The Moon Sister

by Lucinda Riley

  ‘He did in Spain, yes. Something about a legal challenge.’

  ‘And that’s just fer starters,’ he whispered as Zara walked towards the cottage door.

  ‘Right, let’s go and see the wildcats before it gets dark,’ I smiled at her. ‘How are they, Cal?’

  ‘Oh, they’re in grand fettle, the lot o’ them. Still as antisocial as ever, but I did my best.’

  True to form, the cats showed their displeasure at my absence by refusing to appear. Zara, however, eventually found Posy sitting in her favourite box and I tried to entice her out.

  ‘They really aren’t very rewarding to care for, are they?’ Zara said as we arrived at the back door of the Lodge. She opened it and we could clearly hear the sound of a woman sobbing inside.

  ‘No, they’re not. Is that your mum?’ I said, already on the balls of my feet, ready to take flight.

  ‘No, it isn’t,’ said Zara, stepping inside and beckoning at me urgently to come with her.

  ‘Really, I should be getting back to the cottage—’

  ‘Please, Tiggy, let’s find out who it is.’

  I followed reluctantly a good few paces behind Zara as she turned along the corridor into the kitchen.

  ‘Oh Beryl, what is it?’ I heard her ask as I loitered unseen outside the door.

  ‘Nothing, my dear, nothing.’

  ‘But you’re obviously really upset about something. Tiggy’s here too, aren’t you?’ Zara called out to me, so I stepped into the kitchen.

  ‘I’ve just had a bad cold that’s made my eyes water, that’s all. Hello, Tiggy.’

  ‘Hello, Beryl.’ I could see her struggling to compose herself.

  ‘Now, Zara’ – she wiped her eyes – ‘perhaps you can go and find me some eggs from the pantry?’

  ‘Okay.’ Zara took the hint and shot me a confused glance before leaving the kitchen.

  ‘Beryl, what is it? What’s happened?’

  ‘Oh Tiggy, what a mess, what a mess . . . I should never have told him, and then he wouldn’t have come back and I wouldn’t have put the poor Laird in this situation. I rue the day I ever gave birth to him! He’s a bad lot through and through. I’ve only come up here to hand in my notice. I’ll be packing my things and leaving as soon as I can.’ She handed me an envelope. ‘Could you make sure the Laird gets this? He’s probably expecting it anyway.’

  ‘I honestly don’t know what you’re talking about, Beryl,’ I said as I followed her along the corridor to the boot room, where she put on the sturdy snow shoes and the thick parka, hat and gloves she used to walk home.

  ‘Sadly, you’ll know soon enough!’

  ‘I . . . don’t you think you should stay and speak to Charlie? Whatever it is, he’ll be lost without you here.’

  ‘After what’s happened, he’ll be only too glad to see the back of me, Tiggy, and that’s a fact. I’ve ruined the Kinnaird family, and there’s no two ways about it.’ With a last agonised look at me, she left through the back door.

  ‘Wow, she’s really upset, isn’t she, Tiggy?’ Zara said, appearing beside me with the eggs as the door closed behind Beryl.

  ‘Yes, she is. She’s said she’s leaving.’

  ‘Well, she can’t. Kinnaird without Beryl is like, well, Dad without his stethoscope.’ Zara shrugged. ‘This is her house really and it always has been. Well,’ she looked down at the eggs, ‘looks like I’ll be making supper for me and Dad tonight, unless Mum turns up of course . . .’

  As we walked back into the kitchen, we heard the sitting room door open and we peered out to see Charlie ushering a man in a tweed suit along the corridor.

  ‘Thank you for coming at such short notice, James. At least I now know the options,’ we heard Charlie say as they passed the door.

  ‘Well now, it’s not a good situation you’re in, but we’ll find a solution, I’m sure. Good day to you, m’Laird.’

  We heard the front door close, then a huge sigh from Charlie before he walked back down the corridor towards us. Zara jumped out from behind the kitchen door.

  ‘Hi, Dad! We’re here. Who was that man?’ she asked him.

  ‘My solicitor, Zara. Oh, hello, Tiggy,’ he said, complete surprise on his face as he noticed me lurking behind her. ‘I didn’t know you were coming.’

  ‘What’s going on here, Dad? We’ve just seen Beryl, who was in floods of tears. She says she’s leaving.’

  ‘Oh God, where is she now? I’ll go and speak to her.’

  I could not only see but hear Charlie’s exhaustion.

  ‘You can’t, because she’s just left,’ said Zara.

  ‘And she gave me this, I’m afraid.’ I picked up the envelope and handed it to him.

  ‘I can guess what that is,’ he said, taking it from me.

  ‘Dad, come on, are you going to share or what? I mean, forget Beryl for a second, where’s Mum?’

  ‘I . . .’ Charlie glanced at his daughter, then at me, and shook his head in despair.

  ‘Dad, stop treating me like I’m two years old, I’m a grown woman now and I want to know what’s going on!’

  ‘Okay then,’ he nodded. ‘How about we go into the Great Room and sit down? I could do with a whisky, for sure.’

  ‘Why don’t you and Zara go?’ I suggested. ‘I need to head back to the cottage anyway.’

  ‘Please stay, Tiggy,’ Zara implored me. ‘You’re okay with that, aren’t you, Dad?’

  ‘Yes.’ Charlie gave me a weak smile. ‘You’ve been amazing, Tiggy, and yes, perhaps you should hear this too, as it concerns your future as well.’

  In the Great Room, Zara and I settled ourselves onto the sofa, while Charlie poured himself two fingers of whisky from the bottle in the drinks cabinet. He sat down in the chair next to the fire and took a hefty gulp.

  ‘Right, you’ve asked to be treated like a grown-up, Zara, so that’s exactly what I’m going to do. I’ll get the big one over with first. I’m so sorry to tell you, darling, but your mum wants a divorce.’

  ‘Okay.’ Zara nodded calmly. ‘Well, that’s not a shock, Dad. I’d have had to be deaf and blind to think you guys were happy together.’

  ‘I’m so sorry for that, Zara.’

  ‘Where is Mum?’

  ‘She’s staying . . . elsewhere.’

  ‘Dad, I asked where she was. “Elsewhere” isn’t good enough. She told me she was up here at Kinnaird. Is she?’

  ‘She’s staying with Fraser at his cottage just beyond the main gates. He’s the man who found you on the roadside with a puncture, when you were trying to run away last time.’

  ‘Oh, him!’ Zara rolled her eyes. ‘I know Mum mentioned she’d been out riding with him a couple of times – she said he was teaching her.’

  ‘Maybe he was, Zara. So, that’s where she is.’

  ‘And Fraser is like, her new boyfriend?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Dad,’ Zara said as she stood up and walked over to him, ‘I’m so sorry.’ She put her arms around him and hugged him.

  ‘Don’t you be sorry, Zara. This situation is not of your making. It’s your mum and me who have the problem.’

  ‘She told me once when she was really upset that you only married her because she was pregnant. Is that true?’

  ‘I won’t lie, Zara – that’s the reason we married quickly, but I don’t regret a day of it.’ He reached out his hand to his daughter and squeezed hers. ‘I got you, and that made it all worthwhile.’

  I could see Charlie was close to tears, and I wondered if I should just slip out of the room and leave them to it.

  ‘Well, if it makes you feel better, I’ve been wishing for years that you two would divorce. And if you were only staying with Mum because of me, then you shouldn’t have done. Even if it hurts right now, Dad, you’ll be much happier apart, I’m sure.’

  ‘You know what, Zara?’ Charlie’s eyes glistened as he gave her a weak smile. ‘You’re incredible.’

  ‘I’m my father’s daughter,’ she said with a
shrug. ‘So, now let’s go back to Beryl and why she wants to leave.’

  ‘I might have to get another whisky before I can tell you that.’

  ‘I’ll get it,’ I said, jumping up and taking Charlie’s glass to refill it. ‘Are you absolutely sure you don’t want me to go?’ I asked him as I handed back the glass.

  ‘No, Tiggy, because this is the bit that affects you, and every other employee at Kinnaird. I mentioned it to you in Spain, but I want you to know exactly why the future is so uncertain.’

  ‘What is it, Dad?’ urged Zara. ‘Just get on and say it!’

  ‘Right, here goes: when I was a little boy, my best mate was Fraser – he’s Beryl’s son, Zara.’

  ‘Blimey!’ Zara’s face was the epitome of shock. ‘Then no wonder she’s feeling bad, what with Mum running off with him and stuff.’

  ‘Yes, I’m sure she is, but I’m afraid there’s more.’ Charlie hesitated for a few seconds before continuing. ‘Anyway, you know how few kids live on or near the estate, so, because we were the same age, as I said just now Fraser and I were inseparable. We did everything together; my father even offered to pay for Fraser to come with me to boarding school when I was ten.’ Charlie shook his head. ‘I thought he was being kind but—’

  ‘That’s all very nice, Dad,’ Zara cut in. ‘But what actually happened?’

  ‘Fraser and I had a big fight when we were at Edinburgh Uni together. He stole Jessie, my girlfriend – or in fact, at the time she was my fiancée. The two of them left university and went off to Canada where Jessie was from. And subsequently, I met and married your mum. I can honestly say I edited Fraser from my mind for years, so when he turned up out of the blue this Christmas, I was completely taken aback.’

  ‘I remember,’ I muttered to myself.

  ‘And now . . . he’s done it again and stolen Mum,’ said Zara. ‘What a bastard! I know you said he was your friend, but he sounds like he just wanted everything you had.’

  ‘I think you’re right,’ Charlie sighed, ‘he did. And being the idiot I was, I was always happy to give it to him. The real problem was that nobody had ever told me the truth about Fraser, although looking back, it was pretty obvious.’

  ‘What was the truth, Dad?’

  I watched Charlie pause uncertainly, a pulse beating in his temple.

  ‘Come on, Dad, I can take it. It can’t get much worse,’ Zara encouraged him.

  ‘I’m afraid it can, darling. Okay . . . well, my dad – your grandfather – wasn’t very happy with your granny. The bottom line is, he and Beryl, well, they were lovers for years.’

  ‘Grandpa and Beryl?!’

  ‘Yes. Dad met her years before he met my mum, but Beryl didn’t come from the kind of family that my father’s parents felt was suitable for the bride of the Laird. So he married Mum, but Beryl soon followed him up to Kinnaird. And here’s the punchline, Zara: the upshot was, that Beryl got pregnant and had Fraser a couple of months before my mum gave birth to me.’

  There was silence in the room as we took in what Charlie was saying.

  ‘Oh my God, Dad!’ It was Zara who eventually broke the silence. ‘So you and Fraser are really brothers?’

  ‘Half-brothers, yes. And now I know, I realise I must have been living under a rock for most of my life. If you look at the photos of my dad – Fraser, with his height and love of shooting and whisky, takes after him in every way. Probably everyone saw it except me. What a complete dunce I’ve been.’

  ‘God, Dad, that’s really rough. I’m so sorry.’ Zara gave him another tight hug.

  ‘Has Fraser always known he was your half-brother?’ I asked Charlie.

  ‘No, he said his mum – Beryl – gave him that news just before he and Jessie eloped to Canada. She told me recently that she thought it might stop him doing such a terrible thing to me, but it obviously didn’t. It wouldn’t have stopped my father either. He did exactly as he pleased for his whole life too.’

  ‘But what about Granny, Dad? Did she know about Beryl’s affair with her husband?’

  ‘I don’t know, Zara. Remember, she died in a riding accident when I was seven. Very convenient for Dad,’ Charlie sighed. ‘It’s no wonder Beryl has always felt territorial about this house. The chances are, she became the mistress here in all but name once Mum had died and I’d been packed off to boarding school with Fraser.’

  ‘Do you hate your dad?’ Zara asked. ‘Like, for doing that to your mum? I would. I mean, I hate Mum now for doing this to you.’

  ‘No, Zara, I don’t hate him. Dad was who he was, just like Fraser. But to be honest, I’m not sure I ever loved him, or him me. You don’t get to choose your relatives after all.’ Charlie cast a sad glance in my direction.

  ‘What about Beryl and what she did?’

  ‘I think she did love my dad. And the fact she was here to take care of him as he got older made my life a lot easier. More than anyone, she was, and still is, heartbroken at his loss. She’s all alone now.’

  ‘Well, the good news is, that you’re not, ’cos I’m here, Dad, and I love you loads,’ Zara said fiercely. ‘I’ll look after you, promise.’

  I wanted to hug Zara for being so mature – in so many ways, she was the real victim of this situation.

  ‘Thanks, darling.’ Charlie kissed his daughter’s shiny head, obviously moved. ‘But I’m afraid that there’s even worse.’

  ‘Worse than what you’ve just told me?’ Zara rolled her eyes. ‘Jesus! Bring it on then, Dad, while you’re on a roll.’

  ‘So,’ Charlie continued, a quiver in his voice, ‘at first I couldn’t work out why Fraser had suddenly come back here at Christmas, but of course he was actually here to see if he’d been left anything in the will.’

  ‘And had he?’ Zara asked.

  ‘Well, Dad didn’t get round to making one, so on paper, there was nothing. Although I found out recently from the family solicitor that years ago Dad had signed over the deeds to the cottage Fraser is living in now. It was probably organised to assuage Dad’s guilty conscience, because he would never be able to legally acknowledge Fraser. Everyone assumed that the estate would automatically pass to me as his heir. Or at least . . .’ Charlie took a deep breath. ‘They did.’

  ‘What do you mean?’ Zara frowned.

  God, no . . . I thought. Given what Charlie had told me in Spain, I reckoned I had an idea of what was coming.

  ‘The problem is, Zara, I mentioned earlier that Fraser is my father’s eldest son, and given my dad didn’t make a will leaving the estate to me, by rights he has a legal claim on Kinnaird.’

  Zara swore heavily under her breath as I grabbed a lungful of my own.

  ‘So what will happen now?’ Zara’s elfin features showed her horror.

  ‘Well, remember he came up here to the Lodge to see me just before New Year?’

  ‘Yeah, I heard all that shouting and then you said we were going home to Inverness and I was really piss— fed up,’ Zara recalled. ‘I came to the cottage and complained to you, Tiggy.’

  ‘That’s right, yes,’ Charlie confirmed. ‘Fraser told me that day he’d taken legal advice, and that he intended to go to court to claim what he felt was his rightful share of the estate.’

  ‘No!’ Zara stood up and began to pace the room. ‘You just can’t let this happen, Dad. You can’t! Fraser hasn’t even been here for the last God knows how many years!’

  ‘Like father like son . . .’ Charlie sighed. ‘In so many ways, he’s the natural heir. I—’

  ‘Stop it, Dad! You can’t just roll over and let this happen! Kinnaird’s yours – ours! And just because he shares some DNA with you doesn’t mean anything.’

  ‘In a court of law, I’m afraid it does, Zara. In fact, I’ve just had a letter from Fraser’s counsel asking me to provide a sample of saliva and a hair follicle, but there’s little doubt from what Beryl told me, that Fraser will be confirmed as my half-brother.’

  ‘But Fraser’s a bastard! Like, in every way,’ Zara r
aged, standing up and pacing the room. ‘You’re the true heir, ’cos Grandpa and Granny were married!’

  ‘You’re right that several decades back, an illegitimate heir wouldn’t even have been countenanced, but in today’s world, that’s not how it works. I promise you, I’ve taken the best legal advice there is, been down every avenue I can think of, but facts are facts. Fraser is my elder brother, the son of my father, the Laird, and – illegitimate or not – stands to inherit at least half the estate. If that happened, Kinnaird would probably have to be sold so the assets could be split, because, sadly, sharing Kinnaird with Fraser is not an option. I’d just have to walk away. I’m so sorry, Zara. I know what Kinnaird means to you, but at the moment, I can’t see a way out.’

  ‘Does Mum know?’ Zara said eventually.

  ‘Yes, she was there the day he told me.’

  ‘Oh my God!’ Zara shouted. ‘What really gets me is that Mum is obviously on his side! I mean’ – she was off pacing again – ‘she knows what Kinnaird means to me! Like, she’s getting off with a man who could end up cutting her own daughter out of her inheritance!’

  ‘To be fair to your mum, she did say that Fraser had agreed that if they had no children, he was prepared to name you in his will as the heir.’

  ‘Oh my God, Dad!’ Zara said again. ‘How can you be so calm?’

  I watched as Zara exploded once more at the unfairness of it all. Even though my own blood was boiling at the injustice, I kept silent. This was not a moment to add my own thoughts to the proceedings.

  ‘. . . Besides which, Mum is still young enough to have kids if she stays with Fraser. That offer is just pathetic. Pathetic!’ Zara shouted, angry tears beginning to course down her cheeks.

  ‘Zara, you asked to be treated like an adult, and that’s what I’m doing,’ Charlie said gently. ‘I understand how upset you are, but it’s just the way it is.’

  ‘Well, Dad, grow some balls, will you? Fight!’ Zara kicked the back of a chair hard. ‘I need some air, I’m going outside.’

  We watched her march to the door, open it and slam it shut behind her.

  ‘The trouble is, I’ve been fighting since January and it’s got me absolutely nowhere.’ Charlie shook his head. ‘At the end of the day, this will come down to a judge’s decision, but it’s highly unlikely that Fraser will walk away empty-handed.’