‘Kieron!’
The voice came from the doorway, behind Bex and Duncan. Sharp enough to cut through the air like a blade. While it was like a breath of relief for Bex, and caused a whole heap of tension to roll from her body, Kieron froze mid-rant and turned, his face draining of colour.
Slowly, Bex and Duncan parted, making room for Kieron to see who was standing there. And for them to get their first glimpse of the person they hoped would put an end to all this.
An elegant woman in her early seventies stood in the entrance, wrapped in a fur-lined winter coat. Though Bex had never seen her in person before, she recognised her immediately from photos. Kieron’s mother. Fergus’s sister. Ishbel.
‘Kieron? What have you been doing?’ Her voice was calm but firm, her gaze piercing. ‘Why on earth were you speaking like that?’
Kieron swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing visibly as he edged forward. ‘This doesn’t concern you, Mummy,’ he stammered.
‘Oh, I think it does,’ Ishbel replied. ‘This is family we are talking about, and right now, I am ashamed to call you mine.’
42
Bex’s plan to keep the meeting small hadn’t gone to plan. While Duncan’s father had planned on waiting outside after dropping Ishbel at the house, Carrie and the others had come up from the lodge, apparently unable to stay back and let things unfurl without them, and snuck into the hallway. Upon seeing Bex’s family and the other additions there, Kieron had got even more irate, and only stopped his yelling when Ishbel raised her voice and told him to ‘sit down and be quiet’. Given how sternly she had spoken, that’s what they were all now doing. Sitting in the drawing room, in deadly silence, waiting for whatever Ishbel was going to say next.
‘Is it true, Kieron?’ she asked, her voice calm but firm. ‘Are all these horrible things I’ve heard you’ve been up to true? Online posts, sabotaging someone’s job? Kicking your own flesh and blood out of his home?’
Kieron’s lips bounced soundlessly together.
‘They were trying to stop me… stop me getting the estate, Mummy!’
‘Good God boy, really?’ Her gaze shifted to Duncan. The hardness in her features melted away as a warm smile lit up her face.
‘You look like him,’ she said softly. ‘You have his eyes. Your mother did too, if I remember her correctly.’
Duncan’s chin dipped into a nod.
‘People always said we had the same eyes.’
‘I’m sorry.’ Ishbel reached out and placed a gentle hand against his cheek. ‘I am so sorry for all the times I spoke to her and never knew. All the times I must have let her walk past, without knowing she was my own little niece. I’m sorry Fergus did that to her. And to you. I’m sorry that he did it to all of us. That we didn’t get the time together we deserved.’
Bex wanted to squeeze Duncan’s hand, but he was just a fraction too far away. All she could do was watch on.
‘He must have had his reasons,’ Duncan replied softly, though Ishbel shook her head and scoffed.
‘Whatever they were, they were tosh. She was our blood. You are my blood.’ A single tear streaked down her cheek, as elegant and stately as the rest of her. ‘I promise I won’t ever forget again.’ She sniffed, dabbing her cheek slightly. ‘I feel like I’ve got a little bit of him back, having you here,’ she said, her voice thick with emotion. ‘Is that silly? It’s like part of my big brother’s still here, because you are.’
‘I don’t think so. No. Not at all.’
As Bex watched on, tears filled her eyes. Ishbel was Duncan’s great aunt. His mother’s aunt. A tangible link to the woman who had been taken from him too soon. Finding out the truth of the will, and whether he was the heir, had always been about family for Duncan. Nothing more. And maybe it was because of the talk she and Keith had had on the drive from the airport, or maybe it was simply because she was staring into the eyes of a man that reminded her of her beloved brother, but somehow, Bex could see Ishbel knew that.
As Duncan wiped his own cheeks, Ishbel stiffened her back.
‘As for my son’s behaviour.’ She turned back to Kieron, the warmth in her voice replaced by cold steel. ‘I will make sure he is punished suitably for this.’
For the first time since they’d all collected in the drawing room, Kieron spoke.
‘Mummy, what are you talking about?’ he stammered, his tone rising in pitch. ‘I did this for us. For all of us! So you and Daddy could come here and have the big shoots you love and the grand banquets and?—’
‘Kieron,’ Ishbel interrupted, her voice sharp. ‘The only reason I loved those events was because they gave us a chance to be together as a family. The whole family. That’s why I would be excited for them. Not because of the lavishness or fancy food, but because I would see my big brother. See my old friends. See a house that could be filled with love and friendship. But that’s not what you’re doing here. You are stripping this from these people. From our own family. And I am disgusted. Never have I been more ashamed of you.’
‘But… but?—’
‘No!’ she snapped, her voice reverberating through the room. ‘You go. Pack your things. Now. You don’t belong here.’
For a split second, Bex thought Kieron might lash out again, might spit the same venom at his mother as he had at her and Duncan. Instead, his bottom lip quivered, wobbling like that of a petulant child.
