A Highland Family Affair (Highlands #3)

Prologue

PROLOGUE

‘Coming, ready or not!’ Olivia called out into the dark corridor, her heart pounding at her ribs and her breaths shallow. Even at the tender age of ten, she wondered why on earth she let her older brother, Kerr, manipulate her into playing his ‘favourite game’ after the sun had descended below the horizon. A heavy silence hung around her and the sound of the thud, thud, thudding of her blood pulsing through her veins became loud and distracting. The walls of Drumblair Castle seemed to draw inwards after sunset, especially in winter, and the dips and striations of the stone surfaces took on shapes that resembled contorted faces. Olivia shivered but told herself it was just the cold, draughty castle, not fear. She was a MacBain and MacBains were brave warriors, after all.

The dim lighting of the long hallway meant that the portraits of her ancestors took on an eerie and disconcerting glower as they loomed over her from the heavy antique gilt frames above. No matter how many times her mother and father reassured her that they had all been kind and generous people in their time, Kerr’s words still rang around her head: ‘ They all come alive at night and watch you while you sleep, conjuring up ways to eat you for a midnight snack .’ A shudder travelled Olivia’s spine as she inhaled deeply, willing herself to calm down. It was only a game, after all.

‘Mummy and Daddy wouldn’t lie to me. And pictures can’t come to life. That’s just silly,’ she said aloud with a shaking voice into the empty space that surrounded her.

Something clanked up ahead and she sucked in a sharp breath, holding on to it for a few seconds longer than normal. She released it slowly as she tried to focus on a dark shape that seemed to be forming out of nothing, along by one of the unused bedrooms. She clenched her fists and tears welled in her eyes. She wished Mummy and Daddy didn’t have to be away so much. Did she enjoy helping Mummy pick out the dresses she would take along for their important engagements? Absolutely! But she would much rather her mother was at home wearing her long, flowing satin lounge coat so that Olivia could relish the feeling of being enveloped in her arms, inhaling the sweet, heady and familiar fragrance of Chanel perfume.

The shape ahead began to move towards her on the darker side of the corridor. She squinted for a split second, trying to make out what it was. But thankfully the stairs were behind her, and she knew if she made a dash for it, she could escape the clutches of whatever the spectre may be, even though, deep down, she knew she was being ridiculous. Drumblair Castle was, and always had been, her safe haven. She had never come to harm here, despite her brother’s stories. But that didn’t stop her fertile imagination running riot. As the shape approached faster, faster, her heart skipped and tripped over itself. She let out a squeal, turned and ran. She lurched for the stairs, taking them, dangerously, two at a time until she reached the half-landing.

‘God, you’re such a wuss, Livvy MacBain, the giant pain!’ Kerr called from his place at the top of the stairs in between loud guffaws. His head was shrouded in a burgundy tapestry bedspread. No wonder she had been unable to make him out.

Tears stung at her eyes, and she stamped her feet. ‘I hate you, Kerr MacBain! You’re nasty and mean and horrible and there’s no wonder no one likes you!’ she screamed.

‘Hey, hey, what’s all the shouting?’ Mirren, the nanny/housekeeper asked as she appeared at the very bottom of the stone steps, wiping her hands on a tea towel.

‘Kerr and I were playing hide-and-seek, and he tried to scare me, again !’

Kerr chuckled. ‘Tried? I think I managed it pretty well,’ he announced proudly.

‘Kerr MacBain, you need to stop tormenting your wee sister. You’re five years older and you’re supposed to look after her, not scare her half to death on a weekly basis. Wait until I tell your father what you’ve been up to.’

Kerr scowled and stamped his foot. Even at fifteen he was overly dramatic. ‘That’s it, you’re all ganging up on me again,’ he whined. ‘I’ve done nothing wrong. It’s not my fault she’s such a gullible Gerty.’

‘Away to your room, young man,’ Mirren said, pointing upwards in the direction of his bedroom. ‘And Olivia, come on down and drink your cocoa, it’s almost time for your bed.’

Olivia glanced up at her older brother once more and stuck out a defiant tongue. He sneered in response and stormed off along the corridor.

‘I’m going to speak to your father about replacing the dim candle bulbs up there. If you could see clearer, you wouldnae be so afraid. Dougie could fit them before they get home. I’ll mention it when the laird phones later on,’ Mirren said, almost to herself.

As she sat at the large old wooden table in the kitchen staring into the warm, dark brown liquid in her mug, Olivia asked, ‘Why doesn’t Kerr like me?’ Her voice cracked as emotion tightened her throat.

Mirren walked over and smoothed down her wild hair. ‘Oh, hen, he doesn’t dislike you. He’s just a teenage boy going through what teenage boys go through. He thinks the whole world is against him the now. Pay him no mind. One day he’ll grow up and realise the error of his ways and you’ll be best friends. You wait and see.’

Olivia brightened at her words. ‘You really think so?’

Mirren’s tight-lipped smile didn’t go unnoticed, yet she replied, ‘I really do. And in the meantime, you’ve a lovely friend in young Brodie.’

The groundskeeper’s son had been a constant in Olivia’s life for as long as she could remember and, admittedly, they did have fun together. ‘But what if, when he gets older, he starts to go through the teenage boy stuff and gets all mean too?’

Mirren smiled warmly this time and patted her shoulder. ‘He’s not the type, hen. Not that I can see.’

Olivia sipped on her cocoa. ‘I hope you’re right. I couldn’t bear it if he became like Kerr. He’s so sulky and bossy. Then he asks me to play, and I get excited and think we’ll be friends, but then he tries to scare me. It’s not fair.’

‘Aye, hen. But be patient, eh? It’ll all change eventually.’

Why was it, then, that Olivia wasn’t convinced?