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  He patted Cameron awkwardly on his shoulder, and would have done the same to Molly—except that she reached up and hugged him as tightly as she could, and he wavered for a moment before folding his arms around her briefly.

  When she let go and stood back he gave the children an uneasy wave of his hand and went over to his car. He didn’t say anything more, and it occurred to Izzy that he was overcome by the simple, generous affection of a small child who knew nothing of the troubles of the adult world.

  After they had gone, Izzy turned to walk back into the house and was startled to see Ross standing at the door. He didn’t say anything, but laid an arm around each of the children and led them slowly back to the kitchen.

  ‘You should say goodbye to Lorna,’ he said to them eventually. ‘It’s time we were setting off for the doctor’s house. He’ll be waiting for you.’

  He looked at Izzy, his expression thoughtful, his manner somehow subdued. ‘Lorna’s put a few of those mince pies in a box for you to take to Alice,’ he said. ‘If we leave now, we might just miss the storm. They say there’ll likely be a blizzard towards evening, and I want to have Alice back home safely before then.’

  Izzy nodded and went to get her coat. A short time later they dropped off the children at the doctor’s house and set off on their journey to Inverness.

  The roads were fairly clear, although there was still snow lying around on the grass verges and over the fields, and the traffic moved at a fairly rapid pace. Izzy was glad of that, because it meant they would reach Alice all the sooner. Even so, she was a little worried about the weather conditions. The roads were slippery, and though it didn’t matter, since they were driving in Ross’s roadworthy vehicle, she was wary of how the conditions might affect other drivers.

  Ross didn’t take any chances, though. He drove steadily and carefully, and after a while she began to relax. ‘I’m sorry for what my father said,’ she told him. ‘I know my mother has tried to reason with him over the years, but it has been difficult for her—for all of us. I suppose he remembers how his great-aunt died in childbirth, and how the family grieved and mourned her loss for so many years. They blamed the Buchanan who abandoned her as soon as he found she was pregnant, and things have gone from bad to worse ever since then.’

  ‘I realise that we’re all tarred with the same brush,’ Ross said. ‘I have the same problem justifying my position with the villagers. There’s always a wealth gap, and resentment that my family own the land that they’re living on. I’m doing what I can to run the estate in a way that will eventually be beneficial for the whole community, but I doubt anyone will appreciate that.’

  ‘I’m sure Alice appreciates what you’ve done for her. She told me she’s so happy to be coming home, and even happier to know that you’ve provided a place for her and her children.’

  He sent her an oblique glance. ‘I know that’s what Robert would have wanted,’ he said. ‘He was planning on coming back here at some point to show his children where he was born. I don’t think he wanted to live at the castle, but he thought the lodge might provide decent living accommodation when it was finally finished. That’s why I’ve been trying to push on with the work—to make sure that it’s ready for Alice and the children. I think for a while, though, she’ll want to stay with me and Maggie, so that we can look after her until she’s properly back on her feet.’

  Izzy smiled at him, thankful for the way he cared, but her lips stiffened and her smile froze as they rounded a bend in the road. Ahead of them a car had spun around in a wide arc that even now was etched out on the sleet-covered road. Another car had run into it. It looked as though the first car had swerved to avoid another, after taking the bend too wide.

  Someone was desperately trying to direct traffic away from the crashed vehicles, and at least the accident had happened far enough away from the bend for on-coming traffic to avoid more tragedy. Other people were trying to push the vehicles onto the verge, out of harm’s way.

  ‘We should stop and see if anyone is hurt,’ Izzy said, but Ross was already slowing down and steering his vehicle onto the verge some distance beyond the crashed cars.

  ‘I’ll get my medical bag,’ he said.

  Izzy climbed out of the car and went over to the side of the road to see if she could help in any way.

  ‘We’ve called the police and the ambulance,’ a man told her. ‘There are a couple of people who are badly injured—a man and a woman. Both of them are still in the car. I think it’s bad. The two people from the other car managed to get out. I’ve made them sit back out of the way until help comes. I don’t know what to do for the others.’

  ‘My friend and I are both doctors,’ Izzy said. ‘We’ll take a look at them and see what we can do before the ambulance gets here.’

  She quickly discovered that the man still in the car was the one who needed immediate attention. ‘I think he has an abdominal injury,’ she told Ross, meeting up with him. ‘The other injured person is a woman, Carol, with a broken leg and possible spinal injuries.’

  Ross didn’t speak, and she glanced at him to see if he had heard what she’d said. He was white-faced, his expression shocked, and he walked stiffly towards the vehicle were the people were trapped, almost as though it was taking everything in him to do what he had to do.

  Izzy spoke to the injured man, trying to see if he was able to describe any specific damage, but he was fading in and out of consciousness the whole time. It was clear that the steering column had twisted on impact and caused at least one of his injuries.

  She checked his vital signs and said quietly, ‘His blood pressure is low and his heart-rate is way too high. We need to get him on oxygen and put in an intravenous line so that we can give him painkillers and fluids. I can do that while you splint Carol’s leg.’

  Ross didn’t answer, and she glanced at him once more. There was a faint sheen of perspiration on his forehead and he looked as though he was going to be sick at any minute.

  ‘Are you all right?’ she asked. ‘I can do this if you need to go and take a few minutes.’

  He looked around at the wreckage, and the incline of the road where it skirted the hillside. Then he pulled in a deep breath and nodded. ‘I’m fine,’ he said. ‘I’ll put in the IV line while you start the oxygen. Then one of us should go and get some splints from my car.’

  She guessed that he was suffering from a feeling of déjà vu. Was this how it had been when his brother and Alice had suffered their dreadful injuries?

  ‘You’ll need to put a pressure pad on the woman’s leg to control the bleeding,’ he said after a while. ‘Do you want to check in my bag? There should be everything we need in there.’

  ‘I’ll see to it.’ She glanced at him once again. He seemed to be coping, doing what was necessary to stabilise the injured man, and she concentrated her attention on the woman.

  ‘I’m going to put a supportive collar around your neck,’ she told her. ‘We won’t know what damage has been done until we can get you to the hospital for X-rays and scans.’

  ‘What about John?’ the woman asked, her voice shaky. ‘He’s not speaking. How is he doing?’

  ‘He’s breathing, and we’ve given him pain medication so he won’t be too uncomfortable,’ Izzy said. ‘It’s possible that he has some internal injuries, so we need to get him to hospital as soon as possible. We’ll put both of you on spinal boards, to make sure that there’s no chance of further injury while we take you there.’

  Ambulance sirens sounded in the distance, and Izzy left the patients with Ross while she went to confer with the paramedics. Just a minute later a fire engine arrived, and the crew started to assess how best they could remove the patients from the mangled vehicle.

  By now they had done all that they could for the man and woman inside the car. The two injured people who were sitting on the verge appeared to have escaped with minor injuries, but Ross still knelt down beside them and checked them out.

  ‘You’ll be given
a more thorough examination in the Accident and Emergency department at the hospital,’ he told them. ‘For the moment it seems as though you have some bruising and pulled ligaments. We can make you more comfortable with support bandages.’ He turned to the young man, who was nursing a sore shoulder. ‘It looks as though you might have broken your collarbone. I’ll put a sling around your arm and that should ease things for you.’

  Izzy worked with him to put dressings on cuts and apply bandages to sprains. It wasn’t too long before the fire crew indicated that it was safe to remove the man and woman from their car, and both Izzy and Ross went to supervise their transfer to spinal boards and then to the first ambulance.

  A few minutes later the ambulance was on its way, siren blaring, heading for Accident and Emergency. Izzy went to help the walking injured into the second vehicle, while Ross spoke with the police officer who had come to investigate.

  It was some time before Izzy and Ross went back to Ross’s car. Ross sat in the driving seat, his whole body stiff and very still. He didn’t speak but simply stared ahead.

  ‘Would you like me to drive?’ Izzy asked. ‘You don’t seem to be yourself. Ever since we came upon this accident it’s as though you’ve been knocked for six.’ She was concerned about him. He had hardly spoken the whole time they were with the accident victims, except to reassure them and ask relevant questions. He was still pale, and now he was gripping the steering wheel, his fingers wrapped tightly around it so that his knuckles were white. ‘Is this something to do with what happened to Robert and Alice?’

  He nodded. ‘Everything is so similar,’ he said. ‘Almost as though it might have been this same stretch of road. Of course it wasn’t. But the hillside, the blind curve, and then that straight road ahead…it’s exactly as it was.’

  He paused, shuddering a little, and Izzy said, ‘I guessed that might be the case. You’ve never really spoken about it. What happened? Do you want to tell me?’

  He was silent for a moment or two, and then he said quietly, ‘I was on my way to work, and I was following them as they were heading towards Alice’s sister’s house. They were going to fetch the children, and they were looking forward to telling them about their plans for the future. Summer was just beginning, and Robert was thinking of coming back home. Alice was hoping that she might persuade your father to accept her back into the family.’

  He pressed his lips together in a grim line. ‘And then a car came out of nowhere, trying to overtake. It smashed into them, and all their dreams dissolved in an instant.’

  ‘You saw it all? I know you must have. You were injured, too, weren’t you?’ Izzy frowned, wanting to comfort him yet at the same time knowing he needed to say this in his own way, to bring it all out into the open.

  ‘I was afraid I was going to hit them. I slammed on my brakes, and tried to swerve out of the way. It all happened so fast. I remember a jolt, and I hit a tree so hard that the side of my car crumpled and I broke some ribs. I couldn’t think of anything except that I needed to get to Robert and Alice, that I had to check on the others. There were two other cars involved, and people were injured in all of them. I did what I could, but it wasn’t enough to save Robert. He took the worst of the impact.’

  A muscle in his jaw tightened, and she could see that he was trying to bring himself under control. She laid a hand on his arm, stroking gently, wanting desperately to take him into her arms and hold him.

  He drew in a ragged breath. ‘All Robert could think about was Alice. He begged me to take care of her, to make sure that she came out of it safe and sound. I told him that I would take care of her, and he said, “The children, too. They should see their heritage.”’

  He looked at her. ‘I told him that he needn’t worry about any of it, that all he had to do was stay with us, and he said, ‘I’m sorry. I know they’ll be in good hands.’

  Izzy reached for him, her arms going around him, and he leaned towards her, sliding his arms around her waist, resting his head against her breast. ‘You kept your promise to your brother,’ she whispered. ‘No one could have asked you to do more.’

  He gave a ragged sigh, and she stroked his thick, springy hair, offering what comfort she could. Was this the first time he had played it all out in his mind? Probably not, but today’s accident must have brought it back to him with shocking clarity.

  ‘Perhaps now you can begin to come to terms with everything that happened?’ she murmured. ‘You have to look to the future and make sure that the Buchanan name rings with pride. Surely the best thing you can do to preserve Robert’s memory is to bring the estate to its full potential and make it an emblem of all that is good for the community.’

  She hesitated. ‘I’m sure Alice and the children will thank you for that, and you’ve already made a start with your plans for the winery. That will provide work for the villagers, and maybe it will stop some of the younger ones leaving for the towns.’

  ‘You could be right.’ His breath shuddered in his throat, his shoulders moving as he tightened his hold on her, pressing her to him. ‘We have to move on and put the past behind us.’

  They stayed like that, wrapped in each other’s arms, for a long time, both of them quiet, thinking about what had gone before.

  Then Ross straightened, drawing back from her. ‘We should go and fetch Alice,’ he said. ‘It’s time to bring her home.’

  He started up the engine, setting the car in motion once more.

  Izzy sank back against the upholstery of her seat and tried to let the image of that terrible accident fade from her mind. It was no easy thing to do, and for Ross, who had witnessed it and been part of it, the torment must have returned in full force.

  He had borne all that had happened with a stoicism that would put others to shame. He was a good man, a strong man with deep-seated principles and a streak of pride that ran through every pore. Beneath that tough, devil-may-care exterior he cared intensely for his family, and he would never let them down.

  She knew it with certainty—just as she realised with a sense of shock and wonder that he was the one man, the only man, she could ever love.

  Somewhere along the way he had stolen her heart.

  CHAPTER NINE

  ‘IT’S so wonderful to be going home,’ Alice said, sitting in a chair at the side of her bed and looking around the ward for the last time.

  Izzy gathered up the last of her belongings, putting them all together by the wheelchair Ross had brought with them. She glanced at Alice. Her tawny hair was the same shade as Molly’s, with wispy curls framing her face, and her green eyes were shining with relief at the thought of leaving the hospital. It was good to see her looking so happy.

  ‘I’ll come and see you just as soon as you’re settled at Ross’s place,’ Greg said, coming to take Alice’s hand in his. ‘I’d have taken you home with me, except that I’m working the late shift today. I just had to come and see you off, though.’

  ‘I’m glad you came,’ Alice told him. ‘It’s been great to have a friend working here all the time I’ve been confined to this place. Thanks so much for all you’ve done.’

  ‘You’re very welcome,’ Greg murmured, helping her into the wheelchair. ‘Make sure you take it easy once you get home. You’ve still some recuperating to do, so no burning the midnight oil or trying to dance the Highland Reel.’

  ‘Oh, I’m bound to do that, aren’t I?’ Alice chuckled. ‘The most I can manage at the moment is a bit of a totter—though maybe after I’ve sampled some of Ross’s fruit wines, anything might be possible.’

  ‘I can see Izzy’s been telling you tales,’ Ross said, smiling. ‘Don’t believe a word of it. The wines are mildly intoxicating. You might find walking in a straight line a bit difficult afterwards, that’s all.’

  ‘Or, then again, reel might be a more appropriate word,’ Izzy put in. ‘I believe Greg had it right the first time.’

  ‘You’re quite mad, all of you,’ Alice said, laughing. ‘I’m really looking forward t
o seeing Molly and Cameron at home, away from these antiseptic conditions, and the thought of looking out over the beautiful mountains and lochs is enough to keep me going for a long time.’

  ‘That’s good. Let’s get on our way, then, shall we?’ Ross took hold of the wheelchair and started to guide it out of the side ward.

  Alice waved goodbye to Greg, and Izzy stayed behind to speak to him for a moment, saying, ‘I’ll catch you both up in a minute or two.’

  ‘You’re worried about the people who came in by ambulance, aren’t you?’ Greg said. ‘I didn’t mention anything to Alice about them. I thought it might be a bit too traumatic.’

  Izzy nodded. ‘I know they came to you in A&E. How are they doing? Have you managed to assess them completely, yet?’

  ‘We have. As you expected, the woman has a broken femur, which we’ve put right under anaesthetic. She’ll be wearing a plaster cast for some time, so Christmas is going to be a little awkward for her. As to John, he’s not so lucky. There was damage to his spleen and liver, so he’s undergoing surgery at the moment. It looks as though he’ll be staying in hospital for a week or two—at least until the New Year.’

  ‘That doesn’t seem so far away now, does it? One and a half weeks? I still have shopping to do and preparations to make.’

  ‘I thought you were going to your parents’ house for Christmas?’ He raised a questioning brow.

  ‘I am, but there’s a lot for my mother to cope with, so I thought I’d help out by making a few things…A quiche and some sausage rolls, maybe some hors d’oeuvres.’

  ‘Alice would love it…all that home cooking. I don’t suppose there’s any chance your father will see sense and invite her along, is there?’