Page 34 of Heirs and Graces at Highland Hall
‘Oh my goodness, look at you!’ Bex said as she crouched down. ‘You look like a different dog!’
She ruffled the dog’s belly as it rolled onto its back, her tail thumping on the floor as her tongue flopped out of her mouth. Bex’s cheeks ached as a wide grin and with a slight move of her hand up towards Ruby’s neck, she located the dog’s favourite place for a scratch. The tail wagging reached a whole new level. As did Bex’s grin. She knew she’d missed Ruby, of course. She’d often thought of the dog when she woke up at night, her room notably empty, and not just because of Duncan. But she hadn’t realised she’d missed her this much. Happy tears pricked her eyes as she prepared to bury her face in the dog fur when a throat cleared above her.
‘She just wanted to come and tell you she’s feeling better,’ he said.
With one more rub of her fur, Bex rose to her feet and found herself face to face with Duncan.
‘Is that right?’ she asked, still unable to stop her smiling.
‘It really is,’ he replied. ‘We started walking past the castle, and she began barking. So I had a suspicion you were here. You were right. The eggs worked wonders. I mean, I guess it’s not too much effort, just cooking extra for her in the morning.’
‘Look at you,’ Bex said, beaming at the dog. ‘I’m so glad you’re feeling better. I was worried about you.’
She was about to crouch back down when Duncan spoke again.
‘So you’re working here again today?’ he said. ‘You must have a lot to do. I hope it’s going all right. And staying with Lorna is okay, I hope? I hear she had a bit of a late one last night? Hope she didn’t disturb you too much?’ There was something about his tone. The multiple questions. As though he were searching for something to say. A reason to stay there talking to her.
She shrugged. ‘It’s all good, thank you. Busy.’
‘Right. Okay. Well, if you’ve got a lot to do, I should probably leave you to it.’
‘I do have a lot to do,’ she admitted, wishing her responses hadn’t been so blunt. She wanted to talk to him. Though what they had to say, she wasn’t sure. She wasn’t sure if she even needed totalkto him, or just being like this, near him, was enough.
‘What is that animal doing inside?’
Bex snatched her gaze away from Duncan to find Kieron standing there, looking at Ruby with a mixture of disbelief and disgust on his face, though even when his eyes moved to Duncan, his expression remained the same.
‘Sorry, this is my fault. Not Duncan’s,’ Bex said.
‘Really, I find that hard to believe,’ Kieron muttered. ‘She’s not your dog, is she?’
‘No,’ Bex admitted. ‘But we have a special bond, from when I was here before. And she wasn’t feeling very well when I saw her the other day, and I was worried about her. She just wanted to say hello. Show me that she was better.’
‘She started barking when we passed the house,’ Duncan added. ‘An inseparable pair. That’s what they were.’
There was something about the way Duncan’s eyes shifted to Bex that told her he was no longer talking about her and Ruby, and it caused her stomach to tighten.
‘Is that right?’ Kieron asked, raising an eyebrow.
‘Yes, yes. Inseparable,’ Bex replied, not sure if she was talking about Duncan or Ruby, either.
Silence swirled around the three of them, awkward and almost incomprehensible. Bex knew she had to break it, but she wasn’t quite sure what to say. Somehow, though, after clearing her throat and forcing a smile to her lips, she managed to find the words.
‘Well, thank you for bringing her to see me. I really appreciate it,’ she said, looking at Duncan, before twisting around to speak to Kieron. ‘Do you have five minutes? I was hoping I could talk to you about something.’
A slight smile lifted Kieron’s mouth. ‘You should know, I always have time for you, Rebecca,’ he said, gesturing towards the drawing room. ‘Come on in. I’ve just put some logs on the fire.’
Kieron turned and walked a few steps, but hesitated at the doorway and turned back.
‘Unless you need something else, Duncan?’ he asked. ‘I assume the animals can be removed from my home now?’
It was only when Duncan flashed Bex a final smile, then turned and left the castle, that Bex realised Kieron had said animals, not animal. Did he think Duncan had brought another dog into the house? No, she realised with a pang of guilt. That probably hadn’t been it at all.
28
As always, the drawing room was wonderful, warm; the fireplace had probably been lit constantly for the past thirty years – it had certainly never been out whenever Bex had been in here. But despite being its normal temperature, Kieron had made several changes to the space, including moving Fergus’s chair. Bex tried not to dwell on the matter as she followed Kieron inside.
‘Sorry if I was a little rude out there,’ he said, an expression of remorse flicking on his face. ‘It’s just a lot to get to grips with, you know. Boundaries with the staff, that kind of thing. I guess it’s trickier to navigate than I’d expected.’
