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“Duncan’s going to kill me,” she wailed.
Flora scoffed. “He won’t find out.”
“Eh,” Mairi said. “I think he might.”
Donna turned to see what she was looking at. A group of women were posing for a photo in front of the staircase.
“Don’t forget to use the right hashtag,” one of them called. “Kintyre Mansion Ball.”
“I’m dead,” Donna said.
***
Duncan was surprised to find a young woman sitting at the table in the restaurant that Zoe led him to.
“This is Madeline,” she said. “Gordon’s niece.”
The
woman shot to her feet, holding out a hand for Duncan. “I’m a big fan. I can’t believe I’m meeting you in person. It’s so exciting.”
He shook her hand and mumbled something with the word pleased in it. As he went to sit down facing the woman, Zoe stopped him. “No, you sit over there beside her.” She pushed him in the right direction.
He caught Zoe’s husband, Gordon’s eye as he sat down and the man, “sorry,” he mouthed.
That’s when Duncan knew he had been set up. He’d walked right into the middle of his own blind date. With a frown, he rounded the table to sit with Madeline. He supposed she was pretty, in her own way, with her long black hair and her trim figure, but she was no Donna. There were no curves to entice a man, and her smile didn’t light up the room. It was on the tip of his tongue to tell Zoe that he was already seeing someone, but he didn’t want to make his personal business public. His only option was to suffer through the evening and get back home to Donna as fast as he could.
He stilled at the thought. Once, home had meant Fiona, but now it meant Donna, and instead of being upset at the thought, all he felt was a warmth around his heart and a longing to get back to her.
Once he’d sat down beside the woman, she curled both of her hands around his arm. “I’m so sorry to hear that you lost your wife.”
“Eh...thanks?” He glared at Zoe. It was wasted on her.
Thankfully, the waiter arrived with menus and the strange woman let go of his arm.
“I have something to show you,” Duncan said to Zoe as he rooted around in the small backpack he’d brought with him from the college. He handed her the paperback copy of The Hobbit.
“Thanks, but I’ve read it.” Zoe handed it back.
“Look inside.”
With an indulgent smile, she did just that. Duncan watched her carefully and smiled at the shocked expression on her face once she’d opened the book.
“Gordon,” she said in awe.
“What?” Her husband dragged his eyes away from the menu and sucked in a breath when he looked at the book.
Zoe looked over at Duncan. “This is the illustrator you mentioned. Where did you get this?”
“Found it at the mansion. I don’t know who it belongs to, but I wanted to check with you before I tracked down the owner. I’m no’ imagining things, am I?”
She shook her head. “No, you definitely aren’t. These are sublime. When was the last time you saw illustrations like these, Gordon?”
The older man rubbed his chin. “I honestly can’t recall.”
“Oh”—Madeline bounced in her seat—“is it like a picture book? I love those. Don’t you?” She held up her phone at arm’s length as she leaned into Duncan’s side. “Smile,” she said. He didn’t. She took the photo anyway, then started to type with her thumbs. “Out for dinner with art royalty,” she read aloud as she typed. “Hashtag blessed.” She beamed at him.
He blinked at her before turning back to the art school dean. “What do you think then?”
