Neither of them spoke much on the drive back down to the main road.
There was nothing more to say.
Her heartbeat jumped as they bumped over the cattle grid.
The unstoppable, irresistible bare-bones hunger of last night had been intense and all-consuming, but now they were driving through the gates and past groups of sheep as if the smooth white fields had swallowed all that passion whole.
Was that what she wanted
?
Back at the bothy she had thought so, only now—
‘I’ll drop you at the cottage and then walk back to Lamington.’
His voice cut across her thoughts and, glancing up, she realised it was too late for last-minute doubts. They were already here.
The gardener’s cottage looked postcard-pretty.
‘Thank you for driving.’ She gave him a small, tight smile. ‘I promise I’ll get someone to look at the car.’
‘I wouldn’t worry about that,’ he said softly.
‘Really? But you said that there was something wrong with the brakes.’
‘There probably is. But you don’t need to worry about that. Not any more.’
She watched in confusion as he turned away, raising his hand in greeting as another car came round the corner and parked behind the Land Rover.
A young man in smooth leather brogues slipped across the snow towards them. ‘Mr Wilder? Gordon Muir. We spoke this morning.’
‘Of course.’ Farlan held out his hand. ‘Thanks for making this so easy.’ He turned to Nia. ‘This is Lady Antonia.’
Blushing, Gordon Muir held out his hand.
‘Lady Antonia. Congratulations! You’re about to take delivery of an incredible car.’
Take delivery? Nia frowned. ‘I’m sorry, I think you must have the wrong person. I don’t know—’
Farlan stepped forward casually. ‘Gordon, could you just give us a moment? I need to have a quick word with Lady Antonia.’
Turning to Nia, he spread his hands.
‘I wanted to surprise you, but now I can see I should probably have said something earlier.’ His green eyes rested on her face. ‘Look, I know you have more than enough money to buy a fleet of Land Rovers. But I also know you have zero interest in cars and that one is old and worn-out and, frankly, dangerous.’
He smiled at her then, that smile no one could resist.
‘So I bought you a new one.’
Her head jerked up. ‘You did what?’ She felt like Gordon Muir, slip-sliding across the snow. ‘When?’
‘This morning. Really, it’s not that big a deal.’
Glancing over his shoulder, she saw a brand-new Land Rover. She was no expert, but she had looked into replacing her old one often enough to know this sleek, black SUV came with a big price tag.
‘I can’t accept this.’
He was quiet for a minute, and then he took a step towards her. ‘Please, Nia. Please let me do this for you.’