Page 83 of Highland Getaway
‘Fine by me,’ he says. ‘I’ll go and get some tools, and we’ll make a start on it.’
Seeing the opportunity I’ve been waiting for, I clear my throat importantly.
‘The thing is,’ I say brightly, ‘even if you can get past the tree, there’s no point in heading back if the power’s still out, is there?’
‘Oh, there is,’ says Izzie immediately. ‘We’ll no’ stay where we’re not wanted.’
‘But .?.?. but it’ll be dangerous,’ I protest, seeing my grand plan start to fall apart before I’ve even got started on it. ‘This won’t be the only tree that came down in the storm last night, will it? What if there’s more of them on the road to the village?’
There’s a short silence from the crowd.
‘Well, we’ll cut them down, too.’ Ian shrugs, not looking particularly thrilled at the prospect.
‘Rosie’s right,’ says Hunter reluctantly. ‘There are power lines down all over the place, apparently. The road might be dangerous.’
‘Maybe to you, city boy,’ says Izzie. ‘But me and Ian grew up on these roads, and so did everyone else here. Well, other than the ones who moved here, obviously, but they’re still one o’ us. Unlike some I could mention.’
She fixes Hunter with the kind of glare that leaves us in no doubt who she means.
‘She’s talking about you,’ Ian tells him, helpfully.
Hunter sighs.
‘Why don’t you all stay another night?’ I put in, trying to make it sound as if the idea’s just occurred to me. ‘There’s no point in going back until the power’s back on, is there? And there’s plenty of room here; isn’t there, Hunter?’
‘Now, hold on,’ Hunter begins, but Ian gets in first.
‘No, we’ll be leaving as soon as the road’s cleared,’ he says staunchly. ‘We’ve trespassed on his lairdship’s hospitality for long enough, so we’ll be heading home, power or none. If the castle’s to be sold to this WanderNest chain, I suppose us villagers will have to get used to fending for ourselves, anyway, without the support of the Laird.’
‘Oh, for goodness’ sake,’ says Hunter. ‘You’re talking like it’s the Middle Ages and Dougie’s some kind of feudal overlord. He’s just an old guy with a house that’s far too big and expensive for him to run. And I’m just the mug who got saddled with a problem he didn’t ask for, and who’s doing his best to solve it, in impossible circumstances. You could try cutting me some slack here. I’m not some toff who was born into this, you know. I’m not alaird.’
‘That’s as may be,’ says Izzie, pulling her cloak a little tighter around her tall frame. ‘But it doesn’t change the fact that the village has suffered since you’ve been here, and it’ll suffer even more if this sale you’re so keen on goes ahead. Bawbag,’ she adds, obviously judging the rest of her short speech to have been too polite.
They glare at each other, like two gunslingers in a spaghetti western, and I experience an almost irresistible urge to grab them and bang all of their heads together.
‘Look,’ I say instead. ‘You’re all being completely ridiculous.’
I look around, wondering what I can do to convince them to stay. Hunter’s Land Rover is parked a few metres away from me, its roof covered in a light scattering of leaves that have been blown from the surrounding trees. Before anyone can stop me, I run over to it and scramble up onto the bonnet.
‘Listen up, everyone,’ I yell, my voice shaking. ‘Um, I mean, if you could all just give me a second?’
‘Rosie, what are you doing?’ Hunter says, starting towards me, his expression almost comically surprised.
I hold up a hand to stop him, surprised by my own daring.
‘Um, right. OK,’ I say, looking down at the sea of surprised faces in front of me. People jostle forward, so they can hear better, and I notice a few of them holding up their phones and filming me, presumably hoping for a viral TikTok moment later.
Well, good luck with that; the only timeIgo viral is when I do something wrong – and this time I’m absolutely certain I’m in the right.
‘I know you were all angry when you heard about the Hunter’s plans to go into partnership with WanderNest,’ I say, my legs now as wobbly as my voice is. ‘But, the thing is—’
‘To sell it, you mean,’ shouts a woman in a jumper with a picture of a cat on the front. ‘Partnership my arse!’
‘Itisa partnership,’ I reply firmly. ‘The hotel wouldn’t be soldifthe deal goes ahead. But it might not. And until we know for sure what’s going to happen, I think you should all stop being so mean to Hunter and . . . and throwingtattiesat him. It’s .?.?.absurd.’
‘You’re absurd,’ comes a voice from the crowd, mimicking my English accent.
‘Hey! That’s enough,’ Hunter yells back, glaring at whoever it was. He looks like he’s about to say something else, but another voice cuts in first.
