Elusive

by Linda Rae Blair

  “Blair, please realize I didn’t know you then. Not like I’m beginning to now. I had to be careful, and I continued to receive warnings from relatives who I thought were looking out for the estate.”

  “Of course, you had to be careful,” she said, calming slightly but turning her head to look out the window at the rapidly passing countryside. Common sense didn’t keep it from hurting. Why should she care what he thought of her? Of course—she did.

  “I was so torn, Blair. I was getting all this information, then I would spend time with you, and you seemed so sincere, so innocent…” he lifted his finger to her cheek when she turned back toward him, “…so dear.” His voice was husky now with the emotion that was sweeping through him. “I didn’t know what to believe.”

  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.

  How could he possibly make her understand? “Blair, you could never disappoint me.” He kissed her, and the seduction began again.

  They spent a glorious night together during which Alexandre came to a frightening conclusion. He had fallen in love with her. Not here in his bed, but it had been a slow tumble from the moment he first laid eyes on her. Now, he would just have to deserve her. After all she had been through, he wasn’t certain he ever could.

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  Chapter 27: Ah, Family

  Edinburgh, Scotland – July 1912

  The next morning, he had let her sleep. He sat at the breakfast table that had been brought up with room service. As he downed more hot coffee, he kept mulling over what he’d heard from the investigator, and then from Angus.

  A man doesn’t want to admit that his own relatives could be bloodthirsty heathens out to harm an innocent, young woman. Nor did he want to admit that they could be capable of killing a kind man like her uncle or an old man like Pierre LeGard. But some things could not be avoided.

  He was certain he knew who was at the heart of this. Aiden and Hugh, his distant but greedy cousins, had lusted for the wealth and status the estate brought with it, since they were small children. His father’s cousin, Iseabail, had always been greedy—for gossip, for money, for power—her children were even greedier. But murder?

  Now greed was one thing. He could almost understand a person within reach of such a large fortune becoming greedy, feeling a degree of jealousy. They were human, after all. Quite frankly, if they had asked Alexandre, he would gladly have shared his own good fortune with them. But, no—the brothers and their mother had been too dishonest to ask. He could have provided them with positions that would have, through their own hard work, provided them a wealthy lifestyle. But they were more interested in the scheming, the taking. That was someth
ing he would never understand—or forgive.

  They had gone too far! They had endangered Blair—murdered the man who had raised her, loved her. They had tried to have her killed right there in Edinburgh—murdered an innocent old man. And for what? Money! Power! As much as family meant to him, these three had to be stopped. Family ties or no, he thought, Blair was wrong—I would kill them with my bare hands to protect her.

  His thoughts were interrupted when he felt her arms come around his shoulders as she leaned down behind him. Releasing the tension that had built up in his shoulders, he set down his cup and swung her around to sit on his lap. “Good morning, lass. Did you sleep well?”

  “Should not the question be, did I sleep?” she giggled.

  He loved that sound. It was the giggle of an innocent school girl. He hoped to hear a lot more of it. But, to do so, he would first have to keep her safe. Nibbling on her ear, he whispered, “I have to go out on business for awhile. Can I trust you to stay here where it is safe and not go out?”

  “Yes, of course,” she answered, as she pulled back and looked up at his face. Beneath the smile, there was a feeling of tenseness about him. “Alex, what is bothering you?”

  “Not now, Blair. I’ll tell you about it when I get it all worked out in my head. For now, please just humor me and stay here where you’re safe?”

  “Alright,” she agreed. She had to admit that it was a relief to be able to just stay put without having to worry about the next possible attack.

  Alexandre lifted her off of his lap, kissed her gently, and then he returned to the bedroom to dress. A short while later he left to track down his cousins who were now in dire danger of being on the receiving end of his full wrath.

  Three hours later, unable to get any leads, he decided to go back to the hotel. He supposed he would be wiser to let Bill Campbell do the investigating. He would concentrate on keeping Blair safe.

  ***

  In Alexandre’s absence, Blair sat down to finally write to her friends in Paris. She had missed them all so much. She knew by now they would all be very worried about her. She briefly explained what had happened, and that she was alright.