“I wasn’t going to,” Iona said.
“And I was going to make sure you didn’t,” Kinnell fired back.
“Be grateful you did not lose her last night, for I am grateful she saved my wife’s life by drinking that brew,” Torin said.
“Black henbane. It is used by many healers for a variety of things, but with great care for it can poison fatally in copious quantities. I was not sure how much I had ingested. I knew forced sleep would claim me but did not know if I would ever wake again.”
“Fate had other plans for you,” Flora said and glanced from Iona to Kinnell.
Iona smiled. “An easier solution would have worked for me, but nonetheless I appreciate fate’s plan.”
“What plan?” Kinnell demanded. “It better include me because I am not letting you go. You are mine now.”
Iona’s smile broadened and reached her hand out to Kinnell.
He took it and held it tight.
“I woke hours ago, thankfully. When the fog that engulfed me finally dissipated, I had Kinnell get me the pouch of suspected leaves. The henbane is mixed in with leaves that cause no harm.”
“I will see it is disposed of so it can do no further harm,” Torin said.
“I would prefer to keep it, my lord,” Iona said. “It could offer help in certain situations if care and knowledge is taken when using it. It is not easy to come by, growing by the sea and in sandy soil.”
“So, whoever had this henbane had to have spent time by the sea,” Torin said.
“Unless someone had given it to the person,” Flora said, “and he also would have had to have good reason to visit the kitchen.”
“Walsh can be found there picking up Philip’s food now and again and I have seen him talking often with Anwen,” Kinnell said.
“Hadwin is another who visits the kitchen often, talking with Verena,” Iona said.
“I tested Hadwin to see if he would drink the brew prepared for Flora and he raised it to his lips,” Torin said.
“He could have chanced you would stop him in order to protect himself,” Kinnell said.
“Then there is Henry,” Torin said.
“Who only arrived and does not even know where the kitchen is located,” Kinnell said.
“But he did know of black henbane,” Torin reminded.
“The question still begs… why would someone want me dead?” Flora said.
* * *
“Verena tastedthe brew from the pot before she allowed me to bring it to you,” Anwen said, placing the tankard on the table in the Great Hall.
Flora hurried her chilled hands around the heated tankard. “Please tell, Verena I am most grateful.”
Anwen nodded, then hurried off to tend to her task.
The cold, whipping wind had left Flora shivering by the time Torin returned her to the keep’s door and she wanted nothing more than to warm herself by the hearth. She would wait to eat until her husband returned. He had gone to talk with Walsh and had sent Kinnell to speak with Hadwin. He intended for her to be present when he spoke again with Henry. Afterwards Kinnell would join them in Torin’s solar and they would discuss the conversations hoping to find even the smallest clue that would help them find the culprit and solve this puzzling mystery.
Her thoughts drifted to last night when she woke from another dream of her mum and da. This time, she searched frantically for her parents, sensing they were in danger and terrified she would not reach them in time to save them. She had been relieved to wake in her husband’s warm arms, having felt chilled to the bone.
“I would love to know your thoughts, since I learned when you get lost in them you find solutions to things,” Henry said and nodded at the bench opposite her at the table. “May I join you?”
Her husband’s warning of not talking alone with Henry sounded in her head, but it would be rude to deny him, and she was not alone, several servants were busy replacing candles and setting the dais table with a clean white cloth.