‘He’s still with you?’
‘He’s still upstairs,’ Bex clarified, unsure why she needed to make the distinction. She was an adult, after all. But it was different with parents, wasn’t it? She wondered if she’d ever reach an age where she didn’t seek her mother’s approval, or fear her disapproval. Not that they had ever disapproved of Duncan before. Then again, they’d never seen him knock a man out cold with a single punch before either.
‘Well,’ her mum said lightly, ‘given that your father could do with a bit of fresh air, I thought we might go for a bit of a walk while the weather’s good. Head over towards the lochs.’
‘No,’ Bex said immediately, the word escaping before she could think.
She hadn’t told her parents about the storm incident. If she had, they’d have panicked and flown straight up immediately. The fact they were here now, after nothing more than a few tears on the phone, was evidence of that.
‘I wouldn’t go today,’ she added, softening her tone. ‘Wait until I can find someone to show you the best paths to take. Otherwise, you might miss the best views.’ She was thinking on her feet, but it wasn’t a bad idea. Maybe she could see if Roddy had a couple of free hours. She could always pay him to babysit, and that way she wouldn’t have to worry about her parents getting lost or stranded. ‘Why don’t you just stay in the village today? There are some lovely little cafés and a nice gallery. You could always take Ruby with you too, if you want?’
Bex’s mum pouted slightly.
‘You know, you still haven’t told me why Ruby’s with you. Did something happen?’
A lump lodged itself in Bex’s throat.
‘She was just struggling, that’s all,’ she lied. ‘You know, with Fergus passing away. She went off her food and that type of thing. We’ve always been very close and with everything going on, it felt best that she stayed with me.’
‘Well, I think that’s very generous of you, dear,’ her father mumbled as he sniffed at a fried tomato. ‘Long as you’re not planning on taking her back to London.’
The lump in Bex’s throat grew a whole chunk larger. Forcing a smile to her lips, she swallowed it back down.
‘So you’ll stay in the village today?’ she reinforced, looking at her mother. ‘Just take it easy?’
‘Well, it’s not like we’ve booked our flights back yet, so I suppose a couple of lazy days won’t hurt.’
Bex didn’t know whether she was appreciative or horrified by the knowledge that her parents had booked a one-way ticket, but it wasn’t like they were going to stay forever. After all, after her conversation with Nigel she knew that she was on borrowed time, and it wasn’t like her parents would stay here without her.
As another person took a seat at the corner of the room, she reasoned it was time to get moving.
‘I just popped down to get Duncan a coffee,’ she repeated. ‘I’ll take it back up to him, but we’ll talk again later.’
‘Of course we will, dear.’
Bex went over to the counter, ready to give Julie her order. But rather than the attentive, helpful attitude Julie had shown the day before, this time, she didn’t even acknowledge Bex’s presence. She didn’t even notice her. Instead, she was totally absorbed in her phone.
‘Excuse me,’ Bex said, clearing her throat. ‘Can I get some drinks?’
Julie’s head shot up as she jumped to her feet.
‘Sorry, love. Away wi’ the fairies there. Reading about one o’ the regulars. Crazy news. ’Ave you seen it?’
‘Oh, no, what’s that?’ Bex tried to sound innocent, like she didn’t know Julie was about to tell her all about the new potential heir to Highland Hall. Julie shook her head and let out a long sigh.
‘Well, I’m surprised you missed it, staying here last night an’ all. They reckon he’s going to be charged for it though.’
Bex’s chest constricted. ‘Charged for what?’ Again, she already knew the answer was going to be stealing Kieron’s dogs. Or at least, that’s what she thought it was going to be. But then why would Julie have mentioned her staying the night? What difference did that make?
‘Duncan,’ Julie said. ‘Guy who works at the hall. Regular ’ere an’ everything. They reckon he’s going to be charged with battery for beating a guy here last night. Hammered the guy black and blue. Had to be taken off in an ambulance.’
‘What?’ Bex said sharply. ‘That’s not what happened. Not at all.’
‘Says that’s what happened here,’ Julie replied, lifting her phone. ‘Always thought he was a nice lad. Says he steals dogs too. Such a shame.’
‘Show me. Show me what you’re reading now.’
Wordlessly, though with a slight nervous tremble, Julie handed over her phone. Bex scanned the screen. The site appeared to be some sort of gossip page for the local villages around LochDarroch. There, at the top, was the image of an ambulance parked outside the White Hart, only even a fool should have been able to tell it wasn’t recent from the coloured flowers that filled the hanging baskets. Though judging from the comments below the article, fools weren’t something LochDarroch was lacking.
