The earl ambled over, also sporting a burst of ruddy colour in his cheeks. In Effie’s opinion, they both looked the better for it. ‘Miss Gillies, another brilliant day dawns,’ he said heartily. ‘Are you ready to show two hopeless birders how to snaffle some puffins?’

‘Aye, sir. I’ll get the snares and we can away.’

‘We brought more apples,’ Sholto said, as they followed her back to her cottage. He stood by the threshold, discreetly looking around as she reached for the long-handled snares that were suspended from nails on the first rafter. The ropes were coiled on the floor and she glanced inside the large climbing bag that hung from a hook by the door, checking for pegs, her notebook and pencil. ‘Seeing as you liked them so much yesterday,’ he said quickly, as she turned back to him.

‘Thank you,’ she nodded, handing him a snare as she passed, their eyes grazing over one another like fingers in sand.

‘Do you paint as well as draw, Miss Gillies?’ he asked, seeing a pot with several brushes peeking from the top on the windowsill.

‘I try.’

His fingers brushed absently over the tips. ‘. . . Are those sable?’ he asked in surprise, looking back at her.

She wasn’t sure what sable was – they were supplies from the factor – but she felt discomfited by his evident shock. She shrugged. ‘A brush is a brush to me,’ she said, moving past him into the Street.

Effie had already determined they would only need to go to the Gap, the dip between the summits of Connachair and Oiseval on the east side of the isle, behind the cottages. The land was fairly gently sloped on the bay side and she knew exactly where the puffins liked to burrow there. The three of them walked together past the cleits, through the narrow gap in the head dyke and up to the plateau of An Lag. Jayne Ferguson was hoeing her lazybed, so lost in thought she didn’t hear them approach until they were almost passing her.

‘Hallo Jayne,’ Effie waved, the snares in her hand and the ropes looped over her shoulder, looking much the same as she usually did but for the esteemed company beside her.

Jayne waved back at the unlikely trio, watching as they began the steeper ascent, Poppit running ahead of them and circling back in continuous loops, never stopping, never tiring. Effie didn’t stop either till they reached the top.