‘Hmm,’ said Marnie noncommittally, unfairly disliking the charming Jess, unmet.

Christopher gave her an amused look.

‘Would you let me read your book?’ she asked suddenly, thinking she might learn more about Christopher that way than any other.

‘Of course. I’d love you to. I didn’t like to suggest it,’ he said, pleased. ‘But you must promise not to pretend to like it, if it’s not your thing.’

‘I promise,’ she said, hoping she’d be able to be truthful and complimentary as well, ‘and I’m a great thriller reader. But now that you’ve got Catherine and Jonathan Mercer on side, both confirmed fans of your writing, it can’t matter too much what anyone else thinks!’

‘It matters to me what you think,’ he said, ‘which is not at all the same as saying we have to agree about everything. That would be very dull.’

‘Oh, good. I’ll be your fiercest critic, then!’

Of course they also talked about Eilean Dobhran – the catalyst for their present expedition – as they had done several times over the last few days, and he asked her again what she was expecting to do about it once she’d found it. Privately he hoped the whole thing wouldn’t prove to be the most awful let-down for her.

‘I don’t know the answer to that myself because I daren’t think about it too seriously until I see it with my own eyes,’ she said. ‘Until this week I didn’t even know for sure that it still existed or whether it had been demolished. I still don’t know if it’s for sale, or to let, or what sort of money we’d be talking.’

‘Don’t count your castle until it’s hatched?’

‘Exactly.’

‘Oh, come on! I know you better than that already. Don’t tell me you haven’t had endless wild, hypothetical ideas. Are we in charitable-foundation-for-cats’-home territory or Miss Havisham living alone among the ghosts and cobwebs?’

She giggled. ‘Oh dear, is that how you see me?’ She continued more seriously: ‘But you’re right, of course. I have had loads of daydreams – fantasies are my speciality. And yes, there’s a bit of me that sees myself living there, but I also feel I need to earn this incredible good fortune that’s suddenly found me, and to use it well.’ She added lightly, ‘I hope you’ll help me come up with a brilliant idea.’

‘I’ll do my best.’