Page 14 of Hollywood Games
‘It’s recording,’ she said. Brad put it to his mouth and strode back to the cabin, his boots kicking up the snow, with Zoe, Crystal and Greg following behind. As he walked onto the porch, Zoe ran in front of him.
‘You can put your boots here,’ she instructed, taking hers off and opening the door. They stepped inside, Brad wandering around exclaiming and taking photos, Greg taking photos and making notes. Zoe put more wood into the Rayburn and Brad stepped up to it.
‘I have gotta get me one of these for my lakeside place. This is the bomb!’ He looked around as if remembering something. ‘Where’s Basil?’
Zoe brought Basil out of this cage and stroked him as he snuffled around her neck.
Brad snapped away, clearly delighted, then put the camera down. ‘Can I hold him?’
Zoe held Basil out, and like a perfect stage-school child he nuzzled Brad’s neck, sniffing the smell of money and success. It was now or never. Zoe whipped out her phone. She had to have proof this had actually happened. She held it up.
‘Do you mind?’
‘Not at all! I’m his biggest fan!’ Brad moved to the window and gave Zoe the benefit of years of practised posing.
‘You look incredible!’
Brad smiled at her. ‘This little guy is the real megastar.’ He handed Basil back to Zoe. ‘Let’s go to the castle.’
Zoe put Basil back in his cage and they walked out of the cabin together to Zoe’s truck. They got in and she gave them a lift to the main road.
‘If you follow me back into the village, I’ll show you where to park. The earl and dowager countess aren’t there today, but I can still show you around.’
They parkedin the back courtyard of the castle. Zoe unlocked the door and led them along the maze of corridors. Brad was entranced, taking photos of everything and losing his mind as he walked into the great hall.
‘Holy crap, this place is the bomb! Tell me about them, Zoe, tell me their stories!’
Zoe looked up to the portraits on the wall, feeling their gazes boring holes into her. She was going to have to make some crazy shit up, and quickly.
‘Well,’ she began. ‘The castle was founded in 1250 by James MacGinley the first, a local lord who made his money from jousting and sheep rustling. He married Anne, his young cousin, and they went on to have fifteen children, only two of them making it to adulthood. Douglas, his heir, a key ally of William Wallace, was executed in London the day before Wallace, leaving the estate to his son, James MacGinley the second, who invented shortbread as a gift for the French King, who he was trying to recruit for Robert the Bruce in his campaign against the English. James died at the battle of Bannockburn in 1380, and was so mourned by Robert, he betrothed his daughter to marry James’s son William, and proclaimed that shortbread would become the national dish of Scotland.’
Zoe glanced sideways at Brad. He was frantically taking photos and shaking his head in amazement. ‘This is on another level. Tell me more, Zoe!’
She continued her tour through the portraits, making it up as she went along, feeling more and more ridiculous as she did so. ‘This is Mary, who invented the recipe for spiced shortbread. The recipe is so secret it is only passed down to the wife of the current earl on her wedding night, if she is proved to be a virgin. Today, only the earl, the dowager countess, and Morag know it, as Morag once saved the life of Lady Kinloch when she was bitten by an adder on the glen.’
‘Damn! We gotta get this in the movie!’ He turned to Crystal to see her already typing into her phone, then back to Zoe. ‘Can I get some of this spicy shortbread before we leave tomorrow?’
‘Yes of course!’ lied Zoe, cringing inside. What the fuck was she doing? According to her, Kinloch had been the centre of Scottish and English history for the last eight hundred years. The earls were now responsible for shortbread, golf, and the end of the cold war. By the time they got to the end of the hall, where the portraits of Rory’s parents hung, she was exhausted with the creative effort. ‘This is the Dowager Countess of Kinloch and the late earl,’ she finished.
The one on the left was of Rory’s father, painted as if standing out on the glen, dressed in a kilt and tweed jacket. He was resting his hand on the butt of a shotgun, and at his feet lay a dead stag. The painting always made Zoe shudder. It wasn’t so much the stag, but the look on his father’s face. Cold and condescending.
The portrait of Barbara was completely different. She was only nineteen when it was painted. She was wearing a long, pale blue gown that matched her eyes, and was sitting by a window in one of the castle’s drawing rooms. She was jaw-droppingly beautiful.
‘Hot damn.’ Brad whistled. ‘This is the countess?’
‘The dowager countess, Lady Kinloch. She’s the mother of Rory, the current earl.’
‘Are they here? Can we meet them?’ asked Brad eagerly.
‘I’m afraid they’re in Edinburgh for a couple of days on, erm, business.’
Brad nodded and turned his attention to the raised dais under the two portraits, where there were two highly ornate wooden thrones. He gave his camera to Crystal and beckoned Zoe to sit down next to him. ‘Okay, look straight ahead. No expression,’ he instructed, as he held her hand, resting it with his on the arm of his chair. Crystal snapped away, then gave the camera to Brad to inspect her work. Zoe snapped a quick selfie of them both. He stood. ‘Now, just me.’ Crystal took photos and Zoe snapped more with her phone. ‘How are we doing for time?’
Crystal looked at her phone. ‘We’re good. We can leave now for your training session and be back to meet Zoe at seven in the restaurant of The King’s Arms.’
Brad turned to Greg, who was at the other end of the hall with a laser distance measure. ‘Greg, how y’doing?’
‘All good, man. I’ve got enough for now. This is awesome.’
