Page 46 of The Cottage in the Highlands

“I had no idea,” I protested. “If I had…” My voice vanished.

I whipped my head back to Esther and Dante, who were now standing side by side like a pair of admonished school children.

I wanted to grab both of them by their shirt collars and give them a ruddy good shake. I didn’t care that these two were famous fawned-over celebrities. I was far more concerned that Lily thought I’d betrayed her; that I’d thanked her by letting her down. I turned my full ire on Esther and Dante. “Can you leave please? Now!”

Esther Drew opened her rosebud mouth but Dante gave her a fierce dig in the ribs with his elbow to silence her.

He slunk past with an apologetic smile. Esther followed with a belligerent jut of her chin.

When they had vanished back out into the garden, I broke into a series of shame-filled apologies. “I’m so sorry, Mrs Cruickshank. They forced the back door open. If I had known for one minute they would do something like that…”

Her rheumy eyes raked over the tired furniture and curtains. “I should never have said yes to this silly suggestion of yours, Ms Baxter.” Resignation settled around her mouth. “More to the point, I should never have trusted you.”

Her disappointment in me pulled at her shoulders.

I watched her whirl away from me in her ankle boots, sending the beaded curtain in the kitchen into a crashing frenzy.

“Mrs Cruickshank. Lily. Please. I’m sorry.” I started after her, down the narrow hallway. The carriage clock let out its weary, rhythmical ticks.

I was anxious to explain. I wanted her to know that I felt dreadful about what had happened. It had taken a lot for her to place her trust in me. Whatever this house meant to her – and it was clear it meant a great deal – she had entrusted Merry Wood to me for a short time.

A crushing, horrified embarrassment engulfed me as I made an attempt to catch up with her.

I was so anxious that my elbow caught the edge of a rickety bureau as I was dashing past in hot pursuit.

The top drawer was stuffed with papers and my knocking against it sent the whole drawer hurtling towards the russet carpet. “Ow!”

I rubbed my elbow and cursed at the sharp pain, as the drawer contents spilled everywhere, as if in slow motion. Papers slipped and slid on top and across one another.

Great. Just great. Can this day get any better?

I stood there mentally flapping about for a few moments. I knew I should go after Lily and apologise for those two idiots, but I also knew I couldn’t walk out and leave this mess in the middle of the hall. What would Lily think, if she returned to see all this?

I had made a monumental cock-up of today as it was.

Releasing a loud and frustrated groan, I dropped down onto my knees and began scooping up the assorted bills, receipts, and correspondence.

As I slapped them back in the drawer, I noticed the letters and bills were all addressed to a Mr & Mrs F Talbot.

My thoughts screeched to a halt.

Talbot. That was the name April from the council mentioned as the owners of Merry Wood.

I rifled through a couple more papers, snatching quick glances at who they were addressed to. Sure enough, the other pieces of correspondence were addressed to a Mr Flynn Talbot. Most of them seemed to be utility bills and gardening invoices from years ago.

I continued to put the papers back, groaning under my breath. I had to speak to Lily again and time was racing.

From the garden, I could hear the plummy vocals of Esther Drew and the sound of Baz packing up his photographic equipment. Then it would be back to the offices of Goddess to write up the feature about Avanti’s “stunning shades of the latest eye colours. Opt for vanillas and greys that will make your natural beauty sing this festive season.”

I was plopping the last few documents back into the drawer and was preparing to pick it up from the floor to slot it back into the bureau when a long, slim white envelope caught my eye. It must have skittered further across the carpet.

I angled the drawer back into place and once it was as secure as I could manage, I retrieved the stray envelope. Lily was written in swirling black fountain pen on the front of it.

I turned it over. It wasn’t sealed, as I would have expected. Did Lily know there was a letter in that drawer addressed to her? Had she read it?

I would return it to her. Whether she had seen it or not, it would be a good excuse to go to her house and hand it over in person. It would give me the opportunity to try and talk to her again about what had just happened and apologise properly.

I was about to stick it into my back jeans pocket when Baz’s irritated voice from the garden made me jump. “Leonie. What the hell are you doing? Stop arsing around in the haunted house, will you? I need to get going.”