Heirly Ever After

by Vernon, Magan

  …

  Natalie: Where should I send the car?

  Madison: The Webley Bed and Breakfast

  Natalie: Okay, it’ll be there soon, and you and I may have to have a little talk before dinner. I told Mom about the new date, and she’s very intrigued.

  I sighed, shoving my phone in my pocket and then zipping my suitcase shut.

  “Everything all right?” Jacob asked as he towel dried his sexy tousle of brown hair.

  “Yeah, was just responding to my sister. She sent a car to pick us up,” I said, making sure the zipper actually closed this time before dropping my suitcase on the ground.

  Jacob circled the bed, his hand on the handle of my suitcase before he pulled it next to his.

  “I can carry my own luggage, you know.”

  He smirked. “We saw how well that went on the train.”

  I wrinkled my nose. “The zipper was stuck. It’s not like that’s going to happen again.”

  He walked across the room, holding my suitcase as if it was nothing more than a package of feathers then picked up his own bag. “Doesn’t mean I’m not going to carry your stuff. That’s what friends do, right?”

  There went my now least favorite F word again.

  “Yeah…friends. Which speaking of that, don’t you think if we’ve been friends and talking for a while, I should know more about you?” I asked, crossing the room as quickly as my strappy sandals would let me.

  A muscle in his jaw ticked. “What do you want to know?”

  I stopped, racking my brain for something, anything. “What’s your favorite color?”

  He turned toward me, his eyes serious. “Red.”

  “Red?” I choked.

  “Like your hair.” A hint of a smile crossed his lips.

  “I believe this is auburn.”

  He shrugged. “You say auburn, I say the color of the sunrise. Red. Maybe with a hint of gold.”

  My heart fluttered in my chest, a feeling I hadn’t experienced in I couldn’t remember how long. So I took in a deep breath as I tried to gather my wits.

  “Well, okay, green is mine.” The same glowing, fresh color of his eyes.

  But I wasn’t going to add that.

  “How about where are you from? Not just Scotland, but the city. I should probably know this if we’re…friends…” My words trailed off as I tried to speak over my heavily beating heart.

  He smirked, but it was barely a quirk of his lips. “A small town in the northern highlands.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Town name?”

  “It’s near St. Andrews. Know where that is? The golf course?”

  I rolled my eyes. “Of course I knew that was a golf course. Don’t tell me, are you also a golfer?”

  He smiled, shaking his head. “Naw, not much of one. But it was either I said St. Andrews or Loch Ness, about the only two places Americans seem to think are in Scotland.”

  “So you’re near Loch Ness and the golf course? Got it.”

  “Ah, and are you near the Statue of Liberty and the Grand Canyon?”

  I laughed. “Okay, so when you say it like that, it does sound geographically crazy. But I’m from Charlotte in the American South.”

  “That explains that southern drawl. You’ll have to show me the American South sometime, and in return, I’ll take you to Scotland. We can see the loch and maybe the golf course if you’re lucky.”

  Briefly, my thoughts flitted to sitting near a body of water, the hills of Scotland behind me. And spending time with Jacob that wasn’t under the pretense of being a last-minute fake date to my sister’s wedding.

  But as quickly as the idea hit my mind, the more my stomach sank. It wasn’t real. None of this was. And soon it would be over. We just had to survive the wedding week first.

  “We’ll see.”

  Chapter Four

  Jacob

  The last time I wore my three-piece blue suit with the tweed tie was when the family went to mass for the last time with Great-Grandfather Lachlan. The one who was the actual recipient of the wedding invite I was now a surprise guest of.

  The guest to the bride’s sister.

  Who still had no idea who I actually was.

  Not like she asked, either.

  It wasn’t my intention to get Madison in the middle of all of this, and now that we were in a private car heading up a silver birch-lined path, my head fogged as different scenarios plagued my brain.

  The Webleys wouldn’t even know who I was, so really, I could watch from afar and wait until the perfect moment to reveal myself and demand to be heard.

  Would that even work?

  I had no proof of anything yet. But there had to be a clue somewhere in Webley.

  The car rounded some trees, and I spotted the sprawling manor at the top of the hill with its massive size and perfectly manicured lawn.

  How the bloody hell was I going to stay silent?

  It looked better kept up than Edinburgh Castle, and while the castle was supported by visitors, this place just belonged to the Webleys. The family that had shunned their kin like we never existed.

  I curled my hands into fists at my side, remembering the stories Great-Grandfather used to tell us about England and how they used to believe it was a haunted place. How the English side never wanted anything to do with the Scottish side. As if they’d turn their noses up at the thought of being associated with us.

  It was time for the Webleys to know that the MacWebleys were here and we had a stake in all of this. The MacWebleys gifted this place to a former Webley bride, so they should have some kind of stake, right? An old prenuptial agreement perhaps?

  Well…I could find a way to prove that we did, at least.

  “Are you okay?” Madison whispered.

  I gathered myself enough to face her, nodding. “Yes, just getting ready to meet this new family of yours. Tell me, what’s your soon-to-be brother-in-law like? From the car service and what I’m guessing is this manor ahead, he must be a well-off nobleman.”

  She shrugged, her eyes flitting to the leather seats of the car between us. “I’ve never actually met the guy, or any of his family for that matter.”

  I swallowed hard, sure I couldn’t have heard her right. “What?”

  “This is my first time being here. The only other members of my family and people I really know are my mom and my sister. And I guess now you…sort of. Are you really sure your family would be okay if you didn’t get there for a couple of days?”

  My heart pounded in my ears as I simmered on her words.

  She’d never met the Webleys?

  And her first time would be with a numpty walking in and announcing he was their Scottish cousin, rightful heir to the manor, well…if he could prove it, that was.

  “They won’t mind if I’m a little late. Don’t worry. I’m sure they’ll understand.”

  If only she knew this was the exact family I was going to visit.

  At that moment, the idea of backing out flitted across my mind. I couldn’t afford to have this first introduction go wrong and have the Webleys throw me out before I could even present my argument. I could fake a stomachache and tell Madison I was ill and needed to go right back home to the family doctor.

  But as soon as the car rolled through the large gates, a gasp escaped Madison’s lips, reeling me back to reality. I followed her wide-eyed gaze to the luscious green lawn and sprawling limestone manor that I’d only seen in old photographs. They hadn’t done that grand structure justice.

  From what I’d read, Webley spread out over twelve hundred acres of private land complete with gardens, ponds, and other grounds. The MacWebley had once had at least twice that much in Scotland, I was told, but by the time I was born, we had been down to our last one thousand acres.

  After failing uni, I’d been living
in a two-bedroom cottage on my parents’ estate. An estate that was maybe a fourth of the size of this one, if not smaller, and that we would lose if things didn’t change.

  “Is this what every lord’s house looks like in England?” Madison whispered. Her hands were clenched in her lap, and she seemed to be trying to sink into the leather seat.

  For fuck’s sake, I couldn’t do this to her right now. Not when this was all new to her.

  I sucked in a deep breath, knowing that my time would come to talk to the family, but for now, I’d be here as her plus one.

  The town car circled a large fountain, carved of marble with intricate designs curling along each spout—the rose and the thistle.

  I clenched my teeth so hard my jaw twinged in pain.

  How could they not see this Scottish heritage every day and reach out to us?

  Yet they kept displays of our united history?

  Why?

  I tried to simmer the emotions boiling within me, clenching and unclenching my fists.

  A warm hand gently clasped my arm. Madison stared at me with her wide eyes and a tentative smile on her lips.

  “We don’t have to go in, you know? You could still back out. I could just say I was giving you a ride and have the driver drop you off somewhere.” Red waves framed her freckled face, and she looked at me with the most earnest expression.

  A guilty feeling sunk in my stomach as I thought this could be the moment I told her the truth about everything.

  But instead, I just smiled, putting my hand on hers and squeezing it gently. “Why would I back out now, damsel? Your Prada Knight still has some saving to do.”

  She sucked in a breath then slowly let it out as she nodded. “Okay. Let’s do this.”

  I glanced over her shoulder and nodded at the driver, who’d waited outside, to open her door.

  Once Madison stepped out, a clear Southern American accent rang through the driveway. “You’re finally here!”

  A short, curvy redhead, dressed in faded blue jeans and a T-shirt, hurried over and smothered Madison in a hug. Was this woman the Lady of Webley? Dressed like she was going on a market run rather than welcoming guests into her home?

  “Yeah. Wild drive…”

  I waited for a moment, wondering what the right protocol was, if I should slide out of the car or wait for Madison to introduce me to her sister. When Madison glanced back and I met those gorgeous gold-brown eyes that said more to me than words could ever, I noticed she was scared shiteless. I had to help.

  I climbed out of the car, putting on a big smile as I held my hand out to Natalie. “Sorry, that’s my fault. We got in late, and I didn’t want to bother anyone, so we stayed at the lovely little inn down by the bakery.”

  Natalie raised an eyebrow.

  Madison and her sister had the same wavy red hair, but this woman’s was darker and her eyes more doe-like and lips more pronounced. Even dressed down, she seemed to exude a presence that said she was in charge while, next to her, Madison faded in the background.

  But I didn’t want Madison to do that. I wanted her to stand up and say I was with her.

  As soon as I caught the flush in her cheeks, I realized she was having trouble explaining things. So I stepped forward again. “I’m Jacob, Madison’s date. You must be her lovely sister,” I said, taking her hand in mine before placing a small kiss on her knuckles.

  I tried to keep from squeezing her fingers involuntarily as I spotted the large diamond sparkling from there. The family heirloom I’d only seen in photos sparkled grander than anything I’d ever laid eyes on. It could have been a museum piece. I never thought I’d see the large stone in person.

  I needed to let go of her grip, but I couldn’t stop staring.

  Luckily, we were interrupted.

  We both spun around as a booming voice sounded from behind her.

  A man who I’d never seen, except from a few photos online, walked down the cement steps with a middle-aged woman on his arm.

  My cousin, Lord Gavin Webley, looked like nobility, from the top of his meticulously styled dark blond hair down to his tailored suit and impeccably shined shoes. His face was frozen with his mouth in a thin line, not even a smile. As if he only gave those out to people who he thought deserved it. And not many did.

  We were probably close to the same height, but he seemed to stand taller while the woman next to him shrunk in her flowy purple dress. Definitely not his mother. From what little I knew of Lady Helena, she wasn’t one to stand down.

  “Gavin,” Natalie cooed as the two approached us. “You can finally meet my sister, Madison. And this is her friend, Jacob,” she said, her words trailing as she glanced at me out of the corner of her eye.

  Gavin’s eyes slightly narrowed as he looked at me before turning to Madison. He might have been giving her a cordial hug, but I swore his heated stare was shooting daggers at me.

  Once he let go of Madison, he put a hand out to me. “Lord Gavin.”

  I gripped his outstretched palm firmly.

  My official title was Laird Lachlan Jacob MacWebley the Third. But I wasn’t going to say that and have anything spark with him just yet.

  I also wasn’t the kind of pompous arse who announced my title to strangers.

  “Jacob. It’s good to meet you. Thank you for having us in your lovely home.”

  I let go of his hand then swooped an arm around Madison’s shoulder. But her body stiffened in response.

  My stomach tightened.

  It’d felt natural to do that. Like something a friend would do. And with her everything came easy. But what if she wasn’t feeling the same?

  Blast, I had to get my head in the game and stop thinking like a teenager.

  Gavin might have still been shooting daggers with his gaze, but the woman next to him softened. Her beaming smile lit up her whole face as she stepped forward, straightening her short-cropped reddish gray hair.

  “Thank you for coming, Jacob. What a lovely surprise. I’m Lisa, Natalie and Madison’s mother.” I don’t know how I hadn’t seen the similarities before. The same brown eyes full of wonder, even if there were crow’s feet at the side instead of Madison’s tiny trail of freckles.

  Madison’s shoulders tensed again, so I squeezed her arm lightly before letting go and stepping forward toward the woman.

  I clasped both of Lisa’s tiny hands in mine as I smiled down at her. “Lisa. It’s so wonderful to finally meet you.”

  A blush tinged her cheeks. “You too, Mr. Jacob.”

  She had a sharper southern twang than her daughters, and it was even stronger when she spoke to Madison. “Honey, not that it isn’t wonderful you brought this gentleman, but we may need to talk later about a certain missing puzzle piece.”

  I smiled, squeezing the old woman’s hand and trying to break the tension. “Ah, the ex-boyfriend.”

  Lisa slightly raised an eyebrow.

  I let go of her hand, taking a step back and wrapping my arm around Madison’s waist. This time instead of stifling, she melted against me. My body leaned into hers as if this was a normal thing for us. As if we really had known each other for more than a day.

  “I’ve only heard about this Chris, but he’s no longer in the picture,” I said. “And when Madison mentioned she was coming over to my side of the pond for her sister’s wedding and didn’t have a date, well, I figured I’d help her out.”

  Lisa’s eyes softened as she smiled at her daughter. “I’m sure you will all have a lovely story to share with us later.”

  Natalie clapped her hands. “Yes, later. Let me show y’all to your room first. One room is okay, right, since you’re friends and all?” She raised a skeptical eyebrow, her gaze slightly narrowing.

  “One room is fine. Wouldn’t want to put anyone out,” I said, making sure to add the extra charm as I smiled. Of course the m
anor had enough rooms, but I wasn’t going to let on that I knew exactly how big it was or my connection.

  “Grand,” Gavin replied as a slew of men and women in gray uniforms came out to the car, shuffling our luggage out and then in through the large double doors.

  From the driveway, I could only get a glimpse of the inside of the manor, and it matched what I’d seen in a few old photos. I recognized the marble floors, golden staircase, and the crystal chandelier, handmade in Waterford.

  Great-Grandad would have loved seeing all of this. He probably had stories passed down from his grand-dad about the MacWebleys picking out these exact pieces as they built the manor. One their ancestors wouldn’t get to see in person, until now.

  “Shall we?” Natalie asked, and she might have been smiling, but I saw the skepticism in her eyes. The same exact look her fiancé, my estranged cousin Gavin, had.

  As we followed them into the manor, Natalie spoke of the history of the different paintings we walked by. As if she had personally handled each one and knew all the facts. But she didn’t know the history like I did. The stories I’d been told of our English cousins living in luxury while we struggled some years to even keep our home.

  “And this is the Thistle Room, where y’all will be staying.” We stopped in front of an oak door with carvings all along the molding. The thistle and the rose woven together. England and Scotland uniting.

  As if England knew how sharp the thorns of the rose were and would attack the thistle to tear it apart. At least that’s what Great-Grandad always used to say.

  “Oh, wow, this is way nicer than the motel we stayed in for cousin Becky’s wedding,” Madison said with a nervous laugh as we headed into the sitting room, where our bags were already placed on a Persian rug by the fire.

  The room and manor were hundreds of years old, but every piece of furniture was meticulously kept, from the Tiffany lamps and floral settee, even down to the curtains, pulled aside with a gold rope to reveal large French doors leading to a balcony.

  While Madison exchanged niceties with her sister and mother, I approached the glass doors, staring out into the rolling green hills. How long had it been since a Scottish MacWebley had peered at these views? Would this be the last time I’d see them or just the beginning?