The Dog House (Harding's World of Romance)

by Nell Harding

  So he hailed the others heartily. “Aiken! Bridge, Emma – I thought you had returned to London, Em?”

  Emma smiled mysteriously. “I decided to prolong an extra week,” she said airily.

  Aiken sent Colin a helpless look but all that Colin could do was to send him a sympathetic smile before turning to Fiona, who was staring at the others with frank dismay.

  “Fiona, meet my friends Robert Aiken, Bridget Haskins and Emma Dancy. Everybody, this is Fiona Buchanan. I believe you’ve all seen Fiona at the history do at Mackenzie House.”

  Fiona seemed tongue-tied, her usual ability to speak her mind having obviously disappeared. Colin put his hand on her shoulder in a reassuring way and gave a gentle squeeze. While the others were discussing their golf scores before taking a break to converse properly, he leaned over and whispered in Fiona’s ear.

  “Don’t mind what they think,” he advised her. “I don’t.”

  “That’s because they adore you,” she whispered back, but her smile seemed grateful for the support and she squared her shoulders firmly to face the others.

  Bridget and Emma were looking Fiona up and down coldly. “Did we meet?” Bridget asked icily. “I don’t seem to recall it.”

  “Well, not everyone has a sharp memory, I suppose,” Fiona replied in the same cold, polite tones. “But I remember meeting you. You were worried about getting sick from the hors d’oevres for some reason. And then you seemed awfully anxious to whisk Colin away to talk urgently about dinner plans.”

  “Oh, that’s right,” Bridget said icily. “I thought you were the waitress in that uniform you were wearing. Perhaps that’s why I didn’t recognise you now.”

  Emma seemed keen to join the conversation. “I would have expected tartan plus fours from someone like you,” she chimed in with forced joviality. “You’re all keen about Aulde Lange Syne and all that, aren’t you?”

  “I’m Scottish,” Fiona replied stiffly. “We live here, actually.”

  “And we spend a lot of our summers up here too,” Bridget shot back. “It isn’t as if we’re tourists.”

  “Then maybe it’s time you met a few Scots,” Fiona suggested. She now seemed to have regained her customary self-confidence and defensive attitude toward the English.

  Colin shot a look at Aiken, but he was clearly enjoying the spectacle, standing back with his arms crossed and a lopsided grin on his face. The two men raised their eyebrows but preferred to stay out of it, like spectators at a boxing match.

  “It isn’t as if we stay up north all year round,” Emma was hastening to explain. “I’m sure the winters are dreary up here and there is so much going on in London when you’re part of society.”

  The last few words were dropped in a deliberate way which was obviously meant to put Fiona in her place, but the intended target seemed to be regaining confidence by the second and the remark was wasted on her.

  “I can see that you might run a risk of outstaying your welcome if you stuck around for too long,” Fiona retorted, keeping her voice as falsely pleasant as the others.

  Aiken made a strange choking sound which he tried to disguise under a cough, while Colin reappraised Fiona’s ability to pick up on the undercurrents at work. Apparently she wasn’t as thick-skinned as he had thought.

  Bridget turned to Emma. “I seem to remember now that Colin did mention that he needed some new ideas for his trust fund and that it might be good to speak to a historian,” she said blandly. “I suppose every job involves some tedious chores.”

  Fiona smiled pleasantly at the two women. “Well, I certainly understand why he came to me if he was looking for some intelligent conversation.”

  This time Emma looked sharply to Aiken for support, but by now he was grinning broadly.

  “What are you laughing about?” Emma demanded with danger in her voice.

  Aiken tried to look contrite. “Oh, just enjoying that fresh perspective that Colin was telling us about. It is refreshing, isn’t it?”

  Bridget eyed the two men with obvious contempt and turned back to Emma. “I think we should play through,” she announced coolly. “I don’t think we can invite Colin and his acquaintance to join us today if we want to be finished before dark. From what I can tell, she hasn’t been on too many golf courses before today. Perhaps she needs to practise on her own.”

  “I was quite busy getting an education,” Fiona said mildly. “Something you might want to practise some time as well.”

  The two women glared daggers at Fiona, looked reproachfully at the silent men and stalked off, offended, to continue their game.

  “I’ll catch you up!” Aiken called after them, making no move in their direction.

  Colin returned his supportive hand to Fiona’s shoulder as she looked at Aiken ruefully. “I’m not normally catty by nature,” she said by way of an apology. “I can’t think what came over me just there.”

  “Adjusting quite rapidly to a different culture,” Aiken said with the same dry amusement that Colin often felt in Fiona’s presence. “I think perhaps you’re just what this group needs.”

  Fiona looked at him balefully. “I think I just caused a certain rift in your group,” she pointed out unnecessarily.

  Aiken nodded. “Precisely. That was exactly what this group needed. Thank you. I believe that you’ve just solved a problem for me.”

  “Will you be joining us?” Colin found himself asking, unwilling to leave his friend stranded on the fourth hole although he would have preferred to return to Fiona’s exclusive company.

  Aiken shook his head. “No, I’d best play on with Bridge and Em. I can’t show myself to be a complete boor. It was nice to meet you properly, Fiona. Perhaps Colin will bring you round to one of our dinners. Colin, give me a call once you’re available again. I take it the folks are out for the day?”

  “Astutely realised,” Colin remarked dryly. “They’re off to Skye for the night, so while they’re away, the cat has to play and all that. But I doubt they’ll stick around that much longer. By my reckoning, the old man is just working himself up to telling me whatever he came here to say.”

  “I hope it isn’t too dire,” Aiken said with a theatrical grimace of fear. “Well, must be off but see you soon, I hope. Both of you.”

  Fiona and Colin remained silent until they were alone again, when Colin wiped an imaginary bead of sweat from his brow. “That was unusually intense,” he said as he picked up his club again. “You certainly seem to have a strong effect on people, not just me.”

  “Yes, I’m just winning friends and influencing people,” Fiona replied sarcastically. “Seriously, I don’t want you to lose friends because of me.”

  “Not a worry,” Colin said dismissively. “Aiken likes you, that’s what matters. Emma’s not really one of us, and for Aiken’s sake it won’t be a bad thing if she returns to her other friends.”

  “Bridget is also your friend, isn’t she?” Fiona asked, sounding a bit worried about the effects of her words.

  He laughed shortly. “A friend of the family’s. We’ve known each other for years, and she’ll be quick to forget about this little scene once she’s angling for an invitation to some event.”

  Fiona had also picked up her golf club again, eyeing it with a certain distrust as she carefully positioned her hands and tested her grip.

  “Visualise,” Colin told her automatically.

  She took a huge swing and made proper contact for once, sending the ball soaring down the fairway.

  Colin whistled approvingly. “Bravo,” he said with genuine admiration. “I don’t think that I want to know what you were visualising, but it seems to work.”

  “I heard that golf was a good way to work out whatever’s aggravating you,” Fiona remarked nonchalantly, watching as he matched her drive effortlessly before they headed off again. “Now what’s this about Skye? Your parents don’t have a place out there too, do they?”

  Colin shook his head. “Oh, no, it belongs to my Aunt Lucy. The g
ood news is that I’m in disgrace so I haven’t been brought along this time for fear of causing further offence.”

  “You don’t like the island?” Fiona asked in surprise. “I love Skye.”

  “The island is stunning,” Colin hastened to reassure her. “It’s my aunt who I’m keen to avoid. She is a formidable character, worthy to be one of Wooster’s aunts, you know, mammoths bellowing to mammoths across a swamp...”

  Fiona looked at him blankly.

  “You haven’t read Wooster and Jeeves?” Colin asked, shocked. “Wodehouse? Well, that’s a sorry gap in your education that I shall have to fill at once. You’d enjoy him, completely taking the piss out of the upper class Englishman.”

  “I was busy reading Ivanhoe,” she replied tartly. “And other great Scottish literature.”

  “That might be something we actually have in common,” he said thoughtfully. “Not Ivanhoe, but reading in general. This might surprise you, but I rather enjoy it.”

  Fiona’s face lit up with genuine pleasure for the second time all day. “I’m glad to hear it,” she said approvingly. “Any chance we can find some place cosy where we can sip tea and discuss our favourite books?”

  “None whatsoever,” Colin replied cheerily. “But we can talk as we continue playing. Trust me, at this rate we have lots of time.”

  Chapter Ten

  The afternoon was finished and so was Fiona by the time they made their way back toward the cars. She had found it strangely gruelling to have to concentrate on a new sport for so long, particularly with the level of frustration involved. It had been a beautiful course and nice to spend the day out of doors, but the highlight of her day remained their animated conversation as they compared their preferred books.

  Colin turned out to be surprisingly well-read, although she realised that she ought to have suspected it by his facility at quoting things.

  “You read classics at Cambridge?” she had repeated in astonishment when the subject was brought up.

  “With my background you can simply buy a degree,” he told her in his usual self-deprecating way, a twinkle in his eye. “I don’t want you to expect me to be able to contribute to intelligent conversation. Or to a battle of wits with you, by the way. I wouldn’t come out unscathed, I decided today when I saw you in action.”

  “I wasn’t doubting your intelligence,” she replied shortly, not wishing to speak about her earlier altercation with Bridget and Emma. “I was just wondering why you don’t take more interest in your parents’ trust with that background. You know, go out and find interesting projects to support. And help farmers to protect the land while you’re at it, like the glen where we walked.”

  “There’s a place worth protecting,” Colin had agreed at once, a naughty spark in his eye as they both shared the same memory.

  Fiona had quickly changed the subject. It was the only reference they had made all day to what had happened the last time they were together, and although she was aching to know where they stood, she didn’t want to discuss it on a public golf course.

  Apart from trying not to hurt or humiliate herself more than necessary, she had also spent the day trying to figure out their relationship. His greeting with a friendly kiss on both cheeks had left her in confusion, as if they were starting at zero again. His attitude was as friendly as ever, and perhaps a bit more physical today, but that could be a normal part of a golf lesson.

  She was starting to realise how much she liked definition and clarity, being able to classify things in her mind. Certainly she would be a lot happier to know where she and Colin now stood. To her, if they were to keep seeing each other like this and sleeping together, which she hoped, then it was a relationship, but she didn’t want to bring the subject up and come across as too serious and analytical. So instead she had tried to concentrate on the golf lesson and not pay attention to the chemistry she felt when he stood so close behind her or guided her hands with his.

  He had spent the day laughing, teasing and making jokes about his parents, with no hint of romantic intentions. Then again, it wasn’t as if the golf course was the sort of place where he might give into hidden passions and drag her off behind the trees.

  And then there had been that horrible encounter with his friends. She was enormously grateful that he had given her those subtle signs of support, the gentle pressure on her shoulder to let her know that he was on her side when she first began to feel like the unwelcome intruder in the posh club. And at least Robert seemed to like her, which was important to Fiona, who couldn’t imagine dating somebody whose best mate hated her. Best of all, having met the two women, she was beginning to understand why Colin might be drawn to her or find her conversation interesting, and this had been enough to allow her to stand her ground when things became nasty.

  Their imminent arrival in the car park put an end to Fiona’s reflections, just as it made the questions all the more pertinent. While there was a certain comfort in the idea of fleeing to her car and returning to a cosy fireside with her loveable dog, to leave this trying day behind, she was in no hurry to part ways with Colin. She found herself slowing her pace and rummaging uselessly for her keys in the hopes that he would give her a clue as to what happened next.

  He was watching her with his usual look of curious amusement. “The normal thing to do after a game is to retire to the clubhouse for a drink,” he told her. “Or even dinner, as it is getting to be that time. Would you indulge me this evening with a drink and dinner, no matter what you may think of this social scene?”

  She shook her head vehemently. “No, thank you,” she said without even stopping to consider the invitation. “I’ve had as big a dose of your social circle as I can take for my first go.”

  He seemed heartened by the allusion to future efforts. “Well then, let me take you somewhere else instead,” he insisted. “You gave a valiant effort today but I can’t say that I saw you loving every moment. Let’s go somewhere where you can relax and actually enjoy some of this day. But not the chippie, and not your pub. We’re still having a day on my territory and I’d feel better if there was somewhere that I could take you where you might be happy.”

  She smiled with relief. “Why don’t we just go home and cook something?” she suggested, realising as she said the words that it couldn’t be her place. “With your parents away, I might just be able to relax where nobody could see me or hear my accent besides you.”

  She wondered why he seemed to hesitate for a moment, considering her words with a puzzled look before his charming smile returned. “I would love to take you home, Fiona Buchanan,” he announced pompously. “But it’s the cooking thing that’s got me a bit stymied. It isn’t really something I do.”

  She stared at him, stunned in her turn. “You never cook?” she asked incredulously.

  “In a word, no,” he replied simply, not seeming to be in the least embarrassed by what to Fiona was an obvious gap in his education. “I think I could find the kitchen if I put my mind to it.”

  Fiona continued to stare before she burst out laughing. “In that case, it’s settled,” she declared. “I’ll reward you for my introduction to golf by introducing you to cooking. Although I still think you’re pulling my leg or at least exaggerating.”

  He shot out his lip and shook his head. “I only exaggerate my good points,” he said cheerfully. “And I am more than willing to try, but I can’t guarantee you a superb meal this way, whereas if I took you to the Collingwood I could stake my inheritance on it.”

  But Fiona’s mind was made up. The more she thought about it, the more she saw the appeal in an evening alone with Colin at Loch Murray. She even had to admit that she was curious to see what it was like to live in a castle, although some part of her felt that she should be against it.

  “I come from stubborn stock,” she warned him. “So don’t go listing all your favourite fancy dining places. This will be fun, trust me.”

  He sent her a doleful look. “Right. Slaving away in a kitchen when
we could be sipping fine wine in elegant surroundings and letting others do it for us, to produce fare that could never compare with what my money can buy. There’s a reason I never learned.”

  “Too busy?” Fiona asked sarcastically. “It’s a basic need. Well, eating, not cooking, but you know what I mean. How can you be so helpless about something so important? How can you stand depending on others for your food?”

  He stared at her blankly. “We all need other people for some things,” he said, obviously considering the question for the first time. “We can’t be self-reliant about everything. So I am willing to put my gastronomic trust in people who are experts in the field. I’m self-sufficient enough in other matters not to have a complex about that. Are you one of those people who refuses to take help?”

  Fiona thought this time. “Obviously people help me,” she said, thinking of Sarah’s help with Livingstone even as they spoke. “With very important things, too. But cooking, Colin. That’s almost like needing help with breathing.”

  “Which I will gladly take if I need it,” he said in his nonplussed way. “Well, forward the Light Brigade in that case. Although I suppose you do know how badly that decision turned out.”

  “You are comparing me to an incompetent general,” Fiona pointed out. “British, at that, I might add. You don’t seem to consider the option that I’m one of your culinary experts.”

  He raised his eyebrows in astonishment. “Are you?” he asked hopefully.

  She laughed. “Not at all. But I can cook and I enjoy food. So half a league onward.”

  They had long since reached the car park and were lingering by Fiona’s old car. “I’m afraid we’ll have to take both cars,” he told her. “Unless you want me to drive you back for another round of golf before we collect yours.”

  She sent him a dirty look. “I’ll need my car before hell freezes over,” she said dryly. “I’ll just follow you.”

  He nodded and started to walk towards his Range Rover, before he turned back toward her. “You do know that I live in a castle, don’t you?” he asked. “D’you know, I don’t think I’ve ever felt the need to apologise for that before. I just don’t want you to arrive and then decide that it’s too upscale for you.”