“Medicine?” He squinted at the pellets and the tube. “What does it heal?”
“The long one stops me from dying, the other shuts my brain up when it’s too loud,” she muttered.
Stops her from dyin’?
Now, that was a peculiarity he could make allowances for. Although it didn’t help his suspicion that she might be something otherworldly.
He carefully put the orange-and-blue-ended tube back in her bag, for that was sorcery he wasn’t keen on messing with. The vial, however, he decided to investigate more thoroughly.
He guessed that the white thing on top was the lid and tried to pull it, but it wouldn’t budge. He twisted it, yanked it, even tried to bite it with his teeth, yet it stayed where it was.
“It’s a child-safe cap,” Nancy remarked, a half-smirk quirking her lips as she raised her head. “Looks to be Laird-safe too. Too difficult for you?”
His annoyance flared. “Open it.”
“I won’t.” She shook her head. “That stuff is prescription only. You might be allergic, and the last thing I need is for a bunch of burly dudes to come running in here while you’re foaming at the mouth, blaming me for it. Then, I’d have to waste good epinephrine on you to save myself.”
“It’s poison?” He looked again at her tempting red lips.
There were witches of old, witches who likely still existed in secluded corners of this country, who stained their lips with berries to mark themselves as powerful vessels of magic and healing. Her mouth was brighter than any berry, the edges slightly smudged, but it didn’t seem to be the same thing.
She huffed out a breath and closed her eyes. “No. I told you, it’s med?—”
Nancy jolted in her seat as the door burst open and a familiar figure barged in, an older woman with thick gray hair braided into a coronet around her head, sharp hazel eyes, and a beautiful face that hadn’t dimmed with age.
Hunter’s aunt, Isla Lawson. She didn’t even need to speak; she just cast a pointed glance at the red-faced baby that wailed in her arms.
“I said I wasnae to be disturbed, Isla,” Hunter barked.
What was his aunt thinking, bringing his daughter down to the dungeons? And while he was interrogating someone who might mean to do them harm, at that?
“Aye, well, she willnae settle,” Isla retorted as she made her way over to him, “and her cries are makin’medaughter cry, and I cannae have the both of them wailin’. Me poor ears cannae take it.”
She promptly handed the little girl, Freya, over to him.
“I thought Elsie wanted to practice?” Hunter asked, thinking fondly of his cousin.
She still had a few months to go before she gave birth to her first child, though it seemed that pregnancy was becoming increasingly difficult for her.
When Freya was left at the castle gates by her grandfather, Elsie had been so eager to rehearse motherhood, but perhaps the novelty was wearing off, and reality was setting in.
“She’s just havin’ a bad day,” Isla replied. “And it looks like she’s nae the only one. Who’s this?”
She put her hands on her hips, staring intently at Nancy. Nancy, meanwhile, seemed to be looking everywhere but at Isla.
“The guards said ye were interrogatin’ someone,” Isla continued. “But what reason do ye have to interrogate this lass? She doesnae look dangerous to me. She looks like she could use a good meal and a bit of rest, but nae dangerous. Honestly, sometimes I think ye men aretoocautious.”
At that, Nancy slowly turned her gaze toward the woman, her expression softening as if grateful to have an ally. Which was exactly what Hunterdidn’twant. He’d be having stern words with whichever guard had informed his aunt of his whereabouts.
“I’m Nancy.”
“What a lovely name,” Isla cooed, stepping closer. “Perhaps ye’ve come to work for us? To help with the wee one?”
“I already asked her that,” Hunter muttered as he rocked Freya gently, her cries becoming more sporadic.
Nancy laughed stiffly. “I’m afraid I’m completely useless when it comes to babies. I couldn’t tell you the last time I held one, if Ihaveever held one. I mean, I must have done it at some point, but…” She shrugged. “Me and babies don’t mix. They’re loud, they’re needy, they keep you up at night. I hear they smell good, though.”
Hunter noticed her staring at Freya all of a sudden, as if she’d only just realized there was a baby in the room. Or maybe it was relief that his daughter was getting calmer by the minute. He couldn’t quite tell.
