“That’s not necessary,” she argued softly.
“Appease me in this, wife, or I will worry endlessly over you,” he said, running his thumb faintly across her lips.
With her stomach still roiling, though not as bad as before, and a sudden tiredness creeping up on her, but mostly because she didn’t want to be the cause of worry to her husband, she acquiesced. “I will stay abed.”
He leaned down and kissed her lips gently. “Thank you. My worry eases some.” He reluctantly stepped away from the bed.
“You will tell me what Bram has to say?” she asked anxiously.
He turned shaking his head, then nodded. “Aye, I will share all with you so you don’t unwisely go seeing things you shouldn’t and making yourself ill.”
“You are the best husband,” Elysia said with a wide grin.
“A husband who will never again let you look upon such a gruesome scene,” he said and headed out the door.
“Lord Odran is right,” Dorrit scolded. “Lady Margaret got so upset hearing the news about Glenis that Lord Fergus insisted she return to bed and rest. He sits with her to calm her. Such a terrible sight is not fit for a lady to look upon.”
Elysia ignored the scolding. “Could you brew me some chamomile? And it would do well to take some to Lady Margaret as well.”
“Aye, my lady, very thoughtful of you,” Dorrit said and out the door she went.
Lendra went to the door and closed it.
“Worry not, Lendra, I plan on speaking to Bram myself and making sure my husband sees that Bram is proven innocent of Glenis’s death,” Elysia said.
Lendra stopped at the side of the bed. “I have no doubt of that but,” —she hesitated— “I need to ask you something, Elysia, friend to friend.”
“Of course, Lendra,” Elysia said, concerned by the strange way Lendra looked at her.
Lendra hesitated to speak and lowered her voice to a whisper when she finally spoke. “Is it possible you are with child?”
Chapter 22
“The people grow impatient for justice. It has been two days since he killed Glenis. Hang him and be done with it,” Fergus ordered his son.
Odran rubbed the cloth across his sweaty face, after leaving the practice field when his da had shouted out to him. He had known what his da would say and had heard the rumbling impatience of some in the clan. They wanted Bram dead for killing Glenis. At first, he wanted it as well, but after speaking with him and talking with his wife, he began to question who actually had killed Glenis.
“I don’t know if Bram killed Glenis and I would prefer we punish the guilty person rather than an innocent one,” Odran said.
“He had blood all over him. What more proof do you want?” his da demanded.
“Glenis was stabbed four times. Bram would have no need to stab her that many times to kill her,” Odran argued.
“He was angry. She probably told him she’d had enough of him and didn’t want to bother with him anymore. Her dismissal sent him into a fit of rage and he lashed out at her.”
“I would agree with you, if I hadn’t seen how he dealt with women at the Clan Loudon. Bram wouldn’t rage if a woman rejected him. He’d find it a challenge and do whatever he could to change her mind,” Odran said.
“Men are unpredictable when it comes to women. Who knows what reason had him kill Glenis. All believe he killed her and they want him to pay for her death.” Fergus’s hand went up when his son went to argue. “Already word spreads of the curse creeping once again through our lives and they fear more will suffer if Bram isn’t made to pay. See it done.”
Odran shook his head as his da walked off. He didn’t agree with his da, but his da ruled the clan and his word was to be obeyed.
Finch approached. “Lord Fergus is right. Do not let your wife’s defense of her clansmen cloud your judgment.”
“My judgment is not clouded. I see clearly and what I see tells me that Bram would not have done this to Glenis. And I fear if he’s hung and another murder takes place, what then? Do we keep killing people we assume are guilty?”
“Lord Fergus has ordered it,” Finch reminded him.
Odran had no choice. “Set the hanging for tomorrow and see that word is spread for all to know.”
“Aye, my lord,” Finch said with a look of satisfaction. “You will see this is the wise thing to do.”
“I have my doubts, Finch,” Odran said with an eye to the keep. He needed to tell his wife before she heard it from anyone else. He grabbed his shirt off the bench and slipped it on as he headed toward the keep.
Elysia had wrestled with a queasy stomach the last couple of days, but this morning she woke feeling good. She sat in the Great Hall, enjoying a chamomile brew while waiting for Lendra, who was busy helping Dorrit with something. When she finished they were going to speak with Bram. Elysia was relieved her husband hadn’t rushed to hang Bram, though she worried that could change any minute. She also worried there would be nothing she could do to stop it. How could she prove him innocent when he was found in Glenis’s cottage with her blood on his hands?