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.’‘Well, that doesn’t surprise me, she never did make any attempt to see it from our point of view.’‘And what point of view was that?’‘Oh, come on.You were young, rich, poised on the threshold of your life—you were a good catch, Robert, and she caught you.Your father said she was a tramp—’‘Don’t—ever—call her that again,’ he said, his voice deadly quiet.‘Not that it’s any of your damn business, but Maisie was a virgin when I met her.And besides, if she’d been after my inheritance, don’t you think she would have stuck around? She hasn’t even taken maintenance from me all these years!’She bristled.‘Why would she need maintenance? You gave her a house—the house we’d given you for your eighteenth birthday! What more could she want?’‘A home? A husband? Someone to love her—someone whose parents didn’t think she was a gold-digging little whore? She heard you, Mum.She heard you and Dad talking.’His mother went white, her eyes widening with distress.‘No! She wasn’t meant to hear—’‘You’re damn right she wasn’t.You weren’t meant to have said it! I trusted you to look after her, to keep her safe, to make her welcome, and all you did was regard her with disgust and suspicion.’‘But your father said—’‘I know what my father said, and I have no need to ever hear it again.That doesn’t excuse you.I think you owe her an apology, and I think you should do it now, before she leaves.’‘She’s leaving? So soon?’He gave a short laugh.‘Give me one good reason—just one—why she should stay another minute!’She couldn’t.Of course not.There wasn’t one.He walked away, looking for the dogs, needing to escape, and found them in the kitchen, sitting hopefully at Mrs McCrae’s feet.‘Lunch is all ready when you are,’ she said, and he stared at her blankly.Lunch? What did lunch have to do with anything?‘You’d better hold it,’ he growled.‘I don’t think there’s a snowflake’s chance in hell of us all sitting down together at a table right now.Dogs?’‘Oh, dear, no, no’ another scrap, Robert,’ she tutted, but he ignored her, slapped his leg for the dogs and went out.They dragged themselves away from Mrs McCrae and followed him along the shore and up to the ruins of the castle, and he stood there, in the broken remains of the tower where he and Maisie had spent so much time, waiting for his emotions to subside, for some semblance of peace to come.It didn’t.But Maisie did, her footsteps almost silent on the soft grass, any noise drowned out by the whisper of the wind.The dogs alerted him, running to greet her, and he waited, turning towards her, arms folded, letting her set the tone.‘Can we talk?’He gave a short laugh.‘I don’t know—can we? We can’t usually manage it but it’s probably about time.’ He looked down, scuffing the grass with his toe, then he looked up and met her eyes again.‘I owe you an apology—again.We all do.’‘I’ve seen your mother.Apparently she didn’t know I’d overheard those things, and she’s mortified.’‘Good.She needs to be.I’m so angry with her.’‘You upset her, Robert.’He snorted.‘Not nearly as much as she upset me, I can tell you.’‘I’m sorry.’‘What for?’She shrugged.‘Causing a scene in the café?’He laughed softly and held out his arms, the fight going out of him.‘What a mess.Come here, Maisie.You look as if you could do with a hug, and I know I could.’She hesitated, looked around at the place where he’d held her so many times, and for the first time in twenty years, she went back into his arms.They closed around her, folding her firmly against the solid warmth of his chest, and she rested her head against his heart and listened to its even, steady beat while the tension drained out of her.Lord, how she’d missed this— missed the feel of his arms, the strength of his body, the sound of his heart under her ear.They stood like that for an age, silent, unmoving, just holding on, and then she lifted her head and met his eyes, easing back a little but still standing in the loose circle of his arms.‘We should go back,’ she said.‘Jenni’s terribly upset.She hates rows at the best of times, and she’s got her finals coming up, the wedding to organise—the last thing she needs is us coming to blows.We need to put this on one side and concentrate on her for now.’‘I agree.And the wedding’s only the start of it, Maisie.OK, it might be a bit soon to start thinking about it, but— well, one day we’re going to be grandparents.It might be an idea if we were at least friends.It’s a pity you don’t live closer.’‘I know, but my life’s in Cambridge, Rob.And as you said yourself, it’s not exactly Outer Mongolia up here.’‘Siberia.’She felt herself smile reluctantly.‘Whatever.I can see Jenni and Alec and the grandchildren whenever I want.I can come and stay with them—presumably they’ll be living on the estate?’‘Yes, they’re moving into the gatehouse.It’s pretty, it’s got a safe, enclosed garden, it’s the closest to the village for Jenni to socialise with other mums when the time comes, and it’s ideal.It’s got four bedrooms, so there’ll be plenty of room for you, and there are always other cottages we can put you in if you’d rather.And ultimately, of course, they’ll have the castle.’‘Not for a long while, I hope.’His mouth quirked into a gentle smile.‘Hopefully not.And in the meantime, do you think we can try and be friends? Maybe get to know each other, at last?’‘Not before time.’ She smiled up at him wryly.‘Did you know Alec brought Jenni up here for a picnic on Tuesday night and proposed to her?’‘Here? No, I didn’t.’ He gave a soft laugh.‘How ironic they should choose the place she might have been conceived.’‘I know.She said it was freezing, but very romantic.’ She swallowed, trying not to think about the past, about lying with him under the stars on the blanket he’d hidden here, huddled together for warmth.They’d been cold, too, but it had been worth it, just to be alone with him away from prying eyes.Until it had all gone wrong.‘I’m not surprised he planned it like that.He adores her— and he’s picking up all the pieces at the moment,’ he said with a sigh.‘I suppose we’d better go and pour oil on the troubled waters and let him off the hook.’ He let her go, stepping back so she felt the chilly wind cooling her body where it had been in contact with his.It made her shiver, and she turned and headed back down to the castle, Rob behind her and the dogs running around their feet, while she wished—oh, how she wished—that things could have been different.They walked in through the kitchen door to a welcoming committee of anxious faces and reddened eyes [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]