Page 59 of The Secret Castle in the Highlands

I digested the end of his message.

Now, I don’t know about the rest of you, but there’s a fancy cooked breakfast awaiting me and your mother in the hotel restaurant and I’m rather peckish.

I’m sorry I didn’t tell you and your brother sooner.

Caleb messaged me moments later.

Well, I didn’t see that coming. It all sounds like an episode of The Sopranos.

I inwardly agreed and set my mobile back down to refocus on my painting of the roses. I’d just begun creating a shadowy effect, when my mobile rang. As I moved to answer it, I saw Mason’s name shimmer up on the screen.

‘Everything okay? Any updates?’ he asked.

‘Yes, well, sort of but I’ll tell you more another time. How’re things going?’

Mason’s voice became more enthusiastic. ‘I’ve got a couple more items to check up on.’ There was a short pause. ‘How are you fixed for meeting up on Sunday at lunchtime?’

I knew what my common sense was telling me to do, but my mouth refused to cooperate. I wanted to decline, but then a thought screeched into my head. You both agreed that this is simply a working relationship. So, what was the harm? If I became all weird about it, what message was that sending Mason? That I was seeing more in this than just a passing flirtation? I found myself saying, ‘That should be fine.’

‘Great. The weather is supposed to be lovely, so maybe we could take Darwin down to the beach. I’ll bring a picnic.’

‘Oh, please don’t go to lots of trouble,’ I insisted.

‘I don’t think shop-bought sandwiches, a couple of bottles of water and some fruit will be a lot of work.’

A picnic? Confusion and surprise gnawed at me. What was going on? ‘Okay, that sounds good. Thank you.’

An idea shot through my mind about Linus and The Scarlet Highwayman. ‘Oh, Mason, this is just a suggestion, but the terrain round here wouldn’t be the easiest to negotiate on horseback unless you were an accomplished rider.’

‘Yes?’

‘Well, I wondered about checking out well-known horsemen, stable owners, successful horse breeders in the late seventeen hundreds in the area?’

I could hear the enthusiasm in Mason’s voice. ‘Great idea! I’ll look into it. I’ll drop by your place at twelve-thirty,’ he added, before wishing me a good day and ringing off.

That evening, despite my best intentions, I struggled not to dream about silver eyes.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

The sand edged between our toes, feeding its warm, silky heat into our skin. I noticed Mason had very attractive feet, with long, slim toes and neat, square nails… I chastised myself and looked outwards at the hazy blue horizon. I allowed the salty breeze to wash over my upturned face. If I’d decided to stay in London, I would have missed all of this. I would never have felt like I’d been able to move on and prove myself. A spark of satisfaction lit up inside me, and I closed my eyes for a few seconds, allowing the sun to stroke my face. I sensed a small nudge against my sun-cream-smeared shoulder.

‘Now, an important question,’ said Mason, rummaging around in the blue-and-green stripy cool bag he’d brought with him. We were both sitting on a tartan blanket I’d supplied from the annexe. Darwin, meanwhile, was lying beside Mason like an Egyptian sphinx.

‘Bacon, lettuce and tomato, egg and cress, or salami and mozzarella?’

I opted for the salami-and-mozzarella sandwich and relished a bite, while Mason chose the bacon, lettuce and tomato.

He took a couple of thoughtful chews and then passed me a folded sheet of paper.

I took it in one hand and squinted down at his now familiar scrawl. ‘What’s this?’

He shuffled a little closer to me. ‘I’ve been trying to narrow down possible suspects who could have become the Scarlet Highwayman.’

I adjusted my sunglasses which were hitched on top of my head.

‘I took your advice and I’ve been reading up about men in the Port Starr area who were not only accomplished horsemen but also had connections who may well have been able to assist them in concealing their highwayman identity.’

‘And?’