“Aye! And I daenae regret it one bit! I am the Laird! I have the power! I—”
Lady Brun lifted her chin and stepped out of the guard’s way.
“Take him away,” she ordered and the guards complied.
“Make sure he will nae go anywhere,” Fionnghall added. “It will be up to Lady Brun and the Councilmen of Brun to decide his fate.”
The maid stepped in as the guards and Laird Brun stepped out.
“Me Lord, Lady Marion’s chamber is ready fer her,” the maid said and curtsied.
Fionnghall thanked her and lifted Marion easily in his arms. It was good to hold her like this, knowing that she wasn’t going anywhere. He would have to talk with Lady Brun later, but first and foremost, Marion needed tending to.
He smiled at her and Marion smiled back weakly. She lifted her other hand and touched his cheek. This light touch sent a hopeful sensation through Fionnghall’s body and warmed his heart.
“Let us take ye upstairs. The physician will be here soon,” he said and headed up the stairs.
Deirdre was right behind him. As soon as Fionnghall had laid Marion down on the bed, Deirdre ordered him outside. He complied and stepped out of the room. The maid and Deirdre would take care of Marion while waiting for the physician to arrive. Jack would make sure he would arrive as soon as possible.
Fionnghall closed Marion’s door and turned to face Lady Brun, who had followed them upstairs. He could see that she was troubled by everything that had happened.
“Lady Brun? Are ye all right?” he asked softly.
Lady Brun’s eyes were glimmering with tears but she smiled.
“Better than in a very long time,” she responded. “May I go in?”
“Would ye mind talkin’ with me first? As Laird Brun seems to be otherwise engaged, I assume ye are the head of Brun now,” he said and Lady Brun nodded.
As soon as Fionnghall had put her down on the bed, Deirdre had been by her side. The maid and Deirdre helped her to change into dry clothes and she instantly felt better. The heat from the fireplace made the room warm and she started to get tired.
Everything that had happened downstairs was still fresh on her mind. It was confusing and Marion had so many questions. She wanted to call her mother into the room, but was too weak to even entertain the idea of talking with her now
“How are ye feelin’?” Deirdre asked as she covered Marion up more. She was fussing around Marion, making sure that she was covered, and that there was water on the nightstand.
“Confused,” she responded truthfully.
“The physician will be here soon. Just rest,” Deirdre said.
Deirdre sent the maid out and pulled a chair beside her bed.
“So, apparently ye are Scottish, eh?” she said with a hint of smile in the corners of her mouth.
“Ah, so it would seem. Though I am still having a hard time understanding all this,” Marion said and tried to remember all the details from the earlier conversation.
“Of course, it is all new information. And all the secrets! No one could have guessed,” she shook her head. “Poor Lady Brun, she has been through so much. Her husband poisoned by his brother, her daughter taken from her… and to think that she had to marry that… that devil!” she said.
“Deirdre?” she asked weakly.
“Aye, darlin’? What is it?”
“I am sorry,” Marion said. She felt awful about leaving without saying anything to Deirdre, though she knew it had been necessary.
“About what, darlin’?” Deirdre asked, though Marion was sure that she knew exactly what she was talking about.
“About leaving without saying goodbye. I simply couldn’t do it. The thought of saying goodbye to you and your brother was unbearable. I wouldn’t have left at all. And that would have been wrong towards everyone,” she said slowly and quietly.
“Nonsense, I understand. Though daenae think that I wasn’t upset. But now, all ye have to dae is rest. We will worry about everythin’ else later, when ye are better,” she replied.
Marion nodded and the movement made her head thump.
She had come to Scotland to find her parents, and after the most curious turn of events, she finally had. Her mother had been so close to her after all, and she never knew. Marion had so many questions for Lady Brun. They were all spinning in her head but she couldn’t really grasp any of them.
She felt chilly though she was sweating under the blankets in the warm room. The headache that had briefly subsided during the scene downstairs was now back and it felt like her head was splitting.
Deirdre had fetched a bowl of water and a cloth and was now cleaning the dried blood off her face. The cool water felt good on her face and she closed her eyes.
Soon, the door flew open and an old man with a long, grey beard entered. He was carrying a bag made of leather. Behind him were Fionnghall and Lady Brun, who quietly entered the room.
“Is this the lass who got hurt?” the old man asked with a raspy voice.
Deirdre nodded and made room for the physician. Everyone in the room was silent as the old man examined Marion. Finally, he spoke gently.
“Lady Marion, how is your head?”
“It aches,” she responded.
The physician lifted his index finger and moved it back and forth in front of Marion’s eyes. Following his finger hurt her eyes and she flinched.
The old man turned to speak to everyone in the room.
“She has a high fever and she has a concussion. She must be kept warm and she must rest. If she wants to sleep, let her and daenae disturb her much.”
“Will she be all right?” Lady Brun asked.
“Aye, she will be all right in the next few days,” he said and stood up.
Fionnghall thanked him.
“I will be back later to check on her,” he added before stepping out of the room.
Marion’s eyes looked towards Fionnghall, who was standing at the other side of the room. More than anything, she wanted to be left alone with him so she could talk to him. To apologize. And to re-evaluate everything.
But there were too many people in the room. She simply looked at him and let her chest fill with joy of seeing him again. Of course, no matter the events, the marriage between Lady Beitris and Fionnghall still stood, and Marion would have to leave as soon as she was able.
Regardless, at least one good thing had come out of all this—she had found out who her parents were.
24
Arrangements
“Deirdre, may I speak with ye alone?” Fionnghall asked her and reluctantly, she stood up from next to Marion and went with her brother. Marion was left alone with Lady Brun, who instantly took Deirdre’s seat.
“My daughter, I cannot believe I have finally found ye,” she said, sobbing into a handkerchief. “I am so very sorry fer everythin’, I wish I could make it right.”
“It was not your fault, Lady Brun. I am just glad to know where I come from. That is why I came to Scotland in the first place. I nearly lost all hope of ever finding out who my parents were,” Marion responded sleepily.
The day had been long and Marion was getting more tired by the minute. All she wanted to do was sleep, but she was afraid that if she fell asleep, it would all turn out to be a dream. She fought the sleepiness to stay awake and talk to her mother.
“Nae, it is nae all right, my dear daughter. I should have known somethin’ was wrong. But I never stopped thinkin’ of ye. I have missed ye every day since ye went missin’,” she said and took Marion’s hand into her own. “And daenae call me ‘Lady Brun’, dear. Please, call me Eilidth. I am sure that callin’ me ‘Mother’ would be strange to ye.”
Marion smiled weakly.
“My father… would you tell me about him?” Marion asked.
Eilidth’s face instantly lit up as she thought of her late husband.
“Yer faither was the most wonderful and kindest man I have ever met. A complete opposite to his no-good brother. I still canna
e believe that he did what he did. And on the other hand, there is nothin’ less that I would expect of him,” she started.
Eilidth patted Marion’s hand and continued.
“He was loved by the people of Brun. Always so kind to everyone, helpin’ them and ruling with love, nae with terror, unlike the current Laird. And when I had ye, he was the happiest faither there ever was. When ye went missin’ he turned the entire Brun upside down. He didn’t sleep, he didn’t eat… it broke him. He was an entirely different man.”
“He devoted his final days to findin’ ye, dear. He swore to me on his life that he would find ye again. That he would nae rest before bringin’ ye back home,” she paused for a second and dabbed her eyes with the handkerchief.
“And now… now that ye have come back to me, now he can rest,” she finished.
Marion thought about her words. It was comforting to know that her father had been a good-hearted man and that he had loved his people and Marion. That he and Eilidth had never wanted to abandon her. It made warmth spread through her and she felt peaceful. This whole time, she had thought that her parents had wanted to abandon her. That they never loved her. Fortunately, she had been wrong all along.
“Lady… Eilidth, may I ask you something?” Marion asked.
“Anythin’, me child,” she responded and smiled.
“What is the name you gave me? In the blanket, there are initials, S.M.,” Marion asked and pointed at the blue blanket that was laying at the foot of the bed.
Eilidth smiled and tilted her head.
“Yer name is Seònaid MacDheorsa.”
Marion didn’t know what to say. It was strange to hear that her name was actually something else. But she had always wondered. No matter how beautiful her given name was, she was accustomed to ‘Marion’ and vaguely, she thought she might just keep her name given by her adoptive parents.
“Thank you for telling me all this,” Marion replied, now getting so tired it became impossible to fight sleep anymore. She let her eyes close and she fell into the most peaceful sleep she had had in a very long time.
Marion was already fast asleep, but Eilidth didn’t leave her side. From now on, she never would. She had just gotten her long-lost daughter back and she would never let her out of her sight again.
Fionnghall had never been this happy in his life. This feeling was completely new to him. In fact, he was so happy that he was afraid that something, or someone, would soon come along and take it away from him.
He was in the drawing room with a glass of brandy. Deirdre was there as well, accompanying him. She had wanted to give Marion and her newly found mother some time alone, so they could get better acquainted.
“So… what now?” Deirdre asked Fionnghall.
It was a valid question. That was the first thing Fionnghall had thought of when Laird Brun had been locked up in a cell. He was no longer in power, Lady Brun would make sure of that.
In fact, that was the reason Fionnghall had wanted to chat with Lady Brun earlier. Fionnghall’s parents had made an agreement with the first Laird of Brun a long time ago, that he would marry the daughter of Laird Brun later on.
But no one had predicted that the first-born daughter of Laird Brun would go missing. Now, things were different.
“Well, that is goin’ to be entirely up to Marion and her parents,” he responded.
“She is goin’ to leave, isn’t she?” Deirdre asked, her head bowed.
“Deirdre, dae ye ken that the promise to marry the daughter of Laird Brun was made between our parents and the first Laird Brun? Not the current Laird,” he asked mysteriously.
“Aye?” she said absentmindedly.
“Lady Beitris is nae the only daughter of Laird Brun,” he said, watching carefully of Deirdre’s reaction.
Deirdre furrowed her eyebrows and she was quiet for a moment. Then, the reality hit her and her face lit up and a smile stretched across her face.
“Ye can marry Marion! Ye can, can ye nae? Oh, what a happy day! I will never have to call that little witch, Lady Beitris, me sister,” she exclaimed and threw her arms around her brother.
Fionnghall laughed.
“Aye, aye. But slow down, Deirdre, I have yet to ask permission from Marion’s faither,” he reminded her. “And I haven’t asked Marion if she wants to marry me, either.”
“Oh, hush! Of course she does!” Deirdre said. “We should invite her parents from England to come here immediately. I will write to them. The faster we can get them to come here, the better,” Deirdre said excitedly and flew out of the room. Fionnghall guessed she went up to the library to get paper and some ink. She would not be gone for long. Fionnghall was sure she would make sure one of the servants took the letter to England as fast as the wind.
Deirdre ran up the stairs towards the library. She was going to write a letter to the Earl of Ackworth and make sure that he would arrive at Gille Chriost with his wife as quickly as possible. She was so excited she felt a tingle in the bottom of her stomach.
As she passed Marion’s door, she slowed down and pressed her ear against the door. She heard quiet talking. Her smile stretched ever wider and she kept going. Indeed, she was very happy for Marion. Though she never thought Marion would find her parents this way.
Deirdre grabbed a piece of paper and a quill and started writing.
Earl and Countess of Ackworth.
My name is Deirdre MacIosag and I am writing on behalf of me brother, Laird of Gille Chriost in Scotland. Yer daughter, Marion, has stayed with us in the past months as she has been looking fer her real parents. I want ye to ken that she is safe and all is well—ye must have been worried sick.
Me apologies fer not informing of her presence sooner, it was per her own request. However, now the situation has changed. Marion has found her real mother and she is staying at Gille Chriost as well.
I am afraid I have to inform ye that Marion is ill, but the physician assures us that she will be well in a few days’ time. There are some things that Laird Gille Chriost would like to discuss with ye.
We are respectfully requesting yer presence here at Gille Chriost.
We will be expecting ye.
Sincerely,
Deirdre MacIosag
She folded the letter and sealed it with a bit of wax. Now, all she had to do was to find someone to take the letter to England, and fast.
Marion woke up from her sleep abruptly. For a moment, she didn’t know where she was. As her eyes started to focus, she let out a deep sigh. She was in her familiar chambers. Eilidth was gone, but there was a plate of steaming hot soup and a piece of bread on a tray next to her bed.
It must be dinner time. Marion knew that she should eat, though she wasn’t feeling particularly hungry. Her headache was still there, pounding in the back of her head. She groaned silently and tried to sit up.
As soon as she did, the bedroom door flew open and Lady Beitris stormed in. The look in her eyes was full of fury, and Marion could instantly see that she was Laird Brun’s daughter. There was a similar, horrifying madness deep in her emerald eyes. Now, as mad as she looked, she wasn’t one bit beautiful. She reminded Marion of the sea, beautiful on a calm day, and terrifying on a stormy night.
“Ye… ruined… everythin’!” she yelled and slammed the door shut.
“Lady Beitris, calm down, please,” Marion said softly. Her yelling made Marion’s head ache so much that her vision went blurry.
“Ye were supposed to be gone! Ye were nae supposed to come back! And now ye have ruined me marriage and prosperity!” she spoke in a voice that dripped of hatred towards Marion.
Marion was astonished by her behavior and didn’t even know how to respond. The madness behind her eyes was flaming and she reminded Marion of Laird Brun even more.
“Now me faither is locked up in some dungeon and it is all because of ye. I didnae deserve this! I deserve to be the Lady of Gille Chriost and Brun,” she spoke, pacing around the room.
What she said next made
Marion’s stomach drop.
“‘Tis yer fault… if ye were nae here, everythin’ would go back to normal. Faither would be free, there would be no evidence… I must dae it meself,” she was mumbling more to herself than to Marion.
Lady Beitris kept on pacing around and mumbling. Now, she wasn’t even looking at Marion anymore and Marion wasn’t sure if she even knew that she was in the room. Lady Beitris looked as if she had lost her mind.
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