He threw his head back in a throaty guffaw. ‘No, hen. A laird isn’t the same thing as a lord, it means something closer to landowner. You can tell the actual nobility apart from the rest of us easy enough. I’ve never met a duke with a Scottish accent, they all sound like you.’
‘Like they grew up outside Nottingham?’
‘Like they went to school in England,’ he clarified. ‘Because most of them did. No, Balmaclay might be a grand house and Lizzie has her airs and graces but the McClays are farmers down to the bone. All of them except Cal, that is.’
‘So, they were still together when he moved to London,’ I said, pulling the conversation back on track. ‘She stayed here? They did the long distance thing?’
Graham nodded.
‘He travelled around a bit for a couple of years but she didn’t want to leave home. When he settled in London, she went with him but Shiv was never going to last long in in a city that size. She thought it was a temporary relocation and they’d make their way back up here eventually.’
There was no disputing the fact Braewick was a long way from London, both figuratively and literally. I’d been counting the days until I could leave home, and I still found London overwhelming when I first arrived. I couldn’t imagine suffering alone in a city you didn’t love for someone else’s sake.
‘And they broke up because she gave him an ultimatum about getting married,’ I said. ‘Last Christmas?’
‘Aye, I’d say that’s accurate enough.’
His eyes broke from mine, darting around the little back yard behind the pub.
‘But?’ I said, rubbing my hands up and down my quickly cooling arms.
‘But what?’ he replied as his solid stance shifted into something less steady. ‘There’s no but. That’s what he told you, that’s the truth.’
As a doctor, you had to develop a certain sixth sense for when people weren’t telling you the whole story.Have you been taking your medication? Have you had any other symptoms? Would you like to revisit the number of units of alcohol listed here?One third of my patients gave me the straight facts, one third underplayed things, the remaining third were total hypochondriacs. A finely tuned radar for bullshit was as essential as a stethoscope, a Starbucks loyalty card and a sense of humour, and in that moment it was pinging off the charts.
‘Look, Graham, Callum’s your friend.’ I held out my hands, my sweet, innocent little hands to show I meant no harm. ‘You want him to be happy, I want him to be happy. We both want the same thing, right?’
Tilting my head to one side, I waited patiently, watching as he pulled the lighter back out from his apron, flicking the wheel, sparks of gold at his fingertips.
‘As his friend, if there’s anything at all you think I should know, I won’t tell him it came from you,’ I added. ‘Whatever it might be, goes with me to the grave.’
Which would be in about four minutes if I didn’t get back inside soon.
‘There’s nothing to tell,’ he said but the strain in his voice suggested otherwise. ‘I was surprised he moved on so quickly, that’s all, given how long they were together. If I had to say anything. If there was something to be said. That would be it.’
Only Callum hadn’t moved on. He was still single. So single he’d felt he had to make up a fake girlfriend rather than go to the effort of finding a new one. Perhaps because he didn’t really want a new one …
‘Shiv is part of the family. Second daughter to Derek and Lizzie, big sister to Rory, Elsie’s best friend.’ Graham considered his last statement before adding, ‘Elsie’s only friend.’
‘No surprises there,’ I said and heard him scoff with agreeing laughter.
‘I know he’s got itchy feet now but if you want me to be brutally honest, I always thought he’d come home eventually, and when he did …’
‘You thought he’d get back together with Shiv,’ I finished for him.
Shrugging shoulders swallowed up Graham’s nod.
‘We all did.’
They weren’t the only ones. A slight prickle stung the backs of my eyes which really made no sense at all. I was not Caroline. Callum was not my boyfriend. This did not affect me.
‘Could be I’m wrong, it’s clear he’s mad about you,’ Graham declared loudly. ‘But if there’s a less than warm welcome at Balmaclay, don’t take it personally. I miss the wee bawbag as much as anyone, but Lizzie and Derek, they’re getting older, they want their boy home. Anything that keeps him away is the enemy. Haven’t seen them in the bakery for months, I think they’re even holding a grudge against puddings.’
‘And Shiv?’
The best he could manage was a rueful smile.
‘I’ll level with you, Caroline. It’s hard to imagine Cal staying away from Braewick forever, but who knows how long she’s prepared to wait?’
