Page 87 of The Secret Castle in the Highlands

Most of them seemed to refer to Georgina as an appendage to her odious-sounding husband, which irritated me. Then I spotted a reference to the name Blake Summers. I gasped, causing Darwin to raise his heavy head by my feet. He awarded me an odd look before settling down again.

‘Mason,’ I yelled, my breath rasping.

He wandered back in, clutching a teaspoon in one hand.

‘Read this.’

He frowned and came around the table to look at the screen. ‘Blake Summers?’

I gestured to the screen. ‘He’s my great-great-great-grandfather.’

Mason sat down beside me. ‘Bloody hell. Of course. He was Lizzie’s brother.’

We read the short article about Lizzie’s untimely passing, with quotes from Blake blaming her exhausting job at The Hawthorns estate for her death.

Wild thoughts shot around my head. ‘You don’t think … you don’t think Blake was the Scarlet Highwayman, do you?’

Mason’s brows dipped. ‘Well, when you think about it, he had a good motive for wanting to get his revenge on Augustus. He believed he’d mistreated his sister and caused her death.’

‘And that most recent note,’ I said, fidgeting. ‘It was talking about looking closer to home.’ My hand shot to my mouth. ‘My home?’

Confusion rocketed through me.

Mason pointed to the last couple of paragraphs of the local newspaper article. ‘Have you read that bit at the end?’

I re-focused on what he was referring to and read the text aloud. ‘It is rumoured that following Lizzie Bishop’s death, Mrs Lapley is making every effort to support and assist the family and that Mr Blake Summers, an accomplished stable hand and the late Mrs Bishop’s eldest brother, has been granted employment at The Hawthorns estate in that capacity.’

‘Oh my God,’ I breathed, turning to stare at Mason. ‘Georgina gave him a job.’

His brows rose. ‘That’s strange. Blake’s name wasn’t listed on that employee list from the estate.’

I thought about it. ‘So, do you think someone was trying to keep his employment there a secret? And if so, why?’

Mason looked bewildered. ‘Well, working at the stables would have been an important role. That would’ve meant he was working closely with the estate horses, which were worth a lot of money in those days. He was probably also a very competent rider, otherwise he wouldn’t have got the job.’

I could see Mason slotting pieces of the jigsaw together. ‘And that meant he would have been close to Augustus Lapley, if he did want to avenge his sister.’ He paused. ‘Are you thinking what I’m thinking?’

My heart clattered against my ribs. ‘Oh God. The Scarlet Highwayman could be my great-great-great-grandfather.’

Chapter Thirty-Eight

The waves were dancing against the shore as I stuffed my hands deeper into the pockets of my fleece. I had my rucksack on and was marching, trying to clear the cobwebs suspended in my mind. There was a quiet Sunday-morning aura, with only the excited bark of a dog rolling in on the breeze.

I hadn’t slept well last night. Every time I thought about Blake being the Scarlet Highwayman, my emotions contorted in disbelief. What if he was? My own great-great-great-grandfather!

I shoved my sunglasses further up my nose.

While my feet carried me towards the end of the beach, I found my whirring thoughts conjuring up Mason.

I coloured at the thought of him, too.

Why had Mason suggested I act the part of his girlfriend? I gave my head a shake to clear it. Well, it was obvious. He’d only done that to get his matchmaking mum off his back.

You would have thought that after Nick, I would’ve learned from my mistakes. I just hoped Mason would summon up some courtesy and keep both his parents away from me. The sooner Orla and Jack departed on their Highland road trip, the better. Then things could revert to how they were.

That notion made my shoulders slump, but I shook it off.

I nodded a greeting to the dog walker and tapped up the stone steps that were brushed with a carpet of sand. The harbour boats slapped and slid under the sleepy July sunshine.