Kidnapped in Dunvegan

10

Lanterns, chains of lights and a mixture of voices, music and the sound of various rumors greeted us at the harbor. Adam had left the car in the small lane next to the church and we had walked to the harbor. This gave me the opportunity to see a little bit more of Dunvegan.

Large and small fishing boats were anchored, a yacht had also been left here in error and a small passenger ship could also be seen. There was a sign offering harbor tours and a trip past one of the seal islands. A trip to see the dolphins living off the coast was also part of the package.

"Let's go on one of those trips," I suggested in excitement. Dolphins! Can you imagine it? I had loved dolphins since I was a young girl, but which girl didn't love dolphins?

"Then we should take a tour now, because when it gets dark you won't be able to see very much." Adam nodded in the direction of a waiting ferry and took my hand. I was amazed at the twinkle in his eye. He was almost jolly and I hadn't seen him like this before. I followed him over the jetty, Adam purchased tickets for us and then we sat down at one of the tables on the sun deck. The ferry was designed like a restaurant. Even before the anchor was aweigh, a waiter had come to us and asked if we needed anything. It sounded like only seafood was on offer. I wasn't a food connoisseur which is why I chose pasta with salmon. Muscles, as Adam ordered, were too unusual for me

"How much longer do you think you'll stay?", Adam enquired after we had got the small talk over with.

I looked at him quizzically. Did he want me out of his house? "About another two weeks, then everything should be complete." Was that a semblance of disappointment I had seen on his face? "Do you want to get rid of me so desperately?"

My heart was pounding and I was finding it difficult to get rid of the increasing lump in my throat. I had known that he didn't want me here. He had made no secret of that right from the start, but couldn't he at least act as if he could put up with me?

"No. I just wanted to know," he answered concisely and started picking at the food on his plate.

"Do you eat muscles often?" I wanted the relaxed atmosphere back again, so I changed the subject. "Have you ever found a pearl in one?"

Adam laughed softly and looked up. "No." He put the fork in his mouth, looked around at the deck and then looked at me seriously. "Are you only doing it because of the money?"

I was alarmed and let my fork drop on my plate. "What?", I squealed. Oh. Did he think I was like his ex-wife and only in it for the money? I took a deep breath. "It's not like that. You're mistaken. Of course I need the money. I am not exactly swimming in it. My parents only left me a little bit of money behind and that has all gone towards my studies. I don't even have enough in my account to cover my costs for the next month."

Adam looked amazed and looked at me with raised eyebrows. I didn't want him to look at me like that. I wasn't like his ex-wife, but I must have seemed like that in his eyes. I had ultimately come here to undertake work that was completely overpaid and in his opinion it was just an attempt by his father to tie him down to a woman.

"I know you think I'm like her, but that's not true. Ok, I could have financed my studies by working somewhere as a waitress, but I was brought up differently. Driven by success. My grandmother who I grew up with only paid attention to me when I was successful. It wasn't even enough when I did my best. The only thing that mattered was success. My grandmother punished me for my whole life with ignorance and only gave me recognition when I was good at something. At some point, I started to work for these little moments of her attention. I was always completely focused on achieving my and her goals," I said sadly.