Page 50 of Chasing a Highland Dream

Bella squeezed Olivia’s arm. ‘Look at the queue, Liv. People are so excited. I’m absolutely made up for you.’

Brodie walked in and came over to wrap his arms around Olivia. He planted a kiss on her cheek. ‘My gorgeous Liv. This is all down to your genius, you know. And your courage to take a chance. It looks like it’s definitely going to pay off. Not that Bella or I doubted it for a second, eh, Bells?’

‘Not a single second,’ Bella replied with a smile. They made such a wonderful couple, and Bella couldn’t help the twinge of envy for what they shared. She shrugged off the thought and remembered how many times she had insisted to her granny she didn’t need a man to make her whole. Although neither did Olivia, but it certainly made her happy.

During the morning, Bella hung around the gift shop, handing out site maps and directing people to the café and toilets and telling them about the renovations while Duncan, Sadie and Ailsa were busy serving at the till and replenishing stock on the shelves. In the scant moments when things quietened, Bella posted to the castle’s social media accounts – another of her roles.

Soon Bella bumped into Olivia, who was returning from her first castle tour; she was beaming with happiness. The smile on her face and flush to her cheeks told of the buzz she was feeling. It appeared her achievements were finally beginning to sink in.

‘So, how was it?’ Bella asked with eagerness.

Olivia clasped her hands in front of her heart. ‘Oh, my word, Bells, it was incredible! I had a group of fifteen. Some were locals and some were here on holiday, and they were all so lovely. They asked lots of questions and I really enjoyed talking about my ancestry. The favourite room was the Georgian bedroom with the collapsible four-poster bed. They all loved the blue and white hand-painted wallpaper too. There were lots of positive comments about the fact we’ve been able to span the time since the castle was built up to more recent eras with the rooms, to show it across the ages. And the old kitchen was another favourite. But you were right about the mannequins.’ She laughed. ‘One wee toddler cried when he saw the male one. Poor lamb. We may have to get another one made.’

‘I told you! He still visits me in my nightmares.’ Bella laughed. ‘I’m so glad you had fun. Did you see any of the other tour guides en route?’

Olivia nodded. ‘Yes! They looked so happy and enthusiastic. I’m so proud I could burst.’

Bella hugged her. ‘It’s all coming together.’

Bella and Olivia wandered around the grounds together during the afternoon. Innes was directing traffic to the overflow car park in his high-vis vest and the café was bustling with customers; Mirren’s home baking was going down a treat. People were enjoying the grounds and Dougie’s gardening team were receiving lots of praise for the flower beds. Skye and Ben had been spotted trying their luck at one of the games stalls and subsequently Ben was seen carrying a rather large teddy bear. Brodie was acting as a guide in the gardens and proudly pointing to the gardening team when anyone had questions about the plants. Wilf and Marley were sitting by him, patiently and obediently waiting for him to walk to another spot. Olivia wandered off to see Brodie and Bella carried on. The place was alive with the most incredible atmosphere. It was akin to a summer festival like Glastonbury or Belladrum, only with less alcohol and thankfully less mud!

The small stage set up out front on the grass had attracted quite a lot of attention. Coppercaillie were playing a set and Bella stopped for a moment to watch as Harris sang Dougie MacLean’s ‘Caledonia’ in front of a rapt crowd. He was definitely a man of many talents, Bella surmised. As she gazed around at the smiling faces and listened to Harris’s husky voice singing about her beloved Scotland, observing the culmination of months of hard work, a sense of pride washed over her. It felt amazing to be a part of something so special and at that exact moment, Bella couldn’t think of anywhere else she’d rather be.

Isla and Beau were sitting on a bench outside the apartment and Beau was relishing all the cuddles he was receiving from visitors. And on more than one occasion Bella overheard her granny telling people her granddaughter was part of the management team and she was in charge of the interior design. Bless her; she was very proud but maybe needed to stop inflating Bella’s importance.

Seeing everything was under control, Bella decided to walk down to the loch. She passed the place where Aiden had parked his car and noted it was there, but he hadn’t surfaced from his apartment all day.

She stood on the shore and watched the sunlight dancing on the surface of the water and thought about what had brought her to this point. The compliments she had received since she had decorated the apartments caused her to wonder how different her life might have been if she had returned to her degree course. Because as much as she loved working at Drumblair as Olivia’s assistant, nothing had invigorated her like working on the apartments. She had felt herself come alive with each design decision she had made and had been so grateful to Olivia for giving her free rein when she had no qualifications to prove that she was good enough for the job. The thing that saddened her was there was no chance of further work using her design flair at the castle, as the apartments were finished and Olivia would no doubt want to change her rooms in the castle to her own and Brodie’s tastes. But she had a job she enjoyed and, for the time being, a beautiful place to live. She decided she had to be grateful for what she had and not dwell too long on a dream that was out of reach.

On her return to the castle, Bella spotted Harris. Now he wasn’t on a stage in the distance, she could see him a lot clearer. It was warm enough for him to be without a jacket and she couldn’t help but notice the breadth of his biceps. She surmised it was a good thing he had a beard, and she didn’t find him in the least bit attractive, because she found him quite intriguing in every other way. He was standing by the bench where Isla was, and another elderly lady was sitting beside her. She recognised her to be Harris’s mother, Maeve.

‘Bella, look who’s here!’ Isla said, pointing to Harris. ‘They’ve been on the castle tour, haven’t you, Maeve? Have I told you my granddaughter’s an interior designer and the assistant to the castle owner?’

Bella loved how proud her granny was but every time she told anyone about her role it became more complex and increased in importance. ‘I’m Olivia’s PA, Granny, and I’m not really an interior designer,’ Bella said before she turned to Maeve. ‘Lovely to see you, Maeve.’

‘You designed the interior of the apartments so what else would you call it?’ Isla asked with an incredulous huff.

Maeve patted her hand. ‘Aye, don’t sell yourself short, hen. Isla says you’ve done a fabulous job.’ She leaned forward and lowered her voice to a theatrical whisper. ‘Although my Harris says the writer chappy next door to you isn’t looking after his apartment too well. Apparently, his dirty undies were on the floor when he called in yesterday.’

Isla’s face lit up with intrigue. ‘Ooh, why were you calling on our murder writer neighbour, sergeant? Is he suspected of something?’ She turned her attention to Bella. ‘I told you he was dodgy.’

Harris glanced at Bella; a distinct smirk emerged on his face. ‘I’m afraid I can’t divulge information, Mrs Douglas. Police confidentiality and all that. Although to put your mind at rest, I can tell you he’s not suspected of anything.’ Then he mumbled, ‘Except being a slob, that is.’

‘I was going to get some drinks for the ladies, Bella, would you like one?’ Harris asked.

Bella nodded. ‘That would be lovely. I’ll come and give you a hand,’ she said and they set off walking towards the catering marquee.

As they walked, Harris asked, ‘Are you okay? You seemed a little angry when you left Aiden’s yesterday. I… I don’t mean to pry, it’s a sense I got that all wasn’t well. Was it because of the state of the place? Because I was a little disgusted myself. Your beautiful designs need to be handled with a lot more respect.’

‘No, it’s not that, although I did feel annoyed he’s created such a mess. But the real reason I was unhappy is something else I can’t really talk about.’

‘You should know I know who he is, if it helps. I know he’s Carrick Murphy. He told me he’s kind of in hiding.’

‘In that case… I was angry because he pretty much accused me of giving up his location on social media because I don’t understand quite how famous and important he is.’

Harris chuckled. ‘He said that? What a dobber.’ As if realising he’d spoken out of turn, he added, ‘Sorry… I mean… not a dobber but… well, you know.’

‘He really hurt my feelings, Harris. I would never knowingly put someone at risk like that.’