Page 12 of Summer in the Scottish Highlands (The Scottish Highlands #5)

Faye thought she heard her daughter’s voice. She looked about her and saw Natty, Olive, and a young man with red hair who looked to be in his twenties walking across the lawn towards her.

Faye slapped a friendly smile on her face, hoping she wasn’t going to get a mouthful from the owner about being an irresponsible dog owner. Olive bounded over with the frisbee in her jaws, her tail wagging furiously, obviously excited, as though she hadn’t seen her for weeks.

Natty ran over and stopped in front of her mum, looking at her wide-eyed.

‘Oh, sweetheart, when I didn’t hear your voice, I wondered where you were.’

‘Mum, you look really messy.’

‘Well, that’s not surprising. I just crawled through that hedge.’

‘Why did you do that?’ asked the young man, shaking his head but smiling all the same.

Faye suddenly felt embarrassed. Natty was fine. Olive had been found and didn’t appear to have trampled any of Gayle’s neighbour’s flower borders. The young man seemed pleasant and clearly had not had words with Natty about trespassing. In fact, he knelt down and gave Olive a fuss.

‘Mum, this is Marty.’

Faye wondered how someone so young could own such a wonderful property . Maybe he won the lottery, thought Faye , or comes from a wealthy background.

‘Hi,’ said Marty.

Faye thought he looked familiar. ‘You were at the party last night.’

‘That’s right.’

The conversation stalled. If he was a good friend of Bonnie’s, he probably didn’t want to talk about her or the party in case he betrayed any confidences. Faye looked down at the dog, about to apologise.

‘You’re staying at the guesthouse,’ commented Marty.

‘That’s right. This is my daughter, Natty.’

‘We’ve already met.’

‘Oh, of course you have.’ Faye was feeling flustered.

She knew why. It was very silly of her, but she imagined this was how some people felt coming face to face with very rich people – the way Rose had felt meeting Jake.

Faye cursed herself for being one of those people, feeling a little intimidated under his gaze.

Faye cast her eyes down at Olive. ‘I guess she can be quite the escape artist when she wants to be. It was my fault, though. I threw the frisbee too hard and it sailed over into the garden. ‘Sorry about that,’ Faye added. ‘I hope she hasn’t dug up any of your wonderful borders.’

‘Not as far as I can see,’ commented Marty.

‘Mummy, Olive was really good, wasn’t she, Marty?’ Natty was looking imploringly at Marty, hoping Olive was not in big trouble.

Marty knelt again and stroked Olive’s head. He got a big sloppy doggy kiss as a reward. ‘Olive, how many times have I told you not to do that,’ said Marty, wiping his face.

‘Oh, so you know Olive?’ Faye sighed. Of course he did. The dog probably kept getting into his garden.

As if he’d read her mind, Marty said, ‘You’ll have to show me where she got through the gap in the hedge. Then I might be able to block it off.’

Faye and Natty led him over to the hedge. ‘It’s definitely somewhere along here,’ Faye said. Unfortunately, the hedging all looked the same to Faye. ‘At least I know it’s along here where Lark Lodge backs on to your property.’

Marty gave Faye a quizzical look, and asked Natty, ‘You mentioned the steam train. Did you have a nice time?’

Natty nodded her head, great big gestures indicating she’d had the best time.

Faye added, ‘We had afternoon tea on the train after Natty and I had an hour or so exploring Aviemore.’

‘We sat with Rose and George,’ Natty chimed in. ‘It was Rose’s birthday. It was fantastic – but I’m starving.’

Faye suddenly remembered that Gayle was preparing the evening meal. ‘Look, it’s so nice of you to catch Olive for us. She belongs to one of the guests at Lark Lodge and it would have been awful if she’d got out onto the road and disappeared.’

‘No worries on that score,’ Marty chimed in. ‘She won’t wander far. In fact the only other place she ventures is into this garden. And seeing as I’m here most days, I guess she knows where to find me.’

Faye was just so glad he was being a good sport about Olive. She imagined that some people with a beautiful garden such as this would not take too kindly at all to a boisterous dog like Olive getting into their garden.

‘So, we need to make our way back to Lark Lodge, and not by way of the hedge again. Can you show us the way?’

‘I’ll do more than that,’ said Marty, rolling his shirt sleeves down. ‘I’ll accompany you.’

‘Is it far?’ Natty asked. ‘My legs are tired.’

‘I know a short cut,’ whispered Marty. ‘But it must be kept a secret.’

‘A secret!’ Natty’s eyes went wide. ‘Is it a secret door?’

Faye rolled her eyes. Natty’s favourite reading book was The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. It had been Faye’s favourite story when she was a child too.

‘Well, I guess. It’s a secret garden gate to a lane that leads between the houses and out to Gayle’s road. And I have the key!’

Natty jumped up and down, getting excited. Olive joined in, barking. Faye just sighed. She didn’t care how she got back to Gayle’s, as long as she didn’t have to go back through that hedge.

‘It’s a lot quicker than walking all the way down the drive and along the road to the next street.’

‘You don’t have to accompany us all the way back to Lark Lodge,’ said Faye as they walked along the lawn.

‘I think I should,’ Marty replied.’ ‘It’s nearly dinner time, so I need to wash up anyway because Gayle likes us to be prompt when she’s cooking.’

Faye looked at him in surprise. She didn’t realise that Gayle’s neighbour was joining them for dinner.

‘I must say, you all are very neighbourly, having dinner together. We live in London and barely know our neighbours.’

‘Well, that’s what comes from living in such close proximity to one another.’

Faye raised her eyebrows. She would not exactly call the two big houses, especially this grand house, and extensive grounds, living in close proximity to one another.

Rather, the small two-bed maisonette in the old house where she and Natty lived, which had been converted into three flats, was what she would call close proximity.

As they crossed the lawn to the far corner, Natty and Olive following, Faye took in the back of the house again. ‘You have a beautiful home. And the gardens are amazing too.’

Marty halted. ‘Excuse me?’

Faye turned around to look at the young man. ‘Your house. It’s lovely.’

‘Oh, you mean this house?’ Marty laughed.

‘Yes, this house. What else would I be talking about?’ She paused. ‘What’s so funny?’

‘I think you’ve mistaken me for someone else.’

‘I have?’

‘Yes – the owner!’

‘Oh, right. So, just to clarify – you don’t live here?’

‘Nope. I can see we’ve had crossed wires. I’m here most days, I’m just not the owner.’

‘Then who are you?’

Marty held up the garden fork he was carrying. ‘I’m the gardener.’

‘Oh.’ She had noticed the garden fork. ‘I thought you were just keen on gardening.’

‘I am – in other people’s gardens, for which I get paid. Although I think I will rather enjoy doing my own garden when I move in.’

‘Oh, you’re buying a house? ’

‘Yes, thanks to Jake Campbell-Ross. He’s helping me out buying my home.’

‘Oh, really?’ Faye couldn’t hide her surprise. Marty must be a good friend of his. ‘That’s so kind of him.’

‘Very. In the meantime, I am staying with my good friend, Gayle, whilst waiting for my new house to be built.’

Faye shook her head, and laughed out loud. ‘Oh, now I get it. When I said you are all very neighbourly, having dinner together, I thought you were actual neighbours.’

‘Oh, I see how that must have been a bit confusing when I mentioned living in such close proximity to one another – I meant that I am in a bedroom just across the hall from Gayle, not in the house that backs on to hers.’

Faye laughed, wiping the tears from her eyes. ‘How silly of me. I didn’t see you at breakfast this morning.’

‘Nah, I got up late.’

‘We must have left already when you came down to breakfast.’ Faye glanced at Olive. It all made sense now, why Marty wasn’t fazed by the large Old English Sheepdog appearing in the garden – he lived with Olive.

‘You’re Faye, aren’t you? I heard that Jake was returning to Lark Lodge and bringing a … friend with him.’

Faye caught the pause before he said friend . Yes, we’re booked into two rooms. We’ve got the bedrooms on the top floor.’

‘I heard you met when he started teacher training in London.’

‘That’s right,’ Faye said warily. She did not want to get into a conversation about her personal relationship with Jake. She changed the subject. Looking over at the house, she asked, ‘So who owns this beautiful house?’

She turned back to Marty when he didn’t answer. She noticed he was looking at her quizzically. ‘What is it?’

‘It’s none of my business but …’

‘But what?’

‘I’d have thought Jake would have told you.’

‘Told me what?’ Faye was getting a bit tired of the game of twenty questions.

‘Well, there’s a nice view of this house from the attic bedrooms.’

Faye shrugged. She hadn’t really taken much notice of the views from the bedroom window.

‘Didn’t Jake tell you about this house?’

‘No.’ Faye was thinking, why should he? It was just a gorgeous house that backed on to Gayle’s gorgeous, albeit smaller, guesthouse.

Marty said, ‘I guess I assumed he’d have mentioned The Lake House. I know he’s not staying at his house because it’s being redecorated but—’

‘Oh, I knew he has a holiday home in Aviemore. I did think we would be staying there, but like you said, it’s being redecorated, and besides, the house has a history, what with his wife, you know.

I get the feeling he would rather not stay there with me …

us.’ Faye frowned, wishing she hadn’t said all that.

‘ Stay here , you mean.’

‘Here – I don’t understand?’

‘This here is The Lake House.’ He swung his arms wide indicating the grounds of the lovely home.

Faye gaped at Marty, then at The Lake House. ‘You have got to be kidding me.’