Amber (Jewel Trilogy, Book 3) (17 page)

"Dwale?"

"Black nightshade. Belladonna. Look." She waited until Kendra knelt beside her, then skimmed a fingertip over a dingy purplish flower with a berry in its base. "Do you see these dark green leaves? They're lethal. It's said that Macbeth poisoned a whole army of Danes by calling a false truce and then offering them liquor mixed with an infusion of dwale."

"Then why is it here in the garden?"

"Used properly, the root makes a good liniment. It's the leaves and berries that are poison." When Kendra reached out, Cait held back her hand. "Don't touch. It's possible to fall ill without even eating it."

"What sort of ill?"

"Shock, fever, slowed breathing, dilated eyes, stomach pain—"

"Enough." She shuddered. In the year since Caithren had arrived, she'd taught Kendra many uses for herbs and plants. But Kendra wouldn't take a chance on misusing this one. "I shall tell the gardener to remove it."

"Make sure he wears gloves." Cait stood and brushed her hands on her rose-colored skirts. "Now tell me about you and Trick. Besides the problem in the bedchamber."

Kendra met her sister-in-law's gaze. "He's just...well, I don't understand him, Cait. We didn't wed under the best of circumstances. For either of us."

"Nay, you didn't. But Jase is convinced you'll be happy. Or so he claims."

"Does he?" Even though she'd come to accept her life here at Amberley, the anger rushed back. "What possible excuse could he have for deceiving me the way he did? Not even telling me Trick was a duke, for God's sake!"

"I asked him the same thing myself after the whole story came out. He claims you would never have married Trick if you'd known he was a duke."

She gritted her teeth. "I hate it when he's right."

"He also said catching you two in a compromising position was a godsend, because Trick would never have consented to court you even if Jason had suggested it. He claimed not to want a wife."

"Not in the near future," Kendra admitted darkly.

"Jason told me his hand was forced, because he knew you two suited perfectly."

"Well, there's where he was wrong." Trick might be a good kisser and tolerant of her non-traditional interests, but a man who refused to share his true self would never suit her perfectly. Regardless of whether they might fit in bed.

For a long moment, Caithren was silent. "You must give Trick another chance in your bed," she finally said. "And I hope you'll forgive Jase. He loves you. He's been watching you. He'd never forgive himself if it turned out you were unhappy."

Kendra's jaw went slack. She didn't know whether to feel outraged or touched. "What do you mean, he's been watching me?"

"Nothing as sinister as you're imagining." Cait laid a hand on her arm. "He asked Jane to let him know if anything seems awry. And every day, he sends a messenger to check with her." She offered a tentative smile. "He cares, Kendra."

That explained why every day, sure as the sun rose and set, Jane had been asking if she was happy here at Amberley House. Kendra released a long, slow breath. "Were you sent here as a peacemaker?"

"Aye," Cait admitted, a faint pink coloring her cheeks. "More or less. But I wanted to see you, anyway. I have news, and no one else to share it with."

"News?" Kendra seated herself on a carved stone bench. "What sort of news?"

Cait sat beside her, lacing her fingers protectively over her middle. "I'm with child."

"Oh, that's wonderful!" Kendra grabbed her hands and squeezed tightly. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine." Caithren laughed. "Motherhood agrees with me."

"Jason must be thrilled."

"He doesn't know."

"He—
what
?" Kendra dropped Cait's hands. "You haven't told him?"

"Nay, and you mustn't, either. Not until we've gone and returned from Scotland. I don't want to miss my visit home, and I'm afraid Jase wouldn't want me to travel."

"You're right," Kendra said slowly, staring at Caithren's still-flat abdomen. "But won't he be furious when he finds out?"

"I'll tell him I just then discovered it. I've never been pregnant before, so how should I know the signs?" She flashed a conspiratorial smile. "You won't tell him, will you?"

"Of course not. I'm not speaking to him, remember?" Kendra returned Cait's grin. "When do you leave?"

"Tomorrow. That's another reason I wanted to visit. To say farewell for a while."

"For a month, do you think? Trick said he'd be gone a month, up and back and with time spent there."

Cait nodded. "Aye, for a month." She looked around the enormous, quiet estate. "Maybe you would like to go stay with Ford? Or with Colin and Amy?"

"I'm not speaking to Ford or Colin, either." Kendra's grin went flat. "Anyway, I've much to learn around here. By the time Trick returns, I expect to have this place running like clockwork. It's been missing a good financial manager, not to mention a woman's touch. Trick said his father built it, and so far as I can tell, there's never been a mistress here at all." She took Cait's hand and rose. "Come, let's have an early supper together. I've taught Mrs. Chauncey some new recipes, and you can help me see how she did with them."

Their footsteps crunched on the gravel as they crossed the privy garden. They went through the back entrance to the house.

"A letter, your grace." Just as he'd done for Trick yesterday, Compton held out a silver tray. "It just arrived for his grace, but since he is gone..."

"Thank you, Compton." She took the letter and turned it in her hands. Trick's name was written on the back, but not in his mother's beautiful writing, or anyone else's she recognized.

Well, of course it wouldn't be—she still didn't know the first thing about her husband or his acquaintances. Chiding herself, she hurried to the study with Caithren following behind.

"It's probably nothing," Cait said as they dropped onto two chairs. "Open it."

"It isn't addressed to me."

"You said yourself he won't be home for a month. It could be important business."

"I suppose you're right." Feeling more than a little uneasy, Kendra slid a fingernail beneath the black seal. "How odd," she said quietly.

"Aye?"

"It's addressed 'Dear Patrick Iain,' rather than by his title." She read further and released a little gasp.

"What does it say?"

"Listen." She drew a deep breath. "'I don't know if you'll remember me, since eighteen years have passed since I've set eyes on your face. But as a dear old friend of your mother's, I feel honor bound to warn you of possible danger. When Elspeth—'" Kendra paused. "That's Trick's mother," she clarified.

"Go on."

"'When Elspeth wrote the letter to summon you home, she was in perfect health. In the two days since, she has begun a rapid decline that I find inexplicable and alarming. I beg you, take heed. Yours in friendship, Hamish Munroe.'" She looked up. "What could he mean? Why would she write a letter saying she was dying, if she was in perfect health?"

"Maybe she wanted to reconcile, but didn't believe he'd come home for that alone."

"Possibly," Kendra conceded. But her heart was pounding unevenly. "Yet this Mr. Munroe clearly believes that something is afoot. Trick could be in danger."

"I imagine he can defend himself, seeing as he used to be a highwayman."

Although she was tempted to tell Cait that Trick still was a highwayman—and share her concerns about that—Kendra knew he wouldn't want it discussed. Surprised to find herself bound to him by some form of loyalty, she suppressed the urge to unburden herself.

"I think I should go to him," she said.

"Pardon?"

"I think I should go to Trick. He needs to see this letter."

"I don't think Jason—"

"A pox on Jason! He lost his right to tell me what to do when he married me off to Trick. Now I'm duty bound to warn my husband of possible danger."

And she could also give Trick that second chance. In truth, she burned for it, now that she knew it wouldn't hurt.

She rose and began to pace. "I must leave immediately." Her mind raced with possible plans.

"Is tomorrow soon enough?" Cait asked.

"Probably. He didn't seem in much of a hurry, so if I rush—" She turned and looked at Cait. "What are you thinking?"

"We're leaving for Scotland tomorrow. Jason and I. Maybe you can come along. But you'll have to talk to your brother," she added with a small smile. "You'll have to break this vow of silence."

"I suppose I will," Kendra said grimly. "And Mrs. Chauncey's supper will have to wait."

"How dare you marry me off to a duke!"

Seated at the desk in his study at Cainewood, Jason steepled his fingers atop a leather-bound ledger. "Ah, the return of the formidable Kendra. Leaving your husband already?"

"No, he left me."

Seeing his mouth drop open, Kendra felt a small nudge of satisfaction. "To go to Scotland," she added. "His mother is ill—dying—and she asked to see him. Except she wasn't dying until after she sent the letter. But Trick doesn't know that. I received another letter—"

"Whoa. Slow down." Jason gave a violent shake of his head, then rose from behind the desk and came around it to embrace his sister. "How are you doing?"

"I've been better," she muttered into his chest. "And I hate you, you know."

"I'm sure you do." He pulled back and kissed her on the forehead. "Now sit down and tell me about these letters."

"Ford?" Kendra called softly.

Surrounded by burning candles and dozens of ticking clocks, her twin looked up from the gears in his hands, his gaze going to the dawn-lit window. "Is it morning already?"

"It is." She walked closer, reaching a finger to set a pendulum swinging as she went. "We're leaving."

As he stood and stretched, a clock started chiming, and another, and another, a cacophony of discordant tones. Laughing, Kendra wrapped her arms around her brother. "I'll miss you and all your experiments," she said, her gaze sweeping over beakers and magnets, chemicals and microscopes, and the long, impressive telescope she and Colin had given him as a birthday gift two years before.

"I'm going to turn base metal into gold," he said, returning her hug. "And then I'll restore Lakefield House to a glorious standard."

"And fill it with machinery, no doubt."

"Of course." He pulled away, smiling. "Come, I'll walk you down."

Outside, early-morning sun slanted against Cainewood's ancient stones, bathing the quadrangle in a golden glow. Kendra pressed a kiss to her twin's cheek and swung up to Pandora's saddle.

"I'll miss you, too," he said. "Are you sure you'd rather not stay here with me? Jason can take the letter to your husband—"

"We've been over this already. I'm going."

Ford looked up at Jason, mounted on his favorite silver gelding. "Impossible, isn't she?" he asked his oldest brother. "I'll wager you're happier than ever she's another man's responsibility now."

"Not yet, it seems." The glint of amusement in Jason's eyes offset his sarcastic tone. "But the minute we reach Duncraven, I'll be happy enough to turn her over."

Sitting atop a shiny red-brown mare, Caithren shook her head. "Hush up, you two. You don't mean any of this." She turned to Kendra. "They love you, the both of them."

"I know," Kendra said with both a huff and a smile. No matter that she hadn't yet quite forgiven them, she knew her brothers would always be there for her. Family. That was what mattered.

Would she ever forge one with Trick?

Not if they didn't get going. Toying with the stones on her amber bracelet, she looked over at the three carriages—one for themselves should they tire of riding, one for their servants, and one for everyone's baggage—and knew this journey would be a torturously slow affair. With her husband traveling ahead, blithely unaware of the danger that might lurk at his childhood home.

"Are we not going to leave?" She lifted Pandora's reins, an impatience in her voice she felt helpless to control. "Trick has two whole days on us—let's be off."

Night was falling and Trick was spooning up the last of his soup when his wife blew through the door of the World's End tavern.

It was storming outside, and the room was dark, and for the barest moment, he wondered if he were seeing things. God knew he'd thought of little else than Kendra these two weeks past. She'd consumed his thoughts both waking and sleeping.

But she wasn't a figment of his imagination. She was actually here. He knew that because, had he conjured up his lovely and exasperating wife, he certainly wouldn't have conjured up her brother and sister-in-law along with her.

He stood, nearly knocking over the small square table. "What the devil are you doing in Edinburgh?"

At the sound of his voice, she turned. Then just stood there, halfway out of her cloak, her mouth hanging open.

"Looking for you," Jason answered for his uncharacteristically speechless sister, striding forward to shake Trick's hand. He removed his dripping wide-brimmed hat. "But we had no expectations of catching you. We were planning to bring her to Duncraven tomorrow."