Page 2 of Christmas at the Scottish Lodge
She stayed where she was, feeling mortified, and glanced back towards Jed, her cheeks burning. He was still gazing in her direction. How did he know it was her?
Then Mairi watched, frozen in place, as he shook his head and urgently signalled at someone to take over the lesson before gathering up his ski poles. Then, with one last look over his shoulder, he took off and disappeared down the closest nursery slope.
In the opposite direction to Holly Berry Lodge – and her.
The reception of Holly Berry Lodge was empty of people and Mairi stood just inside the entrance for a moment, swallowingdown the sudden barrage of emotions as they narrowed her throat.
She’d been coming here since turning ten and had never missed a summer or winter season in all those years, until recently.
In the past, the dark oak floorboards had been buffed to perfection and were so shiny you could practically do your make-up in their reflection. Today Mairi could see multiple boot marks on the surface, suggesting they hadn’t been polished for a while. The warm red rugs thrown over them usually added a cosy element few hotels seemed to get right. But today they were rucked up and someone had left the vacuum cleaner in the middle of the walkway. Where was Jed’s aunt Effie – who owned and ran the lodge – and what had happened to Rhona Affleck, her indomitable housekeeper?
‘Is anyone here?’ Mairi called out, taking in the pile of folded white bed sheets which had been abandoned on one of the oak sideboards, along with a couple of bottles of water and some cleaning cloths.
A black cat suddenly peered around the bottom of the furniture and blinked its one working eye. ‘Hello, cutie, are you one of Aunt Effie’s babies?’ Mairi cooed, taking a step forward.
Effie had a penchant for collecting strays, and it looked like she’d added at least one more since Mairi’s last visit. The cat’s ears twitched and it hissed and then shot from the room. ‘I hope that’s not an omen,’ Mairi said gloomily as she dragged her suitcase further into the reception area, wincing as her bottom protested, still aching after her humiliating tumble on the ice. She still couldn’t believe Jed had run. Wouldn’t have if she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes.
‘What’s going on?’ she gasped as she noticed the two bare Christmas trees on either side of the long reception desk. She knew the lack of decorations was unusual – adorning all of therooms and especially the Christmas trees had been a priority job whenever she’d helped out at Holly Berry Lodge in the holidays.
Jed’s aunt, Effie Murray, had always insisted everything was shimmering, sparkling and fully festooned in time for the first of December. Since it was already the sixteenth, something was clearly very wrong.
Frowning, Mairi started to walk towards the reception desk and almost went flying when she tripped on a spray bottle which had been left on the ground. She righted herself and then spotted a couple of open boxes of decorations sitting underneath the bushy branches of the tree on the right. She could smell the peppery scent of pinecones mixed with the subtle hints of sweet and spice and decided she could at least get the fairy lights up while she was waiting for Jed to appear.
She rested her suitcase on the ground and tugged off her gloves before undoing the buttons of her puffy winter coat. Then she heard the scatter of small feet just before a large dog charged towards her from the kitchen.
‘Bear?’ Mairi squeaked, feeling her throat burn with emotion as she dropped to her haunches to greet the mongrel who immediately lavished her with affection.
Bear was one of Effie’s cuddliest strays. The older woman had adopted the pup when Jed had found him abandoned on one of the ski slopes.
He was a mixture of a number of indistinguishable breeds – with a wide smiley mouth, a tail that always seemed to be wagging and a round body that begged to be hugged. She scratched behind his ears and looped an arm around his neck. ‘Wow, that’s the welcome I was hoping for.’ She glanced back the way the dog had come, her stomach churning with a mixture of excitement and trepidation. ‘Were you on the slopes too? Is Jed with you?’ she asked hopefully.
Bear adored Jed – in many ways the dog had adopted him. Since Jed’s father had deserted him when his mother had died in childbirth, Mairi had always figured the stray had recognised her husband as another abandoned soul.
Bear yapped something unintelligible, and Mairi guessed he was probably telling her she was a moron or something equally deluded.
Since when had Jed Murray ever run towards her? Aside from those few days of wedded bliss, hadn’t it always been about him heading in the opposite direction as fast as he could go? Emotionally, on skis or on foot, it hardly mattered: the direction was always the same. Then again, their marriage had destroyed his skiing career.
For a long time, Mairi had waited for him to forgive her and reach out. But it was way past time for her to let go of that hope – it was why she was here. Her eyes filled.
‘Hennie?’ A warm and familiar voice boomed from the direction Bear had appeared, and Mairi rose to her feet and wiped her cheeks as a flustered-looking Effie trotted in. The older woman was short with a perfect pear-shaped figure and grey hair the consistency of a well-used Brillo pad. She wore a red and green Christmas housecoat and as a nod to the festive season had a set of reindeer antlers perched on her head.
As soon as she spotted Mairi, Effie squealed before sweeping her into a hug. Mairi leaned into Jed’s aunt’s arms, smelling the familiar mix of Scots pine, peppermint and creamy hot chocolate which had always defined the older woman.
‘Jed will besohappy to see you,’ Effie gushed delightedly pulling away so she could study Mairi’s face, which she kept blank because she knew Jed was going to be the opposite of happy.
‘I know you’ve been busy writing all of your wonderful books, but it’s been too long since you visited.’ Jed’s aunt had alwaysbeen so proud of Mairi’s career as a romance author and had been one of her biggest cheerleaders. Effie cocked her head, her dark grey eyes intense. ‘When I think about it, you haven’t visited for almost a year.’ She shook her head looking mournful. ‘I’ve missed you.’ By her feet Bear barked his agreement.
‘I’ve missed you too,’ Mairi rasped, stroking the dog and feeling another sharp stab of guilt.
Effie had issued an open invitation to Mairi and her brother Quinn to stay at the lodge after their parents had died in a car accident when Mairi was barely fifteen. Before that awful day, they’d regularly visited as a family and had formed a special bond with the older woman.
Since then, Mairi had made a point of coming every Christmas and summer and often helped out. This place had felt like home. But she hadn’t been since January. She’d been too heart-broken and nervous about seeing Jed.
‘It has been busy, with lots of deadlines,’ Mairi said. Which was true, but she’d never let that stop her from coming before.
‘Why are you here now?’ Effie asked just as the phone at reception began to ring and the older woman grimaced. ‘Sorry, I need to get that,’ she said. ‘It’s not the first time someone’s called this morning; I never seem to get to the phone fast enough and I’ve no idea how to use the answerphone. If we even have one anymore.’ The phone stopped.
‘Where’s Rhona?’ Mairi asked, glancing around. The remarkable housekeeper was usually buzzing around the place, cleaning up or manning the reception area of the lodge. She was a whirlwind who always knew exactly what was going on.
