Page 72 of Tempting the Highland Captive

CHAPTERTHIRTY-ONE

Liam was lost in a daze of emotions. He had swung from confused ignorance, to outraged denial, to horrified consideration, to a state that he was not even certain how to define it. The one thing that he did know was that he cared about his newfound sister more than he had thought possible. In the end, it had been her love and acceptance of him, combined with the portrait of her father, that had led to his concession that the entire terrible story might be true. She had not needed time to get to know him before she had loved him. All that she had needed to know was that they were family and her love had come almost instantly.

“Ye are a fortunate man, my friend,” Liam murmured to an absent Ron as he stared out over the loch. He had needed time to himself and had agreed not to say anything to anyone until they had come up with a plan. He had been upset by the fact that his mere existence was a threat to Amelia and Ron’s very lives. He had been furious that he had been lied to his entire life. Now, he was more sorrowed than anything else. His mother had not died in childbirth as he had been told but had died at the hands of his dearest friend when she had attempted to commit murder. The man he had thought to be his father had been a good man, stern, but honorable. The man who had turned out to be his father was by all accounts a rapist, terrible husband, and less than exemplary parent. He had gone from believing that he had loving parents who wanted him to being the unwanted consequence of his mother’s worst moment in life.

Sitting down on a large rock at the water’s edge, he thought over the years of his life searching for any hint at the dishonesty behind it. He came up with nothing. Sighing, he chucked a stone across the water, watching it skip until it disappeared beneath the waves. “Where do I stand now? Tae which clan do I truly belong?” He asked the air around him.

“Ye belong tae both,” Amelia’s voice answered from behind him. She had a way of showing up at the most opportune moments. She came around and sat down on the rock next to him.

“I am sorry that I have kept ye waiting. I did nae mean tae stay away so long.”

She shook her head. “Ye can take as much time as ye need. I needed a moment tae myself as well. While I was alone, I had a thought as tae what we might do tae find some answers tae our questions. I have nae told anyone else about what we have discovered. Only Ron, Maggie, ye, and I ken the truth, but there is one who might ken more than we do.”

“Who?”

“Our priest. If Ysenda or our faither e’er spoke about what happened and disclosed the truth, it would be tae Faither Jacob.”

Liam shook his head in doubt. “A priest would ne’er break the seal o’ the confessional.”

“Those involved are gone. Those o’ us that are left are forced tae live their pain without even kenning why. We deserve answers and Father Jacob may be the only one who has them. We must try, for our own sake if nae for yer maither’s.”

Liam looked down into her earnest green eyes so like his own and found that he could not deny her. It was as if his own heart were shining back at him. “I see why Ron loves ye so.”

Amelia smiled and offered him her hand. “Shall we?”

Nodding, Liam arose and helped her up out of the rocks. They walked together to the kirk where they found Father Jacob at prayer. When they entered, the priest looked up in surprise. He did not look pleased to see a Rossell warrior entering with his mistress. “My Lady?” the priest inquired standing to greet them. “I was nae expecting anyone until this evening.”

“I apologize for interrupting yer prayers, Faither, but the matter is o’ some urgency and we cannae delay as much as we wish that we could.” Amelia’s heartfelt tone caught at Liam’s heart.

The priest squinted at Liam in the dim candlelight with suspicion and stepped forward to study his face up close. What he saw must have surprised him because his eyebrows shot up into his hair and he staggered back a step. “It cannae be,” he breathed in shock.

“It is,” Amelia murmured, reaching out to steady him.

The priest lowered himself down onto a pew and crossed himself. “Saints preserve us,” he whispered. “I thought the bairn had died.”

“Did Ysenda nae confess what she had done or what she planned tae do?” Amelia asked clearly surprised.

The priest shook his head. “She did nae. She stopped coming tae confession after the bairn was born.”

“And my faither?” Amelia asked, a tear slipping down her cheek.

The priest nodded. “He ne’er admitted tae what Ysenda claimed. He swore that she was willing just as all o’ the other lassies were willing. There was nae reason tae doubt him and every reason tae doubt her.” A look of uncertainty passed over his face. “When she died was the first time that I have e’er doubted his word.”

“Do ye ken any connection between Ysenda and the Rossells?”

The priest nodded. “Ysenda’s sister married a Rossell. The family disowned her for it.”

“The family has a tendency toward disowning their daughters.” Amelia’s tone was disapproving.

“Tae wed a Rossell was tae be a traitor tae her people. Tae become with child out o’ wedlock and nae chance o’ a husband shamed the lass and her family. That was how their faither felt about his daughter’s actions.”

“What happened tae the sister?”

“She died in childbirth.”

Liam leaned forward at this. “What was her name? Who did she marry?”

“Her name was Sarah. She married Calum Russell, kinsman tae Michael Rossell.”