The Heir of the Castle

Chapter TEN


HE DIDN’T WANT to wake up. He didn’t want this day to begin.

This was the day where two things he loved could slip through his fingertips.

All of a sudden he was instantly awake, his eyes fixating on the rain battering on the windowpane. Love. Where had that come from?

With the exception of Angus, Callan couldn’t remember the last time he’d ever had a thought like this. Callan ‘cared’ about people. He didn’t love them.

He’d ‘cared’ about some women in the past. He’d worried about them. He hadn’t wanted to hurt their feelings. He’d wanted to take care of them.

None of these things applied to Laurie. He’d have to multiply everything by a thousand to get even close.

From the first second he’d glanced her through the steam on the train platform she’d started to burrow her way under his skin and into his heart.

Her reactions had been totally different from everyone else who could inherit the castle. She’d walked the estate, she’d asked questions, she’d shown an interest that was above and beyond the monetary value. She’d seemed invested in the place.

Her connection with Marion had taken him by surprise. He suspected it had taken Marion by surprise too. She wasn’t known for sharing her domain. But apparently Laurie had sneaked under her radar too. She’d done nothing but sing Laurie’s praises to him—all with a twinkle in her eyes.

What sat heaviest on his chest was his loyalty to Angus. He knew instantly that if Angus had met Laurie he would have loved her. He would have loved her spark, her inquisitiveness, her cheek and her ability to run rings around Callan.

He just couldn’t understand why Angus hadn’t met his children. Hadn’t loved his children the way he’d loved him. Nothing about it seemed right. And until he could sort that out in his head he would never be able to move forward.

And today was a day for moving forward.

He turned on his side. Laurie currently had her back to him, the cotton sheet had slipped from her shoulders and his eyes carried along the curves of her skin. She was sleeping peacefully and his hands were itching to touch her again.

He wanted to ask her to stay. He wanted to ask her to stay here with him. To stay anywhere with him.

But what could he offer her?

Her words had almost broken his heart last night when she’d told him how she hated her job. It would be so easy for him to tell her just to pack it all in, forget about everything and move up to Edinburgh with him. Money wasn’t an object for Callan.

But he knew in his heart that Laurie wasn’t that kind of girl.

And the outcome of Annick Castle was still hanging over his head like a black thunder cloud. Until that was resolved his stomach would constantly churn.

He slid his feet to the floor as something flickered into his brain. Laurie had told him she knew who the murderer was. How on earth could she know? He was embarrassed to say that he hadn’t been paying enough attention to even hazard a guess.

Was there even a tiny chance that Laurie could inherit the castle?

A shiver crept down his spine. How would that make him feel? He didn’t even want to consider that for a second. What was developing between him and Laurie could be destroyed by something like that.

He took a deep breath as he watched her sleeping form. She had a one in twelve chance of inheriting the castle. He watched her gentle breathing, in and out, in and out, her hair framing her face and her tongue running along her rose-pink lips.

He didn’t want anything to mess this up. Nothing at all.

He stood up. The boxes. He still hadn’t had a chance to go through Angus’s boxes. He had to do it now. Time was running out. He might have access to these things now, but in a matter of days he would have to walk away from Annick Castle and leave everything behind. He had to use the opportunity to find out what he could now.

He pulled a shirt over his head and some trousers on. He would do it now while Laurie slept. There was no point disturbing his sleeping Cinderella.

* * *

Her eyes flickered open and for a second she was startled. For the last few days she’d woken in a room with a peaceful yellow colour scheme. The pale themes of blue unsettled her. Her reactions were instantaneous. She pulled the sheet over her naked body and flipped over onto her back.

Nothing. No one.

Callan wasn’t there.

She was instantly caught by the pain in her chest. The expanse of the bed seemed huge. The dip where he should be lying seemed like a giant chasm. Where was he? Was he embarrassed? Was he ashamed of what had happened last night? Why wasn’t he still lying here next to her?

Her beautiful pale pink chiffon dress was lying in a crumpled heap on the floor. Robin would have a fit. Her gold glitter sandals were strewn across the floor, obviously left exactly where they’d fallen. She cringed as she looked around the rest of the room. Even though this was obviously Callan’s room, there was no visible sign of him.

It made her stomach churn. She pulled the sheet around her like a toga as she stood up and her eyes swept the room. There was nothing else for her to wear except the clothes she’d discarded last night. And who knew where her underwear was?

She rummaged around the floor eventually finding her bra and pants and pulling them on. Her Liesl dress was a crumpled wreck. It seemed to echo exactly how she felt. Talk about doing the next-day walk of shame.

Thankfully the corridor was empty. She fled down the staircase as quickly as possible and slammed her door closed behind her.

Her half-empty rucksack lay on the floor. Going home. After the announcement today she would be going home.

Her eyes filled with tears. Everything last night with Callan had been perfect. But deep down both of them had known they were saying goodbye.

How could there be a happy ever after for them? What on earth did she expect to happen?

She pulled out some clothes. A pair of Capri pants and a slightly wrinkled shirt that she’d already worn. If she’d thought about it a bit more she could have asked Marion where she could launder her clothes. But there was no point now. No point because she wasn’t staying.


He flicked again. Him and Angus on every page. Fishing. Horse-riding. Sitting in the grounds. Digging the gardens with Bert. Standing on the cannons in the castle grounds. Sailing across the swan pond in the most rickety paddle boat that ever existed. It had subsequently sunk to the bottom of the pond never to be seen again.

Callan standing at the castle doors holding some kind of certificate in his hands. He had a vague recollection of it being his exam results that gained him his place at university. All little moments in time.

He’d been feeling annoyed. He’d been feeling spurned by the fact Angus wouldn’t sell him Annick Castle. Deep down he’d been hurt that Angus hadn’t considered him in his will.

But here it was. Captured for posterity. Exactly what Angus had left him.

A life.

A safe haven.

Love.

The things he’d needed to shape him and become his own man.

A tear dripped down his face.

Now he understood.

He’d always known how much he’d owed Angus. But here was something to cherish and keep. To help him remember that memories were more precious than material things. None of Angus’s children had shared any of these moments with him.

The gift that Angus had left him was the most precious of all.