Fooled & Enlightened: The Englishman's Scottish Wife by Bree Wolf

Author:Bree Wolf
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 2020-05-18T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Two

A STRANGER

Collin Brewer, aged nine, thought of himself as a fairly decent big brother. After all, he’d spent the morning playing dolls with his little sister Claire, who at five years of age had become quite bossy in Collin’s humble opinion. At the same time, he’d done his best to also entertain the two-year-old twins Collette and Clifford as well as his little cousin Odelia with funny faces and the occasional piggy back ride. He’d been patient and kind and watchful, everything a big brother ought to be according to his parents.

Still, now as noon drew near, Collin had enough. There was only so much child’s play a young man could endure. And so Collin bid his little siblings and cousin farewell, waved to his parents and then hurried down the stairs in search of his Uncle Derek.

While his parents too often than not still looked at him as a child, his Uncle Derek had taken to treating his nephew in a more appropriate manner−in Collin’s humble opinion. Never was he too busy to speak to Collin about his time as a soldier in the war and, while Collin was fairly certain that his uncle chose his words wisely, he appreciated the honesty that always rang in every telling of honour and camaraderie, battle practises and death.

Crossing the foyer, Collin looked around as the echo of muffled voices drifted to his ears. They were coming from the direction of the drawing room and, as Collin drew near, he noticed that the door had not fallen shut.

Quietly, he inched closer.

Aunt Maddie’s voice reached his ears in that moment and Collin froze in his tracks. “This is not about us, Derek.” The tone in her voice changed, grew harder. “Is it? You’ve come for your son, haven’t you?”

Although Collin knew it was wrong to listen outside closed doors−truth be told, this door wasn’t completely closed, now was it?−he could not resist the temptation of inching closer still. Adults spoke differently when children were nowhere around, and he couldn’t help but be curious.

“Get out!” Uncle Derek growled in that moment, and Collin flinched at the threatening tone in his voice. Never in his life had he heard his kind and patient uncle speak to another in such a manner. “Or I will end you here and now.”

Collin’s breath lodged in his throat for he could tell that his uncle meant every word. This was a side of him Collin had only ever imagined when he’d thought of him in the war, facing the enemy.

“I assure you I only came to apologise,” an unknown man replied. His voice sounded unfamiliar to Collin, and he wished he could have spied him through the thin gap between door and frame. Unfortunately, luck would not have it so. “I do not expect your forgiveness and neither do I intend to lay any claim to…to your nephew.” Collin’s breath lodged in his throat. “I only mean to express my gratitude to you for doing right by him when I didn’t.

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