Chapter 34
Lorna went to bed a little after Bex had told her about the kiss with Kieron, and it was only when she then looked at her phone that she saw it was after ten.
Ten in the evening, and she hadn’t done a single hour’s work.
Part of her wondered if she should ring Nigel and tell him that she had been sick – it was the closest she was going to come to telling him what had happened – but she was near enough a junior director now.
She could be trusted to take days off only when she needed it.
Besides, it wasn’t like it affected her work in London.
That had already all been delegated. So instead, with Ruby having moved over to the armchair, she closed her eyes, ready to start again in the morning.
Only that didn’t quite go to plan.
‘Bex? Bex, I think you ought to wake up now.’ Lorna’s voice was accompanied by a slight shake on Bex’s shoulder. ‘I know you want to sleep, but I think you really need to eat something.’
Bex blinked a couple of times, only to find that her head was pounding.
The dull throb was affecting every part of her skull from her forehead to the top of her neck.
She lifted her hand, rubbing her temples, though her fingertips had barely made contact with her skin, when Lorna placed a hand on her back, pushing her up into a sitting position.
‘Here, I think you need to drink this,’ she said, handing Bex a large glass. ‘I read online that in cases of near hyperthermia, you can suffer from dehydration. So drink up.’
Dehydration? That would explain the pounding head, Bex thought.
But near hyperthermia? It still terrified her to think how close she had come to tragedy the day before.
But it wasn’t something she wanted to dwell on.
After sitting fully, she took a sip, expecting to taste the crisp cleanness of water, when instead a salty tang caused her to cough and gag.
‘What is that?’ she asked, looking at the glass for the first time properly and noting that the liquid inside had a definite greenish hue.
‘Rehydration salts,’ Lorna answered. ‘It’ll help, I promise. Dehydration, remember.’
With a slight sniff, Bex took another sip. It still didn’t taste any better, but at least she was prepared. She swallowed a couple of mouthfuls, still aware of the pounding in her skull, then reached to put the glass on the coffee table in front of her, only to let out a low groan.
‘Oh my God, everything hurts,’ she said, discovering that the aching throbs weren’t restricted to her head. It was like she was suffering from a killer hangover, without any of the fun from the drinking beforehand.
‘It’s going to take you a while to recover,’ Lorna said, taking the glass from her and placing it down. ‘I did a bit of googling. The headache and muscle aches are normal. As is the excessive sleeping.’
‘Excessive sleeping?’ Bex asked, reaching for her phone, only to stop as her body groaned in protest.
‘Aye, it’s just gone two, and you hadn’t even fluttered your eyelids open.’
‘What? Two o’clock in the afternoon?’ Bex stiffened, preparing to leap from the bed. Only her body seized with pain as she twisted. ‘Oh my God,’ she said, clutching her head.
‘You might want to lie back down.’ Lorna spoke with the authority of someone who had been using the internet and now assumed they were qualified to distribute medical advice.
That was what Bex assumed, at least, until her friend carried on talking.
‘When the doctor saw you he said you’d probably need rest, but that I should try to wake you up and get you to drink something. ’
‘I saw a doctor? When did that happen?’ How out of it had she been? Surely she would have remembered seeing a doctor.
‘Yesterday,’ Lorna explained. ‘When they got you back to the castle. He said to ring him today if you were struggling to think properly, but I figured I had to wake you up to know that.’
Bex certainly felt like she was struggling to think properly.
How the heck could she have slept that long?
It was Friday. She was meant to be at work.
Kieron and Gordon had both said she could take as long as she needed before coming back to the castle, but she’d assumed that would mean having a bit of a lie in. Not missing an entire day.
‘Finish up your electrolytes and you can have another hot chocolate before I make some food,’ Lorna continued. ‘We need to make sure you try to keep your energy up.’
Keeping her energy up sounded like a good idea, as even after nearly sixteen hours’ sleep, Bex was desperate to close her eyes and sleep a little longer.
But there was something in what Lorna had said that made her pause.
After all, near hypothermia or not, there were only so many hot chocolates one person could handle in twenty-four hours.
‘Food sounds like a good idea, but any chance I could just get a cup of tea instead?’ Bex asked. ‘With lots of sugar, obviously.’
As Lorna headed into the kitchen, Bex slowly manoeuvred herself and noticed the reddish-brown mass of fur curled up on the armchair.
‘Oh crap!’ she said.
‘What is it?’ Lorna bolted straight in from the kitchen. ‘Is it your fingers? Is it tingling, or numbness? Can you remember what your date of birth is?’
‘Yes, I mean no, I mean… My fingers are fine and yes, I know when I was born. It’s just Ruby. She’s been here all day. She needs a walk.’
Relief washed across Lorna’s face, and Bex saw with a surge of guilt just how worried her friends had been about her.
‘Oh, God, you had me scared. Don’t worry about Ruby. Duncan came round and took care of her.’
‘He did?’
Lorna nodded. ‘Aye, he came over first thing. And then before midday. I think he was hoping for a chance to apologise, but I wouldn’t let him in. You were fast asleep, and I thought the last thing you needed was him yelling at you again.’
A flash of warmth rippled through Bex. She knew how much Lorna adored her big brother, and how she would do pretty much anything he asked of her. It was a testament to their friendship that she hadn’t let him in.
‘Thank you. I really appreciate it.’
‘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’m doing 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.’