‘No, the original land has been divided up, and there’s nothing left of the castle itself now,’ he told her, his thumbs doing a small tap on the steering wheel. ‘Estates are expensive to maintain, and a great number of castles have changed clans and owners over the generations.’

‘I can’t imagine living on a place with so much history,’ she said, watching the rolling pastures and cattle grazing contentedly. ‘You raise cattle?’

‘Aye, and sheep. It’s a working property. That surprises you?’

‘I guess it does a little bit.’ He hadn’t looked like a farmer yesterday in his expensive-looking leather shoes. Today, dressed more casually, she supposed he did look a little more farmer-like.

‘Not all estates are owned by the National Trust,’ he said dryly.

‘Apparently not,’ she smiled.

‘What part of Australia do you come from?’

‘The New England region. It’s not unlike this place, really … except, Scotland’s a different type of green. We actually have lots of places named after towns here.’ She rattled off a few of the ones she’d noticed on road signs or the map. ‘Grafton, Ben Lomond, Glen Innes, Glencoe, Inverell.’ There were so many and it made her smile to see the familiar names as she drove.

‘I guess they wanted to take a piece of Scotland with them,’ Stuart said.

‘I guess so,’ Elle agreed.

‘The ruins are just up ahead,’ he informed her a few moments later as they came over a small incline and through a cutting, and there before them was a wide, flat area with a crumbling stone fortress. Elle had seen a lot of castles and old buildings since arriving in this country and she knew it shouldn’t surprise her anymore, but it always did. She didn’t think she would ever get tired of that first awe-inspiring sight of something so old and majestic as a castle—even a ruined one.

‘There it is,’ he said.

Elle could only stare.

‘It’s not in very good shape, I’m afraid.’

It was true, parts of the walls had crumbled away and there was no roof, but this was the fabled Stormeil Castle, where a young girl had run away from her betrothed only to be hunted down and murdered.

‘It’s just so strange to be finally seeing it. I’ve grown up hearing the story my whole life, and now, I’m really here.’

Is this how you remembered it, Gran?

Oh yes, she breathed. It’s exactly how I remember it from when I came here with my father.

Opening her door, Elle climbed out of the vehicle and walked towards the ruins.

‘In its day it would have been an impressive sight. It was a fortress, built to withstand sieges and attacks from even the hardest armies. It went up at least four storeys,’ Stuart said from beside her as the two dogs bounded off to explore.

‘It’s such a shame that it was left to fall apart like this.’