Page 44 of Heirs and Graces at Highland Hall
‘No problem.’ Lorna smiled, as if she knew what Bex was thinking. ‘I’ll fetch that tea.’
When Lorna returned, Bex took the drink. There was a definite throbbing behind her temples, and her fingers felt as though they were burning. How was it possible for them to feel so hot after being frozen stiff?
‘So, only four days left till Burns Night. Are you ready?’
‘By “ready”, do you mean ready to decide if I want to accept Kieron’s date? Then absolutely not. I’ve no idea what I’mdoing with him, and I’m trying not to think about it,’ Bex said truthfully. ‘But if you mean ready to experience this big night that you Scots make the most of? Then possibly. Assuming I can get out of bed, that is.’
‘You better.’ Lorna grinned. ‘I’ll carry you there myself. Look, I’ve got to go. I’ve got a shift at the pub, but you take today and rest. Gordon’s not expecting you. You could even take the week off if you wanted.’
‘I’m not going to do that,’ Bex said.
‘I know, but I thought I’d give you the option. It might help keep you here a bit longer, after all.’ As Lorna stood there, a sad smile flittered across her face. Was it because the memory of nearly losing Bex was still incredibly raw or because she knew that when this job was over, Bex would be going back to London? And as much as she wanted to say she’d come back and visit, they both knew it wouldn’t happen. Not for a long time anyway. Not when things with Duncan were still so raw.
She opened her mouth to tell Lorna that, no matter what, it wasn’t going to affect their friendship and if she had to fly up to Edinburgh or meet elsewhere for girly weekends to keep the friendship going, then that was what she’d do. But before she got a chance to get a word out, a shrill beeping cut through the cottage, searing through Bex’s skull and sending Ruby leaping from the armchair.
‘Shit!’ Lorna yelled as the smell of smoke wafted in from the kitchen. ‘That was your food.’
35
Bex couldn’t help but wonder if Duncan would pop round in the afternoon as well, given that he’d already dropped in twice to try to speak to her, but as the evening rolled around and Lorna left her to work at the pub, she found herself on her own. Other than with Ruby.
‘We’re going to have to work out this whole London thing,’ she said as she looked at the dog. ‘I mean, technically I’m not supposed to have dogs in my apartment, but there are plenty of people who do. It’s you I’m worried about, though. There aren’t the open fields you’ve got here. And I’ll have to work during the day. I’m not sure I’ll be allowed to take you into the office. Not that you’d want to be in there, really. It’s not nearly as comfy as the study.’
Although there would be room for a dog bed in her corner office, she considered, the thought didn’t cause quite as much excitement as it had when she’d first learned about it. Maybe it was because of Ruby. She wanted to take the dog with her. One hundred per cent. But would it be fair, when she had a perfect life up here, with people who loved her just as much? The situation held far too many parallels to the other Scottish love inBex’s life, and she decided it wasn’t worth thinking about at the moment, anyway. She didn’t need to decide what to do until she left, and that wouldn’t be for a few days yet.
Never could Bex remember a weekend when she had slept as much. She woke up near midday on both Saturday and Sunday, by which time Duncan had already taken Ruby for a long walk, then remained on the sofa watching films, either with Lorna, or on her own when Lorna was picking up shifts at the pub and café. When Daisy and Claire rang for a chat on Sunday morning, Bex tried to act normal and pretend like everything was fine, but the minute they saw her on the screen, they knew something had happened.
‘I just spent too long out in the cold,’ she said as casually as possible. ‘I forgot what the winters are like up here. But don’t worry, I’m being well taken care of.’
‘By Duncan?’ Daisy said with more than a little hint of hope in her voice.
‘No,’ Bex replied firmly. ‘By Lorna. But Duncan has taken Ruby for walks for me.’
‘You’ve got Ruby?’ Claire said. ‘How come? I thought you said she was living with Duncan now?’
Bex cursed herself for such a stupid slip up.
‘She just made it clear that she wants to spend a bit more time with me,’ Bex said, praying they bought it.
Thankfully, the conversation swiftly moved on to Claire’s daughter Amelia, who was going through her first teenage heartbreak, and Bex listened in, offering only the occasional contribution. After all, it wasn’t like she could give anyone advice on how to move on after love. Real love, anyway. Not the infatuation-based feelings that her previous relationships had tried to mask as the real deal.
That night, she took a long hot bath, then set several alarms for the morning, determined she wasn’t going to miss any morework. Although while she got out of bed without any issue, convincing Lorna she was okay to go to work was another matter.
‘No one’s going to think anything of you if you spend another day in bed.’ Her friend’s arms were folded firmly across her chest as she spoke. ‘Whatever this cloak and dagger thing you and Gordon are doing, you can have a couple of days off. I mean, if you tell me what it is you’re trying to do, maybe I could help?’ Her eyebrow raised playfully.
‘Nice try,’ Bex said. ‘And it’s not cloak and dagger. It’s just legal things, that’s all.’ Lorna didn’t look convinced, but Bex continued anyway. ‘Honestly, I’ll be fine. I need to get out.’
Lorna huffed. ‘Fine. I’ll give you a lift in, but I’m going to speak to Gordon myself and tell him that if you look even a wee peely-wally he’s to bring you home.’
‘Peely-wally’ wasn’t a term Bex had ever heard her friend use before, but she stored it away for future reference. Another part of the condition was that Bex was not to take Ruby for a walk, either. Instead, Lorna dropped the dog off at Duncan’s and told her he was going to bring her back to her cottage in the evening. Bex tried her hardest to hide her annoyance at her ex. He had gone from trying to speak to her to no longer being able to speak to her. Talk about mixed signals.
As much as she hoped Gordon had miraculously found the missing piece of their jigsaw on the Friday, Bex thoroughly doubted he had and was still certain that talking to Moira was their best bet. She intended to say as much to him. Only first she had to get to him. And Lorna wasn’t the only problem. The situation at the castle wasn’t quite as she’d expected.
‘Is this all for Burns Night?’ she asked herself when she’d squeezed her way through countless people outside and in the hallway. There were caterers with large serving carts and metal trays, and a group of four people carrying two of the biggestspeakers she had ever seen. Even when she found Gordon in the study, it was near impossible to hold an actual conversation, what with people setting up coat racks and a bar directly next door. It didn’t help that no one really knew where they were supposed to be going, and every two minutes the door opened with another person asking how they got to the dining hall, or the ballroom or the kitchen.
As much as she wished it wasn’t the case, every time the door cracked open, a surge of adrenaline hit as she both feared and hoped that perhaps it was Kieron or Duncan wanting to talk. Yet there had been no sign of Duncan and the only time she’d seen Kieron he had been so absorbed in what he was doing, he hadn’t even noticed her.
Half of her was expecting Duncan to come in grovelling with apologies, but there had been no sign of him.
