A Scottish Christmas

Chapter 7

Rose spent the next couple of days decorating the ground floor of the house — with Isla’s help whenever she was available — and organising the two Christmas events. The first, the employees’ event, was scheduled for the following Friday. The caterers were confirmed, thanks to Mairi who had been able to call in a favour. It seemed luck was on Rose’s side.

Unfortunately, she hadn’t had any such joy with finding a DJ for that event, but she’d put together a playlist and hired a karaoke machine which she hoped would be fun and that everyone would enjoy. She wasn’t sure quite how Alastair would react to that particular news though so was waiting for the right moment to tell him. She suspected that moment might not come before the party itself.

The Friday before the first event, Rose finished work for the day and was sketching in her room — something she now did whenever she had some down time. Her phone dinged with a message from Alastair: Could you check on dinner? I’ll be down as soon as I can. I’m just trying to finish something.

No problem , Rose messaged back. In the kitchen, a delicious-smelling lasagne was in the oven. It looked done so she turned the oven off and took the salad Mrs Reed had made out of the fridge.

With Isla’s help, she laid the table and mixed up a salad dressing before Alastair made an appearance.

“Thanks for this,” he said, distractedly pouring himself a glass of water. He seemed preoccupied as he bent down to scratch a dog behind the ears.

“Is everything all right?” Rose asked, lifting the lasagne out of the oven and popping it on the table mat.

Noticing the food, Alastair took the oven gloves from Rose. “Sorry, you shouldn’t be doing that. You sit down, let me serve up.”

Rose took a seat and accepted the plate of food Alastair handed her before he served his daughter.

“So, it looks like I need to travel down to London tomorrow,” he explained as he dished up a portion for himself. “There’s a business thing I have to attend, but Mrs Reed has her sons visiting so I don’t have anyone to watch Isla.” He turned to his daughter and said, “How do you fancy a trip to London this weekend?”

“I’ve got a hockey match tomorrow afternoon, and Lucy’s birthday cinema trip on Sunday, remember?” Isla’s eyes were filled with panic. “I don’t want to sit on a train for hours and then wait around while you’re in your meeting.”

“I’m sorry, sweetheart, but I really do have to go to London early tomorrow morning. We could go to Wagamama in the evening and—”

“Or Rose could look after me,” interrupted Isla, giving Rose a hopeful smile.

“Isla, Rose has got her own things to do . . .”

“Of course I will,” Rose said quickly, seeing Isla’s smile beginning to fade. “I was just going to suggest it.”

“I can’t ask you to do that,” Alastair declared.

“You don’t have to. I’m offering.”

Alastair opened his mouth to protest again, but Rose cut him off. “Honestly, it’s fine. I don’t have any plans for the weekend. I’d love to hang out with Isla. If you leave me the car, I’ll take her to hockey and the cinema . . .”

“And to Claire’s Accessories after my match tomorrow so I can get Lucy a present . . .”

“Isla . . .” warned Alastair.

Rose laughed. “Of course we can.”

“Rose, this is very kind of you but we couldn’t possibly take advantage of you like that.”

“You wouldn’t be taking advantage. We’ll have a great time.”

“Can I at least offer to pay you for your time?” Alastair said.

“Thank you for the offer, but no.” As handy as the money would be, she didn’t like the idea of Isla feeling that Rose needed to be paid to spend time with her. And she genuinely would enjoy being with her. What else would she do with herself in this huge house if both Alastair and Isla went to London? Drawing, of course, but she’d still be able to do that and look after Isla.

“This is going to be the best weekend ever!” cried Isla.

“So you’re not going to miss me at all?” Alastair shook his head but was laughing all the same.

“Not really, Dad. It’s only one night, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” reassured Alastair. “I’ll be home for dinner on Sunday.”

“Great,” confirmed Isla.

They finished eating and Isla left to shower and to do some homework.

“I can clean up, you go and relax,” Alastair said to Rose as he got up from the table.

“I’m happy to help. You look tired,” said Rose. He really did. His hair was more messed up than usual and he had bags under his eyes.

Alastair smiled. “Yeah, things have been a bit busy,” he admitted. “I was looking forward to hanging out with Isla this weekend but then this turned up . . .”

“We’ll have a brilliant time and she’ll get to go to everything she’s been looking forward to.”

“I’d better go and book my train tickets and a cab to pick me up in the morning as Mairi’s clocked off for the day.” Alastair stifled a yawn.

“Depending on the train time on Sunday, I could maybe come and pick you up from the station?” Rose offered. She knew she was being silly and that he was perfectly capable of looking after himself and certainly didn’t need her fussing over him, but he looked so tired and she wanted to do something to help him.

“Thanks, but don’t worry. I can just take a cab. It’s a long drive and I think Isla’s birthday thing is in the opposite direction.”

“Okay, well, you’ve got my number if you’re stuck.”

“I appreciate that and thank you again for looking after Isla. I’ll need to leave early tomorrow, so I’ll see you Sunday. I’ll message to let you know what time I’ll be back.”

“See you then,” said Rose.

* * *

Rose heard the taxi arrive for Alastair at 5 a.m. and was grateful it wasn’t her having to get up so early. When she did heave herself out of bed at eight, Isla’s bedroom door was still closed so she crept past as quietly as she could to use the bathroom, hoping the outdated system would agree to let her have some hot water that morning. She was in luck, a sure sign that it was going to be a good day.

By the time she was dressed, Isla’s door was open and she found her ward in the kitchen getting breakfast.

“I’m not sure Mrs Reed would approve of you having Coco Pops for breakfast,” Rose said, coming into the room and stepping over a sleeping dog. She spotted an envelope with her name on it on the table.

Isla giggled. “Dad lets me have them at the weekend. Mrs Reed keeps trying to hide them at the back of the pantry, but I always manage to find them. Would you like a bowl?”

“Why not?” said Rose. “I haven’t had them for years.”

She opened the envelope and found some cash and a note from Alastair saying to get a takeaway for herself and Isla that evening.

“Your dad’s left us some money to get a treat for dinner tonight.”

“Can we get pizza?”

“That sounds like a really good idea. Will they deliver out here?”

“We have to collect it, I’m afraid.”

“That’s no problem,” Rose said.

Isla poured Rose a large bowl of cereal and passed it to her. “Don’t worry, I’m going to have some toast and peanut butter as well.”

“That’s probably a good idea, especially with your match this afternoon.”

Apparently, Houdini also had to have some toast fed to him by the back door which he seemed to enjoy.

“I was thinking of going for a walk after breakfast, would you like to come?” Rose asked Isla as they cleared up.

“Sure! I can show you around and we can climb my favourite hill.”

Rose hadn’t actually planned on hill climbing being involved in her intended stroll along the lane leading away from the house, but Isla looked so excited.

“That sounds great,” Rose said, as convincingly as she could.

“Houdini and the dogs will need to come as well. They’ll be sad if we leave them at home.”

“Okay.” This outing was getting more and more complicated by the second.

“Have you got walking boots or wellies? It’s going to be super muddy.”

“I haven’t, I’m afraid,” said Rose, part of her hoping that would get her out of going on what could surely officially now be called a hike. A thought that frankly terrified her.

“Don’t worry, what size feet are you?”

“Four?”

“I’m a five, but I have some older wellies that are a four. I’ll go and get them.”

Isla ran upstairs happily to retrieve the boots while Rose wondered what on earth she had let herself in for.

* * *

They set off along the lane, half an hour later, the dogs and Houdini on leads, but Isla soon led them over a stile into a field which had a little side entrance for the dogs and Houdini.

“Are you sure it’s okay for us to be going through here?” Rose asked, anxiously. She didn’t want an angry farmer turning up waving a shotgun and yelling at them to get off his land.

“Oh yeah, Dad doesn’t mind. We just need to stick to the edges if there are any animals in here.”

“Your dad owns all this?”

“Yeah,” replied Isla with a shrug. “The estate’s pretty big.”

Rose was aware of the size of Alastair’s property from her research while in London, but reading some figures on a computer screen and actually looking out over how vast it was, were two very different things.

They continued walking through fields, some of them containing goats which Houdini ignored, his nose stuck in the air.

It began to drizzle, but Rose seemed the only one of the party even vaguely bothered by it. Isla just put her hood up and the animals didn’t seem to notice.

They soon lost sight of the house which Rose had been using as something of a compass point. She wasn’t used to walking in the countryside. Her landmarks when walking in London were structures and buildings and she could always just check Google Maps on her phone if she wasn’t completely sure of her location. Actually, she thought, maybe that would still work here . . .

She took her phone out of her pocket surreptitiously so she could just get an idea of where they were in relation to the house, and, most importantly, how they were going to get back. But her phone had absolutely no signal. She stared at it in vague bewilderment, had she ever seen it with not a single bar of signal before?

No one even knew that they were out there . . . She really should have texted someone to tell them that they were heading out into the middle of nowhere with no survival gear or emergency food rations — not even a map for goodness’ sake! And she was supposed to be in charge! Isla was completely her responsibility at the moment.

Okay , she was maybe overreacting, she told herself sternly. They’d only been walking for about twenty minutes according to her watch, though it certainly felt much longer. They could just retrace their steps if necessary.

Isla seemed very confident of her destination, but Rose felt she had to ask, “You do know where we’re going, don’t you?”

Isla laughed. “Of course, I do. I’ve been coming up here with my dad since I was about three years old!”

Rose felt a little reassured, but she really couldn’t tell how Isla could be so nonchalant; all these fields looked very similar. Except they were getting steeper now and her thighs were beginning to ache. Why didn’t she stick with that spin class she went to twice?

“This is the hill I was telling you about!” said Isla excitedly. “There used to be a fort on the top because of how high up it is. It gives you a really great view. Dad told me all about the history of it. I can’t remember much though. There was a big fire hundreds of years ago or something which destroyed it but you can still see some of the markings on the ground.”

They continued climbing. Rose could understand why marauders might think twice before invading here; they’d definitely need to have built up their cardio before attempting it. Though Isla didn’t seem to be at all out of breath.

“The fort had more than one wall around it,” explained Isla. “This is where the first one was.”

Rose looked at where Isla was pointing, but couldn’t make out anything that would show you there had been any sort of wall there.

“Here we are!” Isla cried as the hill finally began to level off. How high did a hill have to be before it was technically a mountain?

“Race you to the trig point!” Isla shouted and she and the animals careered off into the distance.

What on earth is a trig point? Rose wailed internally as she set off after them at a pained jog. She caught up with the group at a concrete triangular pillar set at the top of the hill. The pillar’s top was broad and flat enough for Isla to use it as a seat, with Houdini doing his best to join her. The dogs ran back to Rose when they saw her and she petted their heads.

She took a moment to look around. She wasn’t sure the view was completely worth the climb, but she had to admit it was pretty spectacular. The rugged landscape with its bare trees and farm animals dotted around was stark but beautiful. And she could see the house again. It wasn’t all that far away, she had to admit.

“Have you got your phone with you?” Isla asked. “Can we take a selfie and send it to Dad when we get back home?”

“Of course we can,” said Rose. “If you hop down we can get all the animals in it as well.”

Isla climbed down off the pillar and she and Rose knelt with the animals and took some selfies with the humans pulling a variety of silly faces and the animals appearing rather perplexed.

* * *

The walk back was easier than the walk up, and Rose was feeling much happier now that she had her bearings. It also helped that the rain had paused. She was cold though and was very pleased when they reached the house.

Isla went through the selfies they’d taken and chose a couple for Rose to send to her dad then went up to her room to do some more of her homework before lunch. It still felt a little strange to be alone downstairs in Alastair’s house but not as much as she’d have thought it would. It was a welcoming space and she felt comfortable there. She made herself a coffee and settled down in a large squishy armchair in the sitting room with her sketch-pad and pencil. It seemed like the perfect activity as the rain restarted and grew steadily stronger against the windows.

Rose became lost in her drawing and didn’t hear Isla coming up behind her.

“Hi, Rose,” she said, making Rose jump. “What are you drawing? Is that our house? It’s really good!”

“Yes, or an attempt at it,” said Rose, closing her sketchbook. “How did your homework go?”

“Good, I’m all finished, and I’m starving.”

“Let’s get some lunch then.” Rose, checked the time. “We’ve got an hour before we need to leave for your hockey game.”

“Can we make cheese toasties?”

“Good idea. I spotted the toasted sandwich maker in a cupboard the other day.”

“We better make sure that we clean it properly afterwards,” warned Isla. “Dad didn’t once and Mrs Reed was so cross with him.”

Rose laughed. “I’ll make sure we don’t get into trouble.”

* * *

The pair had lunch then Rose tidied up while Isla got her stuff together for her match.

“You all ready to go?” asked Rose when she came back downstairs in her hockey kit.

“I think so. I’m feeling a bit nervous.”

Rose went over and hugged Isla. “Just try your best and work with your teammates. That’s all you can do. I’ll be cheering you on from the sidelines.”

Isla gave a little smile. “Could you take some photos for Dad?”

“Not a problem.”

“He usually tries to come to all my matches.”

“Hopefully he can be at the next one.”

“I hope you don’t get rained on too much.”

“Me too.” Rose laughed. “But I’ll be bringing an umbrella so I should stay fairly dry. Have you got everything you need? Should you take water and a snack?”

“They provide that for us there. You fuss just like Dad!”

“Sorry!” apologised Rose.

“It’s okay, I like it,” said Isla with a shrug.

Rose steeled herself before saying, “Houdini’s going to have to stay at home today,” as firmly as she could.

“But he’ll want to come to see me play!” whined Isla.

“Sweetheart, he’s had lots of fun this morning, but I cannot manage to watch you play as well as taking care of a goat. And I thought you wanted to go to Claire’s Accessories afterwards? Are you telling me they let goats in?”

“He can stay in the car,” suggested Isla.

“He’ll be so bored for such a long time. He’ll be much happier at home.”

Isla didn’t look convinced.

“He can be warm and cosy in his shelter with lots of hay and we’ll make a big fuss of him when we get back.”

“Okay . . . you’re probably right,” Isla murmured. “I’ll just go and check on him quickly and say bye.”

“Great.” That had actually been easier than Rose had anticipated.

Rose and Isla got in the Land Rover and Rose put the heating on and programmed the satnav to lead them to the school Isla’s match was being held at.

“Can we listen to some music?” Isla asked.

“Sure.” Isla soon had K-pop blasting out of the speakers.

* * *

Isla ran off to find her coach and teammates as soon as they’d parked up so Rose took her time making her way to the pitch. She wished she could watch the match from the comfort of the toasty warm car but she wasn’t sure which part of the playing field Isla’s match would be on. At least the rain had calmed down now.

She pulled her gloves and hat on and wound a big blue scarf around her neck. She walked over to where a group of parents, mainly mums it looked like, were gathered. Presumably, they knew the best place to stand for a decent view.

The girls were warming up on the pitch. It was easy to spot Isla as she was one of the tallest.

“Hi, who are you with? I don’t think I’ve seen you here before,” asked a woman with perfect hair and make-up.

“Isla,” said Rose. “I haven’t been to watch her before.”

“Oh, hi! I’m Sarah, Lucy’s mum. Isla’s coming to my daughter’s birthday trip tomorrow.”

“I’m Rose. Nice to meet you. I’ll be dropping Isla off tomorrow as well.”

“Alastair not around this weekend then?”

Rose felt the attention of every other woman in the group fall on her as she said, “No, he’s away on business.”

“Oh,” Sarah said, “What a shame! He’s such a great dad. He’s always here watching her matches!”

“Yeah, he’s disappointed but Isla asked me to take some photos to send to him.”

“So you’re Isla’s new nanny . . . ?” asked another woman.

“No, I’m just helping Alastair out this weekend.” Glances were exchanged between the women.

“I’m sure he’s very grateful,” said Sarah. “It must be so hard for him bringing up Isla all by himself. We all offer to help but he’s so self-sufficient . . .”

It looked like Isla’s mother, whoever she was, wasn’t in the picture at all, Rose reflected . . .

“I’m sure he’d ask if he needed anything.” Blimey , Rose thought to herself, absorbing how popular Alastair seemed to be. Not that she could blame the mums, she supposed. She didn’t think she’d ever known anyone as good-looking as Alastair in real life. She wondered if any of these women had dated him . . .

A whistle blew and everyone’s focus moved to the pitch where the game had just started. Rose felt butterflies in her stomach as she manoeuvred herself to the side of the group so she could see properly and could get a clear shot for a half-decent photo to send to Alastair.

* * *

It wasn’t that Rose wasn’t enjoying watching Isla play, she was, although it was nerve-wracking, but it was so cold that by the time the whistle blew for half-time, she could no longer feel her feet.

“There’s a coffee place just around the corner if you need a warm drink,” said Sarah as everyone started to move around. “They usually do twenty minutes for half-time so the kids can have a break and use the loo if they need to.”

“Thanks,” said Rose gratefully. She looked over to see if she could spot Isla over at the refreshments and managed to catch her eye. Isla waved back happily and Rose signalled that she was going to get a drink. Isla gave her a thumbs up back.

* * *

Soon after the second half started, the opposing team pulled into the lead. Rose had to be careful how hard she squeezed her coffee cup as she watched anxiously. She knew Isla would be so disappointed if her team lost. Then Isla’s team equalised and Rose could begin to breathe normally again, but her eyes were still locked on the game. Isla glanced over at her every now and again and Rose waved back each time.

There was only five minutes left in the match when Isla scored. Rose cheered with excitement, so happy that she’d started recording just a few seconds before and had managed to catch it on video for Alastair. Her heart was in her mouth for the last few minutes before the final whistle blew and Isla and her teammates cheered in celebration.

Rose went over to congratulate Isla and her friends before telling her to take as long as she needed getting changed and chatting. Then she headed back to the car to defrost and get away from all the women desperate to find out more about Alastair.

The car warmed up quickly with the heating cranked up to high and Rose took her gloves off and scrolled through the photos and videos she’d taken to choose the best ones to send to Alastair. She deleted any that were no good. Some of the photos taken at the top of the hill were really cute, especially one where Houdini was sticking his tongue out at the camera. She messaged Alastair four photos and the video of Isla scoring her goal.

Isla came over to the car with a huge smile on her face.

“Congratulations! You were amazing!” Rose said as Isla opened the passenger door.

“Thank you! I can’t believe it!”

“I managed to catch your goal on camera and I sent it to your dad.”

“Thank you!”

“Are you ready to go to Claire’s?”

“Yes! Can we also go to TK Maxx if we have time? I wanted to get Dad some coffee and biscuits from there for Christmas.”

“Great plan. And how about we stop off at Starbucks for a treat?”

“Excellent!”

* * *

It was dark when Rose and Isla returned home but the Christmas lights had turned on automatically, making the house look welcoming, and Rose smiled.

“Wow,” she said, looking up at the sky. “You can see so many stars here.”

“Yeah, Dad says it’s because there isn’t a lot of light pollution around here,” said Isla.

Isla went upstairs to shower, but only after visiting Houdini in his enclosure to give him his dinner and tell him now much she’d missed him. Rose breathed a sigh of relief that the goat had stayed inside the enclosure while they were out. She’d half expected to be wandering the countryside looking for him all night.

Rose made herself a cup of tea and kept half an eye on the goat through the window while she unpacked the bags from their little shopping trip. Isla had been really pleased with the hair accessories she’d picked out for her friend and the presents for Alastair. She’d taken ages to choose the perfect card and gift bag in the card shop, but Rose hadn’t minded. And they’d had a great time in Starbucks together chatting about Christmas which reassured Rose that she was on the right track with what she was planning. It was lovely to hear how excited Isla was.

Alastair had called to speak to Isla and she’d sounded so proud when she took him through the game blow by blow. “Rose, what time can we order the food?” asked Isla as she came into the kitchen.

“Soon if you like, just let me have my tea.”

“Domino’s isn’t too far away. . .” said Isla hopefully.

“That’s perfect then.” Rose pulled the Domino’s menu up on her phone. “Do you know what you’d like?”

“Pepsi, garlic bread and a pepperoni pizza, please. And can we get Ben & Jerry’s? To celebrate my winning goal?”

“I think that’s fair.” Rose laughed. “Does your dad let you have Pepsi?”

“For special occasions,” said Isla. “I think this counts.”

“I agree.”

“What’s your favourite Ben & Jerry’s ice cream flavour?”

“It’s Chunky Monkey, but you can never get it anywhere,” lamented Rose.

“Chunky Monkey?”

“See, you’ve never even heard of it! It’s banana ice cream with chocolate chunks and walnuts.”

“ Banana ice cream? Who would choose banana ice cream as their favourite, and walnuts are way too healthy to have in ice cream!”

Rose laughed again. “My guess is that a lot of people feel the same way as you do. OK, so out of the options they do have, shall we order Phish Food or Chocolate Fudge Brownie?”

“Chocolate Fudge Brownie,” said Isla, decisively. “And maybe we could eat it in front of a movie?”

“I guess that would depend on the movie . . .”

“What about Ice Princess ? Have you seen it? It’s on Disney Plus. It’s really good. It’s about this girl who wants to be a professional ice skater.”

Rose smiled. “That sounds perfect.”

* * *

A couple of hours later and Isla and Rose were valiantly working their way through big bowls of ice cream while the dogs watched them from their spot in front of the fire.

“I don’t think I’ve ever eaten this much,” said Rose, rubbing her stomach.

“I’m already looking forward to the leftover pizza for breakfast tomorrow,” declared Isla.

“Leftover pizza? For breakfast?” repeated Rose, incredulously.

“Have you never had it? It’s the best!”

“I guess I’ll find out tomorrow.”

“Do you like the movie?”

“I love it. Can we just pause for a minute to take these bowls and things out and get me a cup of tea?”

“Sure,” Isla said. “I’ll let the dogs outside.”

The animals followed them into the kitchen and Isla let them outside while Rose put the kettle on. “Would you like a hot drink?” Rose asked.

“I’ll just have some more Pepsi.”

They cleared up a bit while they waited for the dogs to finish in the garden. Rose watched Isla putting things back in the fridge and realised how much she was enjoying spending her Saturday night hanging out with her. She was lovely company and it was so nice to have someone to chat to and relax with when she’d been living by herself for so long. For the first time in a while, Rose wasn’t lonely. It felt really good.

* * *

When Alastair’s taxi pulled up outside the house at six the following evening, he looked exhausted and train-dirty, but couldn’t help smiling at how homely it looked with the Christmas trees flanking the door, the fairy lights adorning the house, and light shining out of the downstairs windows. He paid the driver, opened the front door and was greeted by his dogs as he called out, “Hello!”.

“We’re in here!” he heard Isla shout from the kitchen.

He entered the warm, bright room to find his daughter sitting at the table peeling carrots. He paused momentarily. He’d never seen Isla take an interest in any kind of cooking before.

Rose turned and smiled at him as she checked something in the oven. Her hair was messy and pulled up in a bun. Her cheeks flushed from the heat of the oven.

“Hi, Dad,” said Isla, looking up. “Rose is cooking us a roast!”

“Welcome back,” Rose said. “I thought you might be hungry after your trip.”

“Thank you, I am.” He found himself unable to move from the doorway or tear his eyes away from her. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“I fancied cooking,” said Rose, with a shrug. “How was your weekend?”

“Tiring, it’s good to be home.” He smiled. “But the meeting did prove to be worthwhile.”

“There’s time for you to have a shower to freshen up before it’s ready if you’d like. You’ve got at least half an hour.”

“Thank you, that would be good, actually.”

He went upstairs somehow feeling like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. It had been a long weekend, the meeting had gone well but all he’d wanted was to be at home with his daughter, and, well, Rose he now realised, if he were to be completely honest with himself. It had felt so good to walk into his bright, warm house and to be greeted by them both and not to have to immediately sort out something to eat for himself and Isla, which would probably have been beans on toast. It definitely wouldn’t have been something that smelled anywhere near as good as what Rose was making. A roast was what he really fancied. Perfect on this cold, dark evening.

He hurried his shower, subconsciously wanting to return to the cosy scene in the kitchen. Once he’d dressed and come back downstairs, he took a detour down to the cellar to get a bottle of wine.

Rose was taking a beautifully cooked piece of beef out of the oven when he came back into the kitchen and Isla was nowhere to be seen.

“She’s just gone to finish packing her school bag for tomorrow,” Rose explained.

“Oh good,” said Alastair. Another thing he didn’t need to do tonight it seemed was to nag his daughter to get ready for the morning . . .

“I was going to open some wine if you’d like a glass,” he said. “It’s a Merlot, but I can get you some white if you’d prefer?”

“No, red sounds good. Thank you,” Rose said.

Alastair got out two wine glasses and poured for them both. He handed one to Rose, who took a sip. “It’s delicious,” she declared, causing Alastair to smile.

“Thank you again for this weekend. It was really good to know that Isla was having such a good time. She’s always miserable when she has to come to London with me.”

“I would have thought she’d love to go?”

“She would if it wasn’t for business. But I’m usually so busy in meetings or preparing for meetings that there’s not much time for us to do much sightseeing. Plus, she was really looking forward to this weekend. She sounded so happy about the match. Thanks for the video of her goal.”

“You’re welcome — it was pure luck that I happened to be filming then.” Rose laughed.

Isla returned and Alastair helped Rose to serve up the roast beef, Yorkshire puddings, crispy roast potatoes, stuffing, gravy, broccoli and carrots that she’d cooked.

“This looks fantastic,” he said. “I’m starving.”

“Nearly forgot the horseradish sauce,” said Rose, putting it on the table.

They dug into the food.

“Wow, Rose this is as good as Mrs Reed’s cooking!” declared Isla.

“High accolade indeed!” Rose said with a grin.

“It is really good,” agreed Alastair. “Are the Yorkshires homemade?”

“Of course!” replied Rose, mock indignantly. “My mother would never forgive me if I served up ready-made ones!”

“So did your mum teach you to cook?” Isla asked.

Alastair immediately switched his attention to his daughter, checking she was all right as he always did whenever someone’s mother was mentioned.

“She did,” said Rose carefully, and Alastair found his attention divided between the two of them. There was something not quite right about the expression on Rose’s face.

“So, tell me about your day, Isla. How was Lucy’s birthday trip?” Alastair asked, wanting to change the subject.

“It was great!” said Isla. “Her mum hired out the whole cinema for us to watch Star Wars: A New Hope and we ate so much popcorn.”

“That does sound really good,” said Alastair. “What did you get up to while madam here was in the cinema, Rose?”

“Oh, Rose was invited to stay,” Isla piped up. “All the parents were, but they sat at the back of the cinema, near the bar.”

“I didn’t have an alcoholic drink,” Rose quickly clarified.

“Don’t worry,” said Alastair. “I trust you completely with my daughter.”

And he found he did. Even though he’d only known this woman for a little over a week.