Secret Things and Highland Flings by Tracy Corbett

Author:Tracy Corbett [Tracy Corbett]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2019-03-21T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

Monday 11th June

Lexi woke with a jolt from another bad dream. Or rather, a horrific nightmare. She’d dreamt that her sister had shown up at Rubha Castle and attacked Olly with a shoehorn. Except it wasn’t a dream, was it? Her sister really had done that.

Groaning, she rolled out of the four-poster bed and dragged herself into the shower. Maybe drowning herself would help to eradicate the humiliation of being sprung while ‘getting it on’ with his lordship. Talk about embarrassing.

The events of last night were still a blur. One minute everyone was arguing, the next Olly and Sophie were running from the room, reacting to the news that Louisa was having her baby. Mrs Jennings had arrived shortly after and offered to make up a room for Tasha, but her sister had declined and stormed out, leaving Lexi utterly confused and wondering how on earth things had deteriorated so quickly.

To say she was out of sorts this morning was an understatement.

Needing to regain control, she chose her blue 1940s linen suit and matched it with her polka-dot shirt in an effort to feel more ‘businesslike’ and less like the kind of woman who’d seduce the man she was working for. She tied her hair up and sent Tasha a WhatsApp message suggesting they meet for breakfast at Nanny’s café. Her sister was staying at the Tigh an Eilean Hotel in the village, so it was only a short walk.

Cataloguing the Wentworth art collection would have to wait. She wouldn’t be able to concentrate until she knew why her sister was in Scotland. And there was no way she was having that conversation at the castle.

When she opened the bedroom door, Mrs Jennings almost fell into the room. Had she been eavesdropping?

The woman covered her guilt by straightening a picture on the wall. ‘Morning, lassie. I hope you slept well. Quite a commotion last night, wasn’t there? Will you be wanting breakfast?’

‘No, thank you. I’m meeting my sister in the village.’

Mentioning Tasha piqued the housekeeper’s curiosity. ‘You should’ve warned me she was coming. I could’ve made up the guest room for her. But maybe you dinnae know she was visiting.’ There was a questioning look in her eye, which Lexi ignored. She wasn’t in the mood to fuel gossip. ‘Not very alike, are you?’

There was little point enlightening her. Sometimes the truth was too far-fetched to believe. She left the bedroom and closed the door. ‘Any news on Louisa?’

‘She’s had a wee boy. Five thirty this morning. His lordship sent me a text. “The alien has landed”, he wrote. Cheeky blighter.’

Lexi smiled. ‘I’m delighted for them.’

‘They’re calling the baby Oliver. A bonnie name, aye?’

Lexi forced a smile. ‘Lovely. Now, if you’ll excuse me, Gilly, I’d best be getting on.’

Gilly followed her down the corridor. ‘Nothing as important as family, I always say. Perhaps you’d like a bairn of your own one day?’

So much for preventing gossip. News of her dalliance with his lordship had already spread through the castle. ‘My gallery’s my main focus for now,’ she said, speeding down the steps.

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