Maura was delighted when she heard that Athol and Davina had married. Athol was now in an even better situation than before in terms of her plans. The scheme she had devised at first had been a little complicated, but this latest development was making it easier. It was as if someone was looking after her, although Maura had no time for God. If there was a good God he would not have let her father drown and he would not have let her idiot brother take over the estate. He had been absolutely clueless about running it, and it had gone to rack and ruin. But she had dealt with him.

A carefully-staged ambush at a notorious point on the Inverness to Fort William road had taken care of that utter moron and, as there were no more male relatives to inherit, she was the sole custodian of what was left of the estate. However, now that she was married to a wealthy man with plenty of knowledge concerning how to run an estate and the possibility of inheriting one, she could develop the place again.

She would keep on seeing her lover, though. He was the one who had helped her to execute her plans and he was the father of her baby. Besides, he might still be useful in the future. If not, he was easily disposed of. She knew plenty of desperate men who were hungry enough to kill him for a shilling. She had lain with five men, but the father was none of them and as long as they were ignorant of this, she stood to become a very wealthy woman.

However, Grant would be told otherwise, and so would Athol. Grant would be absolutely overjoyed to be a father, and her future would be secure. With Athol's contribution, she would be a very rich woman indeed. But the situation would need careful handling since she had much to lose if things went wrong. She would have a nanny and a wet nurse of course. She had no intention of spending all her time looking after a baby; she had bigger ambitions. No, Baby Anderson would not be her problem; he or she would be merely a means to an end.

As she was eating breakfast, a servant came with a letter for her. She broke the seal and saw that it was from Una Anderson.

Dear Maura,

I hope you are well. Some of us are meeting for a little gathering on Thursday afternoon. We will be sewing, spinning, chatting, and having cakes and wine. I hope you will be able to join us.

Yours affectionately,

Una

She wrote straight back.

Dear Una,

What a pleasant surprise! I will definitely be coming. I cannot wait to see everyone again and thank you for the invitation.

Your friend,

Maura

Una was delighted. Now she had confirmations from Maura, Lorina, Davina, of course, and Mary.

"I think I'm going to like being married," Davina whispered as she lay with her head on Athol's shoulder after they had made love again.

"Me too," he said and laughed. "Are you ready for life without either of your parents, Davina? I am here to look after you now, and I will do that forever, to the best of my ability. You need have no fears."

"I am, but not for myself, Athol," she answered, "for Mother. She will be terribly lonely."

"We can visit often. And if we have children…"

"Well, at this rate I'm sure we will." Davina laughed and he joined in, hugging her. "I was thinking that we should employ a companion for her."

Athol frowned. "We would have to ask her," he replied, "Your mother is an intelligent woman. She needs a mature and intelligent companion."

Davina sighed and looked up at him. "You've got that look again," she observed with mischief in her eyes.

"What were you saying about children?" he asked huskily and kissed her.

They had decided to stay with Una for the first few weeks, the only reason being that she would be very lonely by herself. It was going to be difficult for Athol to get to work at his own estate in the morning, but when Davina mentioned it he shook his head and smiled at her. "My darling," he said, pulling her into his arms. "Your mother needs us at the moment. And I would do anything for you, so it's worth a little sacrifice to make you both happy."

She could say nothing for a moment. He was so attuned to her every need that it humbled her. "I love you," she whispered, "I cannot believe I ever had any doubts about you."

"Thank you, sweetheart." He put an arm around her shoulders. "Shall we ask her now?"

"I will," Davina replied, "this is a time for kid gloves."

When they were seated at the dinner table Davina broached the subject of the companion. "Mother," she began cautiously, "what will you do for company when we go? This is a very big place for one woman by herself and it seems to me - to us - that it will become very lonely for you."

Una suppressed a smile. So it's us, now? she thought, already! She sighed instead, then shrugged. "I don't know," she confessed, "I had not thought of it too much. I have had a lot of company since Ruaridh died and I have not felt too lonely. I had you, but now, of course, your place is now with Athol, as it should be." She thought for a moment. "Do you have any suggestions?"

"We thought perhaps…" Davina was very hesitant. "A companion."

Una raised her eyebrows in a thoughtful gesture. "It sounds like a reasonable idea." She nodded her head, then went to pour wine for them all, still thinking. "But it would have to be someone with a bit of sense. I can't have stupid people around me."

"I told you she'd say that," Davina said to Athol.

Una laughed. "She knows me so well!" She took a sip of her wine. "Thank you both for thinking of me. I will try to find some suitable candidates. Davina, will you help me?"

"I will, of course. I am sure you will find the perfect someone very quickly, Mother," Davina said firmly, "everyone likes you."

"Not everyone," Una replied, "someone tried to poison me a while ago, remember?"

"I do," Davina replied, sighing, "I swore if I ever got hold of him I would kill him myself."

"He will be found," Athol said with certainty, "I know it in my heart."

"Well, Athol, let us hope you're right." Una smiled sadly, then looked out of the window. "The rain has stopped."

"Shall we go for a walk?" Athol suggested, "you have no idea I how little time I get just to walk."

They set out in an amiable trio along the cliff path, Athol in the middle arm-in-arm with Una and Davina. The sun had made a welcome appearance and the sea had turned from its usual sullen gray color to a dark navy. It would never be anything like the sunny Mediterranean sunshine, but it was better than usual. They stopped to watch for a moment as white horses galloped in from the sea. Una smiled.

"I never get tired of watching them," she said happily.

They walked along in silence for a while longer before sitting down on the same rock Davina had sat on the first time she had become reacquainted with Athol. The wind was gusting in from the sea, blowing Athol and Davina's hair back and mingling blonde and brown together. Athol had his arm around Davina's waist, and she sighed with contentment as she laid her head on his shoulder. It was very, very nice to have a husband!

Just then a strong gust of wind came up and blew Davina's shawl over her shoulder and into the air, where it fluttered like a gull, swooping down to the ground and rising up into the air again. Athol chased after it, his strong legs propelling him forward like a hunting dog. Davina had never seen anything quite so arousing. Perhaps it was because she had just been introduced to the joys of love, but now she found everything about him alluring: his big strong hands, handsome face, broad shoulders and long legs. How fortunate she was!

At last, he came back with the shawl and draped it around her shoulders again. "You're cold, milady," he said, rubbing her arms briskly. He took off his coat and draped it over her and they began to walk back.

It was a simple way to pass the time, but with Athol beside her, Davina had never been so happy. She noticed that he had cut their excursion short and she knew why. Athol had made them turn around just before the stretch of the path where Ruaridh had died so that the women might avoid further distress. He was sensitive to the needs of both of them, but his heart was in Davina's hands, and it would break and rejoice for her and only for her.

Una decided to make herself scarce as soon as she got back. Athol and Davina were not quite, but almost, oblivious to her. She missed Ruaridh now more than ever when love was close to her but not her own. For a little while, she and Davina had kept each other warm at night, but it was not the same as having a strong man's arms wrapped around her. Una dreamed sometimes that Ruaridh was sleeping beside her, but she always woke up with an empty bed and an aching heart. She was so lonely. In a few weeks, she would be another year older, but she had no wish for a ceilidh without Ruaridh.

They say time heals. I wonder when it will happen? she thought.

Athol, looking at his wife, was thinking that it seemed like a lifetime ago that he had first seen her sitting on the rock. He smiled inwardly, embarrassed by the thought of how arrogant he had been. Davina and Lyle had bullied him into shape with the help of his own parents, and he was grateful because it had helped him to make Davina his wife.