She could see Angus’s appreciation the moment they met. His long whistle made her giggle.

‘Will I do?’

‘Aye, hen, ye’ll more than do. I ken ye’re a sight to wonder at.’

‘Eeh, ta, Angus. I wasn’t sure.’

In his eyes she read his admiration, but Betsy wanted more than that. She’d fallen for Angus. At first it was just an attraction, for he was handsome in a different way from those who usually attracted her – the dark, handsome type. But although he was a big, muscly man, Angus was gentle, and she loved the way he’d handled Billy, and it had warmed her heart that he was used to having a lot of young ’uns around him, too.

They chatted as they walked, about this and that. Angus told her of growing up in Portpatrick, and of the sea being his life. Of how he was part of a group of like-minded men who formed the offshore rescue service.

Betsy kept her tale to just her and her Bill, feeling her guilt and the ache she’d long buried rise up once more. In her telling, she hadn’t accounted for Billy’s age.

‘So, ye were pregnant with Billy when yer man died – that’s awful sad, Betsy. Like poor Mags. The village sent its heart out to ye all, the day of the fire.’

Something in Betsy wanted to be truthful with Angus. She knew she risked him not wanting to know her after he heard the truth, but she had to take that chance. She wanted him to feel as she felt for him, and that could only be built on truth. The lies she’d told had destroyed so many people’s lives: her beloved Bill’s and Mags’s in particular.

‘Eeh, it’s warm, can we sit on the grass a while?’ They’d climbed the slope leading to the rickety bridge that took them to the ruins of Dunskey Castle, and to their left was a grassy area.

‘Aye, and I know ye feet must be killing ye, hen.’

‘They are. Eeh, I was a daft ha’p’orth to think of wearing them, but I wanted to look nice for you.’

Once they were seated, with the sound of the sea far below them lapping gently on the rocks, Angus took her hand. A feeling zinged through Betsy that made her gasp a breath deep into her lungs.

‘Ye allus look beautiful, me lassie.’

Betsy couldn’t speak. She looked into his eyes, saw there the same feelings she was experiencing, realized his face was coming closer to hers and longed for the moment of contact. When it happened, she melted into his strong body and accepted his kiss. A light touching of their lips soon deepened into a passionate kiss, which set Betsy yearning to be taken by this man. Feelings she had suppressed flared up inside her, engulfing her and not allowing her to think straight. Only appeasing the powerful ache inside her would make her world right.

She didn’t object when Angus’s hand found her breast and his thumb rubbed her nipple, but arched towards him in a gesture that gave him her permission to go further. He didn’t. Releasing her, he apologized. Turning his body, he sat up and stared out to sea. His breath laboured, and his face, though naturally ruddy, had a glow, as beads of sweat stood out and glistened in the late-evening sun.