Page 56 of The Secret Castle in the Highlands

‘And anyway,’ added Dad, ‘it’s all done and dusted now. I know that family are a set of shysters, but there’s an uneasy truce of sorts now; there has been for a number of years, especially when they moved out of the area following financial trouble with Roger.’

I swallowed hard. ‘That’s what you think.’

His hooded hazel eyes blinked. ‘What are you talking about, darling?’

Caleb spoke. ‘Alex Lapley is back in Port Starr, and he’s been trying to throw his weight around.’

My father’s dashing face turned to granite on the other side of the world. ‘What do you mean?’

I studied my parents. ‘He’s been asking lots of questions about the Scarlet Highwayman.’

Mum blinked. ‘Right. But what on earth does that have to do with us?’

I shrugged my shoulders. ‘You tell me, Mum. You and Dad seem to know far more about our family right now than I do.’

Mum opened her mouth to protest, but I cut across her. ‘And that isn’t all. Alex Lapley has also been making veiled threats against White Willow Cottages.’

Dad was incredulous. ‘He’s been what?’

‘Calm down, Ollie,’ warned Mum, shooting out her hand to catch Dad’s arm beside her.

‘How the hell can I keep calm when that lowlife has been threatening my daughter?’ Dad jumped out of his seat. ‘I thought all this nonsense ended when that lot left Port Starr.’

‘Dad,’ I pleaded, raising my voice. ‘Just listen. He’s a coward. Nothing will come of it.’ Was that true? Now that we were armed with this information, would Alex Lapley back off?

Dad folded his arms and turned to Mum. ‘I’m coming back home. We’ll cut our trip short.’ Dad snatched Mum’s hands in his. ‘I’m sorry, darling, but I wouldn’t trust any of that Lapley lot as far as I could throw them. I think we should catch the first flight back to the UK.’

‘Oh no you won’t!’ I choked. ‘I’m more than capable of handling things here. I’ve got Katie, Caleb … Mason…’ I dispersed an image of him before it lingered too long.

‘But, love,’ said Dad, peering at me through the screen, ‘you might need some backup…’

‘Dad, this isn’t an episode of some reality police show! You agreed to me being in charge of the cottages and that’s what I’m doing. I wanted to tell you both, but I insist you let me handle this and that you don’t ruin your trip.’

Mum gave a brief smile. ‘Poppy seems to be doing a sterling job so far, Oliver. Let her deal with things her way. And if there are any more issues, then we want to know, okay?’

I nodded. ‘I promise, Mum. Now, enjoy your break and I’ll keep you posted.’

Chapter Twenty-Five

The remainder of the day rolled past, with two families in separate Land Rovers, on a road trip of the Scottish Highlands, enquiring if they could stay five nights in the cottages.

Their visit was proving to be very fruitful. Both the mums fell for one of my A5-sized pencil sketches of two fishing boats at sunset and for Katie’s blue-and-yellow fruit bowl, which they’d discovered on display in Robin, and they decided to purchase them both.

Katie and I had beamed like idiots. Our artwork actually being appreciated brought an excited glow. This refurbishment of the cottages was going even better than I’d hoped.

Katie had departed for the night, and I tugged down the mini-blind we’d installed at the glass panel of the office door. Lights from the cottages pricked the descending dark and I could hear the thrilled squeals of children as they investigated their holiday-home surroundings.

It had been one hell of a day.

A hesitant knock on the door made me start.

‘Poppy?’ came Mason’s rich burr from the other side. ‘Poppy, are you still there?’

There was a wild fluttering in my chest at the sound of Mason’s voice. I smoothed my hair and unlocked the door.

Mason hovered in the office doorway. ‘I just wanted to check you were okay.’

I nodded. ‘I’m fine. Thanks for asking.’