Page 86 of The Moonstone Hero
“With pleasure, Your Grace.” Caden’s reception when in Edinburgh had been welcoming but did not yield any meaningful support. These Scots did not trust his grandfather, but they also viewed him as a Sassenach and were not ready to leap to support his cause. But Ella and Imogen with theirScottish shawls proudly wrapped around their shoulders and their mastery of the Highland fling had changed all that in a morning.
“Och, yer grandfather is glaring at us,” Solway said. “Time to give him a piece of my mind.”
The Duke of Mar nodded to Ella. “I shall join Solway, just to be sure a piece of his mind does not also include a piece of his fist. By the way, Jenny and I will be happy to have ye visit us in Stonehaven, should ye ever be up that way.”
Caden stared at the two Scots as they crossed the room to confront his grandfather. “I ought to join them,” he said, worried that his grandfather might incite even the usually calm and composed Mar to violence because he was such a provoking old goat. “Will you be all right?”
She nodded. “I don’t think anything can ruin my evening now.”
Caden hoped the worst had passed, but he was worried. What his grandfather had been plotting up to now were minor annoyances. With this latest attempt to discredit Caden and insult Ella having failed, Caden was now concerned he would turn to more sinister options. The old man had been thwarted at every turn and had to be enraged.
Caden also knew he had to speak to Ella’s father this very evening and have the wedding moved up. There would be speculation about the necessity of marrying in haste, but any gossip would soon die down once it became clear Ella was not with child and there would be no “early” arrival.
To his relief, the Duke of Mar maintained his composure and held Solway back as his grandfather unloaded a string of invectives, cursing Caden—as usual—and every Scot who dared support his cause. His grandfather was always private with these outbursts, reserving his ire for moments he and Caden were alone. Appearances were always important to the old man.
But something had changed, and Caden was concerned about it.
After the way his grandfather had treated him for much of his life, Caden should not have felt any mercy toward him. He had always been a stern, bitter person. Yet he had always done his duty to Caden, taking him in when he was orphaned, feeding and clothing him, and seeing to his education. Caden had no one else to call family. As much as he disagreed with many things his grandfather stood for, he could not ignore this disturbing change in him, this lack of control when in public.
No, he could not abandon him when something obviously was not right with him.
“Grandfather, let me take you home.”
The duke pushed Caden away. “You? After what you have done to me?”
Caden had always challenged him, bridling when his grandfather attempted to control him. But his causes had never been as serious as the ones he was now championing, which threatened his grandfather’s ownership of those Ashanti gold mines—those gold mines he seemed to cherish more than his own grandson. This was another thing that struck Caden as worrisome, the inability of his grandfather to connect the massacre of the regiment and Caden’s own near-death to the greedy actions on his part.
Caden had attributed that behavior to sheer stubbornness, but what if there was something more going on that affected his grandfather’s mental acuity?
When the duke suddenly curled his hand into a fist and raised his arm to take a swipe at Solway, Caden grabbed him and held him with gentle restraint. “Grandfather, please. Let me take you home.”
“I never want to see you again! Get your hands off me.” The old man’s face distorted with rage.
Caden had never seen him as bad as this. “I won’t. Stop fighting me. I am not going to leave you. I am your grandson. Who else but me should look after you?”
“The very grandson who seeks to destroy me?” The duke struggled against Caden, now trying to punch him, but Caden would not release his arms.
“Losing a gold mine that you never paid for in the first place is hardly going to destroy you or put a dent in your wealth,” he said, speaking calmly in the hope of quieting the obviously agitated old man. “Grandfather, this outburst cannot be good for your heart.”
“There is not a thing wrong with my heart.”
Other than its being icy and devoid of all compassion.
Caden kept the thought to himself.
His grandfather finally calmed down, but not before he shocked everyone by letting loose another string of invectives that had men gasping and women covering their ears.
He then left with his toady, Abbott, which did not give Caden much comfort at all.
“Ye were gentle with him,” Solway remarked as he and Mar stood beside Caden, watching the two storm out.
“He is family. Much as I sometimes detest him, I have to protect him.”
“Is that so?” Solway cast him a wry smile. “Och, ye sure think like a Scot. Are ye sure ye were no’ born one?”
Chapter Seventeen
“No, Ella. Notonly am I forbidding you to marry Lord Mersey, I want this betrothal ended right now!” Ella’s father was agitated and pacing like a caged tiger.
