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“Fixable or not fixable?” Lottie needed to know what her next steps were and how to advise Anne-Marie.
“Fixable with a new circuit board, but I think we’d need to go to Oban for one of those.” Danny sighed.
“Well that might as well be not fixable, right now,” said Lottie, her mind racing. Oban was more than forty miles away. “I think our next option is to see if anyone locally has a generator we can use temporarily. I’ll make some calls once the phone is free.”
Danny chuckled. “That old landline will be busy today.”
“Don’t knock it,” said Lottie, “it’s only because your mum’s still got one that I was able to get hold of you.”
“Aye, good point.” He nodded.
“Come on, Anya’s made some macaroon so come and grab a hot drink and have a sit down before you start on the rest,” said Lottie.
“The rest?” Danny raised his eyebrows.
“Did you see the state of the drive and the grounds? We need to dig out some paths to allow people to get around safely, or at least as safely as they can.” Lottie started making a mental list of other jobs he needed to do. “Come and have a quick rest and I’ll write you a list. I’ll pay you extra seeing as you walked all the way.”
“Can’t say fairer than that,” said Danny.
After depositing Danny in the kitchen with a cup of tea and Anya’s best Scottish macaroon, Lottie took two cups and a plate of the sweet treats to her own office. She knocked gently, hearing Hannah’s voice murmuring behind the door.
She opened the door and Hannah raised her head, her face strained. She gave a weak wave, ushering Lottie in, as though it was her office and not Lottie’s.
“Yes,” said Hannah, “I understand. I’ll see what they say up here.” She paused and wrote a few notes. “Yeah, I’ve got that. I’ll call them shortly. Yes, fine.” She twirled the curly cable between her fingers and nodded. “Of course, if anything happens you’ll be the first to know.”
Lottie put the plate of goodies and the cups of tea on the desk. She took a seat in the spare threadbare chair in the corner. Hannah spun absent-mindedly one way and then the other on Lottie’s office chair as she brought the call to a close.
“OK?” asked Lottie, when Hannah replaced the receiver.
“Well, as OK as it can be, I guess.” Hannah eyed the plate.
“Help yourself. There’s some tea there as well. I don’t remember you having sugar this morning so I’ve gone with just milk.” Lottie nudged the mug towards Hannah.
“Thanks, you’re right.” Hannah shot a grateful look at Lottie and then looked quizzically at the plate. “Um, what is that?”
Lottie sniggered. “Scottish macaroon. It’s made from potato and icing sugar…”
“Potato?” Hannah was incredulous.
“Yes, and covered in dark chocolate, rolled in coconut,” finished Lottie. “It’s a local delicacy.”
“It’s certainly not like any macaroon I’ve ever had,” said Hannah, picking up a piece between forefinger and thumb, eyeing it suspiciously.
Lottie smiled and sat back in her chair. She took a mouthful of the sweet treat. “The perfect mouthful for a cold day,” she said, mostly to herself.
Hannah still looked uncertain, but gave the corner a nibble. “Well,” she said after a few seconds, “it’s certainly sweet.”
“I’ll pass your compliments onto the chef,” said Lottie with a laugh.
Hannah smiled and took another bite. “Perhaps it’s an acquired taste,” she said as she chewed. “Your chef knows what she’s doing. I even got personally greeted at dinner on my first night, which is highly unusual.”
Hannah was looking at the notes in front of her, so Lottie didn’t need to stifle the smile that might otherwise have given away the fact that Anya had only paid Hannah so much attention because she was horribly nosy.
Hannah looked up again. “Thanks for this, though. It’s a good time for a break. The officer I spoke to in London has given me the number for the local police station here. I’ll have this and then call them.”
“You seem better,” said Lottie.
“I guess I’m in work mode,” reflected Hannah. “I have jobs to do, answers to find and a list to work through. It’s an excellent distraction.” She gave a tight smile.
