Duncan was the first to surface, a large cloud of steam escaping from his mouth as he breathed in the cool air from above the water. The chill of the pond engulfed him, stilting his thoughts for a brief moment before he remembered....His guest! His voice came out in chilled chokes before he could finally get the volume he needed.

   "Evie!" he cried out, splashing about like a manic so that the only ripples of life were the ones he discharged. "Evie!!!!" When no reply came, he crashed underwater, swimming through weeds and mud in search for the young journalist. This went unrewarded as he surfaced without her, a knot in his stomach growing from nowhere as he realised it wasn’t good. Guests weren’t allowed to drown. He sucked in the cold air, his breathing rapid with distress, a large cloud of mist over the ice cold water indicating that, even though it was cold outside, the water was an absolute nightmare.

   A large splash came up from behind him as he turned to see a very wet Evie emerge from underneath it. Her hair plastered itself to her face as her only worry was finding the surface. She struggled against the cold that bit into her organs, freezing them from the inside out, fighting the panic of falling from such a height into an icy pool.

   "Evie!" this next cry from Duncan was one of relief as he swam to her, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her to the bank until they were both free of the water. They sat in silence, catching their breath and sucking in the air like it was endangered. 

   Duncan was the first to speak. "Are you alright?"

   Evie nodded, choking a little and trying to find her voice which she thought might have been frozen with the rest of her body. Her mascara ran beneath her eyes and her brown hair was in a tangle of knots, her sharp business suit looking much like a mud wrestlers outfit. She bit her lip, numb from the cold. "Jesus…" was the only thing she could whisper as she watched Duncan rise up and squeeze out his kilt.

   "I’m so sorry." Duncan apologised, taking off his jacket and squeezing it onto the bank. "It gave way."

   "I can bloody well see that!" Evie exclaimed, sitting herself up and looking at the water. "It just...gave way..."

   Duncan sighed and held out his hand in front of her. She looked at for a second before she placed her hand in his, taking it strongly, pulling herself up and shaking off the spooked feeling that had fallen on top of her.

   "It's a bit of a scare." he admitted, watching her as she stood looking at the pool. "Thought you weren't going to come up."

   Evie nodded. "So did I Duncan...so did I." She let go of his hand and pulled her wet jacket around her body, her clothes sticking to her uncomfortably, boots filled with water, socks acting as the sponge. "Well," she added, turning back to Duncan and giving a wry smile. "Let’s just hope you don’t do that to all your guests."

   "Where on earth is Duncan?" Molly asked as Lexie placed a plate in front of her.
  
   Lexie shrugged, making her way around the table, dishing out tonight's dinner, much to Hectors suspicion. he picked up his spoon and dribbled the soup back onto his plate, studying it thoroughly before daring to take a sip. The cook ignored this as she answered Molly cheerily. "I haven’t seen him all day."

   "Yeah, well, neither have I." Golly answered, looking up from his plate. "Which is a problem when he’s got jobs to do."

   "And what about that young journalist of yours Archie?" Hector asked, stirring his soup precariously. "Did you tell her what time we were serving dinner. It’s awfully rude of her to be late."

   "Yeah well, lateness seems to be the only consistent thing she has going for her at the moment." Archie replied, unwrapping his napkin and placing it on his lap. "I went up to her room but no one was in there. I guessed she's gone to check the place out before she starts writing what we hope will be a positive review."

   "Why on earth wouldn’t she?" Molly asked. "She seemed like a perfectly nice girl to me. A bit rough around the edges, but professional enough."

   "I suppose so." Archie replied, looking over at his mother, squinting his brown eyes at her question. "But working for a large magazine you’d think, for the money I’m paying, I’d get more than 'professional enough'."

   "Bit harsh Arch." Lexie put in, sitting across from him. "Judging before you’ve seen any evidence."

   "I’m still open minded. I’d just feel a lot better if I saw some evidence of her capabilities." Archie stopped as Duncan stomped into the dining room, adorned in jeans and an old jumper that seemed to have stretched so that it could now fit two people. His hair was wet and he looked sheepishly at Archie before sitting himself down.

   "And where have you been?" Archie asked, looking across the table at him sternly.

   Duncan looked down into his soup and answered quietly. "Nowhere."

   "Nowhere?"

   He nodded. "I went for a walk."

   "A walk?" Golly asked. "Geez lad, you can’t just wander off. You’ve got things to do…" he stopped, taking him in more before continuing. "And why are you wet."

   Duncan looked up at Archie. He knew he had to tell him. Evie would sure enough, so he better get in there first before she came down. "I was showing Evie around."

   "Evie? Who’s Evie?" Hector asked.

   "The journalist." Duncan replied, avoiding Archie's gaze that was just waiting for the bad news to be spat out. "She wanted a tour of the Estate and asked me to take her."

   Archie rolled his eyes and moaned. "Duncan, please tell me that you took good care of her. There was no running around catching rabbits or playing hid and seek in the woods?"

   "No boss. I took her down to the waterfall, it’s one of the most beautiful spots and I thought she’d enjoy it."

   "And she’d be impressed with you?" Lexie put in, smiling at her friend who diverted his gaze back to the Laird.

   "No. She wanted to get a feel of Glenbogle." he stopped, not knowing how to explain that his nearly drowned the woman. So instead he giggled and put on a smile." And I must say, she did get some first hand experience."

   "Duncan!" Archie cried.

   "You got it on with Archie's Journalist!?" Lexie cried, a broad smile lighting up her blue eyes. "Duncan, I must say you are a dark horse!"

   "No!" the ranger exclaimed, blushing at the thought and shaking his mop of shaggy brown hair. "Nothing like that!"

   "Well then what?" Archie asked, scared of the answer all the same. 

   But the answer was prolonged as the subject walked into the dinning room, changed from her muddy business suit into a smart pair of black pants and white t-shirt, her still wet hair pulled back in a plait, her face free from any makeup.

   "Oh my god." Lexie cried, making Evie stop dead in her tracks. "What on earth are you doing here?"

   All eyes settled on Lexie as her expression morphed from surprise to pleasure in one swift second. The cook let out a delighted little squeal, unable to move in her shock.

   "Alexandra." Evie replied smoothly, allowing a smile to appear on her face. It felt like slow motion. She had been waiting for this day for so long, and now it was here and everything else seemed to have frozen. She titled her head slight and took in the brunette that sat across the table in between the royalty of the Glen. "Nice to see someone hasn’t changed."

   Lexie gave a scream of delight and bounced out of her chair, running around the table and pulling the journalist into a tight hug which was instantly replied. "When Duncan told me he took 'Evie' for a walk, I didn’t expect it to be you."

   "You make me sound like a dog." Evie replied, pulling out of the hug to take a look at the cook. She hadn’t aged at all. All those childhood memories flooded back and instead of standing in a castle dining room, they were sitting in Lexie's bedroom, playing with dolls and discussing boys. "Lexie Lexie Lexie." she shook her head in an annoyed manner before returning the smile. " Who would have thought you would end up in your very own castle hey?"

   A loud cough interrupted their reunion. The two girls turned to the Laird who had twisted himself around to face them, eyes wide and expectant. "You two know each other?"

   Lexie nodded excitedly, grabbing Evie’s hand. "Evie and I are childhood friends. Primary school, high school. The works. That was before she decided to leave the country."

   "Yeah, my parents were wanted on ten different charges..." Evie started before Lexie slapped her suddenly.

   "No, her parents just wanted a change of scenery. So, instead of moving to London, they moved to Lismore."

   As if it was planned, all eyebrows raised at once. Archie was the only one who could articulate his thoughts. "Lismore?"

   "New South Wales." Evie explained.

   "Australia!"

   Lexie nodded at the Laird's exclamation, turning to look at her long lost friend and smile sadly, remembering the day they parted ways, and lives for what they thought would be forever.. "That’s what I said too when she told me."

   "Then you cried."

   The cook nodded, squeezing her friends hand tightly. "Then we both cried."

   Molly sighed loudly, an expression of joy crossing her face as she glowed at the two women standing before them. "Oh this is wonderful." she sounded as if she had received an amazing Christmas gift, clasping her hands together as in prayer. "Catching up on old times."

   "So," Lexie started, leading her friend around the table and motioning for her to take a seat next to her before retrieving her soup from the sideboard, talking as she did so. "When did you get back from Oz? And how come you didn’t tell me you were coming here?"

   "I wanted to surprise you." was Evie's explanation as she watched Lexie move steadily from bench to table with the bowl of soup. "When Tourism International said they were doing an article on this place I made sure they sent me up here."

   "When did you come back to Scotland?" Molly asked from the other end of the table.

   "About six months ago." she replied, looking into the orange liquid that sat in front of her. "And I still love it just as much." 

   Molly nodded warmly, watching as Lexie took her place across from Archie and next to her friend, a steady glow consuming her now as she started on her soup, her smile disappearing just so she could get the liquid in her mouth and swallow before it would reappear again. 

   Archie's dial didn't show such enthusiasm. Instead he coughed calmly, smoothing down the serviette on his lap before speaking up. "I’m sorry to interrupt..." he started, moving his gaze from Lexie to the Journalist. "But Miss McDade, I hope that you didn’t just expect this job to be used as an excuse for an old reunion."

   "Archie!" Lexie started, spoon stopping halfway to her mouth.

   Evelyn shook her head understandingly, she too taking a napkin from the table and shaking it out before placing it onher lap and addressing the concerned man in front of her. "Mr McDonald. I assure you again, as I did when we first met, that I will put all my time and energy into this article. I already had Duncan show me around this afternoon."

   "Speaking of which," Lexie induced, "What on earth did you to get up too? You’re both wet."

   "Oh, we just got a little to close for comfort." Evie explained, spooning liquid into her mouth.

   "I don't understand." 

   "We fell into the river ok?" Duncan answered loudly, slamming his napkin down on the table. he couldn't take it He couldn't not say anything. He had to face the music now or he would go nuts waiting for it. "The ground gave way and we both fell in."

   "Duncan!" Archie cried, closing his eyes trying not to imagine the devastation this could cause to Evie's opinion of the place. "How could you..?!"

   "It wasn't his fault Archie." Evie put in, trying to sound as assuring as possible. "The ground gave way. He actually saved my life." 

   "He what?"

   Evie nodded, winking over at the ranger. "I didn't think I was ever going to surface. But Duncan was there. I have never felt in safer hands." 

   Archie raised his eyebrows and looked at the blushing Duncan. his head was bowed over his soup as he spooned quickly, his jumper sleeves precariously close the slipping into his soup. "Well, good one Dunc." the Laird complimented half-heartedly. "Lucky you were around." 

   Duncan nodded, looking up slightly. "Thanks boss." 

   "Anyway..." Lexie started, trying to blow away the heavy air that had fallen over the table. "I have the perfect meal to warm you up." she stood from the table and retrieved her bowl, looking down at her friend and again that smile was electric. "You like beef?" 

   The electricity caught the journalist as she handed her friend her bowl. " Do I look like a vegetarian Lex?"

   "Come to think of it, no." 

   "You might be after you taste it though." Hector put in, looking at his half finished bowl of soup. Lexie shook her head, she was to fired up with good thoughts to worry about Hectors dislike for her cooking. This was one blast from her past that she liked.

   The wrap on her door caused Evie to look up. The door opened a crack and Lexie's head popped around to find her pal sitting cross-legged on her bed, daggy in a pair of track-suit pants and a large t-shirt, her curls pulled back in a messy bun, thin glasses perched on the bottom of her nose.

   "You decent?" The cook asked, peeking in.

   "Am I ever?"

   Lexie smiled, stepping in and closing the door behind her. In her hand she possessed two large mugs, steam rising off them appetisingly as she shuffled towards the bed and handed one over. "Made you some hot chocolate."

   Evie retrieved her cup and smiled as Lexie joined her on the bed. She felt fifteen again, and though in real life she didn't have the pert breasts, taught skin or fresh complexion of a Scottish fifteen year old, life might not have left that moment for all she knew, or cared. It was a time in both their lives which they had taken for granted. A time with no worries, or well, the most of your worries consisted of whether that hot guy at the party would talk to you if you chose to wear your denim mini. Evie moved over to give Lex more room. "You still know my weaknesses Lex. I’ll give you that." 

   "You’re easy. That's what I like about you."

   "I know, one Milo and I’m anyone's."

   Lexie giggled, sipping her chocolate and leaning back on the wall. "Don’t tell Duncan that, he might have a go."

   "Duncan's a cutie." Evie admitted to a raise of the eyebrows and a curl of the lips, but she continued with this train of thought none-the-less. " A bit hard done-by by the Laird if you ask me."

   "Duncan needs to grow up a bit, that's all. Tries Archie's patience a bit."

   "That doesn't mean he has to be so..."

   "What?" Lexie started, curling her hands around the mug and soaking in the warmth. "Concerned that you might give us a bad review because of Duncan's stupidity." She watched Evie raise her eyebrows as she sipped her drink, letting Lexie continue her explanation. "You can't blame him for being like that. He's under a lot of pressure."

   "How many times today do I have to hear that?"

   "Pardon?"

   Evie shook her head, uncrossing her legs and getting more comfortable on the bed. " All I’m going to say," she started "is that I think Mr McDonald should stop moping around in his problems. I only saw him twice today, if he was so worried about my thoughts and the bad impressions others would give me, shouldn't he be the one who should show me around the estate or whatever he wants me to write about?" 

   "I guess." Lexie didn't sound as sure as she started out, covering this with a quick sip of her beverage. "He just gets consumed in other things."

   "Like what? What’s for dinner?"

   Lexie laughed. "No, that’s my job." she stopped and looked over at Evie who peered back over her glasses. "You started your article yet?"

   The journo nodded a little, pushing her spectacles back into her hair. "A little. Just small observations."

   "Like what? The Laird has a severe bee in his bonnet?"

   "More like how on earth did the Lexie I know come to work in a giant castle like this?"

   "Luck."

  "Luck?"

   Lexie nodded, sipping her chocolate. "And good fortune."

   "Ah," Evie sighed as if she knew. "That always comes in handy." both girls stopped, their minds ticking over. They hadn't seen each other in ten years, they had so much to ask, but what came first? Everything would come out eventually, but when things changed so much that you had no reference points, it was hard to get all the information. Evie was first to break the quiet that spread them. "What about you and Mr Laird hey? You always said you wanted to marry Prince charming? I think he’s near enough as you can get in this modern world." Lexie's eyes bowed to the cream quilt cover that they sat on, and started to pick the small balls of fluff from it's surface. "Never mind the annoying habit of trying to get him to think about someone else for just one second and let's pretend that you might have a relationship."

   "Pretend." Lexie sighed, still picking fluff. "I think that’s all it will be between us. Pretend in my head. Believe me, I've watched his princesses come and go."

   "So there is no prince waiting in the wings to sweep you off your feet?"

   Lexie shook her head. "I may live in a castle, but there is that unfortunate disadvantage that aren’t that many available men just lying around."

   "What about Duncan?"

   Lexie stifled a laugh. "Don't be silly. He's like my wee brother." The cook waited as Evie finished her drink and placed the mug on the side table before broaching her question. "So, how about you Miss Australia? Any Crocodile Dundee fighting off the crocs for you?"

   Evie looked a bit taken aback. "Don't be stupid Lex."

   "Come on Evie. I can't see you as the nun type." She nudged her and tried to reveal a smile. "Black and white is a bit to subdued for the likes of you. Plus those habits do nothing for your figure." 

   The journalist shrugged a little smile and looked back at her friend sadly. "Yeah well, neither do these hot chocolates." she shook her head before continuing seriously. "No, Lex, I've officially given up on men."

   "Oh, don’t say that." Lexie started, grabbing her hand and squeezing it slightly. "There's always hope."

   Evie shook her head, squeezing back before wiggling her left hand at her, the fourth finger revealing a white tan mark, a remanent of what once was. "There’s no point Lex." her voice was sad and angry. "There is no point."

*   *   *

   Archie watched Evie sit down opposite him. His office was comfortable, desk piled with files that gave him a headache every time he contemplated looking at them. he pushed them to the side as she made herself comfortable, crossing her les and looking at him through her glasses, pad in hand, pencil at the ready, challenging him. 

   "So," he started, leaning back in his chair and looking her over. "Where would you like to start."

   "The beginning is always a good place."

   "Right." Archie cleared his throat, preparing himself. "As for the history of Glenbogle, feel free to sort through any books, brochures that you can find to get as much information as you need. But the future of Glenbogle is what I’m trying to focus on. It’s had a magnificent past and we want to make sure it has just as good a future."

   Evie nodded in agreement. ‘Which is why I’m here, is it not?"

   He tilted his head, taking in her professional manner, annoyed. "I would like to hope so."

   "So, please explain to me Mr McDonald, what is your next venture for Glenbogle?" she asked, turning over a fresh piece of paper and getting ready to make notes. " Lexie has filled me in on your latest achievements. From the fun-runs to bushwalking expeditions. I expect you wish this one will be a bit more successful?"

   "That’s what I’m hoping." Archie said, his fingers folding together so that his hands clasped. "And this time we’ll be open to the public, including children."

   "So, what's this new venture?"

   "We will be catering for schools. Excursions." He explained as she wrote. "Schools can book a day excursion. The kids get to take a look around the castle, and all while they are learning about their local history, which benefits both the community and Glenbogle. Along with that we’d have tours for our travelling visitors."

   "Accommodation?"

   "Excuse me?" Archie stopped, annoyed his flow was interrupted. 

   The journalist looked up from her notepad and at the Lairds face. "Where would your travelling visitors be staying?"

   Archie nodded, his jaw tightening with her questions. He cleared his throat before answering. "Well there's a number of motels in Inverness which would be happy to house the visitors."

   "But from what I’ve seen of them they are tiny little places with only half a dozen rooms. I hope you are not underestimating yourself Mr McDonald. Or us for that matter." she stopped and watched him sigh with annoyance, his gaze drifting out the window as he listened to her voice travel over him in that straightforward manner. "Don't underestimate this magazine Mr McDonald. It goes out to several different countries, including your own, Australia, the United States and several in Europe. If you want to help this estate, it would take more than half a dozen visitors every so often."

   Archie's eyes quickly darted back to the woman in front of him. "I beg your pardon?"

   "I’m only trying to give you a bit of warning. Be prepared for truckloads of tourists."

   "How on earth would you know about our financial states?"

   Evie's voice didn't waver. "I looked through your records."

   "You what!?"

   "Only to give me an idea of how much work I need to do. Molly said it was ok."

   "Mother?"

   Evie nodded. "Yes."

   "That’s our private business."

   "And it’s also mine now because I’m promoting you." Archie's patience seemed to be running thin. He ran his hands through his short dark hair and swallowed as she tried to explain her actions. " I’m on your side Mr McDonald. I know you seem to have this agenda against me from the moment I walked in the door...." 

   "I never said that."

   "Yes well, I just hope for your sake you show your other guests a better time than you've shown me."

   "I’m sorry if I haven’t been around, but I do have other duties."

   Evie nodded, swapping her crossed legs. "It’s understandable. But you don’t have to worry about me Mr McDonald. I can look after myself. And as I said I am going to do my darnedest to promote Glenbogle. If only it’s Laird would co operate."

   "I am."

   "Yes Mr McDonald." she replied absently, scribbling on the page, turning over before sighing and looking up at him. "So," she started as if the tension in the room had magically disappeared. "If you would give me the low-down of where you would be taking these school tourists then that would be great."

   Archie nodded, reaching down to his desk draw and retrieving a small map which he promptly unfolded in the small space he had free on his desk. "Start here." he pointed to a small spot on the paper before he traced his finger around a small path which lead directly to the great castle. "Throughout the journey they will be told the tales of the great battles which occurred between clans before moving onto the great building itself, finishing in the dungeon."

   "The Dungeon?"

   Archie nodded, meeting his guest's gaze before falling back into his chair and looking at her with a satisfied smile. "Last but, for the kids, the most exciting."

*   *   *

   "Duncan!"

   The young ranger stopped his chopping and glanced towards the sound of his name to find Archie coming towards him at a fast pace. He had his hands shoved into his big jacket pockets, head down as the wind blew him furiously, a look of concentration across his face.

   Duncan put down his axe and waited patiently as the Laird reached him, cheeks flushed from the wind, black hair pushed to one side of his head. Out of breath he started to speak. "How’s it going?"

   Duncan nodded, looking at Archie suspiciously. "Good boss. Yourself?"

   "Good good. Listen, Duncan…" Archie stopped and squinted down at him. "You spent the day with Ms McDade?"

   Duncan nodded, knowing where this was all heading. "I did, and boss, if this is about her falling into the river, I swear it was an accident. She was very understanding about it. You saw her at dinner!"

   Archie shook his mop of black hair, digging his hands further into his pockets. "No no Duncan. I just wanted to ask you what you thought of her?"

   "What I thought of her boss?" Duncan let out a sigh of relief as he thought of how to answer the question properly, scratching the top of his head and leaning his leg up on the large log he was chopping. "She’s very nice."

   "That’s it?"

   Duncan nodded, sure he’d answered correctly. "Yes. Lovely in fact. Wanted to know all about you and your thoughts on being Laird, previous proposals, and how you are planning to get this estate up and running. Very professional."

   "Really?"

   "Sure. Especially likes this haunted house idea of yours."

   "How many times do I have to tell you?" Archie burst out from underneath his coat. "It’s not a haunted house. It’s a walk through museum!"

   Duncan cowered. "Sorry boss."

   Archie shook his head, getting back to the topic at hand. "So you didn’t think there was anything suspicious about her?"

   Duncan shook his head. "Why boss?"

   "Oh no reason." Archie dismissed. He turned then, leaving Duncan as he started back down the field, before he remembered. "Oh, Duncan!" he stopped and looked towards the ranger again, who had picked up his axe and slammed it into the log once again. "If you do find something fishy, tell me. There might be a new Nintendo in it for you."

   Duncan’s face lit up like a Christmas tree, his boyish grin spread across his face. "Will do boss." And with that he split that piece of wood in two.

   Lexie looked up when she heard the kitchen door close. Evie stood there, hair pulled up in a ponytail, a short black skirt and a white shirt, looking like her professional self, smiling over at Lexie as she worked.

   Hope you’re more gentle on the beef." Evie observed, watching Lexie slam her fist into the dough and kneading it roughly.

   "Got to be cruel to be kind."

   "Does that work on bread too?"

   Lexie laughed, pushing it into a ball before turning it over and flouring it again. "Always." she nodded for Evie to come over, which she did, and took a seat across the bench. She sat in silence as Lexie bashed the dough before the Scottish cook spoke. "So, how’s the writing going?"

   Evie plonked her elbows on the bench, cradling her head in her hands. " It’s not. I mean, I’m going to try my best with this place. I didn’t know it was in such strife."

   "How do you mean?"

   "Financially." she explained, leaning over and picking off some dough and shoving it in her mouth. "I took a look over the accounts... the previous ventures have all been disasters."

   Lexie frowned, pushing some hair off her face with her floured hand. "I wouldn’t go that far. They haven’t worked out great, but they haven’t been disasters."

   Evie raised her eyebrows as Lexie stopped her bashing and met her eye.

   "Ok, disasters." she admitted. "But this place has been sitting dormant for so long, it’s just hard to get it off the ground."

   "Well Archie won’t know what hit him when he sees this article." Evie explained, swallowing her dough before grabbing more. "Though he does need to give me something to work with. All I’ve got so far is hostility." She watched the cook nod as she started up again, pushing all energy into the ball of dough. "He wants something big but there is no way he could handle it. For one, if he made this castle part of an accommodation package then he would get visitors from far and wide. I mean, the first place Aussies go when the get the chance is they choof-off over here to Britain and Europe. Each one looking for a bit of history, retracing their roots and so on. It’s a large market I can put Glenbogle into, if only he would let me."

   "Archie won’t hear of people staying here." Lexie explained, retrieving a backing tin from the cupboard and dropping the dough inside. "Hector would have a fit. Strangers all about the place."....


   Duncan stopped as he approached the back kitchen door. Two voices could be heard chatting away. He wasn’t going to eavesdrop, but it was something Archie had implied that made him wait a little bit longer before going in for his piece of toast and a cup of tea. He peered inside the door and saw Evie and Lexie across from each other, engrossed in conversation as Lexie worked and Evie ate, the journalist sitting with her head in her hands.

   "Well, it’s money he needs, he’ll get it by the time I’m finished here. And by that time I should have some too."

   The girls both giggled as Lexie placed her bread in the oven before shutting the door tight and rejoining her friend at the table, pulling up a stool and wiping her hands on her apron. "And what would you do with this money?"

   "Run off to some exotic location with exotic men and beautiful beaches and lay in the sun while sipping Fanta."

   Lexie laughed. "Fanta?"

   "It’s the drink of choice. Forget Coke. Forget Champagne. Fanta: it’s orange, it’s bubbly and refreshes more than any of the former."

   "You’ve put a terrible amount of thought into that."

   Duncan tried to hide a giggle as he removed his head and leaned back up against the wall so he could just hear their voices.

   "I’ve had a lot of free time."

   "You never told me what happened to that farm you and Tony had?" Lexie asked, pushing her dark hair behind her ear before leaning her elbow on the table and cradling her head.

   "I ended up with the property, but that didn’t make that side of the family to happy." Evie explained, looking down at the bench. "After a while I couldn’t handle it. It, like Glenbogle, was beginning to get a bit too dormant for my liking. It was running me into the ground, and I didn’t have enough time to work and manage the farm at the same time. So I sold it to Mick for a good price and packed up and left. He was my brother in law after all so that made the family happy at least.."

   "What? To have the farm?"

   "And to see me leave." Evie shrugged.

   "And you came back to rainy Scotland why?" Lexie's eyebrows raised in that inquisitive way, her eyes taking in her friend across from her, munching on the leftover dough. "I mean look at you, You don’t even sound Scottish anymore?" 

   "That’s what ten years does to you." she stopped and looked at Lexie sincerely, the professional journalist gone from the conversation, replaced by the scared fifteen year old Lexie once new. "I needed a fresh start."

   "I can understand that." Lexie nodded, watching her sadly, leaning over and ripping some of the dough out of her hands and placing it in her mouth. "But, I can't help thinking you were doing the classic running away line."

   "I never run Lex. Walk briskly maybe, but never run." Evie smiled, leaning over and dusting away the traces of flour from Lexie's face. "I was married two years, and they were great while they lasted."

   "But you still love him. You can’t pretend you don’t."

   "Always will." Evie agreed. "But as you said, I just got to get on with my life."

   "And do you have any plans for doing this?"

   Evie’s lips parted in a large, cheeky smile. "Finding myself a rich husband with lots of cash and no worries."

   "I thought you said you’d given up on men."

   "Falling in love with men Lex. Not reaping the other benefits." Evie smiled as Lexie laughed.

   "Sounds like a cure for anything if you ask me."

   Duncan shook his head. Did he hear right? He poked his head around the corner and watched the two girls a second before walking out of the kitchen, tea and toast forgotten.







   "She’s after your money." Duncan explained once he’d found Archie in his office. He sat across from him, a concerned frown creasing his face.

   "Money? Where on earth did you hear that?" Archie asked, looking through files rather than at the rangers face.

   "I overheard them talkin’." Duncan explained, nodding towards the door and, ultimately, the main building. 

   "Who?"

   "Lexie and Evie." he explained as if Archie should have already known this. "In the kitchen. And she specifically said that she wanted your money."

   "She said that?"

   Duncan rolled his eyes a little and looked down at the ground. "Well, maybe not exactly like that, but it was implied."

   "And how was it implied Duncan?" Archie asked, feeling Duncan's eavesdropping may have been a waste of time, as was this.

   "She said by the time she was finished that you’d have lots of money, and hopefully she would have it. And all she wants is a rich husband."

   "And this was why she was talking to Lexie?"

   Duncan nodded, positive Archie was going to do something about it. Instead, the Laird ran his hands through his black hair, leaning back in his leather chair and shaking his head. "Duncan." he started, exasperated. "It was probably just girl talk."

   "Girl talk?"

   Archie nodded. "The stuff we men aren’t suppose to hear." he explained. "Like husbands and clothes and all that other stuff we don’t want to think about."

   "Boss?"

   "She probably doesn’t mean it literally. They never do." Archie explained, leaning forward once again and opening up yet another file that needed to be signed.

   "But boss," Duncan started, sure that he wasn't mistaken and not wanting to feel like the fool once again. "She is divorced." 

   Archie stopped, his pen halfway through a letter as he looked up at his employee, a mysterious glint in his eye. "Really?"

   Duncan nodded. "Took a whole farm from her husband before selling it back to their family for a lower price." He stopped and watched as Archie's mind ticked over. "That's not girl talk now, is it?"

   Archie shook his head. "I don’t think so. Though it was private Duncan."

   "I know. But I accidentally heard it."

   Archie raised his eyebrows. "I’m sure."

*   *   *

   He knocked twice and when no one answered Archie quietly entered the room. Closing the door behind him he looked around. The room was neat, her suitcase open on the single bed that was made up on one side of the room. Laptop lay open on her desk that sat by the window, the last light of the day struggling to stream in, leaving an orange hue from the outside. Moving forward, Archie stopped when he got to her suitcase. Looking behind him he carefully started pulling apart her belongings, searching for he didn’t know what, anything that might pin-point that funny feeling he had about her. She might be Lexie’s oldest friend, but that didn’t make her any more trustworthy. And if he found nothing it was to her advantage.

   He got towards the bottom of the suitcase and had found nothing he desired except a few pair of underwear, a toiletry bag and a photo of her and a young man. He mulled over this for a while: they were barely dressed and Archie guessed they were on some Australian beach. They hugged tightly and their smiles were large but not exaggerated, their eyes sparkling with the fun they must have been having that day. He picked it up and looked at it carefully before deciding to quickly move on. 

   Standing up, he went to walk out the door but a sudden urge stopped him. The laptop sat right there, open, just wanting someone to use it. It screamed at him, and for a moment he had second thoughts. He shouldn't be in here. This wasn't his room. Everyone deserved a little privacy. But as he stared at the electronic notebook, its screen rolling with bright stars, he couldn't ignore it. It would just be quick. Sitting down at the desk, he placed his fingers on the keyboard, searching quickly, for what he didn't know. His journey stopped when he came to a file on Glenbogle labeled: Stuck in the past. He scrolled down. There wasn’t anything written, much to his disappointment, only a number of notes she had jotted for future reference:

Tourist Facilities: None

Interest: Pending.

Hospitality: Average.

Accessibility: Difficult.

   "Mr McDonald?"

   Archie turned quickly when he heard the accented voice from behind him. She stood at the open doorway, not looking angry, more confused. he was amazed he didn't hear the door open.

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