your kind invitation if it is at all possible.”
They said goodbye again, being very complimentary about the yacht as they did so.
The Neptune moved slowly away towards the open sea and the Marquis waved from the deck till they were no longer in sight.
It was a great relief when they left the Firth of Forth to find that the sea was comparatively calm and there was no sign of the storm rising again.
The Marquis spent the day with the Captain.
Then, having dined alone, he went to bed in his comfortable cabin, although it was not as impressive as the room he had occupied last night.
As he lay in the dark, the Marquis could not help thinking it was so extraordinary of Lady McTranar to come to his room on such a short acquaintance.
It was something he had never expected to happen in Scotland as he had always thought of the Scots as more elderly and very proper in their behaviour.
The situation had taken him so much by surprise that it was only now did he appreciate that Lady McTranar was a widow.
He had sworn never again to become involved with one!
However, it was, he thought, very unlikely she had any further interest in him except as ‘ a ship that passed in the night .’
He was young, he was attractive – and so was she.
He guessed if they had met each other unexpectedly in London the same thing would have happened.
It only seemed strange because it was in Scotland and in a house he had only known when he was a boy.
She was certainly most seductive and he supposed in a way it had helped him to forget how afraid he had been of Isobel and her demands on him.
Then he told himself that he had come to Scotland to forget women and to think only of sport.
‘That,’ the Marquis said to himself firmly, ‘is what I will concentrate on in the future.’
He did not believe there would be many attractive redheaded Lady McTranars ahead of him.
If there were any, he must be astute enough to avoid them.
*
The next day the sea was calm and the sun warm.
The Marquis enjoyed every moment of the clement weather.
The Captain had suggested that they might stop at Montrose, but the Marquis thought it would be wiser to press on to Aberdeen.
Once there he knew that it would only take another day to reach Darendell and the Castle was situated in a bay only a short way from the River Daren.
He was looking forward to the salmon fishing as if he was once again a young boy.
He recalled learning from his father how to cast and looked back with pride at how proficient he had become and how many salmon he had managed to catch.
There had been small fish in the lake in front of his ancestral house in the country and in the clear stream that ran down the middle of the estate.
Although he had enjoyed proudly taking his catch back to his dear mother, it was not the same excitement as catching a salmon.
‘I suppose I am really just a sportsman at heart,’ the Marquis told himself.
He was thinking of the grouse he had shot over the years and the pheasants in his woods, as well as his horses that he enjoyed riding more than anything else.
Now he began to surmise that he had been spending far too much time lately in London chasing women, rather than enjoying himself in the fresh air of the country.
He felt that he was now almost accusing himself of being unsporting.
He reflected on the long hours he had spent with Isobel rather than with birds and beasts.
Then he laughed at himself for becoming pompous.
‘It’s part of my education and by this time I must be nearly top of the form!’
*
It was three o’clock the next day when The Neptune moved slowly into the bay in front of Darendell Castle.
The Marquis had never seen a picture of the Castle, but it was so exactly how he felt a Highland Castle should look that it seemed almost familiar.
It was white against a green background of fir trees, raised above a garden massed with flowers.
The turrets on each side of the main block of the Castle made it most imposing and almost
They said goodbye again, being very complimentary about the yacht as they did so.
The Neptune moved slowly away towards the open sea and the Marquis waved from the deck till they were no longer in sight.
It was a great relief when they left the Firth of Forth to find that the sea was comparatively calm and there was no sign of the storm rising again.
The Marquis spent the day with the Captain.
Then, having dined alone, he went to bed in his comfortable cabin, although it was not as impressive as the room he had occupied last night.
As he lay in the dark, the Marquis could not help thinking it was so extraordinary of Lady McTranar to come to his room on such a short acquaintance.
It was something he had never expected to happen in Scotland as he had always thought of the Scots as more elderly and very proper in their behaviour.
The situation had taken him so much by surprise that it was only now did he appreciate that Lady McTranar was a widow.
He had sworn never again to become involved with one!
However, it was, he thought, very unlikely she had any further interest in him except as ‘ a ship that passed in the night .’
He was young, he was attractive – and so was she.
He guessed if they had met each other unexpectedly in London the same thing would have happened.
It only seemed strange because it was in Scotland and in a house he had only known when he was a boy.
She was certainly most seductive and he supposed in a way it had helped him to forget how afraid he had been of Isobel and her demands on him.
Then he told himself that he had come to Scotland to forget women and to think only of sport.
‘That,’ the Marquis said to himself firmly, ‘is what I will concentrate on in the future.’
He did not believe there would be many attractive redheaded Lady McTranars ahead of him.
If there were any, he must be astute enough to avoid them.
*
The next day the sea was calm and the sun warm.
The Marquis enjoyed every moment of the clement weather.
The Captain had suggested that they might stop at Montrose, but the Marquis thought it would be wiser to press on to Aberdeen.
Once there he knew that it would only take another day to reach Darendell and the Castle was situated in a bay only a short way from the River Daren.
He was looking forward to the salmon fishing as if he was once again a young boy.
He recalled learning from his father how to cast and looked back with pride at how proficient he had become and how many salmon he had managed to catch.
There had been small fish in the lake in front of his ancestral house in the country and in the clear stream that ran down the middle of the estate.
Although he had enjoyed proudly taking his catch back to his dear mother, it was not the same excitement as catching a salmon.
‘I suppose I am really just a sportsman at heart,’ the Marquis told himself.
He was thinking of the grouse he had shot over the years and the pheasants in his woods, as well as his horses that he enjoyed riding more than anything else.
Now he began to surmise that he had been spending far too much time lately in London chasing women, rather than enjoying himself in the fresh air of the country.
He felt that he was now almost accusing himself of being unsporting.
He reflected on the long hours he had spent with Isobel rather than with birds and beasts.
Then he laughed at himself for becoming pompous.
‘It’s part of my education and by this time I must be nearly top of the form!’
*
It was three o’clock the next day when The Neptune moved slowly into the bay in front of Darendell Castle.
The Marquis had never seen a picture of the Castle, but it was so exactly how he felt a Highland Castle should look that it seemed almost familiar.
It was white against a green background of fir trees, raised above a garden massed with flowers.
The turrets on each side of the main block of the Castle made it most imposing and almost
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