A tingle walked up Magnus’s arm. It was only the lightest of touches, her hand weighing no more than a feather really, but it sent a shiver across his skin all the same.
He swallowed thickly to regain his composure. “All right then, let’s be off.”
They set off arm in arm as though they were some noble lord and lady out for a stroll with their hound. Although he’d meant the gesture teasingly, Magnus found that he liked having Isabelle’s hand on his arm. There was something about this odd noblewoman that had him glancing constantly at her as they walked. Where was her husband? And how would he react to seeing Magnus escorting his wife like this? If he knew noblemen, not well at all.
Snaffles bounded up to his mistress, demanding her attention and Isabelle removed her hand from Magnus’s arm in order to scratch the beast behind the ears. He felt a flare of disappointment.
Fool,he scolded himself.Get her back to her carriage and then be on your way.
The earth beneath their feet turned from yielding peat to tussocky grass as they moved away from the outlaws’ trail and towards where she’d left her carriage—along with the servants and horses who pulled it, no doubt.
Finally, Marris Head came into view. It had once been a small settlement, complete with wooden chapel, but the poor farming and unpredictable weather in the Dragon’s Back meant it had long since been abandoned. Now only the stone foundations of some of the buildings remained amongst the wild, windswept land around it. A single track led from the ruins across the moors to the larger settlements nearby.
“Here we are, lass,” Magnus said as they crossed the boundary and made their way among the ruins. “Marris Head. Where is yer carriage?”
Isabelle halted, her hazel eyes scanning the landscape. The wind tugged at her coat and sent a cloud of her dark hair into fine disarray. A frown creased her smooth brow as she spun on her heel, scanning the jagged landscape that stretched from the ruins of Marris Head to the distant horizon.
“Um...I...where?” she murmured, her forehead furrowed in confusion.
Magnus watched as she moved among the remnants of the settlement. Her boots rustled the grass and strands of her hair blew in the wind. Snaffles trailed behind her, his tail drooping slightly as he sensed her distress.
“I don’t believe it!” she cried, spinning to face him. “This has got to be some kind of joke!”
Magnus cocked his head at her plaintive cry. “What is it, lass?”
“It’s not here! My car has been stolen!”
Chapter 4
Izzy stared at the empty spot in stunned disbelief. No. This couldnotbe happening. Her car couldnothave been stolen!
But it wasn’t here and this was Marris Head car park where she’d left it. Although, the place looked subtly different to what it had this morning. The track was rougher, the parking area less manicured and a little overgrown. Why would that be? It made no sense.
She clenched her fists, furious with herself. If she’d come straight back here instead of letting herself get distracted by a handsome stranger, then this wouldn’t have happened! She began pacing around the area, looking for any sign of her missing vehicle. Her boots kicked up dust and tiny pebbles but there was no sign of her car, not even any tire tracks in the mud. It was like it had never been here at all.
Magnus was staring at her with a slightly bemused expression, Snaffles sitting by his side and panting.
Izzy forced herself to stop, to try to think this through rationally. Her car had been the only one here when she’d left it this morning. She’d seen nobody else all day—except for Irene MacAskill and Magnus Kerr. And Magnus had deliberately delayed her, distracted her...
Oh no. It couldn’t be. Could it?
