The Laird of Stonehaven (23 page)

Sobbing as if her heart would break, Blair entered the stillroom. To her utter horror, she felt that her powers had weakened since Graeme had rejected her. Could she be in love with Graeme? After seeing his eyes fill with contempt for her, she knew he would never return her love. According to the Prophecy, her powers would be stripped from her.

Blair gathered the candles, placed them in a circle and sprinkled herbs around the perimeter. Then she stepped inside the circle and began the ritual she knew by heart. When the candles flared into various colors, Blair lifted her arms and chanted:

“Spirits of nature, hear me.
Send the water back to the sea.
Bring out the sun,
Let the rains be done.”

Suddenly a bright light formed before her eyes. It was so dazzling, it almost hurt to look at it. At the center of the light was an ethereal being. She blinked, aware that she was standing in a beam of sunshine so brilliant she could no longer look into its center. The storm clouds had rolled away, and the sun was shining once more. Her powers were still with her, though she sensed that this summoning had drained what was left of them.

The emotional drain was suddenly too much. With a soft sigh she fell into a faint. From the void came a voice.

“Do not despair. Your destinies are linked. Some things are meant to be.”

Alyce found Blair lying in a circle of spent candles a short time later. Unable to awaken her, she flew up the stairs to summon help. She found Graeme bent over a table deeply asleep, his head resting on his crossed arms. Reluctant to wake him, she saw Aiden enter the hall and begged his help.

“What happened to the wee lass?” Aiden asked as he hurried after Alyce.

“I dinna know. Can ye carry her up to her bedchamber? The laird was so weary, I didna want to wake him.”

Aiden bent to pick up Blair. “What are these candles? Why is she lying on herbs?”

“ ’Tis nae the time for questions, mon,” Alyce replied. “I must see to my lady.”

Blair’s pale face must have convinced Aiden to make haste for he scooped her into his arms and carried her up the stairs. As they passed through the hall, Graeme stirred and opened his eyes.

“Why is my wife in your arms?” he asked as Aiden brushed past him.

“Blair is ill,” Alyce answered. “I didna want to wake ye and asked Aiden to carry Blair to her bedchamber.”

“Give her to me,” Graeme said, rising and stretching out his arms. Aiden obeyed without argument, placing Blair’s limp form into Graeme’s arms.

Graeme took the stairs two at a time, silently counting the reasons why he shouldn’t worry about his wife after the disaster she had created.

“Carry her to her bed, my laird,” Alyce ordered. “I will take care of her.”

“Does she do this often?” Graeme asked as he carefully lowered his wife to the bed.

“Nay, but she does seem to be doing it more often of late.” Alyce sent Graeme a probing look. “I wonder . . .”

“What do you . . .” The breath caught in Graeme’s throat, and he rushed to the window. “The sun is shining! The rain has stopped! Thank God.”

“Thank Blair, more likely,” Alyce muttered beneath her breath.

“Take care of her,” Graeme said as he turned away from the window. “Tell her she will no longer have access to the stillroom.”

“What are ye saying?”

“I know Blair cast a spell to bring the rains and I dinna trust her. I warned her many times about using magic, but she didna heed me. Right now, I canna stand the sight of her.” So saying, he whirled and stomped off.

“Blair, lass, what have ye done?” Alyce lamented.

Blair opened her eyes and touched Alyce’s cheek. “Dinna fret, Alyce. I knew what I was getting myself into, but I couldna let that stop me. Graeme’s life means everything to me.”

“Ye love him, lass,” Alyce observed.

“Aye, I admit it, but loving Graeme means the loss of my powers. He hates me, Alyce. Stopping the rain required what was left of my powers. I am now like any other woman. I am no longer a Faery Woman.”

“Ye dinna know that, lass.”

“Aye, I do. I feel . . . different somehow. I am light-headed and my stomach is churning. I’ve never felt like this before.” Acute distress left her pale.

“What will Graeme do to me?”

“Laird Graeme is an honorable mon. He made a promise to yer da and ’tis unlikely he will forget it.”

“How am I to exist? I am a pariah among Graeme’s people. My own husband thinks I am a witch.”

“Dinna fash yerself, lass. Things have a way of working out.”

“Not this time, Alyce. I know Graeme would never hurt me, but I canna bear his animosity.” Suddenly she lurched up in bed, her face turning a sickly shade of green. “Oh, my, I think I’m going to be ill.”

Alyce held the basin while Blair lost the meager contents of her stomach. Afterward, she rinsed out her mouth and fell back against the pillow. She turned her face to the wall, silent tears streaming down her face. She didn’t hear Alyce tiptoe from the chamber.

Graeme and his kinsmen were celebrating the return of sunshine and cloudless skies when Alyce marched up to him and demanded his attention.

None too pleased by the intrusion, Graeme grudgingly agreed to speak with her. He walked to where they couldn’t be heard and turned to confront her.

“What is it? Is this about Blair? If it is, I dinna want to hear it. I am finished with her.”

“Mayhap ye are finished with her, but what about the bairn she carries?”

The veins in Graeme’s neck bulged. “You lie! You and Blair have cooked this up to make things easier for her.”

“I know the signs,” Alyce persisted.

“Dinna talk to me of signs, woman! I want naught to do with Blair or the bairn she may or may not carry. One witch in the household is enough. Mayhap I should send her back to Gairloch and let her brother deal with her.”

“Foolish mon,” Alyce chided. “If ye hurt my lass, ye will be sorry.”

“Are you threatening me, Alyce?”

Alyce glared at him. “Nay, ’tis not I who will punish ye.” She stormed off in an angry flurry of skirts.

Graeme stared after her, his head spinning. He didn’t for one minute believe Blair was carrying his child. What he did believe was that neither Alyce nor Blair was above lying to manipulate him.

Blair kept to herself during the following days. She had no intimate contact with Graeme and missed him dreadfully. It was as if she didn’t exist. He rarely looked at her and never spoke directly to her. She had indeed become an outcast. Everyone suspected she had caused the storm, but no one could be sure. As a result, Graeme’s kinsmen walked circles around her, going out of their way to avoid her.

Work had begun on a new bridge, keeping Graeme occupied each day until darkness settled over the land. During the evening meal Graeme avoided her like the plague, preferring to sit with his kinsmen at one of the low tables. Even more disturbing was the knowledge that Glenda had grown bolder in her pursuit of Graeme. She hovered over him constantly, ready to fulfill his every need. Blair had little doubt that one of those needs was sexual.

Though Blair rarely ventured far from the keep after the floodwaters had begun to recede, she was eager to see how work was progressing on the new bridge. Since no one seemed to monitor her comings and goings, Blair felt free to do as she pleased.

One sunny day she and Alyce walked outside to enjoy the sunshine. Blair lifted her face to the welcome heat and let it soak through her. Since she had summoned the spirits of nature to help her, she felt cold all the time. She felt utterly lost, as if an important part of herself were missing. She didn’t need a vision to tell her it was Graeme she was missing from her life.

“Where do ye wish to go, lass?” Alyce asked. “I wouldna advise ye to venture far abroad. Ye know how superstitious Graeme’s kinsmen are about ye.”

“I know, but I’d like to see how far the bridge is from completion. We can watch from further upstream, where we won’t be seen.”

They skirted the village and walked past rowan trees leafed out in brilliant green. Blair smiled when she heard the distant croaking of ptarmigan and clapped in delight when she counted several blue heron on a nearby cairn. Some fifteen minutes later they reached a crag overlooking Loch Torridon, an arm of the sea thrusting inland.

“The level of the loch isna back to normal,” Blair observed. “I am grateful the village escaped the worst of the flood. Did the crops survive?”

“There was some loss, but several days of sunshine have done a great deal to reverse the worst of the damage. ’Tis likely the crops will survive, except in the fields that were completely flooded. There was no loss of livestock.”

Blair sighed. “I didna mean to hurt anyone, I thought only of saving Graeme’s life. I knew there would be consequences, but I didna let myself think of them.”

“Look,” Alyce said, pointing downstream. “Ye can see men at work on the bridge.”

Blair easily picked Graeme out from among the group of men. All were bare from the waist up and wearing trews that had been cut off above the knee for easy movement in the water. Graeme’s impressive physique stood out among the dozen or so hearty Scotsmen.

“The bridge seems to be progressing well.”

“Look, there’s Stuart,” Alyce pointed out. “He’s verra bonny for a mon his age.”

Blair’s attention was so intent upon Graeme, she didn’t hear the sound of approaching footsteps. Neither did Alyce, who was a little hard of hearing.

“There she be!” a woman shrieked. “Did I not tell ye she was planning mischief? ’Tis fortunate I saw her whilst I was gathering herbs outside the village.”

Blair whirled, unpleasantly surprised to see Gunna leading a congregation of women and men from the village. “I dinna want any trouble,” Blair said. “I mean no harm.”

“Ye asked for trouble when ye called upon evil spirits to bring devastation to the Campbells.”

As if to reinforce Gunna’s words, a crow flew over Blair’s head, cawing loudly.

“Look!” Gunna cried. “She brought her familiar!”

“Nay, ’tisna true!” Blair denied.

“She lies,” Glenda said, stepping from behind the stocky midwife. “I heard Laird Graeme accuse her of using witchcraft. She didna deny it. He banished her from his life.”

“Mayhap she should prove herself,” Gunna said, crowding Blair closer to the edge of the crag. “I’ve heard that witches float. Let her prove she’s nae a witch. If she drowns, we’ll know she is innocent.”

Suddenly a woman Blair recognized pushed Gunna aside. It was Mab, the woman Blair had helped through childbirth.

“ ’Tis shameful the way ye are treating our laird’s wife,” Mab charged. “Look at all the good she has done. You, Mary—did Lady Blair not heal yer son’s wound when he cut himself playing with his da’s dirk? And you, Talia—didna Blair cure yer daughter’s chest congestion?”

“Dinna listen to her,” Gunna screamed. “The witch must prove herself.”

Unfortunately, Mab’s voice of reason could not stop Gunna’s vicious attack. When a mob was roused to fury, common sense fled.

As one, the voices rose to a chilling crescendo. “Aye, let her prove herself! Throw her into the loch. If she drowns, we will know she is innocent.”

Blair was terrified. She couldn’t swim, for she had never had the opportunity to learn, and she knew the weight of her skirts would pull her under. She prayed that the water below was shallow.

It was obvious to Blair that Gunna’s animosity was virulent enough to carry the villagers along with her. Only a few reluctant souls refused to participate. Blair looked for a way to escape but found herself surrounded.

“Save yourself,” Blair hissed to Alyce. “Run before they turn on you.”

Alyce looked as if she wanted to protest, but ultimately she lifted her skirts and fled. Blair was grateful that no one tried to stop the older woman. Marshaling her courage, she turned a calm face to Gunna in an effort to tamp down her rage. But nothing short of Blair’s death would satisfy the midwife. She stalked toward Blair.

Suddenly Grant and another man grabbed her and dragged her to the edge of the crag. She screamed, and then she was falling . . . falling until the turbulent water came up to meet her with frightening haste. She hit the water with a loud splash before she could take a deep breath.

Down, down, she went, frighteningly aware that the loch was deeper than she had thought. She hit the bottom, then thrust upward with all her might. When she broke the surface, she took a gulp of life-giving air, but her sodden skirts dragged her back down.

Panic-stricken, she began to struggle for her very life. She didn’t want to die. Not now—not before Graeme had forgiven her.

Alyce ran as fast as her legs could carry her to where Graeme was working on the bridge. Her lass was in danger, and only Graeme could save her. Would he even care? Though her old legs were ready to give way, she kept running until she collapsed in Graeme’s arms.

Graeme had seen Alyce running toward him and had sprinted forward to meet her. Intuition told him that something had happened to Blair, and his intuition rarely failed him. He had tried his best these past few days to pretend she didn’t exist. He knew that by ignoring Blair he was reinforcing his kinsmen’s fear of her, but he hadn’t been able to get past his disappointment in her. Or his anger.

But Blair needed him now, and nothing else mattered. One look into Alyce’s panic-stricken eyes was all it took to goad him into action.

“What is it, Alyce? Is Blair in trouble?”

Unable to catch her breath, Alyce nodded and pointed upstream. Graeme saw a group of people gathered on a crag above the loch.

Swallowing his fear, Graeme tried again. “Does Blair need me?”

“Aye,” Alyce gasped. “They’ve thrown her in the loch.”

It was all Graeme needed to hear. He passed Alyce over to Stuart, who had come running when he saw the tiring woman fall into Graeme’s arms.

“Take her back to the keep,” Graeme ordered as he raced to Blair’s aid.

Adrenaline pumped through his body. Shouting Blair’s name, he dove into the water and swam toward where he saw her head pop up. Then she sank beneath the water and didn’t resurface. Stretching his arms and kicking his legs, he put all his strength into his strokes.