Page 22

A little while later, the grandfather clocked chimed ten o’clock. Though Bex’s stomach was still full from the croissants, a dull throbbing had settled behind her temples and it was more than a little irritating, distracting her from the work she needed to do, not to mention slowing her down considerably. What was even more irritating, though, was that the more she managed to clear in the study, the more she realised there was to do, and it wasn’t like she even had access to it all.

‘Fergus?’ Bex opened one of the windows when she saw Fergus standing out there on the ground with the four remaining dogs. She had been considering going outside to find him, but hadn’t wanted to lose all that time. The fact that he had appeared outside the window at the very time she needed him was a godsend.

‘Let me guess, you want me to take that dog off your hands,’ Fergus said as he trundled towards her.

‘What? No, she’s fine,’ Bex said, glancing at the sleeping dog. ‘Although she probably needs a walk.’ She knew Labradors were renowned for sleeping a lot, but Ruby had got it down to an art.

‘Aye, well, kick her out then. Now, did you want something?’

‘Yes.’ Bex pointed over to the desk in the centre of the room. ‘The bottom two drawers are full of ledgers. But the top drawer appears to be locked. I don’t suppose you know where the key is? There’re probably some important documents in there. I won’t need it for a couple of days, but it would help to have access to everything when I get started on the accounts.’

While Winny’s colour-coordinated ledgers left something to be desired, it was clear she had worked hard to try to keep things in order. That meant there was a good chance she had chosen the top, lockable drawer of the desk to place the most important documents in.

Fergus scratched his nose, looking mildly uninterested. ‘Aye. Key’s probably somewhere. But I don’t think there’s anything you need in there. Just stuff that’s not all that important.’

‘Right,’ Bex replied, trying not to scoff. ‘I don’t mean to be funny, but I just found last year’s bank statement in the wastepaper basket and an electricity bill wedged under one of the tables to stop it from wobbling. I’m pretty sure there’s relevant stuff all over this room.’

‘Fine.’ Fergus sighed. ‘I’ll have a look. But mind you, don’t go touching anything you don’t need to.’

‘I won’t,’ Bex assured him, fully aware she was lying through her teeth. The only way she was going to get through this project was by going through absolutely everything, and if that meant finding old family heirlooms along the way, so be it.

By half past eleven, Bex had finally found a rhythm. She was making piles: one for ledgers, one for bank statements, another for invoices and receipts. She had also found a black bag from the kitchen to shove anything she was certain was rubbish in. There was still masses to go through, but at least she had some sort of system now. Having a system and plenty of work helped distract her from the throbbing pain in her temples. She was going to have to go out and buy some instant coffee. And if she ended up staying here long enough, she might just have to order herself a coffee machine and charge it as an expense. Nigel had told her she could have whatever she needed to get this job done, and what she needed was caffeine.

By some miracle, she was over two-thirds of the way through one of the filing cabinets when Ruby started barking.

‘You can’t do that. Not with my headache… I’ll send you back to Fergus if you’re not quiet.’

‘So, you have a new friend?’ Duncan stood in the doorway. Her breaths shallowed. Somehow, he seemed to have grown ever more attractive overnight. His hair was loose and damp, which accentuated its curl, while he was dressed in tight jeans and wellington boots, which had no right to look as good as they did.

Aware of the silence that was burgeoning between them, she opened her mouth to ask if he’d made any progress on the plumbing when her eyes caught the object in his hand – a familiar white cardboard paper cup.

‘Is that… coffee for me?’ she asked, eyes widening.

‘Double-shot cappuccino,’ he said with a grin. ‘Full-fat milk, same as yesterday.’

‘Oh my God,’ she breathed, taking the cup gratefully. ‘Have I told you yet that you’re the most perfect person?’

24

‘I’m pretty sure we had an agreement that was lunch and help with sorting,’ Duncan said, ‘and considering I’m famished, I’d like to start with the lunch part. Though it doesn’t look like there’s anywhere to sit here. Why don’t we go into the drawing room?’

‘The drawing room?’

‘The room Fergus likes to sit in,’ Duncan clarified. ‘Or we could go into the ante library. Or the solar if you want to go upstairs.’

Bex didn’t even know that a solar was a type of room, although she made an educated guess that it was probably one that captured a lot of sun.

‘How many rooms does this castle have?’ she asked, aware that she hadn’t yet answered Duncan’s question.

‘Thirty-six,’ he said without a moment’s hesitation. ‘I counted them when I was a kid. Come on, the drawing room’s closest and I’d hate to waste time walking upstairs when you’d rather be putting me to work.’

Bex chuckled as she followed him out of the study. At least she had given him an accurate first impression of what she was like.

‘I’m guessing that as you grew up living here, your parents worked in the castle?’ Bex said as she walked beside him.

‘My mum did,’ he said. ‘Before she died.’

‘I’m sorry.’ For some reason she had assumed that Lorna had become his stepsister because his parents had got divorced. It seemed she had got that wrong.