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Hilda came out of the kitchen with a coffee pot in hand and poured me a mug.
“Aye. I know what my fish like.”
“Oh, don’t get him started, or he’ll be rambling on forever about his fish if you let him,” Hilda said, waving the pot of coffee in the air. I found it hard to believe that Archie rambled about anything as he seemed a bit short with his words. “There he is.”
I felt the energy of the room shift as though someone had opened a window and a breeze brushed across the back of my neck.
“I was wondering if you were on to sleep all day,” Hilda said. Sleep all day? It was barely eight in the morning.
“I had an early morning.” Lachlan’s voice sent a warm thrill of pleasure to my core, like the last sugary sip at the bottom of your coffee cup.
The chair diagonal to me scraped, and I forced myself to raise my eyes from my plate to look at Lachlan. My heart sighed. Yep, still handsome.
His presence seemed to fill the room, and he carried his machismo in a way that many men tried to affect but it only came naturally to a select few. It was more than just his rugged good looks. It was as though he entered a room with the understanding that he could handle whatever situation would arise. And a baser side of myself sat up and begged to be a situation for him to handle.
Unsure of how to proceed after his cold welcome yesterday, I merely gave him a curt nod and then turned my nose up. He wasn’t the only one that could be standoffish.
“So Lachlan? Well, we didn’t get a chance to officially meet last night. My name is Matthew, and I am Sophie’s best friend,” Matthew said, putting on a very cheerful tone. “We’re looking forward to touring the castle today and learning more about what I presume is its rich history, which is right up my alley.”
“If it’s history you’re after, there’s plenty of it here. Hilda knows it. And talk to Agnes. She owns a bookshop, so she’ll be blethering on for hours about history if that’s to your taste,” Lachlan said, scooping some beans onto his plate.
“Oh perfect. I was going to ask if there is a bookstore here or a library. Actually, now that I think about it, we don’t have a car, do we?” Matthew looked at me, and I realized we might have some trouble getting around without transportation. I hadn’t really thought all that far in advance and now wondered if this town rented cars at weekly rates.
“Loren Brae’s walking distance if you don’t mind a bit of rain,” Lachlan said.
“And no Uber?” Matthew’s voice held a hopeful note. His face fell when Lachlan shook his head.
“I’m happy to drop you off anywhere when I go to get the messages,” Hilda said, before returning to the kitchen with her empty coffee pot. Matthew and I looked at each other. I wondered what kind of messages Hilda was getting and how often she needed to pick them up. How often did someone need to go to the post office? If so, did that mean that I could have Amazon packages shipped there? Remembering about the Wi-Fi, I turned to Lachlan. “I meant to ask…where can I find the Wi-Fi code?” At that, Lachlan rolled his eyes.
“This isn’t a bed and breakfast you know.”
“No worries,” I said. “I’ll just go with Hilda when she picks up her messages and see about getting Internet installed out here. Seeing as how I’m the new owner and all.” I saw Matthew close his eyes across the table and give a subtle shake of his head. I wasn’t sure why I was antagonizing Lachlan except that I couldn’t handle rudeness before I’d finished my first cup of coffee for the day. Lachlan’s hands tightened and then he dropped his fork to his plate and pushed back from the table.
“The Internet code is on the back of the router by the television in the corner,” Archie said. Lachlan glared while I smiled sweetly at Archie.
“There now that wasn’t so bad, was it?” I asked Lachlan.
“You seem to think that you have free rein to make any changes you want here. If that’s the case of it, I’m not sticking around to watch this place fall into ruin.” Lachlan stood and while I enjoyed getting the best of him, for a moment I saw the very real flash of pain in his eyes. This was more than just anger, there was something deeper here that I didn’t yet understand. When one wounded soul recognizes another, it was hard to hold on to annoyance. I stopped him from walking away by raising my hand in the air.
“Lachlan. I don’t want to be at war with you.”
“You don’t have to be, then.” Lachlan jerked his chin at the door toward the entrance. “There’s the door.”
“While I don’twantto be at war with you,” I amended, “I think you should know that I truly not only have no idea what I’m doing here, but I also have no intention of coming in and taking over. In all honesty, I didn’t even know this was a fully functioning castle or that it held tours or even that people lived here. As demonstrated by me walking into the place and setting the alarm off yesterday. Hilda has been kind enough to give us a little time to rest before we talk about what it is specifically my uncle wanted from me when it came to this castle.”
“Your uncle clearly didn’t care much about this castle, or he would have been more helpful when we’ve needed it lately,” Lachlan said, bitterness lacing his tone.
“I can’t say why my uncle made any decisions that he did. However, I can say that knowing my uncle, I find it highly unlikely that he wouldn’t have helped where help was needed. This is truly the first time I knew that he owned this castle and I’m sorry if you haven’t gotten the support that you needed from my family.”
“Seems to me your uncle probably enjoyed the idea of owning a castle far more than the realities of running one,” Lachlan said, still standing by the side of the table. Hilda came into the room in time to hear his words, and she smacked him across the shoulders with her tea towel.
“Lachlan Campbell, you will not speak to a guest in this house this way.”
“Och, she’s not a guest. She owns the place as she’s pointed out several times now,” Lachlan said, his arms crossed over his chest.
Matthew stood and walked forward until he faced off with Lachlan. Though Lachlan was several inches taller than him and much more muscular, Matthew simply raised his chin and met his eyes dead on. When he spoke, his voice was low and dangerous.
“Have a care with your words there,mate. Arthur was like a father to Sophie, and she’s just buried him. It seems that none of us know the real story behind how Arthur came into ownership of this place. You are bleeding on someone who didn’t cut you.” Matthew’s hands were held in loose fists at his side as though he was readying himself for a fight. I’d never been prouder of my best friend in my whole life. While I knew that Matthew had faced a lot of challenges in his life, the sheer size of Lachlan was terrifying.
