‘I’m really sorry, girl, but I need to keep moving,’ she said, trying to hurry the dog along.
Only as Ruby dropped down again did Bex realise what she was doing wrong. She’d been walking back to the village, not even sure why, who she was going to go to, or how she was going to get a lift to the airport from there. What she actually needed to be doing was going back. Back to the lodge. Back to Duncan.
Did she want to face Duncan after hearing there were other photos of him in a compromising position, with not one, but two women? No, but it didn’t change the fact that he needed to know what Kieron was up to and she needed to get to the airport. Not to mention finding a place for Ruby to stay while she was gone. This killed three birds with one stone.
‘Okay, change of plan,’ Bex said, her guilt ticking even higher still as she looked at Ruby. ‘We’re going to go see Duncan, okay? We’re going to go to the lodge. See Duncan.’
Ruby’s tail smacked against the ground.
Well, at least that’s something, she thought. ‘Okay, good. Good girl.’
Back when Fergus had been Ruby’s owner, the dog had been known to wander on her own all the way to the village. In fact, once, when Bex was newly arrived and Ruby had taken a liking to her, Fergus had brought all the dogs to the village for a walk. But while he and the others had gone back to the lodge, Ruby had sat outside the café and waited for Bex.
She had no doubt that Ruby knew her way home to Duncan without any difficulty at all, and she could have just left her to find her way. But there was no chance Bex was going to do that. Ruby had saved her life. She wasn’t going to abandon her now, even if it wasn’t a life-or-death situation. Besides, she might accidentally go to the castle instead, and there was no way Bex wanted to risk Kieron getting his hands on her.
‘Not long now. Come on. Let’s keep going,’ Bex said as she stepped off the path again, urging Ruby forward. She took the time to open up her phone and check flight times. There were indeed two flights out of Edinburgh today, including one at seven o’clock.
She did the maths in her head. Normally she wasn’t fussed with which airport she went to. Heathrow, Stanstead. She could get the train home easily enough to all of them. But now she needed to get to work, meaning London City was her only arrival choice, meaning there was only one flight she could get, leaving at seven fifteen. Assuming she caught it and the CEO did as Fergus expected and stayed at the office till ten thirty or eleven – the way he normally did – it would mean she’d definitely get there in time to speak to him. If she had to get a lift to the station instead, it would be cutting things much, much tighter, but could still be doable. Just.
When the lodge came into view, she gave Ruby one last whistle before quickening her pace. Standing in the doorway was a familiar figure. Though unfortunately, it wasn’t the one she was looking for.
‘So there goes my thought of you and him being together,’ Lorna said.
‘He’s not here?’ That tightening was back.
Lorna shook her head. ‘No, I thought I’d just pop round and see how he was doing. After last night. Eilidh saw him leave the White Hart this morning, so I assumed he’d come back here. Seems like he stayed quite late?’
She offered Bex a knowing look, which Bex promptly ignored.
‘I need to get hold of him,’ she said. ‘I need to get to the airport.’
Lorna’s smirk dropped. ‘The airport? Why? Where are you going?’
‘London. Work. Something’s happened. I can’t go into it right now.’
‘Is everything okay?’
‘No. No, not at all,’ she replied truthfully. ‘I just… I just need to get on a plane, okay?’ She couldn’t deal with the questions. It was causing that heat to spread up the back of her neck again. How old were women when perimenopause started? Surely the symptoms didn’t come on as quickly as this? But there was definitely something going on with her body. It was like she didn’t have control of even basic things any more. ‘I was hoping he’d be able to take me. Look after Ruby while I was gone. It’s fine. I’ll call him.’
She picked up her phone, found Duncan’s number and called. A second later, a dead tone filled her ears. Of course. When Duncan said he wanted space, that meant absolute middle-of-nowhere space. He was probably lost in the middle of some glen, with no phone reception for miles around. You’d think he’d have learned his lesson once. But apparently not. Then again, maybe that was his way of feeling close to Fergus. She could hardly judge him for that, given what he’d just learned.
‘He’s out of reach,’ she said to Lorna, though she tried again on the off chance it might ring this time. It didn’t. Her breath was quickening.
‘Maybe I can drive the rental without the bumper,’ Bex muttered to herself.
‘Rental? You mean your parents’ car? What happened to it?’
Bex looked up to find Lorna staring intently at her. ‘Nothing. Nothing, it doesn’t matter. I just need a way to get to the airport, now, that’s all.’
‘Well, I can take you,’ Lorna said, cutting Bex’s thoughts off before they could spiral.
‘Really? Are you sure?’
‘Yeah, I’ve cut down on my shifts this month. You know, since I promised Roddy he could have all my tips for taking my shift. It’s a pretty slow month, anyway. Figured I might as well use it to get some rest. Work on some other projects, you know.’
At any other time, Bex would’ve probably been either impressed or appalled at her friend’s ingenuity, but she didn’t have time for that. She had to get to the office.
‘What about Ruby?’ she questioned. ‘Are you okay with her?’
