James remained frozen for a moment, his hand still gripping hers. A storm of emotion churned beneath his controlled exterior, fear, guilt, and a rising, dangerous anger.
I should have been here. I should have protected her.
He rose slowly, turning toward Beatrice and Fiona with a hard look. “What happened?” he demanded.
Beatrice clasped her hands tightly. “We were walkin’ in the garden two days past,” she said. “She stopped, tried to speak… and then she fainted. She’s been like this ever since.”
James’s jaw tightened. “Where is the healer?” he asked sharply.
“He has been summoned, me Laird,” Fiona said.
The door opened and Orick stepped inside.
“Me Laird,” Orick said, inclining his head.
James gestured sharply toward the sitting area as he motioned everyone to follow.
“Speak,” he said. The three of them moved away from the bed, though James kept glancing back at Eloise as though unwilling to stray too far.
“I am glad ye’ve returned,” Orick began calmly. “Her condition has been… unusual.”
James folded his arms, his gaze dark. “What happened to her?” he pressed.
Orick hesitated only briefly. “Her symptoms, faintness, weakness, the fever, are consistent with… belladonna,” he said. “Though it may have been accidental.” Silence fell heavily over the room.
“Nothing is accidental,” James said coldly.
Beatrice gasped softly. “Belladonna?” she repeated, her voice trembling.
“Ye mean… poison?” Fiona asked.
Orick nodded once. “In large enough quantity, aye,” he said.
Beatrice’s hand flew to her mouth. “What is to be done?” she asked, panic rising in her voice.
Orick remained steady. “I have sent a guard to the village,” he said. “There is an herb that may counter its effects. He should return within the hour.”
James said nothing for a long moment, his gaze fixed and burning. Then he turned back toward the bed.
“Do what ye must,” he said quietly. “She will live. I willnae have it any other way.”
The rest of the night stretched endlessly. James refused to leave her side, seated close with his hand wrapped around hers as though sheer will alone might anchor her to this world.
What have I done? I took her in so that she may escape the same fate me sister faced with Drummond. Instead of keeping her safe I have sent her on the same path.
Orick returned with the remedy and carefully administered the bitter herbal tea, coaxing Eloise to drink in small amounts when she stirred.
Each time her eyes opened, James leaned forward immediately. “Stay with me,” he murmured more than once. “Daenae leave me.”
James knew that Beatrice lingered nearby, though her worry gave way to exhaustion as the hours dragged on and she fell asleep in a chair.
Still, James did not move. His focus remained entirely on Eloise.
But beneath that stillness, something darker took root.
Belladonna. Poison. Treachery.
His gaze hardened as he stared into the dim light of the chamber. Someone had done this. Someone within his walls had harmed her.
