In that same moment, the sun breaks through the cloud and what seemed to be an inhospitable piece of land rising out of black, unforgiving waters is suddenly transformed as if someone has waved a wand and broken a witch’s spell. The beaches shine dazzlingly white and the sunlight glitters off the water, forcing me to squint. The forest is no longer a silent, defending army, but an enchanted wood, begging to be explored. The sun breaks through further cracks in the grey cloud and it makes me think of someone tearing off wrapping paper to reveal the blue gift of the sky beneath. It’s like two different islands; one from a nightmare, the other from a fairy tale. Though a lot of fairy tales resemble nightmares when you think about it. I decide to throw off my feelings of anxiety and push the idea of the island being cursed out of my mind. This week is the start of a new chapter.

As the boatman turns off the motor to allow us to drift to the jetty, and the roaring in my ears disappears, I’m struck all at once by the stillness. All I can hear is the water lapping the side of the boat, the wind whispering through the trees and a gull crying overhead.

I turn wide-eyed and still smiling to Liam. ‘It’s so beautiful.’

He grins back at me and I take his hand, linking my fingers through his, feeling the warmth and strength in them. I know I haven’t been easy to live with these last two months, but he’s stuck by me regardless, telling me repeatedly that he’s not going anywhere. Besides, now we’re married, he’s got to stick with me through thick and thin, he likes to joke.

‘Are you happy?’ he asks now, a shade of concern in his eyes.

‘Yes,’ I say, my eyes drifting back to the island; and it’s true for once.

Once we’re tied up at the jetty, the boatman points us towards the cottage. It’s sitting three hundred feet away, on a piece of higher ground.

‘You’ll find the key in the lock box by the front door,’ he tells us as he sets our bags down. ‘I think you’ve got the code.’

Liam nods and slips him a twenty as a tip. The man pockets the money with a grateful smile. ‘I’ll be back in a week,’ he says as he steps into the boat.

I take out my phone to check the time and notice there’s no coverage.

‘You willnae get signal out here,’ the boatman comments, nodding at my phone.

‘There’s a satellite phone in the cottage if you need to contact anyone in an emergency. Though I doubt you’ll need it,’ he adds. He gestures at the loch. ‘Just make sure you keep out of the water.’