Scent of the Heather

By Catherine Carson

Maggie Gregory has known James Henderson all her life as he lives and owns Craiglachan Castle which lies next to the estate belonging to her family.
When James became engaged to Margot Archibald, she valiantly hid the fact she is totally and hopelessly in love with him. Maggie resigns herself never to be anything other than a surrogate sister to him, as she is often accused of poking her nose into affairs which do not concern her.
Discovering his fiancée is cheating on him with his cousin Euan Bartholomew, Maggie keeps her own counsel without realising Euan’s conscience has driven him to confess his betrayal. Maggie finds herself the brunt of hurtful rumours as the local community blames her for James’ broken betrothal. As a result he bans her from ever setting foot on Craiglachan land again.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Jul 9, 2016
• ISBN: 9781326732332

Book preview

Scent of the Heather

Scent of the Heather

By Catherine Carson

Standard Copyright © Catherine Carson 2016

ISBN 978-1-326-73229-5 Paperback

ISBN 978-1-326-73233-2 eBook

Profile of the author

Born in Scotland I now live with my husband in the North West of England.  We have three children who, between them have given us six wonderful grandchildren.

I studied commercial subjects at school and college and spent most of my working life in the offices of various companies, starting as a junior in a local garage typing invoices for car repairs.   I left Scotland and crossed the border to England to marry the man I met whilst on a holiday with my extended family and eventually became a secretary with a beer bottling company leaving six years later when the first of our three children came on the scene. 

Returning to the workforce when our children were young adults I finally untied the apron strings to join the offices of a large wholesale book supplier and embraced the advancement in technology since I had first learned to type on a manual typewriter and take notes in shorthand.

During the years I became something of a letter writer as friends and family lived in many parts of the country and indeed the world.  Often friends and family would tell me…..‘You could write a book’ to which I always replied…..‘But would anyone read it’. 

When my granddaughter asked if I would write a book especially for her I confided in my good friend Lisa Schmidt and she told me to go for it.  That book became the first of many stories which had been lurking in my imagination for a good number of years.

Once started I found the stories simply kept coming and often an overheard conversation or a glimpse from the passenger seat of the car would trigger a likely scenario which my imagination would then elaborate and weave into a story.

My hope is that my writing brings a little pleasure into the life of my readers and allows them to leave the mundane world behind for a few hours as they meet the characters I adore creating.

www.facebook.com/catherinecarsonbooks.uk

www.catherinerenacarson.jimdo.com

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Dedication

A number of my readers seem to enjoy continued stories about the characters I have created and this sequel to Sneaking into his Heart is for them.

All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names.  They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author and all the incidents are pure invention.

Other Books by this Author

The Mouse in the Library

Family Ties

Overall Construction          

Wounded Wolf

Coffee and Cakes

Memories Rekindled

Wholesale Love

Hope’s Conflict

Estates of the Heart

Sibling Rivalry

Fighting for Custody

White Knight Black Knight

Through the Garden Gate…

Love Lost and Found

Alphabet Bachelors

A Dreamer’s Tale

A Precious Jewel

Footbridge of Solace

Girl Meets Boy

Demolition of the Heart

When Life Gives You Lemons

Return to the Past

Pretence & Reality

Opening a Can of Worms

Fields of Contention

A Heart Encased In Steel

~~~~~~

Tapestry of Love-Bk 1

Twins Exchanged-Bk 2

Highland Feud Bk-3

~~~~~~~

Soil, Seed & Betrayal-Bk 1

Desert Prince, Exiled Princess-Bk 2

Body Language-Bk 3

~~~~~~

An Open Book-Bk 1

Afraid to Love-Bk 2

A Second Chance-Bk 1

Taming the Playboy-Bk 2

~~~~~~

Estranged Husband & Father-Bk 1

Identical Mistake-Bk 2

~~~~~~

Sigh of the Claymore-Bk 1

Beyond Claymore-Bk 2

~~~~~~

Sneaking Into His Heart-Bk 1

Scent of the Heather-Bk 2

Chapter 1

Maggie Gregory had never felt so alone yet she was surrounded by family and friends as she witnessed the marriage of her elder brother Prentis to the woman he loved above all others.

Every person in the room including the Reverend Moore had a significant other by their side, which did not help Maggie’s state of mind.

It had been a relief to travel south from the family estate in the Highlands of Scotland to attend her brother’s marriage which, in her opinion, she was responsible for having been instrumental in bringing them together or at least getting her brother Prentis to admit his feelings for Selina Bryant the young woman who had dared to sneak into his life in such an unusual manner.

Maggie’s family and in particular her elder brother had said her penchant for poking her nose into other people’s business would one day land her in trouble – through no fault of her own that day had arrived.

….The neighbouring estate to that of her family, had been inherited by James Henderson on the death of his father.  Maggie had known him all her life as he was the best friend of both her brothers but somewhere around her mid-teens she began to see him as something other than another brother who always looked out for her and by the time she came home from university she knew he was the only man she would ever love.

James had become engaged to marry Margot Archibald the daughter of his mother’s best friend Sarah and Maggie had accepted he was never going to see her as anything other than the annoying sister who used to follow him and her brothers, Prentis and Peter, when they wanted to walk the lower foothills of the Cairngorms.

As a toddler they took it in turns to carry her on their backs but when she became old enough she never let their long legs stop her keeping up with them.

Craiglachan Castle had been turned into a five star hotel which catered to many overseas visitors who wanted to visit the rugged scenery and enjoy the various activities now available to them.

Concentrating on the running of the hotel James was more than willing to pass the hill walking and other such activities to a few of the local estates who could provide the expert guides and share in the benefits the tourists brought to the area.  

Gregory Estate was the provider of guides through the foothills and the climbs to the top of the Munros and Maggie always looked forward to collecting the visitors who partook of their services, as it gave her an opportunity to spend a little time in the company of James.

This particular Thursday afternoon as Sydney McPherson drove the minibus up the drive towards the castle the distinctive frog-eyed sports car of Margot Archibald passed them as she hurtled along towards the gateway.

‘That lassie is always in a damned big hurry.’  Sydney commented as he stopped the bus in the forecourt and waited for their passengers to come out of the hotel.

‘A grand day for a walk.’  James commented as his guests trooped out to meet Maggie.  ‘Ladies and gentlemen this is Maggie Gregory who is one of the most experienced guides in the district having walked the foothills since she was a tiny toddler chasing after me and her brothers.  Enjoy your day and please listen carefully to Maggie as it is not always the easy trek many visitors believe.’  James waited until Maggie entered the minibus and closed the door and waved them on their way. 

Describing Maggie as a young woman he had known all his life kept their relationship as it should be between two people who had known each other for such a long time but there were times when he wondered how he would have felt if Maggie had not been the baby sister of his best friends.

Returning to the Gregory Estate her mother, Heidi, watched her closely at dinner and suggested she looked a little jaded and perhaps a visit to the new spa hotel in Inverness might do her good.

‘You know Mum I think I will do that.  I shall leave after lunch tomorrow and will be back by Sunday lunchtime.’  Going upstairs she packed a weekend case thinking a break might help her stop thinking James was making a dreadful mistake in marrying a woman who seemed to be happy to go off and leave his mother to be the hostess she should be preparing to be after their marriage.

After unpacking her case Maggie went to the dining room to see what was on offer for her evening meal and was somewhat taken aback to find Margo sitting in the company of James’ cousin Euan Bartholomew.

At first she thought they had merely met up for dinner and asked the maître d’ to secure her a table at the other side of the dining room having no wish speak to either of them.   When she saw them leave the restaurant she presumed they would be heading back to Craiglachan and relaxed a little. 

The following morning when they entered the dining room to sit at a table and breakfast together, Maggie’s suspicions were aroused and after making a few discreet enquiries discovered they had booked a double room in the hotel, registering as a married couple.

Unsure whether or not to approach the couple, matters were taken from her hands when Margot sat in the chair next to hers in the coffee lounge.  ‘I suppose you can’t wait to run to James and tell him what a dreadful person his fiancée is?  Believe me it will not make an iota of difference to his opinion of you and will only confirm what a nosy little bitch you are.’ 

‘Well at least I cannot be accused of cuckolding my rich fiancée with his dirt poor cousin.  I trust you will confess your sins to James before he finds out from another source.’  Maggie placed her empty coffee cup back on the table and raised herself from the club chair and walked from the coffee lounge to cancel the treatment she had booked, pay her bill and leave the hotel to return to the family estate.

The news of James’ broken engagement became something of a nine days’ wonder as rumour after rumour spread around the community as to the reason for the break-up but at least Maggie thought she could not be blamed as she had said nothing to anyone about the clandestine meeting she had witnessed.

As time passed each new rumour began to include Maggie in some way.  The most vicious of them being she had deliberately gone out of her way to drive a wedge between James and Margot in order to claim him for herself.  Unsure where the gossip mongers were getting their information Maggie kept a low profile and it had been  almost two weeks since she had left the Gregory Estate  and was therefore a little taken aback to find James Henderson in her father’s study waiting to talk to her.

‘Good morning Maggie I trust you are feeling a darned sight better than I am?’  James had come to face the woman who, if the rumours were to be believed, had been instrumental in the break-up of his engagement with the intention of telling her exactly what he thought of her but the young woman who now stood before him held no resemblance to the vindictive girl portrayed by many of the locals in their gossip. 

Before him stood the young girl he had known all his life, the young girl he had carried on his shoulders up the hills and laughed with as she related the many tales her inquisitive nature had uncovered.

‘How I feel is really irrelevant James.  Regardless of what you may have heard I truly am sorry your relationship with Margot ended in such a way.’  Maggie had hoped James would understand she would never betray him in such a manner but when she saw anger rising in his expression she knew it was a forlorn hope.

‘My relationship! My relationship!  Hell Maggie what planet are you on, I think a betrothal is a great deal more than a relationship.  I am not interested in how sorry you are, I came to inform you your presence at the Craiglachan Castle Hotel and Estate is no longer welcome and if your father wishes to keep my business he will ensure you never lead another group of visitors over my land.   I would appreciate if you kept that damned nose of yours out of my business.’ Pushing passed her he stormed out of the main house and she stood transfixed as the rear wheels of