Page 27 of Highlander’s Fruit of Eden

The Rightful Laird

“ W hat happened?” asked Amelia. “One minute, I was in your uncle’s study, and the next, he had me dragged down to this crypt and imprisoned with Ada.”

“I dinnae ken exactly, but I think he locked ye here because he couldnae have ye, or perhaps because we wanted to be together. I cannae quite figure him out, and I ken that he loved me, but I also ken now that he wanted to hold onto power more than anythin’ else, and he committed atrocities over the years that may never come to light.

He put Ada down here possibly because he couldnae bring himself to kill her, but also because she kenned too much about him.

The two of ye are safe now, and we will deal with her later.

For now, I am just overjoyed to see ye still alive and in me arms.”

The two of them came together, kissing once more.

“What happened with your uncle?” asked Amelia when the kiss was done.

“He sent someone to kill me. I ken now that Ada sent ye a letter and then an assassin after ye, and he must have gotten the same idea. This time, though, I caught the assassin, and he told me who had sent him. I couldnae believe that me uncle did it, but it made sense. It was another way to hold onto power.”

“So, you confronted him?” asked Amelia.

“I tried to, but he told me that ye had left the castle, and I had to go after ye.”

“I would never leave without telling you,” said Amelia. She placed a hand on his chest.

“Aye, I ken that, but I was scared that ye had been scared off this whole mess. It was a distraction. While I was runnin’ around like a headless chicken, he had Angus go down and take care of the assassin, make it look like a suicide, and then ye and Ada were next.

” Jon pulled Amelia into his arms, unable to bear the thought of losing her.

They had come close a couple of times beach of him, but that was over now.

“You went back to him?” asked Amelia.

“Aye, I did. When I realized that he had sent me off so that he could silence the assassin, I went back to me uncle, and that was when he told me the truth about everythin’.

I dinnae ken if he thought that no one would believe me, or if he was always plannin’ on killin’ me himself, but it came to that, and I came out on top. ”

“What was the truth that he told you?”

“I was always supposed to be the Laird of this castle. When me faither died of the pox, he gave instructions for me uncle to take care of me and then pass on the Lairdship when I came of age. He might have planned to do that initially, but he got a taste for power and longed to keep it. I wouldnae have begrudged him anythin’ if he had treated me right, but I think he resented the fact that I was the rightful Laird and he was not, no matter how hard he tried. ”

“So, you are the Laird of this castle now? You are Laird Montgomery?”

“It’s nae as easy as that. A guard saw me kill me uncle.

Even if he hadnae, it would have gotten out anyway, and even though I was defendin’ meself, people are going to think that it is a power grab.

In the end, it’s me word against his, and he’s dead.

The people loved him, and they are nae going to forget that.

It does nae matter what happens next, there is nay proof that I am the rightful Laird.

I think that it’s for the best that someone else take over from me uncle. ”

“No!” shouted Amelia. “You are the rightful Laird, and you should be the one to lead. I do not care what anyone else thinks, you will lead the Clan fairly and wisely.”

“Aye, and ye don’t think that they will be suspicious of an English lass at me side with me uncle dead? The secrets are so buried that they cannae be unearthed. At least I ken the truth, and that is all that matters to me. besides, I have ye, and that is all I ever want.”

“I have you too,” said Amelia. Jon took both of her hands in his and held them. The crypt was not the most romantic place in the world, but it felt it. “Secrets,” muttered Amelia.

“What?” asked Jon. “What are ye thinkin’?”

“I do not know,” said Amelia. “When I was in the library with your uncle, he was talking about secrets, and I thought that he meant figuratively, but maybe he was talking literally. You admitted that you do not know all of his secrets. If there is any evidence of your rightful place, it will be in that library—I would bet my life in it.”

“Please dinnae say things like that,” said Jon. “I dinnae want to speak about death for a long time after what has happened.”

“Well, we should leave this crypt and go up to the library. The worst thing that can happen is that we find nothing and are still in the same place.”

“Aye, ye are right,” said Jon.

Jon entered the room and quickly stopped.

His uncle was there no longer, the body having been taken away to be dealt with, but there was a bloodstain on the floor.

He stared down at the blood, the blood of his uncle, spilled by his own hand.

The sword that he had stabbed into his uncle’s chest was hanging on his belt still.

“Are you feeling well?” asked Amelia, placing her hand on Jon’s back.

“Aye,” said Jon. “It seems like so long ago, but it’s barely any time at all.”

“You had to do it,” said Amelia.

“I keep runnin’ the events through in me mind, and I will wonder that for a long time. Whether or not I needed to kill him.”

“Beggin’ yer pardon, sir, but I did see the whole thing or most of it.

” Jon turned to see the guard standing at the door.

Jon did not say anything, and the guard continued.

“Ye acted in self-defense, sir, if ye don’t mind me sayin’.

I dinnae ken what yer quarrel was about, but ye did nae set out to kill the Laird. ”

“Aye,” muttered Jon. “Where is his body?”

“The healer took him downstairs, but there was nothin’ to be done. He’s laid out if ye want to see him before….”

“Aye,” was all that Jon could say again.

“Will you leave us, please?” asked Amelia.

“Aye,” said the guard, turning and marching away.

“See,” said Amelia when the guard had gone. “You had no choice but to do what you did.”

“Aye, that might be so, but I still killed me uncle and the Laird.”

“Let us not dwell on that for now, my love. We came up here with a task, so let us focus on that. I am sure that there is something in here.”

“Where do ye suggest that we look? In the pages of the books?”

“Maybe,” said Amelia. “It is a place to start.”

Jon only nodded, and the two of them got to work.

The library was not extremely large, but it was large enough for there to be hundreds of books lining the walls.

He was not sure that there was anything to be found, but Amelia was right—the worst thing that could happen would be for them to end in the same place as they had started.

As Jon walked the room and found an area to start in, images of the deal with his uncle flashed in his mind.

He closed his eyes tight, but he could only see the Laird lunging at him with his sword point shimmering in the light.

He took a deep breath and opened his eyes.

He had killed his family, his own flesh and blood.

He tried another book, but there was nothing inside.

Jon looked over at Amelia and saw her smiling back at him.

That was the answer right there. He did not need anything else, only her.

His family might be gone, party by his own hand, but that was not real family—his real family had passed years ago.

No, he would start a new family with Amelia, and his life would be complete.

A book with a golden spine on the bookshelf in front caught his eye, and he pulled it out, but it did not come off the shelf. It tilted back, and there was a click—the entire bookshelf moved slightly, and Jon realized that it was a hidden door—another secret in the castle.

“Over here!” shouted Jon. “I found somethin’.”

Amelia immediately rushed to his side, and the two of them pulled the door open. Jon shook his head when he found the secret room behind. There was not much to it—a small desk and a chair. The room was small, but it feelt and smelled like it held all of the secrets of the castle.

Jon went to the desk and sat down, imagining his uncle sitting there and writing letters in secret. What did he do in here that was so secret he could only do so by himself?

On the table was a wooden chest, and Jon lifted the unlocked lid to find papers and letters inside. He pulled out a handful and placed them on the desk, spreading them out.

“I’m nae sure if I should read them,” he said. “I’m nae sure if I want to ken what other secrets he had.”

“I support whatever decision you come to,” said Amelia.

Jon picked up one of the letters and took it from the envelope.

It was a letter from his faither to his uncle from when they were younger.

His faither had gone off to war as a young man, and his uncle had remained behind.

There were a few letters back and forth between the two brothers detailing life in the war and life in the castle.

The words were loving between the two, and Jon wished he could have seen them like that.

“Look at this one,” said Jon. He passed the sheet of paper to Amelia.

She read the first line. “The last will and testament of Thomas Nelson.”

“Me faither,” said Jon.

Amelia scanned the page. “Oh, my goodness. ‘My brother is to become Laird in my position until my son comes of age at eighteen, and upon that time arriving, he is to be the Laird of Montgomery Castle as is his right.’ At the bottom here, it is signed by both your faither and your uncle. This is the proof that you are the rightful heir.”

“Aye,” said Jon. “And there is a lot more.” He handed Amelia another few letters that he had been reading while she had read the will.

One was to another Laird asking for advice on how to keep power, and another contained details on what could stop someone from becoming Laird.

There was correspondence with a few other Clans, and they seemed to be in support of Vincent holding onto power with some deals in place to keep it that way.

“This is a mess,” said Jon. “With me uncle passed, we might very well be at war with some of these Clans. I am only thankful that he put so much money into the military. He might have done it to hold onto his own power, but he is going to help the Clan from beyond the grave, even if what is to come is his own doing.”

“But you have the proof,” said Amelia. “You are the rightful heir, and your uncle may have loved the Clan, but he did what was in his own best interest.”