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As a parting shot, I hoped it expressed my utter lack of interest in him and his activities. I might be on the lookout for a Scotsman like Jamie Fraser, but I wasn’t going to settle for a poor imitation. Never mind that in Outlander, Jamie was gruff and rude to Claire on more than one occasion. Only when she deserved it, though.
I put my host out of my mind and set off on foot to explore the small town of Portree. Finley was right about the lack of rooms. I checked at one hotel to make sure. The desk clerk’s apologetic smile reinforced the truth. With the music festival in town, there was nary a bed to be had.
Would my cleaning ladies be able to finish Cedric’s house in a single day? The place was in bad shape. Sadly, I wasn’t at all confident that my host wouldn’t toss me out on the street if it took too long for me to move on. He struck me as the kind of man who liked to spend time alone.
At the waterfront, I wandered aimlessly, strolling around the concrete wharf. With a small pair of binoculars I kept in my jacket pocket, I amused myself reading the names of the various boats docked in the harbor. LadyBird, SeaLily, Pride of Portree. Apart from Skye, there were dozens of islands west of where I stood, not all of them inhabited.
Unlike Skye, there were no bridges to access the Outer Hebrides. It was the car ferry or a puddle jumper. I’d been warned that the ferry was unreliable, not because of staff or vehicles, but in light of the changeable weather. Wind or rain could and did derail many a travel plan.
I wasn’t too worried. I first wanted to spend at least a week at my rental house settling in and creating my nest. After that, I would make a point of exploring the entire island. Once those goals were ticked off the list, maybe I’d consider spending a few nights farther afield.
It was amusing, in a way, that on the Isle of Skye—where I felt a million miles away from home—there were still mysterious bits of Scotland even more remote. Places with names like Iona, Eigg, Mull, and Uist. The Gaelic language and the old religions still thrived in many of those places. Because of my fascination with all things Scottish, I think I could live on a tiny, remote island, at least for part of the year.
Finley called me Duchess, for reasons I had yet to decipher. To be fair, the nickname carried some validity. I was accustomed to luxury. My condo back in Atlanta had been featured in magazines. Still, I didn’t need all that to be happy. Days like today filled me with content. I was a citizen of the world. Though I had traveled widely, there were still places to go and people to see.
When my stomach began to growl, signaling the dinner hour, I toyed with the idea of staying in town to prove a point. I didn’t have to rely on Finley’s largesse. I was an independent woman.
On further reflection, I knew I’d be cutting off my nose to spite my face. There was no good reason not to go back. I anticipated the delivery of my new rental car. I needed my suitcases from the trunk of the old one. And I very much wanted to spend the evening with Finley.
