‘No. I’ll do it.’ He exhaled and reached out, his fingers curling round the ring. He lifted it, taking care not to touch me. Then he closed his eyes, stood up and shuddered.

I wondered if I should support him as he swayed backwards and forwards but I doubted he’d appreciate my help so I withdrew. When Jamie’s eyes finally opened, he was pale and shivering.

‘I can assure Chieftain MacBain,’ he said in a stilted voice, ‘that you took this from her uncle’s body in the Lowlands.’

I nodded, trying to remain calm. ‘What else did you see, Jamie?’

‘The demons,’ he whispered. ‘The Fomori. There are thousands of them.’ He paused. ‘Hundreds of thousands.’

I swallowed. ‘Did you see anyone else?’

He wouldn’t meet my eyes. ‘I think I should leave everything else for Chieftain MacBain.’

I didn’t press him. The horror of what he’d seen was still written across his face. I silently thanked the heavens that my subconscious had decided not to steal this particular Gift. ‘I’ll leave the ring with you,’ I told him quietly. ‘Do with it what you will.’

Jamie didn’t reply. I raised my hand in gesture of both gratitude and farewell and left him, shoulders drooped and skin clammy, as he absorbed what he’d seen.

I didn’t have time to reflect on what Jamie was experiencing, much as I felt guilty about it. I left the drawing room door and jogged to the next door. I knocked once and, when no one answered, twisted the doorknob and peered inside.

These were Aifric’s rooms all right. The Moncrieffe tartan was everywhere and if that wasn’t enough of a clue, the suit he’d been wearing yesterday was hanging on the side of the huge oak wardrobe. The bed was neatly made and there nothing on either of the side tables next to it. I opened the drawers, using the cuff of my jumper. I doubted that Aifric ever dusted for fingerprints but it paid to be circumspect.

There was a small bottle of pills inside. I picked it up and examined the label, whistling softly. Strong stuff. So the Sidhe Steward was having trouble sleeping ‒ as well he should. I replaced it carefully, closed the drawer and looked around.

I couldn’t find much that interested me. There was a heavy chain inside a small glass cabinet, probably a symbol of the Stewardship, and there were carefully ironed clothes in the wardrobe. The rest of the room was spartan in its tidiness and emptiness. I wondered what Aifric was getting out of his position – it certainly wasn’t money; his Clan was all but penniless. I’d not heard of him enjoying any romantic dalliances so sex was out of the equation. I thought about the way he comported himself and decided it had be a power thing. What an idiot; real power comes from inner peace and contentment, not ordering others around. Half the servants in this place could probably have told him that.