Part 10 (2/2)
”No, seeing him was lovely. He asked me how I'd been, applauded the play and was just as nice as could be. He even gave me his card again and reminded me to call him if I ever needed him.”
”Well, there you go!” David said, as if having someone's card solved everything. ”If anything too weird happens, you call the fellow. Hey, he's not an attorney, or maybe an American amba.s.sador, is he?”
She shook her head.
”What does he do? Or is he retired?”
”He owns a company. Harrison Investigations.”
”Investigations. There you go. He can investigate the scam artist who got us into this!”
”I don't think it's those kinds of investigations.”
”Ah! You mean he's one of those guys who goes into haunted houses with weird cameras and tape recorders and stuff like that?”
She nodded, finding that she had to grin. ”Um. I think that's exactly what he does.”
”You don't think that a ghost screwed us all via the Internet, do you?”
Toni had to laugh. ”No!”
”Well, then, let's wait and see. Hey, want to take a walk? It's gorgeous around here. Gina was saying that she wanted to go barefoot in one of the trickling streams just below our little hillock here.”
”I think it's going to rain.”
”Then getting our feet wet won't matter,” David said.
She rose, turning back to draw him up. ”Sure. Let's go.”
She started to drag him along, but he pulled her back, giving her a hug again. ”Hey, I'm here if you need me. Always.”
She stepped back, eyes twinkling, and sighed. ”You love me, you're here when I need you and you're absolutely gorgeous. Why on earth couldn't you have been heteros.e.xual?”
”G.o.d knows,” he said. ”But I do love you.”
”I love you, too. ”
”Anyway, let's get the other guys and go for that walk.”
”You're on.”
When they returned to the castle, they found the others in the hall, ready to head out.
Thayer was standing by the main doors, where a drawbridge--long gone now, as long gone as the moat--had once led to the portico entry. He appeared reflective.
”What's the matter?” Toni asked him.
He shook his head. ”I was just thinking--we really were idiots.”
”Why do you say that?” Toni asked, suddenly feeling guilty again.
”We didn't question anything. After we signed the agreements, we just accepted the fact that we would get here and get in. And we did, of course, because the door was open. The keys were hanging there, right inside, as soon as we came in! The door locks with a slide bolt, so we've been sliding it at night. Apparently, Laird MacNiall doesn't lock the place up when he's around. What do you think that means?”
”That the castle is a small one, which wasn't on any tour maps or advertised about at all until we got here. And that, in a village such as Tillingham, there's no need to lock your doors,” Toni suggested.
Thayer shrugged. ”I guess. I'm still feeling like an idiot.”
”Ditto,” Toni a.s.sured him.
”We ready?” Ryan asked, coming to the door.
”Aye,” Thayer a.s.sured him. ”So where are we going?”
”Just down the hill and into the woods a bit. Gina wants to romp in a brook.” Ryan looked up. ”I think it's going to rain.”
”Probably,” Thayer agreed cheerfully.
Kevin, coming to join them, said, ”We'll probably catch the fricking flu. Do we really have to do this today?”
”If we're out on our a.r.s.es come Monday, we might not get the opportunity again,” Thayer reminded him.
”True,” Kevin agreed. ”All right, let's go frolic in a bubbling little brook.”
Gina came through the door. ”It will be fun. Trust me.”
So they headed out. It was cool but not cold, which made the walk very pleasant. And the overcast sky was fascinating, painting the landscape around them in beautiful dark shades of green and mauve.
On distant hills, they could see an abundance of sheep. Climbing atop crags were also scattered groupings of the longhaired cattle that Toni had seen more frequently in the far north of the country. Apparently, they were popular in this area, too. Between the cattle, sheep, wildflowers, sloping hills, crags and cairns, the scenery around them was breathtaking.
”This place is really gorgeous,” Toni commented.
”It is--and we would have been a real boon for its economy,” Ryan said.
”Oh, yeah? There could have been a buildup of fast-food restaurants and Motel 8s all along the way,” Thayer said.
”Right! Like Scotland doesn't depend on tourism!” Ryan argued.
”The world goes round on tourism, I guess,” Thayer acknowledged.
”We've got a long walk back once it pours!” Kevin shouted down toward Gina, who was ahead of him along the path. She shot him the bird, and he laughed.
At the base of the hill, the canopy of trees began. The color was lighter, there, at the base, and oddly inviting. They followed Gina as she dashed into the woods. A minute later, she shouted out with delight! ”There, look, how charming!”
A little curve in a brook jutted out into a dapple of light that made it through the branches overhead. Though the water was a bit dark under the threatening skies, the sound of it rus.h.i.+ng over pebbles and stones was light and airy, and the shelter of the neighboring trees made it look like a little piece of heaven. The whole scene was charming.
Gina started hopping along in her haste to remove her socks and shoes, and keep moving at the same time.
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