‘Is someone going to tell us why we’re here?’ Keith cut in.
‘Or at least let us in,’ Carrie countered. ‘I’m freezin’ my butt off out here.’
Duncan sighed again, but there was something in the way he held Bex’s eyes. Like part of him was relieved to finally have someone to talk to about it all.
‘Well,’ he said at last, stepping back, ‘I guess you’d better come in.’
11
Bex had always found Duncan’s lodge to be the perfect size for them. Enough room for the two humans and varying numbers of animals not to get under one another’s feet, but still small enough that it felt cosy. Now, though, it felt tiny. She couldn’t remember seeing so many people at once inside the small stone cottage, and considering Duncan still had all of Fergus’s dogs inside, there was close to no room. While Duncan took the armchair and his parents the sofa, Bex opted for a dining chair, with Ruby at her feet and the enormous Maine coon cat Kenna on the table in front of her, next to an open bottle of whisky. Lorna couldn’t settle and more than once moved from a dining chair to the arm of the sofa then back again.
There had been no offers of tea or coffee, the way Duncan usually did when people came over. No polite small talk. Instead, Duncan had told them everything he knew, which included a few extra details they hadn’t shared on Burns Night, leading Bex to believe he’d had at least one more conversation with Gordon since then.
Through it all, Keith and Carrie sat there in silence, gripping one another’s hand, exchanging occasional swift glances. Several times, Bex noticed that Keith lowered his chin and dabbed at his eyes before he raised it again, likely at memories of his first wife. But Bex stayed quiet.
‘There’s no evidence for it,’ Duncan said, when he’d finally filled his family in on the details. ‘I mean, who would believe it, if I’m honest?’
‘I do,’ Keith said immediately. ‘Remember the fuss Fergus kicked up when I said we were moving out of the lodge? And he didn’t fill the place. Not for three years. Not until you moved back in here.’
Duncan shook his head. ‘He had plenty of houses. It’s hardly surprising that one or two might be left empty.’
‘And it just so happened to be the one your ma grew up in?’ Lorna replied.
‘It could just be a coincidence.’
‘And what about the ring?’ Keith questioned.
‘The ring?’
He nodded. ‘When I proposed to your ma, he said my ring was nae fitting for a woman like her. Too wee a diamond, that’s what he meant. Said he had some from his own mother that Winny didn’t like at all. Told me to pick one. Give her that, for specials, like.’
‘And you did?’ From the shock on Duncan’s face, he had no idea such a thing had ever happened.
‘Aye, I did. Not too big o’ one mind. Didn’t want to be greedy. Already felt odd about it, but he insisted. She didn’t wear it too much. Just for best, like.’
Duncan sat back in his chair and let out a sigh.
Bex couldn’t blame him. He’d just learned that his mother had spent her life wearing a family heirloom with no idea. That had to be something to get your head around. Still, she continued to stay silent. After all, it was a family meeting, and she wasn’t family. As she’d sat there and listened, she could see the conflict and hurt in all their eyes. Duncan might have been closest to Fergus, but the thought that Keith’s first wife had lived right under the nose of her biological father her entire life and never known it cut in a whole different matter. Maybe that was the reason Duncan was so reluctant to accept this. Because it felt like a strange betrayal to his mother – knowing the truth when she’d never had that luxury.
As the silence settled around them, Duncan sighed heavily. ‘To be honest, I don’t know… this is a complicated situation. I can’t imagine Kieron taking kindly to being told I’ve just usurped the millions he’s been waiting for his entire life.’
‘That’s one way of putting it. He was fuming when he came to mine yesterday, hammering on the door. And I wouldn’t have thought it possible, but he looked even more furious after he’d left Bex at the White Hart.’
‘You spoke to Kieron yesterday?’ Duncan’s attention snapped to Bex.
‘Hunted her down, more like,’ Lorna said. Duncan didn’t so much as glance in her direction. His piercing gaze was locked solely on Bex with the type of intensity that caused her pulse to rocket.
‘What did he want? What did he say to you?’
A lump lodged itself in her throat. For a moment, she considered telling the truth about the way Kieron had threatened her, saying he’d make her life difficult. But she knew Duncan. Whether they were together or not didn’t matter. If he found out Kieron had come into her room and said those kinds of things, Duncan wouldn’t be moving into Highland Hall. He’d be looking at a move behind bars.
‘He… he wanted to apologise for the way he’d been the other night,’ Bex lied, but she could see Duncan wasn’t buying it.
‘If he said something, did something?—’
‘No, it’s fine, honestly. He wants what he thinks is his. That’s it. He’s not stupid enough to do anything that will jeopardise him getting that.’
Duncan bit down on his lower lip, a buzz of unspoken questions and contemplation filling the room.
