by Sara Craven
services quite exacting, but as the months had passed they’d become more and more rare.
And at the same time, she’d discovered the first newspaper stories of his liaison with one of the Italian film industry’s
rising young stars, Luisa Danni.
For a while she’d felt stunned. But, after all, what else could she reasonably have expected Just because she preferred
to sleep alone, there was no reason for Raf to be celibate too, she told herself over and over again. That had never been
part of the deal.
So there would be no accusations—no recriminations. No reproaches either. In fact, no reaction at all.
She would continue to be polite and pleasant when she saw him, play the part required of her when necessary, and try
not to think about him at all when he was absent.
Besides, if she said anything, it might seem as if she cared. As if his infidelity actually mattered to her. And that wasn’t
true. It wasn’t true at all.
So she would ignore the whole sordid situation and simply live for the time when she would no longer be his unwanted
wife. When she would be free of him.
And that time, thought Emily, staring through the train window at the flying countryside, that time is now.
My marriage is over and there’s nothing on this earth that Raf Di Salis can do about it.
CHAPTER FOUR
IT WASdark when Emily got to Glasgow, and pitch black when she arrived at last at Kilrossan. But her journey, though
lengthy, had run like clockwork and she’d had no trouble making her connection.
As she descended on to the cold and windy platform and stood for a moment ruefully easing her spine, a rangy young
man approached out of the gloom.
‘You’ll be Miss Blake, I’m thinking.’ Voice and smile were cheerful. ‘I have the Jeep waiting.’
He took the suitcase crammed with warm clothing and the bag of books from her and set off towards the exit.
‘I’m Angus McEwen, by the way,’ he added. ‘It’s my auntie who looks after the cottage for the owners, although there
aren’t many visitors at this time of year.’
‘I wanted to find somewhere quiet and remote,’ Emily told him, huddling gratefully into her fleece.
He laughed. ‘Well, it’s that all right.’
‘It’s also absolutely freezing!’
‘There’s snow expected.’ He stowed her bags in the back of the Jeep and they set off.
She said stiltedly, ‘It’s very good of you to come and collect me at this time in the evening.’
‘All part of the service. I’m home on leave and like to keep occupied.’ He paused. ‘How did you hear about the
cottage’
‘Through a friend.’
‘It’s a shame it’s so dark because the scenery around here’s something grand,’ he told her. ‘Mind you, they say the
desert’s beautiful too, but I can’t see it myself.’
‘Is that where you work’
He nodded. ‘I started on the oil rigs but now I’m on a contract in Saudi.’ He paused again. ‘Are you a walker, Miss
Blake Because, if you’re planning to head into the hills at some point, you’ll need to leave a message with Auntie at the
shop about where you’re going and when you reckon to be back. Snow or not, the weather can still be treacherous at
this time of year and getting the mountain rescue team out is expensive.’
Emily smiled. ‘Don’t worry,’ she said. ‘I’ve come to relax.’Or try to …‘I’m not tackling more than the odd gentle stroll.’
‘Then I’d better give you a bit of peace now,’ Angus commented ruefully. ‘The family always say I could talk the hind leg
off a donkey.’
If she was truthful, Emily was glad of the silence. She still couldn’t believe her escape had been so simple. The only query
had come from the ticket office clerk at the station. ‘A first class single to London, madam Not a return’
She’d smiled demurely. ‘I’ll probably be coming back by car,’ she fibbed. She wouldn’t, of course, but if Raf made
enquiries that was what he’d be told. And from London she could have gone anywhere.
She didn’t even want to contemplate what his reaction would be when he arrived at the Manor and discovered she was
missing. But she wouldn’t worry about that now. She had two weeks of solitary bliss in which to make her contingency
plans. And when she returned she’d be ready for anything.
They seemed to have been driving for ever but at last the Jeep turned off and Emily found they were bumping over a
rutted uphill track.
Her companion pointed to a light ahead of them. ‘That’s Braeside Cottage. Auntie’ll have been up with a welcome
pack—bread, milk, porridge oats and the like. And I’m to show you where everything is and light the living room fire for
you.
‘The water and heating work off oil,’ he went on as Emily murmured appreciatively. ‘And the cooker uses bottled gas,
because the electricity goes off sometimes in bad weather. But Auntie Maggie makes sure there’s always a good stock of
candles.’ He paused doubtfully. ‘You’re certain you won’t mind being up here on your own’
‘Believe me,’ Emily said truthfully, ‘I can hardly wait.’
The cottage was certainly worth waiting for, she thought, as she was ushered straight in through a front door which,
Angus told her, was rarely, if ever, locked.
Well, it was the back of beyond, just as she’d hoped, she reminded herself. Her Scottish sanctuary, hundreds of miles
from irate Italian millionaires.
It was a large room, comfortably furnished but not flash. Two big sofas upholstered in blue flowered chintz flanked the
fireplace and there was a small dining table and two chairs under the window. None of the furniture was new, but it
gleamed and there was a pleasing scent of polish in the air.
A curtained archway led to a small but well-equipped kitchen at the rear, with the promised welcome pack standing on
one of the counter tops.
In addition, there was a flight of wooden stairs to the upper floor and a door in the corner which Angus said led down to
the cellar, where the boiler and the coal bunker were both located.
He took her case upstairs and deposited it in the large front bedroom. Emily saw that there was a thick quilt in a green
and white striped cover on the double bed and that the lace-edged pillows were crisply laundered. It looked so inviting
that she almost ached.
There were sheepskin rugs on the wooden floor and plain curtains in the same green at the windows. There was also an
elderly chest of drawers with a mirror above it and a walk-in cupboard with a hanging rail.
Opposite was a single room, chastely furnished in white, and at the end of the narrow landing was a small but serviceable
bathroom with a deep old-fashioned tub and a hand shower.
It was all immaculately clean and shining, which made Angus’s Aunt Maggie a treasure. Pity she can’t sort out High
Gables for Simon, she thought, and wondered if he was missing her, at the same time disturbingly aware that she’d hardly
spared him a thought. That she’d been preoccupied with Raf instead, and to an absurd degree. Well, that would stop
right now.
When she rejoined Angus downstairs, the fire was already crackling in the grate.
‘The kindling’s kept in the cellar, too, for dryness,’ he mentioned. ‘And the log store’s in a lean-to at the side of the
house. There was a load delivered before Christmas, so don’t stint yourself. And it draws well, this fire, so it’s easy to
light.
‘You’ll have no trouble finding the village, either,’ he continued. ‘Just keep walking downhill. Auntie’s shop is only open
for papers tomorrow, because of the Sabbath. But, if you look in the fridge, you’ll find she’s left you a Sunday dinner, so
you won’t starve. I’m afraid that’s extra,’ he added a touch awkwardly. ‘Is that all right’
‘I’m truly grateful,’ Emily assured him. ‘Your aunt’s gone to a lot of trouble to make me welcome, and so have you.’
‘Och, think nothing of it.’ Angus stood up, dusting his hands. ‘Make sure you use the spark guard before you go to bed
and you’ll be fine.’
‘I’m sure I will. I’ll just have a quick supper, then sleep off the journey.’
His smile warmed her again. ‘Then I’ll see you around.’
And he was gone, and she heard the Jeep disappearing down the track.
At last, there was nothing but silence. Emily stood for a moment, looking round her new domain with profound
satisfaction.
It was settling in time. She would unpack, make her first meal, take her first bath, then let the stresses and strains of the
past week slide away in that big, comfortable bed upstairs.
It felt chilly in the bedroom. She felt the radiator, but it was cold, as was the one in the bathroom. Presumably the heating
worked on a timer and had switched itself off, she thought, putting away her clothes in double-quick time.
In the kitchen, she unloaded the groceries in the welcome pack. As Angus had indicated, there was a fresh chicken in the
fridge, along with some carrots and a small cabbage.
But, for now, she would make do with a can of soup, and tomato at that, she thought, operating the ring-pull on the can.
The ultimate comfort food.
When it was hot, she poured it into a large pottery mug and carried it into the living room. As she sat down one of the
logs in the grate collapsed, making her jump, emphasising her awareness of the cottage’s isolation.
It seemed strange to have no real idea of the landscape outside the dark rectangle of window, she thought with sudden
unease. Maybe it would help if she drew the thick woven cream curtains, closing out the darkness and the unknown
together.
But this is what you wanted—a hiding place with total seclusion, she argued inwardly. So why be a wuss about it
As she began tugging the heavy folds into place, she became aware of two things. That snowflakes were dancing in the
air, just as Angus had predicted. And that she could hear the sound of an engine and see a pair of powerful headlights
approaching the cottage.
Oh, God, she thought, groaning inwardly. Surely it wasn’t Angus paying another visit on some pretext. He didn’t seem the
type to make a nuisance of himself because she was female and on her own, but how did she know What did she
know
She would just have to make it perfectly plain that she didn’t need any kind of complication in her life. And, whatever
he’d said earlier, she’d keep that damned door locked.
But, even as she turned to do so, she heard a vehicle door slam and footsteps approaching on the gravelled area just
outside.
As the cottage door opened, she said breathlessly, ‘Whatever you have to say can wait until tomorrow. Now, I’d just
like you to go.’
‘But how inhospitable of you,carissima ,’ came the drawled reply. ‘Particularly when I have come so far to find you.’
And, as Emily halted in stunned disbelief, Raf Di Salis stepped into the lamplit room.
Emily couldn’t speak. She could hardly think. She just stood there, rooted to the spot, staring at him. Watching him strip
off his gloves.
He can’t be here, she thought. It wasn’t possible for him to have found out her destination and followed her so quickly.
Yet he was only too real.
There were snowflakes clinging to his dark hair and to the shoulders of the parka he was wearing and he was carrying a
leather travel bag, which he allowed to drop to the floor with a thud that sounded ominously final.
‘Lost for words,mia bella ’ he asked, the hazel eyes raking her mercilessly. ‘How strange. You seemed eloquent enough
when you spoke to my lawyers the other day. And very frank.’
Her throat closed in fright as she remembered every reckless word she’d thrown at them. His arrival had made the
cottage seem suddenly smaller and more cramped. And there was a note of cold, quiet anger in his voice that made her
shiver.
He noticed instantly. ‘You are cold, my angel Forgive me.’ He kicked the door shut behind him. ‘So, Emilia, are you
pleased with the cottage’
She found her voice at last. ‘I was—until a moment ago.’ She took a deep breath. ‘What thehell are you doing here’
‘I have come to talk to you,naturalmente ,’ Raf said softly. ‘To discuss your recent ultimatum—among other things. I told
you so in my letter. And you must have received it, or why would you be here’
‘I came because I chose not to see you—not to have this conversation.’ She tried to keep her voice steady as her mind
ran in crazy circles, trying desperately not to think what she was thinking. ‘As you must have known.’
He shrugged. ‘But that was not your choice to make.’ He unzipped his parka and tossed it across the back of a sofa.
Underneath he was wearing a black roll-necked sweater and his long legs were encased in blue denim and tough-looking
boots.
He too, it seemed, had dressed for bad weather—and a long stay. And a voice in her head was silently screaming,No …
‘I made my wishes clear to you, Emilia,’ he went on. ‘You should have listened.’
‘Ah,’ she said. ‘We’re back to the old obedience issue.’
‘There are a number of issues,’ he said. ‘In time, we shall deal with them all.’
‘No,’ she said angrily. ‘I came here to get away from you, as you’re clearly aware. Either you leave or I do.’
He walked to the door and opened it again. A flurry of snow blew in on a wind that seemed to come straight from the
Arctic Circle. ‘Then go,mia cara . I hope you have a destination in mind, because it is not a night to be homeless.’
He paused. ‘Or you could be sensible and accept that this interview is inevitable. Which is it to be’
There was a silence, then Emily turned away almost blindly, wrapping her arms round her body.
‘You are wise,’ he said and closed the door.
She said, ‘How did you know where I’d be’
‘I think you already know the answer to that.’
She said fiercely, ‘I suppose you must have forced it out of poor Simon somehow.’
‘No force was needed,’ he said. ‘I have known about this house for a long time. My friends originally offered it to me for
our honeymoon and I regret now that I did not accept.’ He looked round him appraisingly. ‘It is charming and ideally
secluded, don’t you think’
The sensation that she was standing on the edge of a precipice was so vivid that Emily almost swayed. She made her way
to the sofa and sat down.
‘Friends’ she echoed hoarsely. ‘What friends’
‘Marcello and Fiona Albero,’ he said casually. ‘You met them in London when he was at the Embassy, but I knew you
would not remember. You were always too enclosed in your little private block of ice,mia sposa , to care about any of
