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Buchanan, how’s marriage? ’ I giggled. ‘We’ve been having a lovely gossip. ’ CHAPTER NINE I WAS determined the dinner party would be a success. For the next three days I cooked, polished and panicked, determined Rory should be proud of me. , all the food was done. The only thing we needed was lots of flowers. There were none in the garden, but I’d noticed some gorgeous roses in a garden down the road. I set off, still in my nightie - flimsy and black. I’d been so busy I hadn’t even bothered to get dressed.

I shall have to go and see Dr. ’ I said. She nodded. ’ �She’s no right in the head, although I shouldn’t say it. The old Macleans never had any money. Dr. Maclean, her father, was a gud doctor, but he dinna know about saving. Marina married this old man for his riches, and it’s dancing him into his grave she is. Perhaps now young Dr. Maclean’s come back he’ll keep her in order. ’ She shrugged. ‘Irasa has an enchantment. ’ CHAPTER SEVEN IRASA - Island of the Blessed, or of the Cursed. I could understand why none of them could escape its spell, and why only here could Rory find the real inspiration for his painting.

I got up, washed my face and wondered what to do next. I thumbed through a magazine. You could have pulled corks with the models’ hair. I liked music but you couldn’t listen to records all day. I supposed I could put on a deeply felt hat and go for a walk. I sat up, dismayed: I realized I was bored. No one was more aware than I that boredom was a mark of inadequacy. People with inner resources didn’t get bored. No; as Rory had discovered, I’d got hidden shallows. I went to the fridge and ate half a tin of potato salad.