‘I like it very much and I imagine it’s even more beautiful in summer.’

‘It is, but coming from the mainland we must seem very rural. I expect you had a busy life back in Edinburgh.’

I sipped my tea. ‘Not really. We lived a few miles from town and I spent much time at home with my sister.’

Mrs Argylle’s face fell into an expression of sympathy and I suspected that she already knew some of my history. ‘How brave of you to come all this way to somewhere so different from what you know.’

I did not tell her that desperation had brought me here. That I was not brave at all but had fled from the shame and grief I felt, and for one terrible moment, I saw the flames that had leapt from the windows. Had I screamed? I seemed to remember my ears ringing, or was that the fear of what I already knew I would find? Something of what I felt must have showed and she reached out a hand and placed it over mine.

‘I can see that you have endured much. It is in your eyes.’

Her gesture brought an ache to my throat.

‘You must be gentle with yourself, Miss Swansome. The past is sometimes better left. Now tell me, how do you find Iskar?’ There was more than an idle curiosity there.

‘Miss Gillies is very welcoming. Everyone is.’ I paused and she raised her brows a fraction. ‘But I do not please Greer somehow.’

‘Greer.’ She leaned a little towards me, a serious look about her. ‘Greer is a complicated soul.’

‘How so?’ I asked.

Mrs Argylle shrugged. ‘I would call her troubled. Are you telling me that she is not fully polite to you? Did you know that after Hettie left, it was mainly Greer who had charge of the twins?’

I shook my head and tried to imagine Greer with her sullen manner taking appropriate care with a child such as Mary. The thought made me sad.

‘I found it a surprising choice, but in many ways it made sense. Greer lived at Iskar and must have got to know them well after their mother’s death.’

It explained in some way Greer’s animosity. Had she nursed the hope that she could replace Hettie? How unwelcome my arrival must have been, returning her to her more lowly duties.

Mrs Argylle did not speak for a few seconds. ‘But if I may give you a little advice, Miss Swansome, I suggest you take care with Greer. She is not one to be crossed.’

But I believe I knew this already.

‘And how do you find Mary? She is, after all, the reason you are here.’

‘I like her, very much – and I’m confident that with the right attention she will get better,’ I said.