Crawling out of the tent to join Alvis, Rhona realized that the snow had ceased, leaving a white reflective film over the landscape. Above her the dancing lights vied with countless stars for attention, with the moon’s creamy colour adding to the show.

‘Let’s go,’ Alvis said. ‘With our torches and this display, I think we can see well enough to get you down to the shore.’

As they crept towards the gully, the sky above them continued its display of greens and pinks, the colours swirling like the skirts of an exotic dancer. Skye had always seemed like a fairy tale to Rhona with its strange rock formations, its dark demonic moods and shining beauty. Now it was putting on its best display just when they needed it.

‘There’s a big rock here where we can secure the rope,’ Alvis said. He tossed Rhona the other end. ‘But first we need to attach it to you.’

Once he was happy she was secure, he explained once again the path she should take.

‘I’ll be watching you all the way, and remember, I can see what’s coming up whereas you’ll be facing the rock. So take your time and listen.’

Rhona could sense his disquiet that she should be the one to descend and he be the one to wait behind. Alvis had, she suspected, more experience than she had on the hills. And he’d had to watch Marita fall, and hadn’t been able to save her.

Letting Rhona go down the gully was going to be as hard on him as it was on her. Or even worse.

‘I’ll be fine,’ Rhona assured him. ‘Jamie and I scrambled about Skye when we were teenagers.’

They had, and they hadn’t always been roped up, she recalled. But back then death had never seemed a possibility.

Turning onto her front, Rhona eased herself over the edge, feeling for and finding the first foothold Alvis had described for her.

Here goes, she thought, wishing she was back safely ensconced in Jamie’s safe grip on Kilt Rock. Having done that descent once she’d had no wish to do it again.

Yet here she was and without the safety of Jamie’s arms about her.

But I do have a harness of sorts, and Alvis as my anchor.

Alvis’s concise and repeated instructions eventually brought her safely to the ledge they believed the dog had jumped down to.

Finding herself breathless with exertion and the rush of adrenaline that had fed her determination, Rhona heeded Alvis’s shouted advice that she take a rest before tackling the lower slope. She settled her back against the rock and took steady breaths, still hearing the fast beat of her heart in her ears. Having turned now to face the sea, she watched as the fairy dance played out over the water, its reflection like the lights of Atlantis below the waves.