and stopped, in unison.
‘If I show you, you’ll no doubt find it easier to decide.’ Emerging from behind the desk, Mrs Low led them briskly through a small, inner hallway and opened a door on the right.
‘Although there’s central heating, I’ve lit a fire in this bedroom… So much more welcoming on a night like this, don’t you think?’
The room she showed them into was warm and cosy in the leaping firelight. Heavy folkweave curtains had been drawn to keep out the night, and a single lamp cast a pool of golden light.
There was a double bed with an old-fashioned patchwork quilt, a tallboy, a wardrobe, a carved blanket chest and, set in front of the hearth, a low table and two comfortable-looking armchairs.
To one side of the fireplace was a wicker basket of logs and a big pile of fir cones. The aromatic scent of pine resin mingled with lavender hung in the air.
Through a curtained archway was another small room, not much bigger than a large cupboard, with bunk beds and a narrow fitted wardrobe.
Glancing up at Ross Dalgowan’s six feet two inches, Mrs Low said doubtfully, ‘I’m afraid the bunk beds were only intended for children, but even one of them might be more comfortable, and give you a tidy bit more privacy than a couch. And this is the bathroom…’
Though old-fashioned, the bathroom was spotlessly clean and had every facility, including a walk-in shower cubicle.
‘There are plenty of towels and toiletries, even a disposable shaving kit, if you do decide to share.’
Looking from one to the other, she added, ‘While you talk it over why don’t you sit in front of the fire and get warm? I’ll bring you in a nice bite of supper.’
Satisfied that she’d done the best she could, she hurried away.
Putting Cathy’s bag on the chest, Ross Dalgowan raised a well-marked brow and asked, ‘Do you have any problem with Mrs Low’s kindly meant suggestion? If you do…’
Recognizing that it was politeness rather than diffidence that had made him ask, she answered. ‘No, no, of course I don’t.’
‘In that case…’ He helped her off with her coat before removing his own and hanging them both on some convenient pegs.
She saw that he was wearing smart-casual trousers and an olive-green jerkin over a toning shirt. His watch looked expensive, and his shoes appeared to be handmade.
Although there was nothing blatant, his whole appearance suggested affluence and power, while his air of ease spoke of a quiet self-assurance.
Taking a mobile phone from his pocket, he said, ‘If you’ll excuse me just a minute? So they won’t worry, I’d like to give the folks who are expecting me a call to say I’ll be staying here for the night.’
‘Of course.’
While he made the call, she moved to sit by the blazing log fire.
Addressing the person who answered as Marley, he kept it brief and to the point, ending, ‘See you tomorrow, then. Bye.’
Cathy found herself wondering if Marley was his wife and rather hoping not, until she pulled herself up short, reminding herself sternly that it was none of her business.
Dropping the phone back into his pocket, Ross joined her in front of the fire, remarking, ‘Your shoes look as if they’re saturated. Why don’t you take them off and warm your feet?’
She had been longing to do just that, and, needing no further encouragement, she slipped them off and, propping them by the fender to dry, held her slim feet out to the blaze.
There was a drifting silence for a minute or so while he stared into the leaping flames and she studied him covertly.
The strong face held a certain aloofness, a touch of arrogance, a hint of sensuality. He was, she guessed, a complex man with many layers.
His mouth, with its ascetic upper lip and passionate lower, was beautiful, and his thick lashes were ridiculously long and curly. Combined with so much sheer masculinity, that mouth and those lashes had a stunning effect, and she felt hollow inside.
He glanced up suddenly, and as she looked anywhere but at him, he queried, ‘Warmer now?’
‘Much warmer,’ she answered abstractedly.
‘How long were you on the road?’
Pulling herself together, she told him, ‘I left London mid-morning. But though I only stopped briefly for a sandwich and a cup of coffee, it took much longer to reach the border than I’d expected.’
‘You’re from London?’
‘Yes.’
‘Where are you heading for?’
‘The Cairngorms. A small place called Luing.’
A flicker of something that she couldn’t decipher crossed his face, before he said, ‘Yes, I know it well. You were right to break the journey. It’s quite a distance. I take it you ski?’
‘Yes, but not particularly well, I’m sorry to say. Do you?’
‘I was born and brought up on the edge of the Cairngorms, so during the winter months I practically lived on skis.’
‘I’m afraid my experience has been confined to childhood holidays in the Alps.’
‘Sounds fun.’
‘Yes, they were.’
Without thinking, she voiced the thought that was in her mind. ‘To say you were born in Scotland you don’t have much of an accent.’
‘My father’s family were Scottish born and bred, but my mother was English. When I was fourteen and my sister was eleven our parents divorced, and our mother went to live in London. Though my father and I didn’t always see eye to eye, I stayed with him and his second wife until I was eighteen and got a place at Oxford.
‘After I’d graduated I moved to London and went into the Information Technology business with a couple of friends. I’d always intended to come back to Scotland eventually, but at the moment I’m still living in London while I tie up some loose ends.’
‘Which part of town?’
‘I’ve a flat in Belmont Square.’
The fact that he lived in Mayfair seemed to confirm her first impression that he was well off.
Eager to know more about him, but wary of making the questions too personal, she asked, ‘Do you get up to Scotland much?’
‘Four or five times a year.’
‘For business or pleasure?’
‘You could say both.’
There was a tap at the door and Mrs Low came bustling in, a voluminous apron tied at her waist,
