Page 6 of Hollywood Games
‘You’re not going to put those on the castle website, are you? Don’t you have enough photos on it of me with my shirt off?’
‘Do you want to save your castle or not? I have to focus on the estate’s best assets. I’ll put them on Instagram first. If there’s enough traction they might make it to the main site.’
‘But I always have a veto, right?’
‘Yes, of course,’ she replied, with wide-eyed innocence. Rory shook his head and went back to clearing the car. They were halfway through when a truck came slowly up the hill from Kinloch and stopped beside them.
Zoe threw her shovel down and ran to the door. ‘Jamie! Happy New Year!’
Jamie got out and ruffled Zoe’s hair as she hugged him. ‘I’m glad you got here in one piece.’ He was her childhood friend and normally full of smiles, but this morning he looked troubled. He walked to the tailgate of the truck and hefted a big bag of grit into his arms, looking at Rory. ‘I came as soon as we saw Gritty Gritty Bang Bang had been through.’
Rory took the bag from him, putting it on the track. ‘Thanks, Jamie, much appreciated.’
‘Gritty Gritty Bang Bang?!’ questioned Zoe.
‘Yes, the gritting lorries in Scotland have names,’ replied Jamie with a smile. ‘You can follow them on an app.’ He turned back to Rory, his forehead creasing. ‘Mate, you need to get back to Kinloch.’
Rory’s heart sank. ‘Why?’
‘The snow’s collapsed part of the castle roof.’
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4
Rory’s boots crunched on the compacted snow as he made his way through the narrow streets to the castle. With every step he felt the increasing weight of his responsibilities.
He was now the Earl of Kinloch. Owner of a title he didn’t want and a castle that was on its knees. Years of mismanagement, dwindling numbers of tourists and a changing world had left the estate broke and in debt. On top of it all, his father’s death had left his mother rudderless. Barbara was barely out of her teens when she married the much older earl. Rory was born nine months later. His father had been a bully who packed him off to boarding school in England when he was only seven. His mum was never going to put the needs of her son before her husband, so when Rory left school, he joined the army and didn’t look back. Two years ago, his father died unexpectedly of a heart attack and Rory left to finally come home.
His workshop was in the old stables, tucked in the rear courtyard of the castle. The long, low building was squat and uninviting, but it had become a haven. An old German Shepherd dog was lying in a bed. It pricked its ears when Rory entered.
‘Hey, Bandit.’ Rory crouched down. ‘I’m sorry I couldn’t bring you with me last night, but you wouldn’t have liked being on my back for hours in a blizzard.’
Bandit rubbed his head into Rory’s hands, tail thumping.
‘At least Mum’s got the time to look after you.’ His mother had never had a job, a passion, a life outside her role as countess and wife. After the death of her husband, her answer was to turn her attention to her son, pushing him into an engagement with Lucy, the daughter of her best friend. Lucy was part of the Colquhoun clan, who owned a multi-million-pound asset management company and they were going to invest in the estate. It should have been a perfect match and would have saved the castle.
But Rory was too scruffy and feral for Lucy, and she’d left.
‘As soon as I’ve dealt with this, I’ll take you back in the truck. Zoe’s missed you.’
Bandit barked at the sound of Zoe’s name.
‘You love her too, don’t you?’
He barked in agreement and Rory’s heart lifted.
‘Everything will be all right, won’t it, boy?’
Rory had cut all remaining ties with Lucy’s family’s company. This scuppered their plans for the estate, and in response they started legal action. Barbara was furious, blaming their years of misfortune on Zoe. After arriving in Kinloch, Zoe had built a new website and social media accounts for the castle, trying to help him save it by increasing tourist numbers. But it was likely too little, too late. And now, with god knows what damaged, it was like striking a match in a snowstorm.
‘But as long as we have Zoe, we don’t need anything else,’ said Rory. Bandit nuzzled into him. ‘I’ll check on your food and water and be back as soon as I can, okay?’
Rory strode through the castle to the attic in the east wing. The roof was the weakest here and was already leaking badly. He’d tried to patch it up the best he could, but the whole thing needed replacing. He met his mother coming down the wooden stairs at the end of the servants’ corridor. She had a silk Hermes scarf tied over her short blonde hair and had dressed down, which meant she was wearing slim navy cigarette pants and an old cream cashmere jumper. Next to her, Rory always felt like an oversized hobo. She stopped on the fourth step from the bottom so they were the same height, and carefully removed a pair of rubber gloves as if they were evening ones. Her bright blue eyes were hard. ‘The prodigal son. So nice of you to return.’
‘How bad is it?’
Barbara stepped to the side. ‘See for yourself.’
