I watched her go. She walked away without looking back. Time seemed to slow down. Each step she took was longer than the last. I was frozen to the spot, unable to move, unable to talk, like the world was running in slow motion and I was only an observer.

I wanted to shout after her, tell her to come back, apologise for being a complete idiot. But I couldn’t.

The boat set off. It was only when it began to move out onto the loch that I heard Seabert say something.

“Huh?” I turned, blinking slowly as time began to speed up again.

“I said you need to go after her you complete fucking moron.”

I came back to myself. “You’re right,” I said, already running, dropping the file on the doorstep. “Look after that.”

I made it to the jetty but I was too late. They were already far out on the water. Without stopping, I swerved and sprinted for the boat shed.

I frantically got Nipper ready to move. She was here. She didn’t have a boyfriend. The curtains I had pulled down over my world were shoved aside, letting in the light once more. She hadn’t cheated. I’d been, as Seabert so delicately put it, a complete fucking moron.

I knew I wouldn’t get another chance. If she made it to the far shore, she would be gone and she wouldn’t come back.

She’d bought the castle. She’d saved the castle. Not only that but she’d given it back to me. I didn’t even deserve someone that pure. Where Charlotte had taken the money from my parents and left, Tilly had done the opposite. She’d taken her money and given it to me, something I never expected in a million years.

I was sailing a minute later, cutting through the water, willing the wooden vessel to go faster, praying for the wind to pick up. As if in response, there was a gust down from the mountains and I started to gain on them.

“Stop!” I shouted at the top of my voice.

Hedley couldn’t hear me over the sound of his engine. I got closer, too close. I had to yank the rope in my hand hard to turn the sail. I squeezed by the side of Hedley’s boat with an inch to spare, nearly capsizing in the process. “Stop!” I yelled again, waving my arms frantically.

This time he noticed, hard not to with Nipper right in front of his bow.

“What are you doing?” Tilly shouted across to me. “You nearly got yourself killed.”

“I’ve been an idiot,” I yelled back.

“Yes, you have. You almost crashed into us.”

“Not that, you. Us. I wanted to say I’m sorry.”

“Go home, Robert. You got what you wanted, the king got his castle back.”

“What good is a king without a queen? I don’t want the castle. I don’t care about the castle. I care about you. I want you, Tilly, don’t you get it?”

“You hardly know me.”

“I will spend the rest of my life learning every single thing about you if you’ll let me.”

“I should go.”

“You can’t leave your castle.”

“It’s not mine, Robert. It’s yours.” She turned away from me. “Can we get moving?”

“Wait,” I said as the engine started. “I love you.”

“What?” she called, putting her hand to her ear over the engine as it died away again.

“I said I love you.”

Her expression changed. The anger faded away, replaced by a smile that began to spread over her entire face, her shoulders lifting as she got to her feet. “Say that again.”

“I love you, Tilly Beal. I have loved you from the moment I first met you. You’ve done something I never thought was possible.”

“And what’s that?”

“You’ve made me want to share my life with someone. I want to share it with you. And if you don’t love me then I’ll let you go and I’ll never contact you again if that’s what you want but before you go, there’s something you need to see.”

“What?”

“The walled garden.”

“I’ve seen it.”

“Not like this, you haven’t. What do you say?”

She looked from me to the castle to Hedley down to the water. “How cold is it in there?” she asked.

“Freezing.”

She was already diving into it before I finished the word. I gasped at the sight of her vanishing below the waves but then she reappeared, her arms sweeping forwards as she swam towards Nipper. “That is so cold,” she said as she reached up and took my hand. “Why didn’t you say?”

“I tried,” I replied, grabbing a blanket and throwing her around her shoulders. “Why did you do that?”

“Because I want you to say what you said to my face.”

“I love you, Tilly.” I stroked her cheek, looking deep into her eyes.

She smiled. “I love you too.”

I kissed her then, pressing my lips to hers, all my doubts and fears falling away. The anger, the guilt, all the negative thoughts vanished and there was just the sheer joy of our embrace as the boat rocked gently on the waves.

I didn’t hear Hedley moving away but when I looked up his boat was gone and we were alone. “What made you want to stay?” I asked, sliding my hands into hers, still holding her close.

“I thought you might need a gardener,” she replied. “I’m thinking of taking a career break, that’s all. Something about Hollywood doesn’t taste right anymore.”

“A gardener I could use, a partner I could use more.”

“How about both?”

She stayed close while I sailed us back to the island. Hedley was there at the jetty, loading Seabert onboard and dropping off Tilly’s case. “Thought she might need this,” he said, placing it gently on the ground. “Good luck to you both.”

“Thanks Hedley,” she said, her hand squeezing mine.

The two of us walked into the castle together. “Welcome home,” I said, kicking the door closed and pouncing on her a second later.

“I’m freezing,” she replied, her teeth starting to chatter.

“Then we better get you out of those wet things,” I replied, tugging at her top.

She lifted her arms to help and as I pulled it from her we moved into the smoking room. The fire was roaring in the hearth and her clothes began to steam. I paused, taking in the sight of her, the way her trousers clung to her legs, her bra soaking wet and see through, her nipples rock hard.

“I think we need to get the rest of those things off you,” I said, reaching around and unhooking the clasp on her back. The bra fell away and I ran my hands down her chest, listening as her breathing changed.

I grew impatient quickly, fighting with her trousers to get them off, yanking at them as she giggled and almost lost her balance.

“Feeling warmer?” I asked as I stepped back and looked at her naked form, drinking in the sight of perfection.

“Not yet,” she replied, reaching for my shirt. “But I’m sure you’ll find a way to fix that.”

I slapped her hands away. “Get on all fours.”

“Like this?” she asked, sinking to her knees, putting her head down to the rug, her ass sticking up towards me, making my cock throb with need.

“Exactly like that,” I said as I started to undress. “And don’t move.”