“Beautiful, isn’t it?” said Trevor.
“Not if it keeps up like this,” said Rudy, and Trevor noticed the concern in his voice. “Might look lovely now, Trev, but being snowbound up here in the highlands is no joke.”
“You don’t need to worry. Mrs M packed enough food to last until spring. And I’ll happily keep you warm at night,” said Trevor, weaving his arm around Rudy’s waist, hugging their bodies close and making him smile.
“Thanks, Trev. I just don’t want anything to spoil this break for you,” said Rudy, nuzzling his neck. “What was that about Brenda, by the way? I didn’t understand what was going on.”
“Oh heck, Rudy,” said Trevor, heaving out a sigh. “Our usual group knows the story. Mrs M took a group of orderlies back to her place from the Christmas party, to carry on the celebrations. She used to be pretty wild in her youth. But she passed out, and when she woke up in the morning to an empty room, she knew she’d been violated by one of the men. At the time, she felt so ashamed, she kept everything to herself.”
“Bastard. And that’s how Cheryl was conceived?”
“Twins, actually. But her brother, Connor, a beautiful but poorly child from birth, didn’t survive the year.”
“God, Trevor. Poor Brenda.”
“That’s why, you’ll notice, she drinks very little. Everyone told her to abort them both. Except for Monica, who told her to follow her heart and not listen to others. Terrible ordeal at the time, she often says, but that’s how she ended up with Cheryl and Monica in her life. And that’s why she’s Mrs Madison, because she and Monica got married as soon as they could.”
“Thanks for telling me.”
Once again, Rudy pulled his head around and kissed him, a more lingering kiss this time.
“Don’t know about you, Mr Mortimer, but I think we should grab some us time in the bedroom before the evening celebrations—” said Trevor, before something in the sky caught his eye. “What was that?”
Rudy followed his gaze out of the window.
“What was what?”
“I thought I saw the shadow of a large bird in the sky.”
“In this weather? Very doubtful—”
“There!” said Trevor, pointing. “No, not a bird, an airplane.”
They watched in stunned silence as a light aeroplane—a seaplane—circled overhead through the snow before landing smoothly on the surface of the loch.
“Shit. In all my years coming back here, I’ve only witnessed that happen twice, and both times have been because of a medical emergency.”
As they watched, the plane began to rotate ninety degrees and inch towards the mooring pier that belonged to Mortimer House.
“It’s heading to the big house,” said Rudy, the concern plain in his voice. “Why hasn’t anyone called? Maybe they have no idea, either. Oh, God, what if it’s my parents returned early? Or if something’s happened to Millie or Tam? They’re both in their late sixties. I’d better head back, Trev. I should really be there when they arrive.”
An odd realisation came over Trevor then—that he had no idea about Rudy’s real life. Everything between them had happened so fast.
“You want me to drive you?” he asked, turning and sharing the concern.
“No,” said Rudy quickly, but he then turned and smiled before leaning in and kissing him. “Although I do appreciate the offer, I think you drank more than me. I only had two glasses. Besides, you should stay with your friends. Let me sort this out. It’s probably nothing.”
“Is your car going to be okay?”
“My car is going to be just fine,” said Rudy, raising an eyebrow. “I have snow chains on the tyres. Remember who predicted the snow, Trev.”
“Fair comment. Are you sure you don’t want me to come?”
“No need, honestly. I’ll call you once I’ve found out what’s happening. And hopefully be back well before bedtime.”
Finally, Trevor broke into a smile. “Promise?”
“Promise,” said Rudy, adding a wink.
