Lissa looked at the chicken, who glanced back at her, then directed her gaze straight back to Zoe. It was almost as if she was looking at Zoe specifically, in a threatening fashion, but that couldn’t possibly be true.

Anyway, Nina was sitting cheerfully on the steps of the book bus and waved them over. “Kettle’s just boiled.”

“Where’s John?”

“Out with Lennox,” said Nina, rolling her eyes but looking proud at the same time. Her bonny boy and his dad were rarely parted. “Have a good morning?”

“Yes!” said Zoe. “Those cuddly Nessies are flying off the shelf.”

Nina rolled her eyes again. The tension between her beautifully curated bookshop and Zoe’s more touristy shop—Zoe parked up at Loch Ness—was sometimes there, but it didn’t matter. They were both making a living, and now, sitting out in the cool shade of the beautiful farmhouse, with three huge mugs of tea, Lissa reveled in their chat, especially what it was like coming from an English city to such a remote part of the world.

“My mum thought I was coming to the moon,” said Zoe. “And also that I would be kidnapped by my new employer.”

Nina smiled in response. “At least you weren’t the first English girl ever to set foot here. The silence in Eck’s pub!”

Zoe laughed.

“I think Eck thought you were going to seduce Ramsay,” Nina continued.

“Evil English temptress,” agreed Zoe.

“So what do you think?” said Nina, turning to Lissa. “Are you going to stay for a bit?”

“I can’t,” said Lissa. “It’s just a placement.”

“Why did you choose here?” said Nina curiously. “I mean, I kind of got stuck . . .”

Lissa shrugged. “The . . . I mean, this is where it came up. With Cormac.”

“Good old Cormac,” said Nina. “I bet he’s having an absolute ball down there.”

Lissa wondered what she meant by this but didn’t pursue it in case it meant, as she suspected, “getting lots of girls,” some of whom might even be her friends. She thought of her hedgehog picture and smiled, then dismissed it. He obviously did that for everyone.

Instead she leaned forward. She was glad she was off the internet, but she did miss just having people to chat to. And she felt she ought to be a little brave. After all, they’d all made the move.

“I . . . They kind of sent me here to . . .”

The other girls went silent, sensing she had something to say.

“I had a rough time in London,” Lissa confessed. “I was a witness to a hit-and-run and . . . it all got a bit much for me.”

Nobody said anything.

“So. I’m kind of supposedly on a quieter beat for a bit. The NHS equivalent of basket weaving.”

She attempted to smile, but it didn’t quite work.

Zoe leaned forward. “Was it awful?” she said gently.