The Heir of the Castle (Harlequin Romance) (10 page)

‘Do you remember anything about her?’

‘I remember the police coming to the door of our house when I was fifteen to tell my dad she was dead. I was more or less staying with Angus all the time by then, but I went home on occasion.’

‘What happened to her?’

He shook his head. ‘I didn’t actually find out until years later. She had a mental health condition—schizophrenia. She’d taken an accidental overdose.’

‘That’s awful. Do you think she left because of her mental health problem?’

‘No. I think she left because of my dad.’

His answer was instant. The next question was poised on her lips, but something told her not to ask it. Not to pry. Callan took several deep breaths. Even sharing that little part of himself had been hard for him.

He pulled back and she was surprised by how hurt she felt as he walked across the room, picking up the plates and cups and putting them on the tray.

She didn’t want him to leave. She wanted him to stay here, with her. And that made her insides curl up in confusion.

‘I’ll take these back to the kitchen. Are you baking today?’

The conversation was clearly over. At least that part of it was.

She took a deep breath and smiled. ‘I think Marion has me lined up to make a raspberry cheesecake and some more gingerbread.’

‘You could leave the staff to it, you know.’

‘No. I couldn’t. I like being in the kitchen. Next to this room—’ she held out her arms ‘—it’s the place I feel most at home.’

She hadn’t meant to say it like that. She hadn’t meant to imply that she was thinking of this place as home. Because she wasn’t. Really she wasn’t. Her mind was getting jumbled with the huge range of emotions Annick Castle was conjuring up for her. And something flickered across his face. A look of discomfort, that was quickly replaced by a quick nod of the head.

‘I’m going to go for another walk later—back around the grounds. Or, do you want me to help you with Angus’s boxes?’ It was a measured question. It was her trying to offer a hand of friendship.

Was she really comfortable making that offer? Who was she to go through Angus’s things? Grandfather or not, she hadn’t known him and never would. Not the way Callan had.

But she’d seen the look in Callan’s eyes earlier. She’d seen how hurt he was, how he was struggling with his bereavement. And while she didn’t have any loyalty to Angus, she did have a burning desire to support Callan.

She’d been there. She knew how hard this was. Her mother had fallen to pieces and if it hadn’t been for her university friends, she would have too. Having people around to support you made all the difference.

Callan shook his head. ‘I’ll be fine. I probably won’t get much done today. I have to make some calls and answer some emails for the day job.’

She smiled. ‘You mean you need to Blether?’

He laughed. ‘Absolutely. I need to Blether.’

She took a deep breath. This was difficult. She was struggling with this. She didn’t really know who Callan McGregor was. But he’d shared a little of himself with her today. He’d held her at the bottom of the cliff steps. He’d kissed her last night. He’d hugged her today. This was the closest she’d got to a man in months. And he set every nerve in her body on fire. There was something between them. For her, there were blurred lines all over the place. She just wasn’t sure what this was.

‘Well, you know where I’ll be if you’re looking for me.’ Her eyes fixed on his.

And he held her gaze. For longer than ever before. She could practically hear the air in the room sizzle between them. Was something else going to happen?

He tore his gaze away and fixed a smile on his face. ‘Yes, I do. Thanks, Laurie.’ Then he picked up the tray and disappeared down the corridor.

She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

* * *

At first glance the kitchen seemed empty and Laurie walked across the room and started washing her hands at one of the Belfast sinks. It only took her a few minutes to collect all the ingredients from the larder, including the fresh raspberries that had been picked from the castle gardens this morning. She breathed in deeply; they smelled gorgeous.

She lifted the large glass mixing bowl and whisk out from the cupboard at her feet and started adding her ingredients for the cheesecake. Marion appeared at her elbow. ‘Hi, Laurie, are you sure you’re still happy to help?’

She jumped about a foot in the air. ‘Where on earth did you come from, Marion? I was sure there was no one else in here.’

Marion laughed and tapped the side of her nose. ‘I’m like the genie in the lamp. I know all the hiding places around this kitchen.’

Laurie stared at her for a few seconds, trying to work out if she was joking or not.

Marion smiled. ‘I was in the pantry. You were so deep in concentration that you didn’t notice me when I came out. What are you fretting about? Is it about the castle?’

Laurie set down the wooden spoon she held in her hand. ‘No. It’s not about the castle. Not at all.’ She looked around her. ‘But that’s probably what I should be worrying about, isn’t it?’

‘Aha.’

‘Aha? What does that mean?’ Marion was giving her a strange kind of smile as she started to collect her own set of ingredients.

‘It means I always know what’s going on in this place.’

‘Well, I don’t. Why don’t you share it with me?’

Marion was practically chuckling. ‘I bet it was Callan that was on your mind.’

Her cheeks flushed instantly. The woman was a mind reader. ‘Why do you think that?’ Had people noticed they’d been spending time together?

‘Because I’ve been here a long time. I notice things. I particularly notice things when it comes to Callan.’ Her voice had a little protective edge to it. ‘I heard about the kiss,’ she added.

‘How long have you been here, Marion?’ Curiosity was piquing her interest, particularly now Callan had revealed a little part of himself to her.

‘More than forty years.’ She said the figure with pride.

‘And you haven’t thought about retiring?’ She knew instantly it had been the wrong thing to say as Marion bristled.

‘I have no intention of retiring,’ she said stiffly. ‘As long as I can still do my job I’ll be here.’

‘Of course. I didn’t mean anything by it, Marion. Forty years is a long time.’ She started mixing the ingredients in her bowl. ‘You must have been here when Callan first appeared,’ she added carefully.

Marion’s keen eyes locked with hers. ‘What did he tell you?’

‘He told me Angus found him as a young boy. He told me about his mother. And about the fact Angus named him as next of kin.’

Marion raised her eyebrows. ‘He told you quite a lot, didn’t he?’ Her eyes swept up and down the length of Laurie. ‘He doesn’t usually share much about himself.’ She stopped, then added, ‘But then he doesn’t usually kiss girls in front of a room full of strangers.’

Laurie gave a little smile. ‘I get that.’

She mixed slowly. Had she been misleading about how much Callan had told her? She was itching to know more, but she didn’t want to come right out and ask.

After a few guarded seconds Marion started to speak, her eyes fixed on the wall. She’d obviously drifted off into some past memory. ‘I’ll never forget that night for as long as I live. When Angus came in here with Callan bundled up in his arms, freezing and soaking wet after hiding from his brute of a father.’ She shook her head. ‘We made a pact.’

Laurie felt her heart start to race. Did she really want to know this? Should she be upfront and tell her Callan hadn’t told her this part? But the truth was she did want to know this. She wanted to understand why Callan was so fiercely loyal to Angus. She wanted to try and understand the connection between the two men.

‘All of us. Me, Angus and Bert. We were the only three here that late at night. But we promised there would always be a place here for Callan. There would always be somewhere safe he could come where people would be concerned about him.’ Her voice drifted off a little, and Laurie could see the tears forming in her eyes. ‘Where people could show him that they cared what happened to him.’

She looked out of the window. ‘Social services weren’t the same as they are nowadays. Children were left in conditions they shouldn’t be. Everyone knew that.’ She turned to face Laurie. ‘Do you know after his drunken rage his father didn’t even know that Callan had gone? It was two days before he turned up here looking for him.’ Laurie could hear the disgust in her voice. ‘We all knew that his mother was gone. But no one really knew why. We didn’t know about the schizophrenia then.’ She waved her hand. ‘That all came much later.’ She shook her head. ‘We guess that his father got worse after his mother left. But we don’t know that for sure. Maybe his father’s drinking contributed towards his mother’s mental health condition? All I know is, that must have been a terrible environment for a wee boy to be in.’

Laurie was shocked. No wonder Callan only shared little pieces of himself. What had he been subjected to at home?

Marion hadn’t said the words but the implication about his father being a drunk was clear. She couldn’t help the automatic shiver that ran down her spine. No child should be subjected to a life like that.

Her eyes fixed on the contents of the bowl as she stirred. She could feel the tears prickling in her eyes. Her natural thoughts were to compare Callan’s upbringing with her own.

She’d had a mum and dad who had loved her dearly and doted on her. Callan’s life had been nothing like that. And no matter what her thoughts about Angus McLean, thank goodness he’d recognised a child in need and had reached out to him.

She felt a hand resting on her back. Marion’s. ‘I know,’ came the quiet words of understanding. Marion could obviously see the whole host of emotions flitting across her face.

She waited a few minutes, lost in her thoughts. ‘Marion, if you’ve been here that long, tell me about my grandfather. Tell me why he didn’t acknowledge his children.’

She couldn’t stop this. It played on her mind constantly. She already knew Callan’s thoughts on all of this. Maybe Marion could offer better insight?

Marion shrugged her shoulders. ‘I’m not sure, Laurie. It seems odd. But Angus McLean’s life wasn’t entirely easy. He was much more involved in the pharmaceutical business than his colleagues thought. He would spend hours in the laboratories. He was involved in all the developmental work. Lots of people just thought Angus dealt only with contracts and sales—but that wasn’t true at all.’

There was something strange about her words. Something Laurie couldn’t quite put her finger on.

‘But lots of people have difficult jobs, Marion. That doesn’t stop them keeping in contact with their kids.’

Marion’s lips pressed firmly together. ‘Things aren’t always what they seem, Laurie. And remember, times have changed rapidly over the last few years. Angus did what he thought was right for his children.’

Money. Marion was talking about money. So, she wasn’t wrong about this vibe. There was definitely something that Marion wasn’t telling her.

‘All the money in the world doesn’t make up for not having your dad when you need him, Marion. I can’t imagine not having my dad there. I’m a grown adult now, and I still struggle with the fact I can’t pick up the phone and speak to him every day.’

‘I understand that, Laurie, really I do. But everyone’s life circumstances are different. That’s all I’m saying.’ She picked up the mixture she’d been preparing and started dividing it into tins. It was clear that from her perspective the conversation was over.

Laurie followed suit. It only took a few minutes to finish whisking the cheesecake and put it in the fridge to set. The gingerbreads were ready for the oven and now all she had to do was wait.

‘Have you finished up?’

She nodded. ‘Is there something else you need a hand with?’

Marion shook her head. ‘We’re all ready for the ball tonight. The turkey and the beef joints are in the oven. The veg are all prepared. And I’ve got a few girls coming in from the village to help serve again.’

‘What else is happening tonight?’

Marion rolled her eyes. ‘I have no idea. I do know that there’s a string quartet coming. They are expected to arrive in the next few hours. As for the rest of Robin’s plans? Your guess is as good as mine.’ She brushed her hands together and glanced over at the ovens. ‘If you’re finished up I’ll be happy to take everything out of the oven for you.’

Laurie smiled. ‘Has Callan been nagging you about me being in the kitchen?’

Marion laughed. ‘Don’t you worry about Callan nagging me. I’ve been dealing with that for years.’

Laurie took off her apron and hung it back up. ‘I’d quite like to go for a walk around the grounds before tonight—you know, to clear my head.’

Marion nodded and looked at her carefully. ‘We all need to do that sometimes. Even Callan.’

Her feet had already carried her to the door but she turned as Marion spoke again. ‘Laurie—just so you know. That’s the first time I’ve ever known Callan to be so...’ she was obviously searching for the right word ‘...affectionate in public.’

Laurie’s heart gave a little leap. She gave Marion a little smile and fled out of the door. Annick Castle was going to land her in a whole heap of trouble.

CHAPTER EIGHT

C
ALLAN
CHECKED
THE
records one more time. Annick Castle was in trouble. Lots of trouble. It was losing money like a leaky sieve. In a few weeks’ time he and Frank would have to hand over all this information to the new owner. What would they think? Because right now, all paths seemed to lead to the fact that Angus McLean hadn’t been managing at all.

He could see what the problems were. The biggest, and most obvious, was that Annick Castle had no income. The gas and electricity bills had quadrupled in the last ten years, but, then again, so had every family’s in the country.

Annick Castle wasn’t environmentally friendly. It was a draughty old girl, in rapid need of some maintenance. But even then his hands were tied. There were no modern windows to keep the freezing winter temperatures out, no proper insulation, no modern heating or modern appliances. The whole place really needed to be rewired. But rewiring was more than a little expensive, and the damage that would be incurred rewiring a building like this would be astronomical. The heritage people would have a fit. As for the roof...

He hadn’t even had a chance to glance at Angus’s boxes yet. All his time had been taken up with trying to sort out the accounts. It wasn’t just the castle. The family fortune had been damaged by the stock-market crash, some unlucky investments and poor interest rates. He was going to have to try and find some solutions—fast.

He closed the computer program and grabbed his jacket. The walls were starting to close in around him. He needed some fresh air and that was one thing Annick Castle had in abundance. It was time to find Laurie. She was the only person around here he wanted to spend any time with.

Part of him felt a little guilty that he didn’t want to spend more time around Angus’s children or grandchildren. Truth was, some of them he didn’t even like.

And a tiny part of him said why should he spend time with people that Angus hadn’t? And until he got to the bottom of that he wouldn’t be able to understand it.

But Laurie was different. She wasn’t constantly assessing the value of the castle. She wasn’t aligning herself with estate agents as he’d heard one of Angus’s sons doing yesterday.

Laurie was the only one of Angus’s relatives he felt a connection to. He couldn’t understand it. He couldn’t understand it at all, but after several hours surrounded by computers, paperwork and figures he found himself craving her company again.

It would be so much easier if he could put Laurie Jenkins in a box where she wasn’t a possible inheritor of the castle, and she wasn’t Angus McLean’s granddaughter. Then maybe he would be free to try and figure out what it was about her that drew him like a moth to a flame.

The scent of gingerbread had drawn him to the kitchen. But the evidence of her baking was sitting on two wire cooling trays with no sign of Laurie at all.

He walked out into the grounds. His first guess had been the gazebo next to the swan pond. He’d noticed the gleam in her eyes when she’d first seen it and the whole host of other thoughts that was obviously flitting around her mind. But even from the top of the steps leading to the lowered gardens it was clear she was nowhere in sight.

His steps carried him onwards, quickening as his brain went into overdrive.
Please don’t let her have headed to the caves.
It was odd. He hadn’t given a second thought to any of the other relatives injuring themselves on the cliff-side stairs—even though they would probably sue Annick Castle—his only thought was for Laurie. The thought of her on those stairs sent a shudder down his spine. He really needed to see about something more substantial than a piece of rope to block them off.

He rounded the drum tower and stopped dead.

There she was. A yellow hard hat perched precariously on her head as she skirted around the edges of the round icehouse. She hesitated at the entrance, glancing at the roof, then in the blink of an eye she disappeared inside.

He resisted the temptation to shout at her, striding over and grabbing one of the other hard hats outside and jamming it on his head. He’d warned her about this place. It wasn’t safe. Part of the roof had already fallen in, and other parts looked distinctly dangerous.

He stuck his head inside. It was much darker in here. The only window was boarded up and there was no lighting, no electricity. The place hadn’t been used in over one hundred years.

‘Laurie? What are you doing?’

She was standing in the middle of the icehouse, looking up at the part of the ceiling that had fallen in. Could she be any more dangerous?

‘I just wanted to get a feel for the place, Callan. You talked about the history of the caves, but what about the history of this place?’

He folded his arms across his chest. ‘It was an icehouse. It stored ice that was brought up from the lake. It took the ice to the kitchen. End of.’

She walked over towards him. Even in this dim light he could see the sparkle in her eyes. Her voice changed timbre. ‘Callan McGregor, are you using your stern voice on me?’

‘Do I need to?’ His response was instant because Laurie Jenkins had gone from the middle of the room to directly under his nose. Didn’t she realise what those big brown eyes did to the men around her? Had this woman no idea of the electricity she could spark with those few words? She was flirting with him. She was definitely flirting.

‘Hmm...’ She was looking up at him through half-closed lids. In another life he’d have called them come-to-bed eyes. But Laurie didn’t seem the type.

But type or not, her very presence was having instant effects on his body.

She gave a shiver and he frowned. ‘Are you cold, Laurie?’

Why hadn’t he even considered that? He’d picked her up from the railway station; he knew she’d travelled light. He was wearing a big thick parka, the one he always used for tramping around the grounds of Annick Castle. But Laurie only had on a light summer jacket. It might be nearing the end of summer, but she obviously hadn’t banked on the Scottish coastal winds.

‘Isn’t it weird? How even though this place hasn’t been used in years, it’s just still so...cold.’ She gave a shudder and wrapped her arms around herself.

Callan moved closer, opening his jacket and putting one arm around her shoulders. He couldn’t quite fit her inside, but she slid her arm behind his waist and pressed her body up next to his.

He tried to focus. ‘What are you doing in here anyway?’

She smiled. ‘It’s this place. I like it. I love the shape—the circular building is gorgeous. And it’s bigger than you’d expect. Why didn’t Angus do something with this? Turn it into something else?’

Callan shook his head. ‘Like what? He’s already got two unused sets of stables, a gazebo, an orangery, an old water house, an old gas house, and—’ he gestured out beyond the doors ‘—a whole set of mystery caves.’

But Laurie was deep in thought, her mind obviously taking her off into her own world. ‘This could be a gorgeous coffee shop,’ she murmured, ‘right next to the castle, with views over the sea and over the gardens if this place had windows in it. It could make a fortune.’

The words sent prickles over his skin. Did Laurie know more about Annick Castle than she was letting on?

But she was obviously wrapped up in her own ideas. ‘Can’t you see it, Callan?’ She held her arms out. ‘Just think, wooden tables and chairs with red and white checked tablecloths. A whole variety of teas.’ She pointed to the other side of the round house. ‘There could be a whole circular serving area over here and one of those gorgeous coffee machines.’ Her eyes were lit up. ‘I can practically smell the different kinds of scones, gingerbread, sponges and chocolate buns. You could serve local produce from the neighbouring farms, maybe even from the castle gardens?’ She was walking around, obviously seeing the whole thing in her head. ‘It could be great. Two kinds of homemade soup every day and a different variety of scone.’ She came back over and slid her arm around his waist again.

He could feel himself bristle. ‘What’s the point? The castle isn’t open to the public. Who would come to a coffee shop?’

‘But maybe it should be.’ Her eyes looked up and met his.

He drew in a sharp breath. Her words put him instantly on the defensive.

And Laurie seemed to sense that, but she waved her hand. ‘Oh, don’t get all crabbit with me, Callan. I’ll be the first person to admit I know nothing about Annick Castle. But I’m not blind. I can see buildings lying in ruins. I can see the tiles and slates off the roof. That can’t be safe. That can’t be good for the castle. Don’t you want to see things restored? Wouldn’t you like it if that gorgeous pagoda that used to house birds down at the swan pond could be rebuilt? You already told me the upper floor used to be a teahouse. It seems like somebody, somewhere, at one time thought it was a good idea.’

He tried not to be defensive. He tried not to take it as a criticism. But the thought of a whole bunch of strangers tramping around Annick Castle didn’t fill him with joy.

He had to be rational about this. He had to put his business head on and think with his head and not his heart. ‘Do you think people would want to come and see around Annick Castle?’ There were a hundred little thoughts currently sparking around his brain. He’d only ever thought of Annick Castle as a home. He’d never even considered anything else. And deep down he knew Angus wouldn’t approve of having strangers on his property. But the sad fact was that times had changed, the comfortable nest egg the family used to have was gone, and so was Angus. It was certainly something that the new owner could look into.

‘Why ever not? There’s another castle about a hundred miles down the coast that’s open to the public. They have a kids’ playground, a teahouse, an old bookshop and stables too. Why couldn’t Annick Castle be like that?’

He could feel the hackles go up on the back of his neck, instantly suspicious of her wider knowledge. ‘How do you know that?’ His voice was low. It was practically a growl. But Callan McGregor couldn’t hide how he felt about things. Had she been planning this all along? He hated feeling as if he’d been duped.

Her arm slid out from around his waist. She folded her arms and stood in front of him. All of a sudden the dim light in the icehouse didn’t seem tranquil or romantic, it felt oppressive.

‘I know because I looked it up on the Internet, Callan. What did you think? That I’d planned all this before I got here?’

The words stuck in his throat. He was being ridiculous. He
knew
he was being ridiculous. He just couldn’t help it. As soon as anyone started making suggestions about Annick Castle he could virtually feel his own portcullis slide down in front of him.

The protection of Annick Castle lay at the very essence of his heart and soul. He couldn’t see past it. He couldn’t see around it.

And being around Laurie just seemed to heighten every emotion that he felt. Magnify it ten times over. He seemed to seesaw between high as a kite and lower than the belly of a snake all in the blink of an eye.

Laurie was annoyed. It was practically emanating from her pores. And boy was she beautiful when she was angry. Her dark eyes flashed, ‘Get over yourself, Callan. I
get
that you love this place. I
get
that it means everything to you. But if you find yourself unable to have a rational, reasonable conversation about the place then I’ve got to ask the question if you’re the right person to be custodian of this place in the first place. I’m making one tiny suggestion.’ She held up her finger and thumb with the minimum of space between them. ‘That’s all. The very least you can do is listen.’

‘It’s not one tiny suggestion, Laurie.’ He held up his finger and thumb too, but then he held his arms open wide. ‘This is the kind of suggestion you’re making. Annick Castle hasn’t been open to the public since its first building was put up in the fifteen-hundreds. That’s more than five hundred years of history.’

She stepped closer, gritting her teeth. ‘Exactly. Five hundred years of history that should be shared with others.’

Their faces were inches apart. Even in this dim light he could see the normally hidden tiny freckles that were scattered across her nose. He didn’t even want to start thinking about those brown eyes again. In years gone by Laurie Jenkins would probably have been labelled an enchantress with eyes like those.

And she was obviously determined to get her point across. ‘Don’t you think visitors would love to know about the links with Mary Queen of Scots? Don’t you think there must be dozens of little boys who’d want to explore the smuggler’s caves and think about pirates? Don’t you think there must be a hundred crazy women like me who’d love a chance to sit in the gazebo that matches the one in
The Sound of Music
and dream their afternoon away?’

He could see the passion in her eyes. Passion in them for Annick Castle and what it represented and he couldn’t help but smile.

‘You’ve really got it bad for that gazebo, haven’t you?’

His words broke the tension in the air between them in an instant.

Her face broke into a smile too and she rolled her eyes. ‘You have
no
idea how much I love that gazebo.’

‘Every little girl’s dream?’

‘Oh,
way
more than that.’

‘Better than the castle double staircase?’

She grinned. ‘Yip. Even better than the castle staircase.’ She moved back towards him. ‘Why is it that we always head towards a fight? What is it I do that upsets you so much?’

‘I keep asking myself the same question.’ His voice had deepened; it was quieter—a virtual whisper. The words seemed to echo around the circular building.

She edged a little closer and he found himself doing the same thing. Any second now he could reach out and touch her. Touch the soft skin of her face, run his fingers through her loose curls. Or just grab her with both hands and pull her body next to his.

Her sultry perfume was winding its way around him again—like the Pied Piper’s music had lured the children of Hamelin. He couldn’t control it.