Where had he been that he needed to shower, and why had he been drinking whisky in enough quantity for it to be obvious?

They’d gone to bed together around eleven, and she’d swiftly fallen asleep, satiated by making love more than once, with a good meal in between.

Greg had happily come to bed with her, saying he would have to be up early, because the visitors were expected off the overnight train, and he would be required at the Party House to greet them.

After which he’d given her his full attention, until, of course, he’d disappeared from their bed sometime after they’d had sex and four in the morning, when she’d woken up.

She’d eventually risen and gone to look for him. Finding he wasn’t in his office, she’d headed downstairs, only to find both the kitchen and sitting room empty. The Land Rover being still parked out front, and the dogs in their kennel, his absence didn’t look like it had anything to do with work.

At that point, both intrigued and a little alarmed, she’d walked the short distance to Beanach’s larder, only to be met by the ripe smell of the hanging deer carcass he’d shot on the day she’d arrived, but nothing else.

What had Greg been doing that had required a shower and also, by the distant sound of the washing machine, a need to wash his clothes?

As her mind went into overdrive, she found herself comparing Greg’s actions to someone who was having an affair, showering to rid themselves of the smell of a lover.

There was little doubt in her mind that he and Caroline had been an item at one time. Perhaps they still were? Hence Caroline’s response to her own appearance in the village shop.

Greg had mentioned that Caroline had been at the meeting in the village hall. Had they arranged something between them, then?

She immediately told herself she was being stupid. Greg was a gamekeeper, who had to go out at night on occasion. Maybe he’d been worried about poachers after they’d seen the deer shot. Or maybe he’d gone hunting himself and got blood on his clothes.

One thing she was certain about . . . her new lover did not want her to ask him where he’d been and what he’d been doing. At least, not at this moment.

She decided she would leave it until morning, to give him a chance to tell her that he’d gone out last night and why. If he didn’t say anything, she could ask him outright, of course. Perhaps make a joke of it and watch his reaction.