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‘I was just gonna grab a slice of toast and get on with work,’ she said.

Duncan’s eyebrows rose, and there it was again – that smile, close to a smirk, twisting at the corners of his lips. She wasn’t sure she liked it, regardless of how attractive he looked doing it.

‘Well, unless you brought some bread with you, you’re going to be out of luck. Fergus keeps nothing in the house.’

Bex scoffed. ‘I’m sure he’s got bread.’

‘He doesn’t,’ Duncan said, without batting an eyelid. ‘The only thing he has a decent supply of is whisky. Occasionally, he’ll buy a nice bottle of red wine to have at home too, but for his meal, he prefers to support the village. And it’s a habit I’ve kinda fallen into now too. I have breakfast at Maggie’s, lunch at the Thistle. Normally. I like to mix it up now and then.’

As Bex mulled his comment over, she studied his face. She’d had plenty of men give her incredibly lame reasons to try to get her on dates before. There was that time a colleague insisted there was a Tube strike and that she’d be quicker going with him in his car; then he’d suggested they stop for dinner and make a night of it. That was when she realised the Tube was running perfectly well after all. She’d even had men she didn’t know approach her on girls’ nights out, insisting they could show her a ‘better time’ and trying to buy her a drink.

Clearly, this Duncan thought he was smooth and that she’d fall for his plan of trying to take her out for breakfast, but that wasn’t going to happen.

‘Well, thank you for the offer, but I’m fine,’ she said.

He frowned. ‘Really, I’m not playing any games with you. If you need something to eat and you don’t want dog food – which is the only other thing Fergus has plenty of – then it’s a mile and a half into the village. Or you could grab a lift with me now.’ He sounded sincere. There was no doubt about that, but Bex still wasn’t falling for it.

‘Well, have a nice drive to the village, Duncan,’ Bex said, plastering on her best no-bull smile. ‘If you are the groundskeeper, like you say, then I’m sure I’ll see you around. Ideally, not in my bathroom next time.’

9

How the hell was there no food in a home this size? For the last forty minutes, that was the only question Bex had been asking herself. How was there not just a box of cornflakes or Weetabix somewhere? There was a kitchen bigger than most restaurants, not one, but two walk-in pantries, and enough shelves and cupboards to store her lifetime’s belongings three times over. Yet so far, all Bex had found was dog food. Sacks of dried biscuits filled the pantry floor, along with tinned food on the shelves, and then, in the freezer, where she’d hoped to come across a loaf of frozen bread, there was only raw meat, of which several packets more were defrosting in the fridge. There was also half a pack of butter, an open jar of cranberry sauce and a bottle of vinegar. None of which could be made into any kind of meal.

As she stood there in the large kitchen, Bex contemplated whether she could just push through until lunchtime. But she knew how hangry she got, and the last thing she wanted was to face the study and get her first glance of the task ahead on an empty stomach. No, that wouldn’t work at all. As her jaw ground together, she didn’t know what she was more annoyed about. The fact that her day was already derailed before it had even started, or that the irritatingly attractive Duncan had been right. Yes, that definitely made matters even more frustrating.

Trying to shake off the cloud that had well and truly settled on her shoulders, Bex went back upstairs and grabbed her boots. She needed to head into the village and driving there would be the quickest option, but she suspected that once she had actually got started on the job, she was unlikely to get much free time, which was a shame considering how beautiful the scenery was. Walking while she had the time to do so seemed like the most sensible option. Besides, it gave her a chance to fill the girls in on her latest development.

‘Oh my God! This is fate!’ Claire exclaimed from one corner of the screen. ‘It’s just like Daisy and Theo, walking in on him in the shower. It’s meant to be.’

‘No, it’s absolutely not,’ Bex replied. ‘And he walked in on me. Let’s remember that. Surely he should have seen the bag on the floor in the bedroom – that should have been a sign that the bathroom was occupied.’

‘So other than the ruggedly handsome groundsman, have you met anyone else?’ Daisy asked.

‘I didn’t say he was ruggedly handsome,’ Bex protested.

‘No, but he is, right? The way you keep talking about him makes it sound like he’s ruggedly handsome.’

‘I keep talking about him because he walked in on me in the shower. And no, I haven’t met anyone else yet, apart from Fergus, the Laird, and his dogs. The dogs are nice.’

Before Bex could continue, she heard a voice calling for coffee on Daisy’s end. Daisy crinkled her nose. ‘Sorry, I’ve got to go.’

‘Yeah, me too,’ Claire said. ‘I need to get Amelia to school. But fill us in on the rest of the day soon, okay? Especially any more chance encounters with attractive Scottish men.’

Bex rolled her eyes. ‘Love you both,’ she said, before hanging up and slipping her phone back into her pocket.

She was grateful she’d packed her boots, that was for sure, as the dew from the grass seeped into the hem of her jeans. Had she been wearing her trainers, her feet would have likely been soaked through. Either that or she would have been forced to stick to the path, and there was no chance she wanted to do that.

There was just too much to see. Too much to take photos of. Every direction offered something different, from the way the light dappled through the branches to the manner in which the sun reflected off the grass. And then there were the birds. Sure, she had hated them for waking her up so damn early, but she could hardly blame them. It was a million miles from even the greenest of London’s parks. Of course they wanted to sing every morning if this was what they woke up to. It was something special. A place that seemed untouched from the modern world, and she suspected she’d appreciate it even more if she weren’t so hungry.

By the time the village came into view, her stomach was growling angrily, but once again, Bex was slowed by the sight that met her. Last night, when she’d driven in, exhausted and fed up after a series of delays, she hadn’t appreciated just how lovely the place was. If her room at the castle belonged in a period drama, then this village looked like it could be the setting for some cosy romance film. The type where the female main character packed up her big city life to take on some new challenge in the middle of nowhere only to fall in love with the most eligible bachelor in the village. She laughed at the thought. Those women obviously didn’t have a massive promotion waiting for them when they got back to their real life.

Maintaining a steady amble, Bex took in as much as she could. The main street was easily identifiable, with cobblestones stretching up the hill and buildings of all different heights and styles giving it a charmingly haphazard feel. She already knew from what Duncan had said that there were places to get food at this time of day, and her plan was to go to whichever one she found first, but as she approached what appeared to be a café, the door swung open and out stepped a now familiar figure.

‘No luck finding any food in the house?’ Duncan asked, the slightest hint of a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.

Bex didn’t bother responding; instead, she glowered at him. Annoyingly, Daisy had been spot on – he was ruggedly handsome, and he looked even more so here. It was like his hair and skin glowed in the sunlight.

‘Well, I thought that might be the case, so I bought you a few bits and pieces,’ he said, lifting a bag in his hand. ‘Nothing too exciting. Croissants. Bread. A couple of pieces of fruit. You can take them now, if you want, or I can put them in the kitchen for when you get back?’