“Aye, ye see it?” Donell stared at him over the brim of his mug, blue eyes light with humor. “Ye always were a clever lad. And she a stubborn lass. She needed a reason to risk her heart once more. A cause.”
Aye, and he’d made an excellent one. His soft-hearted lass couldn’t bear the sight of him caged like a beast. While she hadn’t been the one to free him, she’d been there to save his life and help him find freedom.
“I regret it took so long to see ye free after I arranged for yer—er, shall we say extraction—from yer own time.”
“Ye dropped that portal in front of me then?” Hugh pressed. “Did ye hae a hand in building the time portal Dr. Fielding was working on?”
Donell rocked his open hand from side to side. “’Tis a gray area. What I cannae do on my own, I can provide a nudge of inspiration to accomplish what needs to be done. I befriended one of the scientists, a bonny wee lass named Al, much as I had yer Claire. I slipped Al a few hints here and there to help them along.”
“Ye put a wicked weapon in the hands of an immoral man.”
“For a short time, aye. Though it ne’er truly worked properly for them. Only when I’d fiddle wi’ it when I needed it,” Donell told him. “Should gi’ ye comfort to know it’s been destroyed. Regrettably all the research to rebuild it is gone as well and the lass who’d come up with the key component nae longer there to help them.”
“The blonde lass who was there in the lab when I first came through? She’s the one?”
“Good guess, lad. Ye always were a bright one.”
“What happened to her?” Hugh probed. “Was she part of yer plan too?”
“Nay, regrettably accidents do happen. In this case, for the best.” He chuckled into his cup again. “I gave Al the option of coming back, but she refused. Seems she’s content wi’ making yer cousin a happy man.”
“Keir? She married Keir?” Shock riddled with humor had a bubble of laughter bursting forth. “He’s a rogue of the first order. Are ye saying he’s been hooked?”
“Fell in love, lad,” Donell corrected. “Tumbled, more like. Seems she makes the burden of bearing the dukedom more tolerable.”
The idea stunned Hugh, but pleased him nevertheless. He’d missed his cousin terribly these last months, worried for him and his future as Duke of Ross. Keir had never wanted the title, hounding Hugh again and again to produce an heir of his own.
“He is contented then?”
“Aye.”
“And my sisters?” Hugh asked. Now it struck him in thinking about them how similar his sister Mathilde’s coloring was to Scarlett’s. Auburn hair. Brown eyes. Though his sister was more statuesque in build.
“They’re all well. By the by, yer cousin and his new wife hae taken on a wee lad as their ward. An orphan of the battle at Culloden who has nae other to teach him the duties and responsibilities for his new title.” Donell’s face folded into a fond smile. “Once I pointed it out to Keir, he appreciated how appropriate it might be for a man learning to be a duke to share his education wi’ a young earl who is equally unprepared.”
Keir always had a kind heart. Though he’d hidden it well. Hugh was pleased to hear his cousin was doing so well. “Incredible. I’ve been able to find nae information aboot Rosebraugh.”
“And ye willnae. Cannae. I’m sorry for that as well.” The old man tipped his head back and swallowed down the rest of his ale as if he were drowning his sorrows. “But rest assured yer cousin is better than contented. He’s truly happy. For all the many mistakes I’ve made, ‘tis glad I am that one of them turned out for the best.”
“But I am nae mistake? Nor Scarlett? Or Emmy?”
Donell shook his head in the negative but provided nothing more.
Frustration inched its way up Hugh’s spine. “Will ye no’ tell me what we are then? That they will all be able to return home? Ye ken it weighs on them?”
“Ye’re no’ mistakes. Ye’re my attempt to fix one,” he answered cryptically. “And as long as ye’re still here, ye can ken they get home safe.”
Hugh took a sip of his own drink, considering his words. Aye, he wouldn’t have been born or be here now if they didn’t return to their lives in the past.
Donell slid off his stool and tipped his hat. “Well, ta-ra, lad. I maun be on my way. Pick up the tab, will ye?”
“Wait,” Hugh called after him as he ambled toward the door. “Will ye no’ tell me how ye did it?”
But he was gone with more speed than a man of his years should possess, leaving Hugh to ponder all he’d learned. Why had Donell gone to such lengths to help create a time machine when he possessed such power? What made Hugh different from the others?
There were no answers at the bottom of his whiskey glass. He suspected there would be none at all until Auld Donell was ready to give them.
* * *
