Page 40 of Surprises on the Scottish Isle

There, he’d admitted it. He had never stopped loving her.

Now all he had to do was hide it from everyone, and especially from Tara herself, who hadn’t forgiven him for the way he had treated her, who was obvious in her dislike of him, and who didn’t want anything to do with him. But, most importantly, he had to hide it from his daughter. He’d promised her he wouldn’t have a girlfriend, and although the promise was easy to keep, Cal didn’t want Bonnie to suspect he had feelings for anyone. It would be too unsettling for her, especially with the forthcoming move.

Cal said very little on the short walk to the castle and Tara seemed equally happy to remain silent. But once inside the impressive grand entrance, he had no choice.

‘Coorie Castle dates from 1278 and possibly even before that,’ he began. ‘The first structure was built on the site of an earlier fortress. It was originally a series of four interconnected towers, encircled by a huge wall.’ As he spoke, he wasn’t concentrating on what he was saying, the words flowing effortlessly as he knew the castle’s history by heart. His attention was on the woman by his side as he guided her through room after room.

After thoroughly exploring the ground floor, he led her up the sweeping staircase. Portraits hung on the walls, the people in them staring down with stern, forbidding expressions.

‘Are all these Mhairi’s ancestors?’ she asked, pausing when she came to a painting of a gentleman with a particularly grim countenance.

‘None of them are. Her grandfather bought the castle lock, stock and barrel in 1893 for a song, when Laird Meighan ran up huge gambling debts and was forced to sell the estate. Tandy Gray didn’t do a lot with it, but his son, Mhairi’s father, turned it around and made it profitable again. He was a wealthy shipping magnate and was able to throw money at it to restore the castle. However, by the time Mhairi inherited it, the money had all but dried up. Faced with handing it over to the National Trust or selling it, Mhairi used the last of the money to turn the sheds and outbuildings into a craft centre. The rest is history.’ He paused by a door. ‘Do you want to see one of the guest bedrooms?’

A hint of pink spread across her cheeks. ‘Yes, please.’

‘This one is unoccupied,’ he said, taking an old-fashioned key out of his pocket. Unlocking the door, he pushed it open.

‘It’s lovely!’ she exclaimed, as she entered the spacious room.

It had high ceilings and panelled walls painted a pale green, with light flooding in from the large window, and a view of the loch beyond. But it was the four-poster bed that caught Tara’s eye, Cal noticed.

‘Wow, fancy spending the night in this!’ she cried, running a hand down one of the green and gold drapes which were tied to each post.

The image that leapt into his mind made his heart skip a beat, but thinking about Tara naked on the bed wasn’t going to do either of them any favours, least of all him.

‘Are all the bedrooms as lovely as this one?’ she asked.

‘Yes, they’re all much of a muchness.’

‘How can you be so blasé? Or are you so used to it, that you don’t see it anymore?’

‘I’m not used to it at all,’ he said. ‘I live in a humble cottage, remember?’

‘Yet you are surrounded by this every day. If I were you, I wouldn’t be able to stop admiring it. The castle is simply gorgeous.’

It was, but it wasn’t as gorgeous as Tara. Her face shone and her eyes were alight with wonder. It was a far cry from the expression she usually wore whenever she saw him now.

She used to look at him with love and, once upon a time, it was the only thing he’d lived for…

Tara had taken several photos as she was being shown around the castle, and in the beginning he assumed she was doing what most visitors did, taking photos as a memento, but gradually it occurred to him that she was storing up material for future – or maybe even current – projects.

She confirmed his suspicion that her mind was on work when she asked, ‘When are you going to get those photos and measurements to me?’ It took him a second or two to realise she was talking about his request that she make a doll’s house for Bonnie.

‘I, um, I haven’t managed to get around to it yet. There’s a bit of a—’ The ping of an incoming message interrupted him mid-sentence and he reached for his phone with relief. ‘Excuse me, I’d better see who it is.’

It was Yvaine, and the message was short and to the point.

FYI the house has gone on the market today. Bonnie knows.

Great, that’s all he needed right now.

How is she?he replied.

Not pleased. She’ll get over it.

Yes, she would, Cal thought, but wouldn’t it be better for their daughter not to have to ‘get over it’ in the first place? Sometimes he didn’t understand Yvaine. He knew she loved their daughter more than anything, but now and again she came across as dismissive of Bonnie’s feelings. Or did she take his concern as being judgemental of her parenting skills? She always had a tendency to go on the defensive.

‘Bad news?’ Tara was studying him.

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