Walking into his sitting room, one of his aids and two others of his domestic staff greet him at the door. He responds as he walks inside. The house seemed quiet; he doesn’t see Max or hear his voice. He may be in bed already; it is almost evening. He missed that little chap and can’t wait to hug him.
Approaching his hallway, he hears whispering; entering it, he sees Sophie with a lady and a man. Probably one of her usual visitors, only that they look like they are from the lower born. When did Sophie become so confident as to mingle with the low-born? The people she usually refers to as dirty and disgusting.
As well, it’s unusual for her to be home this early in the evening. Interesting.
Hearing the footsteps behind her, Sophie turns to face Oliver. She looks shattered compared to how dressed up she has always been. Wit is wrong with her? Oliver thinks.
“Ye finally decide to be back home. I was thinkin’ you finally left us,” she says with anger in her voice.
Oliver knows the tone and knows she is probably trying to put up a fight as she always does. He had his share of drama from Amelia back in Dunfermline, and he is not prepared to engage in more with Sophie. Especially not now.
Ignoring Sophie, he walks past the hallway, and there is Maggie, the one person he needs to see now.
“Ma laird, welcome, sir,” she greets.
“Thanks Maggie. I didnae see Max. Where is he?”
“He is kipping, sir.”
“Okay.” Just as Oliver had thought, he would have loved to see his son and bid him good night, but he might wake him up, and then the boy might be too excited to go back to sleep. He will see him first thing in the morning. It’s best to begin his day with him.
Leisurely, he walks up to his chamber to refresh and get some sleep, which he predicts will be fleeting this evening.
On the morning of the next day, Oliver awakens to two sources of banging. One is the banging on the door, and the other is the pain of the headache, hitting like a hammer on his head.
He swings open the door and sees Maggie. She is in a panic.
“Ma Liard, Max is missing”
Chapter 40
Wit is she saying? Wit does she mean, Max is missing? Oliver thinks as he marches quickly into his son’s chambers with his heart beating as fast as a parade drum.
Behind him is Maggie, who has been mumbling through tears. He couldn’t concentrate on all she was saying, but he thinks he heard her say that Max was in his room late last night as she did check on him, only to find him missing this morning.
Wit in heavens name is she talking about?!
Oliver forcefully pushes open the door to his son’s chamber only to see the room vacant. The bedding looks a little bit rumpled, showing that his son did lay in that bed last night. He rushes around the room to check. He looks under the bed, and then in the bathroom, but finds no one there.
Is my little boy playing a prank on everyone or wit? Oliver thinks as he looks around the room in confusion.
“How? How is this possible?”
“I…I deh ken ma laird,” Maggie says with a cracking voice. “I swear he was sleeping here last night. I came here to check on him in the dead hours, and he was having a peaceful night.”
Oliver looks around, trying to make sense of what she is saying.
He begins walking out of the room, and she hastily follows behind. “Have ye checked the entire castle? Aw, the chambers?” he asks quickly.
“Aye ma laird, the guards are still searching.”
“Where is his mother? I saw her yesterday evening; I suppose she is around?”
“Naw ma laird. She was around last night. But this morning, her chamber is empty.”
What could this mean? Oliver thinks. Did Sophie leave early in the morning to her usual ‘God knows where she goes, places’?
Oliver knows Sophie all too well. He knows she is not the type of person to wake up very early in the morning for any activities; waking up for her is usually means around noon. During the days, she usually goes out to entertain herself. Normally she would wake up late in the morning to laze around for some time before leaving the castle.
The time now is barely 7 am, and she is gone? Nay, something is not right, Oliver reasons. He begins walking towards Sophie's chambers while Maggie trails close behind. Upon reaching the door, he pushes it open without knocking, and just as he expected, she is not there.
This is the first time he has visited her chamber since she arrived back in Montrose. He has purposely avoided this room for many reasons, and it was all because of Sophie. He had no interest and didn’t want to be anywhere near her, most notably, her chambers. Max was a lovable mistake between him and Sophie, but he won’t let it repeat itself.
“Check her closet,” Oliver says to Maggie, who has been standing behind him.
The woman rushes to where the beautifully carved wooden closet stands and throws it wide open. The look on her face immediately confirms Oliver’s fear. Sophie is gone. Not just gone, but gone with Max.
“Ma laird, all her clothes are gone. She’s gone,” the lady says with shock. Then as the realization begins to set in, her face pales with the shock. “M…Ma laird, I think Lady Sophie left with Max.”
Unsurprised, but filling with a furious rage that make him feel as though he will explode, Oliver storms out of Sophie’s room. Maggie follows him again.
“How could ye let this happen, Maggie?! I left that bairn on yer care! This is wan thing ye are supposed tae do right!” Oliver lashes out as he walks downstairs.
“Ah’m sorry, ma laird,” Maggie says as she hurries to catch up with him. “I didnae ken her plan to elope with the boy. She is the mother; I couldn’t have stopped her from visiting her son.”
Maggie is right. She couldn’t have known what plan Sophie has been conjuring in her mind. And after all, Sophie is Max's mother; having a maid questioning where she is taking her son would be wrong.
Halfway down the stairs Oliver is met by Fin, one of the male domestic house servants, who has come to deliver a message.
“Ma laird, a man and his wife seek an audience with ye.”
“Ah’m in no mood to receive visitors right now! I have an important issue at hand! Tell them to go, not today!” Oliver snaps as he continues to walk downstairs and into the hallway.
As he is about to exit the main castle entrance his attention falls upon the man and woman whom have come looking for him.
Wait a second! He remembers those faces. These are the two people he saw with Sophie last night when he arrived.
What are they doing here? Oliver hurries over to them. Perhaps they might know something about Max and Sophie's disappearance. Coming closer to the man, Oliver notices a striking resemblance between him and his son Max.
Who the feck is he?!? Oliver questions.
“Ma laird,” the man greets. Oliver is quick to notice that the man’s wife seems like she has been weeping. Her eyes and face look swollen and ruddish.
“My guardsman says ye wish to speak to me,” Oliver says
“Aye, my laird.” Immediately, the couple fall on their knees and begin to plead their case. Oliver is taken aback by this. “Ma laird, ma wife and I need our boy back. We appreciate the kind gesture of ye and yer wife, but we dinnae want the money. Please give us our son.”
Shock and confusion well up in Oliver. “Wit do ye mean??” Oliver asks, puzzled.
“We will keep our promise not tae tell anyone about the stolen baby but…”
“Stolen baby?!” Oliver exclaims in disbelief.
“Aye ma laird, since we tracked our baby boy to yer castle last week, we swear, we havnae told anyone aboot it; we promised yer wife, and we kept to it. But we can’t keep accepting money from ye and yer wife,” the man says.
“Aye,” The man’s wife adds in tears. “I just want ma boy back, ma baby.”
“Oh, God!” Oliver says as a sharp pain stabs his heart. He doesn’t want to believe this. The meaning of what this man and his wife are saying begins to
dawn on him.
Slowly, Oliver staggers to a nearby couch to sit down. He will collapse if he remains standing to listen to all that this couple has to say. Did Sophie set this all up, just because she wants to flee with Max to collect more money from him? To be sure his conclusion is right, he needs to ask further questions.
“Ye said ye tracked yer baby boy to my castle last week? How is that even possible?”
“Our boy has been missing fer three years, since the day he was born. A slave trader forcefully took him away from us. Ma wife and I have been searching fer him ever since. With luck, in the last two weeks, we reencountered the scoundrel in our village in Tobermory. We pleaded with him, and paid him handsomely, before he told us he sold our baby to the laird and lady of this castle,” the man says.
“Oh, good heavens, oh my God!” Oliver's words tremor.
“We were here last week, but yer wife gave money in exchange fer the boy.”
“Wit! Money in exchange fer a child?” Oliver exclaims.
“Aye, ma laird,” the man answers in surprise. “She says we shouldn’t tell anyone for the boy’s safety, and ye approve of it.” “She said if we told anyone we would never see the child again.”
“Me?!” What kind of woman is Sophie?! “Ah’m sorry, but this is my first time hearing aboot this. I didnae know aboot any’o this,” Oliver says earnestly, hoping the man can understand. Which, by the inquisitive and dumbfounded look on the man’s face, it appears he does.
“I thought Max was my true son,” Oliver murmurs. “Ye where here yesterday?”
“Aye, sir. We came tae plead, and she said we should be here today fer the boy. She promised she would talk tae ye about letting go of the boy.”
If only this man and his wife knew that Sophie had deceived them just a she had been deceiving Oliver over the past three years, they wouldn’t have believed a single word out of her mouth.
“Please, sir, we may be poor, but we donnae want tae take money in exchange of our child. We want him back, and we promise not to tell anyone about this, ever.”
Oliver heaves a heavy sigh. Indeed, honourable and loving parents would never consider selling off their child for money. Silently, Oliver curses the day he meets Sophie.
“She left with the boy. We cannae find them,” Oliver says calmly.
Immediately, the man's wife bursts into tears, and the man rushes to his wife to console her.
“Do not worry, I will find them. You have my word.” Oliver assures the couple.
Helplessly, sitting on the couch, Oliver knows not what to do or think. Now it’s all beginning to make sense. Throughout the time Sophie was pregnant, he had never seen her with a bare baby bump stomach. And on the very day she was to deliver the baby, she claimed she would travel to Arbroath as she had secured a trusted midwife who would deliver the child. Now, it’s all too obvious that she didn’t go to Arbroath, but Tobermory instead.
But his family physician had confirmed the pregnancy. What then had happened?
Oliver cannot believe that he has become unwilling participant in this mess. The only way to resolve this issue is to confront Sophie and make her accountable for what she has done. He must find Sophie and bring her and the boy back, and it is Arbroath where his search must begin.
Chapter 41
Amelia stands on the front porch of Thomas's house, waiting for the door to open. She has knocked twice and knows that Thomas's house staff will emerge soon to open the door. Her heart pounds faster, and it feels as if it will fall out.
A minute later, the door opens, and the elderly maid welcomes her in. Amelia walks into the drawing room to wait for Thomas. A few months ago, this same house had seemed like hers. Now she has to respect the privacy of the owner. How will she face Thomas? She hasn’t seen him in days, since the argument at her home, and now here she is.
“Amelia,” Thomas calls as he walks into the drawing-room. “How are you?” Thomas asks casually. It amazes Amelia how unoffended he is even though they have had disputes.
“Ah, ’m okay,” Amelia says as she thinks of the right words to use to open up the conversation.
Thomas notices the hesitation in her appearance and voice. “It’s about the other night, is it?” Thomas straightforwardly asks her, fixing his gaze on her.
“Aye,” she quietly answers, feeling almost as embarrassed as she was that night.
“Isna a problem now,” Thomas says as he goes to the table and pours a drink. He gestures the glass to Amelia. “Care fer a drink?” he asks her.
“No, thank you”
Even though he has opened up the conversation, she needs to state her mind and, most importantly, render him a sincere apology.
“Ah’m pure sorry aboot that day. T’was so shameless of me. I shouldnae have hurt your feelings that way,” Amelia says.
Thomas nods and sips a drink from his cup. “Sometimes, the way of love cannae be understood. Ye will still love him even if we were together.”
“But I shouldnae have done that. Ah’m deeply sorry.”
“Amelia, no need for apologies. It’s in the past,” Thomas says with earnest assurance.
Amelia nods sheepishly while remaining silent.
“How is Owen?” Thomas asks as he sips another drink.
“He is good,” Amelia replies.
Thomas nods to this, “Ye ken, the boy needs to be with his true father. Ye should think about it. Moreover, he will have a healthier life if his parents are together.”
“Mayhap,” Amelia answers reluctantly.
“Aye. Also, ye can keep the land, it’s ma…” Thomas begins to say.
“Nay! I donnae want tae; I cannae have it” Amelia adds immediately.
“I insist, please. Take it as part of my farewell wishes to ye.”
“Nay, it donnae feel right.”
“Amelia…please. Considering how much ye want a farm like that, it will be unfair of me not to let you stay on it. So ye can have it with my blessings.”
“I ken I want it, but I cannae have it just like that.” Amelia hesitates. “It will be better if it’s a lease. Let me pay for it over the coming few years …”
“Amelia, it’s not really ….”
“Please, it is best for everyone, please,” Amelia persists.
“Okay.” Thomas sips another drink, “As ye wish.”
They continue their conversation for a little while into the night, enjoying each other’s company, albeit it in a much less carnal way than they had become accustomed over the preceding months. By the end of her visit, Amelia can tell that Thomas bears no grudge against her.
As Amelia makes her way out of the house and across the courtyard, a horse drawn carriage arrives at Thomas’s front door. A well-appointed woman, quite attractive and seemingly highborn, steps from the carriage and enters the house. Amelia knows not who the lady is, but is thankful that Thomas seems to have moved on with his life.
Oliver arrived at Arbroath three days after the disappearance of Sophie and Max from Montrose. He instructed his driver to take him straight to Sophie's family home.
It has been many years since he last visited this place. Even though he is of a divided mind about coming here, the search needs to begin somewhere and this is as good a place as any to start.
For Max’s sake, Oliver has been holding out hope that Sophie has indeed returned to this town. He has been concerned for the young lad’s wellbeing and wonders if the boy is being cared for, fed, and clothed. Sophie had never cared much about him; thus, the lad may be neglected without a maid to tend to his needs.
Max might not be his biological son, but Oliver can’t let him be with someone as terrible as Sophie; a horrible person bold enough to steal another woman's child just for money and selfish gain. No wonder she never cared about the boy nor showed him a single moment of love; the boy was not hers.
Oliver is still unsure of what he will do if he happens to find her here in Arbroath. First, he will have to take Max away from her. No ques
tion.
Upon arriving to Sophie’s childhood home, Oliver is met by Sophie’s mother, who confirmed that her daughter fled from Arbroath three years ago after her husband's death. She has not seen her daughter since. According to Sophie's mother, Sophie's late husband, Laird Dunn, had died mysteriously in his sleep. This after becoming an impoverished laird who went from riches to rags, due in some part to Sophie's excessive lifestyle.
Whoa! Just when he thought he'd already heard the worst in Montrose, here is yet another dark tale.
Would his fate have been the same as Sophie's late husband had he not stayed the course and held to his convictions? Whatever had made him fall in love with such a horrible person, so many years ago? Had she always been so evil?
Riding home, Oliver is certain that Sophie is not in Arbroath. The ghosts that haunt her past life there would have prevented her from returning. But where can she be? Nothing comes to mind. It is at this point that he realizes he really doesn’t know her very well.
He will have to use different means to find her.
Amelia reluctantly picks at her food. For the past week, she has lost her appetite. She can’t tell if she is in this state because of Thomas or Oliver. However, when she thinks of it clearly, something keeps telling her it is all because of Oliver.
While she tries hard not to think about him, she reminds herself of about how poorly she had spoken to him that night and how she had demanded he leave her house. Yes, she was angry and confused in the moment, but perhaps she shouldn’t have spoken to him so harshly that night.
Occasionally, she allows herself to remember how it felt as he walked out that door. Would that be the last time she ever saw him? Had he truly walked out of her life forever? She has made peace with Thomas but not with Oliver, and it breaks her heart to think it should end in such an ugly way.
And what about his alleged marriage to Sophie. He did say it was a loveless marriage of convenience, only entered into so as to provide for the child. But how can she can trust or believe him. It’s becoming too hard to do that.
Highland Lover: A Historical Highlander Steamy Romance Collection (Highland Lover Series Book 6) Page 17
