‘I’m not so sure we inherited it originally,’ he told them lightly as he led the way up the stone steps to the huge oak front door. ‘I believe one of our ancestors claimed it for his own after being involved in a raid where the original owner was killed!’
‘The Scots have always loved a fight, haven’t they?’ Richard Latham said mildly.
Too mildly, as far as Brice was concerned, sure that there had been a double edge to the other man’s remark. Well, if the other man thought he was about to give him a fight over Sabina, he was wrong; Sabina was an independent woman of twenty-five, not a possession for two men to fight over as if she were the prize!
‘We have been known to dispose of the odd unwanted Sassenach,’ his grandfather was the one to dryly answer the other man as he stood silhouetted in the now open doorway, light streaming out welcomingly from inside the castle.
‘Grandfather!’ Brice smiled as he moved forward to give his eldest relative the customary hug.
‘So you’ve arrived at last, laddie,’ his grandfather rebuked as he stood back. ‘Although I might be persuaded into forgiving you for delaying dinner—’ his eyes gleamed admiringly as he turned his attention to Sabina ‘—if you will introduce me to this beautiful young lady,’ he added charmingly.
‘Sabina,’ she huskily introduced herself as she held out her hand, looking beautiful, as Brice’s grandfather had just said, in a fitted black dress, her hair gleaming pure gold as it flowed down over her shoulders to her waist. ‘And I’m afraid I’m the one you have to blame for our tardiness,’ she added with a grimace. ‘I had a little trouble deciding what I would need to pack for a weekend in Scotland.’
Brice’s grandfather had retained a hold on her hand, tucking it securely into the crook of his arm now as he turned to take her inside. ‘I’m sure you always look beautiful whatever you wear,’ he told her gallantly.
Brice shot Richard Latham a sideways glance, not altogether sure he liked the look of derision on the other man’s face as he watched Hugh walk away with his fiancée. ‘Help me carry the luggage in, Latham,’ he instructed harshly, opening up the boot of the car, at the same time sure that the other man wasn’t accustomed to carrying his own luggage.
A learning experience for him, then, Brice decided hardly. His grandfather employed several household staff, and the castle was run with extreme efficiency by all of them, but that didn’t mean Richard Latham could expect a free ride this weekend. No matter what he might be used to!
Brice came to a halt in the doorway of the sitting-room a few minutes later, after delivering the luggage to the bedrooms, as he heard Sabina laughing with his grandfather. It was a huskily girlish sound, completely uninhibited.
‘Sorry,’ Richard Latham rasped as, given no warning of Brice’s sudden stop, he walked straight into his back. ‘What’s the hold-up, McAllister?’ he prompted mockingly.
The ‘hold-up’ was the complete novelty, to Brice, of hearing Sabina laugh!
It was a wonderful sound, deep and natural, hinting at a slightly wicked sense of humour if allowed free rein. As it was now, Sabina’s cheeks flushed, her eyes bright, as she obviously enjoyed her conversation with Brice’s grandfather.
‘Well, don’t just dawdle in the doorway, laddie,’ his grandfather instructed lightly as he looked up and saw Brice standing there. ‘Make yourself useful and offer our guests a drink.’
Brice was used to his grandfather treating him as if he were still six years old, but he could see that Sabina was enjoying the novelty of it, that smile still lurking about her mouth and eyes as she looked across at him.
Brice felt some of the tension he had known on the journey here ease, suddenly feeling, as he saw how relaxed Sabina was with his grandfather, that it was going to be an okay weekend after all—with or without the presence of Richard Latham!
‘What would you like to drink, Sabina?’ Brice offered dryly as he moved to the array of drinks that stood on top of a glass cabinet. ‘It seems we have white or red wine.’ He scrutinised the bottles. ‘Gin. Vodka. Or there’s whisky, if you would prefer it.’
No doubt, being in Scotland, the men would be drinking whisky, Sabina acknowledged ruefully, opting for the white wine herself; she had never been particularly keen on strong spirits.
‘Isn’t this wonderful?’ she prompted Richard as he crossed the room to sit down next to her on the sofa.
‘Wonderful,’ he echoed, with a definite lack of enthusiasm—to Sabina, at least—in his voice.
She gave him a frowning look. Richard couldn’t possibly not like this place. It was the most beautiful home she had ever seen, the furniture obviously all antique, suits of armour, swords and helmets, adorning the mellow stone walls. She had even seen a cannon at the bottom of one of the staircases that obviously led up to the turret bedrooms.
Visions of Rapunzel, she had teased Brice last week when he’d made the suggestion of their coming here so he could paint her. But now that she was here Sabina could see exactly why he had found the idea so intriguing. The castle was enchanting, like something out of a fairy story!
‘It’s very remote here,’ Richard remarked as Brice handed him his requested glass of whisky. ‘And it must cost you a fortune in heating bills.’
Hugh McDonald’s eyes narrowed. ‘The remoteness means we aren’t bothered too much by nosy sightseers,’ he rasped pointedly. ‘And if you have to count the cost then you can’t afford to live here,’ he added dryly.
Richard’s practical remark had given the air a certain tension that hadn’t been there a couple of minutes ago, Sabina realised regretfully. She was sure Richard hadn’t intended any insult, but at the same time she was aware that one had been taken.
‘I thought we were to be five for dinner this evening, Grandfather?’ Brice remarked lightly as he sat in one of the chairs opposite.
Hugh gave him a steely look. ‘My guest will be arriving tomorrow,’ he answered abruptly.
‘I’m looking forward to it,’ Brice returned with relish.
Sabina looked at each of the two men, sensing something in the conversation that neither she nor Richard were aware of. But then, why should they be? Hugh and Brice had a relationship that had existed long before, and was completely separate from, this weekend.
‘Could I possibly go upstairs and freshen up before dinner?’ She turned to smile at Hugh as she put down her wineglass. ‘I feel a little dusty from travelling.’
‘You see, Brice, I’ve been telling you for years to get yourself a decent car,’ his grandfather taunted, the teasing obviously a regular thing between the two men; Brice’s black Mercedes was obviously a top-of-the-range model, the last word in luxury.
Brice shook his head, standing up. ‘I shall treat that remark with the contempt it so obviously deserves,’ he dismissed before turning to Sabina. ‘I’ll take you upstairs and show you your room,’ he told her huskily.
She should have realised that Brice would be the one to take her up to her bedroom, Sabina admonished herself as she stood up to follow him. She should have done. But she hadn’t.
She had promised herself before leaving London earlier today that she would make every effort to be alone with Brice as little as possible this weekend. And within minutes of their arrival she found herself exactly that!
‘Don’t be long, Sabina,’ Richard told her softly as she reached the doorway. ‘I’m sure we’ve delayed Mr McDonald’s dinner enough already this evening.’
‘Mr McDonald,’ Sabina mused as she followed Brice out into the hallway. Strange, she had found no difficulty in calling the elderly man Hugh from the moment he’d asked her to do so. Except…he hadn’t offered Richard the same intimacy.
Just an oversight, she decided. After all, she had been with Hugh the whole time the two men had been taking the luggage upstairs, whereas Richard had only just joined them.
‘Mind yourself on the narrowness of the stairs,’ Brice warned as she followed him up the stone steps.
It was a timely warning, Sabina having to hold onto the rope on the wall that acted as a banister several times as they negotiated the narrow winding of the staircase.
‘After London this is like a different world,’ she said almost dazedly, feeling as if she had been picked up and placed in a time warp.
Bruce turned at the top of the stairs to wait for her. ‘You’ll find the “indoor plumbing” perfectly satisfactory,’ he assured her dryly.
Sabina felt the colour in her cheeks as he reminded her of her mockery the day before. Trust Brice to throw that remark back at her! She decided not to qualify the remark with an answer.
Although she did make a mental note to be more careful in future what she did say to Brice. If she could be any more careful than she already was!
Sabina had never seen a circular bedroom before, the luxuriously furnished room Brice showed her into decorated in warm cream and golds.
But it was the narrow windows that intrigued her, and she hurried to each of them in turn to look out at the three-hundred-and-sixty-degree views still visible in the fading light of evening: a forest to one side, a lake to another, walled gardens to another, and the herds of deer grazing to the front of the castle.