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“Ye’re who?” he gasped. “Hugh Stewart?”

Hugh put up his hands because he could see that Titus was about to erupt. “I am, and if ye’ll give me a moment, I’ll tell ye why I’ve come,” he said quickly. “Agnes came tae see me, Titus. Lady Ayr came all the way tae Blackridge House tae see me and tell me that Ambrose has been lying tae ye all of these years. Titus, no matter what the man has told ye, I dunna hate ye. I’ve not disowned ye. It’s been Ambrose trying tae keep us separated for his own selfish gain. Agnes told me all of it.”

He was blurting out the words so quickly that it was difficult to understand him, and Titus was quivering so that he could hardly breathe. He heard the man’s words, trying to absorb them, but fifteen years of being told the opposite blocked out nearly everything he was hearing.

“Nay,” he finally said weakly. “Nay, ’tis not true. Ye canna be my father.”

“I am, I swear it.”

“My father is the Duke of Kintyre and Lorne.”

Hugh put his hands on his chest. “I am the Duke of Kintyre and Lorne,” he said. Then, he pulled out a dagger he had with his crest on the handle. It was a fabulous piece, well-crafted, and he tossed it to the ground at Titus’ feet. “See for yerself. Look, Titus.”

Titus wanted to walk away. He really did. But it was out of disbelief and agony; disbelief that the man was who he said he was and agony if it was all true. Everything in his body was telling him to walk away.

But his heart was telling him to stay.

With his gaze on the man, he bent over to pick up the dagger, taking a brief moment to inspect it. The hilt had a gorgeous crest carved into it, inlaid with gold and the family motto.

Si rex vult.

If the king wills it.

The ground started rocking unsteadily. Titus stared at the crest and the motto, knowing that was indeed the motto of the Duke of Kintyre and Lorne. He’d known that from his childhood. After a moment, he looked at the man standing a few feet away.

“Ye’re truly Hugh?” he asked.

Hugh nodded. “I swear tae ye on my father’s grave,” he said with quiet sincerity. “I am Hugh and ye are my son. I swear by all that is holy.”

Titus was calming down, but only marginally. The disbelief was fading in lieu of monumental confusion. He just stood there with the dagger in one hand and his sword in the other, trying to process everything Hugh had said to him.

“I canna believe it’s ye,” he finally said. “I always imagined the things I’d say tae ye if I ever saw ye, but now… now, I canna remember anything.”

Hugh understood. “And I always thought that I’d tell ye I loved ye even if ye dinna want tae hear it,” he said. “I never thought my first words tae ye would be of Ambrose.”

Ambrose. That hated, horrific name. The one that churned Titus’ insides, the very 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 had been lying?”

Hugh nodded. “She did,” he said. “Titus, 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.”

Titus 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 Titus.

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?”

Titus 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… because I was tricked intae it by Ambrose. I married his sister.”

Titus hadn’t known that in the least. He’d never even heard a hint of it.

The revelation was shattering.