Dougie hadn’t emerged from his music-filled bedroom since she’d arrived home, but she’d been delighted to find that he’d put a casserole in the Aga for their evening meal. Something that smelt delicious.

Maybe it was a peace offering, Ava thought. Or maybe he planned to have the discussion they’d been avoiding since their fallout.

Ava baulked at the thought, mainly because today’s events had convinced her even more that she couldn’t give up her day job and stay on Orkney to run the farm. Not and keep her sanity. Such a thought made her feel even worse, as though she was not only letting Dougie down, she was betraying her much-loved parents too.

Grabbing her jacket, she headed for the barn.

Entering the warmth of the place, and hearing the lowing of the cattle, she found herself swaying again towards staying.

She had always thought that if anything went drastically wrong with her life and work, she could always come back here and be renewed, either temporarily or permanently. She’d imagined the farm, her real home, would be available to her forever. And it would have been, had her parents lived into old age, and Dougie had taken over as planned, married and had children of his own. Dougie would always have welcomed her home, whenever she might want to return.

And she was planning to take all that away from him, and from herself.

The weight of her grief at the loss of her parents bore down on her in that moment. They had been, she now realized, the rock on which she stood. That rock had gone, and if she let herself go, she would flounder, making Dougie even more of an orphan.

Exiting the barn, she found a bright moonlit sky. The wind having dropped, the air was filled with the smell of new grass and all things growing. She breathed it in, saying a silent thank you for a moment of peace.

Looking out over the moonlit waters of Hoy Sound, she spotted the lights of the two newly commissioned tugs, named Thor and Odin, that had towed the ghost ship from Yesnaby. Behind them was the dark shadowy shape that was undoubtedly the MV Orlova, making its way to Houton Bay, where its secrets would hopefully be revealed.

10

The sound of Sean’s saxophone met them at the top of the stairs leading to the cellar bar. He was being accompanied by a pianist, which prompted Rhona to ask if Chrissy was still seeing Danny, the young jazz guitarist who’d recently played with Sean at the club.

Chrissy shrugged. ‘I can’t be doing with a roving musician for a boyfriend. Who knows what they get up to when they’re on the road?’