“As are ye,” she countered.
“Aye. But I will swear on my life that yer brothers are not looking at ye the way I am. That would be sinful.”
Moira gasped, her cheeks flaming red. “Errol MacLeod!”
With a lift of his shoulders, he grinned. “I speak only the truth.” He dipped his head to the hole where the chest was. “Is there aught else in there?”
She peered into the hole and nodded. “A letter. Just as we expected.” She reached in and carefully withdrew the letter. Folded into a square and tied with twine. Gently, she tugged at the bow tying the bundle together and it fell away.
She clasped the letter to her chest, near her heart, and took a deep breath, sighing. “Are we ready for this? For certs, this is the last one. I cannae imagine there is aught else for us to discover.”
He nodded. “I believe ye are right.” He stood, holding out his hand for Moira to accept.
She looked up at him with question in her eyes.
“Let us go out into the clearing and let the sun warm our skin as ye read the letter.”
Her gaze dropped to the items she’d removed from the chest.
“Dinnae fash, lass. They will be here when we finish and return. There is no one else here.”
Biting her lip, she nodded, accepting his hand and he pulled her up.
Outside of the cool shade of the trees, the sun felt refreshing. Nourishing. Chasing away the darkness of the past.
Errol led her to the boulder that started their hollow quest and dropped to the ground, drawing Moira down to his side, his arm around her shoulders. His fingers drew slow circles against her arm as he waited for her to unfold the letter and start reading.
Chapter Twenty
Moira felt asif she were dreaming. Together she and Errol had completed what they set out to do—find the treasure.
The final piece she held tightly in her hands. She blew out a breath. What could the letter possibly say? They had already uncovered the tragic ending to the love story of Thomas and Fiona. Sadness covered her like a blanket at the thought of the young family that had been devastated by the actions of a sick, selfish bastard. What else could the letter tell them?
There was only one way to find out.
Slowly, carefully, she unfolded the square, the parchment old, frayed in the creases where it had been folded for years.
‘Thank ye. First and foremost, that is what I must say to ye, the one who fought to get to the end and uncover the truth. Ye have accomplished what I could not. I tried. Believe me when I say that. But I could not overcome the ire both families set upon my shoulders. Ye have found the final chest and therefore ye ken what my next steps are. Once I bury this final chest, I will walk upon the cliffs and join my dear husband, Thomas, and our darling daughter, Agnes, in eternity. I pray that the MacLeod treat Angus as their own and that he grows to be braw like his da. I have not seen him since my shunning from both clans. I can only hope that they tell him about his da one day. I hope he learns how much he was loved. I ken that I willnot be part of that conversation. A part of those memories. I am no’ happy about it, but I have resigned myself to that truth. As to our beautiful daughter’s killer, it was the MacPhail. It was he who was infatuated with her. Did those awful things to her. When Thomas confronted him, MacPhail and his brothers attacked. ’Twas too much for Thomas to defend himself against. It was also the MacPhail that went to the MacLeod, painting a story that I killed my daughter and my husband and in doing so set in motion a feud to last, well, I do not ken, but I am sure a long time. When ye find this, I pray that the feud has ended, and the clans have reconciled. If not, then please, let the items ye have found finally put an end to all the fighting that for certs has happened. And finally, my wish is that the MacPhail pay for all they have done. All the pain they have caused. They shouldpay.
Fiona M.’
Moira looked at Errol and couldn’t stop the tears that once again flowed down her cheeks. She swiped at them angrily. She was both sad and furious. Sad for all that happened to Fiona and her family and angry at the senseless cause of it all.
“The MacPhail,” she started. “Arenae they the clan that held a small parcel of land betwixt our lands?” She gasped. “Is that the land that was given to Thomas and Fiona? Did they no’ only take the lives of Agnes and Thomas, and Fiona in a sense,” she added. “But they also took their land?”
Errol frowned, as he rubbed the stubble on his chin. “I believe ye may be correct. I havenae seen them for quite some time. I will have to ask my father if he kens, but I believe they moved on. Naught has been done on the land. But it must be the land Fiona spoke about. I ken of no other that would fit.”
The sharp crack of a branch breaking in the nearby woods caught their attention. Moira sat up quickly, her eyes scanning the woods as Errol stood straight, his hand going to the hilt of the sword at his side.
“What is it?” Moira asked nervously, fear settling deep into herbones.
“Could be just an animal.”
“Or?” She wasn’t sure she wanted to ken the answer, even though she kenned what the other possibility was.
Had more bandits tracked them down?
Would they attack them once again? Were they in the woods now collecting the items that she and Errol had pulled from the final chest?
