Page 39 of Her Tempting Traitor
“Quite right.” Suddenly, the round man sat forward, his elbows on his knees, hands clasped, and pierced Cassian with a stern look. “Well lad, you might be wondering why I called you here today.”
Cassian’s gaze darted to Zilphia—whohe’dthought had been the one to invite him—then back to her husband. “Is it about my carriage’s extended warranty?”
“It’s about Inverlochy, lad, and what’s going to happen to it after I die.”
Surprised, Cassian glanced down at Gus, who was looking serious, then Aunt Zilphia. “But sir…that willnae be for a long while yet.”
“Aye, but it’ll happen.” Blowing out a breath, Sir Richard straightened and took his wife’s hand. “As you know, for a long time, Augustus has been my heir. Inverlochy Castle—which I designed myself, because being ridiculously wealthy has its perks—will one day be his.”
Even fifteen years of experience undercover couldn’t keep Cassian from reacting. His jaw dropped and he groped for his son’s knee as an anchor. “Gus?”
Sir Richard frowned. “You didn’t know?”
Mutely, Cassian shook his head, words a struggle. “I dinnae realize…Sir Richard, he is?—”
“Dickie,” the man said sternly. “Everyone else in this damned place calls me Dickie—Uncle Dickie—and you bloody well can as well. Excuse my language, Miss Butcombe.”
“Of course, Uncle Dickie,” said the woman namedbutt-cumquite pertly, her smirk telling the world she was aware of the humor.
But Cassian was still shaking his head. “Sir Ri—Sir Dickie, ye are really certain?—”
“Zilphia and I never had children?—”
“Never wanted any either,” his wife announced primly. “Although we had a lovely time practicing the mechanics. Do you remember, Dickie, that veranda in Cairo during a lightning storm? Or was it Kuala Lumpur?”
Dimly, Cassian wondered how anyone could confuse those two places, but the rest of him was focused on the revelation he’d just heard. He squeezed Gus’s knee and turned to meet his son’s gaze.
“I love Inverlochy,” the lad whispered, desperation in his eyes. “This…this is my home.”
And in that moment, Cassian realized two things:
His son had always known this place would one day be his, and
There was no way Cassian could ever consider removing Gus from Inverlochy Castle, even if it was to find a place for them together.
This meant that Cassian was going to have to work out how to have a future here…or risk being separated from his son.
But how could he imagine having a place here, when he was so completely useless?
Clearing his throat however, he nodded, then turned back to Sir Rich—Uncle Dickieand nodded again. “I—thank ye. Kenning Gus has a place?—”
“He’s not my heir any longer,” the older man announced suddenly. “Ye are.”
It wasn’t until Gus whooped and threw his arm around Cassian that Cassian really understood what the man had said.
Nay, wait, that wasn’t true. Hedidn’tunderstand what the older man had said. He’d heard the words, but their meaning…
“What?” Cassian managed to rasp incredulously.
“We love you too, lad,” announced Zilphia—Aunt Zilphiaprimly. “We wantyouto have a place here at Inverlochy.”
