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“The midwife?”
“The old woman you helped sneak inside the castle. She was here to tell me about some secrets from the past, our past” Ronin replied.
“Is she alright?”
“She told me everything, Edna. Now I want you to listen to me as well. Please,” Ronin said.
“Ye have five minutes. Go on,”
"When I told Mara that you and I were married and that I was bringing you to the castle yesterday, she told me that I had committed a great sin by marrying you because we were brother and sister. That your father had an affair with her, and I was born as a result. I was horrified and didn't want you to face the truth about what we'd done. The only way I could think of to end things with you and leave you with no desire to see me again was to say what I said this morning. I didn't want to tell you the truth because it would have made you horrified at the sin we had committed, and I didn't want that to happen." Ronin paused to gauge Edna's reaction, but she was expressionless.
“I don’t want ye tae say another word,” she said; her tone soft. He noticed her color had becoming paler with every passing second and she was certainly getting angrier.
“Edna, just listen to me,” Ronin pleaded.
“Ye think ye can stand there and tell me false things about my family, and I will believe whatever ye say? Who dae ye think ye are, Ronin?” Edna was shouting and Ronin knew there was no way he could calm her down. He needed her to listen to him, so he could help her make sense of everything.
“Will you please just listen to me?”
“Go on,” she said; taking deep breaths to calm herself down.
"The midwife told me that Mara lied to me.We are not brother and sister. The truth is that you were the child born to Mara, and I was the child born to your parents. Mara paid the midwife to switch us because she wanted a male child to be the laird's heir, and there was also a chance you would die soon after birth, as had happened with Mara's two other children," Ronin explained. He noticed Edna staring at him with a puzzled and shocked expression but said nothing.
“I don’t believe this,” she whispered at last.
“I know, Edna. This is the truth though,” Ronin said; moving towards her and holding her hand. Edna jerked her hand away and pulled back from him.
“I dinnae care what the truth is. The only thing I ken is that my parents are my parents, and I will go back home tae my mother and forget about all this,” Edna said.
“You can go back home, Edna. I am not asking you to believe this or do anything about it. I just want you to understand why I said what I said. I want you to accept me back in your life. I want your forgiveness,” Ronin pleaded.
“Ye broke my heart this morning, Ronin. If ye say that ye only said those things to keep the truth from me, I believe ye. But I don’t care. Ye carelessly broke my heart. Ye mean nothing tae me anymore. I will never forgive ye for doing what ye did tae me,” Edna said and turned away to leave.
Ronin knew she couldn't be stopped. He had truly broken her heart, and she could never forgive him. He wished he'd met the midwife sooner and never said such heinous things to her. He felt as if she was taking his heart with her as he watched her walk away. Ronin had never felt so broken.
CHAPTERTHIRTY-FOUR
Ten days later…
“Ronin, ye dae realize that ye cannot stay cooped up in this bedchamber forever?” Lachlan called out to him.
“What do you want, Lachlan?” Ronin asked.
“I want nothing. But the council wishes tae meet with ye. They are saying yer lairdship needs to be finalized now that Mara has been imprisoned, and there is no one tae lead the clan.”
Ronin sighed. He knew it was his responsibility to take on these responsibilities and manage the clan's affairs, but he couldn't seem to do it. He knew he wasn't the true heir, and everything seemed wrong. This was all rightfully someone else's, and Ronin felt like an imposter. He was an imposter living someone else's life.
“And the guard? Has he been sent to the neighboring clan for imprisonment as well?” Ronin asked Lachlan; knowing that his friend must have handled everything efficiently.
“Yes, he is also gone,” Lachlan assured him.
“That’s good.”
“The council is waiting for ye, Ronin,” he said once again and Ronin felt like burying himself under the bedclothes and ignoring the summons. There was no escaping the council though. He knew he would have to see them sooner or later.
Ronin nodded and rose from his bed. He quickly dressed and exited his bedchamber, making his way to the hall where everyone was gathered. When he walked in, everyone stood up respectfully, as if he had already been appointed laird. Ronin took the seat at the head of the table where Mara had sat only a few days before when the council had discussed the recent murders in the clan.
“You all wished to see me?” Ronin asked, getting straight to the point. He had no desire to waste a single minute.
