Page 14 of Heirs and Graces at Highland Hall
‘Only if I must,’ Kieron said in response to her question. ‘I prefer the real thing. Grouse, partridge. Sometimes the odd pheasant shoot when I’m down south as well.’
‘Oh. Real animals,’ Bex said.
She didn’t know why this comment disappointed her. After all, almost all the gentry did that sort of thing, didn’t they? And it wasn’t like she was a vegetarian. She ate meat. Wasn’t it better to eat animals you shot yourself? She tried to play devil’s advocate, but it was tough. It was just something she could never imagine herself doing, that was all.
‘So, is your plan to move into the castle?’ she asked, steering the conversation in a different direction.
‘Ideally,’ Kieron said, the rounded tone of his vowels incredibly alluring. ‘I mean, it’s a dream, isn’t it? Everyone’s dream. The perfect place to raise a family. Assuming I find myself the right woman, that is.’ He looked at her with a twinkle in his eyes.
Was he flirting with her? Yes, of course he was. The attraction had been there in the airport too, and it hadn’t just disappeared now she knew who he was. But as Bex felt a flutter in her stomach, she was immediately annoyed at herself for it. She was here to work. She was a professional. Not to mention, Kieron deserved more than to be her rebound and at the moment, that was all she could offer any man. Still, it was hard to stop the colour rising to her cheeks and the undeniable fruition of tension building between them. Tension she had no idea how she was going to break. She swallowed, desperatelytrying to think of something to say, when the click of the front door rang out in the hallway.
‘Hello, sorry I’m late. I’m here, I’m here!’
The deep Scottish accent that Bex now recognised as Gordon’s voice bellowed through the house.
‘We’re just in here,’ Bex called as they moved into the hallway.
Gordon was everything she had imagined: old, with grey hair and frameless glasses perched on the end of his nose. He was dressed in a thick tweed suit and holding a large briefcase in his hand.
‘I’m ever so sorry. I should’ve left earlier. Rebecca,’ he said, holding out his hand to shake hers.
‘Bex,’ she said. ‘Please call me Bex.’
‘Aye, right you are then, Bex.’
She liked him. It sounded ridiculous, but there were so many men she met on jobs who looked at her with confusion when they realised there was a woman on the project. The fact that she knew more about what she was doing than 90 if not 100 per cent of the men she worked with didn’t seem relevant to them. Gordon didn’t give that impression at all.
‘Grand to meet you in person,’ he said. ‘Fergus spoke ever so warmly of you. E’er so warming. I’m so sorry for your loss.’
‘And for yours,’ Bex said.
Gordon turned his attention to Kieron, who was standing straight backed beside her. ‘Oh, and you must be Kieron.’
‘Yes,’ Kieron said, flashing a quick smile. ‘The new laird.’
Bex couldn’t be sure, but she felt as though Gordon’s posture stiffened slightly and the smile that had previously been flustered, yet relaxed, tightened.
‘Well, I guess it’s time Bex and I got on with some work,’ Gordon said.
‘Well, I thought I’d stay, if that’s all right,’ Kieron said. ‘Itismy future you’re going to be discussing. Inmycastle.’
There was no denying it this time; Gordon’s smile strained. And Kieron noticed it too.
‘I’m the only heir,’ Kieron said, enunciating his words clearly as he flashed what was clearly one of his most charming smiles. ‘There’s no one else, unless you’re telling me he left it all to some charity,’ he added with a chuckle. ‘And I don’t think Fergus would do that.’
Gordon let out a deep, laboured laugh. ‘No, nothing like charities. But you know how these things work. All cloak and dagger until everything is officially sorted. Don’t worry. I’m sure everything is in order. I’m afraid it’ll just be the two of us at this point.’
‘I see.’ Kieron sniffed. ‘Well, I trust that you know what you’re doing.’
With another tight smile, Gordon turned back to Bex. ‘Right,’ he said. ‘Shall we go into the study?’
Bex glanced at Kieron, feeling guilty that he was being excluded from the conversation. After all, itwashis inheritance they were discussing. But Gordon clearly knew what he was doing, and she didn’t want to complicate the matter further.
‘I’m sure I’ll see you later,’ she said, unsure why she felt the need to say such a thing.
‘I guess we’ll see,’ Kieron replied, then turned and took a seat in Fergus’s armchair, leaving them to head to the study. It was time for Bex to find out why she’d been summoned back to Highland Hall.
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