Hi everyone I hope you are all well. I have been mega busy at work and for a while I haven't had time to write but I did get chance to finish this chapter and I hope I can find some time to write the next one very soon. Thanks again for your readership and for sticking with this story, I know it is taking a while to get to the Robson action, but I promise it will be worth the wait. I really do appreciate you following along – without you all I wouldn't be writing and although it takes up precious time, I am glad to do it while I know there are still folk wanting to read. Bingsrule – I see where the confusion arose now! LOL. And don't worry, this is most definitely a Robson Romance.

Take care, many thanks and until next time…

ML

"Robbie, it's not a case that I'm displeased, I just want this week to have positive outcomes for all of us." Jean Innocent, in an assertive stance, dressed in a smart charcoal suit complete with sapphire earrings, tilted her head with authority as she spoke to Lewis.

Robbie looked back at his boss, holding back a weary sigh. He and Jean were in the hotel reception, it was early evening and they were both enroute to the hotel's dining room for dinner. The hotel was Michelin starred and Robbie had to admit he'd enjoyed the food so far, despite other events. The breakfast and lunch served that day had consisted of expertly prepared and cooked fresh produce, all sourced from the local area. Dinner the night before had also been good. The food tonight was a consolation prize, however. On his arrival down to dinner, Jean Innocent had buttonholed him and was coercing him into an informal bonding session with herself, Thompson and the teambuilding consultant over dinner. Since finding him in the reception before the dinner, Innocent had cited several incidents that highlighted certain issues between Robbie and Thompson and what Innocent called his particularly idiosyncratic management style.

"So, can I count on you Robbie?"

"Yes, ma'am" Lewis said with a barely suppressed sigh.

Robbie watched resignedly as Jean Innocent stalked away, clearly off to find DS Thompson to tell him about the enforced dinner arrangement. Robbie frowned with irritation. He ached after the afternoon's paintballing and the last thing he wanted was uncomfortable chit-chat loosely disguised as informal team building. He scratched the back of his head and gloomily checked his watch before idly glancing into a glass display cabinet adjacent to the hotel reception desk. He decided to wait just a few more minutes before heading into the dining room and succumbing to the inevitable awkwardness of the dinner.

As he waited, Robbie looked a little more closely at the contents of the glass display cabinet. The shelves seemed to consist mainly of jewellery, most of which made use of the local gemstone "Blue John". There were silver pendants, earrings and cufflinks all set with the gemstone. Robbie had heard of Blue John before but never really seen it. It was a strikingly beautiful stone, crystal clear in parts, opaque milky white in other parts with zigzags and bands of translucent blues, purples and yellows. The pieces were all locally made and quite different from the usual jewellery that was often shoehorned into hotel receptions. It was so pretty, Robbie wondered if maybe he could buy something for Lyn, maybe as a special gift for her, something to mark her becoming a mother. He frowned and for a moment his thoughts darkened a little and he suddenly felt sad, not so much for himself but for Val.

"Are you going to treat yourself?" Robbie was pulled from his thoughts by a soft voice and a touch on his elbow; it was Laura.

"Eh? Ah, no. It's lovely though, I've never really seen it properly, is it rare?" He turned around on hearing her voice, smiling hello at her, not able to hide his pleasure at seeing her.

"It's actually a very common mineral, but these particular colours are only found here in the peaks, due to the ancient geology." Laura said, looking at the Blue John Jewellery in the cabinet. "My aunt had loads of the stuff. Apparently, legend has it there's a vein of it somewhere in Ashlow but no one has ever discovered exactly where it was." She continued.

"Ashlow is your Aunt's village?" Robbie asked

"Yes" Laura smiled back at Robbie as she nodded.

"So, who was 'Blue John' anyway?" Robbie enquired returning her smile

Laura laughed softly. "No one" she said. "The name comes from the French for blue and yellow - bleu et jaune bastardised into something more coherent in English - Blue John"

"Oh, well that's a bit disappointing" said Robbie, his eyebrows raised in interest "I thought it might be named after an old miner or something"

"No, nothing so exciting I'm afraid, although there are plenty of terrifying legends around here about ghostly lead miners"

"Oh aye?"

"Yes, the sort of things that my older brothers used to tell me to try and scare me witless when I was small"

"Brothers, eh?" Said Robbie

Laura laughed softly, her eyes bright again as they had been earlier in the bunker, Robbie looked back at her, trying not to stare too much, but not being able to help but gaze at her. She was wearing a dress again and had clearly been back to her aunt's house to get ready for the evening. Robbie couldn't help but notice how beautiful she looked. He felt the rising of his attraction for her, stronger than ever and with a pang he wished he was taking her to dinner, just the two of them. Instead, he was having dinner with Innocent, bloody Thompson and the consultant who had led the morning seminar.

From the corner of his eye, Robbie saw McLeod appear from the grand stairway that led to the upper floors. Robbie scowled to himself as Laura also caught sight of Iain and waved.

"I'll see you later" she said and smiled at Robbie before joining Iain before they both went, ahead of him into the dining room.

Dinner was a strained affair, Robbie did his best not to say anything negative about Thompson and tried to play ball and say the right things, just to keep Innocent and the consultant happy. He didn't care for teambuilding like this; Thompson knew when to take orders, even if he did give Robbie a bit of cheek sometimes. Robbie overlooked it for the most part. Thompson, in turn, also knew exactly how to play the game and equally said plenty of things that made Innocent practically effervesce with satisfaction that her bonding dinner had been a complete success.

After dinner, Robbie was glad to find Hathaway sitting by the fire and was more than happy to buy his sergeant a pint and debrief about the dinner, as well as the rest of the day's events. The two men relaxed a little as they sat by the fire with their drinks. Robbie grumbled about the meal with Innocent and Thompson and then, their talk turned to the other team members.

"What's your thoughts on McLeod?" Robbie asked Hathaway, taking a swig of his half-drunk pint. He was always glad to hear James' opinion. He trusted it.

"Dr. Iain?" Said Hathaway in a gravelly Scottish accent slightly mocking the pathologist "Well, he's very accomplished and has quite an impressive career portfolio" Hathaway said as he stretched out his long legs towards the warmth of the open fire. The night had turned cooler and both detectives were glad of the comfort after the exertions of the day; even Hathaway was feeling a little overstretched after running around all afternoon with a paintball gun.

"I understand he was at med school with Dr. Hobson." James continued, holding up what was left of his pint to admire its amber hue; it was a drink that was going down well while he was chatting to his boss. "She missed quite a catch, brilliant career, smooth talker too, I overheard him whispering sweet nothings to his wife last night. I wonder if Hobson thinks it could have been a route she could have taken instead of forging a career in Oxford"

"Eh?" Robbie said, suddenly alert

"You know, globetrotting in the name of pathology" James said still admiring the hue of the beer

"No, not that, you said he was on the phone" Robbie said, an insistent frown starting to form on his brow

"Yes, I heard him last night. I assume it was his wife on the phone, maybe a sweetheart, or his secretary, same thing perhaps" Hathaway sniffed a laugh before taking another drink of his pint. "He was telling whoever it was that he loved them."

"Did he know you were there?"

"No, not at all, I was out of view on the terrace, why?"

"Nothing. I'll get us another pint"

And Hathaway saw his boss' face cloud with what seemed to be anger. As with the night before Hathaway knew the source of the upset was McLeod.

Robbie made his way to the bar. Now he had conclusive evidence and from a trusted source, not from just his biased observations. His stomach churned a little and he realised it was from a feeling of jealousy but also from the situation he was in. He knew now that potentially Laura was at risk from McLeod's deception. The gnawing of his gut feeling demanding that he went straight away and told Laura what was going on. But he knew that he still had to wait. There was no evidence that Laura was interested in rekindling anything. The Jury's out she had said. Why would she say that if she had no intention of rekindling anything with Iain? Robbie reached the bar, his face clouded with trouble. The bar manager from the day before was on duty again and she beamed at him as he approached.

"Evening, what can I get you, Sir?" She said. Robbie had been friendly to her and she had remembered him from the previous night. Her affability calmed Robbie a little.

"How is your stay going?" She asked as she pulled two pints of local ale that Robbie had ordered

"Not bad apart from all the daft activities my boss has got us doing" Robbie replied with a smile

"Well, at least you had the best of the weather today" Said the bar manager, placing the pints on the glossy varnished bar top "Looks like there's load of rain on the way tomorrow afternoon, just in time for my day off" She continued.

Robbie gave the woman a sympathetic look "That sort of things always seems to happen to me too on my day off" he offered by means of consolation. The woman smiled warmly back at him and told him to enjoy his evening as he took the amber-coloured beers from the bar

As he left the bar, Robbie saw Laura and Iain. They had come in from the dining room and were now at a small table for two. They were chatting and Laura looked animated and engaged over the conversation; she didn't notice Robbie as he went by with his drinks. As he passed near the table, he heard her talking about a research project she had started with her students. He gathered it was the one connected to the discretionary funding from Jean Innocent. It was something to do with insect population decline at crime scenes and the correlation with general insect loss due to climate disaster. And that was as far as Robbie could understand before the dialogue between Laura and the other pathologist became peppered with jargon that Robbie couldn't follow. He sighed, glowering again to himself. There was yet another reason that demonstrated how he and Laura were even far apart from each other when it came to their careers, let alone other aspects of their lives. No wonder Laura was attracted to McLeod. But despite whether the two of them were suited, the baseline now, after Hathaway's revelation, was that Iain was undoubtedly up to no good.

This evidence of Iain's deception weighed even more heavily on Robbie as the evening wore on. He kept his eye on Laura and Iain. Laura remained animated and attentive in his company and it now became painfully obvious to Robbie that Iain was flirting more with Laura than he had been since their reunion. Clearly, McLeod was on a mission. Robbie had hoped that perhaps the fact that Iain had taken off his wedding band would become irrelevant, that Laura would demonstrate that she had no romantic interest in McLeod. But watching how closely they were talking, the body language, Robbie suddenly and painfully knew. It was inevitable; there was something blossoming between Laura and McLeod. At some point he knew had to tell Laura about the ring. Not out of any spite or sour grapes, but because he couldn't bear to see her get hurt. It was a simple as that. But he also knew he couldn't barge in unless he knew McLeod's attentions resulted in Laura's full reciprocation. As before, he found himself on investigation; waiting, it seemed, to see if Laura was going to fall for McLeod's advancements.

Either way he was going to feel hurt, but at least he hoped he could, in the long run, save Laura from any heartache.