Page 96 of The Secret Castle in the Highlands

‘Look, Poppy, I need to explain where I’ve been and what I’ve been doing. In order to do that, you need to come home with me.’

My stomach did a flip, but my expression remained stoical. ‘I don’t need to do anything, Mason.’

‘Okay. You’re right. That was clumsy of me.’ He dropped his gaze for a moment. ‘There’s a certain canine who has really missed you.’

‘Oh, that’s a low blow,’ I answered. ‘Using Darwin? Really?’

Mason lifted his hands in surrender. ‘What can I say? I’m desperate.’

I looked out towards McKerron Castle, its rain-lashed turrets now bathed in strips of mellow sun that was fighting its way through a bank of grey cloud.

‘Is Darwin in the car?’

‘He is.’

‘Okay, but I can’t stay too long.’

Mason smiled his appreciation. ‘I’ll drop you back as soon as you’ve heard me out.’

I pointedly stared out of Mason’s car window as he negotiated the short drive to his apartment.

I was licked, leaped at and pummelled by Darwin as soon as I set foot in the car, and he was now sitting bolt upright on the back seat.

When we parked up outside Mason’s apartment block, Darwin bounded out of the car in a shaggy cloud of fur.

Mason swung open his apartment door and gestured for me to enter first. ‘Can I get you a coffee or tea?’ he asked, indicating for me to go and sit down. If I didn’t know any better, I would’ve thought Mason was nervous.

‘No thanks. I don’t have much time to spare.’ I glanced around as I stroked Darwin, who sat himself at my feet. ‘Is Garrett out sampling the delights of Port Starr?’

‘No, he went home this morning. He only came for a short visit.’

Mason hovered for a moment, before sitting down in the chair opposite me. His eyes flashed. ‘Look, Poppy. I wanted to see you to explain. I’ve been busy for the past couple of days – but not with other women.’

I eyed him warily.

He leaned forward, a lock of his hair flopping onto his brow. ‘I wanted to tell you about the other day on the beach, but it was awkward with Garrett being there.’ He stretched out his long legs. ‘Garrett only told me he was coming to visit a couple of days ago and it just threw everything up into the air.’

‘Is everything all right?’

Mason rubbed his chin. ‘It is now, but it wasn’t at the time.’ He let out a sigh. ‘I should have rung you to explain, instead of dashing off such a hastily written text, but Garrett had just spoken to me, and he was in a bit of a state.’ He opened his hands. ‘I had to rush out and get some food shopping in, before picking him up from the train station.’

The grocery shopping Maisie saw him with; me jumping to women-related conclusions. Two pops of colour smeared my cheeks.

Mason spoke again. ‘His ex-boyfriend is an archaeologist like him – they met at uni in London – and Garrett had just discovered Johnny had secured work on the same dig as him.’ He gave Darwin a pat as he wandered past him. ‘Their breakup was messy and Garrett didn’t take it at all well. He’s a lot stronger than he thinks he is, though, and was beginning to get back on track until Johnny suddenly turned up in Cambridge on the site.’

‘What happened?’

Mason shifted his eyes to the spotlight studded in the ceiling for a moment. ‘Garrett rang me and he sounded so distraught, asked if he could get away for a couple of days. He was due some holiday anyway and thought that by escaping up here, he could get his head straight again.’

‘And you’ve been undertaking the role of supportive big brother,’ I concluded.

‘I’ve tried to,’ he said, ‘as well as feeding him up again on his favourite puddings and lots of chocolate.’ He shook his head. ‘Garrett has never been a big, strapping lad, but I got such a shock when I collected him from the train station. He obviously hasn’t been looking after himself, after all this with Johnny.’

He gave an appreciative smile. ‘Thank goodness his work colleagues have been so supportive. Do you know his old boss at university heard about his fragile state? She was up visiting relatives in Scotland and came to see me a couple of times.’ Mason rolled his eyes. ‘Garrett hadn’t told me how he was feeling or about Johnny to begin with. It was only when his old boss, Professor Curtis, dropped by that I found out how stressed my brother was about it all.’ Mason let out a short laugh. ‘I felt so guilty, sitting there in a restaurant and being told by my brother’s old mentor how heartbroken he was.’

I inclined my head, a thought lodging itself there.

‘And then Annabel – Professor Curtis – returned again for a catch-up on Garrett’s progress.’