“It’s no’ her fault.” Seamus Ferguson frowned. “And, well, things havena actually taken place the way they were foreseen, lad.”
“Beg your pardon?” Hadn’t Ferguson just said he’d read everything in the old ledgers?
“It was foretold many, many years ago that this generation of witches would marry men not of their own kind, but Fiona Macleod wasna happy about the prophecy and did everythin’ she could ta keep it from happenin’.”
Which was something Eynsford had alluded to. “Is that possible?” Cait always made it seem that the future was etched in stone.
“Oh, aye. The future will eventually right itself, or so it seems, if the wrong path is taken. For example, Elspeth should have been raised with both her parents, followin’ the drum and Major Forster across the continent from one campaign ta the next. She should have met Benjamin through their fathers years ago. But Fiona made certain Forster was disposed of. She couldna have seen what would eventually bring Westfield ta Elspeth’s door because she changed the immediate future, just no’ the eventual outcome.”
“And me?” Alec muttered, not sure what to make of Ferguson’s tale.
“Well, I’m no’ certain how ye were supposed ta become a vampyre, originally that is. Most of the writin’ is about the witches, of course. Poor Kettering should have never been locked in that castle. But Fiona thought it would keep him away from Blaire’s destiny. And ye got messed up in all of that. But, like I say, the future has a way of rightin’ itself. And yer future has always been with my Sorcha. Vampyre and all.”Alec scrubbed a hand across his face. He still couldn’t quite believe that he was supposed to be a vampyre. This life had been his destiny. And, apparently, Sorcha’s. “And you’re all right with that. You’re all right with handing your daughter over to a man like me?”
Finally, Seamus Ferguson flashed him a toothy grin.
“Well, of course. Like I said, I’ve kent ye since ye were a wee one, MacQuarrie. I ken the sort of man ye are. And if I was ta try and let old prejudices keep ye from Sorcha, I’d be no better than Fiona, now would I? My Bonnie wouldna be very happy about that, I can assure ye.”
“So if Mrs. Macleod was still alive, you’re saying she’d try to keep me from Sorcha?” After what she’d done to Elspeth and Kettering, Alec didn’t even want to think about what the crafty witch would have come up with for him. The idea almost made him shiver.
Seamus tapped the old books with his fingers. “The Còig is an ancient entity. It served its purpose in past centuries, but the times are changin’. The world is changin’. Ye ken those locomotives they’ve been fiddlin’ with the last few years? Trevithick and the like?”
Alec nodded absently. He knew a little about the contraptions. Their usage seemed a little far-fetched, but his interest had always been more history related. Though he figured he’d see plenty of history happen in his neverending lifetime.
“Soon there’ll be a public railway takin’ people from one end of Britain ta the other.” Seamus touched his nose. “A smart man would invest in such ventures. It’s no coincidence the family of the seers has always done relatively well financially speakin’, if ye ken what I mean.”
Seamus Ferguson always did have his mind on business matters, yet Alec wasn’t certain how they’d ended up talking about locomotives and investments. “I suppose so.”
Sorcha’s father nodded as though he’d made a valid point. “Well, poor Fiona couldna see that. Human advancements were one thing, but changes within the coven were somethin’ else. She couldna let go of the past traditions long enough ta embrace the future. She wanted ta ensure that the strength and purity of the coven would always remain intact.”
Meaning that marriage to Lycans and vampyres would destroy the fabric of the coven. Ferguson didn’t have to say the words aloud; Alec could see the truth of that in the old man’s eyes. “Does Sorcha know all of this?” She certainly hadn’t let on if she had.
Her father shook his head. “Bonnie wanted ta make certain this generation of witches would meet their destinies without interference from any other seers. Luckily, Caitrin is a bit more forward thinkin’ than her mother. But Bonnie couldna ensure that was the case. So she took these books from Fiona and hid them