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‘You sound in a right rush, thundering down those stairs,’ Fergus called. ‘Where you off to? Or do I nae wanna know?’

Bex poked her head around the door and found him sitting in the armchair, all five dogs at his feet, although Ruby immediately started wagging her tail.

‘Sorry,’ Bex said. ‘I’m just late in meeting Lorna for a drink.’

‘Lorna, aye, she’s a good lass.’

Bex wondered if this might be the first compliment she had heard Fergus give someone, and she waited, half expecting him to continue. But there was nothing. Just silence. Almost like he wasn’t sure how you were supposed to keep conversation going.

Bex shifted her feet a little. She didn’t want to be rude, but she was well aware that she was already late and this somewhat awkward conversation was only making her later.

‘I should?—’

‘Sorry again?—’

The pair spoke directly over one another, and a flash of embarrassment rolled through Bex.

‘You want to get off,’ Fergus said, waving his hand. ‘Dinnae let me keep you.’

‘It’s fine,’ Bex said, feeling an unexpected surge of guilt at leaving the old man in this massive castle on his own, even though she suspected he’d been living that way for years on end.

‘Aye, well. I also… I also wanted to say sorry again about the mess of things,’ Fergus said.

Sorry again. Bex almost felt her jaw drop. She wasn’t sure she had heard him say sorry once yet. He had warned her it was a state, but that wasn’t exactly the same thing, was it?

She let out a slight chuckle. ‘I’ll just make sure I bill you for every minute worked. And that includes binning old Mars bar wrappers. Seems you rather like those.’

She had meant the comment as a joke and had assumed he would take it as one, but instead, his face hardened.

‘Well, I dinnae wanna keep you any longer.’

‘Right,’ Bex said, feeling unusually guilty. ‘I guess I’ll see you in the morning.’

‘Aye, and early this time please,’ he called.

As she walked out the room, she found herself shaking her head. It was safe to say, no part of her first day working in Scotland had been anything like what she’d expected. And the day wasn’t even over yet.

16

Bex knew that driving was the sensible option. It meant she wouldn’t be able to get too drunk and make a bad impression, and it also meant that she wouldn’t stay too late, because as much as she wanted to have fun, she still had a lot of work to do. Her third reason for driving was less optimistic, but if she had been wrong about Lorna, and she wasn’t as nice as first impressions had seemed, or perhaps her friends were not the type of people she could feel comfortable around, then she would be able to get out of there quick-sharp. Fingers crossed that wasn’t something she had to worry about.

Still, as she parked up the car and walked towards the pub, an unexpected wave of nerves hit her. It had been a long time since she’d made new friends. Her closest friends were the ones she’d grown up with, and she had several at the office as well. She only ever really met new people when someone joined her firm, and when that happened, they were normally the nervous one, hoping they would fit in. This was entirely different; she was the odd one out, joining an established group. Yet the moment she pushed the door open and Lorna saw her, Duncan’s red-headed stepsister waved excitedly, and Bex’s nerves lifted a little.

‘Bex, come and meet everyone!’ Lorna called, slipping out of her seat to give Bex a quick hug before taking her by the hand, at which point she led her through the pub to a table in the corner, where a man and woman her own age were sitting.

‘Bex, this is Eilidh and Niall. Eilidh, Niall, this is Bex, the one I told you about – she’s working up at Fergus’s. How long did you say you’re going to be there for?’

‘Well, it was meant to be two months,’ Bex said. ‘But judging from the amount of work I have to do there, I think I might be here until I’m fifty.’

‘Sounds perfect,’ Lorna said with a laugh, ‘as long as you’re a fan of wine.’

‘I absolutely am.’

‘Then make sure you keep an eye on your glass,’ Niall said, stretching out his hand to shake Bex’s. ‘Eilidh here will take more than her fair share if you let her.’

‘That is not true!’ Eilidh laughed, rolling her eyes as she punched Niall lightly on the shoulder. ‘I’m very fair with my wine.’

‘Well, it’s either that or you’re a complete lightweight,’ Niall teased, ‘because I swear, no one else gets drunk on two glasses like you do.’