Chapter 31 #2
‘Well, this one didn’t seem to want to leave,’ says the Laird, pointing a bony finger at me.
‘So I started to think she might not be the spy after all. But it had to be one of you, so I decided to hedge my bets. We don’t want hotel chains here in the Highlands.
No, we can manage perfectly well on our own, I think.
That was the original plan, and I’m damn sure we’ll be sticking to it, no matter what Hunter here has to say about it. ’
‘Wait a minute,’ Hunter puts in, his tone ominous. ‘You’re seriously telling me you did all of this, Dougie? The turnip? The missing clothes? The sauna?’
‘Hang on. You said the sauna was an accident?’ I interject, my stomach lurching at the thought that it might not have been.
Hunter meets my eyes for the first time since he walked into the room, and I’m annoyed with myself for the way his glance makes my skin tingle, even after everything that’s happened.
‘Oh, I didn’t have anything to do with the sauna,’ says the Laird with a shrug.
‘That really was an accident. You want to get that looked at, Hunter,’ he adds sternly, looking at his nephew from under his bushy eyebrows.
‘Can’t have people getting stuck in saunas.
Could seriously hurt someone. Keep up, man, would you? ’
‘But . . . you did the rest?’ replies Hunter incredulously. ‘You? On your own? Just because you didn’t want the WanderNest deal to go ahead, and you thought Rosie had some kind of influence over it?’
There’s a loud crash as Agnes drops the tray she was holding, sending pieces of crockery careering over the tile floor.
‘I didn’t want to do it,’ she wails, putting her hands over her mouth. ‘I swear I didn’t. But we’ve all been so worried we might lose our jobs if the hotel gets sold.’
‘You mean . . . you mean you’re behind the . . . goings-on . . . Agnes?’ I say, swallowing hard in an attempt to hide how hurt I am by this little revelation. ‘You took my clothes? And stabbed my turnip?’
‘I took the clothes,’ the girl admits, her eyes downcast. ‘But I brought them all back again,’ she adds, looking up at me eagerly.
‘The Laird wanted me to hide them until you left, but, well, you were so nice. I just couldn’t do it.
And I’ve been trying to make up for it ever since, by taking your photos for you, and stuff.
I even brought you extra scones, I felt so guilty about it all, but I just .
. . I need this job, or I’ll never save up enough for my course. ’
She looks at me pleadingly, but I can’t quite meet her eye.
Not until I’ve had some time to process all of this, at least.
‘I stabbed the turnip myself, though,’ says the Laird proudly.
‘And, by God, I’d do it again. So don’t blame Agnes: she was just doing as I asked.
And she didn’t want these WanderNest people in the hotel, either.
None of the staff do. Well, other than Dante, here, but no one listens to him, anyway. ’
Dante hisses like a snake.
‘I wish I’d brought my camera,’ says Daniel Foster. ‘This is all turning out to be quite entertaining.’
‘I’m glad you’re enjoying it,’ I tell him sharply. ‘I’ve been thinking someone was seriously out to get me.’
‘Someone was, though,’ says Millie. ‘Him!’ She points at the Laird, who waggles his eyebrows devilishly at her. ‘So you were right, Rosie!’
She beams at me as if I should feel pleased about this, but the only emotion I can make sense of right now is anger. Burning, righteous anger, that starts at my toes and spreads all the way up to my head, where it joins forces with its friend, betrayal.
I was right. Someone was deliberately targeting me, and all because they thought I was someone else.
I can’t even get people to hate me for myself. What does that say about me? I wonder.
‘I think I’m going to go upstairs and pack,’ I say, my legs a little wobbly as I stand up. ‘I just want to go home now. It’s pretty obvious I’m not going to win the competition, or influence anyone, so I’ll leave you all to it.’
Hunter starts towards me, his arm outstretched, as if to stop me, but Zara gets there first.
‘Hold on,’ she says, grabbing me by the arm and making me spin around on the spot. ‘If you’re not the mystery guest, then who is?’
‘I’d like to know that too, actually,’ says Sabrina shrilly. ‘Because if one of you has been lying to us, by failing to disclose that you’re being paid to be here by someone else, then I can assure you, there will be serious consequences. I will sue. I’ll—’
‘No, you won’t, Sabrina,’ says Zara. ‘Calm down. I just want to know who it is. Someone here’s been lying to us, all this time.’
‘Well, I’m sure you can see it’s not me,’ says Bex, sniffing down at her stained jumper. ‘Or Daniel.’
‘It’s not me either,’ adds Millie, eagerly.
‘Or me,’ puts in Yasmin, sounding slightly disappointed to have to admit this. To be fair, she would’ve made an excellent mystery guest.
‘Well, it’s definitely not me,’ says Zara, folding her arms in a businesslike manner. ‘So that just leaves—’
‘It’s me,’ says Luna, her voice barely audible.
Everyone jumps. I think we’d all forgotten she was even in the room with us – I know I had. Luna shuffles forward, as if pushed by some invisible force, her eyes rather watery as she blinks around at us all.
‘I’m really sorry,’ she says in a squeak. ‘But I think this is all my fault.’