Read Online The Heir of the Castle (Harlequin Romance) by Scarlet Wilson - Free Book Online

long as I tell you at the end who I think is the guilty party, everything will work out fine.’
    ‘Ms Jenkins, you’re really not entering into the spirit of things. It spoils things for all the other participants too.’
    She was starting to get annoyed now, and feel a little guilty, which made her even madder. She straightened herself up to her full five feet five inches. ‘Well, I guess since the other participants are my new-found family, it’s up to me whether I want to spend time with them or not.’
    She turned and strode away as best she could in the ill-fitting red wellies. Callan was leaning against the wall next to the door with his arms folded across his chest and an amused look on his face. He pulled the main door open and picked up a jacket. ‘Ready?’
    There was a little spark of something in his eyes and if he said something smart right now she would take one of these wellies off and hit him over the head with it.
    ‘Ready.’ She barely turned her head as she walked straight out of the door and onto the gravel courtyard.
    This place was driving her crazy.
    She spun around, hands on her hips, and Callan nearly walked straight into her.
    ‘What kind of person was Angus McLean?’
    He started. ‘What?’
    ‘What kind of person was Angus McLean? Was he some kind of sick sadist that would try and pitch his unknown relatives against each other for some kind of pleasure? Did he actually think anyone would agree to this?’ Now the words were coming out she couldn’t stop them. ‘Was he sane? Did a doctor check him over after he wrote that mad will?’
    Callan hesitated for the tiniest second, then obviously thought better of getting into an unwinnable fight with an angry woman. He put his arm around her shoulders and steered her in the direction of the stairs, leading down to the impeccable gardens, fountain and maze. Her feet moved without her even really realising it, the weight of his arm behind her just making her flow along with his body. Before she knew it she was guided along to the bench in front of the trickling fountain.
    Callan nudged her to sit down and she did. With a thump.
    It was as if all her frustration was coming out at once.
    Callan waited for a few minutes, letting them sit in silence and listen to the peaceful trickle of the fountain.
    It was a beautiful setting. The bronze fairy was spouting the water from her mouth, through her hands. The water flowed down into the round pond with a mosaic bottom of blue and green tiles. The sun was high in the cloudless sky and the temperature was warm in the shelter of the lowered set of gardens.
    Eventually Callan spoke, his voice deep and calm. He was leaning forward, his arms resting on his knees. ‘Angus McLean was completely sane. Frank Dalglish, the solicitor, was worried there might be a legal challenge to the will and made sure that Angus was examined by a doctor.’
    ‘Oh.’ Laurie’s brain was spinning, questions firing everywhere, but Callan’s voice had a real weight to it. He was completely sincere. And she realised he probably wasn’t amused at her outburst. She could smell his aftershave again, the one that seemed to play with her self-control and turn her brain to mush. Or maybe that was just the sight of his muscled arms?
    ‘He was no sadist. And he certainly wasn’t sick. Angus McLean was one of the best guys I’ve ever met.’ He leaned back against the bench and ran his fingers through his hair, mussing it up. She liked it better that way. He shook his head. ‘Truth is, Laurie, I don’t understand any of this any more than you do. I spent twenty-five years around Angus McLean. I never suspected for a second that he had children. I could never understand why he wouldn’t sell me the place. He kept telling me he wanted to keep it in the family—but as far as I knew, there wasn’t any.’
    He was upset. He was hurting. No matter what her thoughts were on Angus McLean she had to try and remember that this was