‘Nonsense. Haven’t you been listening to a word I’ve said? Besides, who else has a finer mind for these things than you? You have schooled yourself into an expert on these birds. When I saw it, I knew you had to have it. That book was written for you.’ She could feel the weight of his stare upon her. ‘You may be poor, but—’

‘But I’m not poor, sir,’ she replied with sudden defiance. ‘That’s just it. I have everything I need here. A poor man needs what he does not have, but I want nothing more.’

‘Miss Gillies.’ A small smile curved his mouth. ‘How many times must it be said? You are not a man – and wearing your brother’s clothes and doing his chores will never make you so. That is evident to us all, and yet not to you? You seem unaware that you have bloomed into quite a beauty.’

She swallowed, perturbed by the change of direction in the conversation. ‘I am not concerned with how I look, sir, only with what I can do.’

‘You may be unconcerned, but I assure you others are impacted by it. And a woman should take care with where she places her attentions.’ There was a rumble of threat in his words.

‘I don’t understand,’ Effie faltered.

‘Don’t you?’ He let the scepticism chime through his words like a bell.

She stiffened. What did he know? Had Sholto said something? Had he betrayed her because of her boldness, because she had turned away from his flirtation, left him on the doorstep . . .?

The factor stepped closer to her, a five-foot-ten pillar of might and musk. ‘A word of advice. The power you wield is only an illusion. Do not toy with a man’s affections, Miss Gillies. Go carefully with a full cup.’

So Sholto had said something. He was still angry about what he saw as her rejection. It went against the natural order of things – her, refusing a man like him!

The factor stepped back and inhaled sharply as he looked around at the village again. He gave a nod, surveying it as though it were his own. He turned back to her, a new look upon his face. ‘Well, I am pleased you like the book. I shall aim for something equally special on my return trip.’

‘Please, it’s not necessary—’

He gave a stern look that stopped her words in their tracks. ‘Miss Gillies, it is merely a book. Hardly a gift of any merit or substance. There is no cause for such fuss.’

‘. . . Sir.’

‘Good day, Miss Gillies.’

She watched him walk away down the slope, her heart clattering in her chest as he became smaller and smaller, before walking past the McKinnons’ cottage and turning out of sight.

Tiny had grazed his way up the enclosure and snorted heavily over the wall, making her jump – but it wasn’t the bull she was frightened of.