'This is absurd, Luke.' She tried to inject a note of sanity into the proceedings. 'It's generally considered unacceptable to hijack a person.'
'I was going to Scotland. I saw no reason to alter my plans for you, infant.'
'I wasn't asking you to; I didn't ask you to interfere.'
A grim smile curved his lips. 'It was a pleasure,' he asserted obliquely, leaving her to wonder whether the pleasure he had discovered had been in infuriating her father or the liberties he had taken with herself.
'I won't go with you.'
'You are with me,' he pointed out patiently.
His attitude made her feel as if she was hitting her head against a particularly solid wall. 'Have you no conscience? You've kidnapped me! It's uncivilised,' she choked.
The glance he flicked her was brief and starkly savage. 'I'm sorry if you find my methods crude… often they are the most effective. Being civilised can be damnably time-consuming,' he observed.
One look at his profile made it obvious that she was wasting her time. With a sound of frustration, tears flooding her eyes, she gripped the door-handle and rattled it.
'Seventy miles an hour and she decides to make a leap for freedom.' The eyebrows shot heavenwards. 'Smooth move, Emmy. Just thank your stars for central locking.'
'This is criminal. I'll have you arrested,' she threatened him wildly. She brushed her hand over her face, blotting the stray spots of dampness where her eyes had overflowed. 'I'll tell my father,' she added miserably.
'I'm relying on it.'
Emily shot him a startled glance. 'So that's what this is all about,' she said flatly. 'You're prepared to go to a lot of trouble just to needle my father.'
'Needle?' he said, not bothering to deny her accusation. 'I think you underestimate your importance, infant. You're his ewe lamb,' he sneered. 'The apple of his eye. The prospect of you sharing my humble abode and all it implies should have a most satisfactory effect.'
'So glad I could be of use,' she said witheringly. 'I don't suppose my feelings enter into your machinations?'
'I think the change of scene should do you good.'
'Give me strength!' she groaned. 'I've had a gut full of people knowing what my best interests are; roughly translated, it means I'm supposed to do what I'm told.
Well, you might be able to get me to your hovel but don't expect me to stay. The first opportunity I have I'll be off, and I'll report you to the authorities.'
'I'll keep that in mind, Emily,' he replied gravely.
Rat! she fumed. He'd smirk on the other side of his face. He'd find she could be a very unpleasant house guest.
'Music?' he asked as she maintained a fulminating silence.
She pursed her lips and shrugged. The strains of Debussy failed to soothe her intense fury. The feelings of impotence to resolve the situation made her want to rant and scream, but she wasn't going to give him the pleasure of seeing how far he'd actually shaken her. Isolation and Luke were a combination she instinctively knew she should avoid.
He only stopped once during the rest of the journey and that was only when she explained the urgency of the request. He still looked remarkably alert considering how far he had driven on top, if he was to be believed, of a plane journey. She felt as spent as a limp rag, emotionally and physically.
'Ullapool,' he said as they passed through a small village that nestled picturesquely on the shores of Loch Broom. 'You can see the Russian fishing fleet out there—' he gestured seawards '—when the mist clears.'
'It isn't permanent, then,' she returned with a sarcastic drawl.
They'd driven through the night and the hazy morning light revealed a damp landscape covered in a thick, obscuring cloud of mist. Mountains loomed threateningly indistinct, dark, monstrous shapes, and the sea was a sound, an expanse of emptiness. Used to tame, governable, neatly hedged fields, she sensed that there was an empty canvas which was just veiled, and found it awesome.
'Wait and see.'
'I won't be staying long enough,' she retorted. 'Is it far? I'm tired.' She felt bone-weary, the toll of the past hours beginning to tell with a vengeance.
'Twenty-five miles. So if you thought Ullapool was the back of beyond, think again,' he advised.
She was almost grateful that the weather conditions and the single track road that hugged some precipitous drops at times eliminated the need for her to think up any defensive replies. Luke needed all his concentration for the task of getting them safely to their destination. Emily, who at times felt inclined to shriek as they encountered yet another tortuous bend, was impressed by his calm handling of the big car.
Emily stared around the large, sparsely furnished kitchen. A large stone ingle-nook took up an entire wall. A cast-iron wood-burner nestled comfortably in its centre, a pile of chopped logs conveniently stacked to one side.
To her amazement there were all the modern conveniences, neatly disguised for the most part by doors that matched the rustic pine kitchen units. The beamed roof was low, but the light Mediterranean colours made the place seem light, airy and welcoming.