Oliver waited at the castle gates, having just told the guards his identity and waiting for them to confirm it. It had taken him longer than he thought to clear up the mess that led to his disappearance. It was over a year since he had seen his sister and his friend and he had been very busy since, spending most of his time undercover at his fief and only keeping tabs on the happenings in London through a proxy.

He had let go of all his staff, making sure to leave them a hefty severance pay, and sold the house. With that, he vanished without a trace for those that wished to find him.

Around six months ago was when he first found out that Violet and Bryan were looking for him, but since he was still undercover, he was unable to show himself carelessly and was forced to ignore them. They had even gone as far as sending some men to London to look for him. It had pained him to put those poor Highlanders through the trouble of visiting London so often in search of him despite how much they disliked being there, but he figured that they would give up eventually.

He was wrong, they did not give up but instead continued to search for him to the point that it became news in the gossip mills that Oliver Salipsbery was missing. They did not find evidence that he was dead, so even though the gossip said that he was most likely dead, the news did not die down since the Highlanders did not allow a month rest without ransacking London.

It had never once crossed his mind that he was important enough to either of them that disappearing would affect their lives so he had traveled as soon as he could, thinking that they may be having problems that required him to take responsibility. Movement caught his eye from inside the gates and his eyes widened as he saw his sister running out of the castle with desperation clear in her expression.

She was looking at him through the gate, hope and doubt fighting for dominance over her features. Was she worried for him? He realized then that she probably could not recognize him since he had a full beard and was wearing a cloak. Bryan came out after her then, carrying a child on his shoulder.

Oliver felt his eyes widen and his jaw drop. Oh… they had a child… that was why they were looking for him, because they wanted him to meet his nephew. Bryan ordered the guards to open the gate and he was let in. He led his horse into the castle grounds and stood before the couple, suddenly feeling awkward.

How was he supposed to act with them again? It had been too long since he acted like a dimwitted drunk and even longer since he acted like his usual self in front of his loved ones. The disparity between the two characters was too great and as a result, Oliver found himself only able to stand and stare.

They looked good, he noted to himself. Violet’s figure had rounded out and she looked fuller, probably the result of childbirth, and her skin was flush with health and life. Bryan looked even more mature than he usually was and he looked happy, with the weight he used to carry around gone. It seemed his choice to wed them had turned out well. He was glad.

“Ye look tired, me friend,” Bryan said, finally breaking the silence.

Oliver gave him an exhausted smile. He was tired, it had been days since he slept. He had come immediately after getting the documents for the official rights to the mine including distribution and sale of the gold. He made public the revitalization of the Salipsbery viscountcy, buying back all of the land he sold at cheaper prices than he had sold them since everyone was trying to curry favor with him and at the same time were thrown off by his shrewdness.

He had also exposed the old man’s plans to kill him and take the mine. All of this had happened in the space of two weeks. He had resurfaced and turned the gossip mills upside down, only to leave London immediately, not giving them room to catch their breath or make sense of what had happened.

“I truly am,” he confessed.

Bryan stepped forward then, crossing the invisible boundary between them first and pulling him into a brotherly hug. Violet, who had tears streaming down her face, moved then, throwing herself into his arms and sobbing. He patted his sister’s hair, relief flooding him as he relaxed for the first time in a long time. Tears pooled in his eyes but he blinked them away. He had done it. It took him years but he had succeeded. He had kept his sister safe and happy, kept his life, and kept the viscountcy, shocking all those who thought the Salipsbery name would die out with his parents. He wondered if his parents would be proud of him.

“I think ye should go take a bath, I will have some maids prepare ye a hot one as well as some relaxing herbs,” Bryan said, and Oliver did not argue.

His horse was led to the stables and the few things he brought with him were taken up to the chambers he was assigned, where a steaming bath with herbs was prepared for him. He knew that it was best to hurry so he could go back to them as they no doubt had questions for him, but he could not bear to leave the bath and ended up soaking until he felt all the stress and nerves leave him.

He decided to shave his beard while he was at it and came out of the bath clean-shaven. He dressed in the clothes he had packed from his new wardrobe. Clothes worthy of a viscount. He tied his hair, which had grown quite a bit, in a ponytail and left the room looking like his true self for the first time in a long time. He was led to the dining room where an impressive spread was waiting.

“Oh, this is surprising, when were you two able to prepare all this? It is not as though you were expecting me,” he said as he sat down.

Violet blushed and Bryan laughed.

“Actually, this was only expanded lightly to accommodate ye. Ever since she had Aaron, Violet has learned to eat like a true Highlander,” he said, surprising Oliver.

It seemed Aaron was their son. He smiled then, glad that she had been able to get used to living in the highlands after all.

“How old is your son?” he asked.

“Half a moon’s cycle,” Violet said proudly, causing Oliver to smile.

It was nice to see his sister being a mother. As they ate, he explained the situation starting with what had caused him to act like a gambling addict.

“With the danger of your kidnap out of the way, all I needed to do was protect myself. It was easy to do that since taking care of you was my only real responsibility. I donned a disguise and went over to the fief to supervise the secret mining myself. Once we had enough, I was able to contact a judge our father knew and set up a meeting for the old man to expose himself. He tried to have me dragged out of the room and killed, but then the judge burst out of the next room with officers, arresting him and his men.”

Violet had tears in her eyes as she covered her mouth in surprise and Bryan just had a solemn expression with a hand on his wife’s shoulder to comfort her.

“You should have told me!” Violet said, and Oliver shook his head.

He already knew that she would be like that. “Telling you would have made you worry for no reason.”

“Well, at least if I knew, I would not have given you so much grief when you tried to marry me off. I can only imagine how much anxiety I gave you while I tried so many tricks to escape the marriage. I put you through so much, I am sorry, Brother.”

To that, Oliver said nothing. He could not comfort her and tell her it was nothing as that would be a lie, but he did accept her apology for the way she had acted. Bryan comforted his wife again, pulling her into a sideways hug. He changed the subject then.

“I am glad that ye nay longer have problems me friend. I already knew that ye were actin’ more dastardly than ye actually were, but I could never have guessed why. I am glad that everyone can see your true self now,” Bryan said.

Oliver chuckled at that. “Indeed, everyone can see my true self, the viscountcy is safe and thriving, and I have become one of the most eligible bachelors in London once again. Now that our family is restored to its glory, however, I cannot look at those nobles the same anymore. So it has become useless to me how they see me,” he said, causing Bryan to nod in a manner that said he understood where he was coming from.

“Either way, that is enough about me, I am more curious about you two. When I saw you last, Violet seemed as though she would rather throw herself off a cliff than be with you, and you were certain that you could never love someone new. So how did you two become like this? I can see the love even when I close my eyes,” Oliver quipped, lightening the mood in the hopes that Violet would stop crying.

Sensing his intent, Bryan changed the topic and narrated the story of their love, allowing Violet to pull herself together.

When the story moved to Isaac, however, Oliver’s jaw dropped. He had not been aware that Isaac had any kind of relationship with Violet. Even more shocking was what he had done. He was indignant, but his fury was swiftly cooled as he heard how Isaac was dealt with. By the end of the story, Violet was back to her normal self and the food was finished.

“Do you want to come meet Aaron?” she asked as she got up from her seat. Her eyes, which were slightly red from crying, were now shining with joy at the mention of her son.

“Yes, please,” Oliver said, going after her to meet his nephew.

It was a different kind of joy he felt, holding the small child in his arms for the first time and he felt tears running down his face before he even remembered to stop them as the lively baby grabbed unto his finger like he never wanted to let go.

“He is beautiful,” Oliver said, and it was not just him… it was everything. Everything had turned out beautiful, and Oliver knew that it would stay that way.

If you haven’t already, please leave your review on Amazon

Readers who enjoyed this book also bought

★★★★★ 201 ratings

Read the book

★★★★★ 127 ratings

Read the book

★★★★★ 186 ratings

Read the book