Ambrose. That hated, horrific name. The one that churned Magnus’s insides, the reason he was outside at this very moment. He was starting to focus on what his father had told him.
“Ye said…ye said that Agnes told ye that Ambrose has been lying?”
Hugh nodded. “She did,” he said. “Magnus, there is nothing I can do tae make up for years of estrangement, of ye thinking I dinna want ye around. But it was a lie orchestrated by Ambrose Stewart. When ye were at Culroy, I would send ye missives, but I never heard anything in return. Agnes told me it was because Ambrose burned the missives and told ye that I hated ye. That wasna the truth, lad, I swear it.”
Magnus was beginning to understand what Hugh was telling him. In truth, it was a simple thing to believe because he’d spent years with Ambrose and his deceit. He knew what the man was capable of. It absolutely made sense that Ambrose had burned any missives from Hugh meant for Magnus.
The realization hit him like a hammer.
“My God,” he finally muttered. “He burned them and told me ye wanted nothing tae do with me. That’s all I ever knew.”
Hugh looked at him sadly. “I know,” he said. “But it isna true, lad. It was never true. Why do ye think he held ye hostage? Because ye meant something tae me and he knew he could use ye against me. Did ye ever realize that?”
Magnus hadn’t, but he understood what his father was saying. It made a good deal of sense. But there was so much more he didn’t understand.
“But…but ye sent me away when I was born,” he said. “Why did ye send me away?”
“Because I had no choice,” Hugh said, lines of anguish on his face. “Ye see…I loved yer mother. She was a lady-in-waiting tae my wife, whom I dinna love. I married her because I was tricked intae it by Ambrose. I married his sister.”
Magnus hadn’t known that in the least. He’d never even heard a hint of it.
The revelation was shattering.
“The Duchess of Kintyre and Lorne is Ambrose Stewart’s sister?” he gasped.
Hugh nodded. “Ambrose promised me a great alliance should I marry her,” he said. “But he lied. He lied about so many things. Marjorie wasna a wife, she was a dictator. She tried tae manipulate everything I did and told her brother everything that happened in my household. Ye must understand something, Magnus… I loved yer mother. Whatever ye think of yer birth, know that ye were conceived in love. Marjorie knew this, and when ye were born, it was she who sent ye and yer mother away. She could never be the wife I wanted and she could never be the woman I would love, and she knew it. Marjorie was a bitter, nasty woman.”
Magnus was coming to learn a great deal, more than he’d ever expected to know about himself or his origins. It was shocking and it was horrific, but as he looked at Hugh, he could see that Hugh was the one who had really taken the brunt of Ambrose and Marjorie Stewart’s vitriol.
Hugh was the real victim in all of this.
“Bloody Christ,” Magnus muttered. “Then it was Marjorie who made sure I was seized away from my mother’s family when I was a wee lad and taken hostage by Ambrose.”
“’Tis true,” Hugh muttered, reliving those horrible memories. “By the time I found out about it, there was nothing I could do. They had ye. I tried everything I could tae get ye back—money, property—everything. But Ambrose kept ye. He said it was insurance against me. As the years went on and Ambrose told me that ye hated me, I just stopped trying tae contact ye.”
Magnus could see it all so clearly, but there was still part of him that was wounded by it all, wounded that his father perhaps didn’t fight harder for him.
Wounded because he had always felt unwanted.
“He told me ye wanted nothing tae do with me,” he said. “That was all I ever knew of ye. And my mother’s family told everyone that my father was a servant. Did ye know that?”
Hugh nodded. “I did,” he said. “They said that tae protect ye because the brother of a king has many enemies.”
“That was the only reason?”
“I swear tae God it was the only reason.”
“What about my mother? Where is she now?”
For the first time in the conversation, Hugh didn’t appear so distraught. “She is well,” he said. “Ye’ve not had contact with her in many years, I’m told.”
Magnus shook his head. “Nay,” he said. “Once I was taken away from her and spent those years at Culroy, I never heard from her. I thought it was because she dinna want anything tae do with me, but now I’m coming tae think that Ambrose burned anything she might have sent me, also.”
Hugh nodded at the sad realization. “I know yer mother wouldna have let ye go without a word. She loved ye deeply.”
Magnus was feeling all kinds of turbulent emotions, more so when it came to his mother. “I’ve not forgotten her,” he said. “I’ve fond memories of my childhood with her, and there were times when I missed her. But I dinna return tae her when Ambrose released me.”
“Why?”
“Because I was free. I dinna want tae return tae my mother and her family and become their burden. I had tae find a life for myself.” He shrugged. “And mayhap the fact that I hadna heard from her the entire time I was at Culroy had something tae do with it.”
Hugh sighed faintly. “Magnus,” he said quietly, “I know she sent missives tae ye, but ye never responded tae them, and much like me, she thought ye dinna want anything tae do with her.”
Magnus’s brow furrowed. “How would ye know that?”
“Because Marjorie died around the first of the year,” Hugh said, watching Magnus closely for his reaction. “I married yer mother two months ago.”
Magnus’s eyes widened. “Ye married my mother?”
Hugh nodded. “Aye,” he said. “That makes ye my legitimate heir.”
Magnus’s jaw dropped. “Are ye serious?”
Hugh dipped his head. “I swear I am,” he said. “But no one could tell me where ye were, least of all Ambrose. But thanks tae Agnes, I found out, and here I am tae make sure ye know the truth. Even if ye never want tae see me again, I thought ye should know everything.”
By now, Magnus had calmed down a good deal. He could recall a few momentous occasions in his life—when he was taken to Culroy Castle, when he was released from Culroy, when he was brought to the Ludus Antonine, and when he married his wife. But this moment…this one ranked among the biggest events in his life. His very own father, a man he’d thought had hated and disowned him, was telling a dramatically different story than the one he had always believed, and Magnus could see that the root of all of his troubles, the seed of all his evils, was Ambrose Stewart. A man who was still trying to ruin him.
A man who had already ruined his father.
After a moment, he shook his head.
“I dunna even know what tae say,” he said. “’Tis as if everything in my life has been a lie, and the anger I feel toward Ambrose threatens tae consume me. I dunna know if it’s an anger I can control.”
Hugh nodded. “I know it well,” he said. “I’ve had the same anger since Agnes came tae tell me the truth. But…but I need tae ask ye one thing, Magnus.”
“What is that?”
“Are…are ye glad tae see me?”
Magnus looked at the man, seeing the desperation in his eyes. A smile spread across his lips as he took a few steps toward him and handed him his dirk, hilt-first.
“Aye,” he said hoarsely. “I’m glad tae see ye, Da. I can hardly believe I’m saying it, but it’s true. I am.”
Hugh smiled timidly. “Are ye happy here, Magnus?”
Magnus nodded. “Verily,” he said. “The Ludus Caledonia is my home and the warriors are my family. But that doesna mean I dunna have room for my real family. It’s simply something I never thought I would know. I’ve been alone my entire life, but now…now I have more family than I ever
realized.”
Hugh was vastly relieved to hear that. “Good,” he said. He meant it. “I want ye tae do what makes ye happy, but I also want ye tae know that ye’re my heir. What exactly that means is up tae ye. Ye may not want the responsibility. But I hope ye’ll at least think about it. And me, also. I’d like tae know my only son, on whatever terms he wishes.”
Magnus smiled at the man. He could feel the genuine emotion, the hope and the fear, radiating from him. Truth be told, he had enough hope and fear of his own—hope for the future, and fear for it as well. He still could hardly believe any of this. But there would be no future at all if Ambrose was still a threat.
“I’d like tae know ye, too,” he said. “I’m glad ye came tae find me, I truly am. But ye should know that Ambrose isna finished with me yet.”
Hugh’s smile faded. “I’ve heard,” he said. “Agnes told me he was trying tae turn ye against me one last time.”
Magnus sighed heavily, turning to look at his cottage, still quiet and peaceful. “Strangely enough, he hasna tried—yet,” he said. “My wife and I are leaving today because Ambrose is after her. She was a hostage at Culroy like I was, but Ambrose cheated her father and intended tae marry her tae Conan. She ran away from them, and by accident, they located her. In fact, that’s why I am out here this morning. I’m protecting her until we are escorted away from here.”
Hugh was quite concerned. “Where are ye going?”
Magnus gestured to the south. “England,” he said. He looked at his father again. “But I will admit that it concerns me that ye’re here, because the perimeter of the Ludus Caledonia is well protected, yet ye managed tae slip past them. How did ye do it?”
Hugh sighed heavily. “The truth is that I never left,” he said. “I came tae watch the games last night and never left. When everyone was leaving, I found a gully tae hide in and then I ventured back out when all was quiet. Finding ye here was just a coincidence.”
“Finding ye here is a coincidence, too.”
The reply didn’t come from Magnus.
Startled, both Hugh and Magnus turned in the direction of a heavy cluster of trees that was between the warriors’ village and the gardens to the northwest. Emerging from those trees was something they had hoped not to see.
Ambrose Stewart was heading straight toward them.
And he wasn’t alone.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Magnus’s sword came up.
“Stop right there, Ambrose,” he said, forgoing any formal title of address. “Ye’ve come as close as I’m going tae allow.”
Ambrose came to a halt, his gaze moving between Hugh and Magnus. There was some amusement in his expression, as if this were all just a lighthearted reunion, when the fact was that he had at least six or eight armed men with him, including Conan. They were fanned out behind him, waiting for the command to move.
Magnus could sense that there was a rush waiting to happen. Reaching out, he grabbed his father, pulling the man behind him so he could protect him. He then swung his short sword in a skilled, flashy movement that showed his comfort and skill with the weapon. Wordlessly, he was stating that he knew how to use it.
Ambrose put up his hands to show he was unarmed.
“I’ve not come for ye, Magnus,” he said. “Nor have I come for Hugh, though I dinna know the man was even here. When did ye arrive, dear cousin?”
Hugh was behind Magnus, his dirk in hand. It was all he had, unfortunately, and he could see that he and Magnus were outnumbered. He’d purposely come unarmed to the Ludus Caledonia because he hadn’t wanted to be perceived as a threat.
He hoped that decision didn’t cost him.
“Dunna worry over me, Ambrose,” Magnus said steadily. “What matters most is that ye brought armed men intae the Ludus Caledonia and I dunna think they’ll take kindly tae it. Why on earth would ye do such a thing?”
Ambrose started looking around. Specifically, he was looking at the cottages several yards behind Magnus.
“I’ve come for something that belongs tae me,” he said. Then, he turned to Conan. “Is this where ye saw Diantha?”
Conan was well back and away from Magnus. Considering he was afraid of the man after seeing him fight in the arena the night before, he made sure that he was far away from him.
The bully was cowering.
“Aye,” he told his father. “She went intae the second cottage, over there.”
He was pointing to Lor’s cottage, and Magnus was listening to it all very carefully. It was clear that Ambrose wasn’t interested in him at all, only in Diantha. Magnus already knew that the pair had spotted her, but here they were, extremely close to her, having sneaked into the Ludus Caledonia without even being seen. Clegg had been certain they would not leave completely, and he’d been correct, unfortunately.
Damn…
Magnus had a very big problem on his hands.
He was the best warrior the Ludus Caledonia had to offer, but even he was mortal. He could take on a group of armed men, but he wasn’t certain for how long before they overwhelmed him. Things like kicking them in the head and clubbing them in the groin were part of his tactics in the arena where they weren’t allowed to use real weapons, but these men had swords. They’d come to kill anyone who stood in their way.
That man was Magnus.
“Ye’re not going intae the warriors’ village,” he said evenly. “If ye do, ye’ll be walking intae an encampment of armed men, and there are many more of them than there are of ye.”
Ambrose didn’t seem to be bothered by that. “I told ye I am here tae retrieve what belongs tae me,” he said. “Diantha de Mora is here. She’s Conan’s betrothed and I want her back.”
Magnus debated his next move. He could try to keep the situation calm until someone in the warriors’ village saw what was going on and told the sentries, or he could posture aggressively and hope it was enough to drive Ambrose back. He needed help because he didn’t want Ambrose’s armed guards getting around him and to the cottages.
To Diantha.
He found himself praying that Lor and Bane would make an appearance.
He needed help.
“Do ye even want tae know why Hugh is here?” he said, trying to shift the subject. “He came tae tell me that he sent me missives during my time at Culroy, missives ye burned. Ye told me he hated me, but that wasna the truth. Ye lied tae me, Ambrose. What else have ye lied about?”
As he’d hoped, Ambrose’s focus moved to Hugh, still standing behind Magnus. He stared at him a moment before snorting.
“Is that why ye’re here?” he said. “Tae mend ties with yer son?”
Hugh nodded slowly. “Ties ye tried tae sever, I hear.”
Ambrose didn’t deny it. After a moment, he simply shrugged. “Ye married my sister and fathered a bastard,” he said. “Ye dinna think I would retaliate?”
Hugh scowled. “Ye’re the last person in the world tae judge a man,” he said. “The sins ye’ve committed far outweigh anything I’ve ever done. Ye had no right tae keep Magnus from me.”
Ambrose’s eyes flashed with rage. “Ye shamed my sister and ye dinna expect me tae do all I could tae keep the lad from ye?”
“Ye’re a damned fool,” Hugh growled. “Ye forced me tae marry yer sister with promises of an alliance, but ye went back on yer word.”
Ambrose’s eyes narrowed. “Ye werena worthy of my word, Hugh.”
“Why?” he snapped. “Because I’m the brother of the king and ye’re not? That was always at the root of this, wasna it? Yer petty jealousies caused ye tae lie and cheat and try tae control me and my family, and when ye couldna do that, ye spread rumors about me. Ye tell everyone I’m allied with the Laird of the Isles.”
“It’s true!”
Hugh took a deep breath so he wouldn’t fly at Ambrose with his fists. “The only thing that�
��s true about that is that Magnus’s mother is a daughter of John McDonald, Laird of the Isles,” he said. “I wasna allied with them until I married her. She’s now my wife and Magnus is now my rightful heir. It’s a bond ye canna break and we’ll tolerate yer lies no longer.”
Ambrose was starting to lose some of his confidence. He considered the separation of Hugh and Magnus some of his finest work, but now he could see it had been ruined. Somehow, the two of them had connected in spite of his attempts to keep them apart, and that realization was beginning to shake him. But that understanding also swung his focus back on Diantha, something he could control.
“Get out of my way,” he snarled. “If ye dunna move, I’ll kill ye.”
Magnus took a defensive stance, the sword leveled. “Ye’ve seen me fight in the arena,” he said. “Are ye sure ye want tae tangle with me? Because the first man I’m going tae cut down is Conan.”
“Not if I get tae ye first.”
“Ye’ll never make it,” Magnus said. “Yer son will die right before yer eyes if ye make another move.”
Ambrose’s jaw was twitching furiously, his anger having reached the tipping point from control to chaos. He yelled a command to his men, who started to move, and Magnus prepared for the onslaught, his sword arcing in the morning light.
But then a strange thing happened.
Suddenly, men were bolting out of the trees, pouncing on Ambrose’s armed men. Startled, Magnus realized that he was seeing Axel, Wendell, and Milo, heavily armed. His shock grew when he watched as a large figure in heavy armor moved out of the trees and took down Conan, cutting through the man’s neck and sending his head spinning to the cold, wet earth.
Clegg made the first kill.
Men were rushing past Magnus from behind. Lor, Bane, Tay, Aurelius, and Galan charged headlong into the remaining armed soldiers, including Ambrose, who started to scream when he realized they were being overrun by armed men.
Life and death were being played out before Magnus’s eyes as his friends descended on Ambrose’s men. But hearing Ambrose scream at the sight of his headless son propelled Magnus into action.
Highland Legend Page 25