Page 16 of Edinburgh Escape (Brotherhood Protectors International #5)

Fiona snorted and glared at Ewan. “You’re going to confuse the boy.”

“Not at all,” Ewan smiled at Maggie and Callum. “She’s family, and I say she’s welcome to stay as long as she likes.”

Fiona opened her mouth as if to argue with her stepson and then closed it again. “As you wish, Lord Drummond.”

“I didn’t come to stay,” Maggie assured Fiona. “I only came to meet my brother...” Her gaze went to the little boy, and she smiled and added, “Brothers.”

“How long will you be in Scotland?” Ewan asked.

Maggie bit her lip, looking from Ewan to Fiona. “I have two weeks. I’d planned on doing some sightseeing.”

“You can use the manor as your base and travel out from here. There’s a lot to see on day trips. No need to get a hotel when we have ten rooms available,” Ewan said. “I insist.”

“If the woman doesn’t want to stay, she doesn’t have to,” Fiona said.

Ewan met Maggie’s gaze. “I would be honored if you stayed. I want to get to know you.” He shifted his gaze to Callum. “Of course, the invitation is for you and your fiancé.”

Maggie glanced up at Callum.

“It’s up to you,” he said softly. “You’ll be grand, either way.”

She smiled and turned back to Ewan. “Maybe for a couple of days?”

Ewan grinned. “It’s settled.” To Fiona, he said, “Could you let Cook know we have two more for dinner. I had Mrs. Jones prepare the blue room for them.” He turned to Maggie. “I assumed you two would want to be together.”

Maggie opened her mouth.

Before she could respond, Callum said, “Thank you. We would, wouldn’t we, my love?”

Maggie snapped her mouth shut and nodded.

Ewan strode out into the foyer, calling out, “Gregory, could you bring in our guests’ luggage and take it to the blue room?”

Bryce reached out for Maggie’s hand. “I’m glad you’re staying. Do you want to see my horse?”

Maggie took the boy’s hand in hers. “I would love to see your horse.”

“Not now, Bryce,” Fiona said. “Let her get settled.”

Bryce frowned and then nodded. “Yes, mother.”

“Go get washed up for dinner,” his mother said.

“Yes, mother.”

As the child walked by his mother, Fiona ran her hand over his curls and smiled down at her son. “You can show her your horse later,” she said softly.

He glanced up at her and smiled, then hurried away to do her bidding.

The soft look Fiona had given her son vanished as she turned back to Ewan. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll inform Cook of the change in dinner plans.”

“Thank you,” Ewan said.

After Fiona left the room, Ewan faced Maggie and Callum.

“We’re all still getting used to life without Lord Drummond in residence.

I haven’t been back here for years. I’m sure Fiona doesn’t mean to be testy or rude, but she’s had a lot to process with the death of her husband, the return of his prodigal son and Bryce’s medical issues. ”

Maggie’s brow puckered. “What’s wrong with Bryce?”

Ewan frowned. “He’s never been a really sturdy child, from what I gather. Fiona said he started feeling sickly a few months ago. The doctors can’t find anything wrong with him. He gets ill at times, is often lethargic and has difficulties concentrating on his studies with the tutor.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Maggie said. “He’s such a sweet little guy.”

“I was surprised he wanted to show you his horse,” Ewan said. “He hasn’t wanted to go outside much over the past few weeks.”

“I really would like to see his horse.” Maggie smiled. “I love to ride. My friend Sadie and I used to ride all over the countryside when we were teens. We still go riding when she has the time.”

“I’m sure we can find a suitable horse for you,” Ewan said. “Alastair, our chauffeur, also manages the stables. We have ten horses to choose from. He can arrange for you to ride one.”

“That would be very nice.”

Ewan turned to Callum. “Do you ride?”

Callum nodded. “I have in the past. It’s been a while.”

“I understand,” Ewan said. “After I left for boarding school and joined the military from there, I had little time to ride. Since I’ve been back, I’ve been out every day.”

“How long have you been back?” Maggie asked.

“I came for my father’s funeral.” His eyes narrowed. “I wanted to see for myself that the old bastard was dead.”

Maggie’s eyes widened. “I take it you and your father did not get along.”

Ewan snorted. “That’s putting it mildly. I was glad he sent me away to school. Otherwise, I would have run away and joined a gypsy camp or stowed away on a ship to America. Instead, I found my purpose, if only for a while, in the military.”

“What was my—your father like?” Maggie asked.

Ewan’s lips pressed into a tight line. “He could be charming with his peers and beautiful women. To his family—” He shook his head. “Let’s just say he wasn’t as charming, honorable or loyal.”

Maggie’s brow furrowed. “I’m sorry.”

“For what? You didn’t make him who he was.

He did that all on his own. I wouldn’t have come back, but his solicitor insisted I needed to be present at the reading of his will.

If not for my sake, then for Fiona and Bryce.

” He drew in a deep breath. “You see, he left the estate to his surviving children. Fiona will be allowed to live here as long as she doesn’t remarry, but she has no claim on the assets whatsoever.

He had her sign a prenuptial agreement. She gets nothing if she leaves.

I think, since I walked away from my father, his autocratic and abusive ways, that she believed he would leave his fortune and estate to Bryce alone.

She wasn’t too happy that I came back into the picture.

” Ewan forced a smile. “But you didn’t come to hear about the dysfunction of our family. ”

“On the contrary,” Maggie said. “I came to learn all about you and my father. Bryce is a lovely bonus. I have two brothers.” Her brow furrowed.

“It didn’t occur to me until I was already in Scotland that I was the product of an affair between your father and my mother,” she grimaced and added quietly, “while he was married to your mother.”

Ewan’s lips pressed together. “I’m sure she wasn’t the first or the last. My mother knew he was never faithful to her.

She turned a blind eye and pretended they had a stable marriage.

When I asked her why she didn’t divorce him, she said she didn’t care if he had affairs as long as she could do as she pleased—and his affairs kept him out of her bedroom. ”

“But my mother was your nanny,” Maggie said, her frown deepening.

“Yes, she was. One of a number of nannies I had until I left for military boarding school at the tender age of eleven. As a matter of fact, I’ve been going through his finances, bank accounts and employee records.

When you popped up on the ancestry app, I went back through employee records and found Ayleen McKendrick. ”

Maggie touched a hand to her chest. “My mother.”

“I vaguely remember a pretty blond-haired nanny who lived here at the house when I was around five years old. She read stories to me at night when I was afraid to go to sleep. She had the softest voice that made me feel warm and loved, something my father and mother never did.”

Maggie smiled. “My mother read to me every night before I went to sleep. You’re right. She had the most beautiful voice. It soothed and felt like a warm hug.”

Ewan nodded. “One day she was there, then she was gone. When I asked my mother where my nanny had gone, all she said was that she’d gone away. The next nanny had brown hair and wouldn’t read to me. She had a hard voice and didn’t seem to care. I missed the pretty blond-haired angel.”

“She was a beautiful person, inside and out,” Maggie said softly.

“I find it hard to picture her having an affair with a married man. She didn’t even date and never married.

I asked her if she’d been so in love with my father that no other man could capture her heart.

She shook her head and walked away. She never would tell me about him.

I assumed he was dead. It was easier for me to believe than that he’d abandoned us. ”

“Trust me,” Ewan said. “You’re better off for not knowing him. He wasn’t a nice man. Your mother was right to get away from him.” He squared his shoulders. “But where are my manners? I’ll have Mrs. Jones show you to your room so you can freshen up for dinner.”

Callum took Maggie’s hand and followed Ewan out into the spacious marble foyer. Two sweeping staircases curved upward on the left and the right to the floor above.

A gray-haired woman in a black dress approached them from the hallway that led between the staircases.

The dress resembled something a housekeeper from the Victorian era might wear, featuring long, narrow sleeves, a high collar, a narrow, belted waist and a skirt that draped to the floor, paired with serviceable black shoes.

The woman had pulled her gray hair straight back from her forehead and secured it tightly in a bun at the nape of her neck.

Her stern expression softened briefly when her gaze landed on Maggie.

“Mrs. Jones,” Ewan addressed her, “this is my sister, Maggie McKendrick and her fiancé, Callum McCall. Could you please show them to the blue room? I’d do it myself, but I need to speak with Alastair about one of the horses that has developed a limp.”

The woman dipped her head. “Yes, Master Ewan—” she stopped herself and corrected, “Lord Drummond.”

Ewan gave Maggie a crooked smile. “You see? We’re all trying to get used to all the changes since my father’s passing. Mrs. Jones has been with the Drummonds since before I could remember. And old habits die hard.” He turned his smile on Mrs. Jones. “Thank you, Mrs. Jones.”