Chapter 45
The music from the ballroom seemed to have faded. As if it was happening in a different time and space from where they stood. Or maybe that was just how it was for Bex. She could barely hear over the drumming of her own heartbeat.
All eyes were on Moira, waiting for her response. As they stood there, fearing she’d made a horrific mistake, Bex thought the silence might last forever, until Kieron let out a loud scoff.
‘This is ridiculous,’ he said. ‘This is absolute nonsense. You’re just trying to swindle me out of my inheritance!’
‘Will you pipe down?’ Gordon snapped. ‘Your inheritance? Like you’ve done anything to deserve it. Even if it weren’t true, Duncan was more of a son to Fergus than you ever were.’
‘But it is true, isn’t it?’ Bex urged, looking to Moira. She pulled the notebook from the desk.
‘I thought this was strange when I went through it. All these hospital names, scribbled out and crossed through. But now I realise what he was doing. They’re all maternity wards.
Not random hospitals. Maternity hospitals.
Fergus knew the truth. He was looking for her.
Iona didn’t get sick. She was pregnant, and she died in childbirth. ’
‘What?’ Duncan’s voice broke the stunned silence. It was the first time he’d spoken since Bex had revealed the truth. His look of disbelief was even greater than Kieron’s.
‘No… but my grandfather…’
Bex turned to face him, only now understanding the hurt that this would cause him. His grandfather had been his role model, his best friend, and now, their entire relationship had been built on a lie. This wasn’t just about the inheritance. It was about so much more than that.
‘The man you thought was your grandfather, Angus, was your great-uncle,’ Bex said.
‘You told me yourself how it was this big village scandal. How he disappeared and came back with this woman no one knew, and a baby. But she didn’t stick around, did she?
Apparently, she didn’t bond with the baby – your mother.
Not surprising really, given that she wasn’t her child.
It was never her child. It was never Angus’s either.
The baby was Iona’s. Fergus and Iona’s.’
‘Nonsense!’ Kieron spat. ‘If that was the case, they would have said something. Laid claim to it straight away!’
‘Not everything is about claiming money and castles, Kieron,’ Bex said, her voice trembling.
She wasn’t sure why she felt tears trickling down her cheeks, but they were there.
‘Angus was furious at what Fergus had done. He’d gotten his little sister pregnant, and she died because of it.
He wasn’t going to let him raise the child.
But Angus needed the job. He needed the money.
And he couldn’t leave here. Fergus was heartbroken, and he needed to believe that Iona had got sick and died, because if it had been the pregnancy…
if he had been the reason…’ A deep throb burned through Bex’s heart and she tried to contemplate all the pain the family had suffered.
‘It was never about the money. It was about honour, family and love. I’m right, aren’t I, Moira? I’m right about all of it.’
The old woman’s lips were pressed tightly together, her chin dipped into her chest. Bex wasn’t the only one crying, she saw. Tears streaked Moira’s face.
Finally, she spoke, her voice wavering.
‘There were aye gossips, of course. Folk reckoned he was taking advantage of her, wi’ his position and all, but whenever I saw them…
well, you know. You can tell, can’t you?
When two folk look at each other, you can tell when it’s real.
’ She lifted her head and glanced at Bex, before shifting her gaze to Duncan and offering a slight smile, before she sniffed and continued.
‘There were rumours, right enough. Apparently, he wanted tae marry her, but his folk wouldnae hear o’ it.
Him weddin’ a groundskeeper’s daughter and all that carry on.
Still, he planned to do it anyway. She was an incredible woman. She really was.’
Moira’s eyes softened as she looked at Duncan.
‘Iona… your granny had a wicked sense of humour. Everyone loved her. She was a force of nature. Full of life. It’s why we were all stunned when Angus told us she’d taken sick.
Said she’d gone tae hospital, but were all vague wi’ the details.
I remember some sayin’ it was Edinburgh, some others reckoned London.
We didnae know. After she died, everyone was too sick with grief to worry about it.
She was gone. That was all that mattered.
‘And then Angus returned with this new woman and a wee bairn. Aye, there was gossip. An unmarried couple bringin’ a baby in the house. None of us could work it out. And oh my, he would get fair cross if anyone mentioned Iona’s name. Like he wanted to pretend she’d never existed.’
‘I’m guessing the gossip from the new woman and the baby out of wedlock was enough to distract from Iona and Fergus,’ Bex said.
Moira dipped her chin. ‘Oh, there were those of us that suspected the truth. But we had too much respect for Fergus and Angus. And when that woman left, Angus did a grand job raising that wee girl on his own. He really did.’ She looked at Duncan. ‘He was a fine man. He was.’
‘Fergus tried to tell you, Duncan,’ Bex said, turning away from Moira and finally looking Duncan in the eyes.
‘Fergus wanted you to know the truth. At the end he did. Lorna told me. You were away, right? Taking yourself off to get some space from him, and you couldn’t get back in time.
That’s why he wanted you when he knew it was his final hours.
That’s why he tried to call you twelve times.
Not anyone else in the family. You. Because he was going to tell you the truth. That you were his grandson.’
‘Stop this!’ Kieron’s voice rose above them all. ‘Stop this nonsense! It’s an absolute farce. I see what you’re doing. You want to be lady of the castle, and you think you can use your boyfriend to—’
‘That is not what’s happening here!’ Bex snapped. ‘This has nothing to do with any relationship we had in the past. This is what Fergus wanted. This is the truth. And this is what matters.’
A sly smirk twisted on Kieron’s lips as he scoffed. ‘Oh, I knew you were smart, Rebecca, but I never figured you were that conniving. Making a power-play to make sure you claim yourself as lady of the manor. First, you play with me. Kiss me and lead me on and then—’
‘You kissed him?’ Duncan looked like she had just slapped him across the face. ‘You kissed him?’
It felt as though all the heat had drained from the room. She had started the evening knowing exactly what she wanted to do: tell Duncan she loved him and plan out a future together. How had it all gone so wrong?
‘Please, this isn’t about any of that right now. This is about the will.’ She turned to Gordon. ‘I’m sure I’m right,’ she said. ‘Will it be possible to find out?’
He nodded. ‘A DNA test should be fairly straightforward. Yes. I’ll speak to the firm and get it sorted tomorrow morning.’
‘Well, just be aware that you’ll be hearing from my lawyers,’ Kieron said, his voice thick with fury. ‘This whole business. This collaboration, this manipulation, this… fraud! You won’t get away with it. Mark my words. And you…’ He glowered at Bex. ‘To think what I would have done for you.’
With that, he turned on his heel and stormed out of the room.