Page 94 of The Moon Sister
‘No, they went to Fraser’s cottage.’
‘I see,’ he said after a long pause. ‘Then I suppose I’d better go and see them there.’
‘I suppose so.’ I wanted to add a ‘sorry’ because I could see the pain he was in, but I didn’t feel it was appropriate in the circumstances.
‘Thanks for looking after Zara last night,’ he said as he retreated back through the door.
‘That’s okay, I think she just needed to blow off some steam.’
‘Okay, thanks, Tiggy,’ he said, giving me a tight smile. Then he left.
19
I woke up at dawn the next morning with what felt like a hangover – my heart felt jittery and my chest felt tight as I breathed in. ‘Stress, Tiggy, that’s all,’ I told myself as I dressed to go and see Pegasus.
Ignoring the hide and crouching in the bracken closer to the deer, I closed my eyes and remembered once again Chilly’s words about the power my hands held. Keeping my eyes closed, I reached out into the air in front of me and tried to focus all my power on calling Pegasus to me.
Beginning to feel foolish, I opened my eyes, and wasn’t surprised to see that Pegasus hadn’t magically arrived. Yet as I stood up, I heard a familiar exhale of breath just centimetres from me.
‘Pegasus!’ I whispered, turning round and feeling my lips break into a wide smile. He gave a soft snort in response, then nibbled at the winter bracken for a while, before ambling off to join the rest of the herd.
When I returned to the cottage, I saw Cal in the courtyard talking to a man I didn’t recognise. From the looks of things, it was a heated conversation. I headed into the cottage to put the kettle on.
‘Who was that?’ I asked Cal when he came in.
‘Och, Tig. How word has got out, I’ve no idea,’ he sighed.
‘About what?’
‘Your Pegasus, o’ course. That chappie standing outside is from the local newspaper. He’s heard rumours—’
‘Which you of course denied.’
‘O’ course I did, but I couldn’t order him off the land – he’s got the right tae roam on it, like anyone else in Scotland.’
‘At least he has no idea where to find Pegasus. It would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.’
‘True, but it wouldn’t take an expert poacher long to suss out exactly where the stags like to graze. I’d better go up to the house and speak tae Charlie about what tae do. If anyone is going to make an official announcement to the press, it has tae be him. See you later.’
‘Sure.’ I bit into a piece of toast, my head spinning.
*
‘Tiggy? Are you home?’ said a voice through the door an hour later.
‘Just what I need,’ I mumbled under my breath, lamenting the fact that the cottage seemed to have become the main focus of activity at Kinnaird in the last couple of days. ‘Coming,’ I called and got up from the sofa to greet Zed.
‘Good morning, Tiggy,’ he said, flashing me a broad smile. ‘I have not seen you for quite a while.’
‘No, well, I’ve been busy. I’ve had a lot to do on the estate,’ I said as brightly as I could.
‘I see. Well, I came to ask whether you had thought any more about my offer. You said you required time to consider it, and I have given you that,’ he reminded me. ‘I am very eager to move forward with the project as soon as possible, and you know I would like it to be you who takes the helm. If it cannot be, then I must find someone else.’
‘Of course, I understand, Zed. I’m sorry if I’ve taken my time, but I genuinely have been busy. And it’s a very big decision.’
‘Of course.’ Then, most uncharacteristically, he yawned. ‘Do excuse me, I was hardly able to get a wink of sleep last night. The Laird and his wife came up to see me yesterday evening to ask if they and their daughter could have rooms for the night. The two of them had a very protracted . . . disagreement in their bedroom next door. That daughter of theirs also sounded most distressed. I heard her crying. I gather she had run away from school?’
‘Yes, she had, but she’ll be okay and—’
