“I thought they’d finished with that bloody boat,” my mother said, then realized that the sound was not coming from there. Suddenly a small plane appeared, approaching low through the gap in the mountains. It roared over our heads, almost clipped the top of the tallest pines, skimmed over the surface of the lake, bounced a few times then touched down, sending out a sheet of spray behind it.

“Good-o. Ronny’s here,” Hugo exclaimed, my mother clearly having been discarded for the moment.

I was amazed to see that Ronny’s aeroplane, if it was indeed the same one, now had floats instead of wheels.

As we watched Ronny’s plane come to a halt, the countess gave a sudden scream. “Look. The monster!”

Excitement broke out on the shore as great black ripples came toward us. People tried to flee, knocking others out of their way in their fear. Then Constable Herries’s voice came loud and clear.

“That’s no monster. It’s just the way the wind comes down from the pass and creates a particular series of waves. It’s blowing extra hard this afternoon. We’ve seen it before and I expect we’ll see it again. Now everyone calm down and go home. Monster indeed. There’s no monster in this loch.”

The crowd dispersed, muttering excitedly. Some were convinced they’d seen a head rise from that wave. I wasn’t sure I hadn’t seen something myself. Babe and the countess twittered as they were herded back to the cars.

“What if it comes on land? What if it swallows up that boat?” the countess said. “Fritzi darling, I expect you to protect me.”

Her son didn’t look as if he relished the prospect of fending off a large monster.

“I think we should sacrifice Lady Georgiana to appease it,” Hugo said. The laugh broke the tension, but I sat in the car with my cheeks bright red. Was it so obvious to the world that I was still a virgin?

Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Back at Castle Rannoch
August 18
Late afternoon.

As I had predicted, Fig did not take the news of the extra dinner guests with great enthusiasm.

“How many people, did you say?” she demanded, her voice close to a shriek. Clearly she had never had a governess to constantly remind her that a lady never raises her voice. “Coming here? Tonight? Why in God’s name didn’t you stop them?”

“How could I stop them without looking terribly petty or telling them we currently had the Black Death?” I said. “They decided among themselves that they were enjoying each other’s company so much that they’d all like to dine together.”

“Then let them all dine together somewhere else,” she snapped.

“But they wanted to cheer up Binky,” I said. “They suggested he be carried down to join us.”