By then, my brothers were all married and had their own land, and my sister had her family. I was the youngest. I didn’t have a choice.

Something in Gran’s tone caught Elle’s attention. ‘You didn’t want to move?’

No. But I couldn’t stay with my sister at the time, and I couldn’t let my father move to a new country all by himself. Another pause, and then Gran continued, her tone now lightly dismissive. It was a long time ago. None of it is important now.

‘What about your dad’s side of the family? The ones who’d once owned Stormeil Castle? Could none of them have taken you in?’

The castle had long since gone from the MacKenzies by the time my father was born, she said wistfully. His father, my grandfather, had a falling-out with his family and we didn’t know any of them.

‘So, why do you want Stormeil to be where you’re … placed? Why not Portsoy, where you grew up?’

It’s hard to explain, darling. My father always spoke about Stormeil as if it were a magical kingdom, like the tales of King Arthur. The story of Isla always resonated with me, even as a small child. It’s not something I can really explain—it’s like I’ve always been drawn to it.

‘But you never lived there …’

No, Gran said simply, but my ancestors did, and even though they’ve been dead and gone for centuries, I feel connected to them. I know it mustn’t make sense … I only ever went there the once.

And with that, Elle was left in silence. Clearly Gran had shared as much as she was prepared to for now. Elle knew she shouldn’t pry, but something bothered her about Gran’s reaction to visiting the Scottish family. There was more to the story, Elle knew it, but for now she would have to tuck her curiosity away. She wasn’t going to give up, though. Right now she had to focus on getting them to Scotland, but once they were there she would get to the bottom of it.

Elle sat down on the hard chair and let out a long breath. She’d made it through security, repacked her backpack, pulled her shoes back on, and located her departure gate—now all she had to do was wait. And people watch. Airports were great for that.