easy to become hardened to it after a while, and I didn’t like that. I didn’t like what it was doing to me. I began to wonder if I could do just as much good by working in Accident and Emergency here at home.’
‘I expect your father’s pleased you made that decision.’
He shrugged. ‘I wouldn’t know. I don’t see all that much of him. He’s away on business a lot—he always was.’ He appeared to be unperturbed by that, but there was a faint edge of regret in his voice.
After a while they finished their drinks and he said quietly, ‘Shall we make our way down to the car deck? We’ll be docking soon, and we might as well get ready to go.’
She gave him a quick look. ‘You bought a car?’
‘I hired one.’ His mouth indented. ‘So I’ll be able to drive you to Cragail. That will make things easier for you, won’t it?’
‘Yes, it will. Thanks.’
She started to get to her feet and swayed slightly, so he put out a hand and helped her find her balance. ‘Are you all right?’
‘I’m fine, thanks.’ Her brows drew together. ‘I think perhaps I should have eaten more at breakfast or avoided the brandy. It seems to have gone to my head.’ They walked out of the bar and along the corridor leading to the stairwell.
‘I’ll get you something to soak it up—a bun, a sandwich, a pack of biscuits or something,’ he said. ‘What would you like?’
‘A bun would be great—but I can get it for myself.’ She turned to walk towards the cafeteria, but he retained his hold on her, and she realised he didn’t think she was steady enough to go on her own.
‘Honestly, I’m all right,’ she said. The dizziness would pass soon enough, she was sure, though she was ashamed of herself for getting into this state.
‘Of course you are.’ A couple of passengers approached, wanting to get past them, and he tugged her gently towards him so that her soft curves were lightly crushed against his hard, masculine frame. A wave of heat raced through her body.
He pulled in a deep breath. ‘You’re more than all right, Katie.’ He looked into her eyes and let his glance shift over the pink flush of her cheeks and down to the ripe swell of her lips. ‘More tempting than you could possibly imagine. In fact, you’re perfect. Delectable, and as sweet as luscious strawberries.’
And he was a charmer, a devil in disguise, who would play havoc with her feelings if she gave him half a chance. His hand smoothed over her spine, coming to rest on her hip, and despite herself she arched against him sinuously, like a cat, revelling in the gentle caress.
His smile was inviting, a small glow of satisfaction flickering in the depths of his eyes. ‘I’m really glad we’re going to be together at Castle Cragail,’ he murmured. ‘I’ve been longing to have you all to myself ever since we met up again at the station.’
‘Hmm.’ Katie wasn’t so sure about that. All at once she could see all manner of pitfalls opening up in front of her. ‘I’m not thinking too clearly,’ she said, pushing the palms of her hands lightly against his chest, ‘and I think I should take your advice and go and get something to eat. I have the feeling I need to keep a clear head.’
‘What a shame,’ he said softly. ‘I was getting to like being with this new, befuddled Katie.’
She nodded. ‘That’s what I’m afraid of.’
CHAPTER THREE
THE SUN APPEARED from behind the clouds as Katie and Ross approached Cragail Castle, and Katie gave a small gasp. ‘Oh, look at that, Ross—it’s so beautiful. I never imagined it would be like this.’
The stonework had taken on a mellow, golden glow in the morning light, and she gazed, enraptured for a moment or two, at the circular towers and high ramparts, set against a backdrop of pine forest and green meadowland.
‘We’ll have to go up to the ramparts and look out over the countryside later on,’ Ross murmured. ‘It will have been well worth coming here just to see that.’
She smiled. ‘Are you not all that interested in the conference itself?’
‘I am, actually.’ They walked to the main gate, passing along a stone-walled bridge that went over a bubbling stream. ‘I like to keep up with all kinds of new technology—it’s just that we don’t always have the advantage of being in beautiful surroundings when we take part in these events.’
There was more than one conference being held at the castle, they discovered, and notice-boards had been set up in the main hall to show people where the various meetings were being held.
One of the girls from Reception showed them to their rooms, where they would be staying overnight, and Katie discovered that she and Ross had been allocated rooms on the same floor, just a few doors away from each other.
‘I’ll come and call for you in a few minutes,’ Ross said, checking his watch. ‘It looks as though we’ve just time to freshen up before the first meeting.’
‘Okay.’ Katie went into her room and laid her holdall on the softly quilted bed. There was no time to unpack so she quickly ran a brush through her hair, applied fresh lipstick to her mouth and added a touch of perfume to her throat and wrists. Then she went over to the casement window and looked out through the leaded panes over the landscaped gardens that stretched for acres in all directions. Amongst the shrubbery there was a statue half-hidden by a rose-covered archway, and a fountain where water trickled over a series of stone urns.
Ross knocked lightly on her door a moment later, and she went to meet him, ready for the day ahead.
‘What’s your room like?’ he asked. ‘Are you pleased with it?’
‘It’s lovely—all sunshine-yellow walls and soft furnishings,’ she murmured. ‘How about yours?’
‘Perfect. Tartan covers and a writing table by the window. I brought my laptop with me, so that’ll come in handy.’
They stayed together throughout the day, listening to various speakers talk of the advantages of video links for centres in remote rural areas, enabling doctors to link up with consultants in other parts of the region.
‘I liked the idea of a new mother being able to see her baby over a video link when she had been taken to a different hospital for surgery,’ Katie said, when they went to the banqueting hall to get some food a few hours later. ‘It must be awful to be separated from your infant when you most want to be with him.’ She surveyed the variety of dishes on offer and wondered what to choose.
Ross nodded. ‘There are lots of advantages to video conferencing—it’s very useful to be able to exchange ideas with other professionals, without having to travel miles to meet up with them.’ He loaded his tray with steak pie and vegetables and added an apple pie for dessert. ‘I’ll get a pot of tea for both of us, if you like?’
She nodded, and he waved a hand towards the far side of the room. ‘There’s a table over there by the window. Will that be okay with you?’
‘It’ll be fine.’ Katie chose the soup of the day, a tempting mix of appetising vegetables, and picked out a crusty bread roll to go with it. Finally, she opted for a cool fruit salad to finish things off.
She glanced around the hall as she tasted her soup a few minutes later. The oak-panelled walls were adorned with oil paintings, a mixture of local landscapes and portraits of the ancestors of the people who owned the castle.
Glittering chandeliers hung down from the ornate ceiling and high up along one side of the room she noticed a minstrels’ gallery. There was no music being played at the moment, but she’d heard that in the evenings a group of musicians would gather there to provide entertainment for people who were dining.
Ross finished pouring tea and then followed