She hadn’t imagined having local tour guides when she’d arrived in Portsoy. It was supposed to be a quick visit—more like an ambassador for the Australian branch of the family, before heading off to tick off the remaining items on the list—but instead Elle was thoroughly enjoying herself and had extended her stay. So, for now, the rest of the list had been put on hold.

‘I’m sorry we couldn’t take the whole day to show you more of the countryside,’ Alice said as they arrived back at her house after a morning spent visiting the picture-perfect village of Fordyce, as well as the nearby settlements of Sandend and Portknockie. ‘But I didn’t like to ask my neighbour to sit with Mum for too long,’ she apologised.

‘No, that’s fine. I really appreciate you taking the time to show me around. I had a lovely morning.’

‘Oh, that’s good. We wanted to do some touristy things with you while you were here, but we’re a bit limited with Mum. She can’t travel very long in a car anymore.’

‘It must be hard,’ Elle sympathised.

‘Oh, don’t get me wrong—I love having her living here with us, I honestly couldn’t bear the thought of leaving her in a nursing home, but her care is becoming more full-time nowadays. Poor darling. But Elle, would you mind sitting in here with her, while I get lunch?’ Alice asked once they went inside.

‘Of course.’ Elle smiled as she sat across from the big, comfy recliner where the older woman lay.

Moira smiled as she watched Elle thoughtfully. ‘Did you have a good day?’ she asked so softly that Elle had to concentrate to untangle her accent.

‘I did. There’s so many beautiful places around here.’

‘Aye, there are,’ Moira nodded faintly.

She seemed a lot more focused today than Elle had seen her before, and so, biting the corner of lip for a moment, Elle decided to take the risk and ask the question that was driving her more than a little crazy.

‘Moira, I hope you don’t mind me asking, but I was wondering if you could tell me a little bit about my gran … about Iona?’ she asked in a rush.

Moira didn’t seem surprised by the question, she simply smiled faintly before asking, ‘What would you like to know?’

‘Everything,’ Elle said, relieved that the older woman seemed happy to talk. ‘What was she like as a little girl?’