Page 53 of The Valiant Knight (The Ravensmire Chronicles #2)

She knew Ceit’s notes began in fifteen ninety-three, but the castle was constructed in fifteen eighty-three.

Duncan was twice her age, but Ciarán wasn’t. He was two years younger than Duncan.

Ciarán had been with Duncan six years before the castle was ever built.

It wasn’t built for her.

It was likely built for Ciarán, and at some point, Duncan tried to cover his tracks so the man he really loved was not killed.

His marriage to Ceit was a cover.

Gabby would bet on it.

Still, she kept going.

It didn’t take long before she found information about Ciarán Begbie and who sold him.

It was horrifying.

His own father sold him to the Granndachs for a few horses. He was meant to be his aid, or chamber man who helped get him dressed and ready.

Digging deeper, she found an article about Ciarán that had been written about a hundred and fifty years ago when a historian dug into the family history.

It had true accounts by the family that didn’t move to America, right before they died out.

Rebecca’s family.

In it, it said that he and Duncan trained together, and were fierce fighters. Then, she found the one paragraph that solved the mystery of their relationship.

‘When the truth came out of Duncan’s penchant for men, not women, they moved to attack the castle.

By paying off some servants, they were let in one night, and instead of taking Duncan’s life, they took Ciarán’s.

Out of mourning, and to make sure his lover wasn’t desecrated, Duncan hid his body, not trusting anyone to keep it safe, and spent the next ten years mourning him until he died of a terrible disease. ’

It appeared that Ceit was right. Duncan had found someone else, but it wasn’t exactly the way she thought it was. Ciarán had likely been his lover long before Ceit came into the picture, and Duncan only married her to hide the truth.

A truth that would get Ciarán and Duncan hurt. The church would have called it blasphemy, and sentenced them to death.

Oh, wow.

She couldn't imagine the pain they both felt for all of those years. Ciarán had to watch the man he loved impregnate a woman, and marry her, and Ceit had to come to grips with not being loved like she thought she was.

They were all victims, and she understood why the house was unsettled.

Now, they just needed to figure out who was the fourth figure.

Out of curiosity, she searched for Duncan’s wife, and it didn’t take her long.

‘The eldest daughter of Oisi n Darragh, a lord in Ireland, who was in an arranged marriage with Duncan Granndach.’

Well, now they at least knew who her father was. They had another piece of the family’s puzzle.

Sending herself the information, she was going to print that out too.

Pulling out her phone, she called Tony. When he answered, he sounded tired.

Yeah, it had been a long night for all of them.

“Guess what I found?” she asked, excitedly.

He couldn’t imagine.

“Another set of remains? You know I can be there in minutes.”

She laughed.

“No, you nut. I found out about Ciarán Begbie and his history with Duncan. He was sold to him when Duncan was just becoming Lord Granndach. He was sixteen, and Duncan was eighteen.”

Tony listened.

“They were lovers. Ciarán died when someone broke into the castle to try and kill Duncan. Word got out that he liked the men more than the women—particularly that one.”

Tony whistled.

“Yeah, homosexuality was punishable by death back then. That explains why he married at all. He was trying to protect them.”

Yeah, she saw that now.

“Ciarán came before Ceit, and I doubt that he killed her. He’d have no reason to. Their affair predated it, and he likely knew that Duncan was trying to protect them.”

Tony agreed there.

“I found Ceit’s father’s name, and that’s about it. Oh,” she said, remembering. “Duncan originally put his lover in the crypt, but there was such outrage that he had no choice to move him. He buried Ciarán somewhere not in the castle. It was clear he was protecting him after death too.”

Tony thought about it.

“I found a wall that shouldn’t be there. There’s a draft in the crypt, and the wall moves a little. Graham said we need to have the construction crews take it down, but that won’t be for a while. Maybe he’s behind the wall?”

She considered it.

“I mean, maybe, but you won’t be here to work on this. I will be, though. If Graham will let me, I’ll keep helping out.”

Tony was excited for her.

“You have to let me know what you find.”

Oh, she would.

Then, it hit Tony.

“We found a letter,” he said, telling her how it was lying in the corridor when they’d both been through there.

“Really?” she asked.

“Yeah,” he said, telling her what it was about.

Gabby gasped.

“I mean, what if the fourth ghost is Ceit’s father?” she asked. “Could that be a possibility?”

At that point, anything was possible.

“Maybe,” he said. “I don’t think I’ll uncover anything else, but you might.”

Yeah, she wasn’t done here.

Not.

At.

All.

“I can’t wait to see the letter. I’ll check it out later, but for now, I’m going to send the historical archives to the printer in the storage room. Can you put them with the book?” she asked.

That he could do. They already put the letter they found in there.

“I’m going to read over them first. Graham is laying down again.”

“Hangover?” she asked.

He laughed.

“A bad one. Other than that, he’s better—physically. Emotionally, he’s a mess. His parents disowned him when he came out.”

She hurt for him.

“That’s terrible.”

“Yeah, so when you’re living here with your Prince Charming, keep an eye on him. Okay?”

Gabby could tell that Tony had gotten attached to the man. It was clear he was worried about him.

“I will, Tony.”

That made him happy.

“Thanks, Gabby. See you when you get back. Ceit’s skull is back in her crypt, and she’s tucked away. Our work here is just about done.”

Yeah, she was going to miss Tony when he went back.

“We’ll see you later.”

Hanging up, she backed her way out of the archives, and made sure she left no trace of using Finn’s work laptop.

As she was wrapping up, she heard keys in the lock, and stood up. When she saw Finn enter the house, she moved toward him and went into his arms.

He grabbed his woman, and hugged her to his body. When he kissed her, everything felt right in the world.

“Oh, Lordy, but the newlywed wannabes are already kissing like they’ve been apart for years,” Catherine joked.

Finn hushed her.

“If my woman stops kissing me like that, I’m going to blame you, Catty.”

She laughed.

“Hey,” Gabby said, and was pulled away from Finn and hugged by the woman.

“Hey!” she said. “You had time to escape. Why didn’t you make a run for it?” she teased. “The troll moves slow.”

Gabby laughed.

“You guys go hard,” she said.

Finn kissed his sister on the forehead.

“That we do, Lass. It’s out of nothing but adoration and love. How was your researching?”

Oh, well, she had found PLENTY .

“Well, we found some things, and Tony and Graham did too.”

First, she told him what they found by way of the letter from Lord Oisin of Darragh, her father.

He listened, and whistled.

“That makes him a suspect in the murder. If he got to the castle before Duncan and Ciarán, he could be the one who hit her in the face before she fell out the window.”

Catherine was curious.

“What are you researching?” she asked, putting on some tea. How easily she moved around the place proved how familiar she was with her brother’s home.

Gabby told her. The whole time, Catherine listened, and said nothing.

“I just hope that the people who bought the castle take care of her. She’s important to us.”

Yeah, she could see that.

“Don’t worry,” Gabby said. “The people who bought it will never let it get torn down or ruined.”

Catherine placed her chin on her hands and smiled.

“Want to tell me who bought it? I’ll never tell a soul,” she said.

Gabby laughed.

“Uh, no, because that’s a lie. You’ll tell Caroline, Bonnie, Blair, Maisie, Kenna, and Elsie. Then, one of them will tell Fiona, and before we know it, the whole village knows.”

They both laughed.

She wasn’t wrong.

Although, Finn was impressed. Gabby had managed to memorize his whole family’s names. Well, minus his father, Malcom. He’d yet to mention it.

Because she was excited, she told Finn about what she found too.

When she was done, he considered it.

“He wouldn’t have killed her,” he said. “Ciarán would have known why Duncan was marrying her. It would be about protecting themselves. He offered to leave not because he wanted Duncan to have a chance at life, but because he knew the danger they were in.”

That was the vibe she was getting too. In fact, she had said the same thing to Tony.

“I’m not finished working on this,” she admitted. “When Tony goes back, and we return from packing up my place, I’m going to keep Graham company during the day, and help work this.”

He was good with that.

It was likely for the best that they didn’t leave the man alone.

“How is Graham?” Catherine asked as she began pouring hot boiling water over the teabags.

Finn shrugged.

“You know. Not good.”

“That’s too bad. He needs to find a bonnie lass to settle down and have some kids. That will soothe what ails him.”

Yeah, likely not, since he was gay, but they weren’t going anywhere.

When there was a knock on the door, Finn apologized as Catherine went to open it.

“Brace yourself,” he warned, just in time.

Once the door was opened, seven women came in, and one much older man.

Immediately, Gabby knew who it would be.

This was Finn’s family, and she was about to meet them all at once.

She could see Finn’s concern, and she didn’t have a single concern of her own. She knew they’d get along. Finn and Catherine were amazing people.

As she was inundated with hugs, the women kept talking over each other.

Finn whistled loudly.

EVERYONE stopped.

“It’s like you’ve got no manners,” he said. “Now, calm down, so you don’t scare my fiancée away. It took me thirty-five years to find her. Let’s not be silly.”