The geese would be on the lochan at Kell. There would be no point in going that way. Now that they all had freezers in their houses there was never a bird to be given away, no matter how many they shot. It was then that he remembered the people he had seen in Taft, on the foggy morning when the lorry broke down. That information might be worth a goose, he thought, remembering the frantic, intimate whispers. Someone might give me a goose to keep quiet about that. But that would have to wait until later. Now he would bring his wood up Ellie’s Geo and begin to saw it into logs for the winter.

He was dragging one long and awkward plank down the hill to Tain when he saw the girl from Unsta, Jim Stennet’s new wife. He thought how pretty she was. She’ll be making all the other women jealous, he thought with satisfaction. She was sitting on Ellie’s Head looking out to sea, and she did not see him. He took pleasure in watching her, without her being aware of it. Although it was so cold, she was not wearing a coat and her sweater was tight. No other woman on the island had a sweater like it, and he thought that soon they would all be searching through their mail-order catalogues to find clothes like the girl from Unsta wore. Suddenly she got up and turned to walk down the hill. She must have seen him looking at her. He turned away quickly and limped on, dragging the wood behind him.

Sarah had been thinking of Mary. It had been a shock to see the old man staring at her. She walked quicker than he did and soon caught him up.

“Can I help you?” she asked.

He was surprised. He had thought that she would be cross with him for staring, but she was so pretty that he supposed that she was used to the men looking at her. He accepted her offer of help immediately before she changed her mind. Usually he had to beg for assistance. Help on Kinness was only freely given to family.

She took one end of the plank and they walked together, carrying the wood between them, towards Tain. He did not speak. She was surprised by how strong he was. Several times she had to ask him to stop so that she could rest. When they got to the house he showed her where they could leave the plank. He stood and looked at her, smiling, twisting his flat cap between his hands. It was a peculiar smile, frankly admiring, almost innocent. He was, Sarah thought, a little strange.

“You’ll take some tea?” he asked. “ Or a dram?”

“I’d like some tea,” she said.