Read Online Where the Heart Belongs by Sheila Spencer-Smith - Free Book Online

routes?’
    â€˜Well no,’ she admitted.
    He laughed. ‘Nor me. A fine pair, aren’t we? The trick is to appear confident as if you have all the knowledge they require at your pretty fingertips. I know I can rely on you, Shona.’
    If only, she thought.
    â€˜Make sure you don’t send them down dangerous precipices or up impossible heights and you’ll be all right. How are your map reading skills?’
    â€˜Adequate, I think,’ she said.
    â€˜Good girl.’ He leaned forward and picked up a list. ‘I’d like you to look at this. I’ve jotted down some figures here about arrivals the week after next. See to the arrangements, will you, Shona?’
    She took the list he handed to her.
    â€˜Ingrid will have the list of food allergies and requirements,’ he added. ‘For a group of open air addicts they seem singularly unhealthy.’
    Shona smiled. This morning Jack seemed a different person from the man who had greeted her on her arrival last Saturday. He had been friendly, but she had the feeling that she was being weighed in the balance. Hopefully his relaxed manner now meant he had accepted her. She determined to do all she could to make herself indispensable.
    â€˜I’ll see you at lunchtime then, Shona.’
    â€˜I’ll look forward to it,’ she said. After Ingrid’s fun and games she would be on tenterhooks not knowing when the blow would strike. She was well aware that when it did she would have to explain to Jack exactly what had occurred even though Ingrid would lie through her teeth. Her word against Ingrid’s. No prizes for guessing the outcome.
    In the hall Shona paused for a moment to appreciate the delicate scent of invisible roses. Even after so short a time she felt completely at home here in Ferniehope Castle as if she had lived in a place like this all her life. Having to leave Jack’s employ now would be shattering not only because Jodie would no longer have peace of mind but also on her own account.
    *   *   *
    Rex, flushed with importance, knelt down and spread his Ordnance Survey map of the area out on the dining room floor.
    â€˜I thought we’d explore the Galloway Forest Park today,’ he said.
    Shona smiled. ‘Not all of it surely? D’you have a particular place in mind?’
    â€˜I thought you would tell me that,’ he said simply. ‘Isn’t that what you’re here for?’
    â€˜I’ll do my best,’ she said, squatting down close enough to examine the map. What luck that she had taken the trouble to read as much about the area as she could and knew a little about the various Visitor Centres and where they were situated in the area of nearly three hundred square miles of forest, mountain and loch.
    â€˜I’ve put some leaflets on the table in the sitting room for you,’ she said. ‘How far do you want to walk today?’
    Rex sat back on his heels and scratched his head. ‘I’m not too sure about that.’
    She looked at him in exasperation. ‘I can get more information from the internet for you,’ she said. ‘But it’ll take time and Donald has been told to have the minibus ready for you at ten o’clock, I believe. He can’t be any later than that because he’s due in Newton Stewart this morning.’
    Rex folded the map and struggled to his feet. ‘You’ll be coming with us of course?’
    She hid her surprise. ‘Well no. I have work to do here today, Rex. I can’t leave it.’
    â€˜Tomorrow then?’
    â€˜I think Jack will have to decide that. It’s not down to me. Why don’t you take your group off to somewhere like Culzean Castle today and do some walking in the country park there?’
    â€˜I suppose.’
    She pointed to Glen Trool Visitor Centre on the map. ‘That would be a good place to head for tomorrow. Plenty of marked trails and lots of other