Chapter One

Snow danced around the black taxicab like secrets begging to be told as Irene Redmond re-read the last entry in her mother’s diary. The handwriting was crisp and orderly, so like her mother, but the words made no sense. Why was this place so important, and who was Connor?

“We’re here, lass,” the driver said. “Stirling Castle.”

The castle looked dark and foreboding. It was a fortress built on a volcanic outcrop, meant to keep people out, not welcome the curious. Irene smoothed the pages of her mother’s diary as though touching the love-worn paper could unlock her mother’s secrets. Stalling for time, Irene remained in the cab and slipped the diary into her tote bag. She glanced through the window at the swirling snowflakes that turned the grey morning into shades of white. Their confusion mirrored her emotions, or maybe she was jetlagged, or both.

Her mother’s diary, addressed to her two daughters, had arrived after her death. It had hinted at a secret past, a secret love, with the declaration that a Scottish castle, this one outside in the snowstorm, to be exact, held the answers. Her mother would have known that Irene would never be able to leave a puzzle unsolved.

The ten-hour plane trip from Seattle to London hadn’t been so bad. It was navigating through the Christmas holiday rush at the train station when she was sleep-deprived that had proven the biggest challenge. If she’d been smart, she’d have taken a week off instead of trying to do this all in four days, but one of her clients had a court date scheduled.

“Lass?”

Irene blinked and refocused on handing the taxi driver his fee. “Are you sure Stirling Castle is open today?”

He smoothed down a salt-and-pepper beard and smiled so widely his eyes twinkled, reminding Irene of jolly old St. Nick. “Like heather in the Highlands,” he said, “and mist over the moors, Stirling Castle is always open on Christmas Eve. But if you have second thoughts…”

His question hung in the air as her heart pounded against her chest. She’d changed her mind about this trip at least a hundred times. Her partners at the law firm had told her she shouldn’t be away from her clients over the holidays and had even brought in her cheating ex-fiancé to help make their case. Their strategy had backfired. It was time she unraveled her mother’s secrets.

“Now or never,” she said under her breath.

Irene gathered her belongings and opened the car door. The faint sound of church bells drifted toward her from the town below and swirled together with icy snowflakes. Perhaps this wouldn’t be so bad. A blast of winter air pushed against her as she stepped outside, spoiling the moment. She shivered and pulled the hood of her coat over her head. “It’s freezing.”

The taxicab driver’s laughter shook his whole body. “When you’re with the right person, you won’t notice the cold. I’ll be here to pick you up after the matchmaker tour.”

She shut the door before what he’d said registered. “Wait,” she called out. “You must be mistaken. I’m here for the history tour. Is that the same thing?”

Laughter clung to the air as he pulled away from the curb and disappeared down the winding road.