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‘The envelope was already open,’ he added. ‘I didn’t read it.’

‘I didn’t think you did,’ she said, holding it for a moment.

Fergus looked at her and raised his eyebrows, as if urging her to read. Bex wasn’t sure why her hand was trembling. Why did it matter what Duncan had written? She could already imagine what would be on that piece of paper – apologies; long heartfelt words about needing to do the right thing; right person, wrong time, that sort of thing. That was what she expected.

But when she unfolded the note, she discovered it was far shorter than she’d anticipated.

Just two lines. Apparently, that was all he had to say to her.

Had to go away for a couple of days. Will explain when I get back. Sorry. Dx

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Bex was furious. What kind of message was that? He was going away for a couple of days. No explanation. No mention of last night, or how he wished it could be different. Just the single word ‘sorry’, like that was enough to encapsulate all he needed to apologise for. Well, it wasn’t.

Of course, it was the unwritten part of the note that angered her even more. By ‘going away’, he meant that he was going away with Katty, didn’t he? Yes, of course he was going away with Katty. Somewhere they could be alone together. Discuss their future. He’d probably already apologised to her for Bex being at his house when she’d got there that morning. As if Katty was the one who needed the apology. He’d probably told her that it was a one-time thing and that there were no feelings involved. Purely physical. Meaningless. Those were the words he’d likely used, and the thought nauseated her. There wasn’t a chance he’d tell her how he actually felt about Bex, not when it would only hurt her. Because Duncan didn’t hurt people. Except her, that was. Yup, whether he’d wanted to or not, the truth was that he’d well and truly done a number on Bex.

If she needed any more confirmation that she had to get out of LochDarroch and back to London as soon as possible, this was it. She lifted her head and looked at Fergus.

‘I’m going to head back to London,’ she said. ‘I can do some work from there for a week or so, but I could do with a hand packing up some of these ledgers. Any chance you could get Roddy or someone else to help me load them into the car?’

She was aware that she hadn’t asked Fergus’s permission for this, and that he would be well within his rights to question her decision from a work perspective. And understandably so. There was a good chance she would end up needing things she’d left behind, but she couldn’t think about that. And thankfully, Fergus didn’t. Instead, he nodded.

‘Aye, I’ll see who I can find,’ he said. ‘You go get your things together from your room. We’ll sort this.’

As Bex shoved her clothes back into her suitcase, she was aware that she was being watched. ‘It’s not forever, girl,’ she said, unable to meet the animal’s eyes. ‘But you knew this was going to happen. You have your life here. Your family’s here. I don’t. I was always going to have to leave.’

As she finally turned to face her, Ruby let out a long whine.

‘I know, girl.’ Bex sighed heavily as she dropped to the floor and buried her head in the dog’s fur. ‘I know exactly how you feel.’

Unfortunately, Roddy and Horace were both busy, so it was Fergus himself who helped Bex pack the ledgers and stacks of paper into the back of her car. Given the size of her suitcase, she couldn’t fit nearly all of them, but it would be enough. She just needed a bit of a break – some space away from Duncan and away from the memories of him in the castle.

When the boot was full, she went to get another couple of boxes from the study to strap onto the back seat, but she had only just picked out which one she was going to take when there was a voice speaking from behind her.

‘You have to be joking.’

Lorna stood in the doorway, and she hadn’t come alone. She had Eilidh by her side as reinforcement.

‘Did Fergus ring you?’ Bex said. She didn’t know whether to laugh or shout at the old man, but he clearly hadn’t been as keen to let her go as he’d let on.

‘You can’t leave now,’ Lorna said, ignoring Bex’s question. ‘You said you were going to go in a couple of days.’

‘You don’t want to make this decision when you’re upset anyway,’ Eilidh added. ‘It’s a long drive to make when your head’s not straight.’

‘I told you I needed space,’ Bex said. ‘I told you I was going to go early.’

‘Yes, but not that early. Eilidh’s right. You’re not in the right frame of mind to go now. Please, let’s just go for a drink first. Just so I know you’re all right. Safe to drive.’

It was sweet how much they cared, but Bex shook her head. ‘I can’t have a drink. As you’ve already pointed out, I’ve got to drive back, and I need a clear head.’

‘You can have a soft drink?’

She knew she wasn’t going to get away with it, not without them seeing that she really was okay to drive. And this really was the best thing for her to do. She let out a long resigned sigh.

‘Fine. I’ll go for one lemonade – then I’m leaving.’

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