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“Aye, and Lexie’s too,” says an older woman who looks like the first woman’s mother. “She might be a bitch, but she’sourbitch!”
“Our bitch!” chants the crowd. “Our bitch!”
I’m not sure whether to be flattered or offended by this. I didn’t think anyone in this town was on my side, even grudgingly. But as everyone takes up the chant — which, okay, Ireallywish didn’t include the word ‘bitch’ — I feel myself grow marginally stronger.
Maybe I’m not quite as alone as I thought I was.
“Lexie’s not a bitch,” says Jett, firmly. He’s speaking in his normal voice, but there’s an edge to it that’s unmistakable — if you know him well enough, that is. “I’m not going to stand here and let you call her that. I’m not going to stand here at all, actually. We’re going. Come on,” he says to Duval. “We’re done here.”
He turns to walk away. My heart skitters to a halt as I see Violet run after him, struggling to stay upright as her high heels sink into the mud. If there was any justice in the world, she’d fall flat on her face, and someone would video it for TikTok. But, of course, thereisn’tany justice, so she makes it safely to Jett’s side, and I watch as she reaches out and grabs his hand.
So, on balance, I’d sayno, there definitely isn’t any justice in the world.
“Wait!” I call out, surprising myself.
Everyone stops in their tracks; even Edna the sheep.
Jett turns to face me again, his expression totally closed.
“Comeon,Jett,” says Violet, tugging impatiently at his hand. “There’s no point listening to what these people have to say. They havepitchforksand everything!”
“It’s just one pitchfork,” I point out, desperately hoping this is true. “And as for ‘these people’,” I go on, my voice stronger. “They’re not trying to ruin your movie; they’re just asking for some respect, that’s all. The roads, the noise… it has an impact on them too, you know. It’s their town. Well,ourtown. We’ll all still have to live in it long after you lot have gone home. We have to live in itnow,with your trucks blocking the roads and crowds of photographers everywhere, hoping to get a photo of you. You might all be used to that, but ‘these people’ aren’t, and I think all anyone’s asking for here is a little bit of consideration for that. A little bit of respect.”
“That’s right, Lexie,” says Bella, who’s come to stand beside me. “Ye have to think about poor Archie Taylor and his fish.”
“Ex… exactly,” I say. “Them too.”
Won’t someone please think of the fish?
“The thing is, though,” I say, recovering my train of thought, “This movie is good for all of us.”
I can sense Jimmy about to object to this, so I turn to the rest of the protesters before he can stick his oar in.
“It really is,” I tell them quickly. “I know the tourists can be difficult to deal with when there’s a lot of them, but without them, most of our businesses would close down. You all know that. A lot of us are completely dependent on tourism for our livelihoods, and this movie will help that. It’salreadyhelping it. The Crown’s never been busier. The Wildcat, too.”
“The Crown’s shite, though,” says someone, but their voice lacks conviction.
“Lexie’s right,” says a woman I recognize from the bakery on the High Street. “I’ve had loads of extra orders since they’ve been here. I’ve had to get Bella to help wi’ some of them.”
“Same here,” says someone else. “I’ve had to bring in extra staff.”
“That doesn’t matter if the roads are always blocked,” says bus driver Tam. “That hill road was closed for hours last night. We had to cancel the bus in the end.”
“That was kind of my fault,” I admit, flushing. “It was … well, it’s a long story. The point is that it’s not going to be like this forever, and I don’t think anyone’s deliberately trying to cause problems here. Well, other than Jimmy, maybe.”
Jimmy nods his agreement to this, looking completely unconcerned about being branded a rabble-rouser.
“So, I don’t know, maybe if we all just sat down and talked about it?” I suggest, looking at the producer woman, who seems to be the most likely to agree with me; or to at least not just shoot me down in flames. “Not me, obviously — I know I have to stay away from you all, and I will, but maybe McTavish, say? He could act as a kind of go-between? Hollywood meets the Highlands?”
I’m sure I see Violet roll her eyes at this, but McTavish steps up.
“Aye,” he says levelly. “I’d be happy to do that. The sooner we can get this sorted out, the better, if ye ask me.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” says the producer, who still looks like she’s having a very bad day. “Let’s get something in the diary.”??
“Och, I dinnae hae a diary,” says McTavish, cheerfully. “Just pop in and see me later. I’ll be either in the office or the bar.”
“Well, then,” I say, pleased. “That’s that sorted.”
