Teagan nodded.“Aye.And ye know what can happen if ye eat them, accidental or otherwise?”
Ailith stilled.“Should I no’ plant them at Drumoak?”She hadn’t known foxglove wasthatdangerous!Then again, she’d never researched it.They didn’t exactly have the Internet here.
“Just be careful with them.If ye like the pretty wee things, then plant them or put them in water in your room.But only for looking at, aye?”
A grin crossed Ailith’s lips.“Aye.”
Ailith covered her last stem with rich, loamy earth and sat back on her heels, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand.Three locations – Dunnottar, Glenbervie, and now north of Mowtie.If they took root.She could be doing all of this for nothing, but Ailith had the sense that if she was doing something wrong, her dream-Eladon would have said something.
Wouldn’t she?
In truth, how would Ailith know?
Better to err on the side of caution and plant as many as possible.Then she could say she did everything in her power to keep these tiny plants alive.
They gathered their plants – Teagan had a few of the mushrooms left and wanted to see if they might grow on the shady, north side of her own house, which delighted Ailith – and headed back.
They neared the edge of the narrow clearing of Teagan’s cruck house when the sound of hoofbeats echoed in the air at the bend behind some trees.
Is William back already?Ailith glanced at the sun.It seemed rather early.
“Is that William, do ye think?”Ailith asked Teagan.
The Irishwoman didn’t respond.Her face tightened, and before Ailith could ask another question, she shoved Ailith as hard as she could off the overgrown path.Ailith, surprised by the woman’s attack, stumbled to her side into a bush.Teagan glared at her.
“Stay there,” she said in a loud whisper.“’Tis no’ William.”
Ailith’s chest sank to her stomach, and she crouched behind the full bush.Though the land around Teagan’s croft was not heavily wooded, pockets of trees and bushes clustered here and there, and right now, Ailith was grateful for the cover.
What was so dangerous as to have her hide?
“Halt, woman of Eire,” a demanding voice called out.
Ailith peeked through the leaves.An oak tree partly blocked her view, but from her vantage point, she could make out a cluster of men.Two were on horses, and the rest were walking.Maybe four or five total.
“Alistair Keith.What brings ye to my meager side of Mowtie?”Teagan announced in an overly loud voice with a flip of her curly orange hair.
For my benefit,Ailith realized.So I will know who is with her in case something happens.Ailith ignored the sound of her blood pounding in her chest and focused on Teagan.
“Ye have overstepped, O’Connor,” the man named Alistair barked out.“More than once, my kin has come to me, accusing ye of pagan witchery.Now the herbalist says ye asked for an herb that only a witch might use.Thank the Lord God above that he did no’ give it to ye.Who knows what manner of destruction ye might have wrought!”
Ailith noticed that the men had slowly started to circle Teagan.How did she stand with confidence when obviously something dire was about to happen?
Mayhap that was what she meant when she said she was used to being on her own.Evidently, this type of encounter had occurred in the past.
“Unless the destruction ye are accusing me of is helping cure someone of their cough, ye best be leaving.I’ve done naught to ye or yours, and Callum knows this.Ye are no’ here at his request.”
The circle of men closed in tighter until Ailith could barely see Teagan – only tufts of her hair and kirtle peeking between the men.Ailith held her breath.What were they doing?
“Ye even hold the evidence of it in your hands,” Alistair continued.“The flowers and puddock-stools!Too many have accused ye of witchcraft to let it pass this time.The herbalist was the final straw.”
It was then that Ailith saw the plants still clutched in Teagan’s fist.Ailith had put hers in her sack.
Oh, feck me, Ailith thought.It was obvious where this encounter was going.
“The final straw?”Teagan asked, panic causing her voice to rise an octave.“What do ye mean –”
The men rushed her, followed by a scuffle as Ailith heard Teagan shouting.“Hey!What?Leave me alone!”
