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“Have you seen her on the TV? She’s got loads of confidence. She’s not afraid of anything or anyone.” Lottie took a step forward.
“Well, maybe. But those two things can co-exist. I don’t believe she doesn’t remember you, though, Lotts. You’re a star. You would have been a star barrister, and you’re a star here.” Anya put down her knife and wiped her hands on a cloth dangling from her pocket. “I don’t know what we’d do without you.”
Chapter Seven
HANNAH
The crash woke Hannah violently, and she found herself hyperventilating and wondering where she was. She was sitting up in the wing-backed armchair and being sprayed by wind and snow coming in through the open window.
Yes, McLennon Castle. That was it. She rubbed her face with a hand and stood to close the window. It must have flown open, waking her from an accidental nap. Hannah wasn’t given to sleeping during the day, but gazing at the scenery she’d found a kind of peace she hadn’t experienced in a while.
The latch was loose, so she closed the window as well as she could and sighed. She’d need to call down to reception. She dreaded Lottie answering the phone. She cursed herself again for getting into this awkward situation.
She took a deep breath and had a word with herself. This was not the same as calling the Downing Street press secretary. She could cope with this.
To Hannah’s great relief, a Scottish accent answered her call, and she explained the problem. The voice on the phone apologised and said that someone would come in the next hour to fix the window for her.
She picked up the book that had dropped from her hands when she’d fallen asleep, and returned to the page she had last read. Half an hour later, there was a firm knock at the door.
Hannah reluctantly put down her book and walked to the heavy wooden door. “Hi,” she said, with a tired smile, and opened the door to see a familiar figure before her, brandishing a toolkit. “Er, come in.”
Lottie walked in, her smile tight. “I gather the window’s playing up again?”
Hannah nodded, trying to work out whether now was the moment to admit she did remember Lottie, after all.
“Sorry about that. Our usual handyman couldn’t get his van off his drive this morning, so you’re stuck with me, I’m afraid.” Lottie gave a shrug.
There was an ease to her that Hannah envied, that Hannah had always envied.
Hannah walked stiffly over to the bed and perched on the end of it as Lottie pulled out a screwdriver and began to fiddle with the window fitting.
“This is one of the best views in the hotel.” Lottie was conversational, and didn’t seem to resent the fact that Hannah had forgotten who she was or, at least, feigned forgetting.
“It’s definitely different to what I’m used to,” admitted Hannah. “London isn’t big on lochs.”
“Definitely not.” Lottie was bent over the window clasp with a pair of pliers now. “I lived there for a bit after uni, and the closest I got to anything like this was the Serpentine in Hyde Park.”
“Yes, you had that training contract, didn’t you?” Hannah had spoken without thinking.
Lottie’s head moved suddenly and she peered over at Hannah, pliers still in place. She raised her eyebrows slightly.
Hannah wished the ground would swallow her up. “I didn’t remember you properly until I got up here.” She folded her arms and pressed her lips together. “Sorry, it must have been the train and the cold air this morning. I wasn’t really with it.” She was aware she was talking nonsense and looked down at the bedspread for something to focus on.
Lottie turned back to the window. “Yes, I guess travel can be a bit discombobulating.” She put her pliers down and tried the window handle a couple of times. “It turned out London wasn’t where I was supposed to be. But that wasn’t the case for you, it seems.”
“Yes, I live there,” said Hannah, aching for Lottie to leave the room. Of course she lived there; everyone in the UK knew she was London-based.
“Right, that should be fine now, which is good timing,” said Lottie, packing away her tools. “There’s rumours of a proper snow storm coming in, in the next day or so, so we need to keep you all dry and warm.” She took a few steps to the door, then paused before speaking again. She tidied a wisp of golden hair that had fallen into her face. “Let me know if you’d like a drink or a chat or something. I’d love to catch up, if you’d be interested in that.”
Hannah looked at Lottie, whose easy smile was hard to resist. She desperately wanted to know what had taken Lottie from her promising legal career. There was something there, a story to tell, she was sure of it. And while Hannah felt as awkward as all hell in that moment, she couldn’t fight the urge to take Lottie up on her offer.
“If you like,” Hannah said simply, and stood, her arms still folded.
Lottie grinned at her for a moment before shaking her head infinitesimally and then leaving the room.
Hannah heaved a sigh of relief. Thank goodness that was over and done with. She had probably come across as cold and unfriendly. She knew she was someone who took getting to know. But she couldn’t help but feel the same frisson of uncertainty and danger she recalled from her university days, whenever she’d found herself in Lottie’s vicinity. Lottie had always been the life and soul of the party, a million miles away from the person Hannah had been at the time. She seemed to glow with joy and energy in a way Hannah hadn’t completely understood. But part of her always wanted to.
She looked out of the window once more and decided it was time to explore the loch at closer quarters. She pulled on some walking boots she’d bought specially for the trip. They were pristine and would surely mark Hannah out as a townie. But she tied the laces and put on her long grey coat, adding matching yellow gloves and a woolly hat to complete the look. She looked in the mirror. Yes, that would do. Ever since the big story had first broken, she’d grown used to being photographed while going about her business in London, so she took care to make sure she always looked put together, even if she was just going out for a pint of milk.
