‘Of course,’ she said. ‘If that’s what you want. I hope you’ve brought some photographs to show me?’

Christopher said he had. ‘I thought Marnie might have wanted to show them to you herself when you have lunch together next week but she insisted that I should bring them tonight. I’m really very pleased with them – it’ll give you an idea of what a mysterious, romantic spot Eilean Dobhran really is.’

‘Oh, good – and I must show you the pictures I took at Glendrochatt. Some of them are hilarious. There’s a terribly funny one of Bunty dancing reels.’

It was easy to chat away about Glendrochatt and all their new mutual friends but there was something about Louisa that disturbed him though he couldn’t quite define what it was. She was always sassy and amusing – but this was different. There was a sort of hectic gaiety about her, a reckless glint in her eyes that made him wonder if she’d already had too much to drink. He was surprised he hadn’t noticed before how very thin she was, but in her figure-hugging top and flimsy skirt she looked as slender as a willow wand.

They had delicious cold tomato soup, curried chicken and a strawberry tart, sitting in Louisa’s pretty kitchen-cum-living room, with the French windows to the garden open.

‘What a delicious dinner – really up to Glendrochatt standards, and that’s saying something!’

‘We’ve got a brilliant local deli,’ said Louisa with a grin. ‘Don’t delude yourself that I’ve been slaving over a hot stove. That’s not my style at all.’

‘I’m relieved to hear it,’ he said, laughing at her.

They talked about all sorts of subjects and an unperceptive fly on the wall might have thought they were both having a thoroughly pleasant evening. Louisa was particularly good company, sharp and funny and out to please, and Christopher did his best to be entertaining and appreciative without sending out the wrong messages – a difficult balancing act to achieve. But all the time a tension lay beneath the surface. How odd love is, thought Christopher. Here is this very attractive woman issuing an unmistakable invitation to me that any man would envy, but which I’m not going to take up because my heart is firmly on the other side of the Atlantic.

‘Coffee?’ asked Louisa.

Christopher looked at his watch. ‘No thank you, not for me. You’ve given me a wonderful evening, Louisa, I’ve really enjoyed it, but now I must be getting back.’ He got to his feet.

‘Don’t go,’ she said, and there was a pleading urgency about her that made him deeply uneasy. ‘Stay for the night, Christopher – just this once. Please don’t go.’