Page 22 of Surprises on the Scottish Isle

‘You’d better check with your dad. What’s his name?’

‘Cal.’

Ah, yes, the estate’s manager, whom she had yet to meet. She hoped he was as nice as everyone else she’d met so far.

‘What’s that one?’ Bonnie asked, pointing to the house Tara was currently working on. It was the commissioned piece.

‘Sometimes people ask me to make a special doll’s house, one that looks exactly like the house they used to live in as a child, or a house that has very special memories for them.’

Bonnie was listening intently.

‘I’ll either go visit the house and take lots of measurements and photos so I can make sure that the one I make looks exactly like it, or the customer takes their own photos and sends them to me.’

‘Do you makeeverything?’

‘I try to.’

‘What about…?’ Bonnie looked around for inspiration. ‘A mug?’

‘Yes.’ Tara followed her gaze to the mug on the workbench.

‘A hairdryer?’

‘Yes.’

‘A jewellery box?’

Tara smiled. ‘Yes, but let’s not name everything you can think of, eh? Otherwise we’ll be here all day and all night too, and I don’t know about you, but I don’t fancy missing my lunch and my supper.’

‘What’s the time?’

Tara checked. ‘Twelve thirty.’

‘I’m hungry.’ Bonnie skipped to the door. ‘Thank you for telling me about your doll’s houses.’

‘Thank you for asking,’ Tara said with a smile, thinking what an absolutely delightful child she was. Her parents must be so proud. If she was ever lucky enough to have a daughter, she would be honoured to have one as lovely and as inquisitive as her.

Chapter 7

Calan had only taken his eyes off Bonnie for just one second, and she’d disappeared. He was in the office working through the list on his tablet, and his daughter had been sitting on the floor, colouring. She clearly felt better, but he had no intention of sending her back to school, not when she’d been so upset, and he didn’t care what Yvaine said. It was his decision to make because he was the one who’d collected her from school.

He tried to call his ex-wife again, but he got the same message as before. Yvaine was unavailable.

Sooner or later she would see that the school had phoned, as had he, and he knew she would panic and would want to speak to Bonnie herself to make sure their daughter was OK. So he had best go find the child, hadn’t he?

Whenever Bonnie was at the castle, she had free rein to go where she pleased, with two provisos: that she didn’t stray beyond the immediate castle grounds (no going down to the loch, for instance), and she didn’t get in anyone’s way. The crafters and the castle’s staff were wonderfully tolerant of her, with Gillian in the cafe slipping her hot chocolates or milkshakes depending on the weather, and slices of cake or cookies, but he didn’t want her to make a nuisance of herself.

At least by wandering off, Bonnie proved that her illness wasn’t physical, so he had no need to worry that she might be sick or have a temperature. However, her emotional distress was another matter, and he wasn’t sure how to deal with it, especially since he was so upset himself.

Cal was hoping Bonnie had got the wrong end of the stick and Yvaine wasn’t really planning on uprooting their daughter and moving her to Portree, but he guessed the hope was a vain one. He wanted to hear it from the horse’s mouth though, before he said anything further to Bonnie.

He was about to step into the hall when he heard his daughter calling him. ‘Dad! Dad!’ She shot through the door and barrelled into him.

He caught her by the shoulders. ‘What’s the hurry? How many times have I told you not to run or shout indoors? You’ll annoy the guests.’

‘Sorry.’ She lowered her voice. ‘You’ll never guess! There’s a lady making doll’s houses in the craft centre, and she said I could have a go. Can I, Dad? Please?’

‘Hang on, young lady, what did she say, exactly?’

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