‘You do that. And if the gamekeeper’s single, and as attractive as you say, maybe I should spend Christmas in the Highlands. What do you think?’
Jess smiled. ‘I think you need to get in line behind me.’
‘Have fun,’ Amina said. ‘Love you. Bye.’
With the phone call ended, Jess supposed there was no point procrastinating further. She left Digby shut in her room, hoping the animal wouldn’t take the opportunity to turn her bed into his own personal grooming parlour again, and went in search of Sebastian.
She found him in the library, seated at the massive desk set in front of one of the windows. She knocked lightly on the frame of the open doorway, then waited as he glanced up from the sheaf of papers in front of him and gestured for her to enter. Jess took a deep breath as she approached him.
‘I think I need to apologise,’ she said, heat racing to her cheeks as she bit at her lip and waited for his response.
Chapter 7
At Jess’s knock on the library door, Sebastian set down the bank statements he’d been flicking through, doing his best to push away the feeling that he had fallen into a black hole, or quicksand. Or maybe he was a fly stuck to one of those twists of paper coated in glue which used to hang in the kitchen window when he was a kid. He remembered watching with morbid curiosity as an unfortunate fly became increasingly trapped; the more it struggled, the worse its predicament became. He’d tried to help a fly once, but as he’d done his best to pull it free from the paper, its wings had come away from its body and Sebastian had ever after felt guilty for the fly’s demise, even though the insect had already been doomed.
He’d never felt more like one of those flies than he did at this moment. He still had his wings attached, but for how long? And what was the point of having wings, when they were glued to a fixed point – in his case, Kirkshield Castle.
The more he’d looked at the figures held on the bank statements, the more he wanted to run back to London, to get away. And yet, if he did that, what would happen to the estate?
Jess’s gentle knock was a distraction, her expression penitent as she apologised for speaking out of turn in the attic. Sebastian should probably apologise, too. There had been no need for him to react so strongly to her criticism, even if it had been unfounded, but he held his tongue, nodding his acceptance of her apology.
‘It’s none of my business,’ Jess said as she glanced around the library. ‘I mean, what the heck do I know about living somewhere like this? Or more to the point, running a place like this?’
A beat of time passed in which Sebastian watched her expression flex and shift as she looked up, her gaze flowing over the enormous windows, the walls coated with books, the upper gallery and its archways which mirrored the windows. She shook her head, returning her focus to him as her nervous words rattled on.
‘I mean, it’s magnificent,’ she said, ‘But it’s also …’ A crease appeared on her forehead, deepening as she searched for the right word.
‘Monstrous?’ he said.
Jess nodded, then sucked in a sharp breath as she realised the descriptor she’d agreed with. ‘It’s a lot, that’s for sure.’
‘As are these,’ he said, with a rueful grin as he waved the bank statements at her.
‘You’ve got some help though, haven’t you? I mean, they’re not just expecting you to step into your father’s shoes and know what you’re doing right from the off, are they?’
In short, that was exactly what was expected of him. But she was right, he wasn’t completely alone. ‘I’ve got the estate manager, and financial advisors. I just need to work some things out, that’s all.’
That wasn’t all, not by a long chalk, but it wasn’t Jess’s worry. It was his.
‘Well, I just wanted to apologise, and I’ve done that, so …’ Jess’s gaze slipped towards the library door, towards her escape route. ‘Can I bring you anything? A coffee or something?’
‘Coffee would be lovely, thank you. White, one sugar.’
‘I’ll leave you to your paperwork,’ she added, all but sprinting for the door as she abandoned him to the solitude of his situation.
When she brought the coffee, it was accompanied by a couple of rounds of a shortbread he’d recognise anywhere.
‘Is this some of Kitty McAllister’s shortbread?’
‘Yes. Mrs Keel brought some to the castle earlier.’
He thanked her, waiting until she’d closed the library door behind her before lifting a piece of biscuit, inhaling the sweet creamy scent before taking a bite. Melt in the mouth; it was just as he remembered. For the first time since he’d returned to Kirkshield Castle, Sebastian felt something approaching pleasure.
Later that day, with her padded jacket zipped up to her chin and Digby-Dog velcroed into the coat Aunt Vivi insisted he should wear if he was outside for any length of time, Jess was ready to head out to the village. It was time to explore some more of her temporary home.
With Digby’s lead clipped into place and the kitchen door closed behind them, Jess paused. She wasn’t sure how to get to the village. She could see it – from the castle the panoramic view included the sprawl of granite cottages and the ribbon of glittering silver river flowing past – but the immediate landscaping didn’t offer much in the way of a clue as to the best direction to take.
Before she could head anywhere, she heard another door thump closed and someone clearing their throat. Footsteps crunched over gravel and headed in her direction.
