‘As long as it’s okay with Duncan.’ Gordon’s reply came out for them all to hear. ‘As I’m sure you’re aware, I have personal information to disclose. I need to ensure he’s all right with that.’
‘Aye, it’s grand. Bex can listen. I want her to hear.’ It was the first thing Duncan had managed to say. Bex reached across and squeezed his knee as she flashed him a smile that she hoped told him what she wanted him to know. She was still here for him. No matter what.
‘Right, Duncan. Hello. Okay then.’ Gordon let out a breath that rattled through the speaker. If Bex had to guess, he was almost as nervous as they were. But was he nervous because Duncan was or wasn’t the heir, she wondered, recalling the words Duncan had said to her only a moment ago. He hadn’t asked her if she was ready to find out if he was the heir to Highland Hall or if she was ready for him to become laird. He had asked if she was ready to find out who his grandpa was. That was what mattered to him; the family side of things, not the money or the title. And that was why she loved him so much.
‘Duncan, as you know, we took a swab from your cheek for DNA testing.’ Gordon’s voice took on a more formal and measured tone. ‘I also asked Kieron to do the same.’
‘I’m afraid he wasn’t too happy about that,’ Bex muttered, a small, nervous laugh escaping her.
‘No, not exactly,’ Gordon admitted with a grunt. ‘But I think he realised there was no choice. Both yours, Duncan, and Kieron’s DNA were taken via cheek swab. I also, er, secured what I assumed to be several samples of Fergus’s DNA too.’
‘What does that mean? Secured?’ Bex asked. ‘How did you do that?’
She felt guilty for delaying him getting to the point, but she needed to know the ins and outs of what had happened, for her own peace of mind if nothing else.
‘Well, I didnae want to take any risks, so I took a couple of hairs from the inside of that green flat cap o’ his. Was still hung up in the back of the house.’
Bex felt a pang of emotion at the mention of Fergus’s flat cap. She remembered it vividly and how when she’d first seen Fergus wearing it, with his scruffy hair sticking out from underneath, surrounded by a pack of dogs, she’d thought he might be homeless. Or a groundskeeper. Never had it crossed her mind that he was the laird and owner of the most beautiful home she’d ever known.
‘Aye, well, I took his wax jacket, an’ forensics found skin samples an’ a nail clippin’ in one of the pockets. And I maybe had a wee sneak upstairs on Burns Night an’ found a toothbrush in the bin in the old man’s bedroom.’
‘Wow, you really didn’t want to take any risks,’ Bex said, with an air of awe. Where Gordon stood on the matter legally, she wasn’t sure, but he was the lawyer, not her.
‘Well, good thing is they were all a match, ’cept a couple of dog hairs. So the court’ll be more than happy they’re Fergus’s.’
Bex exchanged a look with Duncan. He hadn’t said a word since saying he was okay with Bex listening in and, from the current greenish hue that had taken over his complexion, she wasn’t even sure he was able to.
Gordon cleared his throat. ‘Well, we had the lab process the cheek swabs first,’ he continued. ‘And they showed that the two individuals – Duncan and Kieron – share four hundred and twenty centimorgans of DNA.’
‘Which means?’
‘It means that they are related. First cousins once removed.’
Bex covered her mouth in shock. Duncan and Kieron were cousins. Blood relations. In all her speculation, she hadn’t even thought about that factor. But if that was the case, then she already knew what Gordon was about to say next. There was only one way they could be related, but she needed to hear the words come from his lips.
‘Which means?’ she asked, her eyes still locked on Duncan’s, their hands squeezed so tightly together it was as if their pulses were hammering as one.
‘Means Duncan is Fergus’s grandchild,’ Gordon said. ‘Which makes him the rightful heir of Highland Hall and the new laird.’
26
Bex wasn’t sure if she had hung up the phone or if Gordon had. She wasn’t even sure whether she had said goodbye to him. All she knew was that the line was now dead, meaning that at some point, someone had ended the call. Not only that, but Ruby had crawled onto the end of the bed and was now lying with her head on Duncan’s lap, though there was no way Bex was going to move her. She couldn’t. She didn’t even have it in her to speak. And, by the silent shock that shrouded Duncan, neither did he. Their hands were still clasped together, but he was staring down at Ruby.
Bex needed to say something. Needed to ask how he was feeling, but what kind of answer did she expect him to give? She hardly expected him to be happy, finding out that two of the people he respected most in the world had lied to him his entire life, but what about being laird? Highland Hall? His home was safe. That had to be a good thing, didn’t it?
Finally, she bit the bullet.
‘How do you feel?’ she asked, hating the sound of the question on her lips.
Rather than responding immediately, Duncan rubbed behind Ruby’s ears.
‘Honestly?’ He shook his head, still not looking at her. ‘I don’t know. It doesn’t feel real.’
‘I can’t imagine.’
His gaze finally met hers, and the sheen that had glazed his eyes before had transformed into two single tears that trickled down his cheeks.
‘Do you think she ever knew? My ma. Do you think she ever had any idea?’
