They all appeared, looking morose, at breakfast in the morning. Greg was uncharacteristically quiet, Wendy seemed a little more nervous than usual, and Patti and her daughters just looked bored.
As she wished them all a bright, ‘Good morning!’ Ally repeated what she’d told Greg about the race and the barbecue.
‘Oh, cool!’ enthused Julie. ‘Oh,pleasecan we go and watch?’
‘A barbecue would be fun!’ Janey exclaimed.
‘It might be getting dark before they all get back for a barbecue,’ Patti said, ‘and you are not goinganywherein the dark on your own!’
‘Everyone’s invited,’ Ally reminded her. ‘It would be nice to all go together, wouldn’t it?’
‘I’llcome with you, girls,’ Wendy said, looking more cheerful. ‘I’d like to see the runners – and the barbecue later.’
‘Oh, Auntie Wendy, that would begreat!’ Julie turned to her mother. ‘Why don’t you come along, Mom? It’s only a bitof fun, and we haven’t had much of that while we’ve been here!’
Patti pulled a face. ‘Oh, OK, I’ll come.’
‘I might even try to walk part of the route,’ Greg said. ‘I really like walking up there. Not the eleven miles, of course, but maybe two or three miles.’
‘I could come with you,’ Wendy said, ‘and then we can go on to the barbecue, can’t we?’
‘I suppose so,’ Greg grunted without enthusiasm.
‘I’m told that the race will begin at five o’clock,’ Ally said. ‘Leaving from the village shop, up past here to Loch Soular, all the way round the loch and then they follow a path over the moor to where the castle grounds begin – and the barbecue.’
Both girls were now in a huddle discussing what jeans they might wear, would it be warm enough just to wear a T-shirt and had they better wash their hair?
‘I think we’ve cheered them up a little,’ Ally said with a smile as she got back into the kitchen, ‘particularly the girls!’
‘They’re teenagers, Ally. They’re going to be impressed with all that testosterone! I mean most of these guys taking part are single and in good shape,’ Ross remarked.
‘I hope that doesn’t present any problems!’ Ally said with a sigh, reminding herself that these girls hadn’t had contact with any young men since their arrival at the malthouse. ‘Anyway, I’ve told them that we’ll set off late afternoon, to watch them coming round the far end of the loch and see if anyone’s dropped out.’
The following day, the day of the fun run, everyone was in the hall at half past five, as planned, having watched the runners galloping past the malthouse about twenty minutes before. Patti was wearing an outfit Ally imagined more suitable for a yoga class, and the girls were wearing skintight jeans and skimpytops, but at least they’d all taken jackets with them. Greg and Wendy, on the other hand, were clad in serious-looking sportswear, a well-known logo scrawled over their chests and a stripe down the sides of their jogging bottoms. They had a ‘we-do-this-all-the-time’ type look on their faces and plainly meant business as they searched in the hall cupboard for their walking boots.
As he tied his laces, Greg glowered at Wendy. ‘You sure you’re going to be OK with these new boots?’
‘Oh, they’ll be fine,’ she replied. Then, turning to Ally: ‘I didn’t bring any with me from home, so I bought these in Glasgow, and they need to be christened! I’m kinda hoping they’ll be OK.’
And so they set off, Greg and Wendy leading the way and slightly ahead, followed by Patti and the girls, with Ally and Ross bringing up the rear. Ally was beginning to feel that she and Ross were quite frumpy in their normal jeans and T-shirts, with warm sweaters tied around their waists, in readiness for the cooler temperature in the evening to come.
As they walked, Ally noticed that Wendy was limping a little and, halfway up, she stopped.
‘It’s no good,’ she said sadly. ‘These boots are killing me, specially the left one. I’m going to have to go back.’
Greg sighed. ‘Well OK, but do you mind if I carry on? I really want to do this.’
Wendy nodded, looking disappointed. ‘You carry on; I don’t want to hold you back if I’m limping.’
‘Are you OK to get back?’ Ally asked her anxiously.
‘I can come with you!’ Patti said eagerly.
‘No, I’ll be OK,’ Wendy said. ‘I’ll hobble slowly!’ With that, she turned on her heel and limped back down the hill.
They watched her for a moment until she was out of sight, and then made their way towards where the flags were positioned. Someone had planted the little red flags about every hundred yards all the way up to the loch,and Ally wondered who’d been assigned to this task. Angus? Much more likely he’d sent one of his under-ghillies.
On arrival at the lochside, they could see the runners in the distance on the far side of the water’s edge, but it was impossible to make out who was who or who might be in the lead. The path which eventually led to the castle was clearly marked with the flags, so there was no chance of anyone getting lost. There was a group of spectators already there, including Finlay McKinnon and Murdo McConnachie.
