They walked along the path that led to Aird Uachdarachd, the small peninsula that jutted out below and behind Connachair mountain. It was the easternmost point on the island and the ground was a series of layered grassy ledges that the puffins loved. Effie stopped at a particular point she had been looking for and walked carefully to the edge. She looked down, scanning the landscape below. She nodded to herself, then took the rope off her shoulder and dropped to her knees. Opening the bag, she selected a wooden peg, chose a nearby rock and began to drive it into the ground.

The men went and looked over the drop. She saw the earl’s visible relief as he saw a grassy ledge a mere fifteen feet below where they stood, slightly too far to jump but nothing like the precipitous cliffs they had passed on the way up here.

‘One of you will have to stay up as a counterbalance to the other’s weight,’ she said, still knocking in the peg.

‘But what about you?’ the earl asked.

‘The advantage of being a skinny girl,’ she smiled. ‘The peg does me fine.’

She stood there with the rope, waiting for them to choose which one would go first.

The earl’s cheeks were deeply flushed from their exertions. ‘You go, my boy. I need to get my strength back from that walk. It’s exhausting just getting anywhere on this island!’

‘Very well then.’ Sholto held his arms out wide as Effie wrapped the rope diagonally over one shoulder and around his waist, knotting it in the St Kildan style. She did the same to herself, looping the other end of her rope to the driven peg.

‘Sir, if you wrap the rope around your middle and sit yourself down here, that’ll give enough support. If there’s any strain or pull, dig your heels in and lean back. Don’t try to stand. We’ll let you know when we’re down with two sharp tugs, and you can rest.’

‘Very well.’ The earl sat down as instructed as Effie and Sholto walked over to the edge.

She peered over the ledge again. ‘The birds are just over there, can you see?’

Sholto frowned as he peered at the rock face she was pointing out. ‘No . . .’

‘Just there. Not in the rocks, the grass.’ She stood closer so that he could follow the line of her finger.

‘Oh.’ His voice was almost in her ear. She could smell his soap. ‘How the devil did you see them? They’re almost completely camouflaged.’