Epilogue #2
‘I mean, it’s possible,’ Primrose said in a low voice, as the crowd milled around them.
‘We’ll never know. I think it’s sad. They didn’t get to be together.
It’s a real Romeo and Juliet story. He was the laird-to-be, she was just a poor girl who had convinced society she was a high-born lady. It’s a tragic story, really.’
‘Hm. All goes back tae the Flag o’ the Old Ones.’ Angus shook his head. ‘All about the true lord o’ Balhennie. Wasn’t Dougal, an’ he knew it. Wasn’t Matthew, either. Perhaps he knew it an’ tried tae be decent aboot it.’
‘I don’t think that’s what happened, Dad,’ Sorrel interjected.
‘Well, you never know.’ Angus sniffed. ‘That’s my version o’ the truth, an’ I’m stickin’ wi’ it.’
‘Fine. But we should go and thank James for helping with the repairs, darling.’ Catriona took his arm and steered him away.
‘After all, Heather’s having her wedding here in a few months.
You need to be nice to him.’ Sorrel could hear her father complaining under his breath as Catriona propelled him through the crowd.
She stifled a chuckle. Angus would never change.
Sorrel had noticed Dom and Farid at the side of the room; now, they made their way over to her.
‘Miss Balhennie and Mr Blackwood. Are we to assume that this is now a thing again?’ Dom asked, pointing at the two of them. ‘Please say yes. We’ve been praying for it to happen.’
‘Umm. Maybe,’ Sorrel said, blushing. Tam took her hand.
‘Definitely,’ he said, grinning. Dom squealed. Farid beamed with pride.
‘What a lovely, lovely day. We brought something for you, by the way.’ He reached into his pocket and took out a photo, handing it to Sorrel. ‘We finally settled on a name.’
Sorrel looked at the picture in her hand. It was a photo of the side of Dom and Farid’s yacht, on which was written, in a curly, ornate script, The Jewel Thief.
‘We were really inspired by Emma’s story, and especially the bit about the dagger.
She was such a wanton little miss! It’s all so romantic, isn’t it?
’ Dom exclaimed. ‘Farid thought of this after you came over and told us all about it. We thought it was, sort of, shades of Kathleen Turner, with a bit of a local connection. We hope you don’t mind? ’
‘Oh, like The Jewel of the Nile? No, of course I don’t mind at all! It looks great!’ Sorrel picked up on the reference to the classic romantic adventure movie, showing the picture to Tam.
‘That’s perfect. So, you didn’t go for a lady’s name in the end?’ He handed it back to Dom.
‘No, dear boy. But The Jewel Thief is every inch a lady. Especially now that we’ve got the renovation started. She’s looking like a new woman. You’ll have to come over when she’s done, and we’ll have a day out. Sail around the coast.’
‘That sounds amazing. Yes!’ Sorrel beamed back at her friends. There was such a deep joy in her heart to be with them; to be with her family; to be with Tam. To be home.
‘Good. Now, tea!’ Farid grinned, and they joined the crowd moving into the other room.
‘It’s cool that you’re a director of the Balhennie Inn now.’ Tam took her hand as they followed along to the drawing room, where tea was being served. ‘So, what does that mean? You can put one of those fancy roll-top baths in all the rooms now?’
‘Ha. Mum would have a fit.’ Sorrel chuckled. ‘No, but I’m involved in decision-making for the Inn now. Including managing the building and making investments. The finances are in a bit of a state.’
‘They’re lucky to have you.’ Tam squeezed her hand. ‘I’m so glad you two could come to a good place with everything.’ He nodded.
‘You’re okay with me staying for a while?’ She looked up at him, loving the way his strong hand felt in hers. She could touch him now. She didn’t have to hold the little stone heart any more and think of him. He was here.
‘Of course. More than happy.’ He cocked his head to one side. ‘Anyway, I was thinking. Maybe you and I could work together again on something. I think we make a pretty great team.’
‘Oh…’ She blushed. ‘You mean, on a renovation?’
Sorrel took a minute. She’d mixed business with her personal life before, and it hadn’t ended well. Did she really want to do that again?
‘Yeah. Before you came back, I’d already been thinking that it was an area I wanted to get into. I’d actually been looking at some likely properties on the island.’
‘Here? Really?’ She did a double take.
‘Yeah. A lot of old cottages that need some love. So, there’s that.
But also, the number of people coming back to live on the island is going up.
Young people can choose to stay on the island now, where they often used to have to leave to find work on the mainland.
Now that people can work remotely, they’ve got more freedom – and the Wi-Fi is improving up here.
’ He grinned. ‘People want to live closer to nature. They like the fact that Skye supports independent businesses. They can sort of manage with the weather.’
‘I know. I missed all of that. Even the weather.’ She chuckled. ‘Well, okay. I’d be interested to talk more. Let’s look at some numbers and think about how we’d want it to work.’
She would be cautious about working with Tam, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t do it. Tam was a very different person to Simon. Sorrel trusted Tam. She always had. And they’d worked together on renovating the Inn, and, despite their personal dramas, it hadn’t affected their work in any way.
Tam was different to Simon, yes. But more importantly, Sorrel had changed. Sorrel Balhennie wasn’t the same na?ve girl who had started a business with Simon, not knowing anything, and learned as she went along. Sorrel was now at the top of her game. She was a grown woman. She was confident.
‘Okay.’ He squeezed her hand again.
‘You know…’ Tam gave her a long, lingering smile. ‘I just think… hmm. You’ll say it’s silly,’
‘Probably.’ She shot him a flirtatious look under her lashes. ‘But don’t let that stop you,’
‘Ha. I was going to say that I feel like this has all been… fated, somehow. You coming home. Us getting back together. Cautiously.’ He raised an eyebrow.
‘Finding this stuff from Emma Gordon. It all sort of feels like it was supposed to happen when it did. I mean, the dagger’s been sitting there, waiting to be found, since 1883.
And we found it because the Inn fell apart. ’
‘I suppose you’re right.’
‘And maybe that’s a treasure, too. Of a kind. I got my Sorrel back because of subsidence at the Inn. It’s like it was all meant to fall apart so that I could have you back in my life again.’ He gazed at her with such sudden, unmasked adoration that Sorrel was taken aback.
‘Oh, Tam.’ She looked up at him, not knowing what to say. Gently, he kissed her.
‘I know. Ah, it’s silly.’
‘Don’t censor yourself,’ Sorrel said, firmly. ‘Just say what’s in your heart.’
‘No, you’re right. I guess it just makes me think… we should do what feels right. Not let opportunities pass us by.’
‘Absolutely. Emma and Matthew would have agreed. I feel like they took every opportunity they could to be together, even if it was for a short time.’ Sorrel met Tam’s long-lashed gaze.
He leaned down and kissed her again. This time, it was deeper.
He held her to him, and she felt herself melting against his body.
‘I sort of feel that we owe it to them to make it work now. Or at least try,’ she added.
‘They couldn’t be together. We can.’ His voice thrummed in his chest as she snuggled against him. ‘We won’t waste any more time.’
***
If you adored meeting the Balhennie sisters in The Scottish Island Inn, and you can’t wait to see what happens next as Heather plans her festive wedding at Balhennie Castle, you won’t want to miss The Scottish Island Wedding.
Heather and Matthew are due to get married on Christmas Day, but Matthew hasn’t been entirely honest about who he is.
He's the youngest son of the richest and most powerful family in Scotland and his mother has forbidden the wedding from going ahead.
With just seven days to save their relationship, will a sprinkling of Christmas magic help Heather and Matthew find their way back to each other?
Get it here or keep reading for an exclusive extract…