‘That bloody cricket bat’s going in the Tay, once the trial’s over. Allie, Martha and I are going down to the shore and we’ll throw it in,’ Fiona said.

The door was flung open and Jamie burst into the room.

‘Sam, you promised we’d go and play football after your tea.’

‘I know, Jamie, just give me two ticks to finish it.’

Jamie went to sit beside Dot who enveloped him in her arms and gave him a large noisy kiss. He pulled himself away, wiped his face with the back of his hand, and rushed towards the window.

‘Look, Mum, there’s a train on the bridge.’ He glanced up at the wall clock. ‘It’s the four fifteen from Edinburgh.’

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Acknowledgements

Thanks to MaryAn Charnley, Anne Dow, Elisabeth Hadden and Isabelle Plews for reading and advising.

Thank you to Jennifer Hadden, Sophie Hadden and Iain Lamont for their professional expertise.

And thank you to the helpful staff at the University of Edinburgh Library and the National Library of Scotland for allowing me to peruse their archives.

Finally, thanks as ever to my agent Jenny Brown for her encouragement and support, and thank you to Julie Fergusson for her insightful editing.