“Yet you were with her. You talk to one another. You’re loyal to her. I dinna believe that you wouldna have known what she planned to do.” Hamish looked from one woman to the other with a searing glance.
“We didna know,” Wilma said quietly. If they hadn’t been wolves, they wouldn’t have heard her words.
Hamish shook his head. “I dinna believe you.”
“But there’s no’ proof that they were involved,” Morag said, still defending them.
“I believe they were complicit. They will no longer work in the kitchen should they do what Gormelia did,” Hamish said.
“They could take the place of a couple of the washer women, and they could come to work for me,” Cook said.
“I was thinking more of them mucking the stalls out, but if a couple of the washer women can learn to cook for you andyou’re not short on servers, so be it. If the two of you women are involved in other matters like this, you’ll be banished from the pack.” He gave Morag a cutting glare. Then he stalked out of the solar.
“Get out. All of you,” Morag screamed.
They all headed out of her solar. Aisling squeezed her mother’s hand, glad Hamish had gotten involved and had irritated Morag over his decision.
Kenna and Wilma were crying. Aisling didn’t feel bad for them. She was certain they knew what Gormelia had planned to do and had probably encouraged it. But when their plan didn’t succeed, they were horrified, afraid they would be found responsible for it also.
The lad, Niven, hurried to speak with Aisling’s mother. “You need to come to see Gormelia.”
“Aye.” Her mother hurried to the women’s chamber.
“Do you want me to come with you?” Aisling asked.
“Nay. See Coinneach. I’m sure he has already learned of Gormelia’s treachery and will be concerned for you.”
“You two, come with me,” Cook said to Kenna and Wilma. “And stop your blubbering. If I had been chief, you would have been thrown out of the pack and on your own.”
Nelly asked Cook, “Can I do anything?”
“You can help me pick the two women who will replace Kenna and Wilma.” Cook, Nelly, and the ostracized women headed down the tower stairs to the main floor.
Aisling followed them down to the inner bailey. She wanted to see who Cook chose to replace Kenna and Wilma, but she had to speak with Coinneach. As soon as she headed for the tower stairs to the wall walk, she saw Coinneach waving at her.
She rushed up the stairs and met him at the top. He pulled her into a hard embrace. “I heard that Nelly saved your life.”
“Aye.” She hugged him back, holding him tight. “I love you so much. I canna believe Gormelia would go to such lengths to get rid of me over some pettiness. Morag defended all of them.” Aisling told him about the chief taking charge of the situation.
“Do you think Morag put Gormelia up to it?”
“The way she was defending her made me wonder. But the chief wasna happy with Morag for taking matters into her own hands without informing him.”
“Good. He is an honorable man.”
“We will have to train the new women to be cooks, so I need to check on that. But I just wanted to tell you that I’m fine and everything has been taken care of.”
A couple of men pulled a cart to the castle doors, and another carried a body wrapped in a blanket out to the cart.
“Gormelia?” Coinneach asked.
“Most likely.”
Coinneach hugged Aisling again as if he could have lost her and was so grateful that Gormelia had eaten the poisoned food instead.
Then they kissed, but Coinneach didn’t want to let her go.
“I’ll be fine. Kenna and Wilma willna dare try to harm me. Everyone will be watching them.”
