“You challenge me, Christina Blackburn, far more than you know.”
“This site is a magnificent find. Cairn Drishan will be regarded as a national treasure. I thought you would be pleased and proud.”
“Proud to lose my home and my career? You know there is a codicil to the will.”
“So you said, concerning the house and the restorations. But you can meet those conditions easily. What does that have to do with the hill?”
“The restorations to the house are not the problem. There is another addendum. If anything of significant historical value is discovered on the estate, nearly everything—the house and some of the land—could revert to the custody of the museum unless certain conditions are met.”
She tilted her head in concern. “What conditions?”
“Dundrennan would have to become a museum. I would have to agree to exhibits and tours. Rooms would be opened for viewing. The grounds would be open for traffic. In the future, paths and seating for tourists might be installed. The place might as well become a hotel and a—a Pictish mecca. There could be a constant stream of people here.”
“So Dundrennan would not feel like your home any longer. You value your privacy.”
“Of course I do, and the privacy of my kindred and the estate. If I do not comply with the codicil, now that this business has been found”—he gestured around the chamber—“the house and part of the estate go under the control of the museum.”
“Your father must have suspected something might be found.”
“He certainly hoped so. And it will all be to Edgar’s unending delight. Surely he told you about it.”
“He never mentioned all that.”
“He has been drooling after this property ever since my father’s will was read. He was present that day to represent the museum.”
“I knew something of that, but not all of it.”
“Now you know.” Aedan replied. He thought of the painting he had looked at daily for six years, her image that had become part of him. In a way, he felt as if he had known her for years—forever somehow.
“And Stephen’s painting?”
“Of you? In the museum.”
She sucked in a breath. “Why would Sir Hugh want such a strict addendum?”
He shrugged. “He believed something significant might be found one day. He wanted to ensure that it would be protected if so. I suspect it began in his discussions with your uncle. They knew something, those two.”
“That could be. I can ask Uncle Walter, but he is ill and I would have to wait until I can see him and broach it carefully. But Aedan, did Sir Hugh not trust you to handle the situation if it arose? And it has,” she added.
“He thought I would put my road first.”
She watched him for a moment. “Was he right about that?”
He inhaled, exhaled sharply. “We never saw eye to eye on the matter of highways and byways in Scotland, let alone this local road. I have done my best to cope with the matter of roads to be built and the estate I must protect. I care about improving Scotland, and I care about Dundrennan.”
“Very deeply. Did he realize that?”
“Not really.” Aedan looked away. “He intended Dundrennan for Neil, my older brother,” he went on. “They agreed on everything to do with the estate.”
“What was he like?”
“A fine man,” he murmured. “More handsome than I and less of a grump, as Amy calls me. He was very knowledgeable about history. I believe he actually read many of the books in our library,” he added wryly. “You would have liked him.”
“I’m sure I would. Though I like the current laird very much,” she said. He heard the smile in her voice. In the candlelight, he saw her cheeks go rosy.
“Do you, now.”
“I do.” She leaned closer, slid an arm around his back waist. “You are a good laird, perhaps the best for Dundrennan just now, since you understand the need for improvement for Scotland to thrive. I think you very handsome,” she said quickly. “And if I were your father, I would have trusted you to do the best thing always.”
