The House on the Shore (30 page)

In one quick movement he rolled Anna on to her back and covered her soft
,
warm body with his, one muscular leg resting between hers.
With passion-darkened eyes he entered her, moving slowly at first, prolonging the moment, until desire and passion overwhelmed them and they sought release.
Just when he thought he couldn’t get any deeper, she opened herself to him, welco
ming him further into her body.

Luke felt the first waves of her orgasm, and his body picked up the rhythm.
Anna trembled under him, her breath coming in long surrendering moans as her body arched in final surrender to his.
Unable to hold back, his powerful orgasm coursed through him, exploding in a million fiery sensations.

The following morning Anna and Luke drove to the hotel to use the phone. As the
y
entered reception
,
they
bumped into
Morag who was carrying a tray of
glasses through to the kitchen
,
and explained the reason for their visit
.

Luke leaned against the
doorframe
and
watched the play of emotions on Anna’s face as he listened to
her
side of the conversation.

“
Well?
”

“
There
’
s no such number,
”
she replied, replacing the receiver.
“
I
’
ve checked with Dire
ctory Enquiries
, and they have no listing
for Proteus Surveys
.
It would appear
that the surveyor gave me a wrong number
.
”

“Or Proteus Surveys is a fake company,” said
Luke
.
“I’ve got a bad feeling about them.
Is there some kind of business registry
you could check with?
”

An
na let out a long, audible sigh
and sat down at the kitchen table.
Morag placed a mug of coffee in front of her.
She nodded her thanks,
and turned
to face Luke once more.

“
In this country anyone can set up a business, irrespective of whether they have the know-how or experience to run it.
Only limited companies have to be formally registered.
”

“Aye,” Morag chimed in.
“
There are a lot of cowboys, right enough
.
The television is always showing programmes about people
being
ripped off.
”

Anna
took a sip from h
er mug and looked at Morag and Luke.
They were both deep in thought.

“
Have you heard any rumours
, Morag
?
Is it possible that the estate is planning to enlarge the hillwalkers’ car park?
Or does
the Forestry Commission have plans for a new plantation?”
Anna asked.

“
No, lass,
it doesn’t
.
Sandy always knew what was going on, but since he
’
s left
—
”

“
I don
’
t see what else I can do.
”

“You could always go and see
Mr
.
Alistair,” suggested Morag.

Anna shook her head.
“
If I thought he would be honest with me, I would do that
.
Alistair’s changed.
He’s
become very business orientated
.
I think it’s better if I try and find out what’s happening for myself
.
The only thin
g is, I don’t know who to ask.”

Luke dropped down beside her chair
.

“
Supp
osing I wanted to build a house
.
W
ould I have to submit
the
plans
to the authorities
for approval?
”

Morag and Anna spoke as one.
“
The local council!
”

“
Luke, you
’
re wonderful,
”
Anna said
and
plant
ed
a kiss on his lips.
She snatched
her
purse
off the table
and
grabbed his hand.
“
Come on
.”

“
Where are we going?
”

“
Fort William
.
To t
he Council Offices
.
T
hat
’
s where all the planning applications are filed.
Are you coming too, Morag?
”

“
What
,
in that old bone shaker you call a vehicle?
I don
’
t think so.
Besi
des, some of us have work to do.
”

“
In that case,
I
’
ll see you tomorrow as usual.
”

Luke wrapped his arm around Anna
’
s shoulder,
and they walked towards
the door.

“
Wait lass
,” Morag said
.
“
I
’
ll look after the dogs for you
.
I’
d feel much happier if you took my
pickup.”
She handed Anna the keys
.
“
You can drop it off at the house on your way
home
and collect
the Land Rover then
.
”

“
I don
’
t deserve a friend like you,
”
Anna said, giving her a hug.

“
Oh, be off with you.
And
mind
you take care of her,
Luke.”

“
You can count on me
,” he replied.

As Luke and Anna walked across the car park toward the pickup, a man stepped out of the hotel.
His bushy eyebrows drew to a frown as
he watched them climb into the vehicle
.

“Did you see that guy staring at us, Luke?”
Anna
asked
as she started the engine.

“What guy?”

“The one standing in the doorway.”

Luke bristled.
“What does he look like?”

“Dark hair, foreign looking, strange eyes
.
H
e’s staying at the hotel.”

Luke turned and looked over his shoulder.
“There’s no one there now.
He must have gone back inside.”

“I just keep seeing him, that’s all
—
”

It was
nearly three
by the time
they
reached Fort William. They left the pickup in the railway station car park, and
walked along the
bustling
High Street toward
the
modern glass and concrete, three-storey building
,
which housed the
Council Offices
.

“
We’ve
two hours to check out all t
he recent planning applications
before they lock up for the night,
”
Anna smiled
as they entered the building
.

“
Well, given the number of houses in the glen, I would
think
that
’
s more than ample.
Who owns the land
that borders yours,
anyway?
”

“
The Grants.
It
’
s been in the
ir
family for generations
,
although there
’
s a
strong
rumour
circulating the village
that
they’ve
transferred
it
in
to a holding company to avoid taxes
and death duties
.
I don
’
t understand the
legalities
, but no doubt Morag knows the reason behind
their decision
.
”

“How did your family get the croft?”

“
A
ccording to the deeds, the thirty acres which now form Tigh na Cladach
,
was gifted to the then-Laird
’
s son
in 1750.
”

“
So you
’
re related to the G
rants
.
”

“No.”

“
Then I don
’
t
get it
.
”

Anna smiled.
“
Many estates were entailed and passed to the eldest son
on the death of his father.
However, if a Laird had an illegitimate son, he couldn
’
t very well leave him the family
home
as that
meant
acknowledging the child was his.
Instead
,
he
would
transfer a small piece of land
and settle
a sum of money on the child
.
I
’
ve always assumed that
’
s how the croft came into the MacDonald family.
”

“So you
are
related.”

Anna laughed.
“Not in Scots terms.
Ah, here we are
.”
She pushed
open the door marked Planning Department.

A
spotty clerk
stood
behind
a well-worn wooden counter.

“Hello, Jason,” Anna said, reading his name badge.
“I wonder if you can help me.”

“It depends what you want.
If you’ve come to file a planning application you’ll have to wait until the office manager gets back.
I’m only a trainee.”

Anna smiled.
“Actu
ally, I’m enquiring whether any
one has lodged an application for Tigh na Cladach, in Kinloch Hourn.
Do you think you c
ould
take
a look for me?”

Jason hesitated.
“I’m not supposed to
,
Mr
.
Jeffries could be back any minute.
He’s my boss.”

“I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if you took the tiniest peek on your computer.
It would only take a moment.”

“I suppose I could.”
He
looked down at his feet.
“
But only for a moment.
Mr
.
Jeffries doesn’t want me doing things without him.
I’m new, you see.”

“That would be really helpful.
And don’t worry, we won’t tell
Mr
.
Jeffries.”

“I would hope not.
He get
s quite angry.”

“We’ll prevent that.
It would be
such a help to me, Jason.
It’s my property, you see.
I just want to make sure my architect has filed the plans for my house…er my extension.
He can be a bit forgetful.”

“
There
’
s nothing listed under Tigh na Cladach.
”

“
What about Mac
D
onald, or Killilan Estate?
”
Anna asked.