“It makes no sense,” Robert said. “A man that big simply wouldn’t have survived on half a ration – especially if a little girl was eating three times as much and still starving.” They looked at each other for a moment, clearly thinking the same thing.
“I wouldn’t want to accuse him of it until I was sure,” Brianna said softly, biting her lip. “But I suspect… I suspect that he took both rations for himself.”
“Only a monster would let a woman starve while he fed himself,” Robert breathed. But the more they thought about it, the harder it was to deny the facts. Malcolm’s frame was more solid than any of the refugees. He was constantly eating, stealing food from Weatherby’s larder and other people’s plates. And he was pretty brazen about only caring for himself – he’d made several comments about what he intended to spend the ransom on, as though it was going to him and not the family, and all of his intended purchases were personal, not collective.
“If we can help Kellan to realize what Malcolm’s been doing,” she said thoughtfully, “maybe we could drive a wedge between them once and for all.”
“He’ll be heartbroken,” Robert said softly, and she felt a twinge of guilt at having gone straight to how the conflict could be of benefit, not considering Kellan’s feelings. “To know that his wife could have been saved if it wasn’t for Malcolm…”
“Maybe it won’t come to that,” she said. “Malcolm’s unpleasant enough as it is. Perhaps he’ll do something else to drive that wedge. At any rate, I’m not making any accusations without proof.” She sighed. “He does steal a lot of food, though. It seems he’s cleared the larder out of fruit. I tried to find some apple preserves or something to make an apple sauce like you suggested.”
Robert looked thoughtful. “If we could get Molly strong enough to talk… maybe she remembers what Malcolm did and could tell her father. He’d believe her word for certain.”
“You don’t happen to have any apples stashed away, do you?” she said with a grin.
“No,” he admitted. “But I’d ask Baldric, if I were you. If there’s any food hidden in this place, Baldric will know about it. He’s the one who tipped me off about Weatherby’s secret whisky.” He chuckled. “He’s going to be furious when he finds it missing…”
She sought out Baldric later that afternoon, finding him in the stables. When she explained what she wanted to do – use fruit to produce a sweet sauce to help little Molly regain her strength – he looked thoughtful and headed down to the back of the stables. She followed, frowning in confusion – was he going to suggest she feed the girl hay? But then her eyes widened when he retrieved a bucket from behind the feed bags. At the bottom were about a dozen green apples.
“From the last harvest,” he explained, shrugging his shoulders. “They’re hard and not very sweet, which is why they were left in the stables for the horses.”
“This is brilliant, Baldric. Thank you.”
“Just make sure Malcolm doesn’t see you with them,” he said with a roll of his eyes. “That man would eat anything.”
She laughed as she headed back into the manor, full of purpose. The servants who’d helped her make the soup were there, and their eyes widened in delight when they saw what she was carrying – they’d been the ones who’d helped her search the whole kitchens for any sign of fruit, knowing that it was to help Molly. Together, they washed and diced the apples, and the older servant took over. Before long, they were looking into a pot of diced apples, stewing away over a low flame.
“It’ll be ready by tonight,” the old woman promised, smiling. “With apples that tough you’ve got to cook them down for a good long time, but it’ll be as sweet as can be. And there’s more.” Her eyes twinkled as she hastened over to a side cupboard, drawing a little brown bag from its depths. “I had some of the young lads go out foraging for the little one. Rowan berries. Sour by themselves, but delicious in sauce.”
The little red berries looked delicious, and Brianna grinned widely. Berries often had plenty of vitamins and nutrients in them – she was delighted to see that there would be extra ingredients for the applesauce. “Brilliant,” she said with a broad smile. “She’ll be fighting fit in no time.”
Still, as she left the kitchen, promising to return later that evening to collect some sauce to give to Molly for dessert, she couldn’t help but feel apprehension prickling at her. What if Molly did have dire things to report about how she’d been treated by her uncle? How would Kellan react to the knowledge that his daughter’s life had almost been taken by her uncle’s greed? There would be chaos… and while it might be advantageous to them, it was more likely than not that people were going to get hurt.
She took a deep breath, realizing she was letting her mind race ahead. For now, what was important was getting Molly well again. Then they could get to the bottom of just what had happened to make her so sick. And if that meant Malcolm came up against Kellan… well, she’d just hope that it was Kellan who won in that particular confrontation.
Because she didn’t know if she could cope with this situation if Malcolm wound up being the one in charge.
Chapter 28
The day passed slowly. She visited briefly with Molly to check in on her – the girl was sitting up, sipping slowly at some clear broth that Eliza and Brianna had agreed to keep supplementing her meals with. Eliza looked tired as usual, but there was more and more life in her face each day as Molly got slowly better, and a nourishing diet began to restore her own strength. The world owed a lot to women like Eliza… women who put their own wellbeing second to those around them, women who gave their energy until they had nothing left… then kept giving anyway.
She ran into Kellan on her way to dinner – the tired-looking man gave her a wan smile and they walked down together, chatting idly about the day. What a strange situation she’d found herself in, she thought remotely – sharing meals with kidnappers. This was definitely an unorthodox negotiation… and she’d certainly never felt this much sympathy for the enemy before, either. Hard to even think of him as the enemy… especially with Malcolm throwing his weight around. The man had finished a whole bottle of wine in an hour and was currently sleeping it off on one of Weatherby’s sofas, it seemed – she shuddered a little at the mental image, glad it wasn’t something she had to deal with.
As they sat down to dinner, she explained what she’d managed to arrange for Molly. Kellan was very interested to hear about the apple sauce recipe, and particularly intrigued by what she had to say about vitamins and minerals. She was glad that he didn’t seem suspicious of her knowledge at all – a few things in Marianne’s letters had suggested that knowing too much could get a woman accused of witchcraft, but Kellan at least seemed far too interested in getting his daughter well again to worry about what a stranger did or didn’t know about nutrition.
“Aye, I’ve always known that a varied diet is a healthy one,” he said, nodding thoughtfully. “Don’t know much of the science of it. You think this apple and berry sauce will help her get well?”
“The sugar will help restore her energy and maybe a little of her weight,” she explained. “And apples and berries often have vitamin C in them, which should help treat some of the symptoms of scurvy. When she gets strong enough, it would be good to get her out into the sunlight. You get vitamin D from sunlight,” she explained, aware of the surprised looks on the faces of the men around her.
After dinner, they went straight into the kitchen, which still smelled like stewing apples. The mixture had reduced right down to a thick, almost jelly-like substance at the bottom of the pot. Brianna grabbed a smaller pot to decant it into and brought it with them – Kellan was clearly eager to get the stuff to Molly. Brianna felt anxiety prickling at her a little, hoping she hadn’t oversold the mixture. But it should help. At the very least, it wouldn’t hurt.
Molly didn’t seem especially thrilled by the mixture, complaining that the sweet taste hurt her gums… but when her father begged her to have a little more, s
he ate a few spoonsful, wrinkling her nose as she swallowed it. There was still plenty left, and Brianna suggest that they give her some every few hours, to let her get accustomed to it. After all, her body hadn’t had something this rich in a very long time. Kellan nodded, settling himself down in a chair.
“I can sit with her, Kellan,” Eliza suggested, but the man shook his head, his eyes fixed on his daughter’s sleeping face.
“No, Eliza. You’ve done more than enough. I’ll stay with her. You get some decent sleep for once.”
So they left him to his vigil. Brianna and Eliza exchanged glances as they left the room, almost reading each other’s minds – they knew when a stubborn man wasn’t going to be swayed from his chosen course. But to their surprise, they found Malcolm lurking in the corridor, looking a little guilty when they saw him.
“Did you need something, Malcolm?” Eliza asked pleasantly enough, but Brianna could feel the tension in her body.
“Can a man not take a walk?” he snapped, narrowing his eyes at them. “Where’s Kellan? Still in with the brat?”
“He’ll be sitting up with Molly tonight, that’s right,” Eliza said, stressing the little girl’s name with clear irritation. “Lady Brianna here has come up with a new medicine for her that should do wonders to restore her strength.”
There it was – quick, but undeniable. A flash of fear on Malcolm’s ugly face. Real fear. She scrutinized him closely, her suspicions suddenly confirmed – he was frightened of Molly regaining her strength, worried that she’d be able to tell her father what her uncle had done. Was that why he was lurking in this corridor, she wondered, fear beginning to grip her stomach? Just how desperate was he to keep this secret? Was it possible he might do harm to Molly? Surely not. Stealing food was one thing, but actually hurting or even killing a child… then again, he’d had a distinctly ugly look on his face whenever the subject of Molly came up over the last few days…
“Medicine, huh? Won’t work,” he said dismissively, clearly trying to put on a brave front. “She’s weak, that kid. You’re all wasting your time.”
“That’s a terrible way to speak about your niece,” Eliza said, her voice unchanged from its pleasant, light tone – but Brianna could hear the steel under it. “She’s getting stronger every day. She’s even beginning to speak again, which is very promising indeed.”
There it was again – another flash of fear. Malcolm muttered some excuse about being too busy to talk about children and their woes, and stormed off down the hallway. Eliza and Brianna exchanged glances, both clearly worried about Molly’s wellbeing.
“I think it might be best if someone keeps an eye on Molly’s door when Kellan’s not there,” Brianna said softly… and she could tell by the look in her eye that Eliza agreed that Malcolm was a threat to the little girl’s safety. That sent a shiver down her spine. This was a new element to the unfolding situation.
In the morning, news arrived that the guards were finally beginning to win the battle against the highwaymen. They were making progress on clearing the roads, and the highwaymen had beat a retreat into the woods. It still wasn’t safe to travel, but it was getting a lot closer… but even that made Brianna feel a little anxious. What if Malcolm tried to use this news as leverage to simply take their ransom and flee? Molly was still so fragile… more time on the road wouldn’t be good for her. Neither would being left alone with her uncle, she thought dourly as she ate her breakfast. Weatherby had been allowed out of his room as a special treat, a reward for good behavior – Perry was sitting at his side, keeping a close eye on him, but he seemed to have learned his lesson from his time in confinement. What a strange new normal they were all getting used to.
After a quick meal, Brianna headed up the stairs to check on Molly. Neither Kellan nor Eliza had been at breakfast, so she assumed the two of them were in the room with the girl – and sure enough, when she pushed the door open, there they both were. And sitting with them, her eyes open and bright and something like a smile on her little face, was Molly. Brianna’s eyes widened in shock when she saw them, and Kellan grinned at her, looking exhausted – she doubted he’d slept a minute last night – but ebullient.
“That apple sauce did the trick,” Eliza said, beaming at Brianna from her own spot in a chair by the fire. Sure enough, the pot was half empty – the little girl had done a good job of getting through it. “We gave her a little ever few hours or so, and by dawn she was more full of pep than I’ve seen her in months.”
“Isn’t that right, Molly?” Kellan said with a broad smile.
The little girl nodded, her big blue eyes dancing shyly away from Brianna.
“She’s sitting up in bed – for the last few months she’s been saying it hurts too much to do that. I’m so glad,” he added, brushing the little girl’s hair out of her face tenderly.
“I’m so glad you’re feeling better,” Brianna said warmly. But before she could ask any more questions, or check the girl’s bruises, the door slammed open behind her. Frightened, Molly recoiled behind her father, her huge blue eyes widening. Sure enough, there stood Malcolm – and he looked surprised to see them all there.
“Oh. Hullo, Kellan.” He gathered himself, but Brianna could tell he was shocked… and she could see that there was a knife at his belt, too. “Didn’t know you were staying with Molly. How’s the little patient?”
“She’s doing a lot better,” Eliza said. Brianna didn’t miss the way the woman moved to position herself between Malcolm and the little girl, and she bit her lip, worried that things were going to escalate. “She’s been talking, too. Telling us all about the last few months –”
There was that flash of fear on his face… and this time, Kellan saw it. Brianna held her breath as the man narrowed his eyes at his brother, looking suspicious. “What’s the matter, Malcolm?”
“I’m just glad to hear the little one’s doing better,” Malcolm said gruffly. “I was coming to check on her like a good uncle.”
Brianna resisted the urge to scoff. Malcolm hadn’t expressed the slightest interest in Molly’s wellbeing… that is, until it was revealed that she was getting strong enough to talk.
“You remember your Uncle Malcolm, right Molly?” Eliza said, and Brianna could tell she was up to something as she addressed the little girl. “He helped you when you were getting sick, didn’t he? Shared his food with you?”
But Molly didn’t look like she remembered that at all. She looked from Malcolm to Kellan to Eliza, confusion vivid in her blue eyes, then turned her gaze towards the ground. “I don’t remember,” she said in a tiny voice. “I was so sleepy… I don’t really remember…”
“Children have rubbish memories,” Malcolm said dismissively. “Kellan, we need to go. The roads are clearing – it won’t be long before those MacClarans are on us. You know they’re going to want to rescue their pet Englishman. We should take our ransom and go. Today.”
“Molly’s only just getting her strength back,” Kellan said, narrowing his eyes at his brother. “Why are you so desperate to get out of here?”
“We’ll leave her,” Malcolm snapped. “Leave her behind and get going. We can come back for her later.”
“No,” Kellan snapped. “And that’s the last I want to hear of it, Malcolm.”
“Fine,” the man said irritably. But just when Brianna thought the confrontation was over – that Malcolm was going to back down and leave – she was surprised to see Molly sit up suddenly, her blue eyes wide with a sudden realization.
“What is it, sweetheart?” Kellan asked, blinking at his daughter. Because she’d raised her thin arm, pointing one spindly finger directly at Malcolm. The man turned back around – and Brianna could see the look of mingled fury and fear on his face as he looked at Molly.
“I do remember,” the girl said, her voice surprisingly strong. “He’s the bad man. He took my food, Daddy. He took my porridge and told me that if I told anyone, he’d hurt you.”
There was a thunderous silence. K
ellan stared at his daughter for a long time – trembling a little, the girl lowered her hand, but her chin was still lifted defiantly. Brianna couldn’t help but admire the little girl’s pluck. A few steps from death’s door, she’d still found the strength to point out the man who’d tried to threaten her. And what she’d said confirmed every suspicion that Brianna had had about what Malcolm had been up to.
“What do you have to say for yourself, Malcolm?” Kellan asked, his voice terrifyingly slow. Malcolm did his best to scoff as though the accusation was laughable, but Brianna could see the sweat on his brow, see how unconvincing his smile was.
“Kids are so funny,” he said faintly. “Always playing imagination games…”
“Did you take my daughter’s food?” Kellan asked, voice low and deadly.
“Of course not.”
“I always wondered,” he said faintly, half to himself. “How it was that as we all wasted away to skin and bones, you managed to keep most of your bulk on. I assumed – no, I hoped – that it was just because you were bone idle. And now I learn that you were taking food from the mouth of my child?” He rose to his feet, his eyes blazing, and Brianna had never seen such a look of fury on a man’s face before. “And Erin before her?”
Eliza covered her mouth with her hand, and Brianna glanced at her, realizing she was only just making that connection. She reached out and took the woman’s hand in hers – Eliza shot her a grateful look and the two of them moved out of the way of the two men, who were staring daggers at each other across the room. It was so crowded in there, Brianna thought, glancing worriedly around the room. Were they really going to fight, here and now? But Kellan glanced over to where Molly was sitting, clearly thinking along the same lines – he wouldn’t have wanted to hurt his daughter.
And taking the opportunity when he saw it, Malcolm turned and fled from the room. The door slammed behind him, leaving a stunned silence in its wake – and then Kellan roared, a terrifying sound, and exploded after him.
Highlander Returned: A Scottish Time Travel Romance (Highlander In Time Book 9) Page 20