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Crying out, he caught her as she wobbled and then fell off the chair. Aulay clutched her to his chest briefly, and then moved around to the other side of the bed and set her in it. Straightening then, he stared down at her with a frown. Her eyes were closed and he was sure she'd fainted, but her face was a picture of pain. It had followed her into unconsciousness. She'd pushed too hard again.
Aulay stared at her helplessly for a minute and then headed for the door, muttering, "I'll fetch Rory."
Opening the door, he stepped out into the hall and growled, "Do no' let Jetta leave the room, and no one goes in but Rory or me."
"Aye, m'laird," Cullen said solemnly.
Nodding, Aulay hurried up the hall to the room where Katie had been put. He nodded at the soldiers posted on either side of the door and opened it to glance in. A frown claimed his face when he saw that only Geordie and Katie were inside.
"Where's Rory?" he asked.
"He rode out to gather some more o' his herbs. Between Jetta and Katie, he's run low and needed more," Geordie answered, and then raised his eyebrows. "Why? What's about?"
Cursing, Aulay started to turn away, but then paused and said grimly, "If someone ye think is Jetta comes in here, do no' trust her, and under no circumstances leave Katie alone with her. She is no' Jetta."
"What?" Geordie gasped with dismay.
"I'll explain later," Aulay growled and pulled the door closed to continue on to Niels and Edith's room. Without Rory here there was nothing he could do for Jetta at the moment, and he had to get to Niels. He never should have left him alone with the wench. She'd already shot Katie with an arrow, probably poisoned the stew Mavis and Jetta were meant to eat, pushed Jetta down the stairs and set fire to the stables. He had no idea what she might do next. In fact, he had no idea why she'd done what she had so far. Katie had obviously been a case of mistaken identity. Jetta's twin--Cat, she had called her--must have thought her Jetta when she shot the arrow at her. But he had no idea why she was trying to kill her sister, or how she'd even discovered Jetta was still alive and here, or--
Aulay's thoughts died abruptly as he neared Niels and Edith's door and it opened. He stiffened, preparing to leap forward and grab Cat, but it was Edith who came out. The moment she closed the door, Aulay rushed the last few steps, caught her arm and drew her quickly away up the hall.
"Aulay?" Edith gasped with surprise. "What . . . ?"
Pausing by the stairs, Aulay hissed, "I told ye to wait below."
"Aye, but then Rory came below and headed out o' the keep, so I thought I'd check on Niels," she explained with a frown. "Rory has no' even been to see him yet."
"Nay. I had no' got to him yet, and then he headed out to get some weeds," he muttered, glancing toward the door Edith had just come out of. "What happened when ye entered the room?"
"Happened?" she asked with bewilderment.
"What were Jetta and Niels doing?" he asked more specifically.
"Jetta?" She raised her eyebrows with surprise. "She was no' there. Niels was lying in bed, holding his head. He is in terrible pain," she added with concern.
"Niels is alone?" Aulay asked, ignoring the rest of her words.
"Aye," she assured him. "Do ye ken how long Rory will be? Niels really needs one o' his medicinals. He's in agony."
"Nay," he growled. "Come with me." Taking her arm, he ushered her back to the door and then hesitated, before saying, "Ye'd best wait out here until I'm sure the room truly is empty."
"What?" she asked with surprise, but he was already opening the door and slipping inside.
Niels lay in bed as Edith had said, but appeared to be asleep. Leaving him for the moment, Aulay glanced around the room. It seemed empty, and there were precious few spots to hide. Under the bed and in the chests in the room were the only options. Recalling the chests in the hall and the women's theory that it was where the attacker had hidden after pushing Jetta down the stairs, Aulay walked to the first one, lifted the lid and then began to drag out the dresses it held.
"Aulay! What are ye doing?"
Glancing around at that cry, he frowned at Edith. "I told ye to wait in the hall."
"Aye, but--Stop that," she hissed with an anxious look at Niels as she rushed forward to snatch the dresses from him.
"Sorry," Aulay muttered and pressed down on the remaining gowns in the chest rather than pull any more out. Reassured that there was nothing but material in that chest, Aulay left it and moved on to the next. This one held plaids, linen shirts and weapons, he saw when he opened the lid. Niels's chest, he realized and scooped several items out, before dropping them back in and closing the lid.
"Ye think the attacker is here," Edith said with realization.
Aulay didn't comment, but moved to the bed and dropped to look under it. Nothing. Cat must have left before Edith entered. Cursing, he got back to his feet.
"Aulay?" Edith said as he turned to head for the door. When he didn't respond, she dropped the dresses and rushed to catch his wrist. "Aulay! What the devil is going on?"
Aulay pulled his arm away, and almost left without responding, but then paused and turned to face her and asked, "Did ye pass Jetta in the hall on yer way here?"
"Jetta? Nay," she said with a frown. "There was no one but the soldiers in the hall."
"The soldiers," he breathed and turned to the door again.
"Aulay, dammit!" Edith snapped, grabbing his wrist again.
It was the curse rather than her hold on his hand that stopped Aulay this time. Edith just was not the sort to curse, which told him how upset she was. Facing her again, he blurted, "I'm quite sure the culprit behind the attacks is Jetta's sister, Cat."
"What?" she gasped with dismay. "Why?"
"I do no' ken," he admitted grimly, glancing at his brother. "But she and Jetta are twins, and she was in here earlier. I thought her Jetta, but Jetta was in our room with her guards the whole time, and--" Taking a breath, he paused to order his thoughts and then said, "Jetta is in our room. She does no' ken Cat is here. I've told the guard no' to let her out o' our chamber to prevent any confusion. So, if ye see someone ye think is Jetta, it isna her. Be on yer guard, she's dangerous."
He glanced to Niels again and added, "Ye may want to stay here with Niels in case she returns. I'll tell the men in the hall to keep an eye on yer door as well."
"What are ye going to do?" Edith asked with concern. "How will ye find this sister?"
Aulay hesitated, and then decided, "I'm going to arrange a search."
Turning away then, he left the room before she could ask any more questions.
Jetta's head was pounding when she woke up. Wincing against the pain, she tried to lift her hand to her head and frowned when she couldn't. Confused, she opened her eyes and glanced around. She was on her side, with her hands restricted behind her back, tied up with something, and she was beside some kind of copper--
The tub, Jetta realized suddenly. She was lying next to the tub she'd had two of the men bring up and set in the small room off the master chamber. Mavis had said Aulay's father had built the room, taking up a portion of the master bedchamber and a portion of the bedchamber next to it, to make up this one. The wall between them had been torn down, and two more put up in its place to make the small chamber. It had been the baby's room, where the latest addition to their family slept so that the babe could be close to his wife, without having to be in the same room with them.
Jetta had thought it a good idea, but as they had no children yet, she'd decided it would make a good permanent spot for the bath. Well, permanent until they did have babies. Keeping the tub in here would save the servants from having to drag it up all those stairs when they wished to use it. The servants and soldiers apparently had a couple of large wooden tubs out behind the kitchens for their own use, and if guests or anyone else above stairs wished to use it, moving it from the little room to one of the others would surely be easier than carting it up the stairs.
