She hesitated, feeling herself teeter on the edge of temptation. She had been determined to leave it this time; after the factor’s cruel words on the jetty yesterday she had wanted to reject his kindness, push back in the only way she could – but curiosity got the better of her, as it always did. The novelty of anything that came from the mainland was hard to resist. But it wasn’t only that. If she was honest, the earl’s compliments had swelled her head; she liked that she knew more than him. What if there was something more to learn? Another fact with which to impress him – and his son?

She reached for it, pulling out a large heavy book and feeling her heart quicken as the page ends glinted gold. The book was huge, the length of her arm from her elbow to her fingertips and weighing the same as a new-born lamb. For a few moments, she couldn’t move, crouched on her haunches, as she stared down at the tome, her palm sweeping over it as if in communion. Never had she seen the like. It was clearly very old and felt as important and rare as the Bible the minister clutched to his bosom during his passionate sermons.

Effie took it over to the single small window, to see better by the moonlight. THE SONGBIRDS OF SCOTLAND was inscribed in handsome gold-stamped lettering, the spine stiff and pristine, as if it had never been opened. Her finger ran along the edges of the gilded pages. Could a book be too precious to read?

She opened it as if she was peering into a jewellery box. On the inner page was a circular motif of a bull’s head, crossed flags either side of it. She flicked past the title and contents pages, her eyes wide at watercolour illustrations which were separately glued to the sheets, like paintings within a book. The colours were gentle yet precise, capturing not just the birds’ likenesses but their personalities too. Every page of vellum was bordered with a hand-drawn green ink line with scrolls in the corners, decorative whimsy.

She’d never seen anything so beautiful. All the other books had been factual and informative, with sketchy line drawings scattered through, studies of heads, bills or claws, wing and tail patterns. Some had broken into colour drawings or had leather covers, but this was an entirely different beast.