Posh Doc, Society Wedding

by Joanna Neil

  Izzy shook her head. ‘I don’t think so. To be honest, I half wish I could get away and join her at Ross’s place, but I don’t want to upset my mother…or my father, come to that. And I think Maggie will make sure there’s a feast on hand—and Ross will do everything he can to make her happy.’

  ‘She’ll be thankful to be with Molly and Cameron, anyway. I might suggest to Ross that I go round and pay a visit in the afternoon on Christmas Day. I come from a large family and they won’t miss me too much by tea-time. Do you think Ross would mind?’

  ‘I shouldn’t think so. Best thing would be to ask him and judge by his reaction.’

  She took her leave of Greg and hurried to catch up with Ross and Alice. Would Ross want to keep Alice all to himself? It was hard for her to say. How much did Ross still care for her cousin? And how much of his thoughtfulness could be put down to his sense of responsibility towards her or to the honouring of a promise made to his brother?

  Was there any chance that Ross might have some deeper feeling for her, Izzy? He had hinted as much, but she could never be sure that he wasn’t teasing her or playing her along. The trouble was, she wanted him to care deeply. Suddenly it was the most important thing in the world to her.

  They arrived back at the castle by late afternoon. Izzy stayed with Alice and helped her to settle in, while Ross went to fetch Molly and Cameron from the doctor’s house.

  There was huge excitement when they ran indoors and found their mother waiting for them.

  ‘We didn’t know you were coming home,’ Cameron said, his eyes wide. ‘No one told us.’

  ‘We thought it would be a great surprise for you,’ Ross said. ‘But we have to take good care of your mother now that she’s home. So you won’t be able to rush around near her because if she’s not sitting in the wheelchair she’ll need to be very careful how she gets about. She still has to learn how to walk properly.’

  ‘We’ll be good as good,’ Molly exclaimed. She went over to her mother and gave her an enormous hug. ‘I’m so glad that you’re home,’ she said.

  Izzy left shortly after that. ‘It looks as though the wind is getting up now,’ she told Ross, ‘and I want to be home before it sets in.’

  ‘I’ll drive you,’ Ross offered, but she shook her head.

  ‘You stay with Alice. I’ll walk. It will help to clear my head. Somehow today has been a lot more intense than I expected. It must be the excitement of bringing Alice home.’

  He went with her to the door, and as she would have left to go on her way he wrapped his arms around her and held her close. ‘I’m glad that you were with me today,’ he murmured. ‘There was a point where I thought I couldn’t go on, and you brought me back to face up to everything that was real and important. Thank you for that. I haven’t been able to talk to anybody properly about what happened, and it was good that you were there, that you listened.’

  He lowered his head and kissed her tenderly on the lips. It was a beautiful, sweet sensation, being folded in his arms that way, having him kiss her as though he really cared about her. She wanted it to go on and on for ever. Just being close to him made her heart swell with joy, and her whole body was overwhelmed by the love that rippled through her. More than anything she wanted to love and cherish him and have him be part of her life from now on.

  Yet that was not going to be possible, was it? He hadn’t made any mention of loving her in return, and his kiss was simply a thank-you for being there when he’d needed her. And how could she even contemplate being with him when she could see how Alice had suffered and been set apart from her family simply because of her love for Robert Buchanan?

  Ross eased himself away from her and she gave him a gentle smile and walked away, hurrying along the path as the snow began to fall.

  The snow was still falling next day. Everything was covered in a thick white blanket, with drifts against the doors so that Izzy and Lorna had to dig out a path in order to reach their gate at the end of the front garden. A harsh wind caused the snowflakes to swirl all about them in a frenzy, and the branches of the trees swayed violently, swooping down towards the earth until the smaller branches cracked and split.

  ‘This is really nasty,’ Lorna said. ‘I’m going to book my train ticket right now. There’s no way I’m going to be able to drive far in this, and I have to set out the day after tomorrow if I’m to reach my parents’ house in time for Christmas Day.’

  ‘Good idea,’ Izzy murmured, putting away the shovel in the garden shed. ‘How long will you be staying over there? Will you be spending New Year with them?’

  Lorna shook her head. ‘I have to be at work on New Year’s Day,’ she said. ‘I’ll have to come back on the thirty-first, but at least that will give me nearly a week with my family. I’ll book a return ticket.’

  Izzy hurried inside the house with Lorna, shaking the snow from her coat and hanging it up to dry in the cloakroom. She flicked the switch on the kettle to make a hot drink.

  A few minutes later Lorna came into the kitchen. ‘I thought you were making coffee?’ she said.

  ‘The electricity’s off,’ Izzy told her. ‘I hope it’s just a blip. Last time it went off the power lines were down, and it took at least twenty-four hours for the engineers to get it back on again.’

  Lorna pulled a face. ‘That’s not great news, is it? A lot of people around here use electricity for their heating, as well as for their cooking. It’s going to be really hard for them to keep warm.’

  By late afternoon it was becoming clear that the situation was not going to be remedied easily.

  ‘The phone keeps ringing,’ Lorna said. ‘People wanting to check if we’re in the same situation as them and worried about how long this is going to go on. There are some in the village who are really feeling the cold, and they haven’t had a hot meal since yesterday. I think we ought to see if there’s anything we can do to help.’

  The doorbell rang, and Lorna hurried to answer it. Finn the postman was standing there. ‘I’m coming around to tell everyone that Ross Buchanan has set up a soup kitchen at the castle. He has his own generator up there, and he’s inviting people to go and get warm in the Great Hall.’

  ‘That sounds like a wonderful gesture,’ Lorna said.

  ‘Aye. I’ve already taken up a lot of the old folk from the village. He asked me to come and let you girls know that you’re very welcome. He’s been ringing round most people, and a lot of them have taken him up on the offer.’

  He made a rueful smile. ‘Not your father, though, Izzy. You can imagine his answer, I expect. He says he’ll make do with his charcoal barbecue for cooking food, and he has a coal fire in the living room to keep them warm. Mind you, he has offered to heat up soup and take it round to his neighbours. Your mother is busy taking tureens from house to house, checking that everyone is all right, bless her.’

  ‘That’s what I would have expected my mother to do,’ Izzy said. ‘As to my father, let’s hope he doesn’t burn the house down with his barbecue in the kitchen.’

  ‘Is Ross going to have enough room if everybody in trouble turns up?’ Lorna asked.

  Finn nodded. ‘His kitchen is huge, you know, and he says he’s well stocked up with provisions. He’s been out and about himself, fetching people or delivering heaters to those who want to stay in their own homes, but he asked me if I would come and check up on people in this area. Would you like me to take you up there now?’

  ‘I think that would be a great idea,’ Izzy said, glancing at Lorna for confirmation.

  Lorna nodded. ‘I’m cold through and through, and starving, so you don’t need to ask me twice.’

  ‘I know the neighbours round here are managing fairly well,’ Izzy said, ‘but one or two might like to come with us.’

  They hunted around in the cupboards for food and drink that they could take with them to add to Ross’s supplies. They chose anything that could be heated up and passed around. Izzy couldn’t help thinking that it was just the sort of gesture s
he would have expected Ross to make. Why couldn’t her father see that he was a good man?

  Perhaps this would be a good time to ring him and put that question to him, while checking that her parents were coping well enough. She left Lorna with Finn, gathering more supplies, while she went to make the call.

  ‘Well, maybe you’re right,’ her father said. ‘I can’t deny it’s a good thing that he’s doing. But it doesn’t take away the fact that he’s caused grief in more ways than one.’

  ‘So you’ve been saying,’ Izzy murmured. ‘But you were wrong about the log cabin. It isn’t meant for tourists at all, but as a special place for Alice and her family. He didn’t tell you that, and maybe there are other things he hasn’t thought fit to mention. Perhaps you’re wrong in a lot of your assumptions? It seems to me that the two of you should get together and start talking to one another without arguing, if that’s at all possible. You’re both stubborn and proud, but it’s high time that you listened properly to what each other has to say.’

  ‘I don’t need a slip of a girl to tell me what to do,’ her father said in a blunt, abrasive tone. ‘The Buchanans have goaded me endlessly over the years, and I don’t need him to offer me charity, as if I’m some needy person who hasn’t the wherewithal to take proper care of his family. I don’t see why you keep associating with him the way you do. It goes against everything I’ve ever taught you.’

  Izzy pulled in a steadying breath in an effort to calm herself. ‘You know I love you and respect you, but I’m a grown woman and I have to make my own choices. I think you’re wrong, in this instance, and I think you were wrong to cut Alice out of your life. She’s our flesh and blood and she doesn’t deserve any of this. She’s lost her husband, and she’s been very badly injured. The least you could do is go to see her and talk to her.’

  She hesitated, afraid that she might have gone too far, but after a moment she plunged on. ‘As for Ross, all I’m suggesting is that you take a small step to bridge the gap and allow you to start afresh. It wouldn’t hurt you to take it. You wouldn’t lose face by talking things through with him.’ She paused once again, thinking things through. ‘In fact, people might respect you more for having the courage to meet him halfway.’

  ‘You don’t know what you’re asking of me. How can you not understand the way I feel—the way my father felt, and his father before him? Are you going to betray me, as well?’

  His words shocked her, and frustrated her at the same time. Izzy couldn’t stop the faint tremor in her voice when she spoke to him again. ‘I’m sorry you feel that way. You know how much I care for you and my mother. I love you both, and I don’t want to be alienated from either of you. That’s not what I want at all. I just want you to try to look at things from a different point of view.’ She sighed heavily. ‘I can see that’s not going to be possible. I have to go.’

  She cut the call and stood for a moment, thinking over what had been said. It was hopeless, trying to talk to her father about the Buchanans or about Alice. Her mother had been trying to change his views for years to no avail. He was like a brick wall—immovable, unyielding—and too proud for his own good.

  In the Great Hall of the castle the banqueting table was laden with food, and people were helping themselves to steaming hot potatoes cooked in their jackets, with savoury fillings like cheese, curried sauces and baked beans, along with a selection of meat dishes, rice and soup.

  ‘Has Maggie been doing all of this cooking?’ Izzy asked, as Ross ladled hot soup into a mug. He handed it to her and she wrapped her fingers around it to warm herself.

  ‘No. Maggie prepared the meat dishes, but she had to go and see to her own family. Alice and I have done a lot of the work. It’s amazing what she can do from a wheelchair, and she has been trying to stand every now and again to do things. I suppose it’s good therapy. The children are loving every minute of it.’

  ‘I think it’s fantastic,’ Lorna said, helping herself to coffee from a percolator. ‘And there are so many people here. It’s like a party. You’ve turned what might have been a miserable time into something marvellous.’

  ‘I suppose I’ve been thinking of it as something like a welcome home party for Alice,’ Ross said. ‘Actually, it’s really good to have everyone here. It’s great to see everyone enjoying themselves. It’s as though they’ve come together to support one another.’

  ‘That’s very true,’ Izzy remarked, looking around. Alice was the centre of attention, and it was good to see her face lit up with happiness. She was well and truly back among the people of the village, and if her own family were not present in their entirety, at least she could take comfort in the fact that she was accepted by everyone else.

  ‘Shall we escape to the library?’ Ross murmured. ‘It’s great in here, but I’ve been surrounded by people for several hours and I wouldn’t mind a bit of peace and quiet.’

  She went with him, enjoying the sanctuary of the library, where bookshelves lined the walls and a magnificent old writing table faced the long window that overlooked the garden. There was a couch in there, with soft, luxurious upholstery, along with armchairs that faced the grand fireplace, where coals burned brightly and flames flickered orange and gold.

  ‘I thought you might like to see the floor plans for the lodge,’ he said. ‘I showed them to Alice yesterday, and she was very pleased with the layout. We’re still having furniture moved in there, so I haven’t shown her the house itself as yet. I want her to see the finished product.’ He removed a collection of papers from the desk drawer and came over to her. ‘Come and sit with me?’ he suggested, and Izzy went with him to the couch, sinking back against the brocade cushions.

  He draped an arm around her, drawing her close. ‘The main living-room window of the lodge looks out over the loch—see?’ he said, showing her the papers. ‘It gets the sun in the afternoon, pretty much as we do in the living room here.’

  ‘I can see why she likes the layout,’ Izzy commented, snuggling against the warmth of his chest. ‘It all flows so smoothly, doesn’t it? There’s the living room, a huge dining-kitchen and a utility room downstairs, with the kitchen overlooking the garden…and upstairs there are en suite bathrooms and windows that look out over the mountains.’ She smiled up at him. ‘She must be longing to set foot in it.’

  ‘I’m sure she is. It’ll be a month or so before she’s properly back on her feet, though, I imagine.’

  Izzy was looking at some of the other papers in the bundle he had brought from the desk. Some were plans for renovations to the castle itself, but one seemed to be more relevant to the land beyond the castle. ‘What’s this?’ she asked. ‘It looks like the river at the point of one of the falls.’

  ‘It is. We often have flooding just below that point. I think it’s due to debris being swept down from higher up, blocking the natural course of the river. I’ve had an expert take a look at it, and he’s recommended that we dredge out part of the riverbed and build up the area where the debris collects. It should make the river flow much better, with fewer problems along the course.’

  ‘Is this why my father has trouble with the salmon run?’ she asked.

  He nodded. ‘Probably. The riverbed silts up in certain parts and causes problems further downstream. I think my father tried to put it right over the years, but nothing ever worked satisfactorily. When the dredging is finished that should all be sorted out, and Stuart shouldn’t have any more problems.’

  She put the papers to one side. ‘I wish you would explain all this to my father, if you ever get the chance. I don’t know how to make him listen to me, and neither does my mother. All I know is that you don’t deserve any of the flak that’s been coming your way.’ She reached up to him and cupped his face lightly in her hands. His slightly puzzled expression gave way to surprise and then pleasure when she drew him towards her and kissed him soundly on the mouth.

  He didn’t need any further bidding, and within a minute or two she was lying back against the cushions b
eing thoroughly kissed in return. His hands moved over her, thrilling her with every gentle brush of his fingers, and his lips trailed over her face, her throat, dipping down to linger on the gentle swell of her breasts.

  ‘Did I ever tell you how much I love having you around?’ he asked. He swooped to claim her lips once more, stifling any answer she might have given. Then his fingers trailed over the length of her arm, tracing a path to her hand. He lifted her palm to his lips and kissed her tenderly, planting soft kisses over each finger in turn. ‘I wish you would come and stay here over Christmas,’ he said. ‘You don’t know how much that would mean to me—and to Alice and the children.’

  ‘I wish I could,’ she whispered, sadness sweeping through her. She returned his kisses, letting her hands glide over him, savouring the feel of his strong muscles and the length of his spine.

  Then she laid her hands on his shoulders and gently eased him away from her, bringing herself up to a sitting position once more.

  ‘Have I done something to upset you?’ he asked.

  She shook her head. ‘No, nothing—nothing at all.’ She looked at him. ‘I wish I could stay. I wish I could be here at Christmas with you and Alice. But I can’t. Perhaps I can slip away in the morning, just for an hour or so, but I have to be with the rest of my family—with my parents and grandparents. They’re expecting me to be there. They want me to be there.’

  His mouth made a rueful smile. ‘What you mean, and what you’re not saying, is that your father would blow his top if he knew that you were spending Christmas with me.’

  ‘I’m working on him,’ she said. ‘I’m trying to get him to change the way he thinks.’

  Ross stood up in one fluid movement. ‘How long was it that Alice was married to my brother? He didn’t change in all that time.’

  Her gaze was troubled. ‘I don’t know how else to handle this,’ she said.

  ‘You don’t have to.’ Ross held out his hand to help her up from the couch. ‘Loyalty is a finicky concept. I dare say there are always going to be losers.’ He made a grimace. ‘We should go back and join the others.’