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footings, see if there are any original features. You can come with me if you like, tell me more about these books you write.’
    He found his jaw clenching. ‘Why do you want to know about my books? You’re here for the castle. We’re not about to become best friends. And I’ve got some work to do actually, so …’ he indicated the door and tried to ignore the flash of hurt that crossed her face.
    ‘Right.’ She got up and he watched her go as she closed the door softly behind her.
    That’s how all the conversations with women seemed to start. Tell me about your books. How much money do you earn? Then, later, Can you buy me this ? He wasn’t going to go down that road again. And annoyingly, Milly, with her sweet, honest face and childlike enthusiasm, had managed to get more from him in the first few hours they’d known each other than most women got out of him in weeks. It was much easier not to trust someone than to trust them and then be betrayed. And he had to keep things professional between them, he had no choice about that.

    M illy stared out over the cliffs, at the water crashing theatrically onto the rocks below. The wind tugged at her hair and her clothes and intermittently she could feel the salt spray from the sea. The sun was beating down on top of her head and creating slashes of gold on the crests of the waves.
    Cameron was an ass and he certainly didn’t deserve her help. She should just march straight back to the castle now and tell him that Castle Heritage wouldn’t help him. But there was a vulnerability about him, he had been hurt before and he was clearly trying to protect himself from it happening again. She couldn’t hate him for that. She’d been hurt before too.
    There was something about this place too that seemed to have some sort of hold on her. There was so much more that she needed to find out.
    She turned back to look at the castle. It annoyed her that Castle Heritage probably wouldn’t take it on. They had so many rules about which properties would qualify for their help and they had turned down so many beautiful places over the years.
    She started walking back up the slope towards the castle. From the outside, she could see that it was indeed a lot bigger than it had seemed from the inside. Even allowing for the fact that the turrets created the impression of extra size.
    The castle was roughly rectangular, which could mean that it was possibly some kind of lookout house, with an added extension part with extra rooms on the ground floor which was now the converted servants’ quarters.
    All the windows in the banqueting hall were stained glass but there were four on this side of the building that weren’t. Were there rooms that Cameron hadn’t shown her? And if so, what were they and why was she not privy to them?
    She squinted her eyes against the sudden sunlight that burst out from behind one of the towers as she walked up the hill. She stepped forward, shielding her eyes and suddenly the ground disappeared from beneath her feet. She reached out blindly to stop herself from falling, grabbing at nothing as she tumbled through the air and landed face down in the dirt in a dark hole.
    With a groan, she rolled onto her back to look around and could see the opening some eight feet above her head. There didn’t appear to be any way out.

    W here was Milly ? It had been hours since she’d walked out the kitchen and the pie he had made to apologise for being such an arse had long since gone cold on the table. It had got dark outside and had started to rain.
    Maybe she was avoiding him.
    It was possible that she had gone back to the village and sought refuge from him in the local pub, though they wouldn’t make her any more welcome than he had.
    In fact, the thought of the villagers getting their weird hands on her suddenly filled him with dread. He grabbed his torch and his jacket and headed out.
    Wind roared over the cliff tops as he strode down the drive towards the village.