For The Love Of My Scotsman (Complete!)

Mr. de Lacy's Antidote

Lottie stared in shock. Poisoned?

"Catriona!" Lord Campbell wailed, sagging into a chair. He was certainly no help in a crisis, Lottie thought.

The doctor pushed his way into the room, shooing the guests aside. He knelt beside the unconscious woman and felt her wrist.

Thank heavens William asked him to stay and look after Fidelia the past week, Lottie thought, clutching her skirt to hide her shaking hands.

"Is she dead?" Mr. de Lacy asked. Lottie had never seen him look afraid before. It was unnerving to see him appear so... human.

The doctor shook his head slowly. "She's still alive. Quickly, take her to the family sitting room," he ordered.

Lord Campbell sat bolt-upright at the news, the color draining from his cheeks. "Still alive? There's hope for her?"

Mr. de Lacy nodded, scooping the woman up and pushing through the crowd of guests. Lottie, the Earl, and the countess all followed behind.

Lord Campbell pushed ahead to block Mr. de Lacy. "I should be the one to carry her," he said, reaching for her. "She's my sister, after all. It isn't proper for you—"

One glare from Mr. de Lacy silenced the cowardly Lord and he stepped aside, meek as a kitten.

"What happened?" the doctor asked, panting as he struggled to keep up with Mr. de Lacy's long legs.

"She's been poisoned. Deadly nightshade, I think," Mr. de Lacy said.

"How can you be sure?" the doctor huffed and wiped his brow. "It could have been any number of poisons."

"Miss Catriona said she could hear birds just before she collapsed. Such auditory hallucinations are a trademark of deadly nightshade," Mr. de Lacy explained. At last, they reached the sitting room and one of the servants rushed to open the door and light the fire.

Mr. de Lacy set the unconscious woman on the settee and stepped aside so the doctor could work. "I must ask the men to leave," the doctor ordered. The Earl and the male servants obeyed, but Mr. de Lacy and Lord Campbell refused to move.

"Can she be saved?" the countess asked. She was deadly pale and her normally well-kempt appearance was now frazzled. Lottie wondered if the sight was bringing back memories of when William had been struck over the head the year before. She wrapped a comforting around her adopted mother's shoulders.

The doctor shrugged. "The fact that she is still alive means she must have only taken a minuscule amount. She may live... or may not. Now it in the hands of the Lord in Heaven."

"Have you any Calabar bean?" Mr. de Lacy asked quietly, staring at Catriona's pale, unmoving form.

The doctor removed his glasses to clean them, blinking in confusion. "Yes, in my medical kit in my room. I use it in an elixir to treat eye irritation, but the bean is also poisonous."

"Not as an extract in small enough doses," Mr. de Lacy knelt beside Catriona and wiped the foam from her lips. "I've seen it used to counteract deadly nightshade poisoning before."

"Worth a shot, I suppose," the doctor muttered. "She could die any moment as it is." A servant was sent to fetch the medical kit and the doctor ushered everyone but Mr. de Lacy and Lord Campbell from the room.

Lottie cast one last look at Catriona as she left. Who would try to kill her, and why?

***
It was several hours before the men finally reemerged from the sitting room to announce that some color had returned to Catriona's lips, but she was still unconscious.