Page 17 of A Secret Scottish Escape

I headed for a secluded set of couches just around the corner from reception.

They each took up a seat on the biscuit-coloured sofa opposite, and the sight of them, all decked out in their funeral best and sitting side by side, almost made me smile. They reminded me of three grim-faced solicitors.

“As you know, I’ve spoken to David Murray.” I clasped my fingers together in my lap.

“And?” asked Dad.

I secured my bun tighter and then, in a gush, explained Mac’s heart condition.

My words were met with silence, only punctuated by the thrum of pan pipes from the reception area speakers.

Lois, Dad, and Faith blinked at each other, like three bewildered owls.

“Did you know about his heart, Lois?” I asked. “Mr Murray seemed to think you didn’t, but did he tell you?”

Lois shook her swish of hair, her disbelief evident. “No! This is the first I’ve heard of it. The stupid man! Why didn’t he tell us?” A hot flush popped on her cheeks. “The stubborn idiot.” Tears clustered in her eyes.

Dad patted her hand.

“He must have had his reasons for not saying anything,” pondered Faith, “although I have to admit I’m struggling right now to see what they might be.”

Dad fired an agitated hand through his hair. “Layla was his fiancée. They were supposed to be getting married next year. She had a right to know.”

I turned my watery gaze to the far side window. There was a small fountain sprouting water in a silvery gush, in the shape of a leaping fish. “He didn’t even tell Hannah. She was every bit as shocked as me.”

Lois blinked back more tears and arranged her pink-slicked lips into a firm line. “That would be a first. Very little seems to shock that woman.”

I toyed with the lapel of my jacket. “There’s something else too.”

Faith’s plucked brows hitched upwards. “As if that wasn’t enough for you and Lois to contend with – and to be told that on the day of his funeral too.”

Lois leaned across the polished table and cupped one of my hands in hers. “What is it, Layla? You said there’s something else?”

I sucked in a cloud of air through my teeth. It just seemed like a torrent of revelations were being dropped from the heavens today – literally. I squeezed Lois’s hand. “It seems that after Mac found out about his heart, he was determined to get his affairs in order. Mac has left you his advance for his last book – and he has bequeathed all his royalties from his novels to me.”

Lois blinked several times. I turned to Faith and my dad, who were gawping at me.

“Well, that’s great,” said a shocked Lois after consideration. “It’s the least he could do for you, under the circumstances.” She jerked her head towards the ‘Kelpie’ function room. “Thank goodness that mercenary bitch won’t be getting her hands on it.” Then she paused. “I just hope Mac had the common sense not to leave her anything.”

Dad and Faith joined in, chorusing their agreement. Their mouths popped open with surprise when I told them Mac had bequeathed his northern France apartment to her.

“Oh, I bet she didn’t like that,” smirked Lois. “There are no gold taps or chandeliers.”

“I don’t want it,” I cut across their conversation, making the three of them start. “I don’t want any of his guilt money.”

Dad, Faith, and Lois looked perplexed. “But, love—” began Dad.

“I’ve already told David I’m not accepting it,” I interrupted, lacing and unlacing my fingers in my lap. “The relationship – the engagement – it has all been one huge lie.”

A crackle of my dry laughter made them frown with concern. “Unfortunately, I can’t tell Mac what he can do with his royalties, so I’m telling you three instead.”

Faith rubbed at her forehead, perplexed. “But sweetie, do you realise how much money that is? I don’t mean to sound mercenary, but it’s probably a life-changing amount.”

I levelled my gaze at her and told her exactly how much.

Faith’s hands flew to her mouth. “Bloody hell, Layla!”

I shrugged. “It means nothing to me, because evidently our relationship, such as it was, meant nothing to Mac.”