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“No. That’s impossible.”

“What’s impossible about it? She’s a right bonnie woman.”

Who says eavesdroppers never hear anything good about themselves? I was mentally patting myself on the back when Casper spoke again.

“She’s not my type.”

I stopped patting.

“So you dinnae mind,” said Douglas, “if she and I…?”

“Go for it.” Casper’s reply was a little too enthusiastic for my liking. He could’ve made an effort to sound reluctant.

Douglas asked, “Another dram?” He sounded happy. I guess he was. He’d just got the girl. But what did the girl have to say about it?

I heard liquid being poured into glasses, then a clink as though they were toasting the successful completion of a deal. I didn’t like the thought that I was the deal. It was time to make an entrance.

I crept back up the stairs. This time I came down so noisily they’d be in no doubt I was on my way. When I entered the kitchen, the bright light made me blink. Douglas and Casper exchanged a guilty glance like little boys caught planning a prank. Casper’s expression made me wonder what he was like during his boyhood.

He had once told me that when he was six he had seen his mother raped and killed by a Roman soldier. He had grabbed his baby sister and hidden in the woods until his father returned. Having experienced such a traumatic event in his childhood, it was odd that Casper had grown up to rape and pillage, but he had never told me why and I had never asked.

Trying not to think of the sad events of Casper’s life—he was paying for his sins now—I asked, “Can I have a drink?”

Douglas poured me a single. I downed it in one gulp and asked for another. This time he poured me a double.

Casper said, “Drink it slowly.”

I did, not because he told me to, but because I knew it was the sensible thing to do.

Douglas clasped my hand. “Are you feeling better?”

I was tempted to withdraw my hand. I didn’t want to encourage Douglas. But when I saw Casper’s eyes on our entwined hands I thought, why not? Casper deserved this. Hadn’t he just relinquished any claim to me?

I squeezed Douglas’s hand and tried to look better than I felt. “I’m fine.”

“How did the boat sink?” he asked.

“It was attacked by a creature.” I shuddered, feeling ill at my narrow escape. Sometimes I’m not as tough as I’d like to be.

“What kind of a creature?” he asked. “Are we talking paranormal?”

“Maybe. But I couldn’t see it clearly.” I gulped a mouthful of whiskey. It burnt the taste of the loch from my mouth. “Are there any local stories of anything living in the loch?”

“Not that I’ve heard,” he said easily. Almost too easily. What was he hiding? Suddenly he said, “What do you think, Casper? You said you were out on the loch fishing. Do you think there’s a creature?”

“I couldn’t say,” Casper replied.

Personally I thought he knew exactly what kind of creature we were up against, but to reveal that would be classified as helping me.

“You must have an opinion,” persisted Douglas. “What do you think?”

“I leave the thinking to Allegra. I just clean up the mess when she gets in trouble.”

“Thanks,” I said sarcastically. I wished I could have said, I can look after myself, but clearly I couldn’t. Casper had been forced to rescue me three times in almost as many days. At this rate I could give Calamity Jane a run for her money.

Casper smiled as though he could read my thoughts. “It’s always a pleasure to rescue you, Allegra.”

I scowled at him. Then I stood up. “I’m going to bed.”

It was bliss to ease myself beneath the covers. I expected to fall asleep quickly but I didn’t. I kept thinking about what had happened in the loch. That was scary enough, but what really freaked me out was the dream I’d had of lying in the forest. Of being kissed. Of my reaction to being kissed.

Okay, I knew it wasn’t really kissing, it was Casper performing mouth-to-mouth. But if I reacted like that to Casper’s mouth-to-mouth, how would I react to his kiss?

No point wondering about that. I’d never find out. But, in the absence of anything better, I couldn’t help reliving the mouth-to-mouth.

Casper’s lips