She stopped two steps into the room, all thoughts of apologies and precocious children evaporating.
It was not properly a room but a conservatory, with all of one wall constructed of tall glass windows overlooking a green expanse compassed by high shrubbery and populated by a host of sculptures of strange beasts. Her gaze roamed with awe over these creations until it settled on a rather different beast which was glaring back at her.
Benneit Lochmore stood by the mantelpiece, dressed far more finely than was his wont at the castle, and so handsome her heart gave a few stuttering beats before recovering. She turned at a movement to her right to see a young woman seated on a sofa dressed in a lovely pink dress embellished with ribbons of darker rose that highlighted her abundant bosom and reddish-brown hair. She smiled, a little questioningly, but before anyone could speak, Jamie reached his father and tugged something from his pocket.
‘Look, Papa, I found this. It’s a gift for Braw Tumshie!’
Jamie’s words forced Benneit to turn to his son. ‘That is lovely, Jamie, but I am busy at the moment, as you can see. Angus!’ It wasn’t quite a bellow, but it brought Jo out of her reverie and Angus to the door.
‘He ran in, Your Grace,’ Angus said, his embarrassment comical on his six-and-a-half-foot frame.
‘I tried to stop him,’ Jo said, her throat tight with embarrassment and something she could not name. It was one thing knowing Benneit was probably visiting his mistress, it was another thing to come face to face with her. It was none of her business, but she felt breathless, even a little ill.
‘That is quite all right,’ the woman said, her voice low and pleasant and with an unmistakable Highland lilt. ‘Hello, Jamie. How are you?’
‘I am well, Lady Tessa.’ Jamie’s reply was wary but as the woman smiled his shoulders lowered a little. Out of her confusion a cog shifted in Jo’s mind like a clock coming to life. Lady Tessa. Not his mistress, but the woman Benneit was to marry. As in the spiral staircase, Jo felt the world recede a little, her ears humming. She heard Benneit introduce her, the woman greet her and her own voice replying, her cheeks stretching into a polite smile. Then the world came back with a sharpness that planted an ache in the centre of her forehead. She wondered if she could sit because suddenly the world felt too large for her.
‘Go with Angus, now, Jamie,’ Benneit was saying to Angus, but just then a stocky man strode into the room, his red hair peppered with grey.
‘Hello, is this young Jamie? Come say your hellos, boy!’
Jamie started at the man’s booming voice and turned to face him, his hand reaching out to grasp Jo’s. She clung to him as much as he clung to her.
‘Papa, this is Mrs Langdale, Jamie’s cousin from England,’ Lady Tessa intervened softly, deflecting her father from Jamie. ‘Mrs Langdale, this is my father, Lord Aberwyld of McCrieff.’
‘Ah! A cousin! Welcome, welcome. How do you like the Highlands, then?’
‘Yes... I mean, very much, my lord...’
‘Good, good. Well, say your goodbyes now, Tessa. The carriage is waiting and we’d best be off if we’re to reach home in time for supper. We will see you again at the ball, Lochmore. A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mrs Langdale.’
Jo mumbled something in return. She could not quite name the emotions struggling inside her, but pleasure was definitely not among them.
‘I will see you on your way,’ Benneit said. ‘Wait here, Jamie. Mrs Langdale.’
Jamie prowled the room restlessly as they waited and Jo wanted to do the same. She kept her body still, but her mind prowled along with Jamie, approaching and then shearing away from the truth. When Benneit returned to the room he did not look at her, but went down on his haunches in front of Jamie.
‘You know you only come here with me, Jamie, don’t you?’
Jamie’s hand reached out towards Benneit, but then fell.
‘You didn’t come to say goodnight or good morning and I wanted to see you. And I wanted to show Jo the dragons. Are you very cross?’
‘No. But next time you wait for me to bring you, understood? I explained to you that I will be busy for a while.’