38. Chapter 38 - Magnus

As Sophie sat down, Lady Mairead asked, "When was he born?"

Sophie said, "He is three days auld."

Lady Mairead put her hand out and stroked his head, "He is a verra fine boy — his name is James Cook the second, but ye will call him Junior?"

Sophie said, "Aye, Lady Mairead."

"Good, he looks as if he will be verra strong." She plucked a hair from his head.

The bairn screwed his face up as if tae cry.

"Mother!"

Lady Mairead raised her chin and took the most expensive chair, the one that was covered in silk and near a thousand years auld. "I needed this for the genetic test. We must hae a record of all in the family."

James was furious, "Damn, you just yank hair right off a newborn's head?"

She said, "A little discomfort is necessary sometimes, even bairns must know."

Sophie soothed the baby. James shook his head, "Jesus, I forgot how absolutely insane it was to spend time with you, Lady Mairead."

She said, "Ye and I hae had tae come tae many agreements through the years, Master Cook, and this is one of them, as long as Junior is a part of the family, he is also my concern. I will take a hair if I need one."

I said, "Perhaps, and I am sayin' it with all due respect, if ye become inclined tae cause sharp pain and distress tae a bairn ye ought tae ask the mother first, so she might be ready tae sooth him after. Or ye might use scissors."

She rolled her eyes as she called for a servant tae take the hair tae be tested. We all settled on settees and chairs, the kids tucked into arms held on laps as they recovered from the ordeal.

Lady Mairead, tae make nice said, "Kaitlyn, remind me, I will give ye another thread so Prince Archibald winna hae tae go without."

"Thank you, Lady Mairead, that would be appreciated."

Colonel Quentin and Lochinvar rushed in and Lochinvar said, "What happened tae Ash?"

Fraoch said, "She called Kaitlyn and said she was being followed, she was frightened, then she screamed and?—"

Lochinvar said, "Och nae!"

Kaitlyn said, "It was very hard to hear her, she didn't have me on speaker phone, so I don't really know what happened. Fraoch and I went to her house to check on?—"

Lochinvar said, "What did ye find, is she alright?"

Fraoch looked uncomfortable, he shook his head.

Kaitlyn said, "Ash is missing, Lochie, I'm so sorry. She was pulled from her car. It looks like there was a struggle. And it was wet from a storm. The bartender from the Palace, Don, drove up to check on her, he was worried because a man had come by earlier, looking for her. He said the man mentioned you and Magnus. I don't know who it was, but it was definitely a time traveler who took her."

"Why would someone take her? What is happening? Och nae, tis just like Magnus's aunt, ye ken, Lady Mairead? Tis like the story ye told."

Lady Mairead shook her head, "Och nae, this is dire."

Colonel Quentin said, "I really really don't understand how we're just now hearing this. We have all this tech. We're in the future, how did we not know?"

I said, "Tis difficult tae see a disappearance, there was nae police report, our program dinna pick up on it."

I asked the room tae turn on the projection and tae put it on information about Ashley McNeil. It was the same photos and information from the night before.

Lochinvar walked up to the projection and stood looking at her face. "There's nae mention of her disappearance? What good is this?"

I said, "Lady Mairead, can ye remove the guardrail on the information?"

She sighed, and asked the room, "Please turn off the guardrail I placed upon the records of the person, Ashley McNeill."

The voice in the room asked for Lady Mairead's security word.

She glanced around then said, "Fionn." She said tae me, "Daena remember it, Magnus, I will change it by the end of the day."

I nodded, "Ye say that every time, yet ye never do."

She raised her chin.

I said, "Daena worry on it, I winna remember it."

"Good."

The projection came up with no results for Ashley McNeil after the date she went missing.

Colonel Quentin stood near the results asking for addresses, phone numbers, and the names of Ash's family members. I said, "What are ye checkin' now?"

He said, "I'm seeing her military records and health reports, even pulled up her school grades."

Kaitlyn stood beside him, asking the computer to show Ash's Facebook, Instagram, and X accounts. She scrolled through her Instagram profile, then said, "They all stop the night she was taken."

Quentin said, "Yep, she disappeared."

Lochinvar looked from Kaitlyn tae Quentin and back at the projection. Shaking his head, "She canna be gone! Did she die?"

I said, "I regret the guardrail now, if we had seen this last night we would already be searchin' for her… Lochinvar, this is where the trouble comes in, ye canna speculate — there are nae records, but we daena ken why — this daena mean she is lost for good."

He looked like he was in shock. "Ye think we will find her?"

I said, "Aye. I feel certain her disappearance is connected tae Asgall Holdings and King Asgall?—"

Kaitlyn asked, "King Asgall?"

"Aye, we hae a new enemy, he owns a company in the twentieth century, he is a landowner all around the world, and he is a king of Scotland in the thirteenth century."

Her face went pale. "A king, like you were a king?"

"Aye, tis uncomfortably similar tae my own history, tis either mimicry or subterfuge, either way he is causin' a great deal of trouble." He glanced at Lochinvar, who looked agitated. "But we will find her."

"Like Donnan's father found his sister? He didn't, she was never found again! Lady Mairead said it, I heard it right here!"

I said, "Well, it wasn't our family lookin' for her. I will not rest. Are ye goin' tae rest?"

"Nae."

"Good." I asked the computer projection, "Shew me Asgall Holdings and any connection tae Ashley McNeil, or her nickname Ash."

The voice in the room responded, "There is no direct connection. The indirect connections are the Ash tree, represented as the Tree of Life on the brand logo of Asgall Holdings, one of the world's oldest and most esteemed companies."

There was a projection of a Celtic knot with a tree trunk in the middle, roots below, limbs above, knotted taegether.

The room's voice continued, "According to a New York Times article from November 7, 1912, entitled The Reclusive Land Baron and the Ash Tree, the branding of Asgall Holdings was designed to honor the wife of the Scottish King, Asgall I, who sat on the throne in the late thirteenth century.

Lochinvar had gone pale, he blinked. "I told her she was named after Yggdrasil, the Tree of Life, och nae, tis her."

I asked, "We daena ken this yet, Lochinvar, we must continue tae look, there are inconsistencies and?—"

"Tis clear as day. Her name is Ash, like the tree, the tree in the Tree of Life. I told her she was the tree of life and she is calling herself —" His eyes went wide. "Dost ye think she is sending a message? She is telling us that she is there!"

I chewed my lip. "It might be, aye, I suppose..."

I asked the room, "Are there any marriage records for Asgall I or the founder of Asgall Holdings?"

The computer responded, "There are no known marriage records for Asgall I beyond a name, Ash, unknown surname. The records also show that the founder of Asgall Holdings had a wife and son."

I said, "Names?"

The projection changed to a photograph of a woman with a young boy on her lap, in the back of a limo. She had her arm up blocking her face. "Is this the only photo?"

The voice said: Yes.

Then there appeared an obituary: Ash (no known last name), deceased at age twenty-five. Wife of reclusive land baron Asgall, CEO of Asgall Holdings. She leaves behind an infant son, Dominion Mac Asgall.

Lochinvar said, "Is that Ash — we found her? Och nae, she's dead? I am too late?"

I said, "This is… this simply shows what might happen. This was announced in the twentieth century, but…" I asked the computer tae shew me her burial place and found nae results. "This is all inconclusive."

The kids ran around the room. The staff brought us drinks and snacks, those that had traveled were lying back on the cushions, recuperating. Lochinvar was up, pacing the room, filled with angst, while Quentin and I stood shoulder tae shoulder and I called out requests tae the computer.

Lochinvar asked, "How could she marry him?"

Kaitlyn said, "Are we even certain it's her? This is likely a coincidence. The female name Ash must be fairly common."

I had m'arms crossed on my chest and my mind spinning. I asked the room, "Shew me a photo of Dominion, son of Asgall," and, "Show me the birth certificate of Dominion…" and then back tae the photo of the woman in the back of the limo. "Can ye tell if this is her?"

Lochinvar shook his head.

I asked for more and more leads, but everything seemed a dead end.

Lady Mairead asked the computer, "Can ye compare everything ye ken about Ash McNeil, born in 2000 and Ash married tae Asgall of Asgall Holdings in the twentieth century, and give me a percentage of probability that they are the same person."

The voice in the room answered, "The probability is a 50.24% match."

She brushed her hands. "Tis the same person then. We hae solved it."

Kaitlyn said, "But it's very close to fifty-fifty."

"Aye, but think on it, without birth certificates, marriage licenses, burial grounds or photographs, and without the two people being alive in the same century, our computer believes it is more likely than not. This is good enough."

Emma said, "I guess so…"

"Tis clear!"

Kaitlyn said, "So we think Asgall definitely took Ash?"

I nodded.

Our eyes drew tae Lochinvar, standing, starin' at the projection, his face with an expression of deep sadness. "She is gone, nae more? I left her and allowed her tae be kidnapped and murdered? Or tae marry and hae a bairn with someone else and live and die without me?What am I tae do?"

Junior began tae cry.

Kids squabbled over the billiards game.

The room had taken on a chaotic energy and Lochinvar was feelin' despair.

I said, "We will get her back." I ran my hand over my face. "I promise ye, Lochinvar, we will. We need tae arm ourselves, we will go as soon as we gather our?—"

Fraoch clapped his hand on Lochinvar's back. "Come with me tae the church, Og Lochie, we need tae clear yer mind before battle."

Lochinvar nodded.

I said, "Dost ye need me tae come?"

Fraoch shook his head. "Nae, rest for a bit, Og Maggy, I need tae speak with him alone."

As they walked from the room, I said, tae the rest of the group, my voice raised over the wailin' bairn, "I daena think there is anything else we can discern here, we must decide where we will look first — we need tae think, and we need tae collect ourselves. We will hae rooms assigned for everyone. I am certain ye are all hungry, we will gather in the dining room at five o'clock for dinner."