Chapter 2
In hindsight, telling Lorna while she was hungover had actually been a wise decision.
She’d opened her mouth to reply, and probably to give Bex a list of reasons why she should stay on the sofa, but before she could start, her face had turned a ghastly shade of green. She’d clapped a hand over her mouth and dashed to the bathroom, almost tripping over Ruby on the way.
When she finally returned, she picked up the now-cold bacon butty and took a cautious bite, followed by another large one. Bex grimaced, but hey, everyone had their own way of dealing with hangovers. She wasn’t going to judge.
‘You know,’ Lorna said, voice muffled through a mouthful of bread and bacon, ‘if you’re just moving out because you think it’ll be easier to sneak around dating Duncan again without me finding out, you should know, I will find out anyway.’
‘I’m not going to start dating Duncan again,’ Bex replied. ‘Honestly, if the situation wasn’t complicated enough before, it really is now.’
‘You mean because of Kieron?’ Lorna asked.
‘Oh, yes. That’s what I meant.’ She lowered her eyes and cursed her stupid mouth.
Before now, she’d had no problem keeping the mystery heir a secret from everyone.
But now that she was 99 per cent certain she knew who it was, it had become nearly impossible.
The sooner she had her own space and could lock herself away, the better.
At least until the DNA test came through.
‘Well, if it wasn’t you and Duncan, then I don’t know what got to Kieron. Honestly, he was in such an odd mood last night. Insisted we drink three bottles of Fergus’s best single malt. Which I guess could’ve been a celebration, but it didn’t really feel like one. It was strange.’
‘Right… very strange,’ Bex muttered to herself.
It was a low blow for sure. Kieron’s response to finding out he might not inherit the castle was to take what he could from the estate while he could?
Probably to make sure Duncan couldn’t have it.
It wasn’t the kind of move she expected from him.
He’d been nothing but generous since they’d met, even recommending her accounting firm to several of his wealthy friends and helping her land that corner office in London.
But the news must’ve been a shock, and he’d already had a few drinks beforehand.
She wasn’t sure she could hold it against him.
‘So where’re you going to go?’ Lorna asked. ‘Not the lodge.’
‘No. Not the lodge,’ Bex stressed. Clearly Lorna wasn’t going to drop the Duncan thing, but Bex could hardly blame her.
Last night, for a split second, she’d actually believed that maybe, somehow, they might find a way.
Now, though, he had more than enough to deal with.
‘Though I haven’t thought where I’ll head.
I don’t know where has room available. I was going to put some feelers out at the pubs, see what they’ve got. ’
Lorna nodded, although it was notably slow. As if she’d been struck by another bout of nausea. ‘Well, you know you’re welcome here as long as you want. As long as you don’t mention that word again.’
‘Word?’ Bex questioned.
‘The “P” word…’ Lorna replied as she placed her bap down on the plate and drew in a deep breath.
‘“P” word?’ Bex pondered. ‘You mean pu—’
‘Don’t!’ Lorna lifted one hand to Bex while she covered her mouth.
For a moment, Bex thought Lorna was about to bolt for the bathroom again, and she wasn’t the only one.
Ruby had sat up too, and moved across to the edge of the room, providing a clear path for Lorna to take.
But rather than dashing back upstairs, Lorna closed her eyes and took a couple of deep breaths in.
‘I don’t suppose you could do one last favour before you start looking for somewhere else to stay, could you?’ Lorna said when she could finally manage to speak again.
‘Of course. What is it?’
‘Ring Roddy and see if he’ll take my shift for me.’
* * *
It took a fair bit of persuading, but eventually Bex convinced Lorna to make the call herself.
Bex was her friend, not her mother, and Lorna was old enough to do something like that herself.
Besides, she didn’t feel right asking Roddy.
Not when she knew it would mean he’d be taking three consecutive shifts in different jobs in less than twenty-four hours.
If Lorna was okay with him doing that, then she could ask.
As Bex had probably expected, Roddy agreed, and four hours later, Lorna was back in bed while Bex had packed up her belongings and was ready to go in search of new accommodation.
There were several B&Bs in the village, not that Bex had ever stayed in any. She knew they were all highly regarded, though. The two pubs – the White Hart and the Lion – also offered accommodation. For several reasons, Bex decided to try the White Hart first.
The first reason was that it was her usual drinking spot, a place she felt comfortable in.
While it could get busy, it rarely got rowdy, meaning she knew she’d be able to get a decent night’s sleep there, provided the bed was comfortable, although given that she’d been sleeping on a sofa bed, her standards were pretty low.
It was also at the end of the village closest to Highland Hall, and considering she might still be walking back and forth occasionally, cutting a couple of hundred metres off the journey each way felt sensible, especially in her slightly frailer state.
It still shocked her how much her brush with death had affected her, and just trundling her suitcase down the cobblestones, with a bag slung over her shoulder, had been enough to take it out of her.
Although the plan was to bring Ruby with her, Bex had left the dog and her giant bed at Lorna’s for now.
Ruby had been unwell recently too. In fact, Duncan had been so worried about all the weight she’d lost since Fergus had died that he’d taken her to the vet, but a couple of plates of scrambled egg – made to the dog’s exacting specifications – had seen her perk up considerably.
Still, she’d been fast asleep when Bex had left the cottage, and she’d not had the heart to wake her up.
At just gone 5 p.m. she pushed open the door to the White Hart. Just as she’d expected, Roddy was serving behind the bar.
‘You know you didn’t have to agree to take Lorna’s shift,’ Bex said as she took a seat on one of the bar stools. ‘It might have helped her to get out of the house.’
‘I dinnae mind,’ Roddy replied. ‘Besides, I cut a deal with her. She’s gotta give me her tips for a week. From both her jobs too.’ He rubbed his fingers and thumb together. ‘I’ll be rakin’ it in.’
Bex let out a low chuckle. She knew Roddy was shrewd, but she was impressed.
Though Lorna must have been in an even worse state than she realised to accept the offer.
Just like Roddy, she worked multiple jobs and normally had a couple of side hustles on the go too.
No doubt she’d be able to make up those lost tips soon enough.
‘So, what can I get ye?’ Roddy asked.
‘Honestly, I wanted to know if you’d got rooms going?’
‘Rooms?’ His left eyebrow rose. ‘I thought you were only up here for a couple of weeks this time. Does this mean you and Duncan are—’
‘No, and even if we were, it’s not any of your business.’
‘Aye, sorry.’ A pink tinge coloured Roddy’s cheeks. ‘Just thought you two were a bonnie pair. You’re right. It ain’t none o’ my business.’
A ripple of guilt rolled through Bex at the way she’d snapped. Roddy was always incredibly discreet. He’d picked Duncan and her up after their first date, and she knew he wouldn’t have said anything to anyone about the state she’d been in when he’d driven her back home the night before.
‘Sorry,’ she said. ‘It’s just work stuff, that’s all. But I might need it for a while. So, do you think you have any rooms?’
Roddy moved over to a large ledger and flipped through it.
As he scanned across the pages, Bex couldn’t help but think about the old laird, with his paper filing.
Fergus wasn’t the only one in the village with antiquated attitudes towards their accounts, and the work part of her was desperate to get hold of all these outdated paper ledgers and digitise everything.
She was pretty sure she could save the business a fair bit of money too, what with all the tax breaks they weren’t getting this way, but she had more than enough on her plate for now.
‘Last night was rammed,’ Roddy said eventually. ‘Every room’s booked out for the event at the castle, obviously. But… let’s see… Hold on a second… Actually, a couple of folk’ve already checked out. So, yeah, we’ve got a single room.’
‘A single’s fine,’ Bex said.
‘I’ll need to get housekeeping to give it a once-over, but you could sit down and have a drink.’
‘Great.’ She turned to find a seat, debating when it would be best to go get Ruby. ‘Sorry.’ She turned back to Roddy. ‘Just to check, any chance I can have a dog in the room?’
‘Afraid not,’ Roddy said with a small shake of his head. ‘No-dog policy here.’
‘Right.’ Her face fell. Now she wished she’d never asked. She could have snuck Ruby in somehow and pretended she didn’t know the rules, if she’d gotten caught. There was no way she’d get away with it now.
‘Is it a big dog?’ Roddy asked.
‘Biggish,’ Bex admitted. There was no point in lying. If she said no, he’d probably expect a Chihuahua and be in for a shock when a large Labrador retriever turned up.
‘Does it bark?’
‘No, not ever really. Other than when I needed rescuing, that is.’
‘Oh, it’s that dog.’ Roddy pressed his lips together tightly, clearly considering something. ‘Look, you could probably sneak her in and out when it’s quiet. Before we open up for the day. And you could maybe let her out through the back, as long as the boss isn’t around.’
Bex’s face lit up with a broad smile, her heart bulging with gratitude. ‘That would work wonderfully. Thank you.’
‘Just as long as you know, if you get caught by the boss, I dinnae say you could have her in there.’
‘Gotcha,’ Bex said, grinning.
He glanced around the space, which was notably quieter than it normally would be at this time. Most likely, there were other people like Lorna who couldn’t handle the thought of another drink, let alone being in a space where alcohol fumes were overwhelming.
‘Why don’t you fetch her now? I’ll make sure the room’s sorted and then meet you around the back in half an hour?’
‘Thank you,’ Bex said again. ‘I really mean it.’
‘Hey, if you cannae help a friend out now and then, you’re dinnae doing life right,’ he replied.
As Bex headed out of the pub, she mulled over Roddy’s last comment. He was right, of course. Life was about helping other people, wasn’t it? Particularly those close to you. Of course, whether Duncan would want her help would remain to be seen.