One Summer At The Castle. Jules Bennett

stared at the younger man belligerently, although his face reddened with colour. ‘I think you heard what I said,’ he muttered defiantly.

      ‘And who appointed you my guardian?’ exclaimed Liam, equally unprepared to back down. ‘I know you didn’t like me bringing her here. You made that plain enough. But this is my house, Devlin, not yours.’

      Sam straightened. He had been lounging against the drainer as he chatted with the housekeeper, but now he stiffened his back. ‘I thought I was doing you a favour, man,’ he protested. He lifted an apologetic hand. ‘Obviously I was wrong. I’m sorry. Rest assured, it won’t happen again.’

      He turned and thrust his cup into the sink, but when he started across the room, evidently intending to leave Liam to it, Liam stepped into his path.

      ‘No, I’m sorry,’ he said roughly, ashamed at taking his frustration out on the older man. ‘Forget what I said, Sam. It’s not your fault I’m in a bloody mood.’

      Sam hesitated, still looking upset, and Liam cursed himself anew for distressing him. Dammit, Sam was right. He probably would have complained if Sam had interrupted him. He was letting a woman he might never see again ruin the long-established relationship he had with his steward, and that was stupid.

      ‘I mean it,’ he grunted, holding out his hand. ‘Take no notice of me. I’ve had a pretty useless morning, and I’m ready to blame anyone but myself.’

      Sam’s jaw clenched, but he took Liam’s hand and shook it warmly. ‘Yon lassie’s to blame,’ he said staunchly, but Liam wasn’t prepared to go that far.

      ‘Well, she’s gone now,’ he said neutrally, taking another mouthful of his coffee and finding it more to his taste. ‘McAllister turned up, I gather?’

      ‘Aye. In that old rattletrap he calls an estate car,’ agreed Sam, relaxing now. ‘How it passes its MOT test, God knows!’

      ‘I don’t suppose it does,’ said Liam, hoping it hadn’t broken down between Kilfoil and the village. He was remembering what Rosa had said about the dangers of the moor, and to imagine her walking into one of its treacherous bogs was enough to bring another scowl to his lips.

      But he wasn’t about to bring that up with Sam, and, finishing his coffee, he said, ‘I’ll see you later. I’m going to take the dogs out.’

      Sam arched his grey brows. ‘Shall I come with you?’ He eyed his employer’s injured thigh with concerned eyes. ‘You don’t want to have another of those spasms when you’re out on the cliffs.’

      Liam hid his impatience at the other man’s fussing, and said evenly, ‘The physio says I should get plenty of exercise. He says that spending too long at my desk is probably the reason why I’m still having problems.’

      ‘Even so—’

      ‘I’ll be fine,’ Liam assured him tersely. ‘But thanks for the offer.’

      After collecting a coat, and the dogs, Liam emerged into the open air with a feeling of relief. The animals were just as glad to escape the confines of the castle, and they ran about excitedly, chasing every cat and bird in sight.

      Liam didn’t intend to go far. There were clouds massing on the horizon, and unless he missed his guess they’d have rain before nightfall. Knowing how quickly the weather could change in these parts, he had no desire to risk getting caught in a storm. He could be soaked to the skin in minutes. It wasn’t as if he could run for cover, either. Thanks to his attacker, his running days were over.

      Even so, he went out onto the cliffs, trudging through knee-high grasses that were an ideal hiding place for small rodents and birds of all kinds. The wind, blowing off the ocean, lifted the thick dark hair from his forehead and made him wish he’d worn something warmer than the ankle-length waterproof coat that flapped around his legs.

      His thigh did move more freely as he exercised it, but he didn’t think he was up to negotiating the cliff steps down to the cove this morning. Climbing down necessitated climbing up again, and that was probably a step too far.

      He was considering turning back when Harley, the younger of the two retrievers, scared up a rabbit. The terrified creature must have been hiding in the gorse bushes that grew near the edge of the cliff, and when Harley started barking it shot away across the headland, making unmistakably for the gully that ran down to the beach.

      Naturally, Harley gave chase, pursued by the other dogs, and although Liam shouted himself hoarse he soon realised he was wasting his time. The dogs weren’t going to come back until the rabbit had been rousted, and it was at that moment that he felt the first heavy drops of rain.

      He swore loudly, limping across to the edge of the cliffs. He could see all three dogs from this vantage point. The gully was a lot easier for a dog to negotiate than the steps, and, although there was no sign of the rabbit, the dogs were having a whale of a time racing along the sand, splashing in and out of the waves breaking on the shore.

      ‘Dammit!’ He swore again, but although he tried every way he could to get them to come back they weren’t listening to him.

      What price now his arrogant assertion that he didn’t need Sam’s help? he thought grimly. The man might be fifteen years older than Liam, but he wouldn’t have thought twice about going after the dogs. And, unless he wanted to return home with his own metaphoric tail between his legs, Liam knew he’d have to do the same.

      It wasn’t too bad going down. Although the rain was getting heavier, his determination kept him going—until his boots sank into the damp sand. The dogs came to him eagerly now, barking and leaping around him, as if their aim had been to get him down there all along.

      ‘Home,’ ordered Liam grimly, ignoring their welcome, and at last his tone had some success. Or maybe it was the rain, he reflected wryly. It was certainly quite a downpour, and even the dogs preferred a dry coat to a wet one. Whatever the reason, all three of them obeyed his command, charging up the steps ahead of him, standing at the top, panting and wagging their tails with apparent pride at their achievement.

      However, Liam found it much harder to follow them. The steps were slippery now, and every now and then, he was forced to clutch at handfuls of turf to prevent himself from sliding backwards.

      His thigh ached, and halfway up he had to stop and allow the spasms in his leg to subside. God, he should have swallowed his pride and gone back to the castle for help, he thought bitterly. The way his muscles were feeling now, he’d probably undone all the good that treatment he’d had in London had achieved.

      The dogs had disappeared by the time he finally reached the clifftop. Which was par for the course, he thought, panting heavily. He just hoped they’d gone back to the castle. If they hadn’t, hard luck. He wasn’t going looking for them. He was just relieved that Rosa Chantry wasn’t still there. He’d have hated for her to see him like this. Dammit, he still had some pride.

      It rained all day Wednesday.

      Rosa, who was confined to Katie Ferguson’s guesthouse, stared out at the weather with a feeling of desperation. She felt so helpless. Where was Sophie? she fretted, the inactivity putting her at the mercy of her fears. All right, she’d said she was okay, and Rosa had to accept that. But something about this whole situation didn’t add up.

      Still, she could do nothing until the ferry arrived the following morning, she consoled herself, rubbing a circle in the condensation her breath had made on the glass. The guesthouse was cosy, her room small, but comfortable. But there were no other guests with whom she could have passed the time.

      She glanced across the room at the table beside the bed. Two paperbacks that she’d bought at the post office-cum-general store resided there. One was a historical romance with a Scottish setting that she’d hoped might distract her from her troubles, but it hadn’t. The other was a Liam Jameson.

      The postmistress, a rather garrulous Scotswoman, had gone on at some length about the quality of Liam’s writing. She’d read everything he’d ever written,