Perfect.
Absolutely perfect.
“I see. Thank you for the information.”
“You’re very welcome, doctor.”
Is it my imagination, or is there amusement flickering in the butler’s eyes?
I leave quickly, practically running down the steps and across the gravel driveway. Once inside my Land Rover, I stare at the castle through the rain-speckled windshield, trying to process what the hell just happened.
I start the engine and pull onto the winding road leading away from the estate. In my rearview mirror, McGregor Castle looms against the lead-colored sky, imposing and mysterious.
And somewhere inside it sits a manipulative eighty-year-old woman.
The worst part is that I still have no idea why Maggie McGregor faked cardiac symptoms to get me there.
The only thing I know for certain, as I drive back toward the village beneath the rain beginning to fall once more, is that my life just became infinitely more complicated.
Welcome to the Highlands, Finn.
Where even saving someone can spectacularly backfire on you.
CHAPTER 6
MARY
The Sunken Sanctuary
(Or How to Deal with a Flood)
I get home feeling like I’ve just run a marathon. A race where every mile consisted of listening to the people of Glenfield talk about the new doctor like he’s the Antichrist in a white coat.
“He never smiles.”
“He looks at people like they’re medical files.”
“McKinnon knew our names.”
McKinnon, McKinnon, McKinnon.
If I hear that name one more time today, I’m going to scream.
My feet hurt. My back hurts. My patience died somewhere between the Campbell farm and Old Angus’s place.
All I want is silence, warmth, and not having to speak to anyone for at least twelve hours.
My plan for the evening is simple and perfect:
1 Eat a frozen pizza (margherita, nothing fancy)
2 Soak in a bubble bath for at least forty-five minutes
3 Watch Netflix in pajamas
4 Ignore the existence of the outside world
I push open the front door of my cottage, and an icy draft greets me.
