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“Nae.” Ronin felt as if he could no longer breathe. This meant that Edna was the true heir to the lairdship and the daughter of Mara and his father. None of this made sense. If the babies were exchanged and no one knew about it, why had his father gone and killed Edna’s father. This was all too confusing to understand.
“If everything had already been sorted, why did my father kill Duncan?” Ronin asked, knowing that Duncan was actually his own father.
“The laird suspected that something had happened with the babies all those years ago. It was something tae do with the birth certificate. Though Mara manipulated the whole situation and put the entire blame on Duncan. She blamed him for having forced himself upon her, and the laird, in a drunken rage, went and killed him. It was a tragedy tae say the least. I knew I had played a big part in it, and after the murders, I was horrified. I prayed for God tae forgive me for having been involved in such a sin.”
This finally made some sense to Ronin and he nodded. It also justified the rumors that Freya had mentioned in front of Edna.
“And what about the murders now? Why are they happening? Who is behind them?” Ronin asked, remembering that the reason that she had come forward was the murders that were happening now.
“Mara had the midwife and her daughter killed because they had the birth certificates as proof. They knew that ye were not truly Mara’s son. That was why she wanted me killed as well, so her secret wouldn’t reach ye or anyone else in the clan,” the midwife answered and Ronin immediately knew who the murderer was.
CHAPTERTHIRTY-THREE
They discovered a dagger that could only have belonged to a castle guard near where the healer was murdered in the middle of the forest. Ronin had no doubt that the man he had discovered in his mother's bedchamber the night before was the man responsible for all of her murders. There were no other options. That would also explain why his mother was uninterested in locating the murderer. It was because she had known who had done it all along.
“Everything makes sense now. I truly cannot thank you enough for risking your life to come here and tell me the truth. You have done me a huge favor,” Ronin thanked her.
“It was the least I could do after causing trouble right after ye were born. I separated ye from yer real family and gave ye tae a woman like Mara who was never going tae care for ye. Do forgive me, son. I ken what I have done is unforgivable, but I would still like ye tae try and forgive me,” the woman said, and Ronin nodded.
He wasn't even mad at her. Everything she had told him was sufficient to convince him that nothing could prevent him from being with Edna. They were not blood relatives, but she was still the love of his life. He only had to find herand beg her forgiveness. Then a thought occurred to him. The midwife had arrived at the castle around the same time Edna had left. Perhaps she had seen herand could point him in the right direction.
“I have a question for you,” Ronin said.
“Anything.”
“When you entered the castle, did you by any chance come across a beautiful young girl? Her name is Edna, and she must have looked forlorn,” Ronin explained; flinching at the fact that he was the reason behind her being upset.
“Was she wearing a pastel green dress and her hair in a long braid?” Ronin quickly nodded as the midwife described Edna correctly.
“Yes, she is the one. Do you know where she is or where she went? I searched for her but can’t find her anywhere,” Ronin explained quickly.
“She was the one who helped me sneak inside the castle; otherwise, the guard would have never let me in. She too was captured by the guards and must be in one these cells somewhere,” the midwife answered, and Ronin felt as if the energy in his body had left him. “Who is she?”
“She is the girl you exchanged with me all those years ago,” Ronin replied quickly. “She is the true heir to the lairdship.”
“No wonder she agreed to help me when she found out that I was here tae tell ye something about the murders. After all, it was her father, or the man she thought of as her father, who had been killed,” the midwife said. He couldn’t believe that, even after all that she was going through, after all that he had put through when she had come to meet him, she had been strong enough to help a strange woman reach him.
He knew she had done it because she loved him. She didn't want anything to get in his way, even after he had completely destroyed her life. She'd put her grief aside and sneaked inside the castle with the old lady, even though it meant facing him again.
Ronin walked out of the prison cell to find Lachlan still standing with the two guards, refusing to let them go. Ronin nodded to his friend before silently searching through the other cells for Edna. He was certain she was present somewhere. After walking a little further into the dungeon, his gaze was drawn to a green vision.
Edna stood just inside a cell, her face contorted into a depressed frown. Ronin could see the worry that weighed down her entire body as she paced from left to right. He felt terrible about what he had done to her. He'd chosen the most cruel way to end things with her, and he hoped he could make things right. He'd finally realized the truth, and all that stood between him and Edna was the words he'd hurled at her earlier that morning. Could he persuade her to forgive him?
“Ronin!” she shouted as soon as she laid eyes on him. Ronin was glad that she was not repulsed by seeing him. “Please get me out of here.”
“Just give me a second,” Ronin said before quickly grabbing the keys. She quickly stepped out of the dirty and dingy cell. Ronin knew she should have never been in there in the first place.
“Thank you,” she said; her voice soft.
“I am sorry about what my mother did. She had no right,” Ronin apologized; knowing she would not find any solace in his words at all.
“No, she didn’t. Now that I am out of here though, I would rather just get home,” she said and started to turn away to leave. Ronin quickly came to stand in front of her, blocking her path. “What?”
“I need to talk to you.”
“Haven’t ye said enough tae me already?” she asked; sarcasm heavy in her words.
"I need to explain why I said and did everything I did. I had a lot of questions about how things were between us, but the midwife cleared everything up for me. I finally know the truth," Ronin said, but Edna didn't seem interested in hearing him out. He could see her cornered expression and sense her desire to flee his presence, but he needed her to be there. He needed her to pay attention to him.
