Page 64 of The Secret Castle in the Highlands

‘You don’t need a copy,’ he snapped. ‘You’ve just read it.’ His mouth slid into a triumphant smile that made my stomach clench. ‘I’m sure it must have all come as a bit of a shock. I’ll give you a chance to digest everything and then we can discuss how we go forward.’

‘Go forward?’ I repeated, my heart thudding in my ears. ‘What are you talking about?’

Alex spun on his heel and marched towards the office door. Then he glanced back at the two of us. He spoke to Katie and me as though we were errant toddlers. ‘Your father bought this business from my family, but it transpires we still own the land. Neither my family nor I are interested in cheap holiday homes.’ His cold eyes carried a glint of defiance. ‘The cottages are in a good location, but none of us intends to run around after demanding tourists.’ He let his words hang in the air for a few seconds. ‘I would imagine we’ll want those shacks to be demolished.’

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Alex Lapley made his dramatic exit, followed by the two tourists, who decided not to purchase anything after all and made for the harbour.

‘This doesn’t make any sense,’ I said to Katie, panic rising.

‘Of course it doesn’t. That’s because he’s bluffing.’

My stomach lurched. ‘That’s what I’m afraid of. I don’t think he is.’ I dragged a hand down my face. ‘That letter looked legitimate.’ I paced up and down past the desk. ‘You saw what it said, didn’t you? I mean, I couldn’t take it all in, but it said something about Dad failing to sign some clause, and because he didn’t, it means that the cottages essentially belong to the Lapley family.’

Katie glowered at where Alex Lapley had been standing only moments before. ‘I think he’s lying. What I don’t get is why Alex has waited until now to drop this bombshell.’ She pinched her lips together. ‘That family have always been bad news.’

I hauled a frightened hand through my hair. ‘When Dad bought these cottages all those years ago, I bet he had no idea who the original owners were.’ I moved to the office window and stared out at the row of greystone cottages, with their glossy, bright doors. Desperation pressed down on my shoulders. This couldn’t be happening. I tried to swallow. ‘If Dad had known they were owned by the Lapley family, I bet he would never have gone ahead with the purchase.’

I felt as though all our hard work and effort was slipping down one giant black hole.

Oh, God. What if it was all true? What if the cottages did still belong to them and not us? A sickly feeling swished in my stomach.

However, it did also seem very suspicious to me that Alex had decided to pull this stunt now. Mason had been making progress with the contents of Georgina Lapley’s diary and then Alex Lapley strides in to deliver that news? It was a bit of a coincidence.

What was Alex so frightened of?

My throat felt dry and constricted. ‘I don’t want to bother Mum and Dad with more of this. It’ll ruin their holiday knowing that bastard is out to cause trouble.’

I reached for my phone and pulled up the number of Mum and Dad’s accountant, Anthony Cullen. After having a brief chat with his PA, I spoke to Anthony and asked him the name of the person Dad purchased the cottages from.

Katie leaned against the office wall, her expression pale. She fixed me with widened eyes; her lids dashed with the merest hint of beige shadow.

Once I’d spoken to Anthony, I lowered my mobile. Dread was crawling over me.

‘He said they were never told the actual seller’s name. All he knows is that the cottages belonged to a company called Shadow Land Holdings.’

Katie picked at the fringing on her shirt. ‘Does he know anything about them?’

I felt my skin go cold. ‘He might not have heard about Shadow Land Holdings before, but I have.’ My shoulders slumped. ‘That’s the name the Lapley family have been hiding behind to make donations to McKerron Castle.’ I took a ragged breath. ‘From the indirect dealings Anthony said they had with them, which weren’t many, they seemed very efficient.’ I rubbed the back of my neck. ‘This Shadow Land Holdings must be some crooked business arm of theirs.’

Things were messy enough as it was and I needed to get my head around everything first, before involving my father. I also felt I had to make a concerted effort to deal with this on my own.

I’d been so adamant about being given the chance to turn the cottages around; now I had to prove I was capable of handling any problems that came my way.

‘I’ll ring Caleb now and tell him about this,’ I muttered, pulling up his number on my mobile. ‘I wouldn’t like to be Alex if my brother gets his hands on him.’

I spent the remainder of Monday drifting about with a fuzzy head. Despite receiving another two bookings for the cottages for the end of the month and even selling two of Katie’s teaspoon rests and two of my McKerron Castle pencil sketches, I couldn’t muster up much enthusiasm. I wondered what the point of it all was now. There was strong evidence to suggest we had been duped, and if Alex Lapley had the law on his side, White Willow Cottages would be over when it had hardly begun.

And if all this was in some way connected to Mason’s research on the Scarlet Highwayman and Georgina Lapley’s diary, what was Alex so worried about anyway?

I waited until old Mrs Conway had paid for one of Katie’s fruit bowls as a wedding present for her niece; it was gorgeous, in simple white ceramic, with just a vibrant splash of yellow around the rim.

‘Amy will love it,’ beamed Mrs Conway as Katie wrapped it in tissue paper and placed it in a sturdy brown box. ‘Business is doing well, I hear, Poppy.’

I tried to smile, but it didn’t reach my eyes. ‘Yes, we’re doing great. Thank you.’

Mrs Conway picked up one of our brochures and the reservation price list and stuffed them into her shopping trolley. ‘We can’t house a lot of the grandkids now when they come to sleep over. I might send some your way and book one of your cottages for a bit of peace and quiet.’