The Kilted Stranger

by Margaret Pargeter

  The Range-Rover was waiting for them as they reached the lower ground again. To her surprise, after putting their gear in the back, Meric actually came around and opened the door for her to help her in. With one foot on the step she turned swiftly to look at him. Tall and rugged as the country around them, he was handsome in a compelling sort of way - his quick observant eyes, his firm mouth and determined-looking jaw, his hair, thick and vital and very dark. She knew in that instant that she loved him and quickly she lowered her heavy lashes, that he shouldn’t, with his keen perception, read what must surely lie behind them. If nothing else it brought a grain of comfort that her behaviour in the corrie hadn’t been completely wanton. That it had been evoked by an emotion as old as Eve, stronger than one inexperienced girl. But momentarily stunned by the knowledge of her own involvement, she remained quite still. There was no way in which she could possibly tell him, so she must be prepared that he should think the worst. Maybe better this than he should know the truth, and be amused by it?

  ‘A penny for them, Sue?’ He was waiting to close the door, his brows raised sardonically but his eyes curious.

  ‘Not for sale,’ she managed to reply briefly, a faint smile touching her curved lips which still felt bruised from the pressure of his.

  ‘From the expression on your face, ’ he said, 'I thought they might be interesting. ’

  ‘I suppose I was day-dreaming,’ she admitted. ‘Anyway, it wasn’t important.’

  To her surprise he suddenly grinned, his eyes alight with laughter, but for once his laughter sounded kind.

  ‘Maybe tomorrow I’ll ask you to be more explicit, Sue. But right now we must get a move on, or John will be worrying. And he did trust me to look after you safely,’ he pointed out amiably.

  So amiably that Sue’s heart gave a small lurch in her breast. He was in good spirits over something and not troubling to hide it. Maybe — the thought was fleeting, but it brought her gaze back to his face - maybe after all he did like her a little? There seemed to be a promise in his laughter about which she dared not begin to think. Instead she nodded cautiously, but made no comment as he gently closed the door and climbed in beside her.

  It was getting dark as they reached home, the colour fading from the west, but as they passed the loch there was still a flare of red across the water against the darkening sky. There seemed a strange savagery about the land bathed in this half-light which made Sue shudder in spite of the warmth of her thoughts. Autumn was a nostalgic time of year in the country, when the heather was fading and the leaves turning colour. In the whispering morning mists and the shadowed clouds across the hills there was sadness, a brooding, a feeling of finality as the seasons drew to a close. Unpredictably she felt hot tears stinging the back of her eyelids, tensing her throat, until it was almost with a cry of relief that she saw they were back at Glenroden.

  ‘I’ll go straight in and see Father,’ she said quickly as they left the Range-Rovers ‘He’s probably been lonely without us.’

  But in thinking this she was wrong, and afterwards she wished fervently that their homecoming could have been different.

  Mrs. Lennox met them at the door, or near it, as she was just coming down the great oak staircase. ‘Oh, it’s glad I am to see you back,’ she cried rather nervously. ‘You have a visitor, Susan, a Mr. Mason, and I wasn’t quite sure what to do with him.’

  Behind her Sue felt the rigidness of Meric’s hand which had been resting lightly on her waist as he walked with her to the house. It had been nothing, she assured herself, but a friendly gesture, but from it she had derived great comfort, an indefinable sense of happiness. Now, for a split second, as his fingers bit into the curve of her hip, she sensed his anger and restraint.

  His hand dropped sharply and she felt bereft. Tim couldn’t surely be here? And yet he must be, as Mrs. Lennox was adding quickly, ‘He came early after lunch and seemed quite put out that you weren’t here, Susan. However, your father and he have been getting on like a house on fire, talking their heads off all afternoon. I’ve prepared a room. I’ve just shown Mr. Mason up, as a matter of fact. He’ll be staying, of course. At least Mr. Frazer said he thought so. ’

  ‘Of course,’ Meric was nodding smoothly by her side. ‘Susan’s boy-friend is very welcome. I hope you made that clear, Mrs. Lennox?’

  As he spoke dismay flooded through Sue, tightening the nerves of her stomach, fading the pink glow of her cheeks. It was no use suggesting there had been a mistake, that it might not be Tim, when instinctively she knew it could be no one else. But why, why had he come all the way to Glenroden? At this moment he was the last person on earth she wanted to see. Carefully, aware of the pregnant silence, she moistened dry lips before asking Mrs. Lennox, ‘Did he say why he’s here? What he wanted?’ which sounded ungracious and slightly stupid, and which would have been better left unsaid. Only something in Meric’s face as he stood regarding her grimly prompted her to indiscretion.

  Before Mrs. Lennox could reply he murmured ironically, ‘You shouldn’t ask foolish questions, Sue. Obviously the fellow couldn’t wait, and I repeat, he’s welcome to stay a few days if he feels like it. In fact,’ his eyes narrowed consideringly, ‘it might not be such a bad idea, providing he behaves himself.’

  The arrogance in his tone stung Sue as she gazed up at him. He was like a stranger, not the man who had held her in his arms on the wild mountainside, who had given the impression on the way home that their relationship had moved subtly to a different level. Now she could only stare at him with a leaden heart as involuntarily she tried to excuse Tim’s behaviour. ‘Tim probably had a spell of leave due and thought he’d surprise me. He wouldn’t realize that it mightn’t be convenient. ’

  Mrs. Lennox interrupted, glancing quickly from one to the other. ‘It’s no inconvenience, Susan, so don’t let that worry you. If Mr. Findlay doesn’t mind, I’m sure we’ll never notice the extra work.’

  ‘It need not concern Mr. Findlay!’ Again words tripped indiscreetly off Sue’s tongue. It wasn’t what she’d meant to say at all.

  ‘Sue!’ Meric’s brief exclamation hit her sharply as, confused, she turned to go. Startled, she looked back at his face, noting that he seemed to go white beneath his tan. She was also aware that but for Mrs. Lennox’s presence he might have lost his temper. Instead he pushed derisively past her, striding to the far side of the hall. Over his shoulder he said tautly, ‘Another time you feel like entertaining, please let us know

  beforehand. If only for your father’s sake,’ he added, as if under compulsion.

  But it seemed that Tim’s visit to Glenroden didn’t have an adverse effect. At least, not on John Frazer. John, in fact, seemed to enjoy his company, and the two men often talked or just sat together for long periods. Sue realized with a pang that their friendship, though in some ways surprising, had developed easily. There were none of the somewhat forced attempts to find something more permanent than a friendly camaraderie, none of the sometimes uncomfortable straining after a deeper, more lasting relationship which plagued Sue’s own daily contact with her father. As Meric had pointed out, it was maybe because they were both too impatient, but, apart from their shared pleasure over John’s book, nothing seemed to be changing very rapidly. Hearing John talking and laughing so easily with Tim seemed to emphasize her unspoken doubts - that the gap caused by the missing years was too wide ever to properly bridge. And unless something changed she could never feel a genuine daughter of the household, or be willing to accept any part of Glenroden should anything happen to John.

  Tim, however, was plagued by no such doubts. Like her father he seemed continually amazed by her likeness to the Frazers, and never missed an opportunity of noting this aloud. Like her father, when she had first come, he never seemed to tire of arranging her in front of one of the many family paintings, or of contriving to go with her through the heavy family albums of Frazer photographs, pointing out how in both figure and face she resembled them closely.

  ‘Th
ere’s no doubt about it, Susan,’ he exclaimed, on his third morning at Glenroden, as they stood together in the drawing room, held there, unwilling prisoners by the wind and rain outside. ‘It’s quite clear to see that you’re a Frazer all right! It was a good move when I allowed you to come here. Anyway, John has been telling me his solicitor has verified it through and through, so there can be no mistake. Just look at your grandmother’s picture. There’s no question about it at all!’

  Rather blindly Sue stared up into her grandmother’s face, wondering if she imagined a slightly enigmatic smile. Tim did go on so! Half-heartedly she nodded and shrugged. Why should she feel a twinge of resentment that Tim should call her father by his first name so easily? Her father preferred it, she knew, but Tim might have desisted for a little while. She also knew a twinge of resentment that he should have so easily gained John’s confidence. Already, after only two days, Tim seemed in possession of more facts concerning Glenroden than she herself was after all this time? Already, too, John seemed to have the impression that she and Tim were to be married, and try as she might he appeared to think that her protests just amounted to a schoolgirlish embarrassment.

  ‘I know you’re right, Tim,’ she answered, a trifle impatiently, ‘but please don’t go on about it! You never let us forget for a minute, and it gets a bit tiresome, don’t you think? It’s as if you’re trying too hard to convince somebody.’

  ‘That manager chap, for instance?’ Tim’s face grew sullenly determined. ‘I rather think I could put him in his place if I were here long enough.’

  ‘But you’ve only two weeks ... At least, that is what you said?’ Sue’s brow creased anxiously. ‘And I’m not really sure of Meric’s position.”

  ‘Then it’s time someone was!’ Tim’s voice held an oddly threatening note, and Sue’s breath caught in her throat. Unaccountably she felt a little shiver of fear. The face Tim turned to her seemed stiff with determination.

  ‘Please,’ she whispered, staring at him as she tried to marshal her thoughts. His attitude filled her with a growing apprehension, making it impossible to deny that since he came she had been unable to relax. Again and again she found herself wishing he hadn’t been here at all. This late holiday which he hadn’t expected to collect owing to the pressure of work was, so far as she was concerned, turning out to be a fiasco. As she had guessed, he had intended surprising her by arriving unannounced, and had obviously not even noticed her lukewarm welcome. He had been much too busy making himself pleasant to John and Mrs. Lennox. Meric he treated coolly, with the offhand politeness of an important visitor towards a lower member of the staff, and at times Sue found herself cringing helplessly at the tone of voice he employed.

  ‘Well - please what?’ Tim prompted impatiently as she hesitated.

  With a start she pulled herself together. ‘What I meant to say, Tim, is that you mustn’t start interfering. Meric Findlay, in many ways, is indispensable. You haven’t had much time to realize this, but do try to remember in future. My father wouldn’t be very pleased if you did anything to upset him.’

  ‘So ... ’ Tim’s eyes narrowed suspiciously on her flushed face, and she noticed with confusion that he seemed relatively unimpressed. ‘I’m beginning to wonder,’ he went on shrewdly, ‘who would be the most upset! But don’t get all hot and bothered, Susan. I’m only trying to look after your interests.’

  ‘I haven’t’, she retorted, her chin tilting indignantly, ‘any interests to look after, Tim. So please don’t ...’

  ‘Don’t what ...?’ he mimicked suavely. ‘Don’t upset the great Meric Findlay, you mean? Are you scared of him, Susan, or what? It seems to me,’ his eyes gleamed suddenly beneath his sandy lashes, ‘that you’re almighty anxious to keep on the right side of him!’

  ‘Just because we couldn’t run Glenroden without him!’ Sue insisted. ‘Of course I’m not scared of him! You get such ridiculous ideas, Tim. I rarely see the man.’ Which wasn’t so far from the truth, she thought miserably. Meric had scarcely been near her, other than at mealtimes, at which he now chose to appear regularly. But for the most part he seemed to ignore her, apart from the barest of civilities - a state of affairs which might only have coincided with Tim s arrival, having more to do with the incident on the mountain. Anything Tim might say or do obviously couldn’t make things worse as far as she was concerned, but for John’s sake she must try to retain the modicum of politeness he still showed towards her.

  Preoccupied, she watched Tim moving thoughtfully around the room, examining closely the fine paintings, the valuable objets d’art which filled the antique cabinets and decorated the mantelshelf of the beautiful Adam fireplace.

  ‘There are other men,’ he said sharply, ‘who would be quite capable of running an estate like Glenroden. Once we’re married, Susan, I shall probably see about getting someone more congenial.’

  ‘I’m sure you would!’ Furiously, her voice laced

  with sudden sarcasm, Sue spun away from him, only to suppress a startled gasp as she heard a small noise in the doorway, Carlotte Craig was standing there gazing at them,

  CHAPTER NINE

  How long had Carlotte been standing there? Sue, the pink in her cheeks deepening to red, put a hasty hand to her face in a futile attempt to hide her embarrassment. Carlotte, however, was smiling quite gaily, and gave no indication that she had overheard anything, but with Carlotte one could never be quite sure. Sue could only hope fervently that she had only arrived in that second.

  ‘Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend?’ With raised brows, Carlotte obviously waited, her glance going past Sue to rest curiously on Tim’s equally speculative face.

  Somehow Sue managed to perform the small ceremony with dignity, but her mind was anything but cool as she watched Tim shake Carlotte’s hand, his face full of expansive cordiality. Her thoughts flew angrily back to what he had been saying when Carlotte arrived. How dared he put her in such a spot, assuming so loudly that she was willing and eager to marry him? Why, oh, why hadn’t she said definitely no in London, instead of not taking him seriously? The sooner she straightened things out the better, but it was scarcely possible to do so in front of another person.

  Uneasily she realized Carlotte was probing blatantly, her brilliant smile covering a determination to discover Tim’s exact status. ‘You’re Susan’s boy-friend from London, I suppose? I didn’t quite catch what she said.’ ‘Well, you could say that,’ Tim answered, before Sue could speak. ‘Actually I’m rather hoping to be something more, but there’s nothing official at the moment, you understand?’

  ‘Of course,’ Carlotte agreed smoothly. Obviously, by the way her smile widened, the news suited her more than a little. 'I’ve just returned from London myself,’ she confided with a charming grimace. ‘I must confess to feeling rather flat, but this spot of romance has cheered me up considerably. Have you and Susan known each other long?’

  ‘Oh, yes.’ Tim was not reluctant. ‘We’ve known each other a long time. I looked after Susan and her mother, you might say. We lived near each other, and her mother was always glad of my advice. ’

  When she gets Tim alone, Sue thought desperately, she’ll be asking all sorts of questions. Yet how could she do anything to avert it when there wasn’t really anything particular to hide? Tim’s only fault was perhaps that he was too impulsive, that he had construed a situation incorrectly. It had nothing to do with his basically generous self. It was probably more her fault than his that he was here. She had been mistaken in thinking that once out of sight he would automatically forget her. And now that he was here how could she possibly ask him to go?

  Confused, she brushed a strand of hair back from her hot brow. Carlotte was still smiling, apparently well pleased with herself. Instinctively, in spite of her friendly demeanour, Sue distrusted that smile, and her uneasiness increased as Carlotte suggested blandly:

  ‘We must all get together one evening and go down to the hotel. Meric will know the best night to go. Perhaps
we might have something official to celebrate by then. You never know!’

  What did she mean? Sue blinked, her eyes wide and startled as dismay flooded her heart. Was she hinting, not perhaps at Tim, but at some relationship between Meric and herself? ‘I’ll keep it in mind,’ she replied cautiously, trying to appear gracious. ‘It will all depend how John is.’

  ‘And that reminds me,’ Carlotte nodded her head agreeably, ‘it was John whom I really came to see. How is he?’

  On safer ground, Sue found herself assuring her that her father was fairly well. ‘He was talking to Meric a short while ago,’ she said, not thinking.’

  ‘Oh, good!’ Satisfied with the news, Carlotte turned to go, a smug smile on her dark red lips. ‘I’ve arranged to go with Meric to Perth this morning,’ she explained. ‘He’s going to a livestock sale. I’m returning with him this evening and staying to dinner, so I’ll see you both then.’

  With a light lift of one hand she was gone, leaving them both staring silently after her.

  Tim was the first to find his tongue. ‘At least she appears to be a girl with a head on her shoulders,’ he spoke appreciatively as they heard her opening and closing John’s door a little further along the hall. ‘Certainly she seems to know what side her bread’s buttered on — or is she just busy buttering it?’ he joked rudely.

  ‘Tim! I wish you wouldn’t talk like that,’ Sue pleaded stiffly, not knowing how much more of it she could stand. Her head ached. ‘I’m sure Carlotte has no ulterior motives. She just pays friendly visits. Actually,’ she added, ‘she helps to run the caravan park in summer, so we see quite a bit of her.’

  ‘Caravan park?’ Tim’s official ears pricked. ‘Whose is the caravan park, might I ask?’

  'Not if you use that tone of voice you may not,’ Sue retorted coldly. 'It’s on the estate, so I suppose it’s ours, but it’s all legal and above board, with a proper office and facilities and that sort of thing. So you needn’t be suspicious!’