Page 56 of A Highland Family Affair

‘Lovely. Thanks, Mirren. Ooh, any sign of Kerr yet?’

‘Aye, he arrived back about half an hour ago and went straight up to drop his bag off. I expect he’ll be in to see the dug any minute.’

Olivia laughed. ‘Oh, yes, I expect he will.’

Right on cue, Kerr walked in behind Mirren. ‘Hey, sis. Where’s my Lancey?’

On hearing his master’s voice, Sir Lancelot scrambled out from under the desk and ran at Kerr, who had lowered himself to the ground and held out his arms, ready for the onslaught. The dog made excited, high-pitched yipping noises and his whole body wagged as he licked Kerr’s face.

Kerr howled with laughter as he tried to get the dog’s tongue out of his nostrils and ears. ‘Bleurgh! Hey, lad, have you missed me? Have you? Aww, I told you I’d come back.’

Olivia stood from her desk and rounded it to hug her brother. ‘How did it all go?’

Kerr hugged her back. ‘It was great. I learned so much and I feel really geared up now. Raring to go. I’ve got contacts now too in case I need any advice which is really helpful. I even bought myself a muckle chainsaw from one of the suppliers.’ Olivia noted how giddy he was about that fact.

‘Good grief, they let you loose with one of those?’

‘Hey, I’m a dab hand with it. You should see me.’ He laughed.

Olivia held him at arm’s length. ‘I’m so proud of you, you know,’ she told him, hoping he could see the sincerity in her eyes. ‘With everything that happened with Charlotte I was so scared, but you’ve done amazingly well.’

He smiled. ‘Yes, well, I couldn’t let myself relapse, Liv. I have a son to think about.’

Olivia never imagined those would be words that would come from her brother’s mouth, at least not in such bizarre circumstances, but she was so happy for him. ‘Have you heard from Charlotte at all?’

He nodded. ‘We’ve chatted while I was away. Not at first. I just couldn’t… But this last week we’ve made plans to tell Will who I am.’

‘And what about you and her? Your relationship?’

He shook his head and scowled. ‘Completely over. We’ve agreed to be civil for Will’s sake. Well… I have. She wanted us to carry on where we left off, but I said I can’t do that. Certainly not at the moment, anyway.’

Olivia pulled him into another hug. ‘As hard as that must have been, I think you’re right. A relationship has to be based on trust.’

‘Exactly.’ He shrugged. ‘Who knows, maybe I’ll meet someone else when the time’s right.’ There was a thoughtful pause before he continued, ‘To be honest, I think perhaps you were right about it being the wrong time for me with Charlotte anyway. I’m just sorry it resulted in you losing a member of staff. And a friend too.’

Olivia turned and pointed to her desk. ‘I’ve been looking through more CVs. I tried a different agency, and these applicants seem better quality. I’m quite hopeful.’

‘Well, I’m sure Brodie will give you a second opinion. Speaking of your intrepid author fiancé, where is he?’

‘He’s out mapping another trail on Ben Blair for his new book. He’s been gone a while, but he’ll be having too much fun to come home yet. He said he’ll be back before sundown.’

‘Ah, yes, the new book. Great idea and a definite great seller for the shop. Right, well, I’ll go take Lancey for a walk now I’m back. I’ve missed our walks, boy,’ he told the excited and happy canine. ‘See you later, Olivia.’ He gave her a warm smile and left the room.

Olivia made a shortlist of four candidates she wanted to interview for the role of PA as she ate the soup and home-made bread that Mirren had brought for her. After that, at around five in the afternoon she decided to finish for the day and take in some fresh air; something Brodie always insisted she should do after being in the office staring at a screen all day. She grabbed her jacket to take a walk in the grounds.

There was a burst of colour on the grassed areas now that the harebells had pushed through the soil. A sea of violet-blue carpeted the green and the little bells waved in the breeze. She remembered her dad had told her that, when he was a child, they used to call them Gowk’s Thummles, which translates as Cuckoo’s Thimbles, one of the many stories she loved that gave her a lasting connection with him now he was gone.

The oak trees were now dressed in lush, verdant lobes and for a moment she was taken back to the times she and Brodie used to play hide-and-seek out there as kids. She could almost hear their laughter echoing off the bark as she reminisced, and see images of them running around the fat trunks in circles, unsure of who was trying to catch whom.

As she walked, ominous grey rain clouds seemed to move in from nowhere and heavy, fat droplets began to hit, and then bounce back up from, the ground. She pulled her collar up and turned to hurriedly make her way back to the castle, the exterior stonework of which was darkening now with the deluge. She glanced at her watch. Five thirty. She had hoped Brodie would have returned by now, even though she knew deep down that he would be enjoying himself. He’d be soaked when he got back, and the poor dogs too. She figured he must have got carried away with his mapping and hoped he’d found somewhere to shelter until the rain passed.

Once back inside, she went to her room and grabbed a towel to dry her hair. She peered out of the window over the grounds for a few moments. The sky was dark, and the sun was hiding behind thick thunderclouds that loomed over the grounds, and she willed Brodie to walk up the driveway, but of course, he didn’t.

When she went back down to the kitchen, Mirren was in there, standing by the fire, warming her hands. ‘I’ve just made a pot of coffee, hen, you must be freezing. That rain came out of nowhere, didn’t it? I’m glad I brought the laundry in earlier, or I’d be rewashing the lot. Is Brodie drying off?’

Olivia frowned. ‘Brodie? Have you seen him? Is he back?’

Mirren shook her head. ‘Oh… No, I haven’t seen him, hen. I just presumed he must be back by now.’