Chapter Twenty-Eight
Ellie knew this would be their only chance. She turned the handle and barged into her father’s study without looking back to see if Aidam followed.
She had wanted to tell him what she figured out, and seeing the look of shock on his face, she knew it was wrong of her to have kept it from him. He looked like a lost boy of ten. Everything he thought he knew about his uncle was changing rapidly. It was all she could do not to abandon their goals and take him into her arms. But she had to confront Sinclair and her mother. She had to put a stop to the madness.
“Mother! I ken ye had an affair on me Da!” Ellie shouted as she entered the room. “How could ye? And then to silence me ye tried to marry me off to the verra man ye were sleeping with?” Tears began to stream down her cheeks. She could no longer hold back her emotion.
“Ellie—” her mother reached for her, but Ellie stopped short and turned her ire toward Sinclair.
“And ye, Laird Sinclair, ye treated me poorly. A prisoner and ye ken I didnae want to wed ye, but ye let yer anger and hatred toward me mam turn ye into something ye never were before. Ye both should be ashamed of yerselves.”
“How the hellfire did ye get away from camp?” Sinclair asked. His eyes flashed with anger, and he moved toward Ellie with a quickness she was unprepared for. From somewhere behind her, a hand reached out and pulled her back.
“Oh, ye mean when ye tied the lass to the tree?” Aidam said, stepping between Ellie and Sinclair. “Well, I happened to be by the keep and decided perhaps I’d untie the lass, seein’ as how ye unceremoniously left her to fend fer herself.” Before she could blink, Aidam had formed a fist and swung on his uncle. Sinclair, too was caught unaware and with no time to protect himself from the blow, reeled back, but only for a moment. Once he regained himself, he lunged for Aidam, causing both Ellie and her mother to shout.
“Aidam—”
“Lachlan—”
The men rolled around on the carpeted stone floor, each trading blows with equal fervor. Even though Laird Sinclair was at least twenty years Aidam’s senior, Ellie could not help but be worried about the damage the elder man could inflict. He was in excellent shape, and his strength was not limited in any way. The sound of flesh hitting flesh rang out in the study. Aidam, to his benefit, was giving blows just as good as he was receiving.
“Ye put me in th’ dungeons, uncle,” Aidam breathed out between blows.
“Aye, yer lucky that’s all I did when ye betrayed me, lad. And when I best ye in this fight, I’ll be puttin’ ye right back,” Lachlan answered before landing a hit right into Aidam’s jaw. Ellie winced as he stood and wiped a small amount of blood from the corner of his lips.
“Betrayed ye!? Ye’re mad old man. Ye were tryin’ to force a lass to marry ye, who didnae want ye. Now ye’re threatening to destroy her family. One of us here has no honor, but it ‘tisn’t me.” Aidam dove back in swinging. Sinclair dodged his incoming blows, but he wasn’t fast enough to deflect when Aidam used his legs to drop the older man to the ground.
“Enough!” she shouted at the men. Ellie was worried they would reach a point of regret. She could not bear to be responsible for more damage between the men. “Ye’re acting like children!”
“Aye, Uncle,” Aidam replied, standing up and allowing Sinclair to rise. “The lass is right,” he said, taking Ellie’s hand. She reached up and gently wiped some of the blood away with the sleeve of her gown. He was out of breath from the brawl, but Ellie could see his eyes were sharp. Even though the fighting may be done, the questions were not. “Do ye care to explain what the devil is goin’ on between ye and Lady MacAskill, and why ye are usin’ it to play with people’s lives?”
To Ellie’s shock, Sinclair looked tired and defeated. He wiped his hand down his face and sank into the settee behind him. She turned toward her mother, who also looked exhausted as she sat behind the desk Ellie’s father used to reconcile the clan accounts.
“It’s a long story,” Lady MacAskill said. “I dae nae ken if ye want to hear it. Lachlan, do ye want to tell them?”
Sinclair looked up and waved his hand dismissively. “Nay, ye do the honors,my lady.”
“Mother, one of ye better start talking because this is destroying too many lives to go unresolved.”
“Aye, lass, I agree,” she replied, but she twirled her hands, and Ellie could tell she was stalling. She did not want to give up her confession.
“Lady MacAskill, mayhap it’s best to say it quickly like ripping off a bandage,” Aidam offered gently. His anger at his uncle subdued as he spoke to Ellie’s mother. The older woman nodded and took a deep breath.
“Aye. I had an affair with yer uncle, lad. Lachlan Sinclair. Before ye judge me too harshly, lass,” she continued looking from Aidam to Ellie, “It occurred before I married yer Da. We were young and verra much in love. We were to wed, Lachlan and I.”
“Marry?” Ellie asked. She had known about the affair, but hearing her mother admit to it and hearing that her mother had planned to marry the Laird was still a shock. Aidam squeezed her hand. How had Ellie not known her mother had been betrothed to another? “Why had ye never said?”
“Ye see, Ellie, my Da, yer Grand Da, didnae approve of Lachlan. He was a second son. A fine warrior, but I was born to be a Laird’s wife.”
“A second son?” Aidam asked. “But uncle, ye’re the Laird?”
“Och, lad, let the woman finish,” Sinclair said through gritted teeth. It seemed Aidam might have landed more than one lasting blow. The older man looked to be pained by more than her mother’s revelations.
“But…” Aidam was unwilling to let it go as quickly as Sinclair wished. Ellie could barely blame him. Was it possible there was much, much more to the story than either Aidam or herself could have imagined?
“I had a brother. He died before ye were born. We dae nae speak of him, but had he lived, he would have been Laird.”
“Aye,” Lady MacAskill continued. “And when Lachlan’s brother Atemi drowned in an accident, my Da decided a second son would nay do, and that’s when I was wed to yer Da, Ellie.”
