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"I shall take the whiskey," Averill said quietly.
"Nay, me lady, he--"
"I shall take it," she said firmly, unwilling to have untainted whiskey given to the man. It might ruin any progress that her dosing the drinks he received had made. The fact that Kade's father had turned up his nose at the drink this morning gave her hope that Brodie would soon give up the drink as well.
Morag scowled but could do little but hand over the whiskey. She could not disobey a direct order from her lady.
Trying to ease the moment, Averill announced, "You may tell the others that Laird Stewart has ceded the title to my husband. Things shall be different around here from now on."
"Thank the sweet Lord," Morag murmured, a smile tugging briefly at her normally stiff lips. "Aye, I shall go tell Lily and the others right now."
Averill watched her go, waiting until she had moved out of sight down the stairs, then retrieved the vial of tincture from the small bag hanging from her skirt. She had taken to carrying it with her always for just such a reason. Now she dumped the last of the tincture in and grimaced. She had brought three vials of the stuff on leaving Mortagne, assuming that would be enough. But if this drink did not work, she would need to make more today.
Shaking her head at being burdened with such a task when she had so much else to do, Averill slipped the empty vial back into her bag and moved to the door to Brodie's room.
She found him sitting on the side of the bed, head bowed in misery, but he lifted his head as she crossed the room, and she felt a moment's guilt at the sight of him. After five days of the tainted whiskey, the man looked even worse than his father. He had lost weight and was trembling, but still he held his hand out for the whiskey as if it were food and he a starving man.
Averill handed it over silently, making sure not to get close enough for him to grab her, then turned to start across the room, pausing abruptly when she saw her husband filling the doorway ahead.
"H-husband," she said nervously. "I-I w-was j-just--"
"Come here," Kade interrupted gruffly.
Averill hesitated, but then hurried forward. The moment she stopped before him, he took her arm and turned to drag her from the room. He didn't bother to close the door behind them but simply led her up the hall to their own room and urged her inside.
Averill bit her lip worriedly as she turned to face him. She was expecting him to give her hell for going against his order to stay away from his brother and father. Instead, he shocked her by barking, "What did ye put in it?"
Averill's eyes widened in horror as she realized he must have seen her in the hall.
Licking her lips, she stuttered. "I-I w-was--"
"Doona start stammering to try to soften me up," Kade said firmly, and she gaped at him with amazement.
"I d-do n-not--" she began.
"Wife," he snapped.
She sighed, then got out anxiously, "A t-tincture t-to make them s-sick and s-stop th-them w-wanting to drink."
His eyes widened incredulously. "Ye've been the one making them sick, no' the whiskey?"
"Aye," she admitted shamefaced, and waited for him to explode, and he did, but not with anger as she'd expected, but laughter.
"Why ye clever little wench," Kade said with admiration as his laughter faded.
Averill eyed him with uncertainty. "You are not angry?"
"Nay. I'm verra grateful. Gawain has no' drank in days and is becomin' the man he was meant to be. And it certainly made things easier with me da. He's sure he's dying and handin' over the title without a drunken argument," he pointed out, then added, "And he's still had naught to drink o' the whiskey ye left him by the time I recalled I should gi'e ye hell fer ignorin' me orders, so I followed to see ye dosing Brodie's whiskey."
Averill grimaced, but cautioned, "I suspect Gawain would have stopped on his own once he knew you were here. I do not think he drank as heavily or for the same reasons as your father and brother did. As for your father and Brodie, your father may slip again and drink the whiskey I left, and Brodie is well in the whiskey's clutches and still asking for it."
Kade shrugged. "If they drink, they drink. But if they're sick every time they do, they'll soon stop."
"Aye, well, I am all out of the tincture and am not sure I can find the weed I used to make it around here," Averill admitted regretfully.
Kade frowned at this news. "Where does it grow?"
"In damp areas," she said.
He considered the problem, then nodded. "Mayhap 'twill be by the river. We will take a ride out this afternoon."
"Nay," she said at once, shoulders stiffening in preparation for a battle. He had won the argument about getting up that morning, but Averill was determined he would not win this one. "You are not going outside the bailey. I will ride out with Will and a couple of his men, but I will not have you injured again. You are only just starting to recover from your wound."
Kade shrugged that worry away. "'Twill be fine. We will take the soldiers."
"You may take the soldiers," she said grimly. "But I am not going through another day like that one, thank you very much. You may find the weed on your own are you so determined to go."
He frowned. "But I doona ken what weed it is."
"Then stay here and let me go out with the men to find it," Averill bartered.
He scowled at her, anger on his face, but there was admiration, too. "Ye're turnin' out to be a tricky lass, wife."
"Aye." Averill smiled, knowing she had won.
Kade shook his head, but then said, "Verra well. I'll stay here. I've much to set into action now I'm officially laird anyway. But yer to stick close to Will and no' wander off from yer guard."
"Aye, husband," she said at once, giving him a sweet and dutiful smile.
Kade's lips twitched, and he shook his head. "In all the things he told me about ye, Will never once mentioned this streak o' cleverness ye ha'e."
"I am not clever," she said at once, then repeated her mother's often-spoken warning. "Cleverness is unappealing in a woman."
"Neither is hair like fire supposed to be, and yet I find both verra appealin'," Kade assured her, slipping an arm about her waist and drawing her up against his chest, only to wince as the damaged muscles of his back complained.
"You must be careful," Averill said solemnly, raising a hand to caress his cheek.
"Aye." He sighed, then gave her a crooked smile, and said, "Someday I will get to bed ye again, wife."
"I look forward to it," she whispered, and rose on her tiptoes to kiss him. It was a quick brushing of lips only. Averill had no desire to start something they could not presently finish.
A knock at the door sounded as she lowered her heels back to the floor, and when Kade let his arm slip from around her waist, she slid away to open it and found Will on the other side. He smiled at her, then glanced over her shoulder to Kade.
"Your father is wondering if you will return."
"Aye," Kade said, moving up behind Averill. "But first I've a favor to ask o' ye."
"Anything, my friend," Will assured him.
"Averill has run out o' one o' her healing weeds and must take a little jaunt down by the river."
"I will accompany her," Will said at once, and added, "as you have much to do here."
"Aye. Thank ye," Kade muttered, and his expression told Averill he was not fooled at all by the words. She suspected that he, too, had noted the worry that had flashed over Will's face and the alacrity with which he'd offered to accompany her and also concluded that her brother was as eager to keep Kade from going out and making himself a target as she was. "I'd suggest ye take at least a dozen men with ye, just in case. Two would be better, but--"
"I shall take three dozen," Will said with a grin, then added, "as they will be glad to be doing something."
"Well," Averill said brightly, "you had best go speak to your father, husband. We will head out at once and return quickly."
"Aye," he growled, and started to bend as i
f to kiss her, but paused and winced as it triggered pain in his back.
Averill quickly rose to brush her lips across his again, and whispered, "Do not strain yourself today. Give orders only and leave the labor to others, and if you grow weary, rest. There is no shame in it; you are healing from a dangerous wound."
"Aye, aye," Kade muttered, pushing her gently toward Will. "Now get ye gone so I can start settin' this keep to rights."
Nodding, Averill stepped past her brother into the hall and headed for the stairs, with Will on her heels.
"Take a dozen men with ye, Will," Kade called, then added, "Nay, two dozen. And doona let her out o' yer sight. She can be a tricky lass."
