Her father gave her a quizzical look and rubbed his chin. ‘Soulmate? I guess I could be a bit of a late developer in the soul department.’ He chuckled. ‘I’ve been a bit more of a body man myself,’ he said cheerfully. ‘I think Toni and I rub along pretty well – ten years together coming up, would you believe? Never would have thought I’d last that long with one woman, but soulmates? I dunno about that. I take it you think you’ve met such a rare creature, young lady?’

‘I think I have.’

‘Better put some salt on his tail then,’ he said, drily.

She looked at him sideways, gauging his mood. ‘He’s done time,’ she said.

Her father threw back his head and roared with laughter. ‘Oh, Marnie-Jane,’ he said. ‘You never cease to astonish me. Here I am chasing rainbows with you on one of the most unlikely, crazy, romantic enterprises that’s ever come my way, and you choose this moment to tell me you’ve taken up with a criminal!’

‘I didn’t say he was a criminal,’ said Marnie indignantly, but greatly relieved that her volatile parent had reacted with such good humour. ‘I said he’d been to prison.’

‘What did he do then? You don’t usually get put inside without some reason.’

So she told him all – or nearly all – she could about Christopher Piper: about how they had met and where, on the first stage of her search for the house that had lived in her head for twenty years; about Christopher’s death by dangerous driving charge and his spell in gaol; about his past career and his intended new one and about the fact that he’d been with her when she’d found Eilean Dobhran – and that she loved him. ‘Six months ago I still couldn’t have imagined I’d be feeling like this about anyone,’ she said, ‘only I know now that this time it is quite, quite different. This is real.’

‘One does tend to think that every time,’ said her father.

Marnie shook her head impatiently. ‘No, I’m serious, Dad. This is different.’

‘Is that so?’