head. Dropping the leather straps on the stall floor, he continued to calm the horse with brushes of his hand and scratches behind his ears, as his cousin had done on several occasions.
Confident the animal was relaxed, he met Colin’s wide, waiting gaze and nodded. The groom made quick work of unbuckling the saddle beneath the gelding’s girth. With a few deep breaths, Colin promptly grabbed ahold of the pommel and cantle. On one swift motion, he lifted the saddle from the animal’s back. Anticipating a wild reaction, Colin jumped away, pitching the saddle to the side, and hugged the timber walls of the enclosure.
Free of the encumbrance of a saddle, the horse docilely hung his head. Calum shook his head as Nora’s words played over in his mind. No longer cautious of the animal, he shifted to the side and pulled the saddle coverlet away, leaving the animal bare.
He nodded his head at Colin to exit. Once the groom slipped out, he followed suit and John latched the stall gate behind him. Pausing outside the enclosure, he tossed the heavy padding over the railing to examine the coverlet.
Hell, no wonder the beast had thrown its master.
Beneath the underside of the padding, four large burs tangled in the fabric. No doubt, the prickly seeds had pressed into the horse’s flesh, paining the animal.
“Saints,” John breathed out.
Calum understood the sentiment. He aimed a sideways stare at Colin. The man’s eyes rounded with shock.
The groom’s startled gaze darted from the coverlet to Calum. “My lord, I vow to you, ’twas naught beneath that coverlet when I saddled the horse. I take special care and attention with every animal housed within these stables.”
“I’m well aware, Colin. I did not mean to suggest otherwise,” he assured the groom. “What I need to know is if you noticed anyone lingering around the gelding’s stall after you saddled the beast.”
Colin expelled a shaky breath. “’Tis truth, I cannot say, Laird. There were several of the men readying their mounts for the hunt this morn.”
As Calum suspected, ’twas too simple for someone to slip into the gelding’s stall with Colin distracted in another. Hoping to appease the groom, he cuffed the man’s shoulder. “’Tis no fault of yours, Colin. Thank you for your aid. Please see that the animal gets a good brush down and a slather of salve to prevent infection.”
Determined to speak with Nora, Calum gripped the padding and rolled the material, tucking it beneath his arm. He gestured for John to follow as he strode from the stables for the keep. For his cousin’s sake, he hoped the lass had naught to do with Liam’s mishap, but she knew something.
He bounded up the steps, two at a time, until he reached his cousin’s chamber. Halting outside the door, he faced John.
“No one but my kin enters this chamber without my say, understood?”
John did not falter. “Aye, Laird.”
He nodded at the Fraser warrior, pleased with the man’s diligence. Not bothering to rap on the door, he stepped inside the chamber and his gaze sought out Nora. She was huddled in a chair along his cousin’s bedside, watching Liam sleep. When he entered, she jerked upright in the seat, her spine as straight as an arrow. Her wide, dark eyes shifted to him, easily conveying her troubled thoughts to Calum.
“Did you find it?”
The soft-spoken query hung in the room between them, raising his alarm. With careful, measured steps, he moved across the chamber. He eased down on the edge of the bed, careful not to disturb his slumbering cousin. Reaching for the padding beneath his arm, he dropped the rolled horse pad on the bed.
Nora stared at the item as though he’d placed an angered adder in front of her.
Despite Liam’s feelings for the woman, if the lass was embroiled in some grand scheme to do harm to his cousin and Fraser, then Calum would make certain she regretted her involvement.
“I’m not a prying man, Nora, but twice now, my kin have barely escaped the clutches of death. If you know something, then you’d better say so.”
Her worried gaze shifted to Liam, who lay in a deep slumber.
“If you’re concerned he shall hear, fret not. He’ll sleep for a while,” he assured her.
The breath pushed out of her and her shoulders slumped. She twined her hands together in her lap in a nervous action. Her pale features creased with a bone-deep weariness he’d failed to notice before.
“I’ve had my suspicions since the poisoning, but I was uncertain until now.” She wrung her hands, the knuckles white from the pressure of her grasp. “My name’s Venora MacNab, not Fraser.”
Calum blinked at her admission. MacNab. He’d not heard the name in a while. He searched his memory, seeking to remember what he recalled of the small clan located to the east. One matter dangled in his mind, a few years ago…
“Your parents—”
“Are dead,” she finished.
He lifted a brow at her low, flat tone.
“Five years past.” She remained unmoved, her expression void of emotion. “My father’s younger brother sought to challenge my father’s claim to the clan. Fortunate for my father, our clan adored and respected him as laird. However, ’twas not acceptable to my uncle. He believed my father too soft and unable to properly manage the clan, so he set about hatching a plan with his son, Fergus, to do away with my father.”
Alas, Calum guessed the rest of the tale. Too often, men sought power at the expense of others, destroying anything and everything in their accursed paths. The greed and wretchedness of man had affected his life, hurling him on much different paths than he’d anticipated. His own father’s death at the hands of a rival clan sprang to mind, then his lady wife’s chilling brush with death the prior autumn.
“One night after the evening meal, my mother and father complained of a stomachache and retired to their chamber. When I checked on them much later that eve, the pair barely clung to life. I regret not checking sooner. Mayhap, the healer might’ve saved them if I had, as your aunt did with Fraser.”
Calum hissed out a breath at the mention of poison. He frowned at her. “Surely, you cannot blame yourself?”
Studying her clasped hands, she shrugged. “At times, but I think my uncle would’ve found a way despite my best efforts. Though, I should’ve heeded the warnings. Especially after the incident with Will.”
“What happened to your brother?”
Her unnerved gaze lifted to his. “’Tis how I knew of Liam’s horse. Before our parents’ deaths, my uncle invited Will for a ride. Alas, my brother was thrown from his mount. ’Twas fortunate he’d only suffered a broken leg which I’m sure displeased our Uncle Tavish. I’d witnessed too many arguments between my father and uncle, heard of the foul tales he’d spread of my father to the clan. After my brother’s fall, I snuck into the stables and searched the mare he’d ridden—”
“And discovered this?” Calum lifted the coverlet, unrolling the thick material for her view. The sharp burs lay nestled in the padding, a damning confirmation of her suspicions.
“Aye.”
The strained affirmation sounded choked to his own ears. Transfixed by the sight, her gaze grew distant, as if lost in the thoughts of her past. He folded the coverlet to draw her into the present.
“Did you speak to you father afterward? Show him the proof?” he prompted her to continue.
Swallowing hard, she shook her head. “I tried to warn our father, but he could not fathom his brother could be so abominable as to make an attempt on his own nephew’s life. Saints, why had I not simply shown him the burs?” She lifted a hand, resting her elbow on the chair arm, and dropped her forehead in her palm. “So many things I should’ve done differently. If I had, then I might’ve spared my family.”
The tale reminded him much of his wife and the misplaced guilt she’d claimed as her burden to carry. Struck with sympathy for the lass, he reached toward her lap, giving her free hand a quick, light squeeze.
“Nora, you are in no way responsible for the actions of your uncle.”
She lifted her gaze, a keen awareness lit in her eyes. “I understand that now, Laird. For a while, I struggled with my guilt, but no longer. In truth, I was too young to fathom such danger resided within my family’s walls. After my parents’ deaths, I had no doubt my uncle would plot to end my brother’s life once more, but I refused to allow that to pass. I approached one of my father’s most trusted vassals and told him of the dire situation. Geordie did not hesitate to accompany me and Will as we fled for my father’s ally, Laird Fraser.
“Once I informed Hammish of what transpired with my uncle and spoke of my concerns for Will’s safety, the laird resolved to offer the three of us refuge. He introduced Geordie as a distant relation and Will and I as Geordie’s kin. Tavish knew not where we’d fled. For five long years, Laird Fraser has protected us from my uncle’s quest to destroy the true heir of the MacNabs.”
The fact Fraser had never muttered a peep of the situation utterly astounded Calum. The blasted old man scarcely kept his gob shut about anything. For once, it would seem Fraser managed to maintain his silence.
Calum added, “You fear your uncle has found Will.”
Nora scowled at the horse padding. “How else do you explain that and the poisoning? After the first incident, my brother swore it was naught but sheer coincidence. I did not believe so then, nor do I now. What you must understand, Laird MacGregor, our uncle cares only for himself and his wretched son. If he’s of the mind Will’s gained a few years and desires to claim what’s rightfully his, then Tavish will do everything in his power to ensure that never occurs.”
The cogs spinning in his head, he mulled over her tale and arrived at the same conclusion as the lass. ’Twas obvious someone from within the clan aided Nora’s uncle with his scheme. His cousin’s suspicions of Fraser’s commander circled in his head. But why would Kenneth betray Fraser in such a manner?
“Have you spoken of any of this to Liam?”
A pained expression crumpled her pale features. “Nay.”
“I understand your hesitation, but he needs to know, Nora.”
Her gaze flitted to Liam’s still form. “I’ll speak to him.”
He lifted a dubious brow.
“I vow I will,” she asserted with a frown.
Accepting her at her word, he nodded. “And what of Fraser?”
She shook her head, hesitating a moment. “I thought, mayhap, you would.”
He aimed a dry stare at the woman. Of course she wished him to speak to Fraser so that he’d receive the brunt of the man’s anger. Her dark, pleading gaze met his and he puffed out an exasperated sigh. By the Saints, females and their damned looks.
“Fine,” he barked out. “If I speak to Fraser, then you must speak to my cousin. And soon. Agreed?” He extended his hand for a shake.
She slipped her small hand in his. “Agreed.”
He offered the lass an encouraging grin. “Everything shall be fine, Nora. Between Liam, Fraser and me, you do not have to fret over Will.”
The strained smile she proffered spoke of her misgivings.
It made little difference to him. Once his cousin heard her tale, the lass would soon learn the power of MacGregor determination.