by Joanna Neil
‘I could say the same about you, regarding the men in your life. From what I’ve heard, you’re very careful about whom you date, and so far I gather no one has managed to win your heart. Except maybe for one who finally got the heave-ho.’
She looked at him from under her lashes. ‘It sounds as though you’ve been asking around.’ She didn’t want to talk about her ex. He’d been enough to put her off serious relationships ever since.
He grinned. ‘I may have just happened to catch the odd murmur here and there, you know, as you do when people have had a drink or two. I’m always interested to hear what you’ve been getting up to.’
‘Hmm.’ She looked out over the water and shivered again as the wind began to toss her hair, sweeping silky tendrils across her cheeks. In the distance, she could see the undulating, green hills of the mainland, with whitewashed houses spread out along the coastline or clustered together in small settlements in the valleys. Behind them, mountains rose majestically, their summits shrouded in mist.
Ross reached out and lightly tucked her hair back behind her ears. ‘Why don’t we go to the bar and I’ll buy you a drink,’ he suggested. ‘A brandy, perhaps, something to warm you a little?’ He wrapped an arm around her waist, drawing her close.
She nodded agreement, enjoying the instant heat that came from his warm body, and they turned away from the deck rail. He kept her by his side and said in a cheerful tone, ‘You can tell me all about what you’ve been up to these past years.’
‘I’ve been working mostly,’ she said. ‘I’ve had to study hard to pass my specialist exams, and my job means everything to me.’
He frowned. ‘So much so that you’ve missed out on a personal life?’
She shook her head and smiled. ‘I wouldn’t go as far as to say that.’
He studied her thoughtfully as they took the stairs down to the lower deck. ‘You were always the sensible daughter of the family, weren’t you, Katie?’
Sensible? She absorbed that comment with a rueful, inner twinge. She’d not had much choice in that, had she? When her father’s angina had started giving him trouble in stressful situations, she’d made up her mind that she would do her utmost to protect him.
Jessie tried to do the same, but her nature was such that she often gave in to impulsive behaviour and only thought about the consequences afterwards.
‘I’ve missed you,’ Ross said, breaking into her thoughts. ‘Whenever I’ve been in bother, or about to do something mad, I’ve had the image of your sweet, calm face before me, with your green eyes warning me not to be such a harebrained fool.’ His mouth indented. ‘You’ve a lot to answer for.’
‘Oh, yes?’ She gave him a doubtful look. ‘I’m not sure I believe that. Since when did you ever bother about my opinion? I can’t imagine you’ve given me much thought at all—out of sight, out of mind, isn’t that what they say?’
‘Such scepticism... I can see I have my work cut out with you.’ There was a gleam in his eyes as he looked at her. ‘Definitely a challenge.’
He led the way to the bar, still keeping his hand splayed out over the curve of her hip, sending small ripples of excitement coursing through her body, and she had to steel herself not to give in to the warm, confusing tide of emotion that ran through her at his touch.
She had mixed feelings when he left her at a table by the window to go and fetch their drinks. Part of her was relieved that she was no longer under siege to that intensely intimate and sensual onslaught, and yet another, perverse part longed once again for that delight.
‘There you are,’ he said a moment later, sliding a brandy glass across the table towards her. ‘Drink up. You’ll soon feel it warm you.’
‘Thank you.’ She did as he suggested, and instantly felt the heat of the alcohol suffuse her body. Idly, she looked at him over the rim of her glass, and it seemed in that moment that the intervening years fell away. He still had that youthful look about him, all that boyish charm that had melted her heart when she’d been just a teenager.
Today he was wearing dark trousers and a navy-blue shirt beneath his open jacket. The first few buttons of his shirt were undone, showing his lightly tanned throat, and she watched, as though mesmerised, as he swallowed his drink. His larynx moved, and she felt a sudden, disconcertingly intense urge to reach up and run her fingers lightly over his golden skin.
She dragged her gaze away from him. ‘Do you ever look back and regret that you left the island?’ she asked.
He thought about her question for a moment or two. ‘In some ways, yes, for the family I left behind, but I think if I had that time all over again, I’d do the same thing. I was under a lot of pressure back then.’ His eyes darkened. ‘As you know, things weren’t going well for me, and my father was angry and clamping down on me more than ever.’
‘I know.’ She took another sip of brandy, feeling the amber liquid scald the back of her throat. ‘But you were badly injured, after all, and when all the hoo-hah died down after the accident, and the fire, your father might have had a change of heart. Perhaps you didn’t give him the chance to see things in a different light?’
He shook his head. ‘He was worried about me, I knew that, deep down, of course. But he was a stickler for doing things right and the fact was he was disappointed in me. I always seemed to be in trouble, and I guess the incident at the Old Brewery was the last straw.’
Katie nodded, understanding how things had gone so badly wrong. She didn’t know the full details—only what people had said at the time, and she suspected those stories had been embellished and exaggerated. The fire had scandalised everyone, but their feelings had been tinged with sorrow because when Ross had come down from the upper storey of the old building, the rotten timbers of the staircase had given way and he had fallen to the floor below. Quite why he had gone back up there after starting the fire wasn’t clear, but Katie suspected he’d gone to retrieve Jessie’s jacket. She’d said she’d left it behind, and that must have added to her guilt.
Ross and Jessie had been tight-lipped about that night ever since, and neither of them wanted to talk about what had happened.
‘I shouldn’t have been there,’ he admitted now, ‘but you don’t think about these things too deeply when you’re young. We’d all been warned to keep away because it was abandoned and dangerous, but it drew teenagers like a magnet, and I was no exception.
‘The way my father saw it, if I hadn’t been there, if I hadn’t acted the way I did, the accident wouldn’t have happened. He was right to be angry. It was my fault for being reckless, and the fire was the last straw.’
He gave a rueful smile. ‘They blamed me, and I suppose that was because my reputation for skirting the law went before me. I was unconscious, and I have no memory of it. But as far as my father was concerned it was one of a long line of misdemeanours, and I guess he was torn between anger and sorrow.’
She frowned. ‘Jessie was adamant that you didn’t do it.’
He nodded. ‘Yes, but no one was prepared to believe her.’
It was Jessie’s role that bothered Katie. She must have gone there in the first instance knowing full well her parents had forbidden it. It was a dangerous place and there were signs all around warning people to keep away, but perhaps she had simply decided to throw caution to the wind.
‘You were very badly injured. It was lucky for you that Jessie was there. She must have saved your life by ringing for the emergency services.’ Even now Katie tensed, thinking about what might have happened if the paramedics and fire service hadn’t arrived within a few minutes of her call.
‘Yes, she did.’
‘You were so ill. A fractured skull—I was so worried about you. We all were.’
He reached across the table and covered her hand with his. ‘I remember you came to visit me in hospital. That was like a ray of light shining down on
me. It meant a lot to me, you being there, but I felt wretched knowing that you thought badly of me.’
She was startled. ‘You knew I was there? But I thought... I didn’t realise. I know I talked to you, but you didn’t answer. You’d been in a coma. It was awful, I felt so wretched, seeing you like that, not being able to do anything.’ Her voice trailed away. ‘There was a time when we didn’t think you would recover.’
‘Well, all I can say is I must have the luck of the devil. Thanks to the surgeons I was up and about after some extensive physio and ready to do battle.’ His mouth flattened. ‘I knew I had to make some changes in my life after that.’
She nodded, finishing her drink. ‘So did I. That’s when I decided I had to study medicine. I was so impressed by the way everyone handled things, from the paramedics, the nurses, through to the doctors. It had a huge impact on me.’
He grinned. ‘I’m glad I had some influence on your life in a good way. But as for myself, I knew I had to get away, to start afresh where no one had any preconceived ideas about me.’
She raised her brows. ‘It was a bit drastic, though, going off and joining the army, don’t you think?’
He laughed. ‘Maybe.’ He picked up her glass. ‘Will you have another?’
‘Yes, thanks. It’s certainly done the trick.’ While he was at the bar, she undid her jacket and slipped it off, placing it over the back of her chair. She was wearing a crocheted top over a cotton shirt blouse, and when Ross came back he gave her an admiring glance.
‘You’re a sight for sore eyes.’
Her mouth twitched. ‘I bet you say that to all the girls.’
‘Yeah. Especially those who give me the run-around. A bit of flattery goes a long way, I find.’
She laughed. ‘I expect it does. You’ll go far.’
‘I’ll drink to that.’ He raised his glass and she answered the toast with hers, clinking their glasses together.
‘So, here’s to the future,’ she murmured. ‘May it bring us both what we want.’
‘Mmm...I’d be more than happy to settle for you,’ he returned, as quick as a flash, a light dancing in his blue eyes.
She shook her head. ‘Poor, deluded man,’ she said softly, swirling the amber liquid in her glass. ‘Such passion...such persistence...such a waste.’
‘We’ll see.’ He looked so confident and quietly sure of himself that she felt a momentary qualm. He wouldn’t succeed, though. He was chivvying her along, playing her on a long line, but it wouldn’t get him anywhere. She was immune, wasn’t she? How could she fall for someone who had such a reckless nature?
She tasted the brandy once more and felt a giddying surge of heat rush to her head. She frowned. Could it be that the strong spirit was getting to her? She’d had breakfast, but that had been a while ago, and she hadn’t eaten all that much then, just a bowl of cereal and a round of toast.
She started to talk, to cover her confusion. ‘How was it that you turned to medicine? I meant to ask you when we met up at med school a few years ago, but we had so little time together it went out of my head.’
‘Yes, I remember thinking it was almost a pity I’d secured a place on the accident and emergency rotation. I’d hoped we could work together for a while, but you were doing paediatrics then, as I recall, and our shifts always seemed to clash.’
She nodded. ‘You said the army had organised the training for you—but what was it that made you want to go in for medicine? I thought you were all set in your career with the army?’
He frowned. ‘It was the general nature of the work I was doing, I think. I was in a lot of areas where there was fighting, and there were injured men being evacuated on a regular basis. The medics would come in and do what they could for the men, and then they were whisked off to hospital. I began to feel that I would like to have some part in that.
‘I wanted to become a surgeon so that I could make a difference to the men who were severely wounded—I wanted to give them the chance of life. So in the end I decided to specialise in accident and emergency and neurosurgery.’
‘But you left the army after all that. When did it happen?’ She sipped more brandy and felt warm all over, and began to worry that she was becoming a little light-headed.
His gaze trailed over her, and she was conscious of the hot tide of colour that must be flooding her cheeks. His glance was interested and speculative at the same time. ‘Only quite recently, actually. I had to stay with the army for a few years after they supported my training. I can’t say I decided it was time to put down roots, exactly, but I think I’d had enough of being in conflict zones.
‘It’s easy to become hardened to it after a while, and I didn’t like that. I didn’t like what it was doing to me. I began to wonder if I could do just as much good by working in Accident and Emergency here at home.’
‘I expect your father’s pleased you made that decision.’
He shrugged. ‘I wouldn’t know. I don’t see all that much of him. He’s away on business a lot—he always was.’ He appeared to be unperturbed by that, but there was a faint edge of regret in his voice.
After a while they finished their drinks and he said quietly, ‘Shall we make our way down to the car deck? We’ll be docking soon, and we might as well get ready to go.’
She gave him a quick look. ‘You bought a car?’
‘I hired one.’ His mouth indented. ‘So I’ll be able to drive you to Cragail. That will make things easier for you, won’t it?’
‘Yes, it will. Thanks.’
She started to get to her feet and swayed slightly, so he put out a hand and helped her find her balance. ‘Are you all right?’
‘I’m fine, thanks.’ Her brows drew together. ‘I think perhaps I should have eaten more at breakfast or avoided the brandy. It seems to have gone to my head.’ They walked out of the bar and along the corridor leading to the stairwell.
‘I’ll get you something to soak it up—a bun, a sandwich, a pack of biscuits or something,’ he said. ‘What would you like?’
‘A bun would be great—but I can get it for myself.’ She turned to walk towards the cafeteria, but he retained his hold on her, and she realised he didn’t think she was steady enough to go on her own.
‘Honestly, I’m all right,’ she said. The dizziness would pass soon enough, she was sure, though she was ashamed of herself for getting into this state.
‘Of course you are.’ A couple of passengers approached, wanting to get past them, and he tugged her gently towards him so that her soft curves were lightly crushed against his hard, masculine frame. A wave of heat raced through her body.
He pulled in a deep breath. ‘You’re more than all right, Katie.’ He looked into her eyes and let his glance shift over the pink flush of her cheeks and down to the ripe swell of her lips. ‘More tempting than you could possibly imagine. In fact, you’re perfect. Delectable, and as sweet as luscious strawberries.’
And he was a charmer, a devil in disguise, who would play havoc with her feelings if she gave him half a chance. His hand smoothed over her spine, coming to rest on her hip, and despite herself she arched against him sinuously, like a cat, revelling in the gentle caress.
His smile was inviting, a small glow of satisfaction flickering in the depths of his eyes. ‘I’m really glad we’re going to be together at Castle Cragail,’ he murmured. ‘I’ve been longing to have you all to myself ever since we met up again at the station.’
‘Hmm.’ Katie wasn’t so sure about that. All at once she could see all manner of pitfalls opening up in front of her. ‘I’m not thinking too clearly,’ she said, pushing the palms of her hands lightly against his chest, ‘and I think I should take your advice and go and get something to eat. I have the feeling I need to keep a clear head.’
‘What a shame,’ he said softly. ‘I was getting to like bein
g with this new, befuddled Katie.’
She nodded. ‘That’s what I’m afraid of.’
CHAPTER THREE
THE SUN APPEARED from behind the clouds as Katie and Ross approached Cragail Castle, and Katie gave a small gasp. ‘Oh, look at that, Ross—it’s so beautiful. I never imagined it would be like this.’
The stonework had taken on a mellow, golden glow in the morning light, and she gazed, enraptured for a moment or two, at the circular towers and high ramparts, set against a backdrop of pine forest and green meadowland.
‘We’ll have to go up to the ramparts and look out over the countryside later on,’ Ross murmured. ‘It will have been well worth coming here just to see that.’
She smiled. ‘Are you not all that interested in the conference itself?’
‘I am, actually.’ They walked to the main gate, passing along a stone-walled bridge that went over a bubbling stream. ‘I like to keep up with all kinds of new technology—it’s just that we don’t always have the advantage of being in beautiful surroundings when we take part in these events.’
There was more than one conference being held at the castle, they discovered, and notice-boards had been set up in the main hall to show people where the various meetings were being held.
One of the girls from Reception showed them to their rooms, where they would be staying overnight, and Katie discovered that she and Ross had been allocated rooms on the same floor, just a few doors away from each other.
‘I’ll come and call for you in a few minutes,’ Ross said, checking his watch. ‘It looks as though we’ve just time to freshen up before the first meeting.’
‘Okay.’ Katie went into her room and laid her holdall on the softly quilted bed. There was no time to unpack so she quickly ran a brush through her hair, applied fresh lipstick to her mouth and added a touch of perfume to her throat and wrists. Then she went over to the casement window and looked out through the leaded panes over the landscaped gardens that stretched for acres in all directions. Amongst the shrubbery there was a statue half-hidden by a rose-covered archway, and a fountain where water trickled over a series of stone urns.
