Chapter 18

Ran was broken and haunted when he returned to Gallahide. He avoided Niall for days before he was able to face him again. Which suited Niall, his conscience was whipping at his soul and he couldn’t look at Ran and not feel hurt and jealous. Which in turn made him feel even guiltier because every single bit of heartache and frustration Ran was suffering was his fault. Directly and indirectly. Niall knew Ran didn’t find the answers he was looking for and returned from London bitterly disappointed and disgusted with himself. But it had been days and it was time for Niall to make amends and repair the damage.

“Can I come in?” He asked as he tapped at the door and Ran looked up from his laptop’s screen and smiled.

“Of course. You never have to ask,” he said as he shut it then stood and Niall hugged his proposal against his chest.

“May I?” He said as he pointed at one of the chairs and Ran’s brows jumped.

“Is it something serious?” He was worried as he waited for Niall to sit then lowered into his seat.

“No, it’s just more of a business matter than personal,” he said and Ran relaxed as he sat back.

“I see. About the conservatory?” He asked and Niall nodded as he opened the folder on Ran’s desk and turned it so the sketch was facing him.

“I’d like to be able to grow more delicate varieties of jungle fauna so I can support rarer species of butterflies by increasing the heat and humidity in certain zones. I’ve provided diagrams and estimates of the cost, time and the impact these changes would have to the historical integrity of the conservatory,” he explained as he flipped through the images and Ran nodded along as he followed. He leaned forward when Niall got to the estimates. “This is the actual cost to the estate,” he said as he pointed at the last column and Ran blinked at it.

“You’ve got the entire thing funded?” He said then looked up at him. He was at a loss as Niall bit his lip and winced sheepishly back at him.

“The purple emperor was a very big deal but I need your permission before I can proceed,” he said and Ran shook his head as he turned a page.

“No, you don’t need my permission to make changes. The conservatory’s yours, you know that. I’d rather you used Bram because he’s family and you’ll get a much better estimate but I can’t see anything to object to here. I would have done this for you, you didn’t have to spend all that time applying for grants and putting this together.”

“It’s nice to pretend I’m not completely useless and can support myself,” Niall said as he raised his hands and Ran gave him a hard look as he held up the estimate for the tile restoration.

“This is an incredibly thorough, competent and persuasive proposal. If I didn’t know you or give a damn about butterflies, I’d consider investing. I didn’t get this kind of detail or feel as confident from the studio that requested use of the park or the Trust, when they asked the estate to turn over the battlefield. Becoming a renowned research facility would be a feather in the estate’s cap. That’s a great selling point,” he said and Niall shrugged as he twisted a loose piece of yarn on the cuff of his jumper.

“Most of it’s stuff you’d want to know and I thought it would be nice if you really liked the idea,” he mumbled. He hoped the proposal would be a good ice-breaker, he wasn’t expecting Ran to take it that seriously.

“I didn’t make you my heir just because I love you,” Ran said softly and Niall’s eyes snapped to his. “I left everything I could to you because I knew you’d do what was best for the stud and my estate. You can’t hold onto Gallahide officially but you could stay on as long as you like because I’ve left special instructions with the Trust. The title would be gone but you’d manage the rest well,” he said and Niall gave him a dubious look but Ran waved the folder at him. “You don’t have a strong head for business or numbers but you’ve always known those are your weaknesses. You’ll find the right people and learn whatever’s necessary. You learned enough to know you’d need to hire a professional to restore the tile after you updated the plumbing and added new fixtures to the conservatory,” he pointed out and Niall rubbed his brow so it wasn’t too obvious that he was blushing.

“I’m glad you approve and I don’t want to talk about your will anymore,” he said. Every time they discussed it Niall got more nervous. He deserved none of Ran’s trust and he was fairly sure Isla and Simon knew. They watched Niall like he was the fattest pig in the market and it made him itch. It was just another reason he had to stop Isla and Simon. “I was going to watch that documentary on the monarch butterflies after dinner. Do you want to watch it with me?” Niall asked carefully and Ran smiled. It was the warmest his eyes had looked since he returned and it felt like he was truly home. It just took his heart a few days to catch up.

“I’d love to. I’m sure the Terror Twins will make themselves scarce as soon as they realize something educational is about to happen.”

“Definitely,” Niall agreed then pushed against the chair’s arms and stood. “I’ll let you get back to work,” he said and Ran looked disappointed to see him go. It was a relief after days of watching him look for an exit every time they were in the same room.

“I’ll see you before dinner,” he said as he handed him the folder and Niall enjoyed the flash of anticipation as their eyes touched. Niall offered him a cheerful smile as he took it then tucked the folder under his arm. Niall bowed his head and waved then left Ran to his laptop before either of them had a chance to feel awkward. He hurried up the stairs then paused when he spotted Isla in the garden. Niall went to the window and squinted through a clear piece of glass then muttered several swear words to himself as he turned. He tucked the folder behind a vase and rushed back down the stairs. Isla and Simon had their heads together as they strolled and they looked like they didn’t want anyone to hear them. It took a few minutes and a lot of crouching and diving but Niall found them by the roses, sitting on a bench next to a statue of Demeter and hissing at each other.

“He thinks he can hide from me but I’ll take care of him after I’ve settled things with Ran,” Simon said and Isla snickered.

“You were so sure you could handle him, are you sure you can handle Ran?”

“I’m not afraid of Ran,” he said. “I’m afraid of being poor and going to prison so I have to depend on incompetent people.”

“It’s time to forget the party and move on,” she said and Simon sighed.

“I really wanted it to happen there but fate doesn’t appreciate irony or justice,” he complained.

“We’ll make sure he gets what he deserves,” she promised and Simon purred.

“What about what I deserve?” He asked and Isla gasped dramatically.

“Out here? What if someone sees us?” She protested half-heartedly.

“Come on, darling…” He crooned. “The only people who’d see us are the gardeners and they’d be too shocked and scared to tell anyone who matters. You know how hard that gets me,” he urged and Niall pushed his fingers into his ears and fled. He made it to his conservatory and his heart and his brain raced as he dropped onto a bench and cradled his head in his hands. He didn’t know how he was going to help Ran. It was going to take him days, if not weeks, to overhear enough of Isla and Simon’s plan to figure it out and Ran seemed like he’d finally had enough and wasn’t planning to leave Gallahide any time soon.

“I wouldn’t have to worry like this if he never left,” he grumbled then his eyes grew huge as they slid toward the study. “What if I could keep him from leaving?” He knew of one foolproof way of keeping Ran home and happy but Niall shook his head. As tempting as it was, his conscience would eat him alive. “I’ll find something,” he decided then nodded firmly before he took himself off to get ready for dinner.