Her expression immediately brightened. ‘You saw him? Is he alright?’

‘Great,’ I lied again. ‘Now go grab your stuff. You’re leaving in an hour.’

‘What?’ she shrieked. ‘It’ll take me longer than that to pack. And what about May? I can’t just leave her here with that … that … Bauchan.’ Her voice dripped with disdain.

I tilted my head, confused. ‘Fergus?’

‘Never mind, dear,’ Morna interjected. ‘You go get your bags.’

Tipsania sniffed haughtily. ‘Someone will need to carry them for me.’ She didn’t wait for a response but twirled round and stomped back towards the mansion.

‘I think half the time she just wants to get a reaction out of people,’ I said hastily to Morna.

‘Mmm.’

‘And what did she mean about Fergus and May?’

Her face wreathed in sudden smiles. ‘You should go and see for yourself.’

***

I found Fergus and May in a newly sprouted meadow near the back of the mansion. They were sitting together, surrounded by long-stemmed flowers; a few bees buzzed close to them and the Foinse was lazily making figures-of-eight in the air. A gigantic umbrella which appeared to have been fashioned out of an old bedsheet and some branches was shielding May’s delicate skin from the sun. Even with their backs to me, I could see how relaxed they were. Standing watching them made me feel like a voyeur and I almost turned away to leave them to it but then May’s head turned, as if she sensed my presence. She grinned at me and waved. Caught out, I felt I had no choice but to join them.

‘Hey,’ I said. Feeling awkward was starting to become my natural state.

Fergus leaned back on his hands and grinned. ‘Hey yourself. You’re back.’

‘And you’re awake.’

He gestured nonchalantly. ‘You can’t keep a good Bauchan down.’

‘Mm,’ I said. ‘Anyway, I’m not here for long. I’m just heading back out again.’

He frowned. ‘Is that a good idea? You’re safe here.’

‘Fergus,’ I said, not unkindly, ‘unless you want to swear fealty, right now you’re effectively an asylum seeker. What I do and where I go is my business.’

He held up his palms. ‘I wouldn’t dream of telling Chieftain Adair what she should do,’ he said easily. Then his expression sobered. ‘Thank you for taking me in. You didn’t have to do that. I’ll swear in if you want me to.’

‘God, no. I don’t need more warm bodies on my conscience. But you’re welcome to be here. I’m glad to see you’re on the mend.’

‘The blue-haired pixie told me something about what happened up north. You should have waited until I woke up. I could have told you that it was Byron who wanted the wedding to go ahead.’

Damn it. I’d managed to stop thinking about Byron for at least a minute. ‘You were out for the count. And there’s more going on than just Byron Moncrieffe.’

The Foinse stopped its swirling and spun round, zipping towards me with such velocity that I thought for a moment it was going to smack me in the forehead. It stopped inches away from my face, however, and nuzzled in towards me. The warmth exuding from it was rather comforting.