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I try a different tactic. “Isla, I was wondering if you would do me a favor and show me the castle and the grounds later? You know, since I bet you have the best knowledge.”
She shoots me a glance full of skepticism.
“I’m busy. Doing important things.”
“Oh yeah? Like what? I can do it anytime that you have. I am wide open and ready to explore the castle.”
Isla shrugs a shoulder. She sneaks a glance at Keir and then screws up her face. “I am busy, like I said. So is my dad. You should probably leave.”
I was expecting a little bit of pushback, so I don’t react to this statement. I just remain calm. Inside though, I am a quivering mess of feelings. Mostly I am worried that Keir is not supporting me at all.
Then again, what did I really expect? This whole situation is just completely new to me.
“Maybe we can pick a time to explore together later,” I say carefully. I peer at Isla.
She just shrugs a shoulder and stands up, brushing her grubby shorts off.
I look at Keir again and he is just sliding his phone back into his pocket. I grimace and frown at him.
“I have to go to Glasgow for business in a few days,” he says, a far off look in his eyes.
I stand up, my knee giving me trouble as I do. Isla is watching me with a calculating gaze, and I wonder what it is that she sees.
I turn to Keir, clasping my hands behind my back. “Why do you live all the way out here instead of somewhere like Glasgow or London? It seems counterintuitive to be so far away from your actual business.”
Isla cuts in, talking over Keir. “It’s because of Mommy.”
“Oh?” I ask, my brows knitting together.
Keir gives his daughter a tiny glare. “It is not. It’s because it’s much quieter here, that’s why.”
Isla opens her mouth to argue but Keir makes a gesture to cut her off. “That’s enough talk about Mom. Okay? I really don’t want you telling stories about her. And Ella, I would be very upset if I found out that you had asked Isla to talk about her mother when I wasn’t here.”
I scrunch up my face. “Are you forbidding me from asking about her?”
He clenches his jaw. “I don’t think I need to. It’s none of your business.”
“You’re only here until Mommy comes back anyway,” Isla tells me very seriously.
“Isla, we talked about this. Your mom is not coming back. She is not even allowed to be in the whole southwest of Scotland.”
Isla instantly adopts a hostile posture, crossing her arms and cocking her hip. It would be funny if the situation were a little different. “You don’t even know where Mommy is. Right? That’s what you told me.”
Keir drags in a breath. But before he can even say anything, Isla takes off toward the front door of the castle, leaving her questionable piece of art behind. Keir shakes his head and starts to peel pieces of magazine off the wood floor. He mutters as he pulls up glue covered pieces.
I tilt my head at him. I don’t know if he is asking for advice or not, but it’s evident enough to me that he doesn’t have any clear boundaries or rules in place for young Isla.
“Well?”
Keir looks up at me, his eyebrows rising. “Yes?”
I’d give a tiny, humorless laugh.
“You do realize that I am not in fact your nanny, right?”
He pulls up a piece of sticky magazine and shoots me a glare.
“Of course, I know that. I don’t expect much from you. Nor do I expect you to get along with my daughter. I just need you to act as if you’re going through the motions while we figure out what the situation is with the journalist and whether or not the video was accessed by anyone of importance.”
