Page 65 of A Highland Family Affair

Brodie pursed his lips. ‘There was another walk I wanted to map but it’s not essential. I think there’s enough for people to go at with what I’ve prepared. We’ll just have to keep everything crossed that it actually sells.’

She kissed him on the nose and crossed her eyes. ‘If I cross everything, I won’t be able to interview people.’

He laughed. ‘Okay, maybe just metaphorically cross everything.’

‘Consider it done. Love you.’

‘Love you more,’ he said with tenderness and her heart flipped in her chest.

After a day of interviews, Olivia was worn out but felt like she had made a decision. It was a relief. The only thing now was getting the chosen candidate to accept the position. At five thirty, she made her way towards the kitchen to get herself a drink. There was an aroma of spices: turmeric, possibly ginger, garlic too, and meat emanating from the Aga that made Olivia’s stomach churn and she realised she hadn’t eaten. She wondered what Mirren had concocted. As she rounded the door, she found Kerr and Will sitting at the table chatting and eating shortbread. Kerr had a mug of steaming coffee in front of him and Sir Lancelot sat between them on the floor waiting for biscuit crumbs.

‘Oh, hi, Will. How are you doing?’ she asked with concern, knowing that the night before had been somewhat traumatic for the boy. She picked up a piece of shortbread and got a glass of water before sitting down with them.

Will seemed so much more relaxed than the last time she had seen him. He smiled brightly. ‘Everything’s good. My mum said I could go to the nursery straight from school and then I came here afterwards with Kerr. He says I can stay for dinner,’ he said quite shyly, as he twirled Sir Lancelot’s fur around in his fingers.

Kerr cringed. ‘If that’s okay, of course. Sorry to drop it on you. You’ve been busy all day or I would’ve checked.’

Sir Lancelot walked around and sat by her, resting his head in her lap so she stroked his head. ‘Of course you can stay for dinner. It will be nice to have you here.’

Will’s cheeks tinged with pink, and he lowered his gaze to his glass of water. ‘Thank you. And I’m really sorry about last night. I was out of order swearing like that in front of you, Lady Olivia.’

She smiled in a way she hoped was reassuring. ‘Hey, my name’s just Olivia, or Liv, okay? Until maybe you’re ready to call me Aunty Liv, but there’s no pressure there, okay?’

Will lifted his chin and nodded. ‘Thank you, Liv.’

She smiled. ‘So, what have you been doing at the nursery today? And I’m glad you had a change of clothes with you, looking at the mud on your top. Not sure your mum would be impressed trying to get that out of a white school shirt.’

He brushed futilely at the patches of greyish brown and winced. ‘Whoops. We’ve been weeding, haven’t we… Da… erm, Kerr?’

Kerr smiled but it was tinged with a little sadness. ‘Aye, we have. It’s mucky work but someone’s gotta do it, eh, lad?’

Will grinned. ‘Yup.’

Mirren walked in and immediately went to warm her hands on the fire. ‘It’s dropped a bit chilly out there this evening. I hope it gets warmer for the weekend or you’ll freeze in that lacy dress, Olivia,’ she said, rubbing her hands together.

‘Oh yeah, it’s your wedding, isn’t it?’ Will said. ‘That’s cool. I like Brodie. He’s funny.’

‘He is rather,’ Olivia agreed. ‘And I don’t even think I’ll feel it if it is cold. I’ll be too nervous.’

Will seemed to ponder for a moment. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever been to a wedding. Well, apart from my mum’s to Tabor but I was only little when that happened so it doesn’t really count.’

An idea came to Olivia, but she would need to run it past Brodie first, so she kept it quiet.

Mirren patted Will’s shoulder. ‘Now, young man, are you going to go and wash up before dinner? I’ve made a Moroccan lamb tagine. Goodness knows what it’ll be like because the recipe was from a website that Dougie found, I prefer cookbooks myself. He even ordered a special pot to cook it in from Amazon. Anyway, it smells all right.’

‘It smells amazing,’ Kerr said. ‘And, Will, you can go and wash in my room. If you look in the third drawer down, you’ll find some T-shirts. They’ll probably be a bit big on you, but it’ll be fine for tonight.’

Will stood from the table. ‘Thanks. I won’t be long. You coming, Lancey?’

Sir Lancelot paused, gazing up at Olivia for a second and leaning closer to sniff at her. ‘Sorry, buddy, I’ve eaten it all,’ she told the canine, so he sprang to his feet excitedly and scuttled after the boy.

‘I think you’ve got some competition there,’ Olivia said as the pair ran out of the room. ‘He seems to adore Will.’

Kerr nodded. ‘They’ve really bonded. Although he seems quite fond of you too.’

Olivia laughed. ‘When I’ve got food, yes.’ Kerr fell silent for a few moments until Olivia guessed he was holding something back. ‘What’s wrong, Kerr?’

Kerr glanced towards the door, as if checking the coast was clear, and he sighed. ‘He’s almost called me Dad three times this afternoon. But he keeps stopping himself.’