Elusive (20 page)

When the brief tension in the air cleared, he
continued, “Finally, I decided to go to Edinburgh to get the
investigator’s report,” he hesitated briefly. “I wanted to put some
distance between us. You were driving me just a little mad, I
think.” His confusion showed on his face.

She decided to let that last comment go,
since she suffered from the same condition and did not wish to
reveal it. “Is that where we are going? To find out whether or not
I am
real?
” she asked him with her temper on its very
edge.

“No, Blair. I am certain you are real. I just
need to find out what he discovered. Someone is trying to kill you.
This attack…,” he said, rubbing his arm absently. “It was entirely
too close. We’ve got to figure out who is doing this. I believe we
both know
why
. They have to be stopped.”

“Alex, it was not the first time someone
tried to kill me,” she confessed quietly.

“Blair, why didn’t you tell…?” Damn, he knew
why she didn’t tell him. The woman didn’t know
who
she could
trust! He closed his eyes while he pulled in the fury that had
assailed him. Then he opened them again and looked deep into
hers.

“Won’t you tell me
your
story now,
Blair? In the old Scottish tradition, trading one oral story for
another?” He smiled at her, and he suddenly knew that what she had
to say was going to change the rest of his life. And he was
surprised to discover that it frightened him.

She told him everything, except about the
letters. She recounted Sòlas’s move to Paris and how the passing of
the tradition Sòlas had begun, the first attempt on her life, and
Angus’s warning. By the time she finished, they had pulled into the
Edinburgh station.

**************************

Chapter 26: Just the Facts Please

Edinburgh, Scotland – July 1912

They arrived in Edinburgh in time for
Alexandre to surprise her with the noon meal at the hotel where
they had stayed when she first arrived there just a few short weeks
before. It seemed so long ago. So much had happened. He contacted
the investigator and, after their meal, they went to his
office.

The investigator was introduced to Blair as
an old friend of Alexandre’s from his college days—Bill
Campbell.

“Please sit,” he guided them to the two
stiff, straight-backed chairs on the other side of his heavy wooden
desk. This was an office designed for business with no thought of
comfort. Blair noticed that there was a real lack of style, but she
supposed the man spent little time actually in his office
anyway.

“Mademoiselle Delamare, it is a real pleasure
to meet you. I found out so many really nice things about you in
Paris. It’s a pleasure to meet the real lady,” he told her with
obvious delight.

“I just got back from Paris yesterday,” he
said, looking at Alexandre. “While I was there, my inquiries led me
to the lawyer who had worked for Mademoiselle Delamare’s uncle. He
turned out to be a relative of mine. Distant, but family—a
Campbell,” he explained shaking his head in disbelief.

“Well,” Alexandre said, smiling, “I won’t
hold that against you.”

“Thanks!” Bill Campbell responded with a
quick laugh. He was used to Alexandre’s sense of humor and the old
Campbell jokes. The Campbells had been in some rather heated
disputes with other clans over their existence. He and Alexandre
had moved far beyond all that. God knew there were a lot of folk
who thought less than good about the old family name.

“I was quite shocked by what he shared with
me.” Turning to Blair, he said, “In fact, I believe it was only the
knowledge that someone had been attempting to kill you that led him
to confide in me. He recognized that you needed all the help you
could get.”

“I remember him,” Blair said. “He brought me
my uncle’s legal documents as well as some very old letters, from
Caena, Sòlas, and the generations since, proving my link to Caena
and Sòlas McDonnough. He was very kind.”

She heard Alexandre gasp. “Letters? You have
letters? Do you know how rare such old documents are here?” he
asked.

“I did not then, but I do now, yes,” she
answered.

“By the way, Mademoiselle,” the investigator
continued gravely. “He informed me of the death of Pierre LeGard.
My condolences on the loss of your old friend and landlord. It is
my understanding that you were very close.”

“What?” Blair asked. “What are you talking
about? What has happened?”

Alexandre saw her face drain, and he grabbed
her hand and watched her carefully as the investigator
continued.

“Oh, I’m so sorry. I thought by now you would
have been told! My sincerest apologies, Mademoiselle.” Looking at
Alexandre, he said, “I feel terrible breaking this to her this
way.” Then he looked back at Blair. “Your landlord was murdered by
someone who broke into your apartment shortly after you left Paris.
Whoever it was completely destroyed everything in your apartment
and killed Mssr. LeGard. I am sure this is what convinced my
relative that you were in dire danger.”

As she gasped, Alexandre held onto her
tightly, until he felt the shock ebb. “Oh, Alex! Who would do such
a terrible thing? He was eighty-six years old. He could not have
harmed them.”

“I know, Chéri. I am so sorry!” He looked
back at the investigator, “Campbell, I want these devils stopped.
Stopped now!”

“Alexandre, I don’t know how much she has
already told you, but, in my mind, I believe that she may well be
the actual McDonnough heir.”

“I’m sure she is, Campbell. Now tell me
everything you were able to find out about the men that are trying
to kill her.”

Alexandre had a look of determination that
told Campbell that those men were in deeper trouble than they could
possibly imagine. He’d known the man for many years. This was a
very dangerous man to anyone who threatened those he cared about.
And he could see from the looks that passed between his friend and
the tiny blonde that he cared about her—perhaps more than he
knew.

***

Their next stop was the office of Angus
Ferguson. Once again, Mr. Ferguson was delighted to see Blair.
However, when he found out that her companion was the Earl,
Lord
McDonnough
, Blair thought the poor man might faint.

“Please, Mssr. Ferguson, sit down. This time
it is you who needs to put his head down for a moment, oui?” She
gently patted the dear man on the shoulder.

“Aye. I’m afraid you gave me quite a shock,
Blair. How much have you told…Lord McDonnough?” He was almost
afraid to hear her answer.

“Alexandre knows everything, Angus.” Seeing
the shock on his face, she interrupted before he could say
anything. “Angus, please hear me out. Lord McDonnough saved my
life. Whoever has been tracking me tried to kill me here in
Edinburgh before I went to Donnach.”

Again she saw he was going to interrupt, but
she stopped him. “Lord McDonnough was badly injured in the attempt.
Indeed, if his injuries had been any worse he may well have died.
Surely you do not think men hired by the Earl would cause him harm
of that kind in their efforts to do his bidding? Or that he would
permit it to happen?”

Angus mulled this over for a moment and
looked at Alexandre. He decided he liked what he saw. The man was
standing there under suspicion of the most despicable acts, and yet
he let her take the lead, and did nothing to defend himself, just
held her hand waiting quietly for Angus to accept him or throw him
out. Yes, he liked this man.

“Lord McDonnough…” Angus began.

“Please, call me Alexandre.” Alexandre leaned
over the desk and, relinquishing his hold on Blair’s hand, held out
his arm to shake the lawyer’s hand.

“I’m relieved to see that Blair has someone
other than me looking out for her interests. It would seem that
I’ve done a rather poor job of it myself.” Turning to look in
Blair’s direction, Angus said, “I’ve been so very worried about
her.”

“She told me that she was staying in
Edinburgh for a couple of weeks to help an injured friend, but she
had not told me that it was Lord McDonnough!”

“She did not know at the time,” Alexandre
explained.

Looking back at Alexandre, Angus offered,
“Yes, well, please call me Angus. Now I believe we must try to find
out who these men are and how much they know. Don’t you?” he
asked.

“Actually, Angus, I think I may know who is
behind this. If I am correct, they will pay, and pay dearly,”
Alexandre replied. There was a set to his jaw that told Angus that
this was not a man to be crossed.

“How would you like to proceed, Alexandre?”
Angus asked, as he straightened out in his chair and pulled himself
together at last.

“First, I think that Blair and I should stay
here in Edinburgh for a few days. It’s easier for us to fade into
the background in a large city than it is in the village. I want to
discuss this with Blair, and once we have a plan laid out we’ll be
back in touch. Please do not tell anyone we are here.”

“Of course,” Angus agreed.

“In the meanwhile, Blair, if you don’t mind,
I would really like to read the letters,” Alexandre saw the concern
on her face. He walked to her, took her hand in his, “Blair, we
have to start trusting each other. I want to help, if you’ll permit
me.”

“But, if you believe me, why do you want to
see the letters?” She desperately wanted to trust him.

“I want to know the other side of the story
in full—Sòlas’s side. I want to touch the actual documents. Chéri,
this is our
history!
Do you realize how rare such documents
are? We Scots have so few written historical records from those
times. To just hold them would be such an honor. These letters are
my history too, don’t you see?” He waited for her to show his trust
returned.

“Yes, I do. We still have time to go by the
bank before it closes. Let us go, shall we?” She smiled at him and
felt a weight lift from her shoulders.

Once inside the bank vault, Blair opened the
box and inside it was the enameled box that held the letters—the
same box in which she had received them. She and Alexandre sat next
to each other at the wooden table provided, and one by one
Alexandre gently unfolded and read the messages from the past—their
past.

When he read the last, the one from her
uncle, Roddy, he sighed deeply and placed the documents back into
their container. “Ah, Chéri, when I said we McDonnoughs were a
bloodthirsty lot, I believed that to be in our distant past. Little
did I realize—we still are.”

He looked into her eyes, “I am so very sorry
for everything you and yours have gone through. If I could change
it…” sighing again, he continued as he looked down at the letters
“…but nothing I say or do can make up for all these years.”

Blair reached over and laid her hand on his.
“Alex, I believe you had no part in this. You may have the
McDonnough temper,” she grinned at him, “but I do not believe you
have it in you to kill.”

“I wish I were as certain of that as you,
Chéri. If they were to harm you…let’s get out of here.” He rose
from his chair and waited for her to place the container back into
the box and turn the key.

***

He got a suite in another of the finer hotels
under an assumed name in an attempt to prevent them from being
found, at least for now. They needed time to think, to talk.
Alexandre realized he wanted time alone with her—needed time alone
with her.

When they went to the suite, Blair noticed
that there were two bedrooms separated by a large, luxurious
parlor. She did not know whether she was disappointed or
relieved—perhaps a little of both.

As they closed the door and moved to the
center of the parlor, he saw her confusion. He could sense her
nerves and understood immediately.

“Blair.” He waited for her to turn toward
him. “Did you think that I would be careless with your feelings?
That I would take for granted that you would let me make love to
you?”

She felt the color rise to her cheeks. “No,
Alex. No, I…” how could she tell him? She had never…”Alex, I don’t
know how to handle this. I’ve never…” she looked up at him as he
moved closer to her and tilted her head upward with his finger
under her chin. “It is not that I do not wish to…I do…oh, Alex, I
do…”.

“Mon chér,” he whispered to her. He
understood and knew he would need to go slowly. “Me tenir le plus.
Let me hold you.” He held her hand and walked with her to his room.
Then he kissed her and when he felt her shudder, he lowered her to
the bed and lay down beside her, stroking her arms and replacing
his hands with his lips.

“
Viens faire
l’amour,
mon chéri.
Let’s make
love, my dearest” he whispered in her ear. He never knew he had
that much gentleness in him. He took his time and brought them both
more pleasure than they had ever known.

***

Later, after they had dinner in their suite,
he made love to her again, and again. When he thought about it
later, he marveled that he hadn’t frightened her to death. They had
ordered dinner in their rooms. Before they had eaten their salads,
he had grabbed her and kissed her. Her response had driven him
beyond his control, and he had picked her up in his arms and taken
her back to his bed. And, God, he had taken her. Now as she lay in
his arms, he wondered why she hadn’t beaten him away.

“Did I hurt you?” he asked her quietly.

“Oh, Alex, no! You did not hurt me. It was
wonderful. You were wonderful,” she said, nuzzling her head into
his shoulder. Giggling, she added, “
We
were wonderful
together.” She would always remember the endearments he had
whispered to her in French while he had made love to her. “I did
not disappoint you?” She was afraid of his answer.