Chapter 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 in Bex’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 more work. 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 biggest speakers 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.
With the noise level almost unbearable, she and Gordon moved to the library, where she discovered drawers beneath the lower levels of the bookcases containing legal documents and one or two ledgers that should have been included in her initial accounting.
Thankfully, it wasn’t too difficult to work them into her updated reports.
‘Do we have a plan for if we don’t find this “rightful heir”?
’ she asked as she moved to slip the ledgers into her bag, finding them surprisingly heavy.
She wanted it to be because of the size, but she was well aware that her recovery hadn’t been quite so complete as she’d made out to Lorna or Gordon.
Gordon pursed his lips as he took off his glasses.
‘Well, if the heir cannae be found, it’ll fall tae Kieron.
At least until someone comes forward to contest it.
But that’ll get even messier then. And I know we’ll have to broach the subject with him at some point.
He’s no’ gonna stop asking me about the will, and there are only so many times I can tell him it’s just taking time. ’
‘Surely he knows that estates this size come with a lot of red tape.’
‘Och, he knows. But he also knows we’re keeping things from him. Smart lad, that one. Seems tae think a lot of you too, if the other day is anything to go on. Same as Duncan. ’Nother good lad he is too.’
His gaze narrowed on Bex, but as much as she liked Gordon, this was not something she wanted to discuss with him.
‘Are you coming to Burns Night?’ she said, less than subtly trying to shift the conversation away from the men in her life. Though her plan was foiled by a rap on the door, which then immediately opened. Kieron stood in the doorway, looking directly at Bex.
‘Speak o’ the devil,’ Gordon muttered, though Kieron didn’t seem to hear.
‘Rebecca, I thought I heard your voice,’ he said, striding over to her.
‘I didn’t expect to see you in. How are you doing?
Are you sure you don’t need to rest some more?
I’m sure Gordon could manage without you for a little while.
’ A thin line furrowed between his brows; a look of genuine concern on his face.
‘I’m fine, honestly,’ Bex said, ignoring how difficult she had found it to lift the ledgers only a moment before. ‘I think it’s better to keep me busy, you know. I’m the kind of person who needs to keep moving.’
‘You are remarkable,’ he said, shaking his head, as if he was in absolute awe of her.
‘I don’t feel remarkable right now,’ Bex replied. ‘My chest feels like I’ve swallowed a porcupine. Not to mention the embarrassment. I’m pretty sure the entire village knows what happened.’
‘Oh, I’m sure they do.’ He smirked. ‘Village life. Hence you and I are the eternal city dwellers at heart.’
His eyes locked on her, though she could have sworn they shifted down to her lips, for only a heartbeat.
As if recalling their kiss – and perhaps hoping to recreate the moment again.
Was that something Bex wanted to do? She really wasn’t sure at all, but when Gordon cleared his throat behind her, she realised that even if she had wanted to, it was definitely not the right time to do so.
‘I should leave you to get to work,’ Kieron said, his smirk rising to something more coy as he remained looking at her. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow night, though. For the party.’
‘You will,’ Bex said. ‘I’m looking forward to it.’
‘You and me both,’ he said, before offering one more smile, then turned and strode out of the room.
As Kieron closed the door behind him, Bex turned back to find Gordon, wearing a smirk on his face, though this one was very different to Kieron’s.
‘Told you he’s soft on you,’ he said, quirking an eyebrow.
‘Oh, do be quiet,’ Bex snapped, picking up the nearest notebook to her and opening it on a random page. ‘We’ve got work to do.’