Page 30 of The Secret Castle in the Highlands

Darwin charged out of the kitchen.

‘Here’s your fan club,’ said Mason with amusement.

I knelt down on the biscuit-coloured carpet and hugged the Old English sheepdog. He frolicked up and down, panting excitedly.

I found myself searching subconsciously for any signs of a female presence as we exchanged polite conversation, but I couldn’t see any traces of a woman staying here.

What was it that Caleb had said about the evening he’d seen Mason and a woman strolling along the beach? I registered with a sharp stab that I was paying far too much attention to his personal life. It was becoming a bit of a habit.

‘Please take a seat,’ offered Mason after a pause. ‘Would you like a tea or coffee?’

‘Please don’t feel you have to go to any trouble.’

‘It’s no trouble. Just give me the rest of the day to locate some spoons.’

He stalked off into the kitchen to prise open a couple of brown cardboard boxes. ‘Ah. Found them,’ he called through.

‘Then a camomile tea would be good, thanks.’

‘Camomile?’ he repeated in his Australian way. ‘Do I look like the kind of guy who might drink herbal tea?’

I laughed. ‘Don’t worry. Breakfast tea will be fine. Thank you.’

‘How do you take it?’

‘Just a splash of milk please.’

In a few minutes, he was striding back towards me, clutching my tea and a black coffee which looked more like road tar. He handed me my mug, and his long fingers brushed against my outstretched fingertips.

I looked up to search his face. His expression was intense, his eyes drifting from mine to linger on my lips.

Then the spell was broken and he sank down in the chair opposite and slid his long legs out. He was all broad shoulders and furling dark hair. ‘So, tell me again what happened.’

I blinked and sat up straighter. Had I just imagined that? I refocused. ‘It’s Alex Lapley,’ I replied, as the afternoon light slithered off the cliff face out of the window. ‘He turned up again this morning.’

Mason’s coffee was halfway to his lips. It hovered there. ‘Oh, yes? What did he want?’

‘I’m not sure, but I thought you ought to know.’ I considered what I wanted to say before I spoke again. ‘He mentioned you looking into the Scarlet Highwayman story and the fact that you’re now living here.’

Mason’s lips twitched. ‘My presence seems to have riled him. I wonder why that is?’

I took another sip of tea. ‘That wasn’t all. He referred to White Willow Cottages and said something about needing all the luck I can get.’

His brows darkened. ‘He threatened you?’

‘Not exactly. It was more of a sly dig, rather than full-blown intimidation.’

Darwin padded across the carpet and flopped himself down at his master’s feet.

Mason looked pensive. ‘I think I’m going to pay our neighbourhood tour guide another visit.’

‘That’s a good idea. I’ll come with you.’

He frowned at me.

I leaned forward, lacing my fingers around my mug. ‘If there’s any possibility that the Lapley family have been up to no good and misleading the folks round here, believe me, the locals will want to know about it.’ I drank the rest of my tea and set the mug down on the glass coffee table in front of me.

At that moment, Mason’s mobile rang out on the table. He craned forward. ‘That’s the call I’ve been waiting for. Let me take it and then we’ll go together.’