‘You’re not bribing him into liking you, are you?’ The stern edge was back in Vivi’s voice. ‘Cupboard love means nothing, you know.’
‘No treats, as requested.’
The kettle began to sing, and Jess poured water over the teabags, committing another tea-making sin as she poked at them with a long-handled spoon before shoving on the lid.
‘He has made some friends, though,’ Jess said, distracted for a moment as she stared through the window in the direction of Robbie’s cottage. ‘The gamekeeper’s spaniels.’
‘Well, he is the most handsome of men,’ Vivi said.
Jess hoped she covered her momentary confusion well enough, her thought pattern ricocheting from how on earth her aunt knew anything about Robbie, let alone how good-looking he was, to the realisation she was talking about her own dog. Heat racked up again in Jess’s cheeks at the way her thoughts had strayed, yet again, towards the unobtainable gamekeeper.
‘You’re right about that. He really is,’ Jess said.
Dee had spent far too long at Robbie’s cottage. Once they’d cleared up all the broken glass, and had an actual cup of tea, Dee knew she should think about returning to the castle. She’d popped upstairs and was in Robbie’s tiny first-floor bathroom when she heard his dogs barking, followed by a knock on the kitchen door. Unsure about how Robbie might feel about his visitor seeing her emerge from upstairs, Dee sank onto the top step, out of sight, folding her arms around her knees as she listened.
‘Hi Jess, come away in,’ Robbie said.
‘Thanks. I brought you some cake – Sebastian’s the only one who seems to eat any of my baking up at the castle, and I didn’t want it to go to waste. Did you like the brownies?’
Dee shuffled down another couple of steps, aware she was behaving like a peeping Tom as she shifted so she could see the two of them. The little dog was there, too, snuffling at something on the flagstones by the door.
‘Aye, thanks. They were chocolate heaven,’ Robbie said, his smile wide and genuine.
‘That’s good. I thought they were a bit burnt, truth be told. I just popped in to tell you my aunt’s coming to visit. Turns out she has an old friend in the village – Isla Macwarren?’
‘Oh, aye. Craig and Isla live in one of the cottages along from the pub. She’s not staying at the castle with you, then?’
Dee could see a frown crossing Jess’s face. ‘No. I wasn’t sure about that. Although she does own the agency I work for, so she’ll probably want to make sure my employers are happy with me.’
There was something weighted in the way Jess spoke which left Dee feeling as though the housekeeper might be aware of the estate’s difficulties – might even know more than Dee did. It wouldn’t be the first time a housekeeper had had the upper hand on her.
‘They’d better be on their best behaviour, then,’ Robbie said, and Jess grinned, nodding.
‘She’s a firecracker, that’s for sure.’
Jess rested a casual hand on Robbie’s arm as she took her leave, the pair of them chattering and laughing like they’d known one another for years. They seemed so very at ease with one another, and it stabbed at Dee like aSgian Dubh. She bit hard at her lip to stop herself from clattering down the stairs and reclaiming him. But it was not her place to reclaim anything. Robbie wasn’t hers. Robbie could do whatever he wanted with whomever he pleased. And Dee knew she was being completely irrational, but this was the castle’s temporary housekeeper touching him. It pressed all Dee’s buttons. The image of Elsa, the previous housekeeper, with her dress unbuttoned and her hair all messed up and her face panicky as she screamed at Dee to help her save her naked, philandering, dying husband, flashed with way too much vividity across Dee’s memory.
Rocking slightly, Dee squeezed her eyes tight until the image faded. When she dared to look again, Jess had hold of her little dog’s lead and was at the door, with Robbie holding it wide as he suggested she come back another time for a brew and a chat.
When he closed the door and Dee was sure Jess had left, when she’d managed to calm her breathing, she descended the rest of the stairs.
‘That was Jess. Brought me some cake.’ Robbie waved a hand at a tin on the table.
Dee could feel her heart thumping in her chest. She was being ridiculous but couldn’t seem to calm herself. She almost asked him what he thought of Jess. Had he noticed how young and lively and pretty she was? She stayed silent at the realisation she feared what he might say in response.
‘Now, Dee. I have a question for you.’
‘Have you?’
‘Aye. I wondered if you might like to come with me tomorrow afternoon, take the dogs for a run and maybe have a wee picnic together?’
‘Picnic?’ she said, disorientated by such a gentle request. It took her a beat to process the idea, and Robbie misinterpreted, glancing away.
‘Or you might be busy up at the castle, I expect,’ he said.
‘No. Not at all. A picnic sounds perfect. Yes, please.’
‘I know just the spot; it’s quiet. Nobody will see us.’ He frowned and Dee wanted to say she didn’t care who saw them, not any longer. The shadow was gone, the cage door was open and she could be friends with whoever she wanted. But then Dee had another thought. Maybe she’d misinterpreted and it was him who didn’t want anyone to see them together – perhaps he didn’t want Jess to know. That thought was enough to keep Dee’s lips still.
