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Murdina and Kin both gasped, turning to one another with wide-eyed astonishment.
“The knot,” Murdina gasped, and Gilroy nodded.
“Now, dae ye trust me?” he asked.
“More so than we did,” Kin admitted.
The sight of the symbol was further proof of Kin’s memories, and Murdina watched him, imagining what it must be like to discover the truth about oneself in such a way.
“Ye are nay Englishman, Kin, but the son of a noble laird–the laird of Eilean Donan, an island to the north of here. Yer father was Donald Findlay, a noble warrior, and a staunch Jacobite, he….” Gilroy said, but Kin interrupted him.
“He was? Dae ye mean he is dead?” he asked, and Gilroy nodded sadly.
“Ye told me ye remembered a fire. Well, it was that fire which consumed yer father’s castle on Eilean Donan and took his life, along with the lives of yer mother and two sisters. Ye were nae there at the time, else ye would have perished, too,” Gilroy said, shaking his head.
“Kin… I am so sorry,” Murdina whispered, and she reached out and took Kin’s hand in hers.
To discover such a terrible tragedy, to know the dreadful truth about your own mother and father. Murdina’s heart went out to him, and he looked up with tears in his eyes.
“I remember it, at least… in that dream I did. I was trying desperately to help, but no one would listen,” Kin said, shaking his head.
A tear rolled down his cheek, and Murdina squeezed his hand, trying to reassure him.
“Ye couldnae have prevented it, an accident like that…” she said, but Gilroy now interrupted her.
“It was nay accident. The fire was deliberate, and it was ye who saw it first on the horizon. Ye had been out huntin’ and were returnin’ home. The others thought it only the sunset, but soon the sky was red with flames, and all hope was lost. It was then ye vowed to dae all ye could for the Jacobite cause,” Gilroy replied.
“Then it was the English who burned my father’s castle?” Kin said, his eyes narrowing, a look of anger coming over his face.
“Nay, not exactly, though their scent lies heavily on the tragedy. It was a traitor, a guest in yer father’s castle, a man ye have spent these long years past tryin’ to expose. He is the reason ye went south to England. He is the reason ye are a member of our order. Tis’ our task, among others, to expose those who claim our cause but are treacherous to it, and tis’ ye who have made the discovery. That is why ye were returnin’ here on the ship, tis’ why I was waitin’ for ye,” he said, and Kin’s eyes grew wider still.
“I can hardly believe it, but there is something in your words I am beginning to remember,” Kin said, and Gilroy nodded.
“Dae ye have the key with ye?” he said, and Kin pulled the key and the coin out from his pocket.
“I have carried them with me, even though I knew nothing of them. We found the symbol of the knot in the castle library–that is how we knew to come to Mull,” he said, and Gilroy smiled.
“Then ye dae remember somethin’ of the truth. The coin, too. I have one myself. All members of our order carry it. Tis’ a symbol of our fraternity,” he said, and from his own pocket, he took out a coin, just like the one in Kin’s hand.
The symbol of the phoenix glittered in the lamp from the oil light, and Murdina stared at it in amazement–the two coins were an exact match.
“But why a phoenix?” she asked.
“The phoenix rises from the ashes, and so will the time come when the Jacobite cause rises from the ashes of its past. This is our kingdom, nae theirs. The Hanoverians claim the line, but they are as nothin’ compared to our bonnie prince. Aye, there shall come a time when the throne is nay longer stolen from us and when tis’ returned to its rightful master. Until then, we watch and wait,” Gilroy said, as Kin now turned to the box.
“But you say the answers I seek are here. What does this box contain?” he asked.
“Open it and see. Ye have nae been idle these years past. The box contains yer letters, the proofs ye have sent of what ye discovered. Ye have been away for many years, tis’ almost as though ye were English–yer mannerisms, yer manner of speech–but ye were nae always such. Ye are the son of a noble line of lairds, the heir to yer father’s title, even if his castle is gone. But ye still have friends, Kin–and loyal ones at that,” Gilroy replied.
“But why all the secrecy? Why did you not reveal yourself to us at the inn?” Kin asked, but Gilroy only shook his head and smiled.
“Danger lurks on every side. I had to be certain I could trust ye. We are fightin’ a terrible war, one in which we can hardly trust anyone–I had to be certain, and when I saw ye land and saw ye with Murdina… but open the box, Kin, open it and see that what I am tellin’ ye is the truth,” he said.
Kin now turned to the chest which lay against the far wall. The lock was intricate, ornately decorated in the shape of the knot symbol. Murdina came to kneel next to him on the cave's sandy floor. She noticed Kin’s hands were trembling, and he inserted the key into the lock–it fitted perfectly–and he turned it with a click, the lid opening, springing back, to reveal piles of parchment, rolled and sealed. He took one out and broke it, unrolling it to reveal tiny, perfectly formed writing, his eyes widening once more.
“My writing,” he said, clearly remembering the truth.
“What does it say?” Murdina asked, and Kin began to read.
